8 Years!!!

The pic we had made for our 8th anniversary:) love it!

So i prob'ly won't write too much tonight, as it's too late, but Randall and I just got back from St Augustine, where we celebrated our 8th anniversary!! It blows my mind to think that 8 years has already flown by. Seems like yesterday, but really, seems like forever ago since that actual day. Crazy how much has changed, and even how much i have changed and grown over the years. It was such a wonderful time away. really didn't spend alot of time thinking about the kids, other than, oh man, they would LOVE this or that;) esp when we went to the beach. We got there Monday around 1ish and checked into the "hotel", or hostel; whichever. We stayed at the Pirate Haus again. been FOREVER and a day since we stayed there. been since BK (before kids). it had changed a little into more of a lodge. everyone had a private bath except for our room, which was the same room we had stayed in before, pretty sure. They'd added 1 more bunk in our room to make it a total of 3 bunks and 1 queen bed, which we moved the mattress onto the floor bc the box springs were so shot out and can you say LOUD?! hhaa. oh man. we stayed right next to the public kitchen and living room, and bath, that we shared w/ the staff, so basically it was all ours. just had to leave our room and be somewhat presentable since you never knew who would be in the kitchen or living room. the kids would love it there, as they had all kinds of pirate toys and board games and a big tv. you could rent movies from the office. they had a huge notebook of all the movies in alpabetical order. the trick was finding someone in the office. it was old, and smelled nice and old. it was so great to just get away and not think and be stressed for once. been a long time since i'd had a break from the kids and it was literally a breath of fresh air. We did so much that by last night we were whooped. hhaa. i'll write more later about where we went. i'm kicking myself for not taking more pics. i took a total of 5 pics on my phone and that was it. how sad is that. we reallllllly need a camera. it is really cramping my style!! ugh. but anywho. Randall's gift to me was to pick out a ring that i wanted from one of the shops there. i love big rings w/ natural stones, in silver of course. it was funny bc on the way there i was thinking to myself, wow, i'd love to buy a pretty ring this weekend. been forever since i got a new one. so, i finally got the turquoise ring i wanted. tried a lot on, and ended up w/ the oval shape i always seem to go for. kinda kicked myself for that , but it is so beautiful. the stone is so bright it almost looks fake. looks amazing w/ a tan, and i didn't take it off the whole trip. i just love it:))) i wear my other two rings, my amber one and my white buffalo turquoise, all the time and remember the trips i got them on.  so much more meaningful to me than just a jewelry store ring. My gift to Randall was to pick out a watch at the Fossil outlet there in town. We went today and he tried a ton on, and actually found the one he ended up getting all by himself. it's so cool!! matte black metal band and blk face. i should take a pic of the watch and ring. he hadn't had a watch in a few yrs, so it was time. he'll prob'ly hafta take it off if he does any labor at work. it looks so nice on him. Then we got a really great matted/framed pic of our name "Tobin", y'know one of those that each letter is a black and white pic of found objects. i got it matted in white and framed in blk to match the theme of our house and i love it! we went w/ a st augustine-ish beach theme. the man who owns the store took all the pics himself and alot were from the area, or  Savannah. the T is a cross from Savannah. i really love it. Gonna put it above the doorway to the laundry room in the kitchen. it's the perfect size. i thought it was cool to get that as a gift to ourself for our anniversary. other than eating out and a couple used books from the 2nd hand bookstore for the chits, we really didn't spend all that much money. well, i guess i did get some 75% off B & BW soaps at the outlet!! Score! i had run all out and was using that orange Dial soap, which i hate. anywho, i'm blathering. Time for bed. Now that i finished my book, i can start getting to bed at a decent hr. i can't tell you how many nights i've been going to bed at 3 am reading that. it was riveting. it made me think on such a deeper level about the struggles i have, how i view them in light of my walk w/ God. I have never  heard a personal story of anyone who has been thru so much heartache, abuse, and torture, and yet God used it for good. talk about inspirational. i can't seem to stop thinking about it. i read alot of the last couple chapters aloud to Randall in the car and ended up crying reading the last chapter. i know he will never read it, as he doesn't enjoy reading anything, so i was glad to share it with him. i think me reading makes him feel left out alot, so it was really neat. if God can work and change a man like that, it makes me feel so hopeful in God working on my seeminly trivial issues compared to that;) profound to see God work out each tiny detail, and bring everyone to the exact right spot to reach Louie for Him. not coincidence at all. I really wanna buy that book now, so will be on the lookout for it at yardsales and used bookstores soon. usually takes some time for the new ones to end up cheap. i think everyone should read that book. i learned so much about history too. history is my weakest area, sad sad sad to say. if i keep reading, i just might know which war was what and all. ha.

Tide was in when we got to the beach. 

awesome waves!! we stayed for hrs and Randall went and got us boogie boards.

The Pier. we were right down from it. 

well, g'night. still in a daze from the trip, so praying tomorrow goes well. just ran my left pinky toe into the corner of the wall as i walked outta the bathroom. typical for me. it hurt like the dickens and after moaning and rubbing it for a couple minutes, realized i'd ripped a big tear in my skin in between the toes and it was bleeding a tad. nice. doesn't hurt too bad but might hafta wait a day til it stops smarting before i resume my running. gotta get off this vacation weight. didn't go overboard on the trip, but can't say i ate the healthiest either. til later, night