Texas "T"

"Oil is expected on the beaches of Destin within the next 72 hours" -City of Destin

This is the email alert we received while playing on the beach with our kids today. My heart sank in my chest.

I began to pray for a miracle. "Lord please protect these beautiful beaches. You are sovereign and mighty to turn all of this around if it is your will. Show us your Glory."

My husband and I both became solemn. Neither of us could find the words really. We didn't have to. I knew he was thinking the same thing that I was.

All these years. Six to be exact. All the memories. From sand covered pacifiers and pack -n- plays to boogie boards and temporary tattoos. From diapers to texting.

Year after year our kids have grown up here and we have made some of the most wonderful memories as a family on these sugary white beaches.

Now they face such uncertainty.

Such devastation.

I won't even burden you with my thoughts on this disaster. It all just seems like a lot of pointing of fingers and no solutions to me at this point anyway. I'm sure we all feel the same helpless/frustrated/ticked off feelings. Ranting on here won't change anything. There will still be gallons upon gallons of oil being pumped into the ocean every day with no end in sight. That's the reality. That's the reality of the marine life and human life along the shores of the Gulf. I will leave here this weekend and go back to life as usual. They will not be as fortunate. And my heart is genuinely broken for them tonight. I pray that somehow they will know that God is still in control and take refuge in that truth.

Tomorrow is our last full day here.

And we will treat it as though it may be our last.

For a while at least.

We plan to soak up the sun.

The laughter.

The memories.

The coconut cream pie.

And continue pray.

"My every mortal breath, is Grace and nothing less"

Ode to The Donut Hole

I love you Donut Hole.

So much it hurts.

My waistline especially.

You ought to be against the law I tell ya.

I have been to see you every day of this vacation and my husband and children are beginning to think I may have a problem.

"Donut Hole" this....

And "Donut Hole" that...

My husband even heard me say your name in my sleep.

Yeah...not cool.

He says this is getting out of hand.

Therefore you should be banned.

Doors shut.

Neon light... unplugged.

You see, the temptation to sit around your counter and fixate on historical pictures of beautiful Destin hundreds of years ago...

Sip coffee Juan Valdez himself would envy...

Or the frothiest hot cocoa mankind could ever lay lips on...

Make my family sit in your turquoise chairs just so I can crank up "cyan" in Photoshop...

Or stick my fork into your divine coconut cream pie that I swear was shipped straight from my Grandma Margaret's oven in Heaven...

Well, it is just too much burden for one carb craving gal to bear.

I'm gonna quit you Donut Hole...

I mean it!

Just as soon as I leave Destin.

"My every mortal breath, is Grace and nothing less"