A Sanibel Morning....

There is just something about a sunrise on the water...especially on Sanibel...  It just makes you appreciate everything so much more, life seems so relaxed and peaceful. Every where you look, there is something special to see!

 

We arrived here on Friday....yes, Friday the 13th! It wasn't our best trip down, traffic was just terrible, and I got sick with a cold the day we left. It goes without saying that we were exhausted and I didn't feel human again until late Sunday night.  But, can you think of a better place to be sick? Me neither!! :)

So today was our first day shelling, the lowest tide is at like 4 am so we don't expect to see buckets of shells, but love the mornings, so much to see!

We got there just before sunrise, and as usual, it's just beautiful to see the world come alive....

There were many live shells, Olives were writing their messages in the sand...

Fighting conchs were riding along in the surf.....

Live Cockles were blowing bubbles.....

Pelicans were fishing....

The sky was on fire!!

Even this tiny nine-armed sea star was peeking out of the sand....

How can you not just feel better with all this going on around you?? I was also working on some more projects around our house the last couple of days....so stay tuned for some more homestead updates!

......For now Here is the latest pic of Joseph Harvey, he already seems so much stronger and more alert....He's 2 weeks old today!

::Hugs::

My World has Changed!

Most of you know that our youngest daughter Jess has been pregnant! We knew it was a boy, and until a few days before he was born, we affectionately called him "Kiwi" as his name was a secret. (Read the original story here).

The forecast in the Blue Ridge Mountains called for a pretty significant snow storm, so I headed out to their house about 4 days before the due date so I could make sure I would make it.  Kiwi decided he would wait....and wait, through several more snow storms and COLD temperatures! 

A few days before Kiwi came, since both Brad's Dad and I were there, Brad and Jess decided to announce to us his name.  They took us into the nursery and had the name on the wall! Kiwi was named after Brad's Grandfather, Joseph, and Jess' Grandfather (My Dad) Harvey.  What an honor!! I was amazed at how emotional I instantly became....

Brad's Dad, Bob; Brad, Jess and Me!

Here is Jess at 40 weeks, on February 20th.

After quite a delay and several snow storms, our Grandson Joseph Harvey made his entrance on March 2, at 9:22 pm.  He weighed in at 6 lbs 11 ounces and a whopping 20-1/2 inches long!!

Again....I became emotional! I knew Jess was all grown up, she has been married an living over 300 miles away for nearly 7 years!! But something came over me when I saw "MY BABY" with a baby!! Everything changed for me at the moment he was born.  I was right there when he came, and yet I still could not believe it. My heart must have grown at least 2 sizes. 

He turned toward her when she started talking to him, and as she talked to him and stroked him, he gently fell asleep!
<3  So Very Sweet! <3

So bear with me, as a member of the Gammaw Club, you will have to endure the many pictures of the newest member of this wonderful family!

Look at these adorable tiny feet...

Gammaw with Little Joseph!

There isn't a prouder Daddy!

After a couple of days, during yet ANOTHER snow storm, they got to bring Joseph home to meet the rest of the family.....2 cats, Hero and Otto, and Gwen Dog!

He is already wearing bow ties...."making Daddy proud" as Jess says.

And just like that, a BEAUTIFUL family is born!

I reluctantly had to get back to 'real life' and say goodbye, but hopefully I will be returning soon!

Here he is at a week old, he has already changed!!!

So Sweet!!

::Hugs::

There's Always a Way!

Our final day started out like the rest, a beautiful morning, mid 60s at 6:30 am...in January!!  When we arrived at the beach and got out of the car, we could hear the wind blowing on the beach. It was really blowing strong straight into the shore from the Gulf. I can bet that there will be some great shelling coming up in the next few days!! 

It was a beautiful sunrise one more time!

 

As I look at these pics now, you can't really tell by the waves how hard the wind was blowing, it was very strong, the waves were really rolling in.  As a result, shelling again would be different, and a challenge.  You know us shellers though, we will always find a way!! The high tide line was fairly barren, I walked a long way along the shoreline, and the middle tide line, Hubby even went the opposite direction looking for tidal pools or exposed sand bars. Neither of us had much luck, we even looked for areas to dig. When the tide was at it's lowest, we managed to find some treasures rolling around in the surf.  This is really working at it! You have one chance to spy it, either by color or shape, and you have to go for it with your hand or scoop....you may or may not get it, and very quickly 3 more waves have pushed it further in, or buried it under more shells or the sand.  It really was a lot of fun....and work! At one point, Hubby stumbled over some worn out fighting conchs buried in the sand under the surf and managed to dig a little and found quite a few shells that way.  I am really surprised how well we did!

Hubby's

Mine 

Hubby found some of my favorites...Horse conchs, look at that gorgeous color on the center one!

I found 2 more winged oysters!! That's a perfect score, I found at least one every day this trip....I have never seen so many! I probably have only found 4 or 5 in the almost 18 years we have been coming here. These were all very small, but I just think they are awesome, very rustic outside, with a very colorful pearl-like interior.

I didn't finish my new home project this trip, but I am documenting its progress with pictures, and hope to complete it next time! We did get some awesome gifts from our family for Christmas this year and I did get those put up.

Hubby's oldest daughter Stacey and her husband Steve gave us some wonderful pics of themselves, as did his middle daughter April and her husband Jon, a cool beachy looking frame with a family portrait with our 4 grandbabies! 

I plan on making one whole wall in our bedroom a 'family wall' and will hang them there when I get all organized. Meanwhile, they are with our most treasured pics on the bookshelf.

Stacey and Steve also gave us this awesome blown glass shell, that got it's place of honor with our signs in the den. 

Jess and Brad gave us this awesome wall hanging that we hung over our entry door, appropriate don't you think?

Our sister-in-law Maxine, gave us these cool little soap containers that, like the rest of our gifts, just happen to match our colors and decor! What a coincidence! :)

I hope you all have enjoyed the posts this trip. With a heavy heart, we will head up north early tomorrow morning, where it is at least 40 degrees cooler! ....and snow in our forecast for Monday!! <sigh>

I plan on playing with shells from this trip, so stay tuned for another post soon! BTW, our youngest daughter Jess is due in February, so expect some news and bragging soon! Thanks for tagging along!!

::Hugs::