Adventures of Dan and Ian

Micheal and Lauren arrived last night and the condo is full. I was tired last night and went to bed early and was unprepared for the sun to come streaming in the windows early this morning. I went around and closed all blinds so that everyone could sleep later than 5:30 AM.

I got my morning beach fix this morning. Of course, it took a lot more work than I am used to. However, I got dressed, made my favorite coffee (Seattle's Best Cinnabon), and hiked down to the pavilion. An hour later, I was once again calm and ready to take on the day. It is Sunday, and Ian and I are headed for Destin Church of Christ in an hour. I wonder who we will see from Searcy. We always see someone we know.

Church was GREAT! The singing was wonderful and I was very glad we went. The Destin Church only has a 120 adult members and on any given Summer Sunday has 300 or so guests, They have begun a new medical mission for Destin called Hope Mission. It really is an exciting fellowship.

Ian is flying his pirate ship kite and has made an impact on the beach. Here is a photo from our balcony. Nannie is having a hard time getting up and down the stairs, but things are going fairly smoothly. We are supposed to have "family church" this evening, but I have never managed to make that happen. It would be nice and I hope we do, but just in case, Ian and I have been!

Family Week at the Beach

It is that time again, and the Thompsons (with son-in-laws and grandchildren) find themselves in Destin, FL. Mary, Squee, Alesa and Keri have been coming for over 35 years and have stayed at Jetty East for the last 30. Unfortunately, last year Keri's mom decided that she wouldn't come again this year and so no plans were made. Keri made plans to go to Gulf Shores with some of her friends and Ian and I had planned to go to Texas to do some things. At the last minute, the Thompson Beach Trip was back on, but at the Aegean, down the beach from Jetty East. Ian and I changed our plans since I want Ian to spend as much time with his Nannie as possible.

The Aegean is a nice place, but has several disadvantages including: balconies that look down on the pool instead of the ocean and multi-level condos with the bedrooms on the 2nd and 3rd floors. This makes it difficult for Nannie (with Parkinson's) to get to her room since the stairs remind me of those in Amsterdam. Also, since my favorite part of the week was reading on the balcony overlooking the ocean, I feel kind of lost. This is the view from my room without a balcony. The balcony is two floors down without the ability to see as much ocean. This link shows our condo.

The advantages include wireless (thus the blog), an intact beach, and an immense savings when compared to Jetty East. The balcony was not worth $1000, but since I am not a beach person, I sure do miss it. It is our last Thompson Beach Trip, so we are planning to have a great time, if Nannie can get to her room and back down. The Aegean really is nice. We are just used to Jetty East!!

Brian

As I mentioned yesterday, Beckie sent me an email indicating that my little Brian was very much alive, in spite of past reports to the contrary. Sara sent me his picture and I had to post it for any who had read my post last year. Here are the past and present photos of Brian. I'm looking forward to reports regarding his development and interaction with all the CSD students.

News from Zambia

Just received an email from Beckie in Namwianga, Zambia. She reports that all is well there and things are going well with all of our students as they begin their therapy. They will post blogs in the near future.

Beckie also had wonderful news. The little boy, Brian that was mentioned in my post from Zambia has survived. He is active and making his presence known at the Haven. Beckie is supposed to send me a photo.