San Diegp

"Weather you eat or drink, [or go on vacation] or whatever you do , do it all to the glory of God."Aaron, Linnea and I all had the privilege of taking a family vacation to San Diego the weekend after Easter...kind of as a regroup after a really busy time. The weather was absolutely beautiful there (as I hear it usually is), and it was wonderful just to be away from "real" life for a few days and to leave all responsibilities...well, not ALL responsibilities. That is pretty much impossible when you take your daughter with you (Not to say that I think she is just a "responsibility"...she is one of the greatest joys in my life, as well as one of the greatest difficulties)! :) Honestly, I think it was a small taste of what "family vacations" are going to be all about: serving your family, even on vacation, and taking great delight in doing so.

The whole delight thing didn't exactely come naturaly for our first "family vacation." Neither for Aaron or I. I think both of us selfishly wanted to get rid of our daughter for the weekend....I know, not very kind...I guess you could say we wanted to be able to go to the beach for more than 30 minutes :), but when you have a daughter who was distraught with the feel of sand (shouldn't have put her in it!), and tired from not napping, that isn't exactly a reality. :)

So, yes...vacation was an eye opener...to our sin of selfishness, and to our need for total dependence on God (yes, even on vacation), and to what exactly a family vacation will entail (and I'm sure it only gets crazier with more kids :), and hopefully more fun too!), and also to the fact that my hubby and I will have to make time away just the two of us a priority once we have the option (my daughter does not take a bottle).

Saying all this brings to mind a couple of terrific posts by the Mahaney ladies on the subject of vacation. I encourage you to take a few minutes out of your day to read them. I'm so thankful that my dear friend pointed me to them, and I literally should read them before I go on any vacation!

My hubby and I still had precious time talking during walks, in the car, during the occasional naptimes, and in the evenings...so it was still so refreshing for us as a couple! I praise the Lord for such a wonderful partner in life, and a beautiful daughter who God has entrusted to us, her parents.

Some of our discoveries on vacation:

1) Linnea loves onion! She is pretty picky when it comes to food.....so when she grabbed an onion off of Aaron's salad and started chewing it...again and again, we were shocked....what baby likes onion?!? I don't even like raw onion by itself! I tell yah....sometimes I wonder about that girl! :) (She tends to look very concerned when she discovers something new, even when she likes it)
2) Linnea very much dislikes sand! Her hands and feet were sticky from sunblock, so the sand stuck to her....she tried to get it off, and was quite upset when she couldn't! Note to self: do not stick daughter in the sand!


3) She loves her sunhat and has not once tried to take it off! What a doll! ;)
4) Vacationing in San Diego is most definitely the way to go when you have a cousin who would probably pay US to babysit our daughter...thank you Laura! What a blessing!!