This week started with a beautiful beach day after the most amazing sunset ever!

We loved this coquina art:

The beaches are beautiful here and we are so grateful that the weekends have been so warm for our time with Daddy!

These lines in the sky were so crazy!

On Sunday – we visited JFK Space Center!

It seemed the shutdown was affecting the quantity of staff and programs here but it was still a fun and informative day.

RR & I enjoy history the most so we loved learning about the race to the moon / Cold War era. It really grew in me a greater admiration for JFK and all the courageous men and women who worked to research the unknown. What they were able to accomplish seems impossible even today. What a drastic difference 2 decades made in our world relations as well.

There was a little “show” where they let you re-live the moments on TV and in the command center as Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon. Even knowing the outcome, I was so nervous as they kept losing signal and there was such high risk of fatal errors and malfunctions.

AB enjoyed the simulation ride and the IMAX show the most. She still aims to be a trapeze artist but now wants to be a trapeze artist on the moon. 🙂

E enjoyed learning about astronauts “normal life” in space and how they brush their hair, teeth and take care of their plants.

B loved seeing the Atlantis shuttle in person and seemed very intrigued by all the mechanical and technological details. He could have spent a lot more time in each room reading and learning but the Lil Rookies have their limits 🙂

I felt overwhelmed most of the day . All this space travel stuff is just way above my head 🙂 .

But I was inspired and intrigued. I was blown away by how ENORMOUS it all is!

I loved seeing in person what I’ve seen on TV since I was little.

I was amazed at how brilliant these scientists are, what humans can accomplish when they work together, and how individuals can devote their lives to a cause and passion. There was definitely an underlying thread of faith and reverence of God in the early astronauts and leaders.

As the day went on and we learned more from today’s astronauts about the current missions, there was more and more of a disconnect for me. Much of what was said regarding today’s missions were philosophical questions they were seeking answers to such as, “Where did we come from? …”Who else is out there?”

Hearing queries like that quite a few times just made me praise the Lord because I wholeheartedly believe that it doesn’t take rocket science to know these things.

I may not have been gifted enough intellectually to help get a rocket to Mars or understand the mechanics of anything to do with space travel, but I have found the answers to where I came from, what my purpose is and who else is out there. If it makes me a fool to believe all these questions find their answer in the Lord Jesus, then I gratefully accept the title of being a fool in the world’s eyes.

What a joy it is to know that I have answers to the questions that every human soul on earth was created to yearn for. Hearing them pondered by some of the world’s brightest and most educated, just reinforces that truth. Just this week I read this quote by C S Lewis, “If we long for something more, then surely that something more must exist”.

Perhaps Astronaut John Glenn proclaimed it best from orbit: “To look out at this kind of creation and not believe in God is, to me, impossible.”

That night was a super moon/ eclipse! Great timing! I tried my hand at sky shooting. I will work on it more as we journey.

Then Tuesday & Wednesday found me laying around with a nasty sinus infection :(. The kids were so well behaved the whole day and really had zero bickering. See what impossible feats human can conquer!

I plopped myself on the reclining chair (or bed) for 2 days and watched the clouds roll by.

Thank you Lord it was warm and sunny those days because if we were all inside AND I was sick = ah !

Wednesday we did make it to the lake to see this beautiful guy:

My goodness -there are so many kinds of birds down here!

We enjoyed lots of snuggle reading while I was sick. There’s plenty of little cozy spots in Woody !

By Thursday I felt like myself again and we enjoyed the morning at the local library while it rained (nice view!).

By afternoon it was beautiful and warm again and we had another sweet sunset.

Also on Thursday I was interviewed by World Vision. It was so refreshing to talk about our journey again and the story the Lord’s been writing. At dinner that night we asked the kids the same questions I was asked on the interview and it led to the best conversation we’ve had all month.

We talked about how World Vision and our sponsored children have impacted our lives, how the lessons learned from my trip to Uganda prepared us for the flood, and what God is teaching us now. The kids were able to share in their own words such amazing truths that brought tears to our eyes.

It’s pretty incredible that in this 8 by 33 foot trailer, our kiddos have more possessions than 95% of the world’s children. Just like R prayed one morning earlier this week, “Thank you God for all our sponsored children. We know they are just like us. We aren’t better than them. You don’t love us more than them. They were just born in a different place. Help them know how much you love them and continue to send resources to them!”

Our sponsored children are part of our family. The Lord has used World Vision so much in our lives – I believe WE are the ones that have been most blessed and changed through sponsorship. I pray we will continue to be used to spur others to have a global perspective, abundance mentality, and desire to obey God in the “small” acts like sponsorship.

[Go right here to sponsor a child and let the Lord use him/her to change your life]

We aren’t sure what the road ahead looks like for us or even what this whole trip is exactly about. But no matter what He does or how He uses this, we know for sure that we are seeking Him, He is leading us, and this is simply another part of the beautiful story of our lives that He is writing!

We have a special visitor with us now for our last week in FL before we head west !

It’s not this guy:

It’s MM! Woohoo!