Adventures in Charleston

We live in one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country.  Before moving here, I assumed that our time in Charleston would be considered more of a vacation than an adventure.  In reality, it has been both of those!  

In my opinion, any slimy animal- or anything with pinchers, for that matter- is a result of the Genesis 3 curse.  And it just took one day in Charleston for us to realize that we now live among many of these cursed creatures.  As we were making our big Wal-Mart run the day after we moved in, we opened up the van door to find three slimy tree frogs inside our van door!   At least one of the two of us was amused.  

About a week after we moved in, a new friend and I decided to stroll our kids around the lake at the nearby park, but as we approached the lake we were stopped by the park workers who pointed out an alligator swimming across the lake!  Secured in his stroller, Luke enjoyed watching it swim across the lake and exit on the opposite side, and when Paul came home that evening, Luke told Paul what he saw as he shared, "Owl-gare. Water."  

A few days later I took the boys to a playdate at the tidal pool on the beach, and a friend shared that a beached bull shark had been discovered in the same tidal pool just a few blocks down.  Here's the article about it.

And just two days ago as I strolled the boys to the neighborhood pool, we found a giant, foot-long frog  in the middle of the street.  I thought a phone call to my husband would somehow ease my agitation, but instead he reminded me with laughter that our neighborhood "is named after a marsh, after all." Somehow forgetting about the frog, we enjoyed a peaceful morning with the luxury of having the pool all to ourselves, so we thought.  But we were wrong:

Yes, that's a "cwab," as Luke would say.  Certain that my fearless one-year-old would attempt to catch him in the bottom of the pool had he known about this, I decided to keep this awareness to myself.

Finally, Charleston has more bugs than I could have ever imagined. Thankfully, we have a member of the bug patrol living at our house:

When he is outside, however, takes on the role as the bug greeter.  He frequently waves at the spiders and ants outside with an enthusiastic "Hi, bug!" and "Bye bye, bug!" 

It might seem as if we are wandering around in a wilderness, but I know better than to complain about it!  So here are acknowledgements of God's kindness to us while in Charleston:

- Friends!  We've made more friends than we expected to, and we've only been here for about a month. 

-  Paul enjoys his job!

- Visits! We have already had visits from friends and family.  We're thankful that the Doty family spent some time with us, and we loved venturing through Charleston with Mama T!

-  Water.  We love the beach and the pool!

This was Luke's first trip to the beach at an age when he could appreciate it!

Caleb's first trip to the beach!

Whether we're at the pool or at the beach, we usually play in the water until this happens.

Charleston has already proven itself to be exciting, and we look forward to all that lies ahead during the remainder of our time here!