January 09, 2008

Sun, sand, and one unpleasant bucket

We are at NST for the company, here in Daytona Beach. The white sunshine and sultry Atlantic air are like medicine. And we’ve needed it. Zion came down with RSV just before we left. We all have a nasty cold, in fact. Surprisingly, it was Daniel and I who had the most trouble on the airplanes. During the descent into Atlanta, I was clutching my ears and bawling like a baby. Humbling.

We are staying at the El Caribe. It is reminiscent of a giant lime popsicle sticking up out of the sand. We have an ocean-front room, with a balcony, the view from which I have posted here. The sleeping situation is interesting. Zion sleeps in the bedroom with us, and Bright sleeps in a pack-n-play in the bathroom. Using the toilet is not an option after he goes to bed. Therefore, we purchased a beach pale at the Winn Dixie, and we fill it with a little water and do our business. It gets emptied into the toilet in the morning, and it really isn’t all that bad. Ask me in four weeks, and I might have a different perspective.


I have to put the kids in daily childcare for the first time in their lives. It is a huge and scary step, but it is going to be good for me. Sometimes I think I hide behind the home a little, so I won’t have to do things that make me uncomfortable.

This is certainly an adventure. Peeing in a bucket. Living in a hotel. Dropping our babies off at a make-shift daycare on the 2nd floor. But the rewards are great. We will hear speakers teach on the HS, take classes on NT Survey and text Study Methods. We will train and practice EV, study Life Group structures, and learn how to effectively build our support team. Add swimming in the ocean and watching the shrimp boats from our living room window…and you’ve got a pretty awesome package. We’re uprooted for sure, but it is good practice for our big move this fall.

And when you boil it all down, we are doing this because we love Dad. And that makes it perfect.