This week our family snuck away for a little vacation. Joel and I wanted to treat the kids to some fun time away before we travel for the adoption. We were blessed by friends who let us stay with them in their beautiful vacation villa for free and helped us get a good deal on Sea World tickets.

We had a great time, and despite our kids having a total meltdown at the Mall of Overstimulation - it was some sweet togetherness.

Yet each night, I was struck by something about myself.

Before we even got to the beach, I announced to the family that we'd stop for McDonalds ice cream on the way home.

I am not an ice cream lover, and on most days, even a liker. But tonight I wanted it - and we were going to have it.

After a gorgeous evening at the most beautiful beach in the world, we got in the car still slightly wet from the salt water and ready for dessert.

If you talk to enough married women, you will soon find that the relationship between a woman and her husband’s mother can be complicated. While my mother-in-law and I haven't escaped some of those complications, I am blessed to have a wonderful Mother-in-Law, Sue. Our relationship hasn’t been all unicorns and rainbows, but in some ways that’s why I love her so much.

Let me preface this by saying that I'm very thankful for our car. It's totally paid for, and we've had to put very little into it. That said, this car has lots of character.

Only one window rolls down, the rear passenger side. This becomes problematic in a black car with weak AC in Florida.  It's also problematic after Mexican food.

A couple weeks ago, we bought a new dining room table.  Our previous table was made for four, though we squeezed many more around it on a regular basis.  Our new table can expand to comfortably fit 10 people - so it's quite the upgrade! 

As I look at this huge table, I’m amazed by the amount of people who have already sat around it, the planning that has happened here over coffee, all the laughs it has seen.  I can’t imagine what this table will behold in the years to come. 

We finally re-did the kids room!  Up till now, it had been a mix of Big E's baby stuff and whatever else we threw in there.  I won some wall decals around Christmas, so we worked with those colors to find some awesome bedding and accessories at Ikea.

Last night I was stressed out.  We had gotten some new furniture that needed to be put together.  I was assembling the chairs and got a blister.  The lighting fixture was missing a piece.  We had people coming over for a meeting so the house had to be presentable.  The kids needed to be fed so I could bring them to a friend's house during the meeting.  The meal needed to be finished up so I could feed our guests.  I needed to vacuum the floor.  Again.

I've been into the "then and now" Wordless Wednesday posts lately.  So since I'm on a roll...here's one more.