Fireworks Over the Matanzas

July 8, 2018

Fireworks Over the Matanzas

Ask any of my kids what their favorite day is one answer will be… “Fourth of July!”

Why?

Because we always go downtown to watch the best fireworks show ever! (Okay, maybe I’m a little prejudiced because I live here, but I get a travel magazine and it listed our “Fireworks Over the Matanzas” as one of the top 5 annual fireworks shows!)

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We make is a production! (Yes, that was not this year, but our longest “train!” because it included me – taking picture – and the buggy!)

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(Jaquline at the Fireworks Over the Matanzas years ago – photo credit, my amazing friend, Stacy Moorehouse)

This was the first year we went without the baby buggy – took a foldable wagon instead. And yes, it doubled as Anastasia’s buggy from the van to downtown and Lucas’ back to the van.

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We bring snacks, water (hydration, as Christina calls it – thank you, Civil Air Patrol), juice (Becky wanted juice to refill the water bottles this year), and lots of energy! The girls always make new friends at the bayfront.

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This year a new friend family from Atlanta, Georgia shared their bag of glowsticks with the girls and Lucas! (This made them very excited! As you can see, Lucas made glasses to “see very far away.”) Even though Christina said she was “too big” for glowsticks, between Becky and Kimberly, they had her wearing one! (Kimberly has “a pirate earring” and Christina is covering her bracelet!)

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Finally, after enjoying awesome music (before the city music came through the speakers, we could hear Evan D’s music from Harry’s! He’s a local artist I like to hear.), playing and talking with new friends, snacking on lots of fruit and sweet potato chips from Currie’s and Aldi’s, and having Aunt Becca join us, we got to the main event

The best fireworks show on the bayfront! (I can’t record more than about 22 seconds at a time on my camera, so we only caught a few snippets of the show, but it was amazing!)

We trudged home, (Lucas slept in the wagon, in a picture back up there^ somewhere) laughing, singing, and enjoying our family time! Oh, and yes, Lucas fell asleep during the fireworks! 🙂 I was so excited and even mentioned “this is the first year everyone is awake to see the fireworks!” haha! Then he was out.

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Will we face huge crowds, packed potties, and no-see-ums again? Oh yes! And look forward to an amazing 6 hours or more next year at our special bayfront spot, making new friends and enjoying each others’ company!

We love the City of Saint Augustine’s Fireworks Over the Matanzas!

Thanks for reading!

Type at you later…

~Nancy Tart

She’s On a Mission

July 21, 2017

She’s On a Mission

Sometimes God leads people into your life to bless you and everyone around you.  Sometimes you don’t get to see them all the time (Actually, you see them very rarely!), but you feel such a strong connection.  Sometimes those people are in your life to encourage you and to be positive influences in your children’s lives.

One such blessing in our lives is an awesome friend, Stacy.  (My girls all call her “Aunt Stacy.”)  She has been a friend of our family for over eight years.  She was at our house (and the only one with a camera) when Jillian was born, so she is the reason we have birth pictures of Jillian!  (She’s a photographer so not only did we have pictures, but they were awesome pictures.) Stacy is a missionary.  She has a blog where she writes a lot of interesting single-woman-missionary-related thoughts.  These are so insightful and spot on.  Christina started following her Aunt Stacy’s blog when she was about 10.  Every day Stacy was in Zambia in 2014, Christina would ask, “Has Aunt Stacy written some more?”  She updated everyone on her mission travels daily. (Or as she got internet connectivity) We’d read and Christina would journal about the verses Stacy referenced.

Stacy is a beautiful young woman.  I’ve watched her confidence and strength grow as now she’s inspiring and mentoring my teen and preteens.  Stacy has mentored other girls in person; she’s open, fun, and connects with them in a special way.  (Rebeccah says “it’s because she’s real, her love shines.”) Recently, Christina said “look!  Her quote is one of my favorites!”  In the last blog, “Jesus is not my Boyfriend,” Stacy quoted C.S. Lewis saying “A woman’s heart should be so close to God that a man should have to chase Him to find her.”  (This is one I’ve repeated many times in raising my young women – it’s also a favorite of mine.)

Even though we don’t get to visit in person as often as we’d like to, this wonderful young woman, a strong warrior of God, a vibrant passionate lover of Jesus, my sister-in-Christ, is such a blessing to our family.  She is leading, encouraging, and sharing from her heart.

That is how we teach people.  They say the best sermons you ever preach are the ones that are seen.  We show people who we are, what we are passionate about, and who we love, by the actions they see.  Online, you can’t really “see” people, but you can see the actions of what they are doing through the pictures and stories they show.  (It helps if they are “real” to you; someone you’ve actually met, but that’s not necessary.)  My children watch what I do.  I can talk patience all day, but if I get irritated because the line at the grocery store is too long, all that talk just disappeared because obviously, I don’t “walk the talk.”  When they see someone who has a huge heart for helping others and spreading God’s word and get to “follow” what she’s actually doing and read what she’s saying, it shows them that this person does “walk her talk” too.

I pray constantly to be the kind of person who “walks” my “talk.”  I want to be someone others can look up to and be inspired by.  This is why I write: writing is my passion, my love, my art.  God gives us talents and gifts.  He wants us to use them to encourage, inspire, teach, and love others.  This is my goal.

I am so grateful for those in my family’s life who provide positive inspiration for us – some may not even know how deep of an impact they have on our lives – but if I can, I want to tell them!  Stacy is such a blessing for us – it’s an honor to say she’s my friend.

Stacy writes about singleness, being “on a mission,” loving God, and everyday-Christian-woman challenges in her blog: www.thelivingone.blog.

Thanks for reading!

Type at you next time…

~Nancy Tart

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