We take a family vacation every year.

Every other year or so, we head to the beach. Until recently all twelve of us were Midwesterners who couldn’t afford to fly every year and didn’t have the time to drive for days, so our only realistic option was the Gulf coast. Thus, my husband Tony and I rent a house on the beach, and we all settle in to relax and enjoy one another for one glorious week.

On the alternate summers, we try to go somewhere the kids will enjoy almost as much as the beach. Two years ago we went to Yellowstone. The scenery was wondrous. If you’ve been there, you know I’m not exaggerating, although our accommodations on the edge of Yellowstone were so rustic one reviewer wrote: “For the love of God, keep driving!“ I suppose we shouldn’t have laughed, but we did (we still do, every time we think about it). We also stopped, and we were glad. We must have been a little heartier than the reviewer.

This year Tony and I and Leanne and her bunch flew to Stacey’s in California and spent time in Yosemite, where we saw scenery that rivaled Yellowstone. Tony and I and our daughters had visited Yosemite when the girls were children. I believe that’s where I stood with outstretched arms on a precipice overlooking granite-walled mountains, waterfalls, and a magnificent valley floor, and sang the first verse of “How Great Thou Art,“ while the girls looked around furtively, hoping a bus load of people wasn’t walking up. I refrained this year but barely. (I’ll have to put up some pictures on the website one of these days.)

Five summers ago we decided to spend our family vacation at Disney World in Orlando. We had taken our oldest grandchild Scott there when he was nine, the year Leanne and Scott adopted him and Leanne gave birth to Mariah. Nine years later Scott had joined the armed forces, but the four middle grandchildren, ages 7-11, were anxious out of their minds for their turn to visit Disney World. This is the sole reason Tony and I agreed to a destination that struck us as less than relaxing.

And I have to say our two daughters, their good husbands, and the grandchildren had a blast. The only exception to that general rule was my son-in-law Steve one of the afternoons we all rode back to our hotel together on the Disney bus. Steve happened to be the designated holder of one-year-old Cade. From the time he and my daughter Stacey sat down, Cade screamed hysterically, his volume intensifying unimaginably during the twenty minute ride.

Knowing we couldn’t help a baby well past his breaking point, Tony and I huddled together a few seats away acting like we didn’t know the screaming baby arching his back and flailing his appendages. Nor did we know his helpless parents. We did exchange amazed looks with the four older grandchildren.

So, I’m sorry, but that was the one and only week of Family Vacation that Saturday couldn’t come fast enough for Tony and me. We couldn’t have been happier the morning we packed the car and bid adieu to the giant plastic Dalmatians standing sentry outside our motel rooms.  No fewer than three days earlier, Hot and Tired had conspired to do us in.

Stacey and her family stayed an extra morning before heading for Indiana, where they were ministering at the time. Jake and Avrie wanted to see the Star Wars parade (Cade was all smiles again). Leanne and her bunch aren’t such Star Wars fans, and it’s a good thing, because they didn’t have that option. Living only two hours from us, they had ridden in our rented van—and, make no mistake, that van was leaving the premises shortly after sun up. As we trekked to the parking lot, I told Mariah and Sam, still under the influence of so many dreams coming true, that I might be willing to talk about their favorite things at Disney World, but not before we crossed the Florida border.

But even that family vacation was special. It thrilled the kids and grandkids, which, once we cooled off, had to thrill Tony and me. And as importantly, that tiring, steaming vacation gave us plenty to remember. We thank God for the opportunity to be together in such a way each year. It is a gift we do not take for granted. I hope your summer will include some great family time.