Hurricane Isaias hit our area August 3rd after a summer full of amazing sunshine and memories and fun! It really wasn’t a large or forceful hurricane and didn’t have a substantial amount of rain like Florence but it hit the island at the worst place and time (right corridor of the storm at a full moon high tide) to cause a lot of surge and flooding over the dunes and the first 3 blocks from the beach. We knew the dunes would be leveled and there would be lots of mess for homeowners in that area to clean out … but when we went out the next day, the destruction to the land was worse than we expected.

There was (and still is) so much trash and debris everywhere as the ocean pushed so many trash cans and homeowner’s belongings into the streets and the canal that’s between us and the beach. Of course we know very personally how powerful water is and what can happen in flooding... but it was still so surprising that we only had lots of pine straw and some twigs to pick up yet a few blocks away the land was so altered.

We were a little frustrated we couldn’t help out our new neighbors and community more because the whole damaged section was closed off even to volunteers so that the town could try to fix the electricity, plumbing, get all the sand off the roads … but we felt peace to just do our small part this time! We helped hand out supplies, water, snacks, and smiles to workers going into the evacuation area:

And the boys did an incredible job of venturing into the canal area with a local volunteer group to try to get out all the trash and debris:

Sadly RR stepped on a nail which got infected but thank the Lord it healed fast.

The beach area really looked so strange without the dunes:

Luckily the town pushed the sand back up and there’s at least protection now even though it still looks strange to me:

Enough about the hurricane! Just like we learned through Florence, there’s always good and beauty to be found even in the midst of ugly. The land may be damaged – but the sun is still setting just as the Lord promised it would until the end of the ages!!!

Even though we had to go to a different spot than our usual one … this first sunset after the hurricane was one of my favorite EVER! I loved it so much. The pictures just don’t do it justice at all. Beauty after destruction. The Lord does things like this.

The rest of August and September were full of great school work:

We love our curriculum this year ! Exploring countries and cultures around the world:

And we’re still enjoying at-home activities. Reading, baking, knitting, puzzles:

We were SO happy to get back with our homeschool group and our “normal” routine! Our first field trip was to thank the Sheriffs Dept for their service to our a community, meet their new crisis service dog, and see the amazing vehicles they use to help during hurricanes and such:

When sky divers came to talk to us at another meeting… I just knew AB would raise her hand when asked who wants to go skydiving!

We’re thankful for all our sweet friends and community… especially for friends who take the kiddos so we can have a date night, teach RR to change the oil in a car, and hire him to do hurricane clean up!

We made sure to still get in lots of beach time:

And also got to be tourists for a day. We loved the ferry ride – especially seeing the dolphins!

I love this stage of life and how we can all play together as a family!

The beach entrances may still look like this:

But we are still finding beauty and new places to explore! I love getting 1 on 1 time with each kiddo:

After waiting all summer, we finally got the kids a pineapple dole whip!

And B and I had one last warm night on the paddle boards together. We talked in amazement of all the ways the Lord has blessed and taken care of us . Remembering together is a godly practice! We pray we can continue to point others to His beauty and how He cares for His sheep!

In a world full of brokenness, evil, deception, strife, conflict, and ugliness… there will always be glimmers of beauty that point us to eternity. We must keep seeking The Lord’s face, delight in His creation, and let every glimmer of beauty stir us on towards home!