Almost Time...

Well, our vacation is almost here. Right this minute, I can't say that I'm very excited about it, if truth be told. I hate the preparations for a vacation, even a short one like ours (we'll leave tonight and return Sunday). With all our animals, we have a lot to do to make sure they're taken care of. My mother is feeding everything, but we try to make it as easy as possible for her. I measure out the horses' feed for each meal in Ziploc bags, so Mama won't have to measure anything. The chickens have a huge container full of feed, so they should be good at least until we get back. We've made lots of preparations like that.

But the animals aren't really that difficult. Actually, nothing we have to do is that difficult, really. But all the laundry that has to be done before we can go somewhere is really intimidating. And making sure I have everything for a toddler is stressful. I have to have extra outfits (cause you know she'll spill something on herself at some point!), warm outfits and cool outfits (the weather is supposed to be in the 60s, but if we spend a lot of time indoors somewhere she may get hot...), a variety of jackets (lightweight to heavy ones), plenty of diapers, medicine in case she gets sick....the list goes on and on. It takes careful planning on my part. I've always packed with a list, but now its essential. Yes, most everything can be purchased if we get in a bind, but I like to be prepared. Last year on our annual mountain trip, C got sick with a fever. Luckily, I had a thermometer and Children's Motrin on hand. (Turns out, she had a urinary tract infection.) Just goes to show that you never know what might happen!

All these preparations for our trip has us all tense and short on patience. Right now I'm wondering why on earth we do this to ourselves every October. But I know once we get there, I'll forget about all this. I always do! Once we get there, we'll all concentrate on just relaxing and having a good time together. That's what matters. But, until then I'm praying for patience for us all!

I'm praying that this weekend we stay safe driving in the mountains and that we don't run into any trouble. I also pray that we have a little fun, because we surely all need it! I know that just being in that crisp mountain air, surrounded by God's beautiful artwork (the leaves are supposed to be at their peak colors in TN this weekend), we'll all feel rejuvenated. I can't wait for that! And hopefully along the way I'll get some great pictures of us making some awesome memories. ( :