Home Again

Samuel and I are back in Beaufort. Boy, is it hot here! We came home to the air conditioning trying to keep up with the heat index of 115. Not an easy feat... Since Samuel is so warm natured, I decided to let him nap and sleep in the office (downstairs) for a day or two until it's not as hot outside. I got him to bed last night before 8:00 PM. He was doing just fine with the sheets I had put up to act as curtains and his sleep machine was going, but I forgot one major detail. I forgot to unplug the light from the timer I have it on. Big oops... It normally comes on around 9:00 PM. At 10:00 PM I heard Samuel screaming bloody murder. I think it was a nightmare even though the light was on when I went in. I don't think a light would cause a baby to scream like that. Anyway, I unplugged the light, and tried to get him back to sleep. Last night at bedtime and then again at 10:00 PM I sang him a song to get him back to sleep. It was amazing because he acted a little unsure of things before I sang to him. A simple "Jesus Loves You" did the trick. Thank you, Jesus, for that!

As if that wasn't enough drama for one day, at 6:40 AM our smoke alarms went off waking me and Samuel from a deep sleep. Did that scare me! I panicked and called my neighbors (Thank you, Zoe!) and my dad (Thanks, Dad!) since Jeremy wasn't here and I wasn't sure if there was a fire. Zoe came over, which was sweet of her, but, of course, they stopped once she was here. I have to be thankful that they stopped though. I meant to call my dad back to let him know that all was well, but I forgot. He showed up a few minutes later to check on us. I was actually trying to get Samuel back to sleep by that point since it was still early. Samuel was tired enough that he went back to sleep once my dad checked the house and detectors thoroughly. Both of us slept until 8:45 AM, which was so nice since I stayed up late and got up early the week that we were on Pawleys Island.

Speaking of Pawleys, I have some photos and a few videos that I took on the beach and at the house. The only problem is that I left my cords in the office with Samuel. I will work on that once he goes to bed. Samuel and I went out to the beach by ourselves 5 days, and we went as a family on Sunday since it was Jeremy's day off. Samuel and I had fun in the sun, but boy was it hot! I took him around 9 or 10 each morning and stayed for about an hour since I am super careful not to stay in the sun too long. After my dad having melanoma when he was in his early 30s and then watching my mom have several skin cancer surgeries, I have decided to lather up the sun screen when we do go out and try to avoid the sun between 10AM and 3PM. One day I was out past 10AM, but I normally don't do that. I know some of you probably think I'm over cautious, but I am determined not to end up under the knife nor do I want that future for my children. Did you know that teenage cases of melanoma are higher than ever? The sun is a scary thing...

Not only did Samuel have fun in the sun, but he also enjoyed the company of Lane Harrell, the 7-year-old daughter of the contractor for whom Jeremy works. Lane entertained Samuel on many occasions and loved on him! Thank you, Lane! I know Samuel is looking forward to seeing her again, which should be soon since they live 3 doors down from us.

It was so nice to be at the beach with other people and have a chance to get to know them more. We spent time with Daniel, his wife Merritt, Merritt's family, and Daniel's parents. Also, Spencer was there working with Jeremy. It was a lot of fun!

We also had a chance to visit a church while we were there. We picked Pawleys Island Community Church because Jeremy had seen it and I was pleased by their website. I had a chance to look at it before we left. (While we were gone, we had no internet access.) It was surprising though that I didn't know any of the worship songs. I was shocked since I've been singing forever and listening to music constantly. Their pastor is also the worship leader. I started to wonder if he wrote the songs. Who knows??? Anyway, they are doing a sermon series on the Fruits of the Spirit and this one was on Self Control. Pretty convicting... Samuel did cry when we left him in the nursery, but he must have stopped quickly because they didn't page us, and he seemed to be content when we went to get him. They said that he did really well. Good job, Samuel!

Jeremy should be here in an hour or so, so I should get going. I will post pictures and videos soon.

Blessings,
Marianna