Surrounded by Beauty....Our Vacation in Pictures

Hi my friends,

It's been a long time since I've written.  Decided not to do so while were away and I'm sure it was the right decision.  Today ended our two week vacation - back to work.  We had such a good time.  I'm so thankful to be in this family with my most favorite people...and that most of the time, we behave that way and have tons of fun together.  Many experiences made me think "I'll have to blog about that" because you were on my mind.  When you live in community with people you love and just plain like, you think about them all the time and wish they could  be experiencing what you are when you are.  That was kind of a run on sentence, but you understand, right?  So, if you're interested, keep on reading.

The backdrop leading up to vacation was that Ben and Ally had been away for two weeks back to back.  One was a teen leadership conference in PA and the other a week of camp at Word of Life Island.  They came home in between for one short sleep, a few loads of laundry and they were off again.  Turns out we missed them....a lot.  Especially Drew, I think.  He may have been getting tired of being the sole recipient of all the parental love and attention around here.

Also, three days before vacation started, I went on a little pre-vacation mini-vacation with a friend of mine.  Sandy's sister lives in a house by the beach in CT.  I loaded up on library books and went on a little girlfriend road trip.  We sat on the beach nearly nonstop for 2 days.  It was wonderful.  The sounds and smells are soothing.  I even kept a short list of words we rarely speak in these parts.  Like barnacle, high tide, low tide, reef, and more. I know that's nerdy, but I like words!  I read Ruth Bell Graham's biography.  I was moved and stirred by her life and the impact she and her famous husband Billy Graham, had on so many. Made me glad that I counseled every night at the Billy Graham Crusade in Syracuse back in 1987.  I prayed that we would be a couple and a family that lives so intently for the single purpose to make God known.

Early mornings on an empty beach cannot be overrated.  I would walk and talk with God about everything on my mind and heart. I felt better just saying it all out loud, knowing he listens.  I prayed for everyone I love and some I'm not so sure about.  And because there really was no one on the beach I brought my ipod with me and sang my praises to God.  Yes....out loud.  And LOUD.  Why not?  The waves drowned out my voice should any human have overheard.  Big deal you might say, but it is a big deal when on a normal day one is not encouraged even by those closest to her to sing loud, or even out loud.  Take that!  I think God liked it.  Nothing like the vast seashore where you can see forever to stand with arms open wide and sing "God is bigger than the air I breathe..."  Oh yes, He is!  I was fully rested and ready to spend the next week with Scott and the kids and not require much alone time.  Make a note - do this every year.  However, upon my return, my husband informed me that I would not be going on vacation without him ever again.  I guess he missed me.  I'll take that too.

So, vacation started immediately after church on Sunday.  We high tailed it out to SpiedieFest to hear Mark Schultz in concert.  We enjoyed it very much - though it was way too short.  Then we had lunch with fun friends and had this (see gyro and homemade potato chips in right pic).  Oh my....vacation eating commenced. Later that night we got the kids back and packed up.  Monday morning we set out very early because I was determined to get to Bingham's Family Restaurant for their unbelievable weekday special.  2 eggs, homefries, breakfast meat, a large homemade cinnamon roll, coffee and juice for $2.50.  You'd get up at 6am for that too!  We made it on time (by 6:45am) but unbeknownst to me, the special wasn't on Mondays.  Well, I was made fun of for days for that little blunder.  Nevertheless, we got an early start.

We arrived at Virginia Beach around 2pm to pouring rain.  Then we got a room much smaller (less beds) than we reserved - so we just went to Chick-Fil-A to settle down.  The next 3 nights we squeezed into that tiny room watching the Olympics and playing games.  It was fun.  Even with big kids.  Ally said the room was too cold, but hey, you've got to enjoy air conditioning when you can. We spent our days doing this....and the whiteys burned even though the sun barely shone. 

I have so many pictures exactly like this taken through the years.  I couldn't resist.  Even big kids need a nap sometimes.

They seem proud of those sunburns....amateurs!

We then spent a few days with Scott's sister and her family in Northern VA.  This was fun and comfortable and included a trip to IKEA where my husband bought me counter space.  Can I tell you  how happy this makes me?  Space to work!  YES! I started baking immediately upon arrival at home.



 Unfortunately, we had to come home for the 2nd week of vacation because the kids needed to be at tryouts for soccer and volleyball.  I wondered how this would go as I don't sit still for long very well and worse, I don't watch others sit well when we are at home and could be doing house jobs (some refer to this as slave driver behavior.  That would be spoken by unmotivated procrastinators).  After a few days, I had the notion to paint the dining room, which led to the living room and my bookshelves.  I even got my firstborn to paint my hutch.  This baby has been natural wood, red, and dark brown over the years.  Now it is antiqued in this color...and I loooove it!  Worth all the $25 we paid for it at a garage sale.

A very special and talented friend took Ben's senior pictures this week - as well as a few family photos.  If you're interested, you can look at some of them here.

We could have sat here for a few more days!

 At the end of the week, we parted ways again for the last time this summer.  Ben and Ally went to NYC with their youth group to feed the homeless.  Did I mention how thankful I am for the amazing opportunities these kids have had through our church this summer?


Scott, Drew and I headed up to the Adirondacks to watch Drew graduate from his 2nd year at Word of Life Bible Institute.  This was the view from our chalet.  WOW!
Talk about being surrounded by God's created beauty...took our breath away!

Just like last year, I found myself overwhelmed with gratitude that God would let part of my story be written into Drew's story.  We prayed that God will preserve all that he has learned and experienced and multiply it into major spiritual growth and fruit that brings God much glory!  I'm convinced we just can't cram too much God and Bible into our kids' lives as long as we do it with the same passion in which we are pursuing Him in our own life.  

That's about it for our 2 weeks.  Packed full.  We are all grateful for a little respite, time away together and being surrounded by beauty in many parts of our little world. Everything points to God and He is so good.  Thank you for hanging with me this long and enjoying it with me, but in all fairness to you, I must confess that I left out a MAJOR event in this vacation (mostly because I wanted you to be free to get back to your life!).  And also because I want to give it more space.  What's the event?  That would be the MercyMe concert, of course!  Oh my....I have so much to tell you - I even took notes during the concert so that I wouldn't forget anything.  Stay tuned.....