a wide place

Can you believe we now have three teenagers in our house?

Where did this baby boy go?

We celebrated him several times in May, which was appropriate since 13 is a big milestone.

First of all, Gabe, Noah and I met up with the birth family in Greenville for a special birthday lunch and gifts at Unity Park.

Christi suggested Cheesecake Factory, and the boys were thrilled to try a new place. The entire case of cheesecakes to pick from was a huge hit.

It fills my heart with joy to see how loved these boys are, by both their families.

When we got home that evening, Gabe parked himself at the dining table and worked on building his new Lego sets until a late bedtime, then asked me how early he was allowed to set his alarm to continue working. I said 6:00 am, so that’s exactly what he did!

I think I’ll shed actual tears when the day comes that we no longer hear the rustle of Legos in our house.

Next, David and I offered Gabe some options for a birthday party, which included a day at Carowinds with a couple friends. But he chose to a road trip to Florida to visit my cousin and her family for a few days. This is Gabe to a T: family — whether birth family or immediate family or extended family — is so important to him. I love that.

Sadly, David and Judah couldn’t join us on the trip due to work, but my cousin Liz was able to catch a ride with us as far as Orlando to see friends, and was an enormous help with all the driving, as well as just plain fun to have along.

The warning I gave Liz when she wanted to come along was that the kids and I planned to audiobook hard for both drives. David isn’t a huge fan of audiobooks on road trips (they make him sleepy), so we squeeze in as much as we can when he’s not with us.

Liz was up for it and brought a bag of fun Costco snacks. We listened to Wonder in its entirety on the trip down. Liz and I had both read the novel years ago but agreed the audiobook was way more powerful. This was the kids’ first time and we all loved it. I definitely cried more than once.

And then: Cape Coral, Florida!

It’s right outside Ft. Myers, on the gulf side, so it was almost a 12-hour trip with stops.

But worth every minute.

As you all know, I’m from Florida, and ever since I moved it’s remained my happy place. Like a weight just slides off my shoulders when I return.

The boys were also in their happy place as for 3.5 days they did little else but video games.snacks.pool.repeat with their cousins, Kai, Jake, and Ari.

Joel and Amy took us to their favorite Mexican food truck for some of the best street tacos we’ve tasted.

Our family fell back in love with Izzy, the Peruvian pup, who is seriously the cutest and most ladylike dog you’ve ever met. If only Kira were well behaved enough that we could take her to dinner and the beach with us. Maybe one day . . .

After church on Sunday, we loaded up the two minivans and drove to Sanibel Island, a beach which is about an hour away, and which is a beautiful place I remember from my childhood. We were sad to see all the hurricane damage along that part of the Florida coast and all the homes and businesses that have yet to recover.

Gabe’s actual birthday was Monday, Memorial day, so the Hubers treated us all to ice cream. For those who are allergic to dairy or just wanted to try something new (Noah!), we made a stop at the bubble tea shop for dairy-free treats.

I honestly didn’t expect this, but I felt like our five-day trip was my personal vacation.

Joel and Amy are amazing hosts. Joel cooked every meal and they wouldn’t let me lift a finger in the kitchen to clean up. Amy kept saying, “Jules, you’re always taking care of people. Get your book and go relax by the pool.” Or, “I know you’re an introvert, do you want to go close yourself in your room for an hour to have down time?”

They’re both so fun and thoughtful. We all stayed up late and slept in as late as we wanted. I’d wake up at 8:30 to a quiet house and sit in the living room with my Bible and a French press cup of coffee and feel like I was in the lap of luxury.

Truly, I haven’t had a break like this, complete with sleeping in, since my kids were born. It was a sheer gift.

Amie floated from group to group. She swam with the boys. She and Ari had girl time doing nails and hair. She joined Amy and I for a skin care/make-up tutorial Amy did for me, and also in the evenings for the K-drama (Korean drama) Amy introduced us to, Twinkling Watermelon. We had the best time snacking on Joel and Amy’s bed and binge-watching until 11 at night.

In short, a lovely time was had by all.

We hit the road early Tuesday morning and picked Liz up in Orlando three hours later. Sweet Liz had bought us all Chick-Fil-A and had it ready when she jumped in the van, so we didn’t even need to wait in the drive-through.

For the drive home, we started Nothing Else But Miracles, by Kate Albus, a favorite of Amie’s and mine. It is so, so good. Especially as an audiobook. We also made a stop at the famous Buc-ees for gas and road snacks. Amie and I were very overwhelmed. Everyone else loved the craziness!

Once we got home, Gabe got to celebrate with both sets of grandparents and his cousins, Owen and Oliver. In our family we love what we call a “rolling birthday,” with lots of different celebrations.

Happy 13 Gabe! You make us happy every day!