Time away

Last month, Brad and I were able to sneak away for about a day and a half.

We've made it a priority to try to have some time away, just the two of us, at least once a year since Sammy's been a baby. As I look back and remember our times in Duluth or the Twin Cities or in Colorado or beyond, I am reminded of the sweet, sweet moments we shared together.

We knew our time would be short, so we tried to plan a lot of things into our weekend...rest and naps included! Every part of our trip was also filled with many blessings along the way!

We dropped our kiddos off at my dear friend Megan's house around 9:30...who, by the way, is pretty amazing! She watched 7 children (ages 10 months, 11 months, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6) all day Friday until her husband got home from work.

Yes, she is a rock star!

And no, I am not giving out her name or number because I don't want to share her with anyone!

Anyway, we headed straight to Grand View Lodge, checked in, hung out in the lobby (with a friendly moose) and spent a couple of hours having our personal Sabbath time.

Usually we take turns having our weekly Sabbath so that one of us can stay with the kids. It has been very rare that we are able to spend this time together, chatting about what we're reading or what God is teaching us. It was a wonderful way to start our time away!

Around noon, we headed to Giovanni's Pizza in Pequot Lakes. I was determined to keep our cost down to a minimal, so we tried to only eat at restaurants where I had a buy one get one free coupon. So Giovanni's it was! (And it was quite yummy too!)

After lunch we took a walk around downtown Pequot and then received a phone call that our room was ready. We weren't sure where at the resort we were going to be, since our friend who works there (who gave us a GREAT deal) didn't give us those details ahead of time.

We ended up being in a cabin near Gull Lake. Even though it was still kinda cold and the lake was covered in snow, it was wonderful and had a great view! (We were just grateful for a room without children!)

After seeing our extremely cozy room, we immediately took a nap.

It. was. heavenly!

I know, for me personally, even if I get a nap when Brad's at home, I can never really turn off my "mommy" ears. It's hard to fall into a deep sleep because my radar always seems to be listening for a child in need.

We both slept GREAT and woke up refreshed!

We took another long walk when we woke up and then headed to a restaurant on Gull Lake named Jake's. We didn't have a coupon for Jake's so we decided to share a meal. As we were deciding what to get, a couple from our church walked over and gave us a "Groupon" coupon for Jake's that they weren't going to be able to use. It was such a wonderful unexpected blessing! (And Brad got to get his fish tacos after all!)

After supper, we headed back to our room and decided to go swimming. It has been AGES since we went swimming without kids! I think we went down the water slide 20 or more times! (Their water slide was AMAZING!) It was so much fun playing together, without having to juggle 3 kids in the water and being concerned that Caleb was going to kill himself!

We decided to end the night with one of our current favorite board games, Pandemic. It was an incredibly relaxing evening. I did have a bit of excitement right before bed concerning the jacuzzi. Apparently you should NOT add any extra bubble bath to the water AND then turn the jets on...or else you will get lots and lots and lots and lots of bubbles ALL over the bathroom.

Really, those things should have directions for people like me!

The next morning, we slept in as long as we could. We decided to have a late breakfast so we would only have to eat out once on Saturday.

Breakfast did NOT disappoint! It was a huge buffet with anything we would have wanted. Even the bacon was extra crispy!

After checking out, we headed to Stonehouse Coffee in Nisswa.

Along with resting, playing, and walking, we also wanted to spend some time evaluating our marriage and parenting, planning, and dreaming about what God has for us next.

We spent a couple of hours there (drinking our B1G1 free coffees!) and then headed back into Brainerd. We did a little shopping and took another long walk before heading to our favorite restaurant, El Tequila. We had a B1G1 free coupon as well as a gift certificate there! (Yes, I get very excited about cheap dates!)

After filling ourselves silly, we headed back to Megan's to pick up our kids.

Now, almost 6 weeks later, I am so grateful for the time we had together. Our future is unsure, and we don't know what the next 6 months to a year have in store for us. But we do know that God will provide all we need and that He has used these precious weekends away to strengthen our marriage and to bind us together. We know that we can put our full weight on God and His perfect plan and that He will continue to lead us through unchartered territories.

"Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name: you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. - Isaiah 43:1a-3a

Date nights with the kiddos

One of the perks of waiting a bit longer to have children has been the great wealth of knowledge we seen lived out in the lives of some very insightful and proactive parents.

Even as I write this, I can't quite remember which couple we learned this from, but I know that shortly after Sammy turned 3, we began implementing parent and child date nights.

We try to do a date with each child once a month. So one time, I'll do something with Sammy while Brad takes Caleb on an adventure. Then a few weeks later, I'll go out with Caleb while Sammy and Brad spend a couple hours together.

We have seen some great benefits from doing this and it's been so much fun seeing each of their personalities shine when the other one is not around.

About a month ago, our church hosted a Father/Daughter Extravaganza. Sammy talked about it for weeks. She had a countdown on her calendar. She dragged Brad to the Father/Daughter Extravaganza booth the first Sunday they were selling tickets.

She was just a wee bit excited.

Brad and Sammy had an amazing time!

They did sled racing.

Which, by the way, Brad and Sammy are going to enter in the next winter Olympics. Brad said Sammy was leaning into each turn...and held on no matter what.

That's my girl!

They also did some minnow racing.

And, how does one race minnows, you may be asking?

Well, you grab a scared and exhausted little minnow (via your plastic cup) from a bucket and pour him into a rain gutter. Then you use your plastic cup to "encourage" the little guy to swim down to the end.

Ummmm.....

Yup, that's exactly what I thought!

Then they made pizzas.

Notice that Sammy brought her apron and hat. This child packed her "cooking attire" 3 days before the extravaganza since she knew they were going to be making homemade pizzas.

Again, just a wee bit excited.

One of the final games was "chubby bunnies." If you've never played this game....don't!

I think it should be illegal in most states.

Pretty sure Sammy thought Brad was the coolest for shoving that many marshmallows in his mouth!

So Caleb, hearing nothing for weeks from his sister except how wonderful her date was going to be with daddy, began to ask me what we were going to do on our date.

They learn fast, don't they!

Not wanting to be outdone, our date included pizza. But it was the pick-up kind, so that I could still feed Hannah at home.

After our yummy pizza, we played play-do...for like an hour. I don't know why I didn't take any pictures of that. But I specifically remember making lots and lots and lots of little balls.

Then Caleb requested that we make cookies. The kind that you "cut out."

Of all my cut-outs, Caleb decided to make Christmas trees....in March?

Okay...

We mixed up some yummy dough.

He rolled it out.

Not too shabby for a 3 1/2 year old!

And between the batches, he would make a huge ball and form it into crazy shapes.

I wish I knew what was going on in that little mind of his!

We all had a great evening!

Even Hannah...who, as the 3rd child, spent most of the evening playing on the floor with cookie cut-outs.

Don't worry Hannah, some day you'll get to go "minnow racing" with daddy too!