Beach Trip - Reflection and Retrospection

Well, I am sitting on my couch at home in Wake Forest. We made it home around 3:30-4:00 this afternoon. Gracen was very glad to see us, and so were the fish (they told me so).

This past week was a great week. What made it so great was that we spent an entire week with my family. That is something that has not happened in a very long time. We all broke our normal routines for one whole week to do whatever we wanted to do. Fishing, reading, playing games, or just sitting and knitting (hey that rhymes!). Some of us slept until lunch time. Others of us hardly slept at all.

We woke up this morning and wasted no time in getting all our gear together for the trip home. It took a little longer than usual as we all found ourselves waiting for our turn on the elevator and trying to put our things away before Maw Maw claimed them as hers or threw them away. She tried to pilfer several peoples' belongings, but was caught early on so as not to confuse anyone. The only item she is sure to have gotten home with was a sack of potatoes. But, as they always say, perhaps the criminal needed it more than we did. (We love you Maw Maw!)

We all plopped down on the cushy living room couches in fatigue before we began our goodbyes. I don't think anyone was in a hurry to begin saying goodbye. After we were sure that everything was out of the house we started saying our goodbyes and heading down to the cars. Some went on to Bojangles for a little breakfast while others of us went on our way home.

I can only imagine this, but I think it would be very close to the truth that just after every car door was shut I bet at least one person in the vehicle had to fight back the lump in their throat as they said something to the effect of "This was a great house, this was a great week, and I can't believe it's already over."

Who knows what lies ahead. Perhaps we will find ourselves at Bea's Nest once again and try to relive what are now memories forever etched in time. Perhaps then we will enjoy our time again as we did this week. Perhaps then there will be more added to the family to share in that enjoyment. Perhaps then the fish will be bigger and the donuts will be cheaper. Who knows what the future holds, but we do know that if God allows us to find ourselves at Bea's Nest staying up till 2 am joking around and telling oursleves we desperately needed to go to bed, then that would be fine by me.

I love my family and wouldn't trade them or our time together for anything in the world.

Beach Trip - Day 7, Our Last Hoorah

Well, Friday is here. Believe it or not, the week did not go by as quickly as I imagined it would. I'm grateful for that. I tried to savor every moment spent with my family. We certainly do not do this often enough. Our stay has been tremendous.

This morning we went to the beach to take advantage of the beautiful weather we were having. It was in the 60s today, and was sunny all day until this evening. Perhaps what I will always remember the most was The Erdman Turkey Bowl football game we played on the beach.

It was Skip & Andrew vs. Jonathan & Ben. Dad was all time QB. Believe it or not Skip and Andrew won. We only played to 5. They won 5 to 4. We were terribly out of breath even though we didn't play very long. My legs are still sore and it is close 10:30 at night.

Ben left out this afternoon to head back to Mt. Ulla, NC to watch West Rowan football win over Carver and advance to the next round of playoffs. Ben is nothing short of a hometown hero there since it is where he graduated high school and really began to shine as a kicker.

Dad and the guys hit the surf for some more fishing mid afternoon. I was about to join them when Nathaniel woke up all out of sorts. I decided to stick around and give Ashley a hand. Just so happens that's when the fish were coming in real good. But, in the end, I will not even remember how I missed out on fish. All I will remember is the time we spent together.

Our supper was a combination birthday party for all the birthdays we didn't get to celebrate. Since we cleaned out the fridge for lunch, we ordered pizza for supper. We put candles in the pizza and sang Happy Birthday to everyone. It was great.

I attempted to fish more this evening, but with no luck. Time to pack up and get ready to head home in the morning. I'm actually ready. I've enjoyed my time with the family, but it's time to get back into our routine and get ready for this baby to come!

Beach Trip - Day 6, Thanksgiving Day

Dad, Skip, and myself got an early start on fishing this morning. We were up and out by 6 am. We went to the little pier by the marina with high hopes. We probably only stayed there for an hour with not a single bite. So we packed up and headed to a different fishing spot on the beach on down the road a ways. No luck there either. I got a little adventurous at this fishing hole, however.

My fishing clothes consisted of regular layers of clothes (t-shirt, long sleeve, and sweatshirt) and my freezer bibs from work (made for sub-zero temperatures). I would also wear my big yellow jacket on top. My waterproof boots made me almost completely waterproof. At this new fishing hole there was a small seawall just to the south. I decided to fish from on top of it. At first I would stay away from the rolling waves that would flow over top of the wall (it was about 2 feet wide). As time went, though I thought it would be better fishing if I could walk out on the wall a little ways in attempts to get my hook out a little farther.

Even though I was wearing my layers, they were not waders by any means. So to have a way to get out further in the water was very nice. The only thing about the wall was it gradually disappeared into the water at a downward slope. The more I scooted out on the wall, the closer to the breakers I became until I was right on top of the spot where the waves were breaking. It got to the point where the waves were literally breaking on my ankles, but I didn't care. I hadn't caught a thing and I knew we would be out too much longer.

It was so adventurous, and it was fun! It also afforded me a great view of the ocean floor. What appeared to be several feet deep from the shore was actually only about 2-3 foot deep. This was a bit disappointing since I thought we were fishing in a deep hole, but it was beautiful none the less.

Before we came back to the house (around 9 am) we decided we could not come back empty-handed. We made one last stop at Krispy Kreme for our second round of donuts for the week. Those donuts didn't even last 12 hours (a new Surfside beach trip record). There were two dozen, too! They were delicious (I had only one! But that's okay).

Being that this was Thanksgiving Day, I decided to spend more time with the family than with the fish for the day - regardless of what happened with the fishing. I held true to this all day. And wouldn't you know it, but later in the evening after the kids went to bad (which is the prime time to fish for me because I know Ashley would not be alone with the kids) I decided to spend time with Ashley.

What most always happens on trips like this is I focus so much on spending time with my family (Mom, Dad, Maw Maw and Paw Paw and others) that I often neglect my own family. But we are on vacation, too, and do not get this many baby sitters very often. Being as tired as Ashley was, though, we decided not to go out, but to stay in and play some games. Skip's girlfriend, Stephanie, arrived sometime around 8:30 and we decided to all play some games.

We had a great time. We taught them the joy of playing Ticket to Ride and they were instantly hooked. We'll have to play that one again.

We were in the middle of one of our games when the fishermen returned from the pier. They had caught so many fish. Wouldn't you know it. The one time I don't put my hook in the water is the one time I would have caught a bucket full of fish. But I had to remind to myself one thing - that family time is way more important than fishing time. I didn't pay my hard-earned money to spend time with slimy fish (that usually aren't cleaned and cooked right anyway). No, what I was most looking forward to was being with my family. Fish or no fish, I have had a great time this week.

Thanksigiving came and went like the ocean waves, and just about as fast. The ladies spent literally hours in the kitchen. It only took us less than 20 minutes though, to devour the feast they had prepared. Then after the deed was done, everyone went back to doing their own thing. This was a little disappointing to me. I envisioned us spending more time at the table reminscing of Thanksgivings past. I wanted us to savor the moment. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. BUT we have been spending some good time together this week and that makes up for it. The truth is, in my heart we celebrate Thanksgiving just about every time we eat together. I have been so very thankful for the time we have spent together this week.




I love my family.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Beach Trip - Day 5

Like most days of our stay here at Surfside Beach, the day didn't really get going until sometime after lunch. For the most part everyone would just lounge around or sleep in until mid morning. Then we would get ourselves together just in time for lunch. Wednesday was no exception. The only real different thing that happened was Dad and Paw Paw were gone most of the day on what I would call Operation Rescue Skippy.

Skip, my brother, was stuck back home (close to Charlotte, NC), and could not make it out here. Although he wanted to make it badly, Skip simply did not have a way here. His car, a rather old, two-tone Ford Taurus, would probably not make the drive. So after thinking overnight about how to get him down here we came up with a plan first thing in the morning. We'll just have to go get him. So around 8:30-9:00 am Paw Paw and Dad set out to rescue Skippy and bring him to the beach. They didn't mind one bit as long as Skip was here. They did not return until early evening, just after dinner.

Just after lunch we decided to get the kids out of the house. They had been couped up in this house all week and were craving some sort of adventure beyond these walls. It has been very cold out this week, making it hard to take the kids somewhere, but we knew it was getting necessary.

I remembered passing a small community park in the middle of nowhere fairly close to the beach house. We bundled up the kids and went to the park. They had a great time, and so did we.

Another thing that happened on this day that I will never forget is finishing my first Nicholas Sparks novel - Three Weeks With My Brother. I'm an instant fan and want to read more.

The day ended with a very unproductive trip surf fishing. The best part about it, though, was every last one of us boys was there with a hook in the water - Dad, Skip, myself, Andrew, and Ben. That was something I will never forget! That sort of thing does not happen often at all.

Beach Trip - Day 4, A Day with Birdman

Yes, that's right. We got to spend the afternoon touring the lair of Birdman. He is about 6'2", 180 pounds and can kick the pig out of the pig skin. He was just awarded his first postseason honor by being voted First Team All-Conference. Basically, he's the best punter in the conference. Check it out at www.goccusports.com/football.



Today I stayed in my pajamas until lunchtime (that was actually my goal). It was great. After lunch, we put the kids down for naptime. As soon as we felt we were in the clear, we jumped in Ben's Cherokee and began our official tour of Coastal Carolina with Coastal's very own "Birdman". Well, at least that's what everyone calls him. Everyone! Even the head coach. They mostly call him "Bird." I don't care what they call him. Everyone is so proud of Ben.

Our first stop was the Chanticleer football locker room. It was awesome! The coolest part was a machine that automatically looosens up your muscles. Ben put me on it without telling me what would happen. Before I jumped on it he told me to try to touch my toes. I am not exactly a flexible person, so I reached and barely touched to top of my shoes (not exactly my toes). Well, I jumped on the machine and held on for dear life as it began to vibrate at an amazing rate. It lasted for about 20 seconds. As soon as it was over, Ben told me to jump off and try to touch my toes. I didn't just touch my toes, I palmed the floor! And did so with amazing ease! It was incredible!



After that we went met some of Ben's coaches and the school's Atheletic Director - Warren "Moose" Koegel. He played at Penn State and went on to play for the Oakland Raiders and the New York Jets. He showed us his football card from his time with the Jets.



After our visit with the coaches, we visited the campus bookstore where I purchased my new Coastal pullover, and Ashley her new Coastal shirt. I could have bought the entire store!!! But everything is a bit pricy. Fortunately we were able to leave with a couple of goodies without splurging too much.



Our next stop was the Presidential Suite at Brooks Stadium, the CCU football field. It was incredible! Very elite! Ben told us that there have been several famous people to visit the suite, including none other than Michael Jordan who has ties with the CCU basketball coach. That was a very neat place to visit.



Before we headed back the beach house we made one last stop. Ben is a part of a discipleship group through CCU Campus Outreach. The guys that lead the group live in a home close to campus. We stopped by the house for one thing, and it wasn't to meet more people. There was one thing that we were interested in seeing, Ben's busted up moped.



Earlier this year, Ben was involved in a very serious moped accident while heading to a beach house at Myrtle Beach. He was conscious, but sustained serious injuries to his head and leg. It is an absolute miracle that Ben survived the accident. In fact, he didn't break a single bone. He broke his nose, but that was already broken during high school, so that didn't take much. His scars on his leg are amazing. And now he is punting like never before and just made All Conference!



Not a game goes by where we sit back and thank God for how he spared Ben's life. God has big plans for Big Ben, I know it. I'm so excited for him and so proud of him.

So...another day is gone, but plenty more ahead. Good times indeed.

Beach Trip - Day 3

We officially began our quest to catch some fish today. The day began just right. Dad and I made two stops this morning before everyone was awake. We stopped at the bait shop and Krispy Kreme Donuts. Life just doesn't get any better.

We began fishing mid-morning, but with no luck. We were told that high tide was around 10is AM, but that was way off. The tide was definitely going out, not coming in. Well, what we made up for not catching fish by catching some great photos of the kids on the beach for the first time of the trip.

They had a blast!

We did some more fishing this evening after dinner. For me it was bitter sweet. The fish were finally biting, but the only thing was they weren't biting my hook. They were biting Dad's and he was the only one catching them. He ended up catching 7! I caught ZERO. BUT, it was still fun to fish together again.

Beach Trip - Day 2

Sunday was exactly how every Sunday should be. It was filled with great family time and incredible amounts of relaxation in the living room. I would fall into the couch and kick back as the evening rays of the sun filled the room with golden light. We ate dinner at the humongous, Last-supper-like table by candle light. It was delicious. While I don't think I snapped a single picture for the day, the peace and physical restoration that filled my heart will be something I will never forget.

Beach Trip - Day 1

We had a great ride down to Surfside Beach on Saturday. We departed Wake Forest about 8 am with a very smooth departure. We rode all the way to the SC border before we got out to stretch our legs. Our choice of places to stop was none other than the not so famous, South of the Border entertainment and shopping plaza just at the SC/NC line.

The highlight of the stop was taking pictures by the larger than life statues as well as stopping in the Hats from Around the World shop. Abigail and Mommy especially loved the large ice cream cone! The Hat Shop was so unique! It was a shop with nothing but hats. Before we left we each had to pick a goofy hat to wear at the beach. Abigail chose a flowered pink hat with yellow smileys on it. Nathaniel fell in love with a Construction workers not-so-hard hard hat. Ashley chose a cow-print cowgirl hat. And last but not least, I got an umbrella hat. It's a hat that is an umbrella. Grandpa Durst would love it! It may end up in his stocking this year!

BLESSING IN DISGUISE

After we got to the beach house we decided to go ahead and settle in before gearing up for the football game. I knew that Paw Paw would be soon arriving so I wanted to get the elevator ready for his use. Well, I went to open the shaft and practice operating the thing, and for some reason I could not get in. After about 10 mins of trying I decided to call the Realty Office. To our complete surprise they informed us that the elevator did not work. In fact, it had not worked since August. We couldn't believe it. There was no way Paw Paw could get in the beach house without the elevator.

The Realty Office said that we should have been informed, but we certainly were not. In fact, if we knew the elevator did not work, then we would not have reserved in the first place. So what happened next? The company we rented from also rented out the house next door. Now the house next door was supposedly nicer than the one we originally rented. So I met with the maintenance man and he let me in. YOU WOULD NOT BELIEVE HOW NICE THIS HOUSE IS!!! It is like something straight out of Country Living magazine. It is gorgeous. WAY better than the other house, and it has a working elevator that is very nice! We are loving this new house and are very glad the elevator didn't work. It was a real blessing in disguise.

FAMILY TIME

We stayed up till about 2:00 am last night. It was great. We all just sat around talking for the longest time. Everyone was here except Skippy. We even got to spend the whole time with Patty and Jennifer! They helped to make this night one of the best! It would not have been the same without them. I wish they could have stayed at the house with us, but already had reservations at a hotel close to the school. We had a blast, though.

Today is promised to be full of more family time. Andrew had to head back to Raleigh for work, but Maw Maw will be joining us today.

PROMISING PROSPECT

We met Ben's new girlfriend, Kaylee. Needless to say, we are very proud of the both of them. They seem to be very mature in their decision to begin what seems to be a wonderful relaionship. So far I am impressed, and as his big brother, that is saying a lot. I think Ben has made a good choice. And I think Ashley likes her, too. In fact I know she does.

Well, its lunch time and the kids are hungry. Day 2 is almost over. I'm already grieving our departure....BUT we have plenty of time to enjoy the moments together.

Cold in Conway

The Chants finished the season with an upset last night. They fell 24 to 0 against Charleston Southern. BUT it was still so worth if for us to watch Ben play. Check out the photos.

Abigail Faith

"Abigail" = Gk. "My father's joy."

And I think you can see why!

I Love My Family!

Anyone who knows me could tell you that I love my wife and two children. They are truly gifts from God. I don't believe there is a day that goes by where I don't sit back and think, "Wow," I have a great family.

For the past year and a half, I have been able to spend some great time with my kids. I work three days, then Mommy works three days, then we have Fridays to ourselves. That means I get three whole days to spend with my kids around the house. Of course, I still try to get projects done and honey-do lists accopmlished, but nonetheless, I am around my kids three days straight.

At the same time, this can be very challenging. Not only am I a Quality Assurance Supervisor for the world's leading retailer, but during the week I am a full time chef, dishwasher, clotheswasher, referee, and Spiritual Guide and Teacher. Needless to say, I am very challenged. Each day brings its own set of hardships and adventures. As we make it through each day, though, God is constantly whispering, "I am near." If it weren't for that constant reminder, I think I would just go nuts.

Why Grief Comes

Grief comes to those who loved so dearly
Who held and embraced their love so nearly
Of all the moments of life to share
It's the holidays when we truly care

To have them close for one more embrace
To raise a toast and see a smile on their face.
To sing a song, give a gift, laugh a laugh, wish a wish,
Grief comes to all whose hope seems to vanish.

But amidst all the pain, when life must go on
When our carols we'll sing and our gay apparel we'll don,
We can know that our grief is like a warm fire
Comforting us and our heart's true desire.

For if love will be love and hate will be hate
Grief will never land on the hate-lovers plate.
Poor souls, they never knew what it meant to love
So grief comes to us as a gift from above.

-for Don

Big Ben

Just finished looking at the Big South Conference statistics. Ben reclaimed his first place position after Coastal's win against Gardner Webb. Check it out at www.bigsouthsports.com

Welcome to the Little House in the Forest

Michael Landon had his Little House on the Prairie, and we have our own. We don't live on the prairie, but we do live in a beautiful place called Wake Forest, NC.

This site will be used to post updates and photos of our whereabouts and exciting events!

Come back often for our latest postings and musings!

Enjoy!