Our Weekend...

Happy New Year!  Yes, I'm still alive!  And I have SO much catching up to do!  And I fully plan to go there.  Later.

It's been a rough couple of months.  No, that's a lie.  It's been a hard year.  There is a verse in Psalms that says, "...your Word is a light unto my feet and a lamp unto my path."  I haven't been able to see my path.  I barely have enough light to illuminate the steps for my feet.  And as the year progressed, the light seemed to grow dimmer.  I ended the year with a surgery that humbled me like nothing before has.  And I will write about that later.  This particular blog is not about that.

The last few months we've had No Time on the weekends for us - for family, for life, to enjoy each other, for laughter.  Brian has either taken the kids somewhere without me because physically and emotionally I just haven't been up for anything, or we were being dragged through this rat race we are calling life and our obligations no longer belonged to us. 
Both of these last two things have changed. 
My fog is clearing.  My joy is returning.  My body is healing.  And we are taking our life back.  No more <insert evening activity here>.  No more <insert weekend sport here>.  Nothing on the agenda.  That feeling alone can give you years back to your life.  It's Freedom.

So Saturday morning we realized that we had a completely free weekend!  N-O-T-H-I-N-G!!  And it was an absolutely beautiful day!  High in the 70's and sunny.  I needed to be outside!  So I suggested camping.  Granted, I've been camping once in my adult life and it was without children, but I thought it sounded fun.  Brian couldn't get a campsite anywhere the day of, so we threw that idea out (I think that was the LORD just watching over me). :)  Then I suggested Enchanted Rock.  It's a beautiful place in the Hilll Country.  It's also a vertical climb, on your own legs, of at least a mile.  Brian quickly reminded me that a week ago to the day, I had been in the hospital and there is no way that he would let me go.  I argued my point.  He won.

This was my 3rd suggestion... 

Isaiah and Ruth had never been to the Zoo so I knew this would be fun for them! 

I actually remembered to take pictures so I'm just going to let the pictures tell our story...

The Reptile House:

Yes, Chloe, that's how your mother feels about snakes too...

 

Chloe did this with every-single-animal!  She might have more pictures than me!

 



Look at the bonding between siblings!  Only the LORD can do that.

 

It's an Okapi.  Which poor Isaiah just couldn't quite understand.  He thought is was 1/2 cow, 1/2 zebra, 1/2 horse, all with the neck of a giraffe.  I have no idea where he got interpretation, but that's what he came up with. 




Ruth LOVED the fact that she had an Elephant on her shirt and kept yelling at the Elephants to look at her shirt.  Too Cute! :)
She also kept asking for a pet elephant.  She wanted to ride it instead of drive in a car.

The Elephants kept spraying themselves with dirt and the girls would yell, "STOP!!  You're getting yourself all dirty!! 
They are going to make you take a bath if you don't stop!"

The Hippo did this...

Which made Ruth do this... :(



  

 

And because every trip to the zoo must end with our traditional train ride...

I have to share this picture of Chloe and her beloved daddy. 

I just love the joy on her face!

And this was the rest of our weekend...

And games!  Our favorite right now is Apples to Apples, the kids version.  Our weekend was all about Family.  We had Fun.  We Laughed.  We made Memories.  The kids put away 11 loads of laundry WITH a good attitude!  We ended our weekend with the boys last flag football game on Sunday night.

 

As I type this, I realize I really want a farm somewhere.  I want my mom to grow all our fruits and vegetables.  I want some of these:

I have NO idea what they are, but they look cute. And really, really soft!

I want a crystal clear spring fed creek that runs through it with huge oak and pecan trees for the kids to climb in and explore for hours.  I want Colorado scenery with Texas weather.  I want a little white school house where I can teach my kids their subjects from a biblical worldview.  We were made for fellowship so I want other families that we can do life with.  I'm not talking about some freaky compound that will end in a gun and fire standoff... (Waco - 1990's). 

I'm talking about simplicity (with electricity).  Slowing down (but still keeping a car).  Being able to to leave for a month on a mission trip to Africa WITH our children.  

You hear adoptive mommies quote James 1:27 ALL the time to prove their point - "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress..."

But there is a second part to this verse that is equally as important - "...and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

That's what I want.  That's what I want for my children.  To teach them to be in this world and love this world and fall head over heals in love with the Creator of it all, but not become polluted by the world. 

So who's in?

Oh and by the way, this is my fantasy so make up, shoes and bras are optional.  :)