Enjoying the Unthinkable

The title of this post probably sounds WAY deeper than I actually mean but I did enjoy the unthinkable recently and thought it would be worthy to share.

Last week Neil and I went CAMPING with his family at the lake for 'vacation'. For those of you that somehow don't know, I was 20 weeks pregnant. PREGNANT AND CAMPING. Can those two words safely and realistically be in the same sentence? Well, I am happy to say, "YES THEY CAN!". I am NOT a 'camper', but Neil is and his family use to go to the lake EVERY year until he was in college. We planned to start up the tradition again this year before we found out I was pregnant. After finding out I was pregnant and then realizing that we were going CAMPING IN AUGUST I became VERY anxious and fearful. "Can you even go camping while you are pregnant?" "Is it safe for me to sleep on the ground?" "What if I have to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night?" "Where there be snakes! I HATE SNAKES!" "Will I get too hot from the heat and pass out or DIE?" These questions would plague me for several weeks. I would wake up in the middle of the night- to pee- and then not be able to sleep again because my mind would ponder and worry over these concerns. Neil was great at not making me feel dumb for having these concerns, praying for me to not fear, and reassuring me he was aware that I was pregnant and that he would do what was in his control to make things safe and comfortable for me, but he couldn't fix everything before we got there.

The day to leave arrives and with the assurance of a inflatable mattress for me and a fan we are off! Now to clarify we were car camping so we were at a nice site that had electricity but yes we slept in a tent. As soon as we got there I realized that I wasn't roughing it in the woods and that I could do this and have done this before, minus the pregnant factor. Our site was beside his parents and his aunt and uncle and right on the lake. IT WAS BEAUTIFUL! We had such a great time the whole weekend and it was SO relaxing!!!! Not one of my fears was ever confirmed and instead I felt the faithfulness of the Lord. It wasn't too hot while we were there and there was usually some kind of nice breeze from the lake. I felt the freedom that anytime I did feel kind of sick I could go lay down and rest in his grandparent's AIR CONDITIONED camper. I never had to get up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night and I slept really well with the help of ear plugs. Also, NO SNAKE SIGHTINGS! The time with his family was so nice and low key. We went out on the boat, sat by the lake, swam in the lake, and sat by the campsite. We played games, read, talked, and just relaxed. This trip actually made me EAGER, YES I SAID EAGER, to go camping again! I'm not sure if we will or not since I will only become MORE pregnant from now on, but I think Neil may have FINALLY broken me into camping. SSSSHHHH, don't let him know I said that...

Here are some pictures:

the view from our campsite

Neil and his cousin, Daniel, doing some karate stuff.
I walked away when I heard Daniel say, ..."and this is where I could dislocated your shoulder..."
Oh okay, that's neat Daniel...

Family Photo

20 WEEKS!

How I really feel sometimes

My VERY favorite photo from the whole trip.
Neil, his brother Nathan, and their almost 82 year old Granddaddy tubing!!!!
Such a cherished memory
I LOVE GRANDDADDY.