The Seafare (Litchfield Beach, Part 3)

A trip to the beach is never complete without a visit to one of the ubiquitously advertised seafood buffet restaurants (or at least not for my brother-in-law).
You know it's a good sign when the restaurant's take-out car looks like it's about to be hijacked by a gigantic lobster. (There was also a crab the size of a tank climbing up the side of the building.)


Just as advertised, there were over 100 items on the buffet, including crab legs, which is why my brother-in-law was so intent on dining at the Seafare. Thankfully, I managed not to partake in the all-you-can-eat aspect of the buffet. My nephew, on the other hand, enjoyed making a special concoction at the dessert buffet, but neither he nor his father seemed pleased with the results.
Note the classic "kid plate" at the bottom of the picture: chicken finger, mac and cheese, french fries, and the token broccoli floret to appease the mother's guilt.

By far, the best part of our visit to Seafare was the live mermaid. Yes, a live mermaid. Given Katie's obsession with all things Peter Pan, you can imagine her excitement when we were greeted by a scantily-clad college student with a fake mermaid fin upon arriving at the restaurant. In case you can't imagine, here's a picture:
[Former CO'ers: even though this restaurant was less than a mile away from the old Land Lubber Lodge, I can't imagine why this job was never an option for us at the Summer Beach Project, can you? Perhaps Matty B wanted to spare us the bewildered looks that would mark the face of future employers upon reading "Mermaid" on our resume. I hope at least the water was warm in her "lagoon."]

Katie and her cousins managed to eat at least some food before racing back to interview the mermaid. At least it kept them busy!

Today in the Blogosphere

Most of the time (for me, at least) the internet, particularly the blogosphere, is an endless temptation to waste time, yet surfing remains justifiable because of the few times it actually benefits me through spiritual encouragement and keeping in touch. Today was one of those awesome days when I found several blogs to be especially encouraging/challenging, so I thought I'd pass them along to you.

Grace Enough, from Lisa Law
Imitation, from Hannah Murray
Encouragement for Weary Mothers, from Passionate Homemaking

Finally, even though it wasn't posted today, my friend Jenny linked to an incredible blog the other day. If you ever need a kick in the complacency pants, check it out.

Litchfield Beach, Part 2

Here is a picture of the beautiful Patrick Alexa house in which we stayed in Litchfield-by-the-Sea. The rest of our pictures can be found here. (Family: you should be able to order photos through that site.)

I've also posted a video of an awesome impromptu dance party that erupted one afternoon. Don't they remind you of the dancing kids in the Charlie Brown Christmas movie? Who do you think is the best dancer?

Litchfield Beach

We got back late last night (1:30am) from 4 wonderful days with Adam's family at Litchfield Beach, SC. Over the next few days I'll post about different parts of the trip, but for now, here's an overview slideshow.

Trip to Richmond

Last week the girls and I ventured to Richmond to visit my family. It was my first time flying with two children, and minus Adam at that. Thanks to God answering the prayers of many, the journeys there and back went amazingly! It's encouraging to know that our girls are great travelers in view of our potential future of long plane rides back and forth from East Asia.

We had a great time visiting my family. In the slideshow below, you'll see photos of Caroline with her Uncle John and Aunt JJ, visiting my friend Shannon and her two precious boys, our trip with Grandaddy and Lola to the Richmond Children's Museum, and our trip with Grandmommy to the Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens. More can be found here.

Just had to link....

If you are a mom and a blogger, read this. Thanks, Maggie!

A must-read article

A dear friend of mine with whom Adam and I taught when we lived in China sent me a link to a very important article she found in the NY Times. For those of you who have Chinese friends here in America, this is a must-read. If any of my Chinese friends are reading this, please read this article as well. This is a message that must get out to the Chinese community here in America.


This friend also sent me another interesting article about a study that concluded that different cultures read facial expressions differently. Very interesting piece, especially regarding emoticons. :P (for good measure)

(I'm secretly hoping that by linking to her very outdated blog, my friend will get the hint that she needs to start blogging again.)