Jeff...

As I type, I'm watching my husband sleep. I'm enjoying the sound of silence. Big family vacations are wonderful but it's oh-so-nice to decompress. My house isn't anything to write home about--trust me--but I'm so grateful to climb into clean sheets with my husband tonight. Sometimes I look at Jeff and I'm just overwhelmed by love for him. He's so snuggly and good-hearted. He also creates a lot of housework for me and I've given up trying to get him to bathe...but I wouldn't trade him for anything. He's so fun-loving and sweet. If we could just hole up in a hotel room for the rest of our lives and not be invaded by the world I'd be the happiest girl on the planet! But tomorrow, it's back to the grind! Ok, gotta go...Jeff wants chocolate chip cookies! Where's my mother-in-law when I need her?

Reflections on Family Life...

Our family vacation turned out to be pretty great once we all got over the initial shock of the cabin conditions. We enjoyed a gorgeous view of the lake and a personal fireworks show on the beach, a warm pool to wade in, and a quaint shopping strip just ten minutes away. My husband adores his family to pieces--he's the happiest and most relaxed when he's playing games with his brothers while his parents and the kids are milling around. Family is the end all and be all to Jeff.
The only downside of my weekend was calling my own family back in Hawaii to check in with life. I'm missing out on so many important moments. My grandmother's health is failing and I feel like I should really be there to offer support; my parents are celebrating holidays and birthdays without me in the loop; and I feel distant from my siblings because I'm not an active part of their lives.
It's hard for me to swallow giving up the people I most love and cherish so that my husband can enjoy lots of time with his kids. It's hard to be around intact families and not feel a pang of jealousy that my own family will always be divided. I didn't even realize how much I wanted an intact family of my own until I got married! But that will never be my reality. I'll always wonder "What if"...I had made different choices, how life would've panned out. But then I have moments when I look at my incredibly sweet husband who gives the best hugs in the world and loves me more than I'll ever understand...and all the work and sacrifice of making this blended family work feels worthwhile.

Picture time!

This is what it's all about: FAMILY! Here's a snapshot of my husband's fabulous extended family. There are about 14 of us altogether. Can you imagine getting a group like this together for a picture? It was quite a production. Now we're trying to decide on dinner. Surprisingly, we can't find a restaurant to accommodate 20 people!

Pottawatamie Day II

This vacation is looking up--way up! Jeff and I snuck out of the "resort" this afternoon and headed to St. Joseph's just 10 minutes away. It's the most darling town with quaint shops, ice cream parlors and cafes. I was in heaven! We had a lemon shake-up and a coffee ice cream cone at "Cabanas."

Earlier in the day, we took the kids to the beach. At least that's what they call it down here--it's really a lake with a stretch of sand. Max teased his cousin that bull sharks could be lurking in the waters. Maybe that's true! The kids had a ball. It was a nice sunny day with clear blue skies and a pleasant breeze. Jeff's a little sun-burned but it was fun. I relaxed in a lounge chair and started on my bible study.

So, I'm sitting here on the sand, working on my Beth Moore bible study, "When Godly People Do Ungodly Things" while listening to Michael Jackson's Thriller CD on my iPod. How does that compute? I'm fighting off a headache now...it's hard to take a nap in these cabins with the sun shining brightly and the smell of sunscreen wafting through. Hope you're enjoying your 4th of July wherever you are!

Big Family Vacation '09

So I've always wondered what hell was like. Now I know. It's the Pottawatamie Resort in Michigan. Here's a snapshot of my beauty of a bedroom where the mattress is brown and the curtains are see-through. So guess who wakes up at the crack of dawn? They gave us a thin towel-like material for a blanket so I was cold all night...and felt dirty inhaling the musty air of the cabin walls.
And check out this bathroom! Apparently, this is what $2,000 will get you for a July 4th weekend in Michigan. I feel most badly for my mother and father-in-law who are picking up the majority of the tab. The website is really misleading--now I'm a crusader who wants to warn people to steer clear of this place!
But alas, the heart of this vacation is really spending time with one another. As I speak the kids are happily swimming with their Aunts, Uncles, and cousins...Delaney had a sleep-over last night with a cousin she rarely sees, and in this snapshot Jeff is playing a game with his youngest brother, Peter, who he only sees every other year. It's been great to reconnect with Peter and Kira, who live in Seattle and don't get a chance to come up for a visit. So, the nightmare of this place aside, it's still nice to have family bonding time.