We just got back from a little Spring Break jaunt and for this trip, we executed attempt #2 at a Florida Nature Coast excursion. Below are the details of our trip and recommendations if you want to take your own!
I'm a huge fan of airbnb and I rely HEAVILY on reviews. The property that fit our budget best and seemed to be in the best area was one that, at the time of booking, had NO reviews because it was brand new. However, we decided to take a risk and book it anyway and MAN ARE WE GLAD WE DID! I cannot more highly recommend a place than I can this one. Blaine's place in Homosassa {link here} was absolutely phenomenal. It had room for up to 9 (and we had 8, so perfect), was sparkling clean, was newly renovated, had tvs upstairs and downstairs, lots of games and activities, a beautiful deck, the most comfortable beds, and an awesome deck with kayaks and fishing poles for your use! It had a huge yard and was located on a river, plus was incredibly convenient to everything in town. You will NOT be disappointed with this booking!
We left early Monday morning and drove down to Florida, arriving at our house around 5 PM. We unloaded and settled in, enjoyed the dock for a while, then headed out to walmart to get some needed snack foods. We called pizzas in to Pizza Hutt while at walmart and picked them up on the way home, then enjoyed our dinner in the nice dining and kitchen area of our airbnb.
Tuesday morning, we had our manatee swim booked and needed to be there at 7:00. It was about 15-20 min away in Crystal River. I did a lot of research on the various companies and settled on River Ventures and I am glad that we did. Apparently, even though we went during what is considered "manatee season", the warmer temps the last few years have made March less of "manatee season" than what it once was. Therefore, instead of getting to swim in the springs with them, we had to go out into King's Bay and look for them there. We did find four to swim with, but the water was very murky and so now I want to go back and do it in clear water with lots of them. :) Even still, our guides were fabulous, looking for them and keeping them entertained for us to swim with them. This company is incredible! (I also had just googled promo codes and found one to get a percentage off when I booked.)
After we did our swim, we ran back to our house to change, then grabbed lunch at The Shed. It was basically a food truck with a tiki roof over a bunch of picnic tables on the river, but it was really very good and fast. I felt like it was a little pricey, but not too bad.
Our next stop was to River Ventures's sister location, River Safaris in Homosassa, where we had an airboat tour booked for the afternoon. This was awesome because I had gotten a Groupon for these tours and we had thought we were going to have to take turns in groups of 4 going on this trip. However, when I called to book, they told me they could get another captain and his boat in and we could all go at the same time, which was perfect! The ride was the favorite activity of some of the kids (even better than the manatees, which makes me sad). We did go by Monkey Island, which was really cool too.
That first day was Francisco's bday, so we wanted to go somewhere cool for dinner that night. We settled on Crumps Landing. This ended up being a poor choice. :) It was on the river and had lots of activities, a beautiful view, and riverfront dining. The other thing it had was a wait of 1 hour and 35 minutes for our food when there was literally NO ONE there. Then, when our food DID come, Francisco's wasn't there. {eye roll} They did give him a free dessert and SAID they were taking a percentage off his meal, but I didn't even check, we were so eager to get out of there.
The following morning, we got up and headed to Ellie Schiller State Park, which was just about 5 minutes from our house. I had heard lots of good things about it and it was really a delightful way to spend a couple of hours. We are fans of animals, so this was cool. We did not do the boat ride due to time, but I wish we had time to do it. They had given us a 20% off coupon at River Ventures for this, so that was much appreciated.
Our plan after Ellie Schiller was to head south looking for sand and sun. We had considered stopping at Tarpon Springs to see the sponge boats and then going on to Honeymoon Island. Instead, we headed to Tarpon Springs and randomly picked a lunch spot (Tarpon Turtle Grill and Marina). The food was SO GOOD and the environment (on the water again) was awesome.
From there, we headed across to Sunset Beach, not sure what we would find, and we LOVED it. It wasn't too crowded and it was such a beautiful and nice public beach. The water was cold, no waves, and the sand was nice. We spent several hours there and got our fill of beach till summer.
After our stay at Sunset Beach, we drove on to the downtown sponge dock area of Tarpon Springs and spent some time strolling around (by then it was around 5:30), shopping, and sightseeing. We found a place to park for $3, which was much better than the $8 lot we first found. Tarpon Springs is a nice little Greek town, small but lots to see and enjoy. We were given a menu on the street, so we decided to have a Greek dinner at Mama's and we were not disappointed. It was really good food, great service, and a nice open air dinner.
By that time, the sun was setting on our last day in Florida, so we ambled back to the car (saw a great Greek pastry shop but were too full to indulge) and headed back to our house in Homosassa.
We left early this morning to head back, loaded up with fabulous memories of an awesome trip! I highly recommend this one!
Thursday, March 14, 2019
Sunday, March 10, 2019
Called
There are some things about Christian living that I'm not 100% sure about. There are some parts of the Bible I don't fully understand. There are some things I cannot explain the how or the why, but I know that I believe them and do them.
Cambodia is a place that, when the opportunity first arose for me to travel there on a mission trip, I have to be honest... I had to look it up on a map. I'm embarrassed to say that (I must have missed world geography somehow), but it's true. However, the way everything fell into place for me to travel there the first time in 2013 made it very clear that the Lord was calling the shots, not me. I returned home with a deep love for that country, a solidified love for PCL, a firm understanding of and belief in sustainable ministry, and a passion for the people I had met there. The following summer, we had the opportunity to return, and Kraig and Emma joined me on that trip. It was incredible for my daughter to have a chance to see the things I had seen the summer before and develop her own passion for Cambodia and its people. The next opportunity to return didn't come along until 2016, two years later, and that year Kraig, Kelsey, and I all three went. Same thing, a blessing for Kelsey to get to know and love that corner of the world. And my, did she. After that trip, we all (not just our family, but our mission group at church) knew that it was our last trip to Cambodia. The ministries there have taken off and are exploding with growth. The headquarters of PCL moved to another state. Our connection to Cambodia remained through supporting one of the missionaries there, Isaac, praying always for the people, the ministry, and the country, and maintaining social media contact with the many friends we made in our time there.
When our new kids came home and asked questions about the photos on our living room wall, the ornament from Siem Reap, the various things in our house that pay homage to that country of our heart, we said to each other that we wish they had had a chance to meet everyone, but we knew that season was past.
And then.
In discussions with the head of the ministry there in-country, our missions pastor was asked if there was a way we could bring a group back one more time to do some children's ministry training. Everything started to come together for a 2019 trip, 3 years after our last one and 6 years after my first. As desperately as we wanted our entire family of 7 to travel there, we knew that it was impractical and so we settled on Kraig, Emma, and Roman. Our logic was that Kraig doesn't have entirely open summers every year (whereas I do), so it made sense for him to go since the timing worked out, and Roman and Emma are the oldest and will have fewer chances than the younger two. (Francisco was out of the equation altogether due to his lack of citizenship-- more on that in a minute.) We knew it would be a devastating blow to Kelsey because she has begged to go back since we stepped on the plane to come home, but we felt like this was the best possible decision. At $1800 per person, it was going to be a challenge to raise funds for 3.
As the months went by, various things happened and hiccups came along. A few members of the team had to drop out of the trip. Separately, Kraig and I were both feeling like all six of us were being called to go. Finally, Kraig brought it up to me. I told him I had been feeling the same way, but our hesitations were the funding (now $1800 times SIX) and how Francisco would feel being left at home while ALL of us went. We both prayed some more about it and both came back with a certainty that this was what the Lord would have us do.
The first hurdle was breaking the news to Francisco. We decided to talk to him individually and also to tell Angela and Kelsey privately, so that he wouldn't have to watch their excitement. Wow, did we underestimate him. I talked to him one afternoon when we were alone in the car, and before I could finish saying, "So some people aren't able to go, and they need a few more people--" he said, "Mom. Y'all should go." I told him that is what we had decided to do, and I was so sorry he couldn't join us, and that as soon as he had a passport, I would take him wherever he wanted to go. He said, "I think the mission field the Lord has for me right now is in the United States." He THEN said, "Kelsey is going to be SO EXCITED!!!" I said I knew she was, we rode along a few more miles, and he got really quiet. I figured that it was sinking in, was feeling really bad for him, and then he said, "MOM. CAN I BE THE ONE WHO TELLS THEM THEY ARE GOING?????" Jaw drop. Who IS this kid? I would have been pouting, railing at the injustice of the immigration system, simmering in my heart that my parents liked everyone else better than me, building up resentment like it was my JOB. Not Francisco. Just ready to share the joy. Man.
The next hurdle is the funding. As it stands right now, we are 1/3 funded for all six people. Our Cottage Christmas Market was tremendous, we have had a few donations, our pizza sauce sales went well, Tricia Sherlin's awesome Trades of Hope fundraiser was fantastic, the Valentine's Parent Night Out was STUPENDOUS. We are currently selling salsa, Hometown Cleveland tees, date boxes, and running an Egg My Yard Easter fundraiser, and all are going well. We have a few more that we are almost ready to launch (and they are AWESOME), and then I have a few others up my sleeve. I have zero doubt that the Lord will provide because He ALWAYS HAS. He has proven over and over that if He calls you to it, He provides a way to do it. Raising $50,000+ in 9 months for an adoption is just one way He has recently shown that.
There are so many reasons that I want my family to go on this trip, the primary one being that I am certain the Lord wants six of us on this trip and that's enough for me. But the provision is a huge one. Emma and Kelsey have seen Him raise funds for trips in the past and they were both here to see what He did through our adoption, but Roman, Angela, and Francisco have not been present to watch God bring in dollar after dollar after dollar until it's finally the total needed. They haven't gotten to feel the exhausted satisfaction of working like crazy on fundraisers and seeing the bar on our faith chart lift higher and higher. It's life-giving and faith-increasing to ME, a 41 year old who has seen it over and over, to watch this happen. How much more so is it building a solid foundation of trust in Him for my kids to see it at 13, 14, 15, 15, and 19???
Called. He has so many reasons for it, so many ways to show it, but that's all it boils down to. We are called. And when you are called, you go. Period.
But there are other things that I believe are clear as can be, things I have never stopped to consider "should I or shouldn't I" because the call is present in His word over and over and over. A few of those things, though certainly not an exhaustive list, can be collected together as follows:
1. Love. Love Jesus, love His people.
2. Serve. Serve Jesus, serve His people.
3. Give. Give to Jesus, give to His people.
It is those three callings that have guided my life. They are how I was raised, they led me to a profession, they formed the foundation of my marriage, they shaped my family life, they govern over our financial decisions and our family business, they grew our family from four to seven, and they are what I hope to spend the second half of my life working toward because I believe that my eternity will be spent seeing the big picture of why those calls exist.
One area that I know we have been called into is the area of missions. Missions takes on a lot of different forms... it can be (and is) serving the community of your town, it can be (and is) helping students in my classroom when there is a need, it can be (and is) working Royal Family Kids' Ministries with our church, it can be (and is) traveling to Cambodia (or wherever else the Lord calls) to work with an incredible ministry that already exists as God' hands and feet there, it can be (and is) volunteering with various organizations in America and around the world that are doing incredible work, it can be (and is) supporting other adoptive families financially.
Sometimes people get really prickly about mission work (much like they do about international versus domestic infant versus domestic foster-adopt adoptions). They say things like, "Why go over there and do that when people right here need you?"
Here's the thing: I agree. If you're gallivanting about the world and would never lift a hand for anyone in your own community or country... I'm not certain you're living a true life of mission.
But here's the other thing: I don't know anyone that description fits. The people I know who are raising funds to travel overseas are also the ones working with the homeless community here. The ones I know who are going to Mexico on a mission trip are the same ones who are serving at Royal Family Kids' Camp in Mentone, Alabama.
Cambodia is a place that, when the opportunity first arose for me to travel there on a mission trip, I have to be honest... I had to look it up on a map. I'm embarrassed to say that (I must have missed world geography somehow), but it's true. However, the way everything fell into place for me to travel there the first time in 2013 made it very clear that the Lord was calling the shots, not me. I returned home with a deep love for that country, a solidified love for PCL, a firm understanding of and belief in sustainable ministry, and a passion for the people I had met there. The following summer, we had the opportunity to return, and Kraig and Emma joined me on that trip. It was incredible for my daughter to have a chance to see the things I had seen the summer before and develop her own passion for Cambodia and its people. The next opportunity to return didn't come along until 2016, two years later, and that year Kraig, Kelsey, and I all three went. Same thing, a blessing for Kelsey to get to know and love that corner of the world. And my, did she. After that trip, we all (not just our family, but our mission group at church) knew that it was our last trip to Cambodia. The ministries there have taken off and are exploding with growth. The headquarters of PCL moved to another state. Our connection to Cambodia remained through supporting one of the missionaries there, Isaac, praying always for the people, the ministry, and the country, and maintaining social media contact with the many friends we made in our time there.
When our new kids came home and asked questions about the photos on our living room wall, the ornament from Siem Reap, the various things in our house that pay homage to that country of our heart, we said to each other that we wish they had had a chance to meet everyone, but we knew that season was past.
And then.
In discussions with the head of the ministry there in-country, our missions pastor was asked if there was a way we could bring a group back one more time to do some children's ministry training. Everything started to come together for a 2019 trip, 3 years after our last one and 6 years after my first. As desperately as we wanted our entire family of 7 to travel there, we knew that it was impractical and so we settled on Kraig, Emma, and Roman. Our logic was that Kraig doesn't have entirely open summers every year (whereas I do), so it made sense for him to go since the timing worked out, and Roman and Emma are the oldest and will have fewer chances than the younger two. (Francisco was out of the equation altogether due to his lack of citizenship-- more on that in a minute.) We knew it would be a devastating blow to Kelsey because she has begged to go back since we stepped on the plane to come home, but we felt like this was the best possible decision. At $1800 per person, it was going to be a challenge to raise funds for 3.
As the months went by, various things happened and hiccups came along. A few members of the team had to drop out of the trip. Separately, Kraig and I were both feeling like all six of us were being called to go. Finally, Kraig brought it up to me. I told him I had been feeling the same way, but our hesitations were the funding (now $1800 times SIX) and how Francisco would feel being left at home while ALL of us went. We both prayed some more about it and both came back with a certainty that this was what the Lord would have us do.
The first hurdle was breaking the news to Francisco. We decided to talk to him individually and also to tell Angela and Kelsey privately, so that he wouldn't have to watch their excitement. Wow, did we underestimate him. I talked to him one afternoon when we were alone in the car, and before I could finish saying, "So some people aren't able to go, and they need a few more people--" he said, "Mom. Y'all should go." I told him that is what we had decided to do, and I was so sorry he couldn't join us, and that as soon as he had a passport, I would take him wherever he wanted to go. He said, "I think the mission field the Lord has for me right now is in the United States." He THEN said, "Kelsey is going to be SO EXCITED!!!" I said I knew she was, we rode along a few more miles, and he got really quiet. I figured that it was sinking in, was feeling really bad for him, and then he said, "MOM. CAN I BE THE ONE WHO TELLS THEM THEY ARE GOING?????" Jaw drop. Who IS this kid? I would have been pouting, railing at the injustice of the immigration system, simmering in my heart that my parents liked everyone else better than me, building up resentment like it was my JOB. Not Francisco. Just ready to share the joy. Man.
The next hurdle is the funding. As it stands right now, we are 1/3 funded for all six people. Our Cottage Christmas Market was tremendous, we have had a few donations, our pizza sauce sales went well, Tricia Sherlin's awesome Trades of Hope fundraiser was fantastic, the Valentine's Parent Night Out was STUPENDOUS. We are currently selling salsa, Hometown Cleveland tees, date boxes, and running an Egg My Yard Easter fundraiser, and all are going well. We have a few more that we are almost ready to launch (and they are AWESOME), and then I have a few others up my sleeve. I have zero doubt that the Lord will provide because He ALWAYS HAS. He has proven over and over that if He calls you to it, He provides a way to do it. Raising $50,000+ in 9 months for an adoption is just one way He has recently shown that.
There are so many reasons that I want my family to go on this trip, the primary one being that I am certain the Lord wants six of us on this trip and that's enough for me. But the provision is a huge one. Emma and Kelsey have seen Him raise funds for trips in the past and they were both here to see what He did through our adoption, but Roman, Angela, and Francisco have not been present to watch God bring in dollar after dollar after dollar until it's finally the total needed. They haven't gotten to feel the exhausted satisfaction of working like crazy on fundraisers and seeing the bar on our faith chart lift higher and higher. It's life-giving and faith-increasing to ME, a 41 year old who has seen it over and over, to watch this happen. How much more so is it building a solid foundation of trust in Him for my kids to see it at 13, 14, 15, 15, and 19???
Called. He has so many reasons for it, so many ways to show it, but that's all it boils down to. We are called. And when you are called, you go. Period.
