Tag Archives: steve

Annual beach trip

Each year we go to the beach with my parents, Doug’s family and Grandmama.  This year was no exception.  Everyone arrived in Murrells Inlet, SC on Saturday morning (except Tom and I, we drove in late Saturday night after working on the house all day). We rented a large house right on the beach, which is necessary due to the number of small children that we have going back and worth from the beach to the house all day. Because the rates are much less expensive in May than they are for the rest of the summer, we pulled the kids out of school and took off for the beach.  Hands down, we had the most beautiful weather this year.

The cousins were so excited to see each other again.  Now that Doug, Jacqueline and the boys live in Maryland, the kids really appreciate the time that they have together.  I could put thirty pictures in the post to show how much fun we all had, but that would be a bit excessive.  I will show the highlights:

The five cousins having a grew time together.  The ocean was fun, but a big hole and pile of dirt was equally as entertaining….

      

Doug had his surf board with him and we rented a paddle board for two days.  The kids learned how to surf and ride the waves.  We all briefly tried paddle boarding.  The water was a bit choppy which made it hard to stand up on the paddle board.  Frankly, I was too afraid of what might be swimming under me to fully enjoy the experience.

  

 

The best part of vacation was that it actually felt like a vacation.  Many times going to the beach is more of a “relocation” than an actual vacation.  This time I sat in a chair more than I stood up. It was awesome!  The kids were finally old enough to play in the water and not need me hovering over them making sure that they didn’t drown.  The sun shirts that we all have on became the unofficial uniform of our vacation – they were on sale at the beach shop so we all bought one.  By the third day I had on a giant floppy hat and a sun shirt….gone are the days of bikinis and laying out to get a tan.

  

Tom and I did get our date night out on the boardwalk.  We deemed it as one of our best dates. :)  As for the other nights, we ate well, drank many margaritas, ate ice cream and watched a comedy on TV with Doug.  I hadn’t laughed that much in a very long time.  It was good to hang out with my brother again.

Vacation at the beach was amazing and unforgettable.  It was hard to go home, but I was very glad that the house was immaculate when I got there. (although no buyers for the house yet).  I have to thank Mom and Dad for starting this beach tradition and for carrying it on each year.  Thank you!!

Happy birthday Dad!

Today we celebrated my Dad’s 64th birthday. His birthday is really tomorrow but since today is Wednesday and all of the kids are at his house anyway, today was the day to celebrate.

The party was scheduled to be around 5:00pm after my dad got home for
a meeting. Last time we had a cake at that time none of the kids ate dinner when they got home. Doug asked if the kids could eat first and then Have cake. This meant that mom was to feed all of the kids first since they were at her house all day. Being the super mom that she is she some how managed watch five kids, bake a delicious three later cake, pick up kids from school and make a spaghetti dinner for everyone.

In typical Wilson fashion, there was lots of talking, laughing and children. Grandmama Pat even came over for the celebration. In all, there were fourteen people around the dinner table enjoying spaghetti and cake and celebrating Dads birthday.

Wilson wanted to help blow out the candles. John snuck in and blew them out the first time so mom relit them and let Wilson do it the second time. Never a dull moment!!

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Dad’s Retirement Sunday

After nineteen years at The Little Church on the Lane my father is finally retired. Yesterday he had his last Sunday as head pastor. It was a wonderful, touching and emotional service.

The day began when Raymond Williams sang a song for him during breakfast at the church. He is quite the musician.

After Sunday school all of my dad’s family began to arrive at the church. He had saved five rows for all of us and they were filled. His four brothers and sisters were there, their families and his mother. The Wilson family is quite large and they are great about celebrating and supporting each other.

During the service the Board gave my dad a card with a monetary gift in it. Then the congregation gave him a long standing ovation. It brought tears to my eyes to see him recognized in such a way. It showed how loved and appreciated he is by his church family.

Dad then gave a great sermon about Jesus. He knew that there were family members who did not believe that Jesus was the Son of God and that He loved them.  Dad wanted to make sure that they were told one last time.

People keep asking me what my favorite part of the day was and I keep telling them two things: the standing ovation and communion.  Communion was done up front this time and it was a great way of my dad serving each person one more time.  He got to individually serve each person.  It was very emotional at times.  I cried just watching some of them come up front, especially Stephanie Nance.  There was a lot of crying and laughing done throughout the day Sunday.

After church we ate. Moravians love to eat!  There was a huge fried chicken dinner downstairs after church.  Everyone was there and a few people gave speeches:  Tom Shelton, Aunt Lisa, Doug, Raymond, and others.  After lunch the Wilson clan drove over to my parents house to socialize for the afternoon.  We talked and laughed all afternoon until it was getting dark.  I was exhausted.  I had spent so much emotional and social energy that I fell asleep at 8:30pm that night.  It was a very memorable day.  I am very proud of my father for the work that he has done and the commitment that he gave to Little Church.   He will be missed, I have no doubt.