Bits: Couldn't Be Earned

How you know it's been a good, full day.

Where do I start?  Perhaps with where we are right now.  It's a rainy day, perfect for unpacking and settling back in.  The girls are still in jammies we found by our front door thanks to the generosity of a thoughtful high school friend.  Alysse is taking care of babies, Hope is writing cards to all the people she misses, and Maddie is playing kitchen.  And me?

I am turning the past twelve days over and again in my mind.

We traveled no less than twenty-seven hours, by train and car to be with family these past weeks.  We had such a sweet and refreshing time, even if that last train leg wore us out.  Bookended by stays with Joe's oldest brother's family, we hit up almost every major Rhode Island beach in between.  We relived many of Daddy's childhood memories in these same beaches and spaces.  Joe and I reconnected deeply, the kind of reconnection that made him grin really big one night after the kids were happily tucked into beds and ask, "Hey, do you feel like we're on our honeymoon?"

I thought for a split second, and the answer was obvious as I motioned toward the sleepy room where we could hear the steady whir of a fan over small browned bodies, "Yeah, but even better."

Best of all, I quieted some of life's extra noise and connected deeply with God.  Early mornings spent reading my Bible or some seriously great books, mornings with my girls curled up next to me asking questions and Joe genuinely wanting to know what I had learned.  Mornings that would lead to chocolate chip pancakes or homemade egg mcmuffins, surprise trips to the nearby Dunkin Donuts for sugary holes and iced coffees. Mornings that held great promise for the adventures with family ahead.
I was sharing some of this joy with a dearest friend of mine who sweetly responded, "I am so glad!  You guys deserve this break after all you've been through."  And though I know just what she meant, it got me to thinking.

Truthfully, we don't deserve it at all.

Which is precisely why the trip was a gift.  Bigger picture: it is precisely why life is a gift.  I cannot earn the right to experience the Lord's presence, I cannot endure enough to have deserved the kinds of days that were just given to me.  All I can do is take it in thankful gulps, hold my hands open wide and receive such lavish outpourings from my Father God.  Pile them up in my heart as fuel for life's journey.

All I can do is be acutely aware that every good and perfect gift is from above.  Including these, some of our grateful vacation bits.
******
 :: Exciting first {long} train rides. 

Almost back home.

::Family.  So much love in all our quirks and in all our awesomeness.
 All aboard the choo-choo train! 

:: Water, sand, sunshine, sky.


:: Food for the belly and soul.  Joe introducing his girls to clam cakes and chowder, New England staples.  He and I pulling off our first shrimp boil, a new holiday tradition.  
What happens when you say, "Yes, it's our last night. You may eat up the rest of the cake!" 

:: The Fourth of July.  We rented out a house made up of four apartments and caught the most a-mazing fireworks show from the grandparents' deck.  As the kids kept shouting, "Unbelievable!"

:: Exploring, discovering. Creating mermaid sisters.
 :: These smiles.  These smiles.



Nah. Couldn't have earned all this if I tried.
~Katrina
 

Bits: Stowaways

Blurry travel journal makin'

The first time I crashed one of Joe's business trips was awesome.  As a non-profit attorney such experiences are not the norm, but occasionally a training or unique opportunity turns up and we're all over it.  I was pregnant with Hope when we got a practically all expense paid trip to the Ritz Resort in Laguna Niguel, CA. Something we would pretty much never do on our own.   No better place to have weathered some intense morning sickness, to be sure.  After the work part, we extended the trip and explored from Santa Barbara to touristy Hollywood and all the while I tested many a barf bag.  Still... so much fun.

Another time an eleven month-old Hope and the tiniest dream of a Maddie made our way out to Arizona for another fancy-schmancy stay.  Again with the awful morning sickness, but I braved it so that after the business stuff we could stay in the Grand Canyon.  A majestic snowstorm was my reward, and just like that-- one off the bucket list. 


More recently, with Alysse quite ready to make her entrance to the world, we busted up on a work trip to Atlanta.  Oh boy, that time was a mix of fun and seriously crazy but again it was practically free.  And we go to go to Ikea.

I love Memory Lane.

That brings me to this past week when we found ourselves at another happening hotel smack dab in the middle of downtown Washington, D.C.  It's amazing to me as the girls grow, even just by a year or two, how much more they are capable.  I was really proud of my little city slickers 'cause we trucked it all over those h-o-t streets  while Joe attended conference sessions.  I'm sure I looked quite un-citified with sometimes both the double stroller and the baby backpack, but it didn't stop us.  We read our maps, we toured this and that, we had us some adventures in an element so totally unlike our usual.  With very little crazy or cash out of pocket, our memory banks are pretty wonderfully full.

Bits of the latest stowing away.
****
 :: Day One-- Road trip!!! Traveling artists firing off loads of questions; Jubilant hotel arrival and bed jumping; Big city subs before bubble baths, a movie in bed, and lights out-- all of us in a row across two double beds and a baby crib.



:: Day Two-- Sought after smoothies before the sweltering heat cut short the morning exploring; A big rest before our memorable trek to the White House; Fro Yo and more long, cool baths as our rewards for the sweaty endeavors. 

 
 Thanks Boy Scout troupe, who watched our big 'ol stroller so we could go get our frozen treats. Hope you earned some sort of badges for that one.

 :: Day Three-- Oatmeal and apples over morning cartoons; Braving city traffic for a fun day at the National Zoo with Auntie Ellen and Cousin Julia; Incredible Italian dinner.
:: Day Four-- Breakfast overlooking city streets; Huge trip highlight, of all things, feeding fountain ducks; Enormous animals and wonders at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum; Lots of miles on stroller wheels and legs made for a necessary ice-cream truck pit stop; Worn out babies those last blocks back as we passed the Washington Monument and other landmarks. 


 :: Days Four and a Half and Five-- Family time!  Christmas, yes Christmas, finally at cousins' house; Trampolining and basement shenanigans; Sundae bar at 10:45 pm; Lots of funny fun and catching up.

Who knows what will happen the next time we stowaway?  A mix of family and adventure made this one rank right up there with the best of the best.
~Katrina