Last year was our first ever real 'Ladies Retreat' for a small group of gals I interact with frequently.
If you recall, I planned the weekend and then drove by myself in what turned out to be an eventful off-road adventure.
This year I had almost zero responsibility (besides making a bunch of yummy biscuits, scones, and chocolate chip cookies, which I just did out of pure desire to sleep in, lounge and share).
I also had a road buddy, for which I was completely thankful. We drove her car (same as last year), this year with her in it. LOVED the ride, K, thanks girl (her previous 24 hours involved a kid in the ER, so we weren't sure she was going to make it on the trip).
The most interesting part of the ride was the drug checkpoint. On our anniversary trip the folks were clearly looking for someone, all the patrols were toting their big guns. And as we rolled to a stop two other cars tried to go on through...they were chased down by the folks with the guns, made to pull over and led into the building a bit forcefully. We told our kids: 'exciting, you don't see that every day'.
This time they made us pull over and get out. It was at this point that I said the obvious out loud to K: 'ohhh....your pregnant'. It is known, or we have heard that certain groups that use humans as mules for drugs, use pregnant women because the death penalty does not apply to them. We were actually a bit amused by this minor interrogation. They made us open the back, and did a good look at our passports. Then the five folks standing around us asked for the car registration. An old airline ticket dropped out of a passport and I kid you not, the lady picked it up and sniffed it. Interesting. In our almost 12 years going up and down this highway we have never been made to get out of the car, but then I think having a bunch of kids helps ease the suspicion, I suppose.
Anyway, they did their due diligence that day, and we went on our merry way.
With the new highway it was four hours toll-to-toll.
Let's go every weekend.
We stayed in a house on the lake. The view from the living room.
We played a lot of games. (I literally rolled on the floor laughing during 'catch phrase', and was amazed at EG's talent of ribbeting like a frog to the tune of 'she thinks my tractors sexy' during a new version of charades. Yes folks we are an odd bunch, but we know how to have fun.
We studied the word.
EG walked us through Job and asked probing questions.
We talked tough stuff. We confessed fears, sins, and hopes.
We spoke truth into each other. And we just plain enjoyed God. We enjoyed Him in creation and in the diverse human spirit that He gave each of us.
We went running a few times.
We ate yummy yum food.
Morning run, huge mountains to our right.
Gorgeous.
The distance from our house to the lake.
We even made a fire. 'We' meaning someone else, not me. Both nights we had a fire.
The first night it was warm and we opened the windows. The second night it cooled down from rain and was perfect.
Kiddos would have loved this.
Right before we left to go home:
This trip I did not receive a phone call saying Bella was sick.
The engine lights did come on but I was assured I did not need to check the oil.
I did menu plan and help David plan the week so that he could get work done and enjoy time with the kiddos as well.
The only major mishap was the phone call David received from Sophia's teacher.
In elementary school the kids get these cards that tell us when they come in and out of the gate and can also be used to call us if necessary. I love these things. Sophia has called us before usually if she forgets something, but sometimes over problems with another student (I could write a book about this). Never ever has Sophia's teacher called us. So, when she told David that there was a 'small matter' with Sophia and that he needed to come down he thought he was walking into a big mess with loss of blood involved (we have had those).
Her table mate was trying to take the top off of a pen, yanked it hard and accidentally stabbed her in the eyeball. She did cry, and there was blood in the whites of the eye. She was fine. David texted me, we talked on the phone, he decided to go to the hospital and get it checked out. Doc said it wasn't bad, but suggested antibiotic drops, which he started right away. He sent me a pic of her eye. It wasn't pretty.
I talked to her that night and told her I was proud of her bravery for going back to school that afternoon. And also, commenting that the family brought us 2 big boxes of milk (this is about $25 worth), "mommy, it was so funny because we had just run out of milk too". Silver lining girl, way to see it. God's provision.
And let me take the time to educate you. If ever you have a child in Chinese school and your child injures another child in some way, purposeful or not, you need to take the family milk. Two to three big boxes (20-40 dollars worth) of milk.
How do we know this?
You learn, through others, of course.
But also through having a little boy named Tobin.
I did recount some of his shenanigans during his first semester of Chinese Kindergarten here on the blog. I probably failed to mention that he took his claws to a child's face one time and left a good, long, scratch. This is now his best friend. But in that instance we took the child's family milk- nice, 'organic', expensive milk. And the teacher assured this was what we should do.
So David was not surprised when Sophia's classmate's dad called him and asked to come see Sophia, with milk in tow.
God's grace was all over this trip and this incident!
David says he now knows what if feels like to spend a lot of time on the moto, hauling kids around. And since I usually hear about and deal with all the school drama, I was thankful that for something like this kind of injury I was not 'first on the scene'. (who knows I may have added to the drama).
And mostly, I am just thankful.
Thankful for David freeing me to go and really making me feel it, for the gals I got to hang with and how they challenge me, for lots of laughter and some tears, and for God's provision with our kids and the sweet notes they wrote me to remind me of their love.
So So blessed.
