This weekend didn't go quite as planned. You see, in Minnesota we have "MEA weekend" every October. This is a four day weekend for public school students and one that we've taken advantage of for several years (even if we are homeschoolers). I usually take the time off and take my boy on an extended field trip.
In 2008, my son and I traveled to Hannibal, MO to explore the childhood home of Mark Twain.
In 2009 my stepson was attending Northern Michigan University in Marquette, MI so in lieu of a field trip, hubby, The Boy and I went for a visit. The following week my son went to Disney World with my parents (lucky kid).
In 2010 we decided to stay a little closer to home. We took a Wisconsin road trip, stopping at neat places along the way and ending up in Eau Claire, WI. We stayed in a hotel that was sandwiched between an awesome water park and a super cool "fun center" (laser tag, arcade games, batting cages and go-carts). The Boy loved this trip. Before heading home we stopped at the Chippewa Valley Museum because of course this was a "field trip".
2011 ~ Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum in Springfield, IL and The Creation Museum
This was my favorite field trip! Although our destination was the Creation Museum (which was phenomenal) we saw so many neat things on the way.
2012 ~ The Boy went on TWO trips with his grandpa - Colorado for a "father/son" retreat (or in his case, a "grandfather/grandson" retreat) and a fishing trip to Canada. My mom took my daughter and I on a trip to NYC.
We often refer to 2012 as the "Year of the Accident" but it was the year of so much more. It was the year of seeing God's goodness, the year of awakening.......the year of GREAT trips! Earlier that year my dad had begun planning a special trip for my son. He'd heard of great father/son retreats that were hosted by Vision Forum but when this led to dead ends he decided to plan a fishing trip - a Canadian "fly-in" fishing trip! After booking the Canada trip my dad was contacted by Vision Forum about a father/son retreat being held in Colorado. So they did both.
Since grandpa was taking The Boy on a special trip my mother decided to take her "girls" on a special trip too. NEW YORK CITY!!
I must point out how God's perfect timing orchestrated these events. This trip to NYC was planned in the Spring, my daughter's accident was on June 4th. Our trip was scheduled for mid-October. Not only was Breanna physically able to travel and participate in the non-stop sight seeing that we did but it was a trip in which I celebrated even more with her by my side.
In 2008, my son and I traveled to Hannibal, MO to explore the childhood home of Mark Twain.
In 2009 my stepson was attending Northern Michigan University in Marquette, MI so in lieu of a field trip, hubby, The Boy and I went for a visit. The following week my son went to Disney World with my parents (lucky kid).
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| My dad and The Boy, Disney 2009 |
In 2010 we decided to stay a little closer to home. We took a Wisconsin road trip, stopping at neat places along the way and ending up in Eau Claire, WI. We stayed in a hotel that was sandwiched between an awesome water park and a super cool "fun center" (laser tag, arcade games, batting cages and go-carts). The Boy loved this trip. Before heading home we stopped at the Chippewa Valley Museum because of course this was a "field trip".
This was my favorite field trip! Although our destination was the Creation Museum (which was phenomenal) we saw so many neat things on the way.
2012 ~ The Boy went on TWO trips with his grandpa - Colorado for a "father/son" retreat (or in his case, a "grandfather/grandson" retreat) and a fishing trip to Canada. My mom took my daughter and I on a trip to NYC.
We often refer to 2012 as the "Year of the Accident" but it was the year of so much more. It was the year of seeing God's goodness, the year of awakening.......the year of GREAT trips! Earlier that year my dad had begun planning a special trip for my son. He'd heard of great father/son retreats that were hosted by Vision Forum but when this led to dead ends he decided to plan a fishing trip - a Canadian "fly-in" fishing trip! After booking the Canada trip my dad was contacted by Vision Forum about a father/son retreat being held in Colorado. So they did both.
Since grandpa was taking The Boy on a special trip my mother decided to take her "girls" on a special trip too. NEW YORK CITY!!
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| My sister, my niece, my mom, me, my daughter and my grandmother |
But back to my boy...........
MEA 2013..........not what we had planned
I wanted this to be four special days with my son. I had chosen Missouri as I wanted to extend our warm weather season (it's been pretty cold up here in Minnesota). I was thinking we could kayak, hike, camp. For some reason I kept dragging my feet on making plans. Money was tight and I was brainstorming on how to still have our trip but not spend too much money. I couldn't make up my mind on destinations....St. Louis? Kansas City? Branson? I was indecisive. And then The Boy hurt his knee during a football game. After spending 5 days on crutches I brought him in to find that he a misplaced/bent over meniscus and a torn ACL. The soonest they could operate was the day before MEA weekend.......
So our long weekend began with surgery. Again, I am thankful for God's timing. Surgery was scheduled for Wednesday and I had already taken Thursday and Friday off of work for our field trip. Having the time off meant that I could be available to wait on my son. Since he had decided to camp out in the living room instead of attempting the very steep stairs to his room this also meant that he would be able to nap, play guitar and read from the comfort of the recliner without a bunch of daycare kids to bother him.
Although our plans changed, I know that memories were still made and isn't that really the point? Looking over the photos of the last 6 years I am reminded of the memories, those precious moments......even the photo of my boy lying in a hospital bed. I'm so thankful for a God who has the plan and knows what is best for me......and my boy.
By the way, did you notice how much my boy has grown in the past six years? I better cherish each of these moments!
MEA 2013..........not what we had planned
So our long weekend began with surgery. Again, I am thankful for God's timing. Surgery was scheduled for Wednesday and I had already taken Thursday and Friday off of work for our field trip. Having the time off meant that I could be available to wait on my son. Since he had decided to camp out in the living room instead of attempting the very steep stairs to his room this also meant that he would be able to nap, play guitar and read from the comfort of the recliner without a bunch of daycare kids to bother him.
Although our plans changed, I know that memories were still made and isn't that really the point? Looking over the photos of the last 6 years I am reminded of the memories, those precious moments......even the photo of my boy lying in a hospital bed. I'm so thankful for a God who has the plan and knows what is best for me......and my boy.
By the way, did you notice how much my boy has grown in the past six years? I better cherish each of these moments!
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