Alyssa and I were blessed to enjoy a friend’s beach house in Gulf Shores, Alabama. We had another friend buy our airline tickets and totally made this trip awesome. I can’t possibly repay the friends for their generosity. We enjoyed 3 days of sunshine, girl time, quiet mornings, sandy afternoons, and a High School Musical marathon at bedtime. And we will never forget the loon rescue. Alyssa made friends with Anchor, as she named him — get it? stuck in the sand, before we realized he must be hurt. After not moving for awhile, we called a local rescue and they actually wanted me to bring the loon to them. Ugh… excuse me? Because of Alyssa’s compassionate heart, that she claimed was my fault, I had to pick up this loon, put him in the cooler and drive him in town. He was severely under weight and probably knocked down by weather from him migratory path. We watched him get fluids and then she put him a cage for the night. Hopefully, the little loon survived.

I pray that Alyssa will cherish these memories and the time with me for the rest of her life. It is such a special opportunity to share with each of my girls and these trips have happened because of the generosity of friends.