First Family Vacation in 6 Years!

The other night, Adam commented, this is the longest you've been off work in your adult life isn't it?  At first I said yes, then I realized this isn't true.  This is the longest I've been off since I started school as a little girl!!  Wow!  What a blessing the last 5.5 months have been and this summer was remarkable as well.  As we wrap up Summer 2016 and look ahead to the fall, tonight I'm reflecting on one memory in particular.  In late June, my entire family gathered for the first family trip that we had taken together since July 2010 when we went to Hilton Head, SC.  This summer we headed north instead and vacationed at Cape Cod in Truro, Massachusetts.  Growing up, my family and I spent parts of many summers there so I was excited to go back as an adult and with my own little family now.  I journaled while on vacation but life has been so busy since our return to Ohio that I am only just now getting around to posting the fun from this wonderful family vacation.  The only question now is....where to next time??!

At the end of June, we took Charlotte on her first beach trip!  On the first day of our trip, we were blessed to stay with a sweet friend at the halfway point in New Jersey.  The first part of our journey started out well with an early start and Charlotte napping.  The second part of the trip, however, proved a bit more challenging with several stops for the restroom and feeding breaks.  Our six hour trip wound up being a nine hour one with our arriving at Jennifer’s house just in time for dinner.  Fortunately, for the two feeding stops for Charlotte, we were able to find a picnic bench and a covered patio for her to enjoy her milk.

 

Did we remember to pack the baby?!

In spite of cloudy skies and some sprinkles, it was a beautiful sunny summer evening as we pulled in to Jennifer’s house that was very much like a retreat or sanctuary in the woods thanks to the cul-de-sac and the lush greenery in her sloping back yard.   

Upon our entrance to “JAC’s Cabin” the aroma of dinner greeted our nostrils and we absolutely loved the view of the sunset from the living room bay window and the welcoming atmosphere.  Jennifer had prepared a delicious pesto linguine with meatballs (so so so good!) topped with parmesan cheese, salad with homemade Italian dressing, warm garlic knots fresh from the oven, and some of the BEST wines I have ever sipped (a blueberry apple wine from a local winery followed by a peach cobbler wine).  Later, for dessert, we enjoyed a smorgasboard of desserts (New York Cheesecake, chocolate chip cookies, and my favorite:  Rocky Road Walnut Pudding Cake that had surprise chocolate chips embedded within each bite of the cake!) in the sunroom.  

Jennifer is definitely the “hostess with the mostest!”  She was so considerate of our needs by borrowing a pack and play and other baby items from a friend, had left a sweet “Welcome” bag on the guest bed, and was so attentive to anything we might need during our overnight stay.  We even enjoyed egg muffins for brunch the next morning before getting on the road to finish out our trip to Massachusetts around noon.

Trying Kombucha tea for the first time! 

Getting in some quality time with Daddy before hitting the road again!

~ Helping Aunt JenJen with breakfast (check out that clever fire escape spice rack on the wall though!) ~

 

One of my favorite depictions of the holy family was on the wall in our room for the night!

 

Our driving to the Cape day was a long one.   

We left Jen’s house around noon and after stop and go traffic, several stops for diaper changes/feedings/the restroom, and leaving New Jersey to drive through New York, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, we finally arrived at the beach house in Massachusetts around 10pm.  Unloading the car was a true family effort as Alisha, Patrick, and my Mom helped us.  What a welcoming committee!  

After getting Charlotte settled in the crib, Adam and I dove into the taco dinner leftovers. Mmm!

The next night we all ate out at a local pizza joint and enjoyed ice cream for dessert after mass…even Charlotte!  Her Uncle Mark fed her the smallest of bites of cinnamon bun ice cream and she seemed to like it.  With a family of ice cream lovers, I am surprised it took this long for the ice cream tasting to occur!

Our first day here found us on the beach.  The 100+ steps were exactly as I remembered them from my childhood.  Mark, Liz, their two boys, Adam, Braden (one of my NC nephews), and I enjoyed lunch and some relaxation on the beach while Charlotte slept in the tent the whole time we were there.  Guess she finds the beach relaxing too!

You can see the tip or "boot" of Massachusetts stretching out over yonder!

Playing in the "front yard" of the beach house!

At mass on Saturday night, Charlotte sat in the main sanctuary with us.  This was only the second time she has done this during a mass as we usually sit in the children’s room section of our church.  She was somewhat fussy and I wound up having to give her a bottle during the mass to try to pacify her.  It was a bit stressful and I came pretty close to getting up and going into the family room as I worried that we were too distracting.

Sunday was my parents’ 40^th anniversary and we had a nice day of being together as a family.  In the morning half of us went to the flea market down the road in Wellfleet.  Aunt Marie, Liz, Benjamin, Brian, Alisha, Mom, Dad, Charlotte, and I enjoyed browsing the goods.  One of the vendors even agreed to create a custom piece of artwork using stone people (and even stone dogs).  I can’t wait to see our piece later this week that will commemorate this trip!

Oh Patrick!

We’ve been enjoying a lot of homecooked meals for breakfast and dinner and last night was no different.  Patrick made a delicious chicken parmesan dinner served with salad, spaghetti, and warm cinnamon buns fresh from the oven.  YUM!  This morning I will provide French Toast Casserole along with the leftovers of the plain, blueberry, or chocolate chip pancakes, sausage, and oatmeal dessert Liz made for one morning a few days ago.  

After lunchtime yesterday, Mark and Patrick were able to go out on a family friend’s boat in the ocean!  

 

It was so neat watching the boat “pull up” right to where Mark, Liz, Alisha, Patrick, Clark, Braden, Thomas, and Benjamin were waiting on the beach.  I guess that is a perk of owning that slice of the beach that Steve is able to ride his boat right up to shore like that!  Mark braved the wind and choppy waters to ride on a large float tethered to the back of the speedboat.  Patrick and Mark both enjoyed the outing that had Clark and Ben saying they wanted to also ride on the boat upon their return.  

Aunt Marie, Mom, Mason, and I watched from the top of the steps and enjoyed the ocean breeze and sunshine from the edge of the cliff.  At one point, shortly after Adam’s arrival, a baby fox appeared out of the brush on the path at the top of the cliff and stairs!   

Two "foxes" in one picture.  ; )

It darted away after a few minutes of pacing but not before I got some pictures of it!   

Later, Adam joined us once Aunt Marie returned to the house to keep an eye on Charlotte for us.  Mom, Adam, and I enjoyed a terrific conversation on the Adirondack chairs in which she yielded her top three pieces of advice when it comes to 40 years of marriage.  She said:

       1.)     Don’t expect mindreading.
       2.)     Realize there is more than one way something can be done and be mindful of the approach
              when communicating with the other.

       3.)     Put the needs or the good of the other ahead of your own (this reminded me of dying to 
               self).

It was wonderful spending this time with Mom as we also all three talked about hopes for the future related to schooling/religion/life in general.

Yesterday was filled with its fair share of game playing and excitement as well.  After dinner, it was discovered that the baby fox had gotten into the trash bags that were left on the deck.  Oops!  Also, we had played Scrabble the night before with my brothers and sisters-in-law and parents and cards in the early afternoon with one of our nephews.  However, after the kids were put down for the night and we celebrated Mom and Dad’s anniversary with gifts and cards, us adults engaged in two games of “Left, Right, Center”.  I won the first game and Dad won the second.  What fun!  Patrick provided warm fresh from the oven chocolate chip cookies and milk as we played for a late night snack. 

For the anniversary gift, us kids had all gone in on Mom and Dad’s gift together to buy a replacement wedding band that will be engraved with the same saying as the original for Dad since he had accidentally lost his ring.  We also were able to contribute toward the cost of Mom’s beautiful new ring she is wearing on her right ring finger and presented Mom with a “Love Story” bracelet that contains ten birthstones signifying the months in which she and Dad got engaged, married, their birth months, those of the four kids and the seven grandkids, and finally a ruby that represents the 40^th anniversary according to tradition.  She seemed to enjoy the beautiful dainty silver bracelet and I hope it brings her happiness as she wears it!
 

I got the heartfelt jewelry of the rings I'm wearing on my thumb in this picture and the bracelet for Mom from the same seller.  Click here if you would like to  browse the website.

Monday was a day of cooking for me.  Each household agreed to cook a dinner to share the load of preparing meals during our week at the beach.  I had signed up to provide breakfast and dinner that happened to fall on the same day after some rearranging of the meal plan calendar.  The French Toast casserole did not turn out the way I would have liked due to the issues I had with the oven.  The top of the French Toast looked burnt but it actually didn’t taste too bad since the bottom was moist and made up for it…if you flipped the pieces of bread upside down..guess my meal had to be unique in coming with instructions on how to eat it.  Ha!  Then, the dinner did not fare any better.  As the meatball sub bubble bake sat in the oven, it didn’t bake at first but then it did….once again turning some of the top layer black and leaving the dough on the bottom of the casserole dish a bit doughy due to not baking all the way.  Fancy ovens and I don’t mix all that well I guess.  

Below are pictures of random moments throughout the relaxing week at the Cape!

 One of my favorite moments from this vacation was when this happened:

Our view from the dining room...gorgeous!

Our daily cups!

There were a lot of feet in the beach house...both in square footage and on the bottom of legs!  ;)

Most times a cousin was usually near by to give a helping hand.

Pappy doting on his Char!  <3

 

Kissing cousins

 

Game Room on the lower level of the house (had a pool table, ping pong, checkers, air hockey, and the kiddos' toys) along with two bedrooms, one full bath, a half bath, and a home theatre.  There were other doors but we didn't know what they led to as they were locked.

Love these two so much!!

Charlotte's cousins love her so much too.  They couldn't keep their hands off her!

 

 

Oldest grandchild and youngest grandchild....and also the only two girls!!  For now that is..

The bottle wore out little Charlotte!

The boys wanted her to come out and play...

During the day midway through the vacation , Mom, Dad, Charlotte, and I drove about an hour away to Hyannis to do some sightseeing and browse some shops.  I purchased some dainty jewelry to give to Charlotte some day at a shop called the Silver Seahorse on the Main Street and Mom bought a bracelet to complement her new ring.  I wonder if Charlotte will grow up to like sparkly jewelry as much as her mom and grandma do!

Having some fun with the jewelry I hope to give to Charlotte one day!

If Monday was the domestic day then Tuesday was the play day!  After a particularly trying morning of Charlotte being extra fussy and crying for 2.5 hours straight before finally napping for a short while, Adam and I were able to steal away and play tennis in the backyard where a tennis court, a playground, shuffleboard, bocce, and horseshoes are available for the playing!  This was Adam’s first time playing the game and we both got a good workout from it!   
 

The house behind Adam was the one we were blessed to stay in during this past week!

Once finished playing, Adam, Mom, Charlotte, and I walked a mile to the ice cream shop we had gone to after mass on Saturday.  My Dad met up with us there as he had been out running an errand.  I tried two new flavors (cookie dough smash and mud flaps = coffee ice cream with chocolate chunks, brownie pieces, and toffee candy) while Adam got three scoops of the ginger ice cream he enjoyed the other night, Mom had cookie dough smash, and Dad had chocolate peanut butter cup.  YUM!

Upon walking another mile back to the house, Charlotte had fallen asleep in the stroller so Adam and I were able to steal away again to go kayaking while Mom, Dad, Aunt Marie, and Uncle Bill kept an eye on her.  Patrick wound up meeting us on the beach and helped us get situated. This was Adam’s first time kayaking and my first time doing it in the ocean.  I had kayaked in the bay in Hilton Head, South Carolina back in Summer 2010 but the waters weren’t as choppy then as they were today.  What was neat about that experience though was that we saw dolphins while out there!!

Back to this afternoon though, Adam and I no sooner were in the kayak and heading out into the waves before we capsized.  Seriously, I think we were in the boat for all of ten seconds before we found ourselves in the water.  I panicked and started kicking while trying to keep my head above water before remembering I had a life jacket on that would keep me afloat.  Then my feet touched the ocean floor and I realized the water was only up to my neck.  However, water had gotten on my hearing aids which worried me as they will break if they get wet.  The water was cool at first but then not bad as I was in it up past my shoulders!   

It was nice getting in some quiet time with the hubby while we waited for my little brother.

What is this?!

Off to a good start...!

Then this happened.  :  /   LOL!

Back on shore, Adam and I ended up getting back in the kayak and trying again.  We had had a misunderstanding where I thought we were supposed to go parallel to the shore and Adam was trying to steer us further into the ocean and over the waves.  Just like with tennis earlier in the day where we had to build off the other’s motion and get into a rhythm or flow, the same happened with rowing the kayak.  Since I was behind him, I was able to try to match the strokes and direction of the oars by following Adam’s lead.  What a neat analogy to think about marriage!  We need to look to one another and communicate with each other to successfully navigate everyday life together to keep the boat afloat or keep the ball in the air.  So, yeah, we were *just* playing today but there were hidden lessons in all of what we did today if you look for them!

After Adam and I came back to shore, Patrick took a turn in the front of the kayak and he and I headed out a bit further into the ocean.  I was proud of the big circle we made going out to a buoy and circling around it before coming back to shore.

Next, Patrick and I went back out in the sea.

Almost in sync!  This is the fourth state in which Patrick and I kayaked together (DE, NC, SC, & MA).

We had a delicious veal parmesan dinner with salad, a baked potato, and cupcakes for dessert after returning to the house.  After dinner, the games continued with a couple rounds of pool and ping pong with Patrick.  I lost all the games but that is pretty common when playing against Patrick who is a natural athlete (he is like the King Midas of sports) but I still had fun anyway!  Whew, I think I will sleep well tonight!!  Let’s just hope we have a better morning with Charlotte compared to this morning as we have some exciting events happening on Wednesday!

On Wednesday, Fr. Jack, who presided at Adam’s and my wedding, and Aunt Maureen drove in from Boston to celebrate mass with us in the beach house.  We all gathered in the living room on the third floor with an incredible view of the ocean for mass.  It has been a long time since my family experienced something like this and it was really special witnessing my parents and Aunt Marie and Uncle Bill renew their wedding bows to celebrate their 40^th and 35^th wedding anniversaries this summer.  Fr. Jack delivered a pretty powerful homily and it was great seeing him again.  We all missed seeing my aunt’s friend, Laura, who stayed behind in Boston due to recovering from an unexpected surgery that had happened earlier in the week.  Before we knew it, Fr. Jack and Aunt Maureen had to head back to Boston and were gone as fast as they arrived.  I really appreciated the special blessing Fr. Jack prayed over little Charlotte as she slept in my arms.  Hearing the words helped me to feel peace in the moment.

One of my favorite parts of our vacation was from this afternoon when the family mass occurred!

 

After mass, my brothers, sisters-in-law, Adam, Charlotte, and I drove a few minutes down the road to go to a winery.   

We enjoyed a tasting and a quick tour of the winery before heading back home.   

On the way home, Adam, Charlotte, and I stopped at the ice cream place by the house for a third visit.  This time I got the butter pecan while Adam enjoyed a combination of lemon and cranberry ice cream.  Upon our return to the house, Patrick and I headed out to the tennis courts to play while Adam got in some daddy time with Charlotte on the back deck.   

Patrick and I even got the chance to play shuffleboard before we all headed down to the beach to meet up with everyone else.  Charlotte was actually awake for this visit to the beach and seemed completely captivated by the ocean.  She stared and stared at the water and the small waves that crashed to shore.  She giggled and laughed at her cousin Braden and burrowed her head into my neck when the gusts of wind blew by us every so often.  I love the closeness of holding her and cuddling with her.  Feeling her breath on my neck and hearing her coos and the “conversations” she has been having with anyone who will listen make me smile.  She is such a precious and sweet little girl!!   

For our cookout themed dinner, we had lobster along with hot dogs, burgers, and BBQ chicken.  

Charlotte passed out before she could have some lobstah!

Our last night in the house, after the kids were put down, was spent playing Rummy.  Adam had played as a child but not as an adult so it was fun watching him pick up on the rules of the game.  Patrick ended up being the winner somewhere around 1:15am.  It probably wasn’t the smartest move on our ends to stay up so late when we had an 11am departure time but it was worth it.  I can’t even remember the last time I played a game of Rummy against my brothers so am glad we had the chance to do so last night.   
 

Hopefully these two cousins will grow up having a sister-like relationship in spite of the 8.5 year age difference!  I pray for the same on the CA side of the family too...Riley is only six months older than Charlotte so they may end up in the same grade!

Hanging out with Uncle Bill on the last morning as we cleaned up the house and packed the cars.

This morning, while leaving Cape Cod, we swung by the flea market to see if the rock art lady was there but sadly she wasn’t.  For some reason, she had never called back about the custom piece of artwork she was going to design for us.  So, I ended up purchasing a fish pillow instead from a woman Liz had purchased some beautiful pieces from the other day.  She even gave me a 60% discount since she remembered Liz from last week.  Score!  Now Charlotte has a fish pillow like Thomas and Benjamin do to commemorate this trip!

For Charlotte’s afternoon feeding, we made a pit stop at the beautiful Information Tourist Center in Mystic Village, Connecticut.  The center had a gorgeous courtyard with bright flowers, friendly ducks and people, and a quaint gazebo in the heart of Mystic Village which is where we opted to feed Charlotte and give her some time out of her car seat.   

Spying her first duck!

 

Our little traveler!

About an hour into our drive after the stop at Mystic Village we missed a turn and ended up taking a slight detour that put us on the road heading toward Mt. Carmel, CT.  What was amazing about this wrong turn was the connection to Charlotte’s upcoming baptism as it will be held on the Feast Day of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel!

This time away was so needed.  Like I said earlier, prior to this trip, my family, as a whole, had only done a family vacation like this once back in July 2010 when we stayed in Hilton Head, SC.  Growing up, some of my fondest memories are of the trips my brothers, parents, and I would take whether it was camping, going to the beach, or staying at various air force bases or with family across the country.  Listening in on some of the conversations among my niece and nephews (age 9 down to 2 years old) were at once familiar and humorous.  I remember having conversations like those with my brothers and cousins when young and it was neat to hear and see the next generation interact with one another.  The love the children had for our baby was so strong and palpable.  I hope that bond only gets stronger with each passing year so that Charlotte can feel all wrapped up in that love from all of us each day of her life!  

Something else I noticed during this trip was that I would see families made up of the parents and an only daughter.  Two who stood out for me were the family at the beach on our first day there with a girl who was about ten years old and the family at the winery with a daughter who appeared to be in her mid-teens.  As I quietly observed the family on the beach, I couldn’t help but notice how the young girl thrived on the attention her parents showed her as she splashed in the waves then ran up to them where they were lounging on their beach towels.  I look forward to Adam and me being able to provide our 100% attention to Charlotte like that….when she finds a seashell she wants to show us, when she scrapes her toe on a rock and needs comforting, when she jumps over a wave, and all the other little and big moments in her life.  At the winery, the teenaged daughter seemed especially close with the mom through whispering and talking with her, giggling over a shared joke, and through her body posture/gestures.  At one point the parents asked for a picture in the winery and the daughter obliged.  It seemed the family was a tight knit and close one…again, another dream I have for our family of three.  

~ Sweet dreams my precious girl ~

Another encounter at the winery occurred as Adam and I were pushing the stroller into the main entrance to purchase our wine tasting ticket.  An elderly woman fussed over Charlotte and asked how old she was.  She shared she has four grown daughters of her own but that her husband always wanted a son.  However, they felt blessed over having gained sons-in-law through marriage.  The woman concluded by saying, “I love my daughters and besides they will never leave me!  A man leaves his family to start a new one but a daughter always stays with you”.  I found comfort in those words…

Other words that inspired comfort and hope during this trip came from Aunt Maureen when she recently texted me saying I need to allow myself time to heal and adjust to/accept the change in life and dreams.  Fr. Jack also caught me off guard when he looked me in the eye and said, “Are you happy?” when he first met Charlotte before the mass.  I looked at him, speechless for a second, to which he said, “You better be!  Just look at her!”  His reaction to our miracle baby reminded me to really stop and be thankful of all we do have.
 

Fr. Jack always seems to know what to say.  What a blessing he is in all of our lives.

The last portion of our trip resulted in our staying in NJ for two nights with Jennifer again.  For our late night dinner that evening, we picked up some burgers and a chicken and waffle sandwich from Whitecastle Restaurant since neither of us had been there.  The food was okay but we still prefer In n Out (on the West Coast) as our favorite burger joint.  

 

We came back to Jen's house to clean laundry for each of us and this sweet note...so thoughtful!!

On Friday morning, Jen and I headed to the gym for a Zumba class!  It was so rejuvenating being back in that atmosphere.  I have missed taking Zumba classes regularly and hope to be able to get back into it if I could find a local place that offered classes around my (and Charlotte’s) schedule. 
 

Rise and shine!

Oh, how I have missed Zumba!

After Zumba, Adam and Charlotte met up with us in the parking lot so we could dine at a popular diner, Jefferson Diner, which was ranked in the top five diners of New Jersey.  The portions were HUGE and delicious.  We could see why the diner is so popular and thoroughly enjoyed the authentic NJ food, especially the pork roll that we split among the three of us. 

Soooo many choices!

Eating our first Pork Roll!

OMGosh....those portions!

Heart to heart with Aunt JenJen

Charlotte really wanted fries....but what was I doing?!

Next up, we headed to a marina to kayak while Jennifer walked with Charlotte in the stroller.  Adam and I had no sooner made our way out on the water when five minutes later, raindrops started to fall and we had to return to the kayak rental place.  Adam preferred the ocean kayak over the one we used yesterday and did not particularly enjoy the experience.  We were glad we had our beach towels to sit on during the drive home since we both had wet pants, socks, and shoes due to the water splashing and coming into the kayak.  

Once we returned home, we all three began searching for Adam’s missing wallet for over an hour.  He had realized it was missing when he and Charlotte left the house that morning to meet us at the gym.  He had hoped it was in the glove compartment in my car but didn’t get the chance to look right then.  It wasn’t until we were leaving the diner when I checked the glove compartment that we realized the wallet wasn’t there.  We knew he had had the wallet the previous night due to paying for our late night dinner in the Whitecastle drive-thru but where did it go between then and now??  We searched the house and the car multiple times (I went out to the driveway to look in and around the car at least three or four times myself) but the wallet just wasn’t showing up anywhere we looked.  I suggested we unpack the car and repack it in the hopes it had slipped under the seats or fell into the dirty laundry bag or was between the car door and under the seat or maybe it was in the car seat?  Adam preferred we just wait and see if it showed up once we returned to Ohio the next day.  He was calm and said there was no use in wasting more time looking for it when we could find it the next day at our final destination.  He did check our online account multiple times throughout the day to see if any transactions occurred which didn’t so that was a bit of a relief.  Jennifer also called the diner to see if anyone turned in the wallet and left her name and phone number in case the wallet was located.  We spent a few more minutes looking before giving up as every possible theory and suggestion did not yield the wallet’s whereabouts.  If it had been up to me, we would have kept searching but I respected Adam’s choice to wait it out and see if it would turn up on Saturday after we returned home and to work on replacing it/canceling cards and so forth if not.  What an exercise in patience on all accounts…literally..ha!  

After Charlotte woke up from her afternoon nap, we drove to dinner where we had hoped to dine in a restaurant right off the lake.  However, as we pulled into the parking lot, the gray clouds opened up and the wind blew over the lake bringing on a thunderstorm and heavy rain just as we exited our car in the parking lot of the restaurant.  We dashed through the rain and sought cover in the restaurant to learn there was a 45 minute wait.  Jen opted to go check out a nearby restaurant to see if the wait would be shorter at that one while Adam and I stayed at the original restaurant awaiting word from Jen.  While there, an elderly couple fussed over Charlotte who was hamming it up thanks to the attention.  Come to find out, the couple’s daughter was named Charlotte after the dad’s mother.  That makes this the second encounter in which we met someone who had a relative named Charlotte as well.  Guess the name is coming back in style!

Soon, Jen called us saying she had a table for us at the restaurant across the street and up the hill from us.  Adam went to get the car while Charlotte and I waited at the door for our ride due to the rain and chill in the air.  I noticed Adam pulled out and then I couldn’t see where the car was any more and that he was taking longer than I expected but didn’t pay much attention due to other patrons at the restaurant coming over and making a fuss over Charlotte calling her a cutie patootie and a beauty.  :)  Soon, Adam pulled up and let us in the car.  He had a huge smile on his face and said, “Guess what I found in the parking lot….my wallet!”  My first thought was how did we not see it between the car door and the seat thinking it must have fallen out when he opened the car door and we made a run for the entrance to the restaurant in the quick summer storm a few moments before…but my jaw dropped to the floor when I heard where Adam had, in fact, found the wallet.  

Beautiful lake view as the storm cleared up after a sudden downpour!

In Adam’s words:  We were leaving the restaurant to go to the other one that Jennifer found because we had to wait at the first one.  It was raining outside pretty good so I told you to wait here and I would pull the car around.  So I went to the car and started backing out.  Well, first actually before I started backing out, I turned the wipers on one time to get the rain off the windshield and I noticed it did a really poor job of getting the water off the windshield so I thought it was the blade.  I backed out of the parking spot and then I turned on the windshield wiper again and that’s when I noticed that there was something stuck under the blade.  The blade was going up with the wallet attached to it and then the next time the blade went up, the wallet got dumped into the parking lot.  So I put the car back in park, got out, and couldn’t believe it.  There was the wallet on the ground!!!!  It just blows your mind.  Like how did it get there?  It’s so weird!!

We excitedly drove over to the alternative restaurant that was fabulous with a terrific view of the lake and a pleasant atmosphere that included live music (the artist’s sound reminded Jen and me of Melissa Etheridge’s voice) and delicious food to share the news with Jen.  We all three were completed dumbfounded as to how the wallet got there on the windshield under the blade, how it didn’t fall off with all the driving we did on the twisty mountain roads, in the sprinkling rain after our kayak ride, on the highways and back roads we navigated as we drove from the gym, to the diner, to kayaking, back to the house, and then back out again to the lake for dinner.  All those parking lots, all those chances for the wallet to fall off or be taken, all those times we searched the car, all the times of looking out through that very same windshield from the other angle as we searched the inside of the car when it was right there in front of us….or was it?!  None of us could explain how or why the wallet ended up there.  Adam always goes around from the driver’s side to Charlotte’s side on the passenger side by going around the back of the car not the front of it.  Even if he did lay the wallet down on the roof of the car above the driver’s door that night when we came home with the drive-thru dinner and forgot about it you would think it would have fallen backwards off the car in the wind or when reversing the car in the driveway maybe that motion caused the wallet to tumble forward onto the windshield but wouldn’t Adam have seen it?  Even if that is how it happened, how did the wallet become wedged underneath the windshield wiper??!!!  We can only speculate but praise God and St. Anthony for this story’s end!  Once we got to the restaurant and recounted the story to Jennifer, the storm died down as fast as it started….if it hadn’t been for the rain, we wouldn’t have found the wallet because the wipers wouldn’t have been used and the wallet could very well have blown off during the drive back home on the curvy dark mountain roads!  I jokingly said to Jennifer later that night that I wish we had a security camera that we could rewind to see what had happened in the dark driveway once we left the car but we will never know and are just thankful that the wallet was found with no harm done to our credit and finances. (Note:  When we told Adam's family this story during Baptism Weekend, they said that someone probably found it in the parking lot, saw the Ohio driver's license, saw our Ohio tags, and stuck it under the blade....but how did the wallet escape three pairs of eyes and fall out somewhere after multiple instances of opening/shutting the door???!!)

Hangin' on tight to that wallet now!

Pondering what flavor of ice cream to get for dessert....decisions decisions!

Before bedtime, Jennifer and I chatted some more about trusting in God’s will for our lives and the importance of being open…especially if and when circumstances may require us to move beyond our comfort zones.  Something Jennifer said really spoke to me in a profound way.  She said that she is currently facing one of her biggest fears and recognized that the situation is causing her to lean on God more.  Hearing her words made me realize that because I’m not getting what I had always dreamt of and wanted for my future family and myself is causing me to seek the love and happiness from elsewhere.  All the love I had to give to a house full of children is now going to be redirected to showering all my love and attention on to Charlotte and Adam for the time being.   
 

She must take after me...playing with Daddy's wedding ring like I like to do.  :)

As a result of this particular conversation with Jennifer, I’m thinking that I need to work on my relationship with God in devoting more love and time to spend with Him.  We are all busy in our own lives and it’s easy to get wrapped up in the long to-do lists and the demands of day to day living.  Having multiple children to tend to would also take away time from my husband, time for myself, and more importantly time from God.  That is not to say that those who have large families are unable to flourish and grow spiritually or participate in fulfilling relationships with others but for me, personally speaking, since I am such an “all or nothing” type of person, I wonder if I might grow lax in my relationship with God if I were trying to split my time/energy/love between family life and God time.  Yet, I have always worked to keep God in my every thought or to serve Him in small everyday ways by trying to turn everything I do into an act of service and prayer.  For instance, when washing dishes or folding laundry, chores I don’t particularly love to do, saying a prayer with each dish that is scrubbed clean or each item that is folded and put away, I try to offer up the tasks as prayers of corporal works of mercy.  Perhaps a result of this change in what I had dreamt for my future family is to grow closer to God and to take the time I would have spent tending to other children and use it to tend to and cultivate the relationships already formed in my life:  my parents, siblings, Charlotte, Adam, and others on the personal and professional sides of my life....?? 

Our last morning in NJ was an early one thanks to Charlotte’s three days in a row rising time of 7am.  We enjoyed homemade granola topped with strawberries and almond milk thanks to Jennifer’s hospitality then hit the road.   

It was a beautiful day for a drive as we made our way west back to Ohio.  Charlotte was a terrific little passenger as we made our way through Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts then back again over the last week.  Hope she loves to travel as much as I do as she gets older!!

One of my most favorite pictures of our little bumble bee!