Babies at the Beach

There’s nothing like babies at the beach, am I right?! 😍⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ This is a picture of me & my second baby girl earlier this year. The last time I was on a beach in Florida before this picture-perfect last family trip in March, I was a single widowed mom, living across the country from the rest of my family, completely unaware of what my future held...⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ We’d moved to Florida from Washington 10 months before and I’d just finally started feeling settled when I knew it was time to look into heading back home. I’d picked Austyn up from her day care that beach-day morning & driven her to our favorite place on the gulf. Sitting with my toes in the sand, I watched as my two-year-old, Austyn, danced in the wind. ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ I was finally picking up the pieces of my shattered heart & finding my strength. As I gazed out onto the ocean, my heart swelled with joy. Because I had hope again. ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ My situation hadn’t changed. My husband was still dead. I was still almost 3,000 miles away from my family. I had no clue what my life was going to look like even a month from then, but, I knew... whatever my future held... our future would be BEAUTIFUL. ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ It’s surreal looking at this picture now, from a trip to a very similar beach, 5 years later. My second baby girl on my hip, my older daughter laughing & splashing in the waves just off camera, my second husband smiling behind the phone telling me to “Cheese!” & my belly getting ready to swell with another beautiful, new life. ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ I didn’t know what my future would be all those years ago. But, from the moment I decided I would allow God to make my future glorious... so it was. ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ #MadeforBrave