Thank you, Naples, Florida, for giving me a taste of springtime before it reached my home state of Connecticut.
Thank you for your bright sunshine, your warm sun, your flowers, and the joy of shedding winter coat.
Thank you for flip flops and sand and ocean.
The snow currently falling outside my windows will do nothing to deter my spring fever, thanks to you.
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Random Photos of our Vacation:
Our room in Naples had green walls and two big sliding doors that opened out to a private patio, with the beach just beyond.
During Sarah’s first time in the hotel crib she wanted to stand up…but didn’t quite make it.
We let her crawl around the room to explore, and she thought the misty, thin curtains around our bed were a lot of fun.
baby bare feet
I took many many photos of the waves and water….I loved how the look of it changed with the time of day. These were taken at sunset. The glowing path of sun shined across the water, straight to me.
“I shall not go into further details;
but I am sure that he who is acquainted with the works of God sees at once
that the sea is God’s creature,
and in it’s ever-changing sameness,
in it’s awe-inspiring majesty,
in it’s tremendous force, and unsearchable mystery,
it’s waves and caverns, it’s calms and storms,
it tells of a hand invisible, a mind unsearchable.” -Charles Spurgeon
Sarah was howling as we took this one of our toes…..
We ordered room service several times which was such a treat. For three nights in a row, we spoiled ourselves by ordering a movie, too.
Our favorite one was Secritariat. We also watched Tangled (Rich wasn’t as impressed at that one, but I thought it was cute), and Morning Glory.
Baby was cheerfully sitting on my lap for this one, on the beach and wearing her pretty bonnet that Dawn made for her.
Rich had a massage at lunchtime on one of the days, so I had a salad in our room. It was delicious (chicken taco with roasted shallots and peppers).
I have some serious “reducing” to do, now that I am home again. We had an abundance of yummy things; key lime pie, shrimp, steak, salads, an ice cream cone, etc.
And look who learned to stand up in her crib after some practicing!
I looked at some inspiring magazines…a good variety of fashion and make up, Country Living (British edition, my favorite), and the current issue of Countryside, which had some very nice articles about homeschooling in it.
I took this photo by turning around in my chair outside on our patio, and looking at our reflection in the glass door of our room. We were soaking up the sun and reading.
Rich went running every day, which he LOVES to do. He got lots of rest and sleep and that terrible headache finally WENT AWAY!!!
Late sunset:
One of our favorite parts of vacationing is the laziness of breakfast. It was true for this vacation, too. Oh how we enjoyed stooping down to pick up the paper outside our door and then walking to the hotel dining room. We had fresh squeezed orange juice and the most delicious coffee each morning, along with the generous buffet.
I love this picture for those reasons–the memory of slow mornings, sharing the paper with my husband, with our little girl-flower beside us, sucking her finger and attracting lots of admiration from us and others.
Sarah is approaching nine months old but this trip was a milestone for her and her Papa. They did some happy bonding time, especially during one of our shopping trips. Rich took Sarah away with him, carrying her in his arms, and he told me, with bright eyes, that he talked to her the whole time, as they were together without Mama. She got to know her Papa so much better, with all the alone time she got (with no siblings about).
On our last morning, I took a risk and sat Sarah down in the sand again.
This is one of my favorite pictures of the vacation.
Our door hanger said, “Noble Pursuits in Progress, Please do not Disturb.” I hope it wasn’t wrong of me, but I slipped it into my bag and brought it home. It’s perfect for our master-bedroom door knob! 
Our valet parking ticket, our room key, our love-songs.
And then we flew away from Naples, and back home again.
Sarah was a good little flyer. The sound of the roaring plane, and her milk, kept her in a quiet, drowsy state of mind.
We came home to children who had been spoiled by Grandma during the week, all was well and we were happy to be together again.
I spent the first half of a day in shock–back to the crazy busyness of my household–but we quickly got back to our routine again and we had a nice weekend.
Naples was gorgeous and restful. Our time away has left us feeling recharged and ready to take care of our responsibilities again.
I am dreaming of spring, thanks to Florida, I currently have a case of Spring Fever which is filling my heart with HOPE and longing.
It’s coming!
Sending lots of love in the direction of all my wonderful friends and family,
Have a great day!
Shanda
Good to be Home 
L-O-V-E the Spurgeon quote!!! Love the pictures of the sun refecting off the sand, Sarah in her bonnet, the salad looked yum 🙂 It looks like you had a fabulous time–>amazing!
Your photo of your husband with little Sarah brought tears to my eyes…What a loving Daddy and how content she looks…So precious! The pictures are BEAUTIFUL. I long for a little rest like yours… So glad the Lord was able to bless you with the time you needed. Enjoy all your littles now that you are home.
Beautiful post of a wonderful restful time for you two and adorable Sarah. My husband and I are planning an Anniversary trip to Naples and I want to check out that hotel you stayed it. Is the name Noble House? It looks like it was such a peaceful place. Blessings, Jill
You are SSOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO blessed. 😉 I love all your pictures- and am soooo happy that your husband takes such great care of you…giving you well deserved breaks. 😉
ditto to what spazzymommy said. i’m so happy for you that you got the time away!
I love love LOVE this post!! What a wonderful trip, and such great photos. My spring fever is definitely in full swing, although we were blessed with a brief warm front for our wedding weekend. Those quotes about the ocean were wonderful to read, too.
HOw wonderful!!! So happy you had a chance to get away, and to such a beautiful and warm place this time of year.The ocean is so powerful, so mighty, it could only be God’s creature.The bonnet Sarah is wearing is ADORABLE! I am a bonnet fanatic! That is one of the cutest ones I have ever seen!Enjoy getting back into real life today! I bet the kids are so glad to have you home again.If Rich is at work today, I’m sure you are missing him like crazy. (I always miss Jeff so much after we have time alone.)Have a Great day. =)
Okay, now I am ready to head south! Fabulous pictures.
Thanks for sharing your vacation with us. I love the picture of Sarah on the sand in her pretty red dress. One of our anniversaries we went to Indianapolis, rented a hotel room, and went to the Ice Capades which featured, as I recall, the Smurfs. We took the nursing baby with us, and also her 9 year old sister. How could we go to the Ice Capades and see the Smurfs without the 9 year old? People thought we were crazy but we had a good time, and had plenty of other anniversaries with no children around.
Beautiful photos!! Glad you could get away!! 🙂
wonderful wonderful post! It made me happy to hear of all the rest, warmth, and relaxation going on. Great pics of all of you. I love the ones of you and Rich, baby girl in her red dress on the beach, and the sweet ones with Rich. He looks fabulous in that blue! So neat to hear of their bonding time. Beautiful water and beach pictures too!
Such fun pictures! 3 of my children were looking over my shoulder at the pictures and my youngest, Abbey, asked who I was holding in the last picture! She thought you were me. So cute. Guess it’s the dark hair pulled up 🙂 Glad you had a lovely vacation and Rich got some rest and is feeling better.
Welcome back! Looks like a wonderful time away for all of you:)
Beautiful post……gave us relaxation to read about it!!!
what a beautiful time for you and Rich and Sarah!! i loved the moments that Rich had with Sarah away from the other siblings and the moments they could have together. its so difficult to find that special time with each of the kids i’m sure, but i know that you guys try! glad that it was refreshing for you!!!
David and I are taking our yearly vaca in 2 weeks. We can’t decide where to go. Your trip sounds so relaxing. So happy for you.We saw Secretariat a couple weeks ago. Isn’t it interesting? We had a lot to talk about after the movie, too.Beautiful photos, as always!
It sounds like it was the perfect vacation! So relaxing and warm! I love love love th photo where she is wearing Dawn’s darling har, the lighting is perfect! I think the room with the green walls looked like a magazine!
Sounds like a wonderful vacation! I’m glad that y’all got to relax and had a good time. I LOVE the pictures as always…especially the ones of the water. it’s sooo beautiful!! And I just recently watched Secretariat with my family too!! i really liked it! 🙂
Looks like a wonderful vacation!!
Naples is right down the road, actually about 1 hour south from our town. It is a great place. Lots of nice places along the coast . . . now if we could just import a few mountains, Florida might be perfect:) Glad you had got to enjoy our lovely weather and beaches.Ann
I’m so happy that you got this time away and what a beautiful place to go! I loved the pictures and all the happy smiles and GREEN. I can’t wait to see it more here. YEAH!! Thanks for passing along the hope of SPRING and the joy of family and marriage and for just being you. LOVE YOU! Lish
O wonderful! ! ! to experience spring before spring time – that is lovely indeed 🙂 I cherish such moments away and I know you do to. I am glad for you to have gotten away – glad you went to the beach. my favorite of all places on the earth. Sarah is a doll – but I know you know that 🙂 have a great week getting back into the swing of things.
So glad that you got away, a chance to unwind and relax. Looks absolutely beautiful! Your lil lady in her red dress, just precious! You just feel like you can’t soak them up enough, the time goes by so quick… 🙂
The views, your room, everything looks perfect. I love your room, it looks like it came right out of Southern Living magazine.I love the picture of Sarah sucking her finger, she is so cute. Have a good week!
So glad you had a great vacation! Sarah is a little chubby doll!