Little For A Little While: [DIS]CONNECTED.

Sometime around Thanksgiving I got the itch to pack up my little family and take a mini winter vacation. I wanted to whole up in a cabin somewhere, surrounded by snow and hunker down under patchwork quilts. I wanted to get away from all the distractions and focus on each other. No phones, no Internet, no TV. Of course Nick was on board. Our minds seem to be one and the same these days. We started brainstorming areas we could go and cabins we could rent, when we had the genius (?) idea to reach out to some friends whose cabin had been shared with us a few years ago, and ask if they'd be up for working something out with us. To no surprise, they were more than willing to let us borrow their space, the only catch was it was only available to us during the week. Good thing we are self employed and can be flexible like that.

We were actually planning on going up this morning and returning early Saturday, but after looking at the forecast for the week we made a last minute change of plans and left on Sunday, returning today. What normally would have taken me all day to pack and prepare so carefully, was haphazardly thrown into bags and boxes and loaded into the van just a mere three hours after the switcheroo. I didn't even freak out about it. Not once. It worked out.

But then we ran into this:

However, Nick was confident that he could get us there safely with a little added time on the road. And I trust him. So we forged ahead. And it all worked out. I will admit I held my breath more than once and said many prayers, but we made it. Like he knew we would.

The past three days have been everything I wanted it to be. It was perfect. My heart was so happy as I soaked in the colors of our favorite quilts, felt the warmth of the fire place, and got down on the floor to play with my kids (which isn't easy these days, let me tell ya).

We played games.

Vintage Old Maid. Best card designs ever.

We colored.

We read stories. Over and over again.

We made crafts.

Snow Prince and Snow Princess crowns courtesy of Daddy.

Face painting. I made her into a butterfly, she drew hearts on my cheeks.

We went exploring...

...and found lots of pretty things.

The thirty something degree weather felt refreshing and good for our souls.

He cooked all the meals.

And I baked cookies, with help from little hands.

I spent a lot of time reflecting on our little family, and how it has changed for the better with each new chapter. I thought a lot about our new wee little babe who will join us in just a few short weeks. I wonder how we will grow and change once again, but find comfort in knowing that it won't take us long to find our groove as a family of five.