Topsail Island

July 28th-Aug 4th, we went on our annual beach trip with our family.  For the past few years, we have gone to Myrtle Beach, but this year we decided it was time to change it up a bit and go somewhere different.  So we packed up and headed to Topsail Island, NC.  Beth, a friend of the family, owns a house there and we rented it for the week (Thank you Beth).  It was a beautiful place and not nearly as crowded as MB, which was nice.  We had a wonderful, relaxing trip!  And I took lots of pics to share :)

 Getting some hugs from Nanny Tuck before we hit the road.  Gracie has money in hand (from Nanny), snacks on board and the ipad in her lap...all set!

 Are we there yet....Are we there yet??

 Our handsome driver

Yay...we made it!  We didn't arrive there till late in the afternoon, so other than a trip to the grocery store, we had a lazy evening and slept in the next morning...well, some of us slept in...not this girl :)  After "everyone" got up, we had a wonderful breakfast and to the beach we went!  I love this beach bum!

 Mommy and Daughter ready to hit the sand!

 Gracie and me...all ready to go!

 Rocking some sweet shades!

 And this is how we roll! :)  They had this great little wagon at the house and it really came in handy.  We loaded Gracie, some shovels/buckets and a beach bag or two, up in this thing and away we went!

Such a DIVA!  This little wagon actually took a good ride...yes, I just had to take a ride too :)

 Our beach set up.  Lots of tanning, reading, napping and snacking went on here!  We love our tent and have gotten a lot of use out of it.

 The beach beauties!

 Me and Missy, my most awesome sister in law

 My beach boy :)

 Heading to the water

 Gracie really enjoyed the ocean this year.  She was less afraid of the water and wanted to play in it more!  Even Missy ventured out into the waves this year, holla :)

 We had a mani/pedi night!  Gracie got pink fingernails and......

 Rainbow toenails!

 Then we switched and Gracie painted my fingernails!

 I got a two for one deal...fingers and nails painted red!  :)  I loved them though!

 We didn't really leave the house very much...which I loved!  Patti cooked us delicious meals almost every night.  This was one evening we did head out for a night out on the town...to Logan's and K-mart!

 Gracie and her Poppy having some fun in the sun!

 Gracie's new float...she tried it out inside first :)

 Love this picture!

 Check out my new float!

Gracie riding some waves.  The float worked great!  Gracie had a ball and Josh and I got a great workout :)

 Playing some ball with Uncle Josh!

Beautiful rainbow over the ocean.  Thankful for God's promises!

 The next few pictures are our annual beach pictures that we try and take every year.  I thought they turned out beautiful!

What a great week we had!  This is such a special time for us...a full week of sun, fun and fellowship with one another!  Wouldn't trade it for the world!  Thank you Wick and Patti for making it happen.  We love each one of you and so thankful for this memorable week together!

~"From the rising of the sun to its going down
The Lord’s name is to be praised" Psalm 113:3~

House Decorating-Before and After

We finally bought our new home..Yay...and we love it.  Now, we just needed some paint on the walls...I LOVE color!  So, we began our 1st floor decorating/painting project.  Josh said he wanted the "wow" factor (as he called it) so, I knew I might need a little help achieving that :)  I contacted LeCroy Interiors, Inc.,  and they were GREAT.  They are good Christian people and so easy to work with.  I would highly recommend them.  They brought in samples of paint color, fabric, pictures, lamps, etc.  And away we went with choosing and planning.  It was a lot of fun and I'm "happy, happy, happy" with the way everything turned out!  We still have some more work to do and things (candles/pictures) to set out, but the big stuff (i.e. painting and window treatments) are complete...well, for the first floor anyway..wink wink :)  Here are the before and after pics:   

 This is not the picture that will go here, but I wanted something there for now to cover the outlets on the wall.  You get the idea :)

 LOVE our dining room!  The fan will be coming down eventually and a pretty light fixture in its place.  Thank you Greg for our dining room table.  We love it!

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 Love my picture's new home in the downstairs bathroom.  It is Thomas Kinkade's 23rd Psalm.  It was given to me by my mom a few years ago.  Thank you Mom! 

 And thank you again Greg for our breakfast table.  Notice it's the same table and chairs, just different color (and the leaf is out).  We made a little swap!

We love the special touches to our new home!

Thank you again LeCroy Interiors for all of your help and hard work.  You guys were great.  Hope to work with you again real soon.

~The Lordship Of Christ In Our Homes~
May God’s peace be upon this house
That God has blessed you with
A home that reflects His awesome love
And the grace He freely gives

May it be a home with open doors
That welcomes strangers in
And makes them feel loved and accepted
Knowing that God dwells within

Our homes should be more than a house
Where we live day by day
It should be a place where God can reign
And precious memories are made

For as we establish in our homes
The Lordship of Jesus Christ
We invite His presence to come and dwell
And fill each room inside

So as we continue to lift up the Lord
In every part of our lives
It’s then our homes will reflect the faith
And hope we have in Christ
© By M.S.Lowndes