A night away...

I racked my brain trying to decide what to get Keith for Christmas this year. I had what I thought was a great idea, but it fell through two weeks before Christmas. Ugh! He works really hard and NEVER does anything for himself, so I wanted to surprise him with something special. I was praying that God would show me what to do.

A few days later, Keith had a frustrating day at work and came home to a house full of wild monkeys. The kids were in rare form that day and we were both barely hanging on to sanity by the time we got them to bed. In the midst of his frustration, Keith said, "I just want to get away with you!"

So I began to wonder if I could pull off a trip for us as a Christmas present. Money is tight, so that would have to be a major factor. But Keith and I have not been away together overnight in 4 1/2 years! Since we live far away from family, we aren't comfortable leaving the kids overnight. So I was racking my brain trying to think of who we could ask to keep the kids for us. Where would they be safe? Who would be willing?

The next night, my mom called. As we were talking about our upcoming Christmas trip, she offered to keep the kids for a night so we could get away. Amazing how God works out the details!

So we drove to Georgia and celebrated Christmas with my family. On the 28th, Keith and I headed to Atlanta to stay at a bed and breakfast for the night. When I made the reservation, the innkeeper had been so nice and delayed running the credit card so Keith would be surprised. I had found a great, affordable room in a nice area and was really excited about the trip.

We were checking in at our bed and breakfast when we found out that due to a computer crash, they had given away our room. Since it was not run on the credit card, when they fixed the computer, he forgot to enter our reservation again. So like any rational woman, I started crying.

Long story short, the guy, who turned out to be even nicer than he was on the phone, called in a favor and we end up in the honeymoon suite of a swanky B and B in Midtown Atlanta. It was so nice and so much more than we could have ever afforded. But they cut us a deal since the room wasn't booked for the night anyway.

My point is that God knows the desires of our hearts and he gives us more than we could ever imagine or ask for. Our kids were safe, having a great night bonding with their grandparents that they don't see very often. Keith and I got a night away just the two of us...in an amazing place that was so much nicer than we could have asked for or imagined. Think "heated floors in the bathroom" nice...It was the perfect Christmas present for both of us.

Stonehurst Place in Atlanta...if you are ever over that way, we highly recommend it!