I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil—this is the gift of God.
Ecclesiastes 5:18-19

Monday, May 11, 2009

Refreshed and Renewed

I had the best weekend and the greatest Mother's Day present from my wonderful hubby and children. Jeff sent me off along with Dawn to Lido beach in Sarasota for a weekend get away. We arrived at Lido beach Friday afternoon and started our weekend retreat with an early dinner at Bonefish Grill. I had Diablo pasta and oh was it divine. We made it back to our hotel in time for a walk down the beach and had a few hours of girl talk while waiting for the sunset. It's amazing how much talking us woman can do when we are not interrupted.
There were some musicians down on the beach playing and the waves sounded so great crashing on the shore. I new that very moment that every part of stress, anxiety, fear, and worry were about to leave my mind, body, and soul. All I could think of was how my husband truly knows my heart and how to fill a love tank.
We slept in until 9:00 a.m. Saturday morning and headed down to Blue Dolphin Cafe for a quick breakfast. I had one of a kind western omelet with monterey Jack cheese made to perfection and was ready for some rays. We became lazy beach bums for the rest of the day........literally from 10:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. We only moved to get in the water a few times, to grab a Pina Colada, oh, and flip our pages as we each read our books. There were a couple of times we would hear a crying child and our motherly instincts would make us jump. Our bodies actually ached Saturday night from not doing anything all day. We knew we had to move or we would be useless come Sunday morning. We decided on Carraba's that night for dinner and I must recommend the Sirloin Marsala. Oh.........there are no words. Thank God Dawn gets a HUGE discount for all OSI restaurants. We ate dirt cheap and still had fine dining. We then walked through all the shops on the circle. Have you ever been in the store Black and White Market? Wow, what beautiful clothes!! I couldn't afford any of it, but wanted to buy it all. I have to find an outlet. We finished our retreat up by spending Sunday on the beach again and then by the pool. It was bitter-sweet during our departure. I so wish my family could have just packed up and come to me.

The water was simply...................well, lets just say I never had a problem seeing my toes or seashells on the bottom of the ocean floor even when I was in the water up to my neck. It was breath-taking.

I can not wait to take my family there. I know they will love it. I came home refreshed and ready to see my favorite three. They were all awaiting my arrival with smiles and all I could do was squeeze them and say thank you. I know I was smiling from ear to ear. We had a wonderful evening out on our porch. Jeff had grilled a nice little dinner for all of us to enjoy together. I tucked my kids in bed and curled up with my hubby in the chair for the rest of the evening.

Sorry there are no pics, but we just were too lazy to go back to the room for the camera.

One other thing. Congrats to Pike's Electric!!! We won the championship game and are T-ball Champions!! I'm so proud of those children.

5 comments:

The Russ Family said...

Glad you had a good weekend. I can't tell you how great that sounds right now as I am feeling sleep deprived.

I love Black House/White Market. Yes, definetly find an outlet. I love the way their clothes fit. My favorite jeans come from there.

The Cannon Chronicles said...

OH . . . that sounds like heaven! We took a trip to that beach before kids with a bunch of people and we loved it. I think ya'll need to plan a mother's day trip for the whole gang next year!

Jill said...

Well deserved rest....I was wondering why there were no pictures..not really, I know you two better I than that. I bet you are savage.

Jeanne said...

Good job Jeff & Ray! Awesome Mother's Day idea! :) Sounds soooo wonderful!

lori said...

Sounds like a dream....
Every mom needs a get away like that, you guys are blessed to have husbands who think that way.