Mother's Day Weekend

I am really not a big "extra day" kind of person.  I love Christmas. I love my birthday.  I love Easter.  But I have never been one to expect nor want a big to-do made over me for Valentine's Day or Mother's Day or whatever else falls between all of those!  What I want, is time.  Time for my family to ALL be together, away from the responsibilities of home and school and just everyday life.  I want to be with my children, my six gifts that God has entrusted me with, and my husband who walks along side me on the greatest days and the not so good ones.
So, that being said, last year I asked for a camping trip.  We have a lake not too far from our home and it was the best little getaway for each of us.  And during that trip, we made a pact to do it again this year!
Friday, we packed up two tents, three kayaks, life jackets, chairs and a bunch of junk food, and off we went to the lake. For exactly twenty four hours, I had uninterrupted time with my people, my favorite crew!  I listened to the chatter of my boys as they sat in their Enos; I watched as Ryan, MK and the boys played endless amounts of Frisbee; we roasted WAY too many marshmallows and introduced ourselves to a new way to make Smores - Chips Ahoy cookies with the roasted marshmallows in the middle; I listened as Maddox sang every song she knows - she has the sweetest voice and I do love to hear her sing!; I also laughed when Maddox proclaimed she loved camping but she didn't like to be outside; I watched Maryn tend to the fire....she poked it, threw way too much straw on it, built it as it went down and all the while she said, "I really do love camping!"; and then Chapman....she was a hoot as usual....she had dirt in every crevice of her body, she collected every leaf on the campsite, she made "fireworks" aka campfires, she was the only one to tackle the orange clay to go swimming in the lake, she asked me, "You hear sumping? What is dat? Dat a bird? Can you sing it a lullaby so it will go to sweep - it's too loud and it hurts me ears!" The children kayaked all around our cove and to a few different local islands....and found a few sightings of strange animals tho we are all thankful we didn't see any sign of a snake!
The gift of time with my family is the best gift I could ever ask for!  I am so thankful for this weekend away, the simplicity of it all, the laughter and chatter it brought to each of us, and the memories that were made.