October 13

All in all, we had a lovely day here in New Smyrna Beach. We found a Target, visited a lighthouse (though this year, we didn't trek to the top because one of us was being difficult, one of us was kinda too small and another of us was scared... you figure out who's who!), went for a drive through Daytona Beach, had lunch at a yummy local deli, had a casual beach photo shoot with a super sweet local photographer, and dined with Kathy and her husband Brad. (Phew! It sounds exhausting writing it all out.)

When push came to shove, this is the image that stood out to me the most:

It's from the tail end of our shoot, taken as Abby, Brady and Isaac enjoyed the ocean. I'm sure the talented Darla Sharp has a much better version that I'll see in a few weeks' time, but this is one that I quickly snapped courtesy of my ninja photo skills (because, you know, it felt a little weird taking pictures with my iPhone when an actual photographer was on hand).

It didn't occur to me until just now, but this afternoon represented the Little Boys' first time dipping their toes in the Atlantic. It represents a decidedly bittersweet moment to me. Although it makes me sad that Logan never got to see the Atlantic --my "home ocean", so to speak-- it fills my heart with a calm sense of happiness to see his sister and brothers giggling and splashing in the same big body of water that I visited on occasion when I was small.

And for that... I'm grateful.