Our vacation....

I have been putting off writing about our vacation because of two reasons. One is that I haven't taken the time to download the pictures from the camera yet. The second reason is that my heart is very full and I don't feel that I can do it justice.

The first week was traveling around the coast with Danny's parents. By the way, our new Impala has a trunk that will fit SIX suitcases with room to spare. Pretty cool, eh? It was very fun to see things I had never seen before. A couple of highlights were:

• finishing the final Harry Potter book before I read any spoilers. (The first couple of days on our trip I had my nose in the book every time we stopped the car. :-))
• The Newport Aquarium-this is not a huge aquarium, but it is VERY well done! I was mesmerized by the jellyfish exhibit.
• OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry)-great museum and we didn't even have time (or want to pay the extra $) to see the body exhibit.
• driving along the coast

It was nice then to land at the Cannon Beach Conference Center, where my family has been vacationing for 31 years. This week was a time of amazing spiritual refreshment for me. I have heard the speaker, Walter Kaiser, many times before. He is a fairly academic speaker and I always enjoy hearing him, but for some reason this time, my heart was so convicted and encouraged all at the same time. I could go on and on about how this last two years of added commitments (masters degree, etc...) have sapped energy away from focusing on my relationship with God, but I'll try to just keep it short. God gave me a hunger for His Word that I haven't felt in a long time. He opened my eyes to what I have given up the last couple of years. I guess I can sum it up by saying I feel watered. My heart was like dry ground, not dead by any means, still fertile, but in desperate need of a good deep soak. That was what last week felt like to me.

My mom and I walk to Haystack Rock early every morning (one mile down and two mile back is the standard joke). This is very special time for me and I cherish it every year. It helped that the weather was gorgeous this year. I spent quality time with my Grandma this year. The kids were way more independent this year (they would take off to the park after meals) and I could linger after breakfast chatting with my Grandma. I was keenly aware of the privilege of having her there and talking with her about all manner of things.

The kids loved it and it was also a very spiritually encouraging time for Annsley. I could tell that she was both challenged and convicted and it allowed us to have some wonderful conversations on a much different level.

It was so fun to hook up with Patty and Diane. I honestly feel that I could talk to both of them non-stop for the whole week and not run out of things to talk about!! There were so MANY more topics I wish we had had time to discuss. It always makes me happy when Seth has a buddy because Annsley always makes friends wherever she goes, but it is harder for Seth. So Diane's son is a total gift. And the fact that our daughters also adore each other is an added bonus. And I was glad that Patty's son got to hook up with them too!

The Seaside bumper cars were as fun as always, the play we saw at the Coaster Theater was delightful, the weather was great, the food was good, and there was lots of time to read and relax. But, those all just seemed like things to me this week. It was all about soaking in God's Word and appreciating with my whole heart the family that God gave me.