Try, try, try not to hate me when I tell you this: I am in Hawaii right now.
I know. What on earth am I doing on Hawaii? This little ol’ frugal-living girl who won’t even buy beans in a can? Well, the truth is it’s a bit of a miracle. On Christmas Day we opened a Christmas card from some friends only to discover they had given us a free trip to Hawaii. Yes, I did almost have a heart attack. After I jumped around the house a hundred times I got online and found tickets, and here we are.
Aloha.
See, it’s a sweet gift for me because I’ve struggled with the concept of vacation. Jesus didn’t take vacations! So even last year when Jeff suggested we spring for our first ever real family vacation (besides just family road trips and such), it was a battle for me. People are starving and I’m going on vacation? How on earth could I justify this?
Well, I didn’t need to justify it I just needed to receive it. It’s true, in America we could probably do with less extravagant vacationing and more giving to the poor, but my attitude was failing to reflect the fact that God is sovereign over all. My refusing to take a vacation (that He clearly provides) doesn’t feed any mouths. And, I needed to accept that He is so gracious and kind to provide a little sunshine in the middle of our dark winter months.
Where I’ve landed is this: it’s not about a principle but a Person. In principle, we will probably never make extravagant vacations part of our normal budget. But, when we are walking each day with God and led by His gentle Spirit, He will be faithful to lead us into His will regarding vacations.
But no matter where we land on vacations, one thing is for sure: Rest is spiritual.
And, planning times every year for intentional times of recreation and rest is important for maintaining health in our families.
In the past we’ve often chosen to do Staycations. And there definitely are advantages. Much less cost, easier with little ones, get to sleep in your own bed. The tricky thing is that it’s really hard to unplug from the daily grind when you’re still staring it in the face.
Tsh shares some ideas for successful staycations here.
Nowadays I’m honoring my husband’s request to ditch staycations and actually get a way, even if it’s just across town. Last year we went to Black Butte with Jeff’s family and that was fabulous. The big thing for me is 1) a kitchen so we don’t have to eat out and 2) enough space that everyone gets to sleep. Sunshine and a pool are nice as well. Flying/driving long distances isn’t fun for me, but for this trip to Hawaii I definitely checked out her Tips for Traveling Long-Distances with Little Ones.
So how will you vacation this year? Stay-at-home and plan fun day-trips? Head to the coast? Use a family cabin? Enjoy the sunshine in Bend?
I’d love to hear from you: How does your family vacation? What have you discovered “works” and what doesn’t? How do you vacation with small children? How do you find restful recreation without spending a ton? I truly would LOVE to hear your thoughts on this; I want to learn!! Thanks so much …er, I mean … mahalo.}
PS Someone also gave us snorkel gear so yesterday while my brother and sister-in-law hung with our kids (pic above) were got to go snorkeling together! Oh my, SO FUN!! Amazing reefs and tropical fish, swimming in the crystal clear Pacific with my man. Wow… so amazing.
15 thoughts on “#10 Take an Annual Vacation (or staycation) {52 Bites}”
Comments are closed.
oh you blessed thing! how cool is that? While I completely agree that maybe vacations aren’t an essential, they are often times a necessity. We’ve just booked a vacation ourselves, and we are so looking forward to it!
I agree a place with a kitchen makes the entire experience so much nicer – we actually had a condo for honeymoon and that was fantastic! My little tip for that is to pre-menu plan. I have the Mark Bittman “How to Cook Everything” app on my phone and I create a schedule of what we’re going to eat, and it pre-populates the shopping list! All on my phone so it’s easy and keep things in one place (essential when travelling). This way the most stressful bit of kitchen life (what are we going to eat?) is taken care of 🙂
We also try as much as possible to rent directly from owners on vrbo or homeaway or vacationrentals
Oh and we try to ‘bundle’ flights and car rentals – for our upcoming trip we’ve saved more than $400 on car rental because we got it through expedia at the time of the ticket booking…BONUS!
Looking forward to other’s tips and tricks
And happy vacation!
Great ideas, Brie! And so glad you have a fun trip to look forward to! I used expedia also (I booked my parents’ trip for them) and it did save a lot! Great ideas on meal-planning, we are also loving being able to cook right here and eat on the lanai. 🙂 Bless you girl!
Our honeymoon was a gift; otherwise we wouldn’t have had the money to take one! Not much has changed, and now that we’re looking down the barrel of our third anniversary, we took the plunge and bought a tent (courtesy of 50% clearance at Target!).
So this is going to be the summer of camping…just a tent, my husband, my toddler, some sticks and marshmallows. Okay, a few more things than that, but I’m looking forward to getting away–no matter how simple the arrangements or how close to home. Just to make some memories in a different-from-the-everyday atmosphere! 😀
Oh girl, I love camping! That is wonderful, and here in the NW it’s the perfect way to spend the summer days. Enjoy this summer of camping!
We don’t take many big vacation, but we have gone and worked at a local camp almost every summer for as long as the 4 kids can remember. WiNeMa is a Christian campground on the Oregon coast that has a conference called “Week Of Missions”. There are kids, teen and adult sessions during the morning and evenings and the afternoon is free for lake, beach and other activities. I have worked in the Children’s program every year so we could camp for the week as a family. They bring in 5 missionaries each summer that share their work during the week. Even the children get to hear and see what God is doing around the world. It is a lot of work for me to camp and teach, but we can’t imagine another way to spend a week of “vacation”. We started in a tent and then a tent trailer and then an actual trailer. The camp has housing and provides meals for an extra fee, but we always stick in the bbq and crock pot and are set for the week. I’m sure there are many opportunities like WiNeMa to spend quality time close to home feeling like you are a world away. They also have a Family Camp weeknd over labor day for shorter opportunity to try conference camping with the family. (For more info you can go to their web page winema.org).
You are sooo blessed!…..but that is because all you ever do is bless others. Enjoy and love every single moment.
We love to take mini-vacations to the beach. We honeymooned there and now we are able to use a family cabin that is close by so we share meals when we eat out and take food with us to save. We’ve noticed that we don’t relax and enjoy all we should when we are at home with things and people waiting for us so we get away at least a few times a year just for a night or two and enjoy the quiet and peacefulness of the river and ocean, a good book and our favorite is the conversations we get going there and back 🙂 Enjoy your time and may it be blessed and protected in Jesus name.
@Sarah, Thank you so much, sweet Sarah. I love the Oregon coast too, and a family cabin is an added bonus! We’re so blessed to live in a coastal state! Bless you…
Praying for safe travels & wonderful family time & memory making for you!
@Becky, Thank you so much, Becky!
I love the family pic! How are you and Kris so tan already!?! You guys and your amazing skin! And your dad’s swim trunks are AWESOME! Way to go Bill!!!
Good timing on your post! I was assigned the role of vacation planner this week & so far I am failing…keep ya posted!!!
Haha! yeah, my dad, seriously…. Not really that tan yet, I promise. 🙂 How fun that you are vacation planner, you guys definitely do some serious vacationing, keep me posted on what you get planned! love you girl.
Oh Kari…I’m so happy you are graciously receiving this gift of rest and restoration. My husband’s employer gives their employees a sabbath vacation every 7 years…close to 4 months of rest and restoration…we use it to minister intentionally to our children and those that come across our paths during our travels. And now with teenagers, it’s been critical to continue the conduit of communication…takes us away from the everyday rut and puts us into new surroundings and…opens conversation with our teen. This year our 4 months of Sabbath was a beautiful blessing. I pray that your children, your husband, and you enjoy your time as blessing…making memories for a lifetime.
Oh and with your wonderful family. I love you all so much! Have a wonderful time. I think receiving what God gives us without second guessing His gifts is important and something I have been thinking about. Love you friend. 🙂
Stephanie
I just started following your Blog last week. After having a week of “war” with my children, battling their wills and attitudes; my mom stumbled across your blog while preparing for a bible study lesson, and she sent me your post “A Beautiful Waste”. It was SOOO timely, and i’ve been an avid follower since. Now to vacationing….
We like to go to Eagle Crest resort every year with our extended family. Tons of bike/walking/running paths and trails, indoor/outdoor pools…basically any and every activity you could want! We always rent a home on VRBO depending on how many people will be coming so we can cook out own meals. The great thing is all activities are included in the rental (besides shopping in Bend of course!).
We also did Maui with two toddlers last year and had a blast…though we had ot make daily trips to the aquarium!
Rachel, welcome!! It’s a joy to have you here and I’m thrilled that you’ve been blessed here so far. Ahh…Eagle Crest, that’s great. Bend is such a gift to Oregonians, a break from the rain! Thanks so much of your ideas and your comment; can’t wait to journey with you here! Love, Kari