I Play IN water fountains NOW! part 1

Written in August of 2008
I Play IN the water fountains NOW!
Yep, I don’t just watch the children play in fountains!
Now, I jump in and run and laugh and squeal and play tag and dance…. It is Pure JOY!

Psalms 31:11” Then he turned my sorrow into joy!”
The other day (34 days to be exact!) I went to our family doctor for a routine check up.
She gave me an EKG after I casually mentioned I was having little stabbing chest pains.
The EKG came back abnormal.
I was sent to a cardiologist.
The echo cardiogram showed I have a heart disease.
The disease is called Cardiomyopathy it is a serious disease in which the heart muscle becomes inflamed and doesn't work as well as it should.

What a WAKE UP CALL!
It was like the alarm went off
and
for the first time in 10 years
I didn’t push snooze!
Now I pray each night to be able to jump out of bed
– thankful to face the day and all God has in store for me.


So you may be asking yourself how did I start playing IN water fountains.

Well, for the last few years our family has spent a few days at a local Hotel
just 20 miles down the road. It is a time to build memories
O.k. it is a time to rest, not make up the beds, cook, clean,
or have to get in the car to go anyplace :)
God is good and helps us build memories too!
You know as wife and mom I can’t leave the office at night after a long day
So to get my mind off the daily stuff
I have to get AWAY from the daily stuff. :)
Why do I choose to travel ONLY 20 miles away?
Well, I only hear maybe two “Are we there yet's!” :)
This trip is not for sightseeing or touring.
It is for REST and TIME with my family.
In fact the best vacations for me are the ones when
we NEVER even LEAVE the hotel.
The meals are awesome at this hotel

and I do not have to get in and out and in and out of the car as we travel to restaurants! :)
So as you can see it would be a waist of money
and
MY ENERGY

to fly someplace to just stay IN the hotel? :)

We order room service breakfast and/or we bring breakfast snacks
so we don't even have to get up and dressed until 10:00 a.m.!
Our little girl enjoys swimming in the indoor heated pool
and
my husband and I enjoy sitting in the hot tub and watching her swim.
We play hide and seek in the Lobby.
We each bring our favorite board game
and play games until our eyes will not stay open any longer.
The hotel staff is amazing and they even remember us from year to year
and more importantly our six year old remembers them…


Get ready Get set:

Our little one packs for a week.
As she packs and re-packs she asks me questions like,
“Will that nice man who helps me count my piggy bank money to buy my new baby (stuffed animal) be there?
Mom, will that man who always makes me laugh when he calls me cu tie pie be there? You know the one who teases me and tries to take my stuffed animal away?” He always says he is going to keep them but then he ALWAYS gives them back!
Mom will that man who helps us with the luggage and lets me ride the luggage carrier be there?” Mom can I ride the elevator up and down and up and down and look at the lobby down below me in the see though elevator. It makes my tummy jump up and down! I think to myself – Oh yes and it is a lot less expensive and exhausting than an amusement park – not to mention cooler!” I remind myself to take advantage of all the FREE FUN ideas she comes up with! “Oh mom, do I, do I, do I get to play in the BIG water fountain outside the hotel?” “Mom will you PLEASE get wet with me this year mom, it is soooooooooooo fun! Half listening I reply, “Yep, I bet so, sure that sounds like fun.. ”