2 Corinthians 12:9 "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness."

Monday, August 6, 2012

Vacation!

We have been fortunate this summer to take three trips, all with free lodging!  That's how I love to travel!  ;)  Actually, it's what allows us to travel!  As a single income family on a government salary, there's simply not enough at the end of the month to save for Disney or a week at the beach. 

So in June, our family of 4 traveled to Charleston, SC to visit with our family friends for about 5 days. 

Then in July, our new family of 5 spent 2 days at a beach a few hours away and were able to stay in a house for free!  That was SO much better than cramming into a small hotel room!  :)

Just last week, we spent 5 days at a friend's house in the mountains.  Ahhh, how I LOVE the mountains!  There was less humidity and the weather was cooler.  We slept late, slept with the windows open (and were even too chilly a few nights!), went on some short hikes and watched the Olympics.  

There were 2 highlights of the trip... The first was tubing down the river!  This river is pretty shallow in most points and all you have to do is sit in your tube and let the current drift you a few miles back to your car.  It was so nice!

The second highlight was getting to visit with friends of ours who were staying with family about 30 minutes away.  So after a 30 minute drive up and down and around, we were able to roast hot dogs and marshmallows with our friends.

There were also 2 lowlights on this trip... The first happened over our first night when a 23 year old deputy in the next county was murdered in the line of duty.  His wife is due any time with their first child.  Thankfully, another deputy on the call was able to shoot and kill the murderer.  It sounds weird to say "thankfully" because that man also has a family left behind, but that can be the price you pay for murdering Law Enforcement.....

The second lowlight was that our oldest came down with a high fever on our last night of vacation.  A few days later it was gone and we're glad it didn't interfere with our trip and that it was nothing more than a virus.

So, yes, we did take several trips this summer, but we needed that last trip as a family of four and we needed that first trip as a family of 5.  Plus, we wanted to take "W" to the beach for the first time.  It was all good bonding time as well as time to kick back and relax and take some time away from appointments, housework and work.  It was needed because we are entering the "busy" season around our house... Where into our "normal" life we add homeschool, soccer games, public school, off duty work for my husband which will take him out of the house an additional 7 Saturdays beyond the 7 he's already working between now and the end of November.  We needed that family time because it will be scarce by the end of August when "W" starts school.

So maybe when things get busy and stressful these coming months, I can remember the beauty of the waterfall we hiked too, as pictured below...

 

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