Waterfront....

Remember my pictures of Ariel and the tourists? Those were taken around this area in Norfolk:
We did not go in the museum or any of the exhibits, but I did get some pictures. I have every intention of returning to visit at some point, so I was willing to save some adventures for the next time around. :)

Remember how I said there were lots of Ariels around the city? Here's another one. I especially enjoyed her flower in her lil belly button. :)

The Battleship Wisconsin...now that's a big ole boat!

That last picture was only one little part of the boat. Here's another:

No trip to the waterfront is complete without an anchor!

There were ships everywhere!

We walked around for a while, and then we decided to do one of my favorite things of the whole trip: a ferry ride!!

Here's our ferry, pulling right up for us to hop on board! (We weren't really hopping at that point. The sunburns had already entered the "significant" stage.)

Sun-kissed Bekah - happily aboard the ferry!

The ferry took us across the Elizabeth River to Portsmouth. There, we had the opportunity to see a lady chasing an injured Mallard duck through a street, randomly shouting at traffic and passers-by, "It's okay! I called PETA! They're on their way!" Oh if only I could have taken a picture of that!

We ate dinner and headed back on the ferry. By that time it was almost dark, so the sights were even better.

Goodbye sweet waterfront!

I was burned to a crisp and tired from a long day, but I did so love my trip to the waterfront. I loved the ferry ride. Certainly the beach is still the calming place to be, but what a great experience to be able to walk around this area and enjoy a slice of life I don't often see! (And by often, I mean ever.)

Bekah's Just a Goofy Big Kid

My vacation to Virginia Beach was carefully scheduled around my birthday. I became another year older and wiser while taking in new sights. OR NOT. I mean, I did become another year older. Not sure that I matured in any way. And in celebration of my big kid-ness, I bring you the following pictures.

After Lynnette and I spent a few hours on the beach, we packed up all our stuff and went to find some lunch. Then we walked down a good portion of the Boardwalk, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Along the way, we found this shell, which I thought would be the perfect photo to end a scrapbook page of shell pictures I'd taken during shell collection time. So I posed and Lynnette took this picture:
I'd seen the guy walking toward the other side of the shell as we set up our pose, but not until Lynnette cracked up did I know where he went. I decided to caption this picture, "I wanted to bring this home for my shell collection, but realized it exceeded the remaining 12.5 pound weight limit in my suitcase. Too bad I didn't figure that out before I fought the guy on the left for it!"


Another sight on the boardwalk was this guy. I think she said his name was Neptune?

I thought he looked like King Triton from the Little Mermaid. My sister thinks he looks like Rupert from Survivor. Both, I think, are more fun than Neptune. So I've named him Rupert Triton.

And of course - where there's a Triton, there must be an Ariel! There were actually a number of Ariels around the city, but this one was taken in Norfolk. Mark and Lynnette took me down to the waterfront (more on that later) Sunday evening.

And this was my favorite statue of the trip. This was also on the waterfront, appropriately located in front of Hooters. (If you could see the lady from the side, you could better appreciate JUST how appropriate that location was!)

It was accompanied by this sign:

Glad I made it there before the loan ran out!

And Now, to the Good Stuff

My vacation posts are very random. Not all neatly organized like my trip to Hershey last year. But that's okay. Trying a new way is fun too.

Thought I would go ahead and skip to the best part - which was where I actually met the ocean for the first time in my life. Y'all have no idea how excited I was about this. I've had a lot of people tell me they can't imagine not having seen the ocean on a regular basis. Probably equates to how I can't imagine not seeing corn fields on a regular basis. :)

I got to see the ocean on my actual birthday. Lynnette and I drove down to the Boardwalk and when we walked from the parking garage toward the beach, I saw this beautiful sight peeking out between two hotels:

I was such an embarrassing sight, hurrying toward the beach, camera poised. I was a true tourist and I did not even care. Took this right as I first stepped into the beach sand and felt it squishing between my toes. EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

And then I handed the camera to Lynnette and just basked in the joy of it all. Here I am with the beautiful, beautiful beach...and the beautiful, beautiful ocean behind that. All joy!!

These pictures are my favorite, perhaps of the whole trip. Not necessarily my best side, but this was one of those moments that I savored so deeply that I can still remember every part of it - and I hope to never forget it.

Walking into that water for the first time and hearing those waves crash - was everything I thought it would be and more.

I loved sinking down into the sand and feeling the water splash up over me and then run back out into the ocean.

Huge life wish - accomplished!!

Definitely a wonderful birthday present. Definitely worth the sunburn that now itches like crazy and is starting to peel. :)

Bekah Buys a Boat

Now that I've been to the ocean, I think I should get a boat. After all, every good beach babe has a means of transportation, right?



Since I was out on the coast, I thought it was the best place to look for the state's best boat.



This was the first one I found:

But it brought back really bad vibes of my sixth grade field trip to Camp Tecumseh, when three of us had to get in a canoe with two seats. Yours truly got to sit on the bottom of the boat in the middle and ended up with a soaking wet hiney. Not much kills a fat sixth grader's self esteem faster than a wet hiney on an overnight field trip. So I ruled out this boat.





Then I found this one. Much newer, nicer paint job, and it came complete with its own sand! (And shovel, I might add!)



But boats are so much more fun when shared with friends, and seating on this one was just too limited, so I kept looking.

BINGO!!!!!!!!!

Now this, my friends, is a boat! Sign me up! And pay for it, too, while you're at it?

Birthday Bash on the Road!

Well, Tsofah knew I was up to something! :)

In honor of my birthday this year, I decided to do a destination birthday. Never before have I treated myself to such a gift!

So after getting up at 4:15 in the morning...

...and being dropped off at the curb for my first ever flight by myself...

...I found myself in the air!

...landed in Detroit....which was quite rainy, I might add.

...and then made one more little jaunt....

before arriving in...

VIRGINIA BEACH!

My best friend moved there a couple of years ago, and I'd not gone to visit her yet.

NOR....

...had I ever seen the ocean.

In my whole life.

All 32 years.

I know...it boggles the mind, but it's true!

So for the next few days, I'll let you take a peek at my vacation. :) But to fill you in on this first part, I'll tell you that I was most worried about navigating the airports on my own. I'd never been in any of the ones I went through this time. I didn't know where to find anything, but I figured it out pretty quickly. Must be smarter than I thought!

My favorite part of the trip was during my layover in Detroit. I (trying to look like a seasoned traveler) bought a chai and settled in with my book to read until it was time to board. A middle-aged man across from me asked if I minded if he shaved. And shave, he did. For about ten minutes, right there in the terminal.

I was very grateful for decent weather for my travel day. It did rain the whole day - at every destination - but we didn't have any weather delays to speak of, and the turbulence wasn't so bad.

Little Bit o Nature

What to do on a beautiful Sunday afternoon!?!

Well, I took in some of the sights. Little bit of nature. While I don't know that I'd ever classify myself as the "outdoorsy" type, I do appreciate things like this because they really help me to appreciate God's greatness!

Okay, so God wasn't responsible for the paved trail, but didn't He do a great job on the rest of the scenery?

My hiking shoes:

Sometimes it's beauty before comfort, y'all.

Or whatever the sunburn permits you to don.

All Grown Up...

Or something like that. :)

Here are a smattering of pictures from yesterday and today. Yesterday, on my birthday, I had the privilege of spending some quality time with this darling cutie-pie! This is Miss Belle. Isn't she cute? Reminds me of my chihuahua I had when I was a kid: Lassie.

The sunscreen was a FAIL. By gift time, I was lobsterish. Do you like how my arms actually look leprous?

So TODAY, I went shopping. Interesting the things you can find for sale. Never knew you could purchase your own knight in shining armor. Or three of them.

But THIS, my friends, was my all-time favorite. The intimate apparel table. I was too chicken to actually hold UP the underoos.....

But what do you think? Yes? No?? Before you make a hasty decision - do notice the price!!

So yeah, about that grown up thing. Maybe not. A kid at heart, I tell you. A very red kid at heart.

So Today Was My Birthday...

...and what a fun day it was! I will have to tell you all about it more when I'm awake. Apparently a curse of aging is the inability to stay awake past 11. Super!

But I'm thankful for amazing friends who made today one of my most memorable birthdays ever. Loved every, every second of it.

And for now...I say goodnight.

Things that Make Me Smile...

Y'all know I love flowers.

LOVE flowers.

So you will understand why these made me so happy....



PURPLE!!! Just for me.

No idea what these are called...but they are so cute!

Delicate and beautiful...

And of course, the best of all....roses.

Beautiful colors...

This one may be my favorite:

Or maybe it's this one...

These are the sorts of sights that remind me of God's greatness, His love of beauty, and His attention to detail. You go, God!

Birthday Parties and Biggest Losers

The picture above was taken at my birthday party at work today.

No, I didn't forget to post it.

There wasn't a picture.

Imagine, if you will, an avid scrapper, approaching her birthday. Ahhhh the joys of pictures to be snapped...pages to be created...

...and then the pictures are not snapped. Sadness, indeed. Nevertheless, there was a party at work. Good, good food was contributed. Four of us celebrated May birthdays. And I wore a lovely turquoise shirt, lavender eyeshadow, hot pink lipstick, and sported a decent hair day. It was good. Take my word for it. :)

I haven't really talked too much about the Biggest Loser this year. I haven't been all that into it. Case in point. After tonight's elimination, they'll be down to the final four and I just now learned that the pink shirt girl is Ashley. Woops.

Having said that, I am a pretty big fan of Daris. I think it's because he had David Phelps hair. Operative word? Had. They cut it all off during makeover week. I was so sad. But I really do like Daris. I think he should win.

And while I've not been on campus (that campus, anyway), I have to say that there's been some Biggest Losering going on in Bekahland! My mom said tonight, "Do any of your pants fit anymore?" The answer? No. So far, thankfully, none of them have fallen clean off my body. Once, I put my cell phone in my pocket and thought the pants were goners, but they stayed on. Everyone praised the Lord for that.

So I count it a blessing to be headed into birthday week the thinnest I've been since college!!

Happy Mother's Day/Happy Early Birthday!

This is not one of the years my birthday falls on Mother's Day, but I was born on Mother's Day. Rather than making Mom labor this year, I thought I'd get her some flowers. :) I'm sure she appreciated the trade-off.

Since Mom and Dad won't see me on my birthday, we celebrated it today. My birthday "party" often falls on the same day as the Mother's Day celebration.

Clothes shopping, here I come! So excited about that!

And a couple new garden flags. That is good, considering the one I have out right now has a giant hole in it and keeps getting caught on the pole!

Please oh please don't make me be one again. I'm not sure I could live this whole life over again!

Making a wish. Not as effective as a prayer. Oh how I hope my prayers are heard, though!

Mom 'n me. :)

I am very thankful for my Mom. We've developed a good friendship in the years since I grew up...but just in these last few weeks especially, I've been extra grateful for her support and love.

Birthdays and Side Careers...

Braeya Jo Jo had a birthday this week and I'm JUST NOW getting around to uploading pictures of it. :(

Surprisingly, Kaegan wanted to share in her birthday treat. As you can see - she wasn't too sure about that.

But eventually, in true Braeya fashion, she chased him off and cleaned it up herself.

Thoughts on being four?

Today was a new adventure for me. Always a new adventure in Bekahland. I have a good friend, named Olivia, that I've been mentoring and meeting with since she was just starting to drive. This past weekend, she graduated from college, one of three valedictorians. I am so proud of her! Anyway, Olivia has a younger sister, named Payge, who is (at this very moment) enjoying prom.

Last week, she called to see if I would do her makeup for prom. My reaction? WHAT did you say??? Indeed, she did say makeup.

People, keep in mind that the only makeup I've ever done - other than my own attempts each day - was for the Marion Easter Pageant back in the day. It's one thing to put makeup on a person that won't be seen at a distance closer than 30 feet. It's quite another to do prom makeup.

Oh the pressure! Immortalized in pictures....

I did a trial run a couple of nights ago. Payge is 18. I didn't even wear makeup at 18. I sure didn't go to prom. I was scared to death of what this sweet girl might look like. And after the trial run, I realized I had good reason to be scared. Heaven help us all. Especially Payge.

But today....oh sweet today:

Gorgeous!! I was very happy with the way it turned out, and Payge was, too. Her Mom didn't throw me out for making her look anything other than what she is...and Olivia called me later to assure me my efforts had been good.

WHEW.

So you know...if you have a prom coming up....

I Didn't Fall Off the Planet

I just realized I haven't posted since Monday. I've been on the blog every day. I've read other blogs. I just haven't so much posted. Too much going on in my brain, I suppose. :)

God has been at work in me this week. Stretching me. Growing me. Challenging me. Asking hard things of me. Testing me. I welcome it. Even when it hurts.

I'm not really one to randomly let the Bible fall open and see what the page says. I remember an episode of Little House where such an action nearly led Caroline to cut off her leg. But last night, after a time of prayer, I did just that. Opened the Bible, looked down at the page, and saw these verses:

The desert and the parched land will be glad;
the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.
Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom;
it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy...
Strengthen the feeble hands,
steady the knees that give way;
say to those with fearful hearts,
'Be strong, do not fear;
your God will come,
he will come with a vengeance;
with divine retribution he will come to save you.
- Isaiah 35:1-2a, 3-4 -

So About the Tornado...

* Today is my sister's birthday. Happy birthday to you...happy birthday to you...happy BIRTHday, dear Lori...happy birthday to youuuuuuuuuu. This is a significant one. She probably didn't necessarily want that mentioned. So pretend I didn't say it.

* Today is Miss Braeya Jo Jo's birthday. She is four. She also will be enjoying a photo shoot - and by enjoying, I mean enduring - and a treat laden party later. She really will like that last part. Pictures to follow soon.

* Today is the third anniversary of the Greensburg tornado. The fact that I have mentioned that just ruined item number one for the birthday girl. It really isn't fun to share your birthday with a tornado anniversary. Especially the tornado that hit your own town. But to let the day go unmentioned doesn't work for me. It was one of those pivotal times in my life when I knew God was working big...behind the scenes.

***************

And in honor of that last part, I have to share with you these, my favorites, in a list from a Facebook group called "You Know You Grew Up in Tornado Alley if..."

These are funny to me because while I don't live in QUITE the tornado alley that Lori does, I have lived through an annoying amount of tornado scares - and a couple of real deals. So here are my faves from the list, and a smattering of editorial comments.

* The first thing you do if you hear tornado sirens during the day is check your watch to see if it's noon...or run outside to look. I have never lived in a siren-at-noon town, but I remember the first few times I went to visit Lori and Jeff, I nearly made a puddle when that blessed thing went off at noon.

* You watch the movie "Twister" just so you can point out all the inaccuracies in it. It might surprise you to know I actually like that movie. I'm petrified of real storms, but I do enjoy the fake ones. My favorites from the movie are the flying cow and truck. Another movie with a fantastic fakey tornado is "Where the Heart Is." I love how Natalie Portman stands outside the shelter and stares at it coming toward her.

* When you hear the tornado sirens go off, you go outside to watch the storm and take pictures. NOT FUNNY TO BEKAH. When the "tornado of 97" hit Greentown, where was Bekah? In the basement, clutching her Bible, listening to the Gaither Vocal Band sing "I Believe in a Hill Called Mount Calvary" and believing she was about to meet that hill in a moment. Where were her parents? In the yard watching the tornado.

* You complain about severe weather reports that interrupt the TV show you're watching. This really does get on my nerves - even if I'm in the affected area. Sometimes I want to forget there's a storm and their "We interrupt for just a minute" thing really starts to honk me off. Plus, central Indiana is a vast area. When my news station covers almost half the state, it's rare that all counties in its viewing area are actually affected by said storm. Got a storm? Turn to the storm station. That's my motto.

* You can get all your important possessions together in two minutes flat. I remember the "tornado of 97" and two minutes was about all the headway I had to get my possessions to the basement. Funny what you consider valuable in that moment! My collection was....interesting. Take a look:

* Bible. Duh. Everyone should pack that first.
* CD player with Vocal Band CD inside. If I'm losing my house, I need Mark Lowry's soothing voice to comfort me.
* Purse. Duh. ID?
* Journals. Don't need THAT blowing all over the county.
* My 3 collector dolls I owned. I figured if I lost everything, I'd have to sell them to start over. (I was nineteen. Like I had responsibility. Like 3 dolls would cover it.)
* End of story. That was when it hit.

God's Sense of Humor

So remember how yesterday I posted about God letting me know I need to work on fear?

He doesn't wait long to start on boot camp.

Had a beautiful day off work - spent most of the day outside enjoying the sunshine and blue skies. Came home, went for a walk, and literally the minute I walked in the door, the storm sirens went off.

Oh, did I mention I have a fear of storms?

Bits for Sunday, May 2

There’s something about asking God where you need to work on your life that proves to be both wonderful and dangerous all at the same time.

Today I spent some time in prayer, asking God what needed work in Bekahland. I have time before me that needs to be spent in prayer and preparation. I figured the best method was to ask His opinion.

He had one.

I scribbled in my prayer journal as fast as I could to keep up with the thoughts that came into my mind. Some were areas that I knew needed work, but I hoped if I ignored them, they might go away. They didn’t. Others were areas that were news to me. I guess I always viewed them as just part of who I am – not something that could be fixed, perhaps.

Oh, and guess when we get to start on this project?

Today.

When God goes to work, He goes to work big.

While I don’t particularly enjoy broadcasting my weaknesses, I will tell you that one area He said we get to work on is the area of fear.

I’ve struggled with fear since I was a kid. Very specific, very all-consuming fears that I won’t tell you about in great detail because it’s just far too embarrassing. And once I overcame one, another one would settle in, and until I’d really taken the time to think it over today, I had truly not realized how I have hopped from one fear to the next for the last…lifetime.

Some fears are legitimate. Some are completely irrational.

All are consuming.

And sometimes fear gives birth to fear.

That happened today. I was worrying about one fear when all of the sudden it gave way to a whole secondary fear and before I knew it, I was stressing out over both of them.

How do you get rid of it?

Clearly I’m not an expert. Clearly I’m adept at living in it but not breaking free from it.

So I asked. How do I get rid of it, God? How do I move away from it?

The answer?

Just do it.

You’re kidding me, right?

Apparently He’s not. Apparently (at least with my brand of fear), the answer is to just do it.

Today, that meant to stop pacing and praying about the fear and to instead, sit down and watch TV. Write Bits. Make sweet tea. Do things that don’t involve fear.

I’m not sure I should ask the “how” question to the rest of the things on the list. I might become dreadfully exhausted.