“The family. We were a strange little band of characters trudging through life sharing diseases and toothpaste, coveting one another’s desserts, hiding shampoo, borrowing money, locking each other out of our rooms, inflicting pain and kissing to heal it in the same instant, loving, laughing, defending, and trying to figure out the common thread that bound us all together. ”
~Erma Bombeck
It’s the last Saturday when Ben is working a long day, trying to finish up the last of the jobs before we head to Colorado… next Wednesday.
Three months worth of toys and clothes and living will be packed into a white suburban and we’ll drive 24 hours out west where we’ll spend the next three months in a two-bedroom apartment. Exciting? Yes! Scary? Yes!
There is SO much to do in the next few days. I’ve hardly begun packing, because there is so much I can’t pack until the last day or two. I keep asking God for a calm heart and mind, because it looks a bit overwhelming to get everything together in the next 3 days…
So I took the girls to a local festival this morning – good, old-fashioned redneck country festival. It was great fun. 
Maybe just to escape the feeling of all that needs to be done. And then I sit down and blog. Why? When there is a myriad of things to work on? When I could at least bring in the laundry that’s been hanging out for the past, um, three days. Or double-check my packing lists, or…
Well, for one, the girls are napping, and who wants to disturb sleeping children by packing?
For two, I just found out this week that our apartment will not have internet access, so I suppose I’ll be going on an online fast of sorts. I’m sure I’ll run to a coffee shop or the library, but we’ll only have one vehicle, and trying to keep two little children quiet while I’m on the computer doesn’t sound like my idea of relaxing. So, I’ll be popping in and out, but not as often as before.
So I had thought that I can just do some catching up online after we get to Colorado, but since that’s not going to be happening like I thought, I wanted to do two most posts before we leave. Here’s one, and we’ll see if I get the other one up.
Going back a month again…. (thanks for not minding!) Family vacation in Asheville, North Carolina!
We’ve done ocean vacations mostly, and that’s great fun. But we decided to do a mountain vacation this time – and loved it! The beautiful Smokeys were such a restful and relaxing place to stay for a long weekend. My parents rented a house (vacation rental by owner) on top of a good-sized range, and the view was beautiful from the long front porch!
It had been 6 months since I saw some of my sisters, and 2 years since a family vacation. We just loved every moment of being together! Being with my family is one of my favorite things in the world!
Most of the time was just spent together at the house… Plans were being made for hikes and such, but it rained one day, and was really hot another, and Barkmans can get long-winded when it comes to family time… 
A few went to see the famous Biltmore Estate the last day, and I was really hoping to go as well, but had gone to bed with a terrible migraine that still wasn’t better the day of the trip, so we had to miss it. That was a bit disappointment. Probably the only disappointment of the weekend though, so it was okay.
There is something so refreshing about being with family… when you know you can be you and be real, and don’t have to worry about how someone is going to take you, or if someone is going to hold a grudge against you, or if the weekend will end in chaos. I’m so blessed to be part of an imperfect, but loving family!
So the rest of this will be long on pictures and short on words.
We made cake pops…
Little girls snuck food with their aunties on the kitchen floor…
We played games until late at night…
Evenings were beautiful on the front porch…
Aunties taught neices how to make faces…
Aunties loved on little neices…
I think someone likes me… ♥
Oldest brother, youngest sisters…
Children ate uncontrolled amounts of candy…
And we did a photo shoot one afternoon. One thing about my family – there are cameras everywhere!!
At a sapphire mine, holding a sapphire embedded in a rock…
Sister pictures were taken…
Mother and daughters pictures were taken…
Brother pictures….
Six-of-Us pictures…
Father & Mother pictures…
Attempts at family pictures were taken… goodness, it’s difficult with this many people!
Zoe and Olivia snapshots were taken…
Attempts were made at pictures of our little family of four. You’d think it would be no big deal, but just check out some of the pictures that made it on the camera…
“the floppy-knee child” “the run-away baby”
”the hand-tugger”
“the case of the missing baby”
“in need of grace”
And at last, a few that might be okay!!
And we’re left with more lovely memories of family time and laughter and talks… God knew what He was doing when He created family!
“Families are like fudge – mostly sweet with a few nuts.”
- unknown
“In some families, please is described as the magic word.
In our house, however, it was sorry. ”
~Margaret Laurence
Today, enjoy your very own family – the quirks, the sweetness,
the wonderfulness that makes them YOURS!
[even if you're in one of the above moments, "in need of grace." ]
~ clarita
