He Will Give You Immeasurably More Than You Ask

Now to Him Who is able to do immeasurably more, 

far over and above all that we dark ask or think 

[infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams] ---

To Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus 

throughout all generations forever and ever.  Amen.

~Ephesians 3:20-21 

(blended NIV and AMP version)

My kids had their mid-winter break this past weekend, so no school on Friday and Monday.  The Hubby was at a men's retreat for the weekend.  So of course my first thought was that I had to take the kids to the lake house.  I asked the in-laws if we could use it, but someone else had already reserved it.  The kids and I were bummed.  We all love the lake house (though if you asked David, he would say he'd rather stay home because he's lame, so we never ask for his opinion on trips up north).

As luck would have it, my sister and brother-in-law were going on a marriage retreat the same weekend, so my mom agreed to watch their kids.  So I knew that my kids would at least have some cousin time to look forward to.

Now, let's talk about Michigan weather for a few minutes.  I grew up learning that my part of Michigan is the third cloudiest area in the country.  The month of January we actually ended up being the cloudiest area on earth.  I glimpsed the sun for about 15 minutes one day in January.  I'm not sure if you live in a place where all you see is gloom and dreary skies for days on end.  But by the end of the eternal gloom, my household was starting to go bonkers.

Enter mid-winter break weekend.  Where the SUN came out and it was WARM--the temperature was in the 60s all break long.  A real mid-February miracle.

It started with a sleepover for Joy and the 3 girls in her class (that's right, she is in a class with 12 boys and 4 girls).  Joy and her friends had been begging for a sleepover for months.  I finally agreed that they could come over Thursday after school and stay through dinner time Friday (since the parents all work).  My girls (because Lizzy had to get in on the fun) had a blast!  Friday the weather was gorgeous.  SUNNY and WARM and DRY!  The kids were in and out of the house all day long playing.

Watching the Meerkats

Friday night the cousins arrived.  Saturday we all went to the zoo, along with friends and more family, and it was like a major holiday weekend at the zoo it was so crowded.  Everyone wanted to be outside.  After dinner my kids and the cousins were outside playing flashlight tag.  I heard a lot of yelling, laughing, and fun going on.  Sunday was more of the same except the kids played hide-and-seek outside.  Monday, friends came over while Joy went sledding with her church girls' group.  Those girls were SO excited to go sledding in t-shirts and snow pants in 60 degree weather!  (The park makes their own snow)

I told the Hubby that it must have been a fantastic weekend because my kitchen floor was a muddy mess from all the kids running in-and-out.  I happily washed the floor and vacuumed the rugs because it meant that everyone was enjoying the unusual sun and heat.

Tuesday morning I was reflecting on the weekend and how it was one of the funnest long weekends we've had in ages.  I entered the break disappointed about not being able to go up north, but God had immeasurably more than I asked for or imagined.