Our stay-cation has ended...I am kind of sad. There were really good times and really hard times in this week of staying home but it was so worth it! To me...the reason for vacation is to step away from life...from schedules...from "to-do's"...anxieties and worry and hurry. Because we need to face it sometime and sometimes it's harder than others but anxiety, frustration and anger are sin...and sin has no bottom...it digs eternally deep and ruins you. And hurry? Well I am convinced that is the root of all anxiety, frustration and anger in my life. My to-do list, expectations, go go go! And when you hurry...you hurt because sin is not comforting..it's hurtful. It doesn't want the best for you...it wants to see you fail...fall...draw away from God and doubt yourself to the fullest. Sin takes away all joy that you are supposed to profess, scream from the mountain tops and let flow out of you when you are a believer!
It didn't take me long into this vacation to return to this anxiety...needing to get things done and on a certain timeline...I failed. It's literally by the grace of God and NOTHING ELSE...NOTHING IN MY HANDS...that I was able to get back up and redeem our stay-cation!
If you didn't see the beginning of our stay-cation check it out here! We celebrated the 4th of July with some pretty amazing friends. It's turning to our annual celebration!
We decided with the craziness of life to make it even more crazy and put our house up for sale...officially...
I have to say...I LOVE our house. Even just looking at it right now tears me up a bit. We got married and started building this house. This is the first house we called home and brought every single one of our babies home in this house. We have so many great memories with this house and there is something AMAZING when I think that my dad and husband and his dad (and many other great people) built this house with their hands...I walk through the house and know these walls were put up and secured by the love of my life and he worked HARD...like went to his day job and came home and worked his butt off to get this house finished before we welcomed our first baby into it...see? crying....BUT we do not want to be here forever. We love our location...it's a great lot but that is what it is...a lot. With four boys we want room to run, be loud, hunt and explore...we don't have that here...and so was our prayerful decision...
This may have led to some anxiety throughout the week...just preparing for our showings but God is good and gave us time and a calming peace about it.
Wednesday morning we woke up determined to go to the beach...who cares if it was only 64 degrees out...it was on our bucket list and we were going to accomplish it! So we packed up and headed out...
and you know what? the weather didn't stop the kids and we had fun...
and Auntie came and Paigey came and Cody came and my friend Dusty came with her kids...and the sun came out and no one wanted to leave...the ONLY motivation was this....
Getting to see my best friend and her family from Wisconsin...it was SO MUCH FUN!!!! Catching up and spending time with their kids. I cried like a baby because well...she is that friend that even after not seeing each other for 2 years you pick right back and you're caught up...just the hour visit and we talked about so much and laughed and cried...I just love her and it almost doesn't seem real now that we spent time together...
Thursday my sisters came over and we hung out (although I washed windows) our kids played and screamed and painted and laughed. I love my nieces...they are full of character and life and it's always refreshing to spend time with them. During the day another sweet friend who I haven't spent time with in a while texted asking to hang out. You see this is how God works. Because in the midst of doubting my friendships and who I am as a friend God re-assured me three times in one week that they are secured...
This friend...she is amazing. She loves God and I love that she is such an inspiration to many! She has been through trial after trial and we talked about how we'd rather go through trials than be idle...I am ALWAYS blessed by my time with her and honestly blessed by watching our husbands be together...because I do feel like they may have been brothers separated at birth :)
I laughed and calmed as I listened to my baby sister and my oldest son camp out in a tent and tell stories and make memories...
And we made more memories by visiting "Grandma Great" Ginger at Chinook Campground...I LOVE watching them with her and she was brave enough to keep the oldest two overnight...
They got to spend time with Uncle and play in the pool and share ice cream...making more memories...
and that my friends wraps up our stay-cation...I'd do it again in a heartbeat!
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