First of all, Happy Mother’s Day. I had the most amazing day. My kids and husband made all the meals, and even did all the cleanup! Later, I got a head/foot and hand massage that lasted for over a half an hour. It was heavenly. I have got to be the luckiest mom in the world!
I thought it would be good to give an update for my goals on how I’m doing…
1. Submit my musical for the church’s annual musical submission…… Completed!!!!! I did it! I haven’t heard anything from the church yet, or even had a chance to print the musical for me yet, but I know it’s in good hands, and I’m happy to not worry about it for the present time while I’m working on other things.
2. Finish another piano CD…… I’ve decided on all the music, and made at least a rough draft copy of each of the songs. I needed at least one more song, and got that written last month. I have all the equipment now to record the piano, and as soon as we get back from vacation, I’m sure this will be a bigger focus. Until then, it’s also getting put on hold until I can complete some of my other goals.
3. The Christmas Cantata…… It’s one of my main focuses right now. I’ve met several times with my co-writer (Michael Perry) and I’m really excited about how it’s going. Because it’s a collaboration, I’m not sure yet if and when I’ll be able to make it available to everyone, but it’s still something I’d like to do. In order to get this done in time for OUR ward to use it, I figure I need to do about a song a week. Last week, I almost finished one of them…
The main goal I’m working on, is one that I didn’t even know I’d be working on this year, preparing for our trip. Taking 7 kids anywhere is a pretty big task, but taking our family on a vacation (which we haven’t done in YEARS) has seemed a little overwhelming! Like most goals though, I know it will be worth it in the end. It’s also going to help me with some of my other family goals, like spending more time with my kids, giving them new experiences, and for me, living more “in the moment”.
So, my first priority for our trip is finding a vehicle for transportation. Our current van only seats 8 people, so we have to get something bigger. We looked into renting a van, which we still might do- but it’s going to cost us a significant amount. I’d prefer to pay a little bit more, and get to keep the van… Anyone know someone who is downsizing? We’re looking for a 12 passenger van- something that hopefully WON’T break down on us along the way. That’s an adventure I’m really hoping to avoid.
My second priority has been figuring out where and how we are going to go. Thank goodness for Google Maps. It has been extremely helpful in discovering campsites, rest stops, and gas stations along the way.
Last week, after I’d figured out a tentative plan for our trip, I started making camp site reservations. After calling 3 different campsites for the first area I was looking at, I began to feel very discouraged and frustrated. We thought camping would help with costs, but the first few campsites I called, it was going to cost us as much as a hotel! It didn’t seem fair that we would have to pay for 2 sites, pay additional head costs (for BOTH of the sites we had to pay for) and then pay for additional days just because it was a weekend. This was going to cost us a fortune! After a particular phone conversation, I became very discouraged.
Taking a little break, I prayed, “Heavenly Father, if you want us to go on this trip– you’re going to have to make this easier for us!!!”
15 minutes later, I decided I could try again. As I dialed the next campground’s phone number, I was thinking, depending on how this conversation goes, we’ll decide if we’re even GOING on this trip!
A voice came on the phone, and I blurted out, “I’ve got 7 kids, 9 in our whole family. We need a campsite, for one night. Is there any way we could camp there without it costing us an arm and a leg?”
I’ll never forget his response, “Oh, I totally know how that is, I’m the 2nd oldest of 5. It shouldn’t be a problem.” He then proceeded to tell me how we could all stay in one camp area, pay for a one night stay, and not charge us anything extra for our “extra” kids. It was only going to cost us $16! I just cried. He also helped alleviate some of my other worries- the “loud” factor, arriving there late at night, etc. Everything he said was exactly what I needed to hear. It was an answer to prayer.
So this week, I’m trying to plan WHAT we’ll do. With all those hours in the car, I know the more planning I do now, it will help in the long run when we’re totally bored and need things to do. It’s quite a project, but some of my older kids are helping me with fun packets, and things to do. It’s really going to be a fun trip. I’m looking forward to it!