Morehouse Made Homemaking

Well welcome back to the blog! It feels like it’s a been a long time! Our family has been super busy with a few things, but the summer has come to an end and the blog is back on track. To celebrate our 5th anniversary, Paul and I took our first vacation without the kids since before Beau was born. We took a three day trip down to San Diego, and it was glorious. We ditched the very non-fall weather Texas has been sporting and opted for some cooler temperatures. Paul and I got to see lots of fun things, but mostly, we ate. Mother of Pearl, there’s a lot of places to eat in San Diego. Don’t skimp out on the eating if you decide to go. Aside from eating, I can confidently say that I got my first ten hour stretch of sleep for the first time in almost three years. And do you know what? It was even more amazing than I dreamed it would be. Get it- “dreamed?” Ok, ok, maybe that was a little corny.

It was so good we went back a second time. Paul has his bacon pancakes, and to fuel my love of Sweden, I got the Swedish pancakes topped with lingonberry jam. 

Aside from eating and sleeping, we got to see some really jolly things. We traveled up to La Jolla the first day, and we went into a cave and saw the seals and sea lions. My grandma and grandpa used to live there, and it’s always a bit nostalgic to go back and visit.  

We also did some very touristy things, and we went aboard the USS Midway, a huge aircraft carrier docked in San Diego that’s been turned into a museum. I’d probably say that was my favorite part of the whole trip. I love visiting things with a lot of history, and the Midway had been on our radar for a few years. Per my brother, I had turned it down years ago (way before I was married) to go shopping instead. Foolish, foolish. Paul and I had originally planned to go see Hotel del Coronado instead, but we decided at the last minute to go see the USS Midway before our flight back to Texas. Really, we could’ve spent all day there, but I’ll know for next time. The boys will enjoy it when they’re older. It just means I have to come back (*cough* sooooo, if you’re planning a trip sometime soon and need a friend to come with you… *wink wink*). It was a bit pricier than I expected, but I’m a firm believer that things well done are well worth the money. This was one of those things, and I’ll remember it for a long time. They had veterans onboard to give lectures, there were tons of planes, and the self guided tour was very well done. Did you knooooooow that when a plane lands on an aircraft carrier, the pilot is instructed to go at full speed as they hook onto the landing cable incase: a) it doesn’t catch or b) it breaks? If they don’t, they run the risk of heading into the ocean at full speed. Anyways, that was just some extra info for ya that I thought was super interesting. No extra charge for it.  

There was a multitude of airplanes and helicopters on the top deck, as well. 

And very, very unexpectedly, we also stopped and visited the Bob Hope Memorial which was right next to the USS Midway. We weren’t expecting to see it because it’s kind of dwarfed by the Unconditional Surrender sculpture ( the sculpture of the sailor kissing the nurse in Times Square). It is a very thoughtful tribute that serves to remind us that no job is too small when done right and with the right purpose.  

It was so nice to get away with Paul for a few days. Sometimes, in the midst of busy seasons, it’s hard to see how disconnected you have gotten from your spouse and how tired you really are! It was a great opportunity to just slooooow things down and enjoy the coming of Fall.  

If you haven’t taken time to just relax lately, I want to encourage you to find time to do so. Good grief, after coming back from our trip, I went through a three day period where I slept somewhere between four and five hours each night. It was awful. So, instead of heading to the pumpkin patch this weekend like we’d planned, I declared Saturday “The Day of Sleep.” Outside of a brief period where Jude woke up and wanted to play for a bit (read: two and a half hours), everyone was actually so tired that they slept until 10 o’clock. Wow.. even typing those words sends chills up my spine. Maybe we can do that again next weekend… too wishful?? Yeah. Maybe you’re right. A mom can dream though, right?  

Anyways, my point is, maybe you can’t take a whole vacation, BUT, you can plan a restful day for yourself. God doesn’t call us to work seven days a week and just feel downright exhausted. As a matter of fact, taking a day of rest was actually God’s idea at creation. I know you knew that, but someone out there may have needed the reminder. Let’s take God at His word and trust He knows what is best for us. Take a rest! Your family and your marriage will thank you.