a nice place to visit...

Our last day - Mark woke early and sweetly surprised me with a BBQ Bacon and Egg Breakfast out on the deck....
Oh, I will miss this peaceful view! 

Last stroll on the beautiful beaches by our house...

Just to show I am slowly learning a few things on this fancy camera...
Look and compare this with image above - I managed to change the focus??!!

Me. Happy.

Mark in his element, soaking up some last minute rays on the beach before we drove home.
Happened to capture the shadow of a passing seagull (thankfully no deposits were made, lol!)

After a lovely squeeze-every-ounce-out-of-this-magical-holiday type morning, we made our way eagerly home to our sweet children. I felt ready. Filled up, satiated, rested, reconnected and so very, very grateful for this time away and for the beautiful village of family and friends that made it possible! As for the pre-children life that we revisited after four and half years of busy parenting? Well, I gotta say it's a lovely place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there! Sleep-ins, lazing around and life without routine or other's needs to tend to is a pretty sweet thing but ain't got nothing on the joys and heart-filling satisfaction of family life, even with all its chaos and relentlessness. Glad to say I can safely conclude that I would not trade my little people for all the sleep-ins in the world!

There was extra purposefulness in this trip apart from the time of rest and reconnection. We are eagerly and intentionally about to plunge right back into the swirling, delicious, relentless waters of babyhood again. Oh, it's a swim we feel blessed and excited to take. Well, it's less a quick dip than a marathon, amiright?! We cannot wait to be a family of five, we feel so grateful to be able to add to our family... but I also gotta say, that it sure was nice, before we take that beautiful plunge, for Mark and I to take each other's hands, and remember why we decided to build this family in the first place. Why we chose each other and will continue to every.single.day. Yes, this little getaway felt like a deep, cleansing and slightly indulgent breath we could take together before we submerge into those lovely/hazy/busy baby days and the unknown waters of life with three-under-five. I know it will be one hell of a swim, but bring it on, I say... we have been refreshed and we are as ready as we will ever be!


PS Ok, now I have stretched that swimming analogy as far as it can go... I will just add a postscript for those wondering about how the children fared at Nana and Papa's in our absence! Well, visions I had of greeting my sweet angels in a tender scene with long, lingering, tightly-clenched hugs and whispered sweet-nothings went right out the window! Oh yes, they had an absolute ball with their grandparents and barely had time to even hug us when we arrived... too busy chattering about all the things they did, got and ate, and scampering around the house. I think if we had walked right out for another week they barely would have blinked!! Lol!!  But in all seriousness, nothing made me happier than seeing they were so content and at home while we were away, and in such very capable loving hands. Three cheers for grandparents - so grateful they made it possible!