.:Vacation Wrap Up and what lies ahead:.

We are home.
When we left sunny Florida it was 91 degrees, humid, and ah-mazing. Upon arrival in Des Moines, it was 61 {barely}, raining, and the sky was a lovely shade of nothing-gray. Ho-hum. Back to life and reality. Vacation was fantastic but of course there's no place like home!

The rest of our week in Florida included a lot of time in the pool or poolside, quality time with our children and in-laws and one frozen yogurt trip where I won FREE yogurt because I got exactly 11.4oz of yogurt. A contest of sorts. I'm not proud that I got 11.4oz...but, it was FREE so there was a reason. {wink wink} Also, it was delicious. No regrets.

We stopped by an adorable little run-down fruit store off of an orange grove. Aside from our conference this was probably my favorite. It was old and chippy and the real deal. We tried some alligator jerky, bought real honey in the honeycomb and grapefruit right off of the tree! I'm 100% sure everyone there knew we were tourists.

Now I need to gush about my children and how awesome they are. The Lord really carried us through this week and I am so grateful! When we got home from church last Sunday my big girl had a high fever and seemed to be on the decline in a hurry. We had less then 5 hours until we needed to board a plane and my mind automatically went to "well, better prepare my heart for not going." I was convinced she had something awful and I would be forced to miss out and stay home to care for her. So I took a few minutes while my husband took her to urgent care and just cried {literally} to the Lord. Why I felt like I needed to brace myself for the worst is unknown. But I did, and I was so thankful that I serve a God who hears and has compassion. Several hours later, because urgent care doesn't live up to it's description especially on Sundays, Brad was home with our girl. She was still feverish but the Dr saw no reason for her to miss the trip, citing a weird virus they had seen a lot of that week. Lovely. So with that green light and a slightly loopy daughter we made our way to the airport and began our journey.

On our way back to Iowa

My girls were champions! Even with one who had a fever, one who got air sick {literally, gag}, and a baby - they rocked it! I got many comments from fellow travelers about how well they did and how they couldn't believe how quiet they sat. I agreed at this miracle. ;) Our second leg of the trip had us landing in Orlando at the ripe time of 12:50am. By the time we landed, found our rental car and made it to the hotel it was close to 2am. My girls were exhausted, one was still feverish and one had the results of air-sickness on her shirt, but they just walked and did what we needed them to do. They crashed hard once in the hotel room and slept until around 9:30 the next morning. Is that not perfect?! I was so thankful for my little brood.

I was also thankful they were heading to grandma's for a few days because sharing a room with them is not ideal as I discovered we have one that grinds her teeth, one that talks in her sleep and one that's a baby. :)

On the way back it was even better. No air sickness and they slept the entire first leg (2 hours). The baby was magic and giggled and laughed at anyone who would look at her. And chewed on the seats and got any germs she possibly could into her little month. {geesh} She's a charmer, that one. I got many more compliments about how beautiful and well behaved they were. And if I can tell you the cold-hard-truth, it was nothing short of wonderful to see years of prayers answered after what felt like parenting in the trenches. Because not so long ago we wouldn't have even DREAMED of flying with my biggest girl again. We are seeing fruit of our labors in small doses and it feels so good. So maybe my mini lesson here is to encourage you mommas to KEEP IT UP! Be consistent, be loving, be firm. The icing on the vacation cake was our lunch today at Olive Garden. It was our last hurrah before reality sets in tomorrow - so we got a big, fancy meal and settled in. Our kids are 6, 3 and 10 months old so we are by no means silent. But the kids were so well behaved and we really enjoyed our sweet time around the table. I was already thankful for this fact - calm, eating, all sitting down family, when a lady walked up to our table. She began to tell us how much she enjoyed watching our family and how impressed she was with our children. {I may have looked around to make sure this wasn't a joke} She then went on to tell us how she's observed other families where the children aren't so agreeable but how she so enjoyed us today. We thanked her, confessed that it's not always this way, and showed appreciation for her kind words about how "pretty" our girls were. Then she and her husband went on their way and we wrapped up to go, too. A few minutes later the server came to tell us our bill had been cared for. Now, I can't be sure it was that couple, though we are assuming it was. Wow, what a sweet blessing to us! And what a blessing to Brad and I as parents to hear people speak of our children with as much joy as we feel about them. It was a booster at the end of an already incredible week - reminding us that the investment in our kids matters and the time spent is worth it. I'm reminded of a quote by Gloria Furman, who I got to meet this week {side note}:

"By God's grace, I can resist the temptation to treat my children as interruptions to my will for my life. Instead, God enables me to treat my children as precious gifts he is using to shape me into his image according to his will for my life."

What a great end to a great week. I'm so thankful. I haven't even mentioned the quality time spent with my husband or gone in depth about the spectacular teaching I was able to sit under at the conference. Some things I'll just treasure all for me. :) But, needless to say, we had a blast!
And as I sit here typing, looking out my dining room doors watching it pour, I'm thankful to be home, too. My place. My mission. I'm refreshed, recharged and ready for another week. 

So what's next?
Life, mostly. Just life. I have a loooong list of to-do's, ministry responsibilities and a nice stack of magazines that came in the mail while I was gone. {Kidding.} {Not really kidding}
Tomorrow I'm planning a trip to The Home Depot to pick up paint for the dining room! I'll have a little peek at that later in the week. Stay tuned. I'll do a full write up about the paint job AND the plate wall I'm putting up next month on the All Things With Purpose blog.
Have a great week!

Live from TGC

Before I get into how AWESOME our trip to The Gospel Coalition is going...
Let's talk about my new short hair cut + Florida humidity = disastrous results. Seriously. Terrifying. This hair was done up all cute and conference ready this morning. I had done a pretty good job {if I say so myself} throwing in some messy waves/loose curls, and was feeling pretty hip. Then we stepped outside to admire the morning and how it was 80 degrees at 8am and... the rest is history. After three children being birthed my hair has gone from soft and manageable to this new wiry, weird texture, multiple colored mystery. Ah, what a blessing. So, here's to bobbi pins, hair product and some time this afternoon for a redo. :)

Florida. This conference. This resort.
We are having a great time! Yesterday was impacting as we heard from Dr. Tim Keller, Dr. John Piper and little snippets from Don Carson. Great stuff! The worship has been beautiful and focused. I'm loving the classic traditional hymns and we even got to be led by Sandra McCracken a few times - whose voice I love. Our hotel room overlooks the resorts gorgeous golf course and I cannot complain about the view. Yea Baby! Sunshine, GREEN, and everything beautiful. Although we aren't spending a ton of time outside {did you just read about my hair issues?!} it's so pretty!

The teaching has been phenomenal and I have a full line up of GOOD things this afternoon too, starting with a workshop with Mrs. Gloria Furman AND another of my FAVES Jen Wilkin. Speaking of which... I met her. Jen. I totally met her and she's so real and friendly. I got a small case of the "meeting a celebrity" jitters and started just saying things... like my mouth had it's own brain and I could hear myself saying "STOOOOOP TALKING" but couldn't. {blah} But, she was still sweet and we eventually got to chat about her Judges study.

Today we enjoyed a panel with several super godly guys that my husband and I look up to. Jon Piper KILLED it at the conclusion! So great. If you have time, here in a few weeks TGC will release all the video - take time to watch the panel on Justice. Worth it. And then, go back and watch whatever else you can because it has all been so top notch!

And just for fun because FOR ONCE the men get to see what its like... This is what the guys potty line looks like around here because the genders are a little lopsided. Which, is working out great for me and the other gals.

Perhaps my favorite part of this trip is all the time I get {uninterrupted} with my guy. We are truly having a great time and are beyond thankful to be a part of a ministry who sees the need for couples to get away, get refreshed, and grow together! I love this man and I'm thankful to God for blessing my life with our marriage. He's special. In more ways then one. ;)

So there you have it! Live from Orlando, Florida and TGC!

Spring Break recap... and the thoughts that come after.

We returned on Sunday evening from our week long trip to Ohio. My family is there, and when I say my family I literally mean just about every family member alive is there - excluding a few "strays" who live in Oklahoma and California. The drive to and fro went well and we are so thankful for our ROCK STAR children who made the trip in the car for 10 hours go by smoothly. They slept the entire state of Indiana on the way home, which I know is all part of God's grace because none of us slept the night before. While the trip wasn't meant to be this huge teachable moment thing, I left with this impression on my heart that I had aged, matured, whatever... time is moving and I saw the effects of time in a big way. Part of me was changed and can never go back.

The town "I grew up in", which was really only 10th through 12th grades, had gotten older, again. Houses looked worn, familiar faces still working at the same grocery store were years older, rumbling trucks on small streets still running but older and maybe louder. My old highschool looks old and dirty. Even my parents Boxer/Mastiff dog had gray hair and my cat growing up now walks with a limp from sore hips. It's so weird to feel like you are going back in time...but that time hasn't been kind, or maybe it has. My bedroom in highschool is now the kids toyroom and linen storage, my brothers room a remodeled office, and aside from our Senior pictures you might not know there were once teenagers there. My baby cousins are in college or married and little kids whose diapers I onced changed are driving cars, dating, and planning futures. It's...so...weird. But perhaps the hardest part of watching time pass was visiting my grandparents. At almost 32 years old I have little experience with this sort of thing. I only lost my great-grandparents in Jr high and the sight of death isn't often in front of me, at least with my family. We are a seemingly healthy, young, falsely eternal bunch. So as I took a deep breath, closed the car door and walked toward the nursing home... I could feel my heart failing me. It hurt. This brick building with a pot hole parking lot seemed so sterile and unkind. Not the warmth of grandma's house with her decorations, afghan blankets on each couch and the smell of grandpa's aftershave. We made our way down the hallway to the room that had their names on the door and as I peeked around the door I realized time had come here, too. When you are young you know your grandparents are old, simply because they are your parents parents. But they also bake cookies, take you out to shoot the BB gun, give you dollar bills in your letters, and teach you things only grandparents can. These people I was looking at now were the same, only changed. Gray hair had gone white. Flexible shoulders slumped down and full cheeks were thin with age. My grandpa didn't recognize me at first but thought I was one of the nurses - so I helped him with his jacket and whispered a "suprise" and then his eyes changed as he really saw me. Grandpa. I'll always see him as I did when I was a child, but this man I saw today was still just as handsome and just as much my grandpa, though altered. Grandma sat in her bed and smiled as my children filled the room and became the entertainment. Still Grandma, with hershey kisses to share and her hair pulled back in a bobby pin. My heart pounded and I was so proud of myself for holding back the hot tears during our visit. Part of me wanted to run away and part of me wanted to make this visit last as long as I could...because what if?... I can't even say the words. Later to my husband I cried my fears that that was the last time I might see them. Then I cried for saying that out loud. Time has crept on and maybe it was just more apparent to me this visit - but I felt it. I felt the weight of the situation. I felt my baby brother turning 29 soon. I felt my parents "handling" their aging parents as well as their own aches and pains. And maybe I felt older, too.

I don't mean to sound down. The trip went so well - we had great family time, spent some money to do a few fun activities and just enjoyed our visit. But these above thoughts still kinda haunt me as I think and ponder life and time.

We got back to Iowa and it's still just as cold as when we left. I think it was 22 degrees last night. Bah! But, as the sun peeks out this morning we are hopeful that the warmer weather will one day arrive and Spring will carry on.  Spring Break 2014. Memorable for sure.