vacation – Skies of Parchment

March 5, 2013March 27, 2013

Three Kids and a Mom {vacation}

Once upon a time, there was a girl.
Actually, a mom.
A mom and her three little kiddos.

Uh, yes, three kiddos. One didn’t make it on the picture.

And she had a friend.
A very dear friend, whom she had made so many memories with in Pennsylvania and Ohio and all across Asia.
This same friend invited her to Florida for several days.

The mom deliberated.
It sure sounded fun.
This friend is so dear indeed.
And there was a new baby girl to meet.

But it was 6 hours away. One way.
With three kids. Because it didn’t work for Husband to go.
Would it be brave or crazy?

There was much deliberation.
But then she decided:
it was waaaay too much fun to say no.

So they went.
And they picked up the mom’s sister on the way, which also added to the off-the-charts fun factor.

They stayed at a house with the friend, her friend’s mom, her friend’s mother-in-law, her friend’s sister-in-laws and baby.
It was such great times.
There was always a party.
Even for the kids.

They got to meet this adorably beautiful little girl, who has so much personality for a three-month-old person.
And the time with the baby’s mother was just so amazing.
Real friendships just are so precious.

There were a few moments of stress for the mom,
including one morning when all her kiddos awoke at 7am to a house that was planning to sleep in.

She had to send up an SOS to the Lord to calm her soul,
and help her with a vacation that was more like a superfunsuperbusytime than rest and relaxing.
Kids sort of make that change, and she wasn’t quite prepared.

But after that one morning, it was really great.

There was her grandmother to visit, Grandma Susan, as the kiddos call her, about fifteen minutes away.
[and no, I’m no towering giant. my dear grandma is not quite 5 feet. :) ]

There were oceans to visit.
Or, I suppose it was actually the Gulf.

[pre-ocean anticipation]

There was a fabulous kids’ paradise to spend the day at.
The kids and the mom were even brave enough to touch the snakes and gators.

There was an auntie who loved her nieces and nephew so very much, and was a great help to the mom.

And a mom/daughter picture that hasn’t happened for a very long time.

There were jungle trails to walk, with popcorn in hand, of course.
What else would you eat while walking a jungle trail?

And there were flamingos to feed that made the oldest daughter simply leap with excitement.

The happiness factor brought sisterly hugs to pictures with not even a hint from mom.

There was a favorite little breakfast joint to eat one morning. Er, two mornings.

And ice cream. They couldn’t forget the ice cream.
It was a daily necessity, from anywhere and everywhere.

This was probably the favorite place.

It was a pretty big WOW of their vacation.

And then, despite the attempts to lengthen the days and the desires to the kiddos to “let’s MOVE here!”
it was time to return home to their very own little cottage.

The sister’s husband came to have a romantic weekend getaway with his bride.

And the three kiddos and a mom made their way back home.
The first three hours was a dream.
It really was amazing. Sleeping children, singing children.
It was too good to be true.

At hour three, we ran into a problem:
the interstate was closed. Closed closed CLOSED.
There was a massive detour which would take hours longer.

The mother, who had been deliberating whether to call herself ‘brave’ or ‘crazy’ decided on crazy. :)

A stop at Walmart to buy movies (hey, movies are cheaper than a hotel!)
a stop at McD’s for Happy Meals (gotta keep up the morale with new toys)
and a few years, I mean tears, later,
they all arrived back home safely.

The six hours home only took nine.
Yes, nine.
She felt like a rag doll when she got home.

It was a delicious vacation, there in Florida.
It was worth every minute of that nine hour trip home alone.

But three kids and a mom [on vacation] later, they’re happy to be back home with the Daddy of the family.

And they all lived happily [ever after]……. :)

October 1, 2011March 20, 2013

The Asheville Family Vacation

“The family. We were a strange little band of characters trudging through life sharing diseases and toothpaste, coveting one another’s desserts, hiding shampoo, borrowing money, locking each other out of our rooms, inflicting pain and kissing to heal it in the same instant, loving, laughing, defending, and trying to figure out the common thread that bound us all together. ”
~Erma Bombeck

It’s the last Saturday when Ben is working a long day, trying to finish up the last of the jobs before we head to Colorado… next Wednesday.

Three months worth of toys and clothes and living will be packed into a white suburban and we’ll drive 24 hours out west where we’ll spend the next three months in a two-bedroom apartment. Exciting? Yes! Scary? Yes!

There is SO much to do in the next few days. I’ve hardly begun packing, because there is so much I can’t pack until the last day or two. I keep asking God for a calm heart and mind, because it looks a bit overwhelming to get everything together in the next 3 days…

So I took the girls to a local festival this morning – good, old-fashioned redneck country festival. It was great fun. :) Maybe just to escape the feeling of all that needs to be done. And then I sit down and blog. Why? When there is a myriad of things to work on? When I could at least bring in the laundry that’s been hanging out for the past, um, three days. Or double-check my packing lists, or…

Well, for one, the girls are napping, and who wants to disturb sleeping children by packing? :)

For two, I just found out this week that our apartment will not have internet access, so I suppose I’ll be going on an online fast of sorts. :) I’m sure I’ll run to a coffee shop or the library, but we’ll only have one vehicle, and trying to keep two little children quiet while I’m on the computer doesn’t sound like my idea of relaxing. So, I’ll be popping in and out, but not as often as before.

So I had thought that I can just do some catching up online after we get to Colorado, but since that’s not going to be happening like I thought, I wanted to do two most posts before we leave. Here’s one, and we’ll see if I get the other one up. :)

Going back a month again…. (thanks for not minding!) Family vacation in Asheville, North Carolina!

We’ve done ocean vacations mostly, and that’s great fun. But we decided to do a mountain vacation this time – and loved it! The beautiful Smokeys were such a restful and relaxing place to stay for a long weekend. My parents rented a house (vacation rental by owner) on top of a good-sized range, and the view was beautiful from the long front porch!

It had been 6 months since I saw some of my sisters, and 2 years since a family vacation. We just loved every moment of being together! Being with my family is one of my favorite things in the world!

Most of the time was just spent together at the house… Plans were being made for hikes and such, but it rained one day, and was really hot another, and Barkmans can get long-winded when it comes to family time… ;)

A few went to see the famous Biltmore Estate the last day, and I was really hoping to go as well, but had gone to bed with a terrible migraine that still wasn’t better the day of the trip, so we had to miss it. That was a bit disappointment. Probably the only disappointment of the weekend though, so it was okay. :)

There is something so refreshing about being with family… when you know you can be you and be real, and don’t have to worry about how someone is going to take you, or if someone is going to hold a grudge against you, or if the weekend will end in chaos. I’m so blessed to be part of an imperfect, but loving family!

So the rest of this will be long on pictures and short on words.

We made cake pops…

Little girls snuck food with their aunties on the kitchen floor…

We played games until late at night…

Evenings were beautiful on the front porch…

Aunties taught neices how to make faces…

Aunties loved on little neices…

I think someone likes me… ♥

Oldest brother, youngest sisters…

Children ate uncontrolled amounts of candy…

And we did a photo shoot one afternoon. One thing about my family – there are cameras everywhere!!

At a sapphire mine, holding a sapphire embedded in a rock…

Sister pictures were taken…

Mother and daughters pictures were taken…

Brother pictures….

Six-of-Us pictures…

Father & Mother pictures…

Attempts at family pictures were taken… goodness, it’s difficult with this many people!

Zoe and Olivia snapshots were taken…

Attempts were made at pictures of our little family of four. You’d think it would be no big deal, but just check out some of the pictures that made it on the camera…

“the floppy-knee child” “the run-away baby”

“the hand-tugger”

“the case of the missing baby”

“in need of grace”

And at last, a few that might be okay!! :)

And we’re left with more lovely memories of family time and laughter and talks… God knew what He was doing when He created family!

“Families are like fudge – mostly sweet with a few nuts.”
– unknown

“In some families, please is described as the magic word.
In our house, however, it was sorry. ”
~Margaret Laurence

Today, enjoy your very own family – the quirks, the sweetness,
the wonderfulness that makes them YOURS!
[even if you’re in one of the above moments, “in need of grace.” :)]

~ clarita

September 24, 2011March 7, 2013

Ohio Trips & Tales

So it’s another Saturday where Husband is working in order to finish up jobs because we leave,
and when my wonderful sister Claudia was here for the whole week
and we are still in mourning over her leaving this morning,
and where the girlies think their mother is not nearly so exciting and fun as Auntie Claudia,
and where I’m thinking of happy weeks gone by.

Do people even do a post about things back a month or so ago?
I rarely see them, but the past month has been sooo wonderful and full of good things
that I just want to recap it and remember it all over again.
I feel out of the loop with blogging, so let’s see how this goes…
This is going to be more of a narrative than anything, just so you know. :)

It’s been a busy month – two trips, and some visitors inbetween.
I’ll start with the trip to the lovely state of Ohio!

Our entire trip was filled to the brim with friendships and family.
Just so so fun!
Our main purpose for the trip was to attend the Barkman Family Campout,
an annual tradition with my dad’s family and one we rarely have been able to attend.
And while we were traveling anyway, visiting some friends we rarely get to see.

I jotted down little snippets from our trip as it went along. It started out with…

… Zoe’s accident in Olivia’s car seat minutes before leaving. (!!!) With no time time to wash the seat, we stuffed it with towels. Hey, you gotta do what ya gotta do, gross though it is.

… a stop at Cracket Barrel some hours into the trip. We always stop at the said restaurant, if Ben has any say about it. Good old fashioned cooking, that’s his favorite. The waiter brought out the expensive glass of fresh-squeezed orange juice that we ordered and wondered who it went to. “Well, we all ordered one,” Ben joked, as he likes to do with dry humor, just wanting to the waiter to know how much we love that O.J. A few minutes later I burst into gales of laughter when the waiter brought out THREE more glasses, and Ben’s faces was a mixture of terror and astonishment as the $$$ signs danced in front of him. “I can’t pay for all those juices! They’re terribly expensive!” Apparently not everyone knows when he’s joking. We paid for the 4.

… Olivia’s accident in the same car seat on top of the said towel while sleeping. Seriously. We dug out more towels from the camping stash for the weekend. Traveling sure is different with kiddos. :)

… laughing and laughing with Zoe and Olivia in the backseat as we sang silly songs at the top of our lungs like, ” Down By the Bay” and “Five Little Ducks”.

… priceline-ing a hotel. Disappointed by the old Ramada, but you know, although I’d much prefer a Hampton or something of that quality, a good reminder that all is temporal. As Ben reminded me jokingly to cheer up my disappointment, “Just pretend you’re in Asia [with my sisters who were still there at that point] and then this would be really nice then!” Very very true.

… Zoe’s excitement over the hotel. She was telling all her friends before we left about the hotel. I don’t think she ever remembered staying at one before. :)

… Oliva woke up the next morning at the hotel before anyone else and was so disoriented. She bolted for the door and had we not grabbed her who knows where she would have ended up.

… finally arriving in Bay Village, Ohio, to visit my dear aunt and uncle Dean and Grace, and my cousin Katherine! They treated us royally, and we had a splendid day together. Grace does so well with making guests feel so special. There were orchids on the bathroom mirror. Chocolates and a welcome note on the guest bed. Even a rosette on the toilet tissue, made from the tissue itself.

My Aunt Grace and I are as close in age as she and my mother, so she’s always felt like a big sister to me.
I love her so dearly! She is the epitomy of her name ~ so gracious and sweet and beautiful!

… Olivia made herself right at home by squatting down on their patio and doing some serious potty business within 1/2 hour of arrival. That child never ceases to embarrass me.

… enjoying a beautiful walk through a nature preserve or park, seeing unafraid deer.

… Uncle Dean treated us all to ice cream at a little shoppe right at the edge of Lake Erie.

Ohio Vacation! 024

… yard saling with my aunt Grace Thursday morning. Finding a Bitty Baby doll (American Girl) for $15, after just mentioning less than a week before that I would love to find one of those, but never dreaming I would! Also finding a lovely collection of the Little Kelly’s and some of their play things for $2 -saving them for our long trip out west. Quite a few Usborne books about animals and the world for a dollar or two each. Seriously, yard sales in my aunt’s area of unbelieveable!

After spending a day in the northern part of Ohio, we headed south a bit…

… and I met this lovely woman for the very first time at Wallhouse Coffee!

Jenny has been someone I have long wanted to meet, and each time I attempted it before it just didn’t work.
I was holding my breath on this trip, but plans worked for a teency-weency hour together. In between her little girl needing to go potty twice and my littlest peeing herself it seemed like five minutes. :) I loved her instantly. She is just as real and sweet as her blog, and I counted it an honor to meet her in real life! I think we could have talked hours if given the opportunity. I hope one day! :)

And our little girls played together as though they’d known each other for years. It was so precious.
I was so happy they got to meet each other.

Our trip continued, and we spent the night at the sweet home of Jared and Dora. We have long been friends, and have made memories together at Bible School, in Asia, in Ohio, and Pennsylvania. She is one of those people that make me laugh like few people can, and is just a sweetheart! She and Jared treated us like honored guests. We just had the best time, and wished it could have been longer! ♥

Friday morning we wound around the hill country of southern Ohio and arrived at the Barkman Campout!
Beautiful weather for most of the weekend, much cooler than our Georgian weather, and wonderful company.
This family numbers over 60 people, and yet is such a close-knit family.
My grandparents had one daughter and seven sons, and they are tight as can be.
I absolutely LOVE being with them.
We can talk honestly and we can laugh until tears stream down our cheeks.
Such a great bunch.
It makes it feel as though everything is right with the world. :)

Six of the seven brothers. My aunt and her husband are in Africa as missionaries, and weren’t able to be there.

These brothers are such clowns. Here they are trying to intimidate the younger generation before the annual ball game by belting out, “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.”

The girls just loved it too. Even though they rarely see this side of my family, they found friends right away.
I loved that.

One of the uncles, who was telling Winnie-the-Pooh stories, sounding exactly like all the characters.
Children weren’t the only ones entertained!

My grandfather, the patriarch of the family, with the youngest grandchildren and great-grand.
This picture is so precious!

We were tent camping all weekend, and awoke Sunday morning to thunder and then rain.
Thankfully, there was a large tarp that we all huddled under and that was big enough for most of us to stay fairly dry. :)

But we were so so thankful for the mercy of God when a bolt of lightning struck a tree 30 feet from where the entire family was standing. It didn’t even sound like the normal thunder, it was just a huge CrAcK that made the ears feel tingly. Amazingly, no one was hurt, even though people standing in the direction of the lightning saw the balls of fire rolling down the tree, and even though there was water standing everywhere on the ground. We all smelled the burnt smell, and were so sobered as we realized how tragic that could have been. Seriously, several, if not many, of us could have been wiped out with that powerful bolt of lightning. Truly, death and life are in the hand of God, and no one goes before the appointed time…

Our final stop on the way home was our friends Daniel and Anita, and their three beautiful children.
They lived in Georgia for 2.5 years, and we missed them so much when they moved back to Ohio!

I love this picture. They posed entirely on their own, Blake giving directions to Zoe as to how they should stand. Can you tell he has very affectionate parents? :)

We were going to drive as many hours as we could after leaving their house, and then stop by the road only long enough to sleep enough to drive again.

That idea only lasted one hour of driving time, and then we parked in a McD’s parking lot and spent a MiSeRaBlE three hours before we finally broke down and got a hotel at 1am. :) That was the best thing we could have done, and we were all happier the next morning for it!

And that’s the recap of our lovely week spent in Ohio… It all worked out so perfectly in between Ben’s jobs and getting to be with all the wonderful people we saw.

I came back with a full heart, and lovely memories!

Friendship, and relationship, truly, are life’s sweetest gifts…

~clarita