Collage Friday - Giving My Husband 100% of Myself
Friday, July 20, 2012 at 12:01AM
Food, wine, laughter, reading, relaxation.
When friends OFFER to keep your kids for your anniversary, take them up on it!
We spent three days and two nights in the mountains on a lake. It was heaven.
Sometimes we get caught up in our homeschool world and forget about our partner in this life and why we love them so much.
Now that I'm "integrated" back into our normal life, I'd love to remember this vacation for a long time.
We took a chance to drive by our first home on the way to the mountains. We reminisced about previous anniversaries. Lots of time was spent reading, talking, hiking, and just being QUIET together.
How often do we get QUIET in a busy, homeschooling life?
There is nothing like connecting with your husband and being able to give him 100% of yourself.
Homeschooling moms have very little left for their husbands at the end of a day... we have very little left for OURSELVES at the end of the day. It is essential to spend time alone with your spouse.
Our relationship came first, after all -- why should it come last now?
The lake we were at was beautiful - this was a new area for us, so we enjoyed exploring. We stayed at a historic hotel/bed and breakfast. President Jimmy Carter once visited here and wanted to take the handcrafted wood furniture back to the White House with him. It is an original hotel from 1929, which has been fully restored. It also features a farm to table restaurant, that was out of this world.
We enjoyed a visit to a winery, which included a tasting and lunch in a quaint barn. Who knew that North Georgia houses an award winning vineyard?
I enjoyed taking pictures. From the resident cat at the hotel, to various food pictures - I had snapped quite a few during our time away. I don't know about you, but I don't make desserts like Chocolate Creme Brulee or Caramel Bread Pudding on a regular basis.
On our way home we stopped at the LEGO store (which is about an hour from where we live, so when I am close to it I GO!) and got ready for the co op class I will be teaching this fall. I must say, my husband and I had fun putting together 12 buckets for some very lucky children. It's not often Hal gets to take part in our co op classes!
Speaking of co-op classes, did you see yesterday's Homeschool Guest? She's the expert in co-ops!
I am thankful to have been blessed with this vacation.
I am thankful for my friends Cheryl and Lynn, who helped with the kids while we were away.
I am thankful my children spent time riding horses, swimming, and enjoying friends while we were away.
I am thankful for my family - spending time with my husband and a renewed appreciation for my children.
I am thankful prayers have been answered... a dear friend waiting through an open adoption finally has her precious baby boy at home! Our church may finally have a pastor. Things I've been praying about all summer are falling into place.
A favorite resource (which will help to guide me this year) was also discovered: Classical House of Learning correlates classical history and literature... giving book recommendations and lesson plans and schedules for studying individual books. This is a wonderful find for me!
I am thankful to have read The Distracted Person I Was and Still Am -- take a moment to read this post. It's very good and just about sums it up for me. Time for reflection has renewed my spirit and refueled my commitment to my husband and children. It has given me a sense of direction for our homeschool.
Now, I'm ready to tackle a new school year with energy and enthusiasm. I'm going to need a lot of that!
How has your week been? I hope you can join me for Collage Friday! Create a post with photo collages (I use Picmonkey to make mine.) Grab the Collage Friday button and use it in your post or sidebar. Sign the linky, and be sure to visit someone else on the list, too.
Reader Comments (16)
It looks like a wonderful week, Mary! Your trip with your husband sounds amazing, and just what you needed :) I saw your post on Facebook about the Classical House of Learning site, and I was exploring it last night...thanks for linking up!!
What a lovely place! If it's in the North Georgia Mountains, would you mind sending me the info on where you stayed? We're in Birmingham, so that's not too far from us. We might check it out one weekend. Thanks for the link-up!
Looks like a lovely trip. 3 days alone with your husband sounds heavenly. Oh and I just love the lego pick a brick wall, so fun. I really enjoy your blog. You have been a wealth of resources for me. thanks for sharing.
Oh yes, I want to vacation with my husband where YOU did! What WONDERFUL break for you!
(I am going out to a movie with my man tonight- with NO kiddos- and I am truly excited about a few hours by ourselves- so you must have been in heaven this week...) ;0)
oh what a fun time !! looks lovely!
Oh Mary...what an amazing trip. I love the pictures. That barn...To.Die.For. Look at that ivy! I am a huge fan of ivy on buildings. And that purple door!!! Love. I know you had such a wonderful time and made lovely memories. You are so blessed to have friends that you can leave your kids with an not worry.
Can't wait to hear more about your Lego Co-op adventures! Thank you so much for hosting this awesome link up each week. It is one of the best parts of my week!
What a wonderful vacation! This is my first visit to Collage Friday. I'll have to try it next week.
Glad you had a nice time away, the photos are gorgeous! I agree that time alone really does have a way of making you feel more focused once you do return home. When we went away for our 15th anniversary, I came home feeling like I was doing exactly what I was supposed to be doing!! I'm praying our time at BEECH Retreat will have a similar result. :)
What a beautiful place to visit! I'm glad you were able to get away. Sounds like your kids had a pretty nice vacation too!
Is that last pic the Lego store!? I have never seen anything like it! Amazing! I didn't get a post done for Collage Friday this week. I was vacation shopping all day. Hopefully I'll get back into the blogging swing of things when we get back home. I haven't figured out how to post pics in true "collage" format yet, though!!
It's so hard to stay focused on our husbands because our kids are so much better at demanding attention than husbands are. It's something I'm working on too.
Hey Mary, ever since you found me on Google+ I've been a behind the scenes follower of your collage Friday posts. I spent some time in prayer for you and your husband's anniversary trip, thanks for taking the time to put up pics and talk about it. You may have to reveal the location to me so when we get down there I'll have a place to which I can take my wife! (Speaking of which ... if you like horses and you've never heard of it ... look up Southern Cross Ranch. It's where Cara and I spend an anniversary a few years ago and fell in love with Georgia.) Anyway, I'm also looking forward to learning from you about homeschooling, too. That is, if you don't mind imparting some of your life-lessons on a former high school teacher like me! God bless!
What a fabulous week! You are spot on with our relationship with our husbands. What an inspiration this post is for me....
Oh, the lake vacation sounds like a dream...and exactly what my husband and I need too! We haven't taken a family vacation in more than two years. North Georgia is on my bucket list...I think my husband knows someone who owns a winery there...Who knows? You may have visited the very same! The photographs are great!
Yay for time away with your husband, beautiful surroundings, and answered prayers! Looks and sounds like a wonderful week, Mary:)
What a wonderful week. We haven't been away alone on an over night in 11 years. I should do something about that.
Blessings, Dawn
Wow what an awesome time and great photos.