Our vacation in numbers

15 - # of hours it should take to drive to Myrtle Beach
19 - # of hours it took us (including 11 thousand bathroom stops)

36 - eggs our family consumed during the week (don't ask me how our family managed to eat so many)
0 - # of meals I prepared in the last week
17 - # of meals Tim prepared in the last week

60 - # of minutes it took after leaving the house before someone asked "Are we there yet?"
11 - # of times we asked eachother "Can you believe the weather we're having?"
30 - degrees Celsius every day
700 - # of pictures taken this week

0 - # of fish Tim caught on the pier
12 - # of shark the old lady caught on the pier

350,000 - # of bikers in Myrtle Beach this week for the Memorial weekend bike rally
3 - # of those people we saw wearing motorcycle helmets
6 - # of times I lost something (i.e. all the money) during the week and thought I was losing my mind
20 - hours spent on the beach

6:20 - time alarm set to wake up for early morning shell hunt

3 - # of stuffed cats Emily purchased with her vacation money
4000 - amount of money Tim could have been fined if he had been caught bringing weed killer over the border
0 - # of bags of weed killer Tim brought over the border
17 - # of times we thanked God no one was sick

He thinks it`s ghetto, I think it`s brilliant!

We're driving to Myrtle Beach for our family vacation.

  It's supposed to take us 15 hours of driving time.

It'll likely take us more than that...seeing as there are four female bladders in our car which equals many many bathroom stops.

But that's ok with me...it's part of the adventure of a road trip.

And plus...with today`s modern gadgets

we have the option of having a tv in the car.

Mazda wanted us to pay an extra $8000 to add the built-in dvd.

Ok...maybe not $8000...Tim`s at work right now so I can`t verify the exact price...

but, believe me, it was not worth the high price they were asking.

So Tim, with his ability to make anything, gave us our very own built-in dvd system.



It attaches to my headrest.




It both pivots AND swivels.




Seriously,  look at the craftsmanship on this thing.



When I told the girls this morning about the marvel that is their dad,

Alison replies:  ìt`s a good thing you married him, mom.

I totally agree.

And then I started thinking about how maybe we were making life too easy for our children.

When I was a kid we went on long long road trips every year.

I didn`t have a t.v. strapped to the back of my mother`s head.

We read books and played license plate games.

But we also sat without booster seats or seatbelts

and lay flat on the floor of the minivan to sleep.

And of course there was the heavy usage of gravol

...which I may or may not also do...we`ll see.  :)

Either way...my kids will get to travel in style...

even if it is a bit ghetto.

It Made me Cry

It's Mother's Day today. 

My family honoured me and loved me and made me feel very special.

Emily made me a tea and biscuit gift at school.

In true Emily form....she ate the biscuits
 when she came home from school on Wednesday. 
Oh Emily...how I love you. 

Alison, our in-house artist, painted me a beautiful picture.

And Hannah wrote me a poem.

It made me cry.

I am respectful and honest.

I wonder if I'll be a mother like you.

I hear your wonderful laughter.

I see you helping the family.

I want it to be easier to take care of me.

I am respectful and honest because of you.

I pretend to be like you.

I feel safe with you.

I touch your soft hand.

I worry when you worry.

I cry when I'm upset.

I am respectful and honest because of you.

I understand when you're upset.

I say you're the best mom ever.

I dream about being like you.

I try to help more often

I hope to be as nice as you.

I am respectful and honest because of you.

I cried because I didn't realize until today how much

my girls really respect me,

and look up to me,

and watch me.

Everything I say...and do....and wear...

(by the way,the girls bought me a new outfit to match a pair

of shoes I bought yesterday.

I had nothing to wear with brown shoes...

so they bought me an entire outfit to match them!!)

And it's probably so dumb that I've never realized this until today.

But you know how sometimes you have these "light bulb" moments.

This was one of those days.

So I've been thinking about it a lot today.

It makes me think of a picture book I read recently.

"The Prince & The Gift" by Janet Surette.

This book tells a story of true beauty. 

A story of a prince looking for his princess;

the one who can offer to him the most beautiful gift.

The tale follows a young maiden and watches as she

shows true beauty thru the virtues of

kindness, courage, generosity,

honour, self-control, and sacrifice.

All the other girls in the village only cared about

having a beautifully decorated gift to give the prince; many of them

wasting their time on wrappings and ribbons.

When it was time to present the Prince with their gifts it was the girl with the

plainest box of all whom caught his eye.

Her true beauty glowed from within.

It's this story that is on my mind today

mingling with the thoughts of Hannah's Mother's day poem.

How am I living before my girls and my King? 

Am I more concerned about my own affairs?

or taking the time to help those in need around me?

Am I yelling at the girls on Sunday morning...

worrying more about their outward appearance and how it will reflect on me?

Or helping them prepare their hearts to hear from the Holy Spirit while in Sunday School class.

Today's poem reminded me today that Hannah wants to be like me when she grows up.

But I want her to be able to see virtues in me like

self-control, generousity, loving-kindness, and courage.

I want her to see a mom whom is prayerful, faith-filled and

dependent on her Heavenly Father.