Until Next Year!

All too soon, Saturday morning was here. It was time to clean out the car and repack it for the trip home!

The house was quite a flurry of activity - 5 families collecting their stuff and getting it packed into their cars...and 9 kids in the midst of all that!

It was SUCH an amazing week. So much fun. So many WONDERFUL and HILARIOUS memories from the week. It was hard to choose a favorite thing because there were SO many great things! We had great weather - only rained on Friday when we picked up Mom from Jacksonville - but never any rain at the vacation house. Unbelievable for Florida!!

Still had some popsicles that the kids had to eat up...they graciously obliged :)

...and the last of the whipped cream needed to be eaten too! :)

Jacob

Mary

Callie

Matthew

Jacob

Filling out our comment card (we LOVED it!!)

This was our first time EVER getting ALL of our families to go AWAY for a week's vacation. It is very hard to do to line up everyone's schedule. Christmas is always crazy because we are all married and have inlaws that we are trying to visit as well, plus balancing church schedules and other obligations that come along in December. This was a GREAT time of year for us to get away.

We are all SOOO different. It's funny - 4 sisters that love each other and get along but are SO different! We have different personalities, different likes/dislikes, different things are fun to us - and yet I am SO thankful for each of them and what they bring to our family. I don't take it for granted at all. The fact that our whole family really does enjoy spending time together is HUGE. The fact that we have 9 kids between us - ages 14, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 4, 2, and 2 - and they all play SOOO well together is a blessing.

Knowing that we can vacation together with everybody and, as different as each of our families are, we all love the Lord and are seeking to serve Him in our homes and our lives is AMAZING! We are NOT a perfect family by any stretch of the imagination. We have our quirks and our issues. But this common bond in the Lord is HUGE and I am SO thankful. I love that the brothers-in-law can sit around and talk about theology. That our kids are all getting the same messages from all of the aunts and uncles. That my sisters and I can laugh and enjoy each other's company and celebrate the differences and stages of life that we are each at. For my Mom that knows each of us so well and has poured into our lives over so many years. I am SO very thankful and incredible blessed.

So now it's time to pick our house for next year's trip!!! :)