We have these “rules” hanging in the office and thought they applied nicely to marriage:
Always be honest Proverbs 12:22
Count your blessings Psalms 34:1-3
Bear each other’s burdens Galatians 6:2
Forgive and forget Micah 7:18
Be kind and tender hearted Ephesians 4:32
Comfort one another 1 Thessalonians 4:16
Keep your promises Romans 4:21
Be supportive of one another Acts 20:35
Be true to each other Revelation 15:3
Look after each other Deuteronomy 15:11
Treat each other like you would treat your friends Matthew 7:12
Love one another deeply from the heart 1 Peter 1:22
Our weekend
Rich and I left on Friday at about 6pm and stopped for Italian food on the way to our hotel. Our room was nice and quiet, we were at the end of the hall and it was so peaceful. We slept in. Not really. I was determined not to care about the clock and didn’t hardly ever know what time it was all weekend…..that first morning I thought for sure that I had slept in, I felt so good and rested….but when Rich had me guess the time on the way to breakfast it was just shortly after 7 am and I had already been awake for a while!
We ate breakfast at the hotel, at a pretty table by the window. We talked and laughed together. Those are my favorite times, when we both have things to say and we are having fun together. It felt wonderful to be alone.
We had all day on Saturday to do whatever we wanted. Rich has been running a lot for the past year and has really trimmed down and needed some clothes so we headed out shopping. We found an outdoor shopping plaza that had a Barnes and Nobles and we sat there first, each with a big stack of books to look through.
After we did our shopping we ate a light lunch at Panera and then went back to our hotel to take a nap. Rich wanted to go running but I begged him to stay with me, “I promise I just need a quick nap and I betcha you will be sleeping before I am!”, and I was right. We both had a nice little mid-afternoon nap and it felt so good.
We went outside the hotel and found a loveseat, and sat down in the (hot) sunshine to read. Very soon I had to relocate to the shade, I was way too warm. I think we had record high temperatures this weekend in our area.
We had our tank tops on so we could soak up the sun, and I am wore a cute headband that Rich gave me. We took this picture with my camera’s self timer.
For dinner on Saturday evening we ate at a Seafood place that one of Rich’s coworkers thought we would like. It’s the type of place that is very low-key and quaint, nice but not pretentious; a place that only the locals would know about. I had shrimp stuffed with a seafood stuffing, and it was SO good that I barely ate anything else on my plate so that I could enjoy it all. Yum. Rich had a plate full of all different things…crab legs, lobster tail, clams and mussels, scallops and shrimp, all in a light broth. It was a delicious dinner, and we ate early enough that we could walk off some of that full feeling afterwards.
(and we ate ice cream later on for dessert!)
On Sunday after breakfast we had to say goodbye to our lovely room, and after we checked out, we went to the bookstore again, to pick up some little things to give to Rich’s mom for being such a blessing during the week and weekend. We wanted her to feel appreciated so we found a beautiful card and gave her a bag of goodies like a candle, a new journal, etc.
It was such a beautiful morning that we wanted to be outdoors so we found a nice park that had a lake. We went for a little walk and then sat at a picnic table in the sun, watched the people, and read our books and magazines. We were there for about an hour when I started to get grumpy from the heat.
It was nothing that a couple ice cold cups of water and an early lunch couldn’t fix. We ate again at that Seafood place and I had a lobster roll.
We were home again by about 4:30 feeling so rested and happy to have spent so much time alone together. We were happy to see the children, too. Rich’s Mom and the girls headed back home (after shedding lots of tears saying goodbye) and Rich finally got to go out for his weekend run, with Jacob and Ethan.
I sat on the porch with the little ones….and couldn’t resist taking this one picture of Davy, Grace, and Seth.
This picture makes me smile and smile.
Seth had his 15 month check up this morning and he finally weighs 20 pounds. He had a great check up but we never ever like to get shots so that was a sad time for the little guy (he remembered and knew what was coming, too, and cried before the needle even got to his leg, poor boy).
I ran (waddled) through the rain into the grocery store on the way home for a few groceries.
It’s good to be home all together again. Rich doesn’t have to travel again until next week. (LOL) But thankfully, it is not a “flying far away” trip…..it is a local trip and he only has to be gone for one night. So, we are looking forward to settling down this month and preparing for the new baby.
I am supposed to be on bed rest, and I do need to rest, but I am feeling better than last week and know that I can handle doing some light chores. I have the children helping out a lot; at this moment Jacob is making some BBQ sauce to go with chicken. Grace has watched Seth for me today at times, and helped with laundry. Ethan was a big help because he came with us to the doctor’s and carried Seth and watched over him when I needed to go in the store. They have been loading up the dishwasher and emptying the garbage, too.
It’s a rainy day today but after two hot days, it feels so refreshing. I spent some time out on the porch this morning, drinking my coffee and listening to the rain and the birds. The leaves are all growing on the trees and look so tender and green. It’s such a beautiful day.
This is probably going to sound sappy but I am sitting here thinking about the weekend and I am remembering my favorite moment with Rich. We had gone for a little walk outside our hotel and he left me outside on a bench to go back to our room and grab my purse so we could leave. He came back out another door, closer to the car, and headed toward it to get in. When I saw him, I got up to join him (the car was about a small parking lot length away) and he called over to me in such a sweet caring tone, “I’ll come get you!” and when I heard him I turned around and sat back down, and watched with tears in my eyes as my handsome man drove over to pick me up. I don’t know, for some reason, it just really struck me how much I love him and he loves me and that he cares about me so very much. I just loved watching him drive over to me, and getting in the car with him like I have for the last 15 years, my husband and friend.
Good to be Home 
couldn’t wait to hear about you weekend! so beautiful. Makes me excited ( and convicted) to carve out some special time with my man too. Blessings to you this week, dear friend!
So glad you had a nice weekend. I absolutely LOVE getting away alone with my husband. It makes Monday morning so hard though, I miss him much more than the average Monday! =) I like your list of rules. It is nice to feel warm sunshine again, isn’t it? How wonderful to just sit and read in the sun. I bet you’re getting so excited for the baby! =) Hope you have a great Monday.
Wonderfully great times, I see!! So glad you got some “alone” time. I think we mothers of multiple children need this time to refocus (at least I speak for myself on this).
What a blessing to hear of your weekend together…that ending ( sniff sniff) is precious! It sounds like such a restful lovely time together…some of it just being that time of quiet solitude and companionship. I loved all the pics of you together, and especially the one of you looking over your feet at Rich, knowing you had that comfy time. No wonder that pic makes you smile and smile…Davy, Grace, and Seth are soooooo cute! What a charming little green check shirt on Seth. Great list of “rules”. May the Lord bless you this week Shanda, and continue to give you rest. love, Jenny
Shanda I left you a comment on your previous post…I am just catching up on your blog..it seems we were both away with our husbands at the same time:):) I have wonderful memories of the trip just like you!! I just need to find my camera cord so I can poist on it. My good memories are of the simple things we did, of relaxing together and appreciating eachothers company. I loved this post of yours as I can relate to it so much!!
sounds like the kind of weekend my DH and I need! Glad you got to go, the pics are all nice, your hair looks cute with that handband in it! Love the pic of your kiddo’s on the porch.
So precious. I’m glad you got a great weekend. I get one on Memorial Weekend. 🙂 I pray you get some good rest this week. Keep those kids busy!!! 🙂
sweet…
Your weekend sounds wonderful! The part about being so warm you had to move to the shade- I really liked that! Your mother-in-law is truly an amazing woman. What a blesssing! Now that she is gone, don’t forget to keep taking it easy and rest. Easier said than done, I know. The picture of Davy, Grace, and Seth is great. No wonder it makes you smile! Have a fabulous week- one more week closer to holding Sarah.
glad you got to have such a great time together,everybody needs those every now and then, esp. with a new baby coming before long!!!
Shanda~ What a beautiful weekend with your husband! I love all the pictures and it all sounded sooo cozy! We are trying to find a wknd like that where we can go away before my husband deploys.As I was reading your post I was reminded of me about 8 yrs ago…always pregnant, lots of littles, doing a lot, needing to rest….and my husband loving me so tenderly~God has really blessed us with these wonderful husbands!~Cinnamon
What wonderful times together to add to the special memories bank. Glad you are feeling refreshed hun. {{{{{{hugs}}}}}}
Thank you for sharing these beautiful details about your weekend. I’m so glad you two were able to enjoy some alone time after your week apart *hug*
Sounds just lovely.
It sounds like it was every little thing you were hoping for! You sound very rested! That photo made me smile and smile too! I am so so happy for you!
It is all so wonderful! I love all the pictures of you and Rich together, especially the one of you in your tank tops. That kelly green color always looks fabulous on you!Speaking of green…Seth looks adorable (as usual) in his green gingham shirt. Poor thing about the shots!Our weekend was very hot as well, and we also had rain this morning! I awoke early and enjoyed the solitude, hearing the rain coming down outside. Keep getting plenty of rest! ❤ ❤ ❤
love the rules… think I am going to copy them to work on!!! So glad you had a nice weekend away. so loved seeing the faces of your adorable kids!! 🙂
What good pictures! Glad you had a good weekend away.
so wonderful Shanda.. what a sweet weekend you two had together. 🙂 Now, missy, you need to still rest!! Love ya
A wonderful weekend — and how nice that just the two of you could get away .
What great rules, I need to print them out. I was looking forward to hearing about your weekend. I’m so glad you had a wonderful time.
I’m so glad you had such a great weekend!! Now that our children are grown and gone we have nice times together often!! I posted something for you on my site if you get a chance to visit — we took a little drive on Sunday and ended up ??????
YAY!
hi shanda…….love the verses at the beginning. i’m going to copy those down! your weekend sounds great. with good conversation, good food, good weather, good books, and a good man, how could it not?! and what a perfect ending to your story.
Isn’t it absolutely AMAZING what a short time alone together can do? We did the same thing a couple years ago for our tenth anniversary. We figured up we were technically away from the girls for less than 24 hours, but it felt like 24 days!!! And our marriage was closer because of the time spent alone. Who would of thought?!Seriously, now, don’t try to do too much! Your children are more than able to help you, if you tell them exactly what to do. Now I sound like your mother instead of your girlfriend!!!!!!!!! LOL
sigh…how very, incredibly sweet!
I’m so excited for you and your little getaway. It’s so refreshing to get away with just your hubby and know that the kids are in such good hands. I have to say that you made me a little homesick for my New England by eating all that wonderful seafood. Whenever we visit family back in Mass., one of the first things I have to get is a lobster roll and an iced coffee from Dunkin Donuts .
You are indeed blessed!!
I was fine until you shared about Rich driving over to pick you up…a few tears filled my eyes. After 29 years of marriage I still love to see my husband drive up in his El Camino…he looks so handsome to me and I’m so thankful for his love and care