Hard to Believe

The family that explores together...

Down, down, down...into the cave we go!

This past Friday we made a VERY last minute decision to get out of town and enjoy a short family trip to Nashville and Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky. Jan and I used to do "last minute trips" alot before we had children. It was so much fun! We'd get a map and talk about places we'd never been, and then just GO! We had some great trips! You know, it's hard to believe that even after adding three more people to "the mix", we can still manage to pull off a GREAT last minute trip! A rush of thoughts come to me as I think about this past weekend among other things, so bear with me as I unload the thoughts encased in this brain of mine...

Hard to believe...

That I have given birth to 3 "people" in 5 years!

Dining at the Aquarium at Opry Mills

That I still love to do just about anything with the guy I married after ALMOST 12 years together! :-) (We started dating 12 years ago this month!)

That my "baby" will turn 6 years old at the end of this month! And that the last time I visited Mammoth Cave, Kentucky, he was but a tiny creation still yet formed in me!!

That the last time I stayed in Nashville, my Jonah was just a little over a year old...and now he's almost 4!

Have boys? Will climb!!

Hard to believe that time could ever pass so fast!

Hard to believe...

That Mary Claire just spent her first night in a hotel, took her first family trip, and acted better than the 3 year old! hehe

That we spent Easter Sunday not in a church building where we usually are, but together... having our own Easter Sunday service in our pajamas with breakfast in our hotel room.

Hard to believe that He loved me so much that He made the ultimate sacrifice in allowing Jesus Christ, His Son, to die on the cross for my sins.

There are so many things that seem hard to believe, and I find myself wondering how God could have allowed Jesus to die the type of death He died! And that Jesus was even able to go through with it?! Well, that's beyond belief!

Lord, I can hardly believe all that You did for me. You walked this earth so I might one day walk with You in heaven. Thank you for giving me so much. Amen.

I was blessed to have spent a wonderful weekend with my family and reminded that time together is so very special! And even though this was the first time I ever remember NOT being dressed in my Easter best and sitting in a church, I think this will always be a weekend I will never forget. My soul felt revived! An Easter with the ones God has blessed my life with, taught me unconditional love through, and showed me with their lives what an awesome God we serve! An Easter where I delivered the message and story of Jesus and His death on the cross and how He rose again just as He said He would. I hope everyone had an equally reviving Easter as well!

Oh, and here's some more shots from our trip!

Jonah searching under rocks for "mammothis"(translation-mammoths)

(Even after my thorough explanation that mammoths were extinct.)

Mommy: "There are no more mammoths roaming the earth, Jonah. They all died off many, many years ago."

Jonah: "I bet I can find one under this rock, Mommy!"

Who can climb their way out?

My 1st experience in go-cart racing!

Jan and Jonah get their race on!