"Life is lived forward, but understood backward. It is not until we are down the road and we stand on the mountain looking back through the valley that we can appreciate the terrain God has allowed us to scale.” Jill Savage

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Destin, Florida 2010 continued

What did we do in Destin? Destin is a family place more than Panama City or Daytona. It's clean and has attractions, but it's not the teenage scene - so that was kind of good.

We went to the Hard Rock Cafe - My GS who said he wanted a Mohawk - no longer wants a Mohawk - thank you God.



Another birthday party - I learned when you're young you WANT as many birthdays as you can get!

The Track



Miniature Golf and taking a time out . . . yes - there were tears on the golf course.



Have to hand it to him - he stayed and played the whole time and did pretty good.



Fuddpuckers not Fuddruckers. They had alligators here that you could hold, a game room, a store, and of course hamburgers!



Oh no - the alligators have him.



Help, help. He ought to be in pictures!



The alligator man.





Alligators.



WHAT I LEARNED ON SPRING BREAK!

Girls are way different then boys from an early age on!!!!!!!!
Abuse takes our voice away and YOU have to WANT to FIGHT to get it back!!!!!!
Arguing is a moot point!!!!!!!!!!!!
Families get used to their own oddities!!!!!!!!!!
Mohawks are not a good thing.
8 and 9 year olds get frustrated golfing.
When your young you want birthdays!
My grandson is a cutie!!!!!!!!! (Already knew that!)
I'm a dinosaur - I think girls just want to have fun and love is the answer to everything!



One of my life time favorite role model and woman - Corrie Ten Boom - Wikipedia

Joy runs deeper than despair. - Corrie Ten Boom

The measure of a life, after all, is not its duration, but its donation. -Corrie Ten Boom

In May 1942, a well dressed woman came to the Ten Boom door with a suitcase in hand. She told the Ten Booms that she was a Jew and that her husband had been arrested several months before, and her son had gone into hiding. Occupation authorities had recently visited her, and she was too fearful to return home. After hearing about how the Ten Booms had helped their Jewish neighbors, the Weils, she asked if she might stay with them, and Corrie ten Boom's father readily agreed. A devoted reader of the Old Testament, Casper ten Boom believed Jews were indeed "the chosen," and told the woman, "In this household, God's people are always welcome."

Thus began "the hiding place", or "de schuilplaats", as it was known in Dutch (also known as "de Beje", pronounced in Dutch as 'bayay', with Beje being derived from the name of the street the house was in, the Barteljorisstraat). Ten Boom and her sister began taking in refugees, some of whom were Jews, others members of the resistance movement sought by the Gestapo and its Dutch counterpart. There were several extra rooms in their house, but food was scarce due to wartime shortages. Every non-Jewish Dutch person had received a ration card with which they could procure weekly coupons to buy food.

Corrie knew many in Haarlem, thanks to her charitable work, and remembered a couple who had a developmentally disabled daughter. For about twenty years, Corrie ten Boom had run a special church service program for such children, and knew the family. The father was a civil servant who was by then in charge of the local ration-card office. She went to his house unannounced one evening, and he seemed to know why. When he asked how many ration cards she needed, "I opened my mouth to say, 'Five,'" Ten Boom wrote in The Hiding Place. "But the number that unexpectedly and astonishingly came out instead was. 'One hundred.'"

The Germans arrested the entire Ten Boom family on February 28, 1944 at around 12:30 with the help of a Dutch informant. They were sent first to Scheveningen prison (where her father died ten days after his capture). Corrie's sister Nollie, brother Willem, and nephew Peter were all released. Later, Corrie and Betsie were sent to the Vught political concentration camp (both in the Netherlands), and finally to the notorious Ravensbrück concentration camp in Germany on December 16, 1944, where Corrie's sister Betsie died. Before she died she told Corrie, "There is no pit so deep that God's love is not deeper still." Corrie was released on New Year's Eve of December 1944. In the movie The Hiding Place, Ten Boom narrates the section on her release from camp, saying that she later learned that her release had been a clerical error. The women prisoners her age in the camp were killed the week following her release. She said, "God does not have problems. Only plans."

If you have never read her book - get it and read it! It listed miracle after miracle after miracle. She never gave up hope. And she later forgave her captures - face to face!

19 comments:

Melanie said...

Your grandson is so funny!
I'm glad he decided against the mohawk too. :)
Glad you had a good time.

Cheri said...

Hi Sandie,

It is nice to hear that things are going good and you had such a good time on your trip. I am not a fan of FL but when we went to the Panhandle, that I could probably do. Loved it there.

ClassyChassy said...

What fabulous photos!!! I hope that wasn't a real gator going after Andy....It looks like it IS real!

Linda @ A La Carte said...

Yes he is cute! I am glad you had fun and it's always good to learn new things...keep repeating that until you go again in June! lol

Deb said...

Aww...the memories you created! He will treasure forever, and by the way, your post managed to surge all of those very same memories we did as a family when my babies were little.

Together We Save said...

Hope you had a wonderful time... we went to the beach on Fall Break with my parents and my 3 girls... things went well but we also had a melt down or 2.

Susan said...

Honestly, Sandie, your GS is a hoot and a half. What a little ham....so ADORABLE. So glad he got out of that alligator's mouth! We'd miss that smiling face on your blog. You are a riot, too. Sincerely, Susan

Tanna said...

LOL! Great photos, Sandie!! Florida was a grand adventure!

I am going to have to add Corrie Ten Boom's book to my reading list. Thank you.

betty said...

now isn't that the cutest with Fuddpuckers instead of Fuddruckers? It does sound like you guys did a lot of fun things on your trip; I think minature golf is hard to play without getting too frustrated. the key is to remember gentle hitting of the ball, in real golf they swing mightily which, as you know, is not required for minature golf. All in all, I think you did have a great spring break, and you are right, each family has their own oddities, don't they, but that's what makes them family:)

betty

Angela said...

Oh my gosh Sandie! Andy sure does know how to make some really cute faces don't he! The picture of him with the alligator is so funny to see that expression on his face! I know he had a wonderful time! I think it was probably great for him to get to spend some time with all of the others who went.

Hugs,
Angela

Stella said...

So glad you were able to spend good times with your family. What little boy wouldn't want to pretend his hand was in a gators jaws. Memories is what makes life worthwhile.

Whosyergurl said...

boys/girls
men/women

different species. Totally.
hug you,
Cheryl

^..^Corgidogmama said...

You guys did it all, and experienced it all I think. Loved reading about your lessons learned.

Sue said...

My favorite activity on vacation...miniature golf!! I cheat... And Andy is so cute..it looks like he had a wonderful time...So where are your pictures from yesterday??

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

looks like you picked a great spot. We've never been to Destin (even though we sort-of live in Florida now).

you're doing greaat with that new camera!

Lois Christensen said...

Your grandson is completely right!!! And my daughter's boyfriend now has a mohawk. I almost died when I saw it last weekend. But what do you do? I told them both how I hated it, and then just ignored it. The pictures look like you had a really great time!

{Bellamere Cottage} said...

I visited your tea time at Sue's....whew that looked like a fun time....and shopping too....You girlies are toooo much fun.

Not so hot on the alligators, but my boy sure would be!

My daughter got his school changed. It took a bit of convincing....she had to get approval, but he starts on Monday and is THRILLED. I'm so happy for him.

Huggies,
Spencer

Buttercup said...

What a fun vacation. Have been enjoying your pictures. I loved "The Hiding Place," and many years later the thought of it moves me to tears.

ocmist said...

Looks like a good time was had for MOST of the time, and THAT is good when you've got that diverse a group staying together! Those are great pictures and will bring back many memories.

Corrie Ten Boom was a magnificent lady that was truly tried in the fire and then blessed by God. I was blessed to hear her speak in person while I was in Bible College. She told the story of the Needlework piece... that we see the backside of the work, but God sees the front and how all the knots and black threads worked together to create total beauty on the front side.

I can only imagine the welcome home she got from God when she arrived there. Did you notice that she was born and died on the same day? I love her books too! She wrote quite a few. She reminded me of my German grandma, when I saw her.