My girls, husband and I collectively decided in December to cut out activities that involved a major commitment and focus on God and each other- that meant dance class for the girls and less births for me.

In March, the girls and I took a vacation from around March 1st or 2nd to around March 22nd or 23rd. The plan was to go to DC, GA and FL and then back up to DC and then home to NJ. I drove the entire way and we had some car trouble in SC that turned out to be a fun detour.

People laughed at my plan of driving all that way initially because anyone who knows me knows I can drive a good hour and get tired. Also, it was apparently quite ambitious of me to drive all that way with 3 children. (???) Makes me wonder what other people’s children are like, lol! I get the sleepy driver part but the girls are mine so that was never a consideration or possible problem. Now if you chose 3 random children that weren’t mine and wanted me to do such a road trip I’d say no but I know my girls.

Armed with cd’s of my favorite ministries and coffee, and my girls to converse with (when they’d stay awake long enough), we had quite a lovely time. I’d do it all again next week if I could. Some of my girls favorite moments during our vacation included getting the cake for my birthday party (from a friend who makes cakes professionally in the DC area) and having her dog jumping on us, having car trouble and getting stuck in SC where we had to stay in a hotel and ended up jumping from bed to bed-yes I did it too.

They loved going to our friends basketball games in GA and in Orlando we went to Universal but they enjoyed The Holy Land Experience most- even the baby. In Daytona we stayed right on the beach but they never wanted to go to the beach. Their favorite spot? Ellis Island- where the library is located and a few small bodies of water where the fish jump out of the water and the clams, oysters (or whatever they are) occasionally spit. They loved going to all the places my husband and I used to frequent with our then 2 year old when we lived in Daytona.

This time off has been absolutely incredible for us as we’ve grown closer and learned more than ever.

Walking to the library the other day, my oldest stopped and picked up a flower from a tree. She explained that it was a dogwood tree and told me about the legend of it in relation to our faith. I was pleasantly surprised and wondered when and where in the heck she learned that.

Curious about what they’d come up with, I asked them to share some of their favorite memories from their childhood so far. Some of their favorite memories include things like, our road trip to FL, their private sisterly moments of pretending they have the clapper (you know, “Clap on, clap off, the clapper”), playing in the rain, killing slugs with salt and watching them shrivel up (Murderers!!! Oh God I’ve failed, lol!) and then they all agreed that the whole of their childhood has been filled with great memories. That totally warms my heart. This is how I want them to grow.