Vacation. How in the world did it go by so quickly?! We spent 7 days in Wisconsin with Jakes family, our family, and I could have stayed for much much longer. Vacation is always good for us for so many reasons. The kids need a break from the monotony just as much as we do and there's nothing more refreshing and recharging than fresh air and beautiful scenery. I feel like this trip was a little different though. It had some depth.
There are things in life that we forget all too easily. And this trip was exactly what I needed to remind me of so many of those things. WARNING: I am going to get mushy gushy about Jake here so skip it if you get nauseated easily. In November Jake and I will have been together for 9 years. There isn't anything about him that I don't have memorized. And yet, he's like a whole new man to me right now. First of all, of course I know he's handsome. I'm not blind. But I had almost forgotten that he's ridiculously good looking. He put on his slacks and dress shirt for the wedding and I gasped a little bit. My first thought was "holy crap, McKenzee, you're married to HIM!" and then I realized that he has no idea. He has no idea how amazing he is....and if he did, he would still be here. Once I got over the breathtaking thing I couldn't help but stare at him all night. He's that guy. The one that never meets a stranger. The one that can literally take 10 hours to make his way through a room because there isn't a person there that isn't drawn into him or that he can't find something in common with to make conversation. He held court on 5 different occasions, at 4 different tables, during 1 trip to the bar. And then later in the week, he hopped on the four wheeler in muddy boots, a hat, and a dirty sweatshirt, in the rain and there it was again. Wow. How did I ever land this guy? Second of all, in addition to the stupid good looks, I've watched him change. I've watched God change him. And whoa the perspective changes. Before each flight he gathered our hands up into his. Mine, Coles and Zellas and prayed for our safety. We got to Wisconsin and he stopped us to thank God for His blessings. I got really stressed out one day with the kids and he pulled me aside and asked me if he could pray with me. I know he thought I was crying because I was stressed. But they were happy tears. Could I possibly love this man any more than I do now? I hear it keeps getting better. I can't wait!
Mushy gushy is over......
Growing up in the Lowcountry I thought I would never look at any other place and think "Wow. This is Gods' country" and I know that's dumb but truly, theres nothing like the Lowcountry. But then there's Wisconsin in Fall. The trees had just started to change when we got there. By day 4 they had completely popped and it was amazingly beautiful. There was one morning when it rained and then by afternoon the sun was poking through the clouds. We walked out into the woods under the blanket of colors and watched as life crawled beneath, above and around us. The only other time I have ever physically felt peace was on the water. God was there. Okay, He's always there. But literally right there, holding the camera right there. It's a crying shame that I'm so technologically inept that I can't figure out how to add pictures to my blog or I would show you His presence that day in the forest.
Cole amazed us (he's been doing it for 5.5 years, not sure why I still get surprised) through the entire trip. Yes. He's a boy and he's 5 and he has more energy than most people ever dream of having. But truly, he's a good kid. He's my baby boy. There wasn't a please or a thank you that he missed. He held doors for people. He held Zella's hand in the car when she got sleepy. He helped the little kids get their candy at the wedding. He told me he loved me for no reason at all. His butt is so stinking cute in those little khaki pants he wore to the wedding. He ASKED to please do homework and he did it well. He obsessed over eating deer meat....and boy did he ever eat some deer meat! I am so proud to be this little boys mama.
This was Zella's first trip to Wisconsin. A lot of Jake's family had never met her and so of course this was a huge trip for her. Naturally, she didn't disappoint. We spent our first two days celebrating with Jake (Smith) and Breann as they said "I Do" in the most perfect Fall outdoor wedding ceremony. The ceremony was followed by fun and laughter and games and dancing and yes, Miss Zella had her dancing shoes on! As if she were taking cues from a director, Miss Zella performed beautifully and naturally. She put on her Sunday best and flashed grin after grin for the camera. She danced and clapped and spun in circles until she fell to the floor with laughter. And after every move she would look to her audience to check their reaction. She has an AMAZING sense of the emotions of the people around her. I'm telling you.....she's going to be something huge.
On a hilarious note. We rented a minivan......and LOVED it! We went to the Mall of America after we got off our flight and Jake was merging into traffic with one hand while using the DVD remote to start the movie with the other hand and I just laughed at him while commenting, "you were made for this car!". Seriously.....we loved it.
And now we're home. Vacation came and it went. We laughed a lot and made some incredible memories. It's always tough to come home. To know that everything we so easily left behind is waiting for us upon our return. On the same note, home is where we are when we're together. So I guess truly, we never left.
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