Lavished !!!

Last Friday, my hubby and I returned from our 2nd honeymoon!! We took a trip to New Hampshire to celebrate our 20th anniversary a little early. Officially it is on December 16th but M's co-worker offered him a timeshare week, Mimi and Pop-Pop were available to watch the kiddos, and it was a convenient time for M to get away at work. Wow, how lavished I felt to have 5 uninterrupted nights and days with my one and only. We have not had time extended time alone since our Liberian blessings came home and until we were away, I did not realize how much it would refresh us! Believe it or not, we went skiing for 3 days in the beautiful White Mountains of New Hampshire. The scenery is just breathtaking and we had such fun and lots of laughs together. Some of the highlights:
* Just being with my hubby and best friend non-stop!!
*Watching Fireproof and rejoicing anew in the gift of marriage~
* Eating dinner out 3 nights (we ate leftovers in one evening) while enjoying uninterrupted conversation~
* While sitting in his office waiting for him to work a 1/2 day on Monday, I managed to clean out my purse, organize my Daytimer, and purge my coupon box of all expired coupons...then on the 8 hour road trip, we listened to a great sermon, and actually had time to discuss it afterwards while I clipped/organized several weeks worth of coupons....you can't imagine how incredible it felt to actually complete such seemingly insignificant but necessary tasks!!
*Catching a glimpse of the snow capped Presidential Mountain range, whenever it was in view.
*Calling the children each night and hearing what wonderful memories they were making with Mimi and Pop-Pop (who decided to cash in a week of their timeshare at a Marriott an hour away--the kids enjoyed swimming, activities, and just all around fun with Mimi and Pop-Pop---not to mention yummy meals and ice cream each night!!!) Rejoicing also in how the Lord specifically met 2 of our children and helped them to do well in our absence.
*Meeting so many interesting people...including "Anne of Green Gables" from Prince Edward Island! Really! We were taking a break in the lodge at Black Mountain and began chatting with a sweet family of 4...when we heard they were from PEI we made mention of our daughters' love of Anne and they told us their daughter, Abby (who has red hair and freckles!) actually portrays Anne for the many Japanese tourists who come to town. The dad even ran to his car and gave us an apron with PEI logo on it :) he works for the PEI "Potato Board" and shared this piece of his home with us! We also met a dear older man (79) and his wife who were "Mountain Hosts" At Bretton Woods Ski resort. M was getting our lift tickets and I got out of the car to enjoy the spectacular view ... this dear man Arthur, introduced himself and began sharing his life story. A few minutes later he called his wife over, who was also working in the parking lot and she identified us as "The Honeymooners". Later we saw Pauline in the lodge as we warmed up around the fire waiting for the rains to cease...she informed us that Artur is like a kid and was out on the mountain skiing in the rain! Did I mention he is 79 years old!! We also met many neat families from Canada as they were enjoying their winter break on the slopes.
How kind of the Lord to provide for us in this way... thanks, Mom and Doyle for taking on 6 kiddos for 5 days! They came back from their timeshare on Tuesday night (after a very eventful day!) so that they could bring them to Homeschooler's Day Out on Wednesday....then they drove the 1.5 hours back to the timeshare to finish out the week. What a blessing that the kids didn't miss their classes and could keep pace with their workload.
My heart overflows with gratitude to the Lord for His kindess in blessing us this way, to my hubby for making 'us' a priority and for the many kindnesses he showered upon me during our time away, and of course to Mimi and Pop-Pop for making such a sweet memory for our kids. I certainly did nothing to deserve such rich blessings...once again I have been lavished by the Lord !!
My heart is full!!
Love,
MamaB

On Sunday night, we drove the kiddos to Mimi and pop-Pop's timeshare where we enjoyed dinner together. M and L were having a difficult time with us leaving -- it was significant to see how the Lord met them during our time away. Great is His faithfulness!!

We saw these signs frequently during our time away...but no moose sightings :(

This picture does not capture the beauty of this place! This is the view of Mount Washington from the top of the mountain we later skiied down~

M explored some of the more difficult runs alone while I rested my fatigued legs in the lodge...here he snapped a picture from the top of one of the trails I never saw~the pictures really don't capture the beauty of these views!

This picture was taken from the deck outside the lodge where we enjoyed our bagged lunch...this is the view we saw from the windows... I never tired of enjoying this beautiful mountain range!

The view from the road as we passed the M0unt Washington Hotel

A self timed photo...we were taking a break for lunch and warmed up in front of the fire:)