I'm Having a Nightmare about a Summer Vacation

Yesterday's post stirred up all kinds of memories for me, and Emily's comment stirred up even more.  :)  I tell ya, for all the fun and excitement that vacations bring, there's an awful lot of work involved...and some not-so-fun moments.  Now that I've got six months under my belt, it's easy to laugh as I look back on the unglamorous moments from that vacation; but I wasn't laughing so heartily then!  Wanna laugh along with me? Here are some of those moments:

~ Shav pooping in the bathtub four - FOUR - times in a row...I was attending one of the evening sessions with Josiah and David, and Jeff was in the hotel room with Tobin and Shav...the boys were in the tub, Shav pooped, Jeff got the boys out, cleaned the tub, put the boys back in to clean them up, Shav pooped...this happened four times...selfishly I was very glad that I happened to be at the evening session that night!...did I mention it was four times? ;-)

~ injuring my toe...who would have guessed that a little toe could produce so much pain?

~ sitting on the floor of the tiny bathroom at 10:00 PM with Tobin in my arms and the light turned off...Shav was having *somewhat* of a difficult time going to sleep the first night in the hotel, and so was Tobin, imagine that!...Tobin's every noise made it worse for Shav, and since I was alone with the four boys (since it was Jeff's turn to go to a session), I decided the easiest thing was to take Tobin into the bathroom where Shav couldn't hear him...I sang in a whisper to Tobin as I cuddled with him in the bathroom, until I was sure Shav was soundly asleep...not the most comfortable environment for cuddling, but at least it worked!

~ putting Shav down for an afternoon nap in the playpen we took with us, then putting Tobin on the floor between the wall and a bed...he had a pillow and a blanket...then I laid down on the floor with another pillow and blanket to block his escape so he couldn't go over and "visit" Shav...laying down on the floor makes my back hurt almost instantly, but it was a small price to pay for giving Shav the ability to go to sleep...sleep is golden, in such situations...Tobin never did go to sleep there, but later after Shav was snoozing, I let Tobin wander around the room and play quietly (which he did a really good job of)...he finally fell asleep standing up!

~ I've already mentioned the difficult afternoon we had on Friday of that week:  trying to enjoy the Creation Museum while dealing with missed naps, an unruly toddler, terrible heat, and sour attitudes...sleep was such a relief that afternoon...doesn't David look like a little angel here?  :)

~ after those calm-producing naps, we went out for dinner; but while there, Jeff started feeling really poorly...he actually got horribly sick, and spent most of the night making trips to the bathroom...we were planning to take another day of vacation and come back through Ohio, but we ended up heading home a day early because he was so miserable and we just couldn't wait to be home...we weren't sure how to get home however, because of his frequent need for a bathroom  :)...the thought of towing an outhouse suddenly became appealing!...but in the end, God granted sweet relief to Jeff so that we could make it home without too many stops  :)

~ we did have to make one unplanned stop on the way home...Tobin threw up, adding to the "adventure" of it all...we stopped at a rest area and did our best to get him and his carseat cleaned up before hitting the road again for home

~ the mess in our car was horrendous...there was stuff everywhere, and my neatly-packed suitcases with which we started our journey somehow vomited their contents all over everything...add to that the germs and smell from the sickness, and it was pretty nasty...Tobin's throw-up was just the "icing on the cake!"

By this time, we were sort of throwing our hands up in the air, laughing at how ridiculous it all was, and wondering what else was going to happen.  No wonder home was so attractive to us when we finally arrived! When we got home, got everybody into the house, bathed and put the kids in bed, and emptied the car, we decided that we didn't want any more vacations any time soon!!!  :)

I'm Dreaming of a Summer Vacation

In the almost four years that I've been doing this blog, I've learned a few things about myself.  For one thing, I've discovered that I rarely do a good job of posting pictures and writing about the vacations that we've had. You'd think that such exciting events that are really a highlight of the year would warrant considerable blog space; but for some reason, I never seem to get around to doing thorough posts on them.  I'm sure that's caused by the fact that when I come back from vacation, life is extra busy for a while as we unpack, catch up on laundry, and get back into the swing of regular life, so it makes sense that I wouldn't immediately devote much time to posting about the vacation.  But shouldn't I get around to it sometime??  :)

So, in an effort to correct that tendency, I'm sitting here on a cold winter's night, working on this post that I started half a year ago, relishing the sight of these pictures of knobby little boy knees sticking out from shorts, remembering how easy it was to dress the family back in the summer, feeling the sticky weight of July heat that made popsicles so appealing, being astonished by how young all the boys looked just six months ago, and hearing again the laughter that comes from time away, especially with friends!

Because so much time has passed, I'll give a few basic facts about our vacation again.  We, along with two other families, traveled to Tennessee to the Defending the Faith conference held there.  We stayed at Wilderness at the Smokies, the hotel directly connected to the conference center, and we had an absolute blast there.  We definitely took advantage of the fact that our stay at the hotel included free admission to the waterparks.  :)  After the conference, we headed to northern Kentucky to visit the Creation Museum before returning to Virginia.  That's the condensed version.

Now I'll expand on that...  :)

I loved the architecture and design of the hotel--very neat and attractive and appealing to the eye.  When we first walked in our room, I thought, "Oh, this is great!  They did a great job decorating this!"  By the end of our time, I was still enthused about the decorations, but less so about the size of the room.  Six people in that room for a few days felt very cramped, and it also got pretty smelly.  Really, all it takes to smell up a hotel room is one poopy diaper; and you can be sure there was more than just one during our time there!  :) 

One of the highlights of staying in a hotel for our boys is the chance to watch TV, so we turned it on some for them while we were there, but we didn't want them to veg in front of it the whole time.  Tobin discovered that a chair pulled up to the sink and a plastic cup provided great entertainment.  :)

We had a little refrigerator in our room, and we had taken some food with us so that we wouldn't have the expense of eating out for every meal.  Granola bars, nectarines, plums, chips, etc. - basically, just munchy stuff, but stuff that we could fill our tummies with nevertheless.  After doing that for a little while though, we decided one evening to go out for a "real" dinner, and we ended up at Bass Pro Shops.  It happened to be Shav's birthday, so he celebrated turning one by going to Bass Pro Shops.  :)

I can't remember what we ate, but I do remember that it tasted SO GOOD.  After having lived on munchies for a while, that hot meal seemed incredibly delicious.  :)  I remember that it took a while for the food to come, but there was plenty to look at while we were waiting.  David looks enthralled...  :)

No wonder!  This was the view!  Lots of interesting things to look at, for sure.  :)

Family times are a treasure.  :)

I'm sure if I woke up Josiah and David right now and asked them what they liked best about our vacation, they would say, "The waterpark!"  But close behind that on their list of favorite things from our vacation would be their encounter with this man.

Buddy Davis, the one and only!  :)  My boys knew of him from videos we'd borrowed from the library, but to be able to see him in person and shake his hand and participate in the kid's classes he led and listen to him perform his music and buy one of his CDs (Josiah saved up money to take along on the trip, and with that money he bought a Buddy Davis CD) and, yes, take this picture with him - well, that was terribly exciting for my boys!  During the days we were there, we happened to run into Buddy several times in the hallways of the hotel and conference center; and each time, I could feel the shiver of excitement run through Josiah and David.  Each time, Buddy was unfailingly warm and gracious.  His kindness was definitely a highlight of the trip for Josiah and David!

Of all the speakers that we heard at the conference, a few stand out even to this day in my memory.  Ken Ham, of course, is very articulate; and I enjoyed his presentations very much.  I also enjoyed the lessons given by Voddie Baucham...

Wow!  What a speaker!  I had never seen or heard him in real life before, so I didn't really know what I was in for; but I found my attention captivated as soon as he began to speak.  And the best part?  We didn't simply enjoy his lessons and feel encouraged; we were challenged by them.  That's what we were there for--to learn, to grow, to be challenged--and Voddie did not disappoint.  Excellent, excellent, excellent!

I didn't take a picture of either of these men, but two others were particularly noteworthy in my mind.  One was Dr. Jason Lisle and the absolutely amazing facts about space that he shared.  Without a doubt, "the heavens declare the glory of God," as Psalm 19 tells us!  The other was John Elliott, a musician who led in worship at various times during the concert.  The first time we heard him, he taught the audience a song he wrote, "Yet I Will Rejoice."  I loved it immediately, had to buy the CD it was on so I could bring it home with me, and have listened to it innumerable times since then.  Besides the beauty of the music and the power of the words, it is also so meaningful to me because of all the memories of the conference that are tied up in it for me.  All I have to do is hear the beginning of that song, and I'm swept back in time to that conference and the glorious bliss of standing in that huge hall and singing that song with so many others.  Incredible!

Before we went, I was not at all sure how our two little guys would handle long days of meetings so Jeff and I set our expectations low, as far as how many of the sessions we would actually be able to attend, and hoped for the best!  As it turned out, we were abundantly blessed by the help given us by the families we traveled with and the many willing hands that would reach out for a squirmy Tobin to entertain or the handles of a stroller that needed pushing so Shav could fall asleep.  Those two families have lavished us with helpful service so many times, so I shouldn't have been surprised...but I was.  :)  I was grateful for sessions where I could actually sit up front, open a notebook to take notes, and pay attention to the speaker--what luxury!  :)

There were other times, however, when it was just easier to park myself in the back of the huge room with Tobin and Shav, so that they (particularly Tobin) would have room to move around and so that I wouldn't have to worry too much if they made a little noise.  We had plenty of company in the back of the room; LOTS of other parents were there with their young children, too.  :)

As I look at these pictures six months after the fact, I don't even remember what Tobin was doing in some of them.  But I do remember how much stress it released to allow him this room to move, and I do think he's completely adorable!  :)

After the conference was over, we (along with many other conference participants) headed north to the Creation Museum.  This beautiful sunset sky made the journey achingly gorgeous for a time.


At the Creation Museum...  The topic of creationism is a HUGE one, and I won't even touch on it tonight.  But I will say this:  we thought the museum was very well done and extremely attractive.  Definitely not some dinky little museum with a few bones in it.  I'd like to go back someday...when there's not quite as many people there.  ;-)  (It was very crowded the day we were there, because of the conference participants who did like us and visited it after the conference.)




Friends make anything more fun!  :)





In the interest of keepin' it real, I'll say that the day we visited the museum was a really terrible day for us as a family.  Attitudes were horrible, obedience was nowhere to be found, fatigue was at an all-time high, we were just hanging on by a thread!  We ended up not spending as much time at the museum as we had originally planned because what we REALLY needed was some rest time back at the hotel.  It seemed like on this day, all the excitement of the trip caught up with us, and we just crashed.  Plus, it was about a hundred million degrees outside, and our walk through the lovely grounds around the museum was about as relaxing as a stroll on the surface of the sun.  ;-)






Back in the hotel, Tobin, David, and Jeff (and maybe Josiah?) quickly fell asleep; and things were much better after some rest.  But during that time of quiet, I had the pleasure of watching Shav, and I smile just remembering this.  There was a full-length mirror on the door of the closet, and he had the best time seeing himself in that mirror.  You could tell he was simply enthralled by that little boy he kept seeing--the boy who would wave back at him and smile at him and scoot towards him.  It was precious.  :)




We wanted to get a group shot of the three families together, but this was the best we could do.  Not the greatest pictures (I can hardly find my David--I think he was behind Joelle?), but so special to me because of the memories associated with them and the people in them.  These friends are treasures!

A few other memories float through my head...

When we were standing in line at the Creation Museum, someone who knew us from when we lived in San Diego recognized us and spoke to us.  That was definitely a fun reconnection for us!

Driving through Virginia and Tennessee and Kentucky, we saw so much beauty!  We saw so many open spaces, we saw rivers, we saw butterflies, we saw hills and valleys, we saw trees like a green shag carpet.  Sometimes it's good to just get in the car and drive so our eyes can be opened to the overwhelming beauty in the world around us.

Road trips are always appreciated by me, especially because they give me time to talk with Jeff.  That's probably the best part of driving in a car for long distances!  :)  On our vacation, another thing I did to pass the time in the car was reading aloud a Laura & Mary book (On the Banks of Plum Creek, maybe?).  As we made the final, long journey home, I read quite a few chapters and kept everyone's mind diverted from how many hours we'd been in the car.  It was really pleasant.  It was also really emotional for me!  I'm apparently an emotionally unstable person because I've discovered that I CANNOT read those books without crying!  I would be reading along and get to some dramatic part and start to really feel what Ma must have felt...and then my throat would seize up and my eyes would start to water and I'd have to put the book over my face until I could compose myself enough to go on.  Josiah and David are used to this, but even still they can't help but roll their eyes slightly as they ask, "Are you going to cry again?"  :)

Even though that vacation was so much fun and so memorable, it was inexpressibly good to be home again.  I remember just sitting and looking around at everything.  I remember feeling so grateful to be back.  I remember Josiah saying that he liked sleeping in his own bed again.  :)  I remember being glad to sleep in my own bed again, too!!

Ah, vacations!  I'm so grateful that six months ago, we got to have such a wonderful one!

The Last Night as a Two-Year-Old

Once upon a time, I wrote a similar post to this one, only in that case, it was for David on the night before his 4th birthday.  Somehow, time rushed on, and here I sit on the eve before Tobin turns 3.  He'll never be 2 again.  Rather than be melancholy about that, I'm going to celebrate it--rather, celebrate him.  And so, my dear Tobin, this is for you:  one last look at you as a two-year-old, right before I tucked you in bed tonight.

It's a little strange to look back on this post announcing my pregnancy with you...

...and this post announcing your birth...

...and realize that those posts were about YOU!  We barely knew you then--just the tip of the iceberg--but without a doubt, we have delighted, during the past three years, in the gradual unveiling of your personality and all the unique attributes that make you you.  You are so very special, Tobin Bear...

...and so very, very loved!

I Don't Take This for Granted {Updated}

* Updated* 

As it turns out, I didn't do a very good job of guessing who had written what notes, particularly in relation to Bibles #10 and #11.  Thankfully, my mother sat down with me this evening after supper and set me straight about the real author, so I have now gone back through this post and rewritten some parts to make the necessary corrections.  The part that really touched me is that my granddad had written most of the notes, whereas I had assumed that it was my grandma.  By the time I was old enough to be thinking deeply about spiritual matters, my granddad had already progressed fairly far in his Alzheimer's Disease; so, even though I have numerous pleasant memories of him, I don't remember many significant spiritual conversations with him.  To have this glimpse into his thoughts regarding God, the Bible, and his family makes these pictures even more special to me.

* Original post*

This is the kind of post which will likely make my mother cry.

This is the kind of post which will likely be rather boring to most other readers.

This is the kind of post which I will likely look back upon in years to come and be extremely thankful for!

Before Jeff's mother came for her month-long stay last fall, Jeff and I worked extensively in our library, which also functions as our guest room, to get rid of a lot of stuff and organize the remaining items to make it a pleasant, welcoming, functional room for her.  We accomplished a lot, but there is still much more to do in that room.  However, we were able to meet our goal of getting rid of enough stuff to eliminate some bookshelves that stuck out into the middle of the room.  With them gone, the room seemed adequately spacious and neat, though not fancy in the least.

Most of the time, Jeff and I are terrible at getting rid of books.  I scan the shelves and find plenty of books we could get rid of, but it just so happens that they all belong to him and he wants to keep them.  He looks around and sees numerous books we no longer need, but they are mine and I can't imagine life without them.  We make quite a pair.  :)

We're getting better at it though; and even when it's a sacrifice, we're learning to take the plunge and say, "OK, we can give that away.  Let someone else be blessed by it."

Like with these Bibles...

Oh my goodness gracious me!  We have shelves full of Bibles; and since both Jeff and I are passionate about the Word of God, we view these books as precious treasures.  Nevertheless, it was time to thin the ranks and pass along a few that could be used and loved by someone else.

Here are some of the Bibles we got rid of (and let it be known that the act of taking pictures of them and writing about them eased some of the pain of separation!) ...  :)

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Bible #1 - the Bible my parents gave me when I was 10 years old

While memorizing the Sermon on the Mount for school one year, I (over)zealously used my highlighter, which has faded to a dull yellow.

Having these tabs along the edge surely made it easier to find each book.  The only disadvantage was that it disqualified me from using my own Bible for Mrs. Fawley's Sword Drills.  (Not familiar with Sword Drills?  It's simply a competition to see who can find a verse first when the teacher calls out a reference.  Mrs. Fawley would say, "Romans 8:28!" for example, and the class would scramble to see who could find it first.  Lots and lots of fun, and a great learning tool as well!)

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Bible #2 - the Bible I got when I was 13 years old; among other places, I carried this with me to Mexico during a missions trip when I was 14

After growing up with the good ol' KJV, reading the text of the Good News Bible was quite a switch--a change I enjoyed!

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Bible #3 - the NIV Study Bible my parents gave me on my 17th birthday

I was still using this one a few years later, as evidenced by the note I wrote beside Psalm 45:10-11:  "received 22 July 96 during Jeff's first visit."  :)

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Bible #4 - the Bible I remember Mother using when we were children

Much harder than getting rid of my own Bibles was saying farewell to the ones belonging to my parents and other relatives.  So I took the easy way out:  I photographed them to blog about, then sent them home with my parents so that they could figure out what to do with them!  :)

I didn't know, until I saw the above inscription, that Mother was nine years old when she was baptized.

The illustrations in this Bible were woven into the fabric of my mind as a child; and perhaps they, in part, inflamed my imagination enough to make me determined to someday visit Israel.

This Bible had occasional notes in the margins, written in my mother's neat writing.

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Bible #5 - another Bible I remember my mother using; unfortunately the cover sustained some damage over time

She had passed this one along to me, and I enjoyed using it because of the memories of her using it.  I wonder who gave me these flower petals pressed into it?  ;-)

I can see clearly, in my mind, her sitting with her Bible and a small ruler, carefully underlining verses that particularly stood out to her.  It must be the firstborn in her that compelled her to be so neat.  :)

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Bible #6 - this one belonged to my paternal grandmother, given to her in 1923

I'm so glad for this inscription inside it that tells the history of it.

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Bible #7 - this Bible, the edges now crumbling, once belonged to my paternal grandfather

Granddad apparently used this in college and after.  To think of him as a young man, carrying this Bible around, turning its pages, studying its words - wow, what a treasure!

I had never heard of a Precious Promise Bible.  Until I saw this one, that is.  :)

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Bible #8 - this Bible with an olivewood cover was intriguing; who in my family would have something like that?

My maternal grandfather apparently, who received it from his uncle.

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Bible #9 - this Bible came in a box

I soon discovered why:  it was falling apart!  That's a badge of honor for a Bible, however.  No shame there!

I found an interesting piece about the Church of the Brethren ( my grandparents on both sides were members of this denomination).

But I still didn't know to whom the Bible belonged until I saw this inscription:

I never knew my great-grandfather, but I'm thrilled that he gave this Bible to his daughter, my maternal grandmother.  

This article, "The Bible as Literature," had been tucked into this Bible, and was interesting to read.

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Bible #10 - this Bible had a plain cover

I discovered gems within!  Notes my granddad had written...

...about a wide range of topics...

...even "The warfare of Spirit filled believers..."

 ...and "Speaking in tongues."  I didn't know Granddad thought much about those topics!  :)

A list of his grandchildren (and this was especially touching:  Premature baby boy Coy and Premature baby girl Coy were also listed)...

A record of births of his immediate family, including two sons-in-law...

A record of marriages, including my uncle who got married in Peru...

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Bible #11 - another Bible with cover falling apart

Granddad's name, in very faint letters, on the front.

The treasure inside this one was all the notes--most written by Granddad, but this one was by Grandma: "The Lord's service a Daily one"...

 I was very interested to see that Granddad wrote a polite note expressing dissatisfaction with the prescribed lessons for Sunday school.  In his words, "There is a very great lack of scripture in these quarterlies.  If we take the Scripture out of our Sunday School lessons it is like taking the wheat out and leaving the chaff."  History repeats itself, they say; and I can hear my husband's voice saying the exact same thing about a year and a half ago!

Here's a study he did on "What the Holy Spirit Does for Us"...

 ...one on "Sin"...

 ..."Conversion"...

...and a scrap of paper that simply said, "A PLACE OF PRAYER" and "ABRAHAM BUILT AN ALTER (sic) UNTO GOD."

 Then I found a piece of paper that had "Deuteronomy 6:4-7" at the top, followed by what looked like an announcement (or plea, rather) for more involvement in the Sunday school program, beneficial for both the training of children and adults.  Words and sentences were crossed out and rewritten, arrows pointed here and there, phrases were inserted at various places.  Did my granddad work and rework this to get the wording just right?  Did he stand up and give this announcement?  No matter.  What really caught my attention and stirred my heart was the last line:  "Come and join us in this service for our master and let us prepare for that home above."

A few days ago, we marked 12 years since my grandmother's passing from this life to the next.  How poignant to be reading her words and those of my granddad and touching their Bibles and getting insight into their spiritual heartbeat, even as I remembered her death.  Without a doubt, she--and my other family members whose Bibles I held in my hands--did indeed "prepare for that home above."  May I faithfully do likewise.

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And so, back to the title of this post:  I Don't Take This for Granted.  What don't I take for granted?

First of all, the abundance of Bibles we possess, marking our comparative economic prosperity and the ready availability of Bibles here in this country, as well as the amazing freedom we have to own and read and live out the words of the Bible.  When I think of what people throughout history have done--and what people in other countries do even now--just to have one Bible, I feel like the most spoiled little girl imaginable.  But if it helps, I know I'm blessed, I appreciate it, and I don't take it for granted.

Second, the legacy of faith that has been passed down to me on both my mother and my father's side is unique in today's world and exceedingly valuable.  I had nothing to do with it, of course; but how grateful I am that my parents and my grandparents (and going back further than that, although I don't know the specifics) were people of deep faith, who not only owned Bibles, but read them, studied them, pored over their contents, and lived lives guided by them.

I didn't realize this until I started preparing this post, but I had Bibles from all four grandparents, as well as my mother.  (My dad, to be sure, has always read and lived by the Bible, too; I guess he just hasn't given me any of them!)  It's not just the Bibles that are precious to me, of course; it's also the times I remember hearing my grandparents read aloud those words and pray from their hearts to the God who wrote those words.  How blessed am I!

I discovered one other gem as I looked through these Bibles:  a small booklet from the little country church my maternal grandparents always attended.

 Inside was a list of members, and there in the "W" section, I saw the names of my grandparents, their two children living at home (my mother was already married by this time), as well as brothers, a sister, and other members of the Winters family.  This is a picture of legacy.

This is a picture of treasure.

And I am determined to never take this for granted.