A Gifted Retreat Away

A few weeks ago we had a little vacation courtesy of my Mom & Dad, as an early Christmas Gift to us. 

Skamania Lodge, up in Washington. 

It is a beautiful relaxing retreat away, in a gorgeous lodge.

When I made the reservations, I had chosen the $30 upgrade to get a pull-put couch in the room since I figure that would be better than hoping the girls would stay on cots the whole night and/or not roll all over the floor.  Upon checking in we were given a regular room with no couch.  I kindly spoke with the front desk about the upgrade I had made and after a bit they realized they had accidentally given our room to someone else.....they apologized and decided to give us a free upgrade to a suite.  This suite was SWEET! :)  It was HUGE!  Fireplace, riverview, king bed, pull-out couch, 3 chairs, a kitchenette, a balcony...oh my goodness! I could not believe it!!!  It was quite the surprise.  What was also wonderful was I had decided to make a few of our meals ahead of time, to save us some money from eating out, and packed them in a small cooler, and the first room we were placed in didn't have a microwave or a refrigerator...but the suite had it's own little kitchenette.  Thank you Lord!!!  So nice!

We also ordered room service a few times, which was more convenient than trying to get the girls to sit still, plus that always feels fancy to have food brought to your room :)

And since we had the room paid for, Aaron & I booked ourselves & took turns getting massages in their Spa.  It was delightful.  A much needed pregnancy massage for me!!! 

We had such a wonderful time as a family!!

Our last as a family of 4!

She isn't in the most photogenic stage, which can be disappointing when we're trying to take a family picture--but hey, that's sort of more realistic than us all forcing a smile!  She cracks me up with her many silly faces. 

I adore this little Ellie scrunchy face :)

Girls looking over the 3rd story banister.

Lots of rocking out!

My first Baby:

Trying to finagle my girls into a picture:

My Growing Belly. 

(I all of a sudden realized I've had little to no pictures of my actual belly during any of my pregnancies, but especially my current one...so out of desperation I had Aaron snap a few pics of me & my growing belly :) So I apologize if you're getting tired of seeing these pics on my blog!)

 We spent a lot of time in the pool/jacuzzi!

 Outdoor Jacuzzi w/waterfall.

 Silly Faces :)

 It was pretty hot (notice all the steam!) so Hunter & I spent the whole time sitting on the stairs.  Still felt great!!

 I love this one of Aaron with the girls :)  And Ellie's face!

 Just another day at the pool!

(and the indoor hot tub)

What a wonderful time away it was. 

xoxo

Thank you again Dad for such a perfect generous gift for our family to spend some quality time together! 

One Day at a Time

Dear Self,

6 or so months from now you will have forgotten all that your body entailed during the duration of your pregnancy.  You will, inevitably, see a pregnant Momma and wish for those feelings again.  You will wish to feel the same unknowns and uncertainty and anticipation as you see across every expectant Mother's face.  You will wish to feel those amazing movements that are truly indescribable, yet surreal.  You will long to not have to suck your stomach in during the "after baby" phase, wishing for a legitimate excuse to eat 8 times a day and all the questions and congratulations you get from strangers.  You will miss the attention all pregnant Mommas get.  You will miss feeling cute and confident.  You will miss the special treatment and extra helpful hands strangers offer.  You will miss the mesmerizing sight in the mirror of seeing your belly grow & expand from every imaginable angle.  You will miss all the pregnancy clothes that have sentimental value.  The sweater you wore with your first and third pregnancy.....the swimsuit you wore for your second and third pregnancy....those jeans...that cute top... It's possible that when your tiny baby is screaming his little head off for whatever reason he decides, that at that moment you will remember back to how truly "easy" you had it while he was on the -inside- quiet as can be, no demands.  You will wonder if you will ever be pregnant again.  You will begin to fantasize about future birth dates, future names and start to strategize the plan for your life...

STOP!

Open your eyes & look at your family and realize each one of them is a Gift Straight From God.  Realize His plan is the only plan you need to be concerned with.  And that concern is not worth dwelling over.  Realize, truly realize that all these things you long for is only because you have already experienced them.  That's Amazing.  The movements of life inside you is amazing.

Now since you are 6 months or more away from your pregnancy...you will also, inevitably, have forgotten all that your body entailed during the last several weeks of your previous pregnancy...

So let me remind you...

You may have forgotten what 6 months brought, so let me remind you that you had the stomach flu, food poisoning, a terrible and terribly lengthy head cold, a yeast infection and your first ever hemorrhoids.  It wasn't a great month. 

7 months only brought more bodily soreness.  Including, but not to be limited to...

Your feet hurt. Your back hurts. You have low energy after 3pm every day. Your stomach is all messed up...constipation...diarrhea... Your body has added stretch marks, despite the fact that you lathered yourself up and down with lotion every single day. You cannot see your own underwear.  If you sit too long your back hurts.  If you stand too long your feet hurt.  It is a 6-step process to get out of bed in the morning.  (Which is 6 steps too many when you really have to pee badly every morning) Your stomach has expanded soo much that you often feel it could literally split open because you are doubtful you have room to stretch any more.  The 30+ times a day braxton hick contractions that you once found very fascinating have begun to hurt the larger your belly grows.  You have a difficult time doing simple things you long for....bending over, piggy back rides, carrying your children longer than 2 minutes, laying on your back with out the weight hurting, playing hide & seek in small places & not feeling like you are going to throw up if you bend down, dropping something & simply picking it up, not being out of breath at the top of a flight of stairs... Did I mention your feet & back hurt?

You know you waddle and you're not okay with it.  You have to consciously not waddle.  And you sigh, a lot. 

You Are Uncomfortable!!!

Despite reading all of this I know you will still wish for all the wonderful parts of being pregnant.  And that is okay.  Because truly, it's wonderful you've ever been pregnant in the first place.  God is Good, and these discomforts are a small price to pay to be a part of a true miracle.  Three times. But for now, try to focus on what you have and do not worry about the future. 

One day at a time.

With Love,  Me.

 6 months--Photo by Audrey

7 months--Photo in Skamania

Mommy night out

A few weeks back Terese & I had a fun girls night out.  She came over here & we got all dolled up & went out for a lonnnng dinner.  It was very fun, very wonderful and very much needed.

Aww...friends are great. 

Love this Girl!!!!!

 And here I am in all my pregnant glory. 

7 months with Hunter in tow!

Dancing Our Pants Off

 Just another Pantless Dance Party around here last night!

Ellie saying "Cheeeeeeese!"

 Photo courtesy of Audrey:

Fall Leaves

 What child doesn't love jumping into a pile of leaves??

These girls were no exception! The only reason why they wanted to go back inside was because popcorn & hot chocolate sounded even better.  Brrr! It is getting really cold out there!

 The Many Faces of Ellie:

Love this one especially.  Happy Fall!