Our first Vacation as a Family

This summer we had the opportunity to be able to take a vacation. In one of our most recent adoptions at the Ranch, I found out that in Mexico adoptive parents also get a maternity leave. I had been wanting to take some time off and spend more than a couple of days with my dad and brother, so this was an answer to my prayer. After school finished, we went to Chihuahua City, my hometown, to stay with my dad and brother. A couple of days later, we had the priveledge to join the Ranch kids and some of the staff on their vacation to Creel. I’m so grateful I got to go, for little did I know this would be my last time to make memories with little E.

We returned to Chihuahua City and got to celebrate my brother’s birthday. My son has been very mindful of my brother, which really touches my heart. My dad got to spend more time with Josue and teach him a few things. I also wanted to visit some family and friends, and was able to do so. My daughter does not like to be out and about, so I tried to keep the visits low and spread out. I had been wanting Josue to experience the ocean seeing that I had the time to do it, I thought, it best to do it now. We drove down to Mazatlan, which is a 12-hour drive. My dad, a cousin and her son accompanied us. It would have been nice to have my brother join us, but he is still struggles to go out.

There has been much rain in this region and as we drove south it kept having a beatiful green scenery. Since we didn’t have a large enough vehicle to fit all of us, my dad drove his car and I did mine. The boys went with my dad and the girls were with me. We rented an Airbnb and we practically brought all our grocieries with us to make meals in order to not spend on eating out. My inner planner went all out and planned out almost everything. I’ve learned that if you don’t have a plan of places you don’t want to miss, you just might. So on our fist day, I figured we would just go to the beach.

My son loves the water, so he was quick to want to get in. I am the same way, especially with the ocean. So we went in and played with the waves. We were in the beach all day….and yes we got super sun burned! Even my dad who stayed mostly in the shade. I had to stay very close to Josue (we had a little scare) and with the tone of my skin my back and left leg were in really bad shape because of the sun. The following days it was a challenge since most of us were hurting, due to the sunburn, which also made us more tired. On our last day, we got up before dawn in order to go up the lighthouse, which is on a hill. It took us more than half an hour to go up. By “we” I mean us girls. The boys practically ran up. I have no idea how my dad was able to keep up with them, but he did. I had to stop and rest every so often. It was grueling, to be honest, but we did it and we can now scratch it off as something we did 😀

On our drive back, forseeing that we might be tired from all the activities, we thought it best to drive part of the way. So we stopped in Durango. We got to go to Paseo del Viejo Oeste, which is a film set for westerns where many famous movies have been filmed. We were all surprised at this find and greatly enjoyed it. The following day, we drove back to Chihuahua were we stayed another week. By then, my kids began saying they missed the ranch. It was a huge blessing to be able to take this time and bond as a family. And for my kids to start feeling part of my family.

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Though having a family vacation was wonderful experience it was also a hard one. Forgive me for not providing the details, but I do want to respect my family’s privacy. So without the details, let me tell you, I had it rough at times. I remember the psychologist told me that kids usally start acting up after 6 months or a year. In short, my honeymoon with my kids ended with one in less 3 months the other in 4 months. I have chosen to take it as a compliment, that they began before the 6 months. I’m so grateful for those conversations I had with people who have adopted or were adopted. Because, in a way, I was not caught off guard when things starting coming up.

I’m sure many of you parents, have learned more of our Father’s love as you face the sins and offenses of your children. Yet, how true and good is God’s love for us that even our sins and rebellions do not stop His love for us thanks to the sacrifice Christ made for us on the cross. Just as our Father’s love is dependent on what Christ accomplished on the cross on our behalf so parents are called to mirror His unwavering, constant, and committed love to their children. And boy, can that be hard at times. Some would say impossible and to a certain extent it is. We are also sinners, we fail and we sometimes want to go by what we feel and we don’t always feel very loving towards our children…to put it lightly.

There are certain scriptures that we become so familiar with and yet do not fully grasp the full meaning of it. Or at least we have not lived them out. One such scripture is 1 Corinthians 13:4-7:

Love endures with patience and serenity, love is kind and thoughtful, and is not jealous or envious; love does not brag and is not proud or arrogant. ⁵ It is not rude; it is not self-seeking, it is not provoked [nor overly sensitive and easily angered]; it does not take into account a wrong endured. ⁶ It does not rejoice at injustice, but rejoices with the truth [when right and truth prevail]. ⁷ Love bears all things [regardless of what comes], believes all things [looking for the best in each one], hopes all things [remaining steadfast during difficult times], endures all things [without weakening].

Amplified version

Let me tell you, my love was provoked, and learning to NOT be easily angered or take offense is very hard, more so when it’s someone close to you, like your kids. My tendency at times was to take into account the wrong endured, but true love does not. It was a struggle and I am sure I would not have succeded at times (cause let’s be honest I did fail to love like this) but what a relief it is to know that we can also to turn to Christ. That through the Holy Spirit He enables us to love like Him. We can take our our hurts, frustrations, even anger and find the serenity and encourgement our hearts need. It is so easy to become overwhelmed, but when we learn to bring it all to Him who is more than able to do more than we can imagine, it becomes bearable. We may not see the results for a while, if ever, yet we can trust in God’s faithfulness to work it all for His Glory and our good. What a great hope we have in Jesus! I pray that as you encounter difficulties you would make your way to Jesus, for you will find the rest and strength your soul needs.