Turkey Vacation Day Four...The Hunt for Annie

We headed out to the beach this morning first thing...we were the first ones to hit the sand. It was a little chilly, so Jesse didn't go near the water. He sat happily digging in the warm parts of the sand with some flower pots I gleaned from the gardener!

Toby went to the edge of the water and began collecting stones and teaching himself how to skip rocks. He must have thrown at least 200 rocks. But he patiently worked at it, until he was able to skip several rocks. He never once got frustrated with himself.

the waves were very quiet this morning and Annie hopped right into the water. She went from activity to activity. So like her Momma, unable to sit still for more than 5 minutes.

Tim and I sat on the beach reading our Bibles...notice "Snow White" all bundled up not from cold, but from sheer fear of the sun. I was in shorts and a t-shirt fully soaking in the rays of sun on my own white flesh that will not get to see the light of day again for a LONG time. I thought i might feel a little uncomfortable in Turkey with less restrictive clothes on, but I don't....it just feels good to be free.

This was the last picture I took before our ordeal began to unravel. Shortly after I took this picture, I snuck off for a walk by myself! I didn't tell the kids because I didn't want tears as I left. I came back about 30 minutes later and found ONLY toby and jesse there. With tim and annie nowhere in sight. They were happily playing by themselves and so I thought oh…tim took annie potty…but why would he leave the boys. When I made it to the boys I asked where daddy and annie were and toby says oh annie left…she was looking for you. So then I started getting nervous. A minute later I saw tim walking up the opposite direction I had gone ALL ALONE. Then I panicked. So he ran up into the pool area and alerted the security guard and then he ran through the entire area. One man on the beach noticed us freaking out and so he offered to run up one direction of the beach and I took the boys and went the direction toby said annie went. The boys were not scared at all. It was odd really how happy they were. Anyway…after walking 10 minutes with nothing we started heading back. Now I am really starting to panic and thinking she has drowned, been kidnapped or who knows what. Meanwhile tim has gone into the hotel and run up and down each floor calling for her and checked our room and nothing. The hotel has called every hotel up and down the strip to see if anyone has found a lost girl and the police have been called at this point. I make it back to the spot where our stuff is and still no annie. The man, Alan, who was helping hasn’t seen her either. So we collect our stuff and start heading toward the hotel to talk to the police. I am dazed and crying, but trying to stay under control for the boys’ sake. They are completely oblivious though. At this point it has been an hour since she went missing! So I am standing there thinking HORRIBLE thoughts and the hotel security are questioning me and suddenly I see a little blue bathing suit girl meandering her way up the beach and I think….is that her? Is it? And then I drop my stuff and take off running and sure enough it’s her! I run screaming her name and she comes running to me so happy and says to ME…”where were you? I was looking for you!” by this time I am bawling and she starts crying and thinks she is in trouble and I am telling her that I love her and didn’t know where she was and I was so worried, etc. anyway we called the search off of course. But in all the craziness only one man got up off his butt to help us look for her! We were so thankful to him and so astounded at the apparent callousness of others. Anyway she is found and she is safe and apparently she had a great ONE HOUR walk and never once felt afraid! Good on her! But I did use this time to tell her what could have happened! So hopefully that will NEVER happen again! It was awful. We were so scared! For hours afterwards I would cry every time I thought of it and what could have been. Then we saw Alan again later and we were laughing and having a great time and he said he was glad our day was getting better, but then he said his day was getting worse…apparently he went swimming with his touch pad phone! Ugh. Poor guy! So we are pr.ying G fixes it for him!

Tonight as our kids were asleep I am again reflecting on what could have been! I am so thankful that I am not the one in control! God is! He orders the days of our lives.

Our sweet babies fell right to sleep and I am amazed that we have such a mighty Father that loves us so much!

And I am so thankful for my Annie Girl! She happily fell asleep and she is safe in our arms again! We know that we can ONLY attribute that to God!