Family Getaway

*This is my last chance to publish this post this year, and--by golly--I'm gonna do it!  I've been working on it since EASTER.  The stupid problem my computer has been having with pictures caused this post to be impossible to prepare.  Each and every picture took anywhere from 10-20 minutes to upload.  Ridiculous.  But I win.  I'm publishing this thing.  Happy Easter and Happy New Year!

One night several weeks ago, Jared and I were discussing the upcoming Easter weekend.  We realized that it is the only Sunday during the entire year when neither of us has responsibilities at church.  Whole year--one Sunday off.

We contemplated this fact.  We added other facts.  He was running ragged at work.  I was running ragged at home.  We missed each other and desperately wanted time with just our family.

These facts added up to one very controversial conclusion:  we should go away for Easter weekend.  That's right:  we would not be in our home church on Easter Sunday.

Before you get too bent out of shape, keep in mind that we try to be grateful every single day that Jesus died for us and rose again, conquering death and allowing us to be forgiven and spend eternity with Him.  Prayer led us to a sense of peace about skipping town for Easter weekend in order to be renewed as individuals and as a family.

We didn't even book our trip until about a week and a half before the getaway weekend.  Jared picked both the location and the actual house we rented.  I didn't make a packing list.  I didn't plan meals ahead of time.  We did not schedule activities ahead of time.

If you know me at all, you know this is NOT the way I usually operate.  I admit it was kinda awesome.

So where did we go and what did we do?

We went to a little town in Southern Illinois and stayed in an awesome house on lots of acres of land, including a pond for fishing as well as woods for exploring and rocks for climbing.

The house had one wall of windows, and it led out to a balcony with rocking chairs.

The back side of the house with an outdoor eating area and a grill

We weren't sure how the kids would do with this kind of vacation.  They expect "vacation" to mean beach and pool.  We did have our amazing vacation last year to Michigan, but even that had swimming in the lake and a brief trip to a beach at Lake Michigan.

The first day we were there, I suggested that we go hiking in the woods to see what we could find.  The kids referred to this as "exploring," and it became their favorite thing ever.

When we were out exploring for the first time, Nolan and I had this conversation:

Nolan:  Mom, I've never seen you get dirty.
Me:  See?  I told you Vacation Mom is different than Everyday Mom.
Nolan:  I like Vacation Mom better.

Guess what?  I like Vacation Mom better, too.

On our exploring trips, we tried to find as many things as possible.  We focused on plants, animals, and other living things.  I found that taking pictures of the things we found helped me not to get too grossed out.

It's too bad this picture came out so dark because it is FUNNY!!  The lizard moved suddenly right as I took the picture.

There was a road from our house to the nearby pond.  We LOVED fishing there, and we also found more critters in and near the water.

These are slimy strings of frog eggs, and there were tons of them everywhere!

A tiny minnow Griffin caught in his net

A clearer view of the frog eggs

Ants on a log.  Literally.

There were about six turtles that lived in the pond, but they never let us get close enough to get a decent picture.

We weren't sure how fishing was going to go.  Jared had to do all the gross jobs of baiting hooks and touching slimy things, of course.  Griffin hooked nearly every family member at one point or another.  For awhile, it was just a game of keeping everyone safe and not bleeding.

Eventually everyone found their fishing groove.  The kids figured out how to cast and how to enjoy the game of trying to get a fish.  Jared and I even got to fish once we got the kids set up.

Jared caught the first fish.  Then I caught my own little bluegill, just slightly larger than Jared's.  Then the boys caught bitty fish of their own.  Nora pouted because she was the only one who hadn't caught a fish.  And then, she caught THE fish of the trip.  And on a Barbie fishing pole, mind you.

This is one of my very favorite pictures!

 

Seriously.  She puts her Nora girly flair on everything, even fishing!

Griffin ADORED this tiny baby bass

I loved the kids using their imaginations with the sticks and rocks.

We were not afraid of dirt on this vacation

When Jared and I wanted to sit together, the kids could go play on the swing set.

Going on another adventure

My boots!

We had a super awesome Easter egg hunt on the property.

These were the "horses with shirts" on the property next to ours.

This is "Donkley" (named by Nora).  He is a lovable donkey who enjoys eating fresh chives pulled from the ground and hand fed to him by adorable children.

It was such an amazing weekend filled with adventures and all sorts of new things.  We will remember this family getaway forever!

And we might not be around next Easter either...

Jessica

This Is Real

Things have been nuts-o around here.  You too?  We've had all sorts of Christmas programs, business trips, school volunteer jobs, illness, meetings, gatherings, shopping, cleaning, wrapping, pushing children through developmental hiccups, and feelings of generally being swallowed whole by life (Jonah-in-the-whale style).

Last Saturday we went to some friends' house for their annual Christmas party.  We get together with this family about once per month, but we get to see other mutual friends each year at their Christmas party and sometimes at couples game nights.

This year's Christmas party included the host family, my family, and just three other families.  It was really nice.  I didn't have that awkwardness that comes whenever I'm required to socialize with people I don't know well.

Yesterday the party host sent a text to Jared and me to let us know that the wife from one of those three families had passed away.

I couldn't believe what I was reading.  Our life has been so completely crazy lately that at times I have felt out of touch with reality.  I stared at that text and thought surely my mind had cracked under the stress and I was imagining awful things.  But then Jared replied (he was on a business trip at the time), and I began to accept that this news was true.

We really don't know much at this point.  She died in her sleep, and the cause is unknown.  She's roughly my age.  She and her husband have three beautiful daughters.  She had just been telling me on Saturday about each girl and what parenting them is like right now.  The oldest is 13 and is very responsible.  This joyful mom told me how lucky they are that their daughter is such a great kid and how she really will be fine through the teen years.

We played a game of Christmas movie trivia, and Jared and I ended up winning the gift brought to the party by this couple whose life is now forever fractured.  The gift contained a Christmas potholder that I used to take freshly baked rolls out of my oven today, a Christmas towel, and a Santa candle warmer that is currently lending a warm glow to my kitchen.  These items were all purchased by this friend who is suddenly gone.

I don't understand.

I keep thinking about this woman and her family.  Are there Christmas gifts that she purchased for her girls?  Will her kids open their last gifts from their mom?  My mind keeps replaying our time together.  I wonder how her husband and children will make it through this Christmas.  And maybe every Christmas after.

I can't stop thinking about these people.

And yet there's another thought that is blazing to the forefront of my mind now:  this is real.  Death is real.  People die.  Often with no warning at all.

The urgency of talking to people about God is so intensified within me.  Anyone whose path I cross could snuggle into bed tonight and wake up in eternity.  Have I shown them how to choose where their eternity will be?

My church just finished a series on heaven called Indescribable.  Click here to see our previous sermons, and you can go back to the sermons on heaven.

This series reminded me just how real heaven and hell are.  Life on this planet really does come to an end, and people really do go to only one of those two places.  I've never seen it, but I believe it with everything in me.

Not all people will go to heaven.  Not all nice people will go to heaven.  The only people who will go to heaven are those who believe the following.  God is the one and only God, the one who created all things.  God came down to earth in the form of Jesus, a baby who was fully human and fully God, and who was conceived within a faithful woman who was a virgin.  Don't try to understand all of that in human terms because God's ways are greater than our ways.  Jesus lived on this very earth and did and said all of what is recorded in the Bible.  Then He fulfilled the will of God by taking on the sin of all mankind and dying a horribly painful death in order to pay the penalty on our behalf.  Because Jesus paid for our sin and defeated death when He rose to life again, He now offers us the opportunity to live in His forgiveness here on earth and then live with Him in heaven for all eternity.

"If you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." Romans 10:9

The Bible is a treasure trove of words from our God.  He doesn't want even one of His children to miss out on the forgiveness He offers.  He doesn't want even one of his precious people to choose hell.  But He does allow us to choose for ourselves.

If I go to sleep tonight and my earthly body gives out before morning, I am completely certain that I will be safe with my Savior.

Are you certain?  Are you confident that you'll go to heaven when you die?  What about your family members?  Friends?  Favorite waitress, grocery cashier, neighbor?

Because this is real.

I believe this so much that I would bet my life on it.  In fact, I have.

I know it won't be long before life tries to distract me with scheduling conflicts, family drama, and holiday weight.  I need to record this raw moment to help me remember.  This is real.

Jessica