You could say it's one of our most favorite places on earth...Fort Morgan, AL--Martinique. The Bon Secour Refuge, the physical place our bodies can seek refuge from the daily grind. We started going to Martinique AKA "the beach house" when John Owen was 6 months old! I think the only year we missed going was in 2006 while we were building our house. This place is like home to us. It's 8 hours away, but the journey is nothing compared to the great memories we have there!
Jan and I are training (again) for the St. Jude marathon, and we didn't want to miss our 1st 10 miler at Shelby Forest on the Sunday before fall break. Mimi and Daddy Nick graciously offered to let the children ride down to the beach with them on Saturday, so they actually ended up with one more beach day than we did! :)
We ran our miles on Sunday morning and then hit the road headed south to Fort Morgan! Stiff legs and all, we made it just in time to put our feet in the sand, ocean water. and HOT TUB before the sun set! Praise!
It was a week of REST, fun, and quality time together! My heart soars thinking about the times we've spent here as the kids have grown! It's where John Owen first put his feet in the sand and ocean. It's where we brought Jonah when he was only 2 months old. It was where we announced that Mary Claire was "on the way" to our parents and the boys. So many memories...
Of course there's special places we like to eat seafood here.--Doc's, Cafe Gratzi, and Flippers are 3 of our favorites. Most nights we are content with staying in and cooking, but we try to hit our favorites during the week, too. After all, mom and Mimi need a little vaca from cooking all the time, too, right?!
Here's some pictures from our trip:
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| Silly Jonah enjoying the ride to the beach! |
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| Our big boy riding up front on the journey! |
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| Finally...feet in the sand and water! |
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| Wearing his shirt due to a little bit of a sunburn, but nothing can stop this busy guy from digging himself in. |
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| Jonah and I built a "kingdom" with a moat and mountain range to protect it firm the sea. ;) | |
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| Ta-Da! Proud of his project. |
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| This little cutie loved being under the umbrella! And sipping on her Dr. Pepper... |
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| THE HANDSOME JAN HENSLEY :) |
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| Boys loved beach football! I played, too. Until I pulled some kind of muscle in my backside. Note to self: You are getting old and muscles don't work like they used to. |
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| Jonah |
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| John Owen |
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| Jonah found this tiny turtle at the house. I took a picture of it next to this quarter to show the tiny size of it! AMAZING! |
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| I wish I had gotten a picture of it stretching its neck out...Boy, did it have a long neck! We think it was a snapping turtle because it kept trying to open it's tiny mouth and BITE Jonah! |
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God is good, and we thank Him for giving us a wonderful week at the beach together! It is nice to have Fort Morgan to go to when we need rest from work and school, but more than a physical place to seek refuge, it is my hope that we never forget where true refuge is found. And that refuge is in God..."This I declare about the LORD: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; He is my God, and I trust Him."
