Our Bittersweet Texas Souvenir

Phew! After yesterday’s tender post today’s topic feels like a breath of fresh air even though I’m a bit indifferent over what I’m about to share…

Last week I dished out our Texas trip itinerary complete with pictures but that post was getting long so I left out the part about us buying souvenirs.

Today I’m gonna spill the beans.

On Thursday of our trip we spent the day at the beach and when Friday came my husband and two younger kids were exhausted and wanted to spend the afternoon at the condo after going to the sea turtle facility that morning.

My oldest daughter (Paige) and I however still had a bit of go left. I’m not a huge souvenir person at all but Paige wanted to check out the beach shops and I was game for chauffeuring and tagging along.

Here’s the honest truth with those beach shops—they’re packed to the gills, everything’s branded with the tour destination name which skyrockets the price, and when you’ve seen one you’ve seen em all!

…except for the second shop we ended up in…

That one had its own unique little feature…

Paige spotted it first.

The advertising was plastered on the front window.

HERMIT CRABS SOLD HERE

Hook, line and sinker Paige was the bait and they reeled her right in.

“Mom!!!! We should get hermit crabs!!!”

“Oh man, that might be kinda cool!” I was quickly getting sucked in too.

We marched through those doors like gals on a mission and our feet carried us straight to the hermit crab exhibit, ignoring the cluttered shelves of South Padre Island knickknacks.

Oh how I wish now that my eyes and pocketbook would’ve met a twenty dollar water bottle, or a fifteen dollar ball cap, a t-shirt, or a towel…something other than the crabs!!

But we succumbed to the hermit crabs. And not only that we thought it’d be real cute to surprise the rest of the family back at the condo with these crabs so there was no checking in with my husband on my spontaneous “live” purchase.

We walked out of the store with two hermit crabs, a small plastic cage, their food, extra shells, and a watering sponge, plus 35$ less than ten minutes beforehand.

When we got back to the condo we set the crabs on the kitchen island waiting for Nate and the kids to spot them on their own.

They did! Within minutes! And this is a Christian blog so never mind what my poor husband said!!! Basically in a very curious R-rated way he asked what they were!!!

McKenzie and Warren were enthralled and wondered why there wasn’t a third crab, one for each kid.

Before long we were all in the Jeep, headed back to the store to purchase one more hermit crab. My husband was on board with all of this.

That evening though I began researching proper care for these new-to-us little critters and found out they are a lot more maintenance than what you see in the beach shops.

They’re actually not cared for properly in these shops and require heat sources, a variety of food choices, and two types of water—salt and fresh.

In the beach shops you will see them with a sandy flooring, extra shells, hideouts, water, and pellet food. They make it look super simple, this is why I was cool with getting them.

After realizing all of their needs I was like “you guys we gotta take these things back!! Tonight!!”

I was having some serious buyer’s remorse and was absolutely not okay keeping them because I knew they’d need a bigger cage, more supplies and more responsibility than originally thought.

My sweet husband though. Oh my goodness. He looked at me and said, “Alicia we’re not taking them back. We’re gonna keep them. We’ve made way stupider choices before. This is fine.”

And he is absolutely right.

About $150 later we have our three hermit crabs and their crabitat all set up in Mc’s room. Thankfully she was thrilled to show them hospitality!

In a heartwarming way I’m reminded of my dad as I care for these little guys. My dad, up until his dirt bike accident, had all kinds of reptiles that he raised and he was very passionate about it, even hatching baby bearded dragons a few times. So it’s neat to think of this as a reflection of his hobby.

Had I known before purchasing the hermit crabs what I know now I would’ve never bought them. But here we are and life definitely shows itself to be an adventure at times so we’re making the most of it. They really are interesting to watch and two of them have already switched shells. They’re night critters so we literally have to sneak in and spy on them if we want to see them in action.

The joke is, when I went to Florida back in April I brought home a live palm plant, Texas these hermit crabs…now if I make it to Alaska or Africa someday who knows what I might bring home…

Weekend blessings to you all!!❤️

Author: alimw2013

About For His Purpose~ My name is Alicia and I'm a thirty-something year old who loves Jesus. Only through God’s amazing grace and mercy I have been redeemed from past regret and shame. Reading His word has allowed me to look past Satan’s forceful lies, to see myself for who Christ says I am in Him. Through writing I have learned why I made the choices I made in my younger years and I now have a better understanding of why I desire to love God like crazy these days. Despite my daily failures, God remains faithful always. I am reassured of His unconditional love for me by every ink-drop spilled out on paper, each committed prayer as I cry out to Him, and deep understanding reflected through reading His word as truth. Yes keeping a blog will make me vulnerable to others’ opinions- there will be some who don’t understand, some who may criticize or judge, but on the other hand if just one piece expressed through my writing grabs someone’s attention and directs them to God, then pouring out my heart in a blog for the world to read is worth it. I choose to glorify Him alone through words streaming across a glowing screen. And it wouldn’t be fair if I didn’t reveal the fact that I’m incredibly quirky; I’m my loving husband’s best friend, my vivacious kids’ craziest cheerleader and spiritual trainer (3 John 1:4). I love anything farmhouse and rustic style. I think cupping a warm coffee mug in the palm of my hands is more satisfying than the contents within. I share a common obsession with my husband for the mountains, but I would (without a doubt) settle for waves crashing against my legs at the Atlantic Ocean just as well, and I almost always have a Yorkie curled up on my lap while writing. *All photos are photographed by forhispurpose.blog and therefore may not be stored or photocopied in any manner.

39 thoughts on “Our Bittersweet Texas Souvenir”

  2. I had to laugh at your husband’s comment about, “We’ve made way stupider choices before.” 🤣 I must say you are braver than I am. I wouldn’t know where to begin with one of those. I am glad you did your research. Although scary, it will help in the long run. I bet a lot of people don’t bother. I can’t wait to see the moose you bring home from Alaska!! 😂

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    1. LOL he’s right though!
      Yes I thought they’d be like a plant, give em a little food and water and they take care of everything else! Not so!😅 These guys can live for tenish years in captivity but if not cared for correctly it’s maybe a year. I just want to do it right if we’re gonna have em.
      Thanks for reading sweet lady!❤️

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  3. I was on the edge of my seat, wondering if you would keep them. Thanks for not making this a cliff hanger. 🙂 Are you going to name them or is that impossible since they change shells? I look forward to hermit crab stories in the future and to see what God teaches you through them, because I am sure He will!

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    1. LOL a cliff hanger would’ve been fun!!
      The kids did name them: Taquito, quesadilla, and Maria. 😆 and so far they’ve been able to keep track of who’s in what shell, because the two switched on different evenings.

      That’s such a good idea to blog about them in the future, watching how God teaches me through them! I really hadn’t thought about that but with writing don’t you feel like you notice things more, especially blog worthy content?! I love it!

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  4. “crabitat” love this! I am totally going to go to use this!! Hopefully your dogs and crabs won’t have any run ins! We had hermit crabs a few times as we lived near the beach, but they didn’t live super long. Love and blessings sweet friend! How are your grandma and father in law doing?

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    1. Crabitat😂😂😂it is rather catchy, the world of hermit crab owners refer to it as this I learned, wish I could take credit, it’s pretty brilliant!
      Thanks so much for asking about my grandma and father in law..he has an appointment in the mid month but is monitored closely in the meantime, his heart condition is very unique the doctors say so continued prayer and my grandma is in hospice but hanging on comfortably for the most part (fluid around her heart and lungs) so sad. Thank you Mandy!❤️

      I’m just now sending this to you because I put it in comments but it didn’t go directly to you… Darn WordPress at times… Probably just operator error actually!

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  5. Crabitat😂😂😂it is rather catchy, the world of hermit crab owners refer to it as this I learned, wish I could take credit, it’s pretty brilliant!

    Thanks so much for asking about my grandma and father in law..he has an appointment in the mid month but is monitored closely in the meantime, his heart condition is very unique the doctors say so continued prayer and my grandma is in hospice but hanging on comfortably for the most part (fluid around her heart and lungs) so sad. Thank you Mandy!❤️

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  6. What an experience for you guys. I recall my “crab days” back in the mid 80’s. I had an aquarium with a selected handful of fish. Bought some fresh water crabs to go with it due to a sale in a pet store. I was thrilled, until….I would get home at the end of the day to find crabs crawling around in my floors and up the walls. It seems they loved climbing the airline hoses in the tank for a daily adventure. Arg!

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    1. Oh my goodness what a funny story! When our crabs were still in the little plastic cage we brought them home in they climbed a lot and would hang upside down from the lid (never got out thankfully)…now that they have the new cage and thick “ground covering” they’re usually in hiding so we rarely see them…better than having them outside the cage though!😅

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  7. Well that was not at all what I was expecting! 😂 Years ago when we went to the beach we saw a bunch of hermit crabs in the shops. I’m so glad I said no to my daughter when she asked for one now! But now I also feel sorry for them and want to go get them all. Haha!

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    1. I know what you mean!! I actually feel bad for them too now that I know better!! I’m surprised they’re able to sell them in the stores after doing research honestly!
      Ya be glad you said no to your daughter, it’s a lot of upkeep!😅
      🦀

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      1. Our dog is 15 years old, which I guess is 105 in “dog years.” He’s amazingly fit for his age, although he is almost completely deaf and has cataracts. He takes regular meds and just got new ones for arthritis and an infection, plus refills for meds and his special food for the next 6 months, so I HOPE that’s it for a while! He’s trotting along like his old self now when we’re out, out then he’ll sleep the rest of the day. ❤

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      2. Wow 15!! It’s funny that you mentioned dog years because my kids and I were literally just talking about our dogs’ age and their age in dog years a few minutes ago. Our Yorkies are on meds—one for his heart and the other for his seizures. Oh what we do for our fur friends!❤️I hope your old boy keeps getting along well.🙂

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  11. Well, I was expecting a shopping spree at Magnolia Market, but not this! LOL! It’s funny the things we fall for on vacation, isn’t it? I hope they provide lots of blogging humor as Patty suggested! In the meantime, have fun learning about your new Tex-Mex friends!

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    1. LOL Tex-Mex friends!! I love it!!

      Now that you mention it I did actually buy a coffee sign and a basket at magnolia market but those I guess didn’t make my highlight purchase mentally…we’re in the middle of a partial kitchen renovation so I have those purchases tucked away until the kitchen is done, it’ll probably be Christmas by the time I unwrap them!!😍

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      1. Thank you Alicia. Danny just got to ‘the other side’ of a nasty chemo treatment today. Mercy and we praise the Lord for it! Now he will be weak for a few days, but should also be pretty stable until next treatment. We praise the LORD for His mercy because we know others are much worse. I am doing pretty good which is another praise. Doing silly things to keep myself occupied. Today I have an assembled Christmas tree in my living room. It’s really a practical story, but may be blog worthy! LOL! a seriously, thank you immensely for the prayers.

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      2. Oh you should definitely blog about it!! I love those unique stories, a Christmas tree in July sounds especially interesting and blog worthy!!
        How many more treatments does Danny have?
        Praying daily!!!🙏❤️

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      3. He has nine more treatments, every other week, and assuming he doesn’t have to skip for any reason he will finish 12/8. Merry Christmas to us! Has nothing to do with the tree, but I guess I could say it does! Ha!

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      4. Haha that’s true! The anticipation of Christmas season! Okay well here’s to looking forward to December for his celebration and celebrating the birth of Jesus!!

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  12. Oh my goodness! You will have to keep us posted on their progress! Girl my oldest daughter came home with a frog one time! It had to have a heat lamp and the lightbulb was very hot! At least it wasn’t a snake or rat!

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  13. Oh yes, our impromptus…☺️. Thank you for sharing! Sent from myMail Android Friday, 09 July 2021, 00:06PM -04:00 from For His Purpose comment-reply@wordpress.com :

    >alimw2013 posted: ” >Phew! After yesterday’s tender post today’s topic feels like a breath of fresh air even though I’m a bit indifferent over what I’m about to share… > > > >Last week I dished out our Texas trip itinerary complete with pictures but that post was getting long ” >

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