A night away...

For Christmas, an anonymous friend graciously gave us money to "do something fun before #2 arrives!" which to us, meant having one last night away before her arrival. This was both a blessing and a stress to me, at first. In my practicality, I "added it to the list" of things to get done and felt overwhelmed by trying to plan it all out. Our good friends and Indy family, the Berends, were willing to have Amos stay with them overnight. This helped in many ways, but one of them, was to help prepare Amos, if he needs to stay with them while I'm giving birth.

So when I first asked him if he would want to stay with them, without us, his response was a very hearty, "No!" It made him sad to be without us, especially to sleep, and he didn't want to do it. But then I reminded him that he would get to play with Ellis, Zach and Zane, and somehow, that made it all better! A few minutes later, he asked if he was going to Aunt Julie's house that night. When I said no, he started to cry! What a turn around!

We found a good deal online, for the Westin downtown. The room rate included breakfast, either in the restaurant or in the room. I was so excited to not have to cook, and to stay close to bed, all with a yummy breakfast nearby!

We also made plans for dinner at the Eagle's Nest, a rotating restaurant a few blocks away up on the top of the Hyatt.

When we left Amos for the night, he was already deep in play with the boys and barely noticed that we were leaving. That made us feel better about it all and were on our way.

Our dinner was so yummy, with delicious salad and soup to start and then super yummy filet mignon and lobster. Nathan had delicious wine and then we shared a yummy piece of carrot cake.

After that, we met friends for drinks at a pub nearby and loved spending time with them!

The bummer came a bit later when Nathan started to feel a migraine come on. That, coupled with me having heartburn all night, did not make for a good night for either of us and we were thankful that we got to do nothing but stay in bed all morning resting. My breakfast was sooo good and after that, we went and swam in the pool. Nathan pretty much felt crummy all morning until I got his some saltines. The pool helped his muscles some and by the time we checked out, he was feeling a bit better.

When we returned to pick up Amos, we got such a great report. Julie said that he was obedient, slept well, ate pretty well and only had one accident. We were so thankful for the overall success of his staying with them that now I feel less anxious about his care when this baby comes. I didn't for one minute, doubt that the Berends couldn't care for him. I mostly doubted that Amos would be ok, which now we know that he will be.

Most of all, we are so thankful for the gift that was given to us, from a gracious and generous friend. It was relaxing and renewing and good for us, as a family, to do. In light of the difficult things going on in the world right now, I struggled with enjoying our time away in such lavish surroundings. But I think that it reminded me of God's rich gifts to us and to be generous to others throughout the year, just as I have been generously gifted.