Spring Break came and went. Boom! It was great to spend time with the kids. It was great to kiss them good-bye at the bus stop this morning. Spring Break is good like that. We had a split break in that we were home the first few days and then traveled to Branson to visit Mom (Gary's mom) during the last part. We also enjoyed a hotel stay and a visit with the Pollacks in St. Louis.
Though our visit consisted of swimming, a zoo visit, the Dixie Stampede, and an Easter egg hunt, the highlight by far is Silver Dollar City. SDC is an amazing place really. It is an amusement park with rides, yet it differs from places like Great America in that there is an education component. It focuses on the life of the pioneers and employees are dressed in costume. You can watch a silver smith or glass blower. It is set up like an old town. There is a politeness there that I haven't found anywhere else. It is clean. It is family focused. Our conductor on the train even remarked as we left "And may God bless you as you continue your journey today in SDC." Not the typical place.
I was able to see new things in my kids. Penny for example rode the little roller coaster. There was no fear, just joy. She loved it and I enjoyed watching her smile. Garrison rode a REAL roller coaster for the first time. He sat in between Gary and I. I was a little nervous, but he did it. . . and asked to go again. He was especially proud that he was tall enough. Simon struggled a bit because on many of the rides he had to ride with a grown-up. That is hard when your older (and much taller) brother can go by himself. Lessons. Good stuff. I was able to spend significant one-on-one time with every one of them. The best part by far was spending time with Mom. I love her and love being with her. She was able to spend time with the kids too. Awesome.
I also ran into the Duggers. The Duggers are a family with 19 children and they are on a television show. I was looking for mom and Penny when I saw Jim Bob. I tried to act very nonchalant and then I spotted Michelle. I returned to Gary just giggling. He thought I was off my rocker. This is pretty typical. I saw them several more times and seriously wanted to go up to them and thank them for sharing their faith. There are many things that I would do differently than them as a parent. I don't watch the show much anymore because I feel like it is less about family and more about cool things they get to do because they are famous and have a ton of money because of it. I believe though that they love Jesus and are doing what they can to share that love with their family and with the world. I give them lots of respect for that. I didn't go up to them though. I saw many people doing that, and though in a way they have "asked for it" by being on television. . . they were there with their kids. They wanted to do the same thing that I wanted to do. They would walk a few feet and have someone else ask for a picture or chat with them. I never saw them stop smiling or roll their eyes or try to hide. Wow. I'm not sure that I could do that. It was certainly fun to spot them!
On our second day back it was Young Believers week-end. Thousands and I mean thousands of Christian high school students descended on SDC. They had lots of t-shirts with cute Christianese sayings and many Bible Verses. It was entertaining to read the shirts. I loved hearing the Crowder band. I enjoyed hearing bands that were unknown to me. It got a little too busy for us, so we headed home early on Saturday.
Overall, it was a great vacation. Wonderful talks with mom. Great traveling (our kids are getting older and it shows!). Pride at watching my kids learn new things, get excited, and behave more consistently! Holding hands with my sweetheart as we drove talking and dreaming together as the kids watching another video. God certainly blessed and kept us safe.
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