Refresh

Dave and I were blessed to be able to get away for part of last weekend, and it was amazingly refreshing! It turns out that I still love my husband very, very much. That fact can get lost on me sometimes, when we are in the hustle and bustle of life.
We used to make a point to go on dates, but then, it only took a few HORRIBLE experiences for us to realize that we needed to be the ones in charge of our kids for awhile. Let me just say that no dinner or movie is worth coming home to nail polish on every surface of your home upstairs and downstairs. No quiet time alone is worth coming home to 6 kids hysterically crying about how they were wronged and how frustrated they are that a sibling wouldn't be obedient to a babysitter. It was rotten for us all, so we took a break from taking a break. Dave and I just alternated rather than going places together, and in retrospect, it was the right thing to do...for a season.
The past several months have been really, really good though. Medications have been changed for the better, emotions have calmed down, acting out has diminished, maturity has increased exponentially (for all of us!), and it was time to try again.
We are so incredibly blessed with so many friends who love our kids like their own. We chose 3 families for this overnight, but we were honestly overwhelmed by all of the options that we had. It turns out people truly are willing to walk this journey with us and love on our kids if just ask! So, Chloe and Wren went to Chloe's best friend's house, Halie and Jasmine went to our wonderful friend, Miss Brooke, and the boys went to Carter's Godmother's house.
I am typically not a nervous mom at all, but on Thursday evening as we prepared for the following day, I could not relax at all. I was anxious. Although I was confident in the love and ability of the people caring for our kids, I was also being bombarded with thoughts of the kids at their worst. I was terrified that the progress that I thought we had made as a family would not sustain our leaving for a night. I prayed. I prayed hard. I constantly had to remind myself that the voice of truth was not bringing these thoughts to my mind. I kept reminding myself that God loves my kids so much more than I could ever even imagine, and that He was in charge whether I was in the same town as them or a million miles away.
And guess what? It was a wonderful weekend for everyone. Not a single bad report. (insert happy dance)
Our kids were spoiled rotten. I am fairly certain that their diets contained nothing more than pizza, ice cream, waffles and toaster strudels. Every single child had a wonderful time, and some of them even brushed their teeth once or twice while we were away.
Dave and I had nearly 8 hours in driving time to talk about long term items that always seem to be low on the priority list when we crash on the couch to talk at night. We also attended a wonderful conference where we were encouraged in our faith and reminded of the power and vision that Gd has. The vision that He has is sooo not what we tend to see here on earth, and we need to be reminded of that fact often.
We met Jen Hatmaker, the author of the book, 7, which has led us over the past few months to identify and eliminate the excess in our lives. It was wonderful.