Metro Moms

Making Vacations Special for Your Husband and Children

I don't know about you, but our family vacations with small children looked nothing like the magazine covers.  There was no peace and quiet.  No refreshing drinks sitting closeby our beach chairs.  No leisurely opportunities to read a book between naps.  No hammocks rocking in the breeze as the sun set.  Vacations were and are the opportunity for moms to do what we do every other week of the year:  lay down our lives for our families by serving them.

One year the Lord showed me I had become resentful about vacations.  While Benny slept in after a late night of all the adults playing "Uno" or talking together, I was up in the night nursing the newborn and then up with the toddlers who never got the hint that vacations are for sleeping in!  If anything my workload increased with all the planning and packing beforehand, extra bathing and laundry of sand-filled heads and clothes, chasing toddlers down on the beach, running back and forth to the beach house for potty training or naps.  Whew.  I get tired just thinking about it.

Benny was always helpful.  He looked for opportunties to help and serve -- just as he did at home.  It wasn't anything he was doing or not doing...it was sin in my own heart that was causing me to resent the reality that vacations meant me focusing on making them fun and memorable for my family rather than looking to them as a break for myself.  I finally realized that vacations weren't intended by God primarily for me to relax, but to "esteem others as more important than myself"...just like every other week of the year.

So here are some post-resentment :-) ideas I came up with:

• Reminding my husband to bring along a fat theology or philosophy book to communicate my release of him to anticipate some relaxing time. (For your husband it may be a fishing rod, tennis racket, running shoes or a novel.)
• Planning fun things for the kids in case it rains or for a family night -- craft supplies, coloring books, board games, a small box of legos, or etc.
• Purchasing some inexpensive things for the car ride -- our kids loved those silly little books (Madlibs) where you put nouns, verbs and adjectives in random blanks and then read the story after you're done.  Depending on how far you're driving, you can bring out something new every 15 minutes, 30 minutes, hour or whatever spacing works.
• Planning a special date night with your husband.  We always had friends along for our vacations in a large beach house generously provided for us by some close friends, so singles were always along and willing to help with babysitting.  If babysitting isn't available, a romantic evening after the kids go to bed is a great idea! Benny and I have some treasured (and hilarious!) memories of date nights at the beach.
  
• Our children's favorite vacation memory?  "Day out with Dad."  Each day Benny would take one of the kids out for lunch, putt putt, ice cream, bumper boats or go karts.  Weeks before our vacations, they would start anticipating their time with Dad.  Of course, once we had 7 children he had to double up on the kids.  (Ask Joey about a hilarious day out with Dad when 2-year-old Julia had her first brain freeze at Dairy Queen.)

This year we will vacation with 6 grandchildren under age 6.  For a couple of years we've actually been able to sleep in or sit in beach chairs napping and reading.  But those days are over.  We'll be helping chase down toddlers on the beach again.

I can't wait.

Posted by Sheree

Seashells By The Seashore

One of my favorite vacation memories was a year when we didn't have a budget for a vacation; Money was just too tight.  However, my parents generously gave us a timeshare week, and we chose to take our kids to the west coast of Florida - Clearwater Beach to be exact.  This worked great because the condo had a kitchen, thus eating out wasn't necessary.

As a way to make another trip to the beach memorable (for those of you who don't live in Florida you may not understand why it wouldn't be) we borrowed a library book about Florida Seashells.  It was full of colored pictures of every kind of shell imaginable!  We determined to collect as many different varieties of shells as we could and then identify them in the book. 

We learned that there are carnivore seashells!  Having been born and raised in Florida, I never knew that the shells you find with little holes in them are from the carnivore shells boring into the live shells for dinner!  I always figured it was just an old, holey shell!  We found a huge conk shell with the slimey creature still alive inside, and decided we wanted to keep the shell.  We boiled the conk out of the shell - something I would NOT recommend!  Talk about disgusting smells - it was so bad we had to set the pot out on the balcony, but what a memory we made! We found shells galore of all shapes and sizes. We were in awe as we realized how beautiful God's creation is even in the secret places of the deepest sea.  He takes great care in glorifying Himself in the world He has created.  That was the best vacation inspiration - and it didn't cost us anything!

posted by Debi

Mini Vacation Ideas

We went through a few years in our marriage when it just wasn't feasible for us to take a "regular" vacation. (i.e. being away for a solid week or two ).  This was due to a variety of reasons: not enough vacation days, busy schedule, finances, etc.  However, we realized that having time away as a family is very important.  So something that we started doing was long weekends away a couple times a year.  This gave us family time, but was workable for our lives.  We have made so many memories on these trips.  We have since implemented a beach week with our families during the summer, but we will occasionally still take a weekend away.

Some of our weekend trips have included the following destinations:

Disney hotels (the inexpensive ones!)

The Beach (we have stayed at different places, wherever we could get the best deals)

Liki Tiki Resort - www.islandoneresorts.com This is one of our favorites.  It is primarily a time share resort, but you can rent the unused rooms.  If you go off-season, you can get really good deals.  This place has a full kitchen, so you don't have to eat out if you don't want to.  A huge perk to this one is that they have a WATER PARK on site that is no additional charge!  My kids LOVE it.  I think yours would, too! :-)

We often take a special surprise for our kids - i.e. new goggles, if we are going swimming, etc.  That is always fun!

So whether you take a 2-week vacation, or a few weekend trips, be sure to enjoy your family and don't allow the stress of getting ready for vacation get in the way!  We are so blessed to be able to have special times like this with our families - make the most of it!

Posted by Stephanie

Family Time

This week our focus is on planning and enjoying memorable family vacations.  Our desire is to inspire you with why family vacations are important and then to supply you with some practical and fun ideas that will help you make even the simplest, and low budget vacations memorable.  Today we hear from Michelle Twining, who not only exemplifies a genuine love and devotion to her family, but is today celebrating her wedding anniversary! So from all of us, Michelle, Happy Anniversary!  Thank you for the way you have committed your life to Todd and your two boys.  We have learned much by your example.

Vacations are very dear to our family.  It's the one week each year that we completely devote to one another; Calenders are left on the desk, cell phones are silenced - except for emergencies, and mornings are spent sleeping in until we're ready to enjoy the day =). It's a very purposeful time to build our relationships with one another, but in a very relaxed way.

We've tried to help our children cultivate an excitement about spending time with one another.  In our culture today, relationships outside of the family can sometimes become more important, so we're trying to give them a Biblical perspective concerning the importance of the family.  Taking family vacations gives us an opportunity to practice what we're teaching them in a fun manner.

We've defined "vacation" as a week spent together enjoying one another.  We don't always go away for our vacations.  This year we took a week off, but stayed at home and took day trips to local Florida attractions.  The highlight this year was our trip to the Alligator Farm in St. Augustine.  What boy doesn't enjoy reptiles...especially having an opportunity to actually touch them?!

This year I purchased 3 new board games for our family vacation.  We've found that playing games together is a great way of being inclusive.  Even our youngest son can join in the fun, with a little help from Mom or Dad =).  Game playing is fun, but also sanctifying.  It's yet another means of helping us grow in our relationship with one another.  Our new favorite is called "Zooreeka".  You've got to try it!

I have to admit that I most enjoy spending the evenings with my husband after the kids are in bed, exhausted from a day of fun.  It's the one week of the year when we can have 6 consecutive date nights...now that's what I call a vacation!!