Tori's purse...

Today I was cleaning up a little after Tori went to bed and I found a bag with some odd things in it... This must be Tori's idea of packing her purse. Haha Adam and I had a good laugh over this cuteness...

A cup full of Juice, her play cell phone holder, one flip-flop, the tie to my bathing suit, the keys to our china cabinet, and her bathing suit bottoms... Sounds just about right

Oil Spill Clean up here in Fort Walton

Nearly 1,500 jobless workers had been hired to help cleaning up the beaches here in Florida. I've been doing so research on these workers and it's intreresting to read!! Here's a few inserts from the article I read...

-"The work is grueling and physical. Cleanup workers take on 12-hour shifts, either in the oppressively hot days or the cooler nights, clad in long pants and sneakers or steel-toed boots covered in yellow plastic that workers call ``chicken feet.''

-Some beachgoers have complained that workers spend too much time resting under blue tents along the beach and not enough time clearing the shoreline, but BP contractors say they follow federal regulations on how long workers can be exposed to the sun.

During the day, the heat index regularly climbs over 100 degrees, sometimes forcing workers to ``go black'' and only work for, say, 15 minutes at a time before taking a longer break to avoid overheating." 

We were wondering why they sat under tents more than they worked!! Turns out there was a good reason!! Also they can't work as well at night because they can't see the tarballs as well.

"A spotter looks for turtles and monitors worker safety. The crews wear fluorescent vests over T-shirts of different colors that mark their position and how many hours of training they've had: green for 8 hours, orange for 24 and white for 40."

We have seen all 3 colors out here working this week!

"Workers have to be careful not to scoop too much sand into six-millimeter-thick plastic bags known as drum liners that they fill up to 20 pounds and then seal off with duct tape. Inside the plastic bags, the mix of sand and oil resembles chocolate-chip cookie dough.

The bags are put in neat piles on the beach and eventually make it into a heavy-duty bin or rolloff truck. Some are carted to Alabama to be incinerated. Other waste is sent to the Springhill landfill in Campbellton, Fla., about 85 miles northwest of Tallahassee."

I was glad to see this because I had wondered where they were taking it.

Also BP is the one hiring all of these people to do this work. (At least they are doing something??) They have also hired many of the fishermen who are out of a job this year to take their boats back and forth across the water looking for oil. 

During our few days here we have seen clean-up crews working round-the-clock, and boats moving back and forth across the ocean... It's a beautiful effort, though it's sad that it is needed. The oil here is not devastating, it's just these tiny rock looking balls that feel like play-dough and stain your fingers and clothes if you touch them. They wash up on the shore with the sea-weed, and sea-shells and the workers are out cleaning it up as early as they can get out there. They have 2 buckets at the exit of the beach to wash off your feet in case you got oil on them. 

2 days ago my daddy got out there and helped the cleaners a bit. (No training necessary for Randy Pierson, haha) I got a couple of pictures, and educated myself on this little bit of history I am living through... Praying for the officials, our president, and everyone involved in making the important decisions surrounding this oil spill. We don't want this to happen again!!!

Daddy, and the clean-up crew he was working with, they weren't wearing their vests, but they had those yellow "chicken feet"

Net full of Tarballs

He was working so hard :)

Close up on the pieces we have been finding here on the beach

Beach Day 1!

First day at the beach! Tori had a blast...

Better than a Hallelujah...

I am loving this song by Amy Grant this week. Adam's Grandpa died suddenly early Thursday morning. Within 1 week he was diagnosed with cancer, and just got sicker and sicker, until around 3:25am Thursday morning when God called him home. It was quick, and so unexpected. Grandpa Beck was a wonderful man. He was kind and treated me like family from the first time I met him. He was always laughing, and always trying to find a way to make his great grandbabies laugh too! Adam has been heart-broken. We knew it was bad Wednesday morning when they found what looked like a blood clot in his heart, so we packed up and left to drive all night to Ohio, so we could say our goodbyes. We got the call at 3:54am that we were too late. There is no preparing you for the pain and heartache of losing someone you love, and not getting to say goodbye. It was a crazy 5 days of hugs, crying, confusion, and love as this family tried to put the pieces back together and figure out what was next. As I watched the 6 adult grandkids stand up at the funeral and say what he meant to them I was pulled to tears for how proud of him they were, and how sad that he was gone. He was surely a man of integrity and he is sorely missed. This has been a reminder to us to "live like we are dying." I miss Grandpa Beck for sure, but not nearly as much as Adam, and his family. Adam is taking it one step at a time, and the pain is still so fresh that he just isn't sure what to do. I'm praying for clarity, strength, and most of all comfort for him and the whole family... During this time ,this song has been my anthem, because all my prayers this week have been for this precious family, and for all they are going through... To Adam's family: I love you all!!  To everyone else: Say a little prayer for this family tonight!!


God loves a lulluby
In a mother's tears at night
Better than a Hallelujah sometimes

God love the drunkard's cry
The soldier's plea not to let him die
Better than a Hallelujah sometimes
We pour out our miseries
God just hears a melody
Beautiful, the mess we are
The honest cries of breaking hearts
Are better than a Hallelujah

The woman holding on for life
The dying man giving up the fight
Are better than a Hallelujah sometimes

The tears of shame for what's been done
The silence when the words won't come
Are better than a Hallelujah sometimes

We pour out our miseries
God just hears a melody
Beautiful the mess we are
The honest cries of breaking hearts
Are better than a Hallelujah

Better than a church bell ringing
Better than a choir singing out, singing out

We pour out out miseries
God just hears a melody
Beautiful, the mess we are
The honest cries of breaking hearts
Are better than a Hallelujah

3 years ago...

Tomorrow is mine and Adam's 3 year anniversary. It's amazing to look back at the past 3 years and what a whirlwind it has been. All I know is there is no other person in the universe I would rather take this journey with. I love you Adam!!!! Forever and Always!

Newspaper is a fun toy...

Tori found the Sunday paper just as I was about to throw it away. What was going on in her little head, I will never know, but she carefully unfolded each and every piece of that paper and put them all in a spot on the floor, and then said "Now Mommy don't touch my papers!!" She then settled into the recliner with one piece of the paper and pretended to read it for a good 2 minutes,(Looong time for MY 2 year old!!) laughing too hard to scold her for telling Mommy what to do, I snapped some pictures... I love this adorable little girl!!

Silliness!!!!! 

Tori acting silly...

Today we were playing a game, I would run and hide and when Tori found me I took her picture, It made for a fun game and some cute pictures :)