Wrap Up

It's already almost time to wrap up 2017. Such a crazy thought!

I like to take the time at the end of each year to reflect on the goals I set in the beginning of the year and to see how they went.

I feel like I'm still working on most of my goals! Balance and letting go of fears have been the two major themes of my life the past three years. I think both are just going to be a long process for me. I also wanted to exercise more than just once a week at Pilates, and I did that...for about two weeks! It's been hard to get back into a regular rhythm of exercise, even though I have daily reminders on my phone to do so! Having three jobs now is making it much harder to add extra things to my schedule.

I also wanted to connect more with people one on one. I'm still working on this as well. I've been spending some time the past two weeks trying to reevaluate my schedule and trying to include more time not working, as I don't really have a day "off" anymore. So I've been trying to come up with ways to be more intentional with taking time off and using that time to spend with others.

My other goal for this year was to continue to strive to look more like Jesus. Obviously this is always going to be an ongoing goal. I've been trying to spend more time in the Word and really focusing on who Jesus was on earth and on what He did while He was here.

I'll share more about my goals for 2018 in a later post. Now it's time for a little wrap up of this year.

******

January was a month of celebrating birthdays! We celebrated our friends's son's birthday, my friend's birthday and my birthday!

February was full of celebrating our 9th anniversary, and I got to meet the founder of LuLaRoe!

March was full of events with amazing women! I celebrated one of my best friend's birthdays, attended our church's women's retreat and got to spend a lot of time with another of my best friends and her kiddos!

April was full of babies! One of my best friends had her third baby and one of my other best friends found out she was having a girl!

May was full of celebrations! We attended a fun birthday party, went to Disneyland (and spent time there with a friend and with Josh's dad) and attended our niece's preschool graduation!

June was hectic, but we found a few moments for fun!

July was fun and busy! We celebrated the 4th of July with family and friends, went to Disneyland and the d23 convention and I went to LuLaRoe's annual convention!

August was full of more celebrations! I helped throw a baby shower for one of my best friends and went wine tasting to celebrate the birthday of another friend!

September was full of so much goodness! We celebrated our niece's birthday, I went to CO to spend time with one of my best friends and her family and we got to meet my best friend's new baby!

October was full of lots of fun! I went to the Museum of Ice Cream, we went to our friend's Halloween party and went to a local corn maze!

November was crazy! We went wine tasting, Josh had a conference for work and we had our annual Friendsgiving, plus Thanksgiving festivities!

December has been fun and busy! We've had lots of Christmas fun, I celebrated a friend's birthday and we saw Star Wars! There's a lot more fun to be had in these few days of the year!

I'll be back later with the rest of my thoughts. 2017 is almost over!

Some December Thoughts

I am so behind on blog posts and feel like I'm behind on life in general these days.

I'm not sure when life kicked into this high of a gear, but I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed this week.

It's December 12th. Christmas is 13 days away. And yes, we got all of our Christmas shopping done. And yes, we've watched some Christmas movies and done some fun Christmas activities. And yes, our house is decorated (I'm staring at my lit up Christmas tree right now). And yes, the majority of our Christmas cards have been sent out or delivered to the people receiving them. But I still feel like something is missing.

There's so much talk of Christmas plans and where we are going when. My brain already hurts just thinking about it. I really just want a morning, or an afternoon, or some chunk of time over the Christmas weekend to have some time alone with Josh, so that we can do our own Christmas at home.

And I've been doing a lot of vendor events. I did 5 within the first week of December. I've got 1, possibly 2 more coming up this month.

I just feel tired. And like I'm whining. I'm really not meaning to, though. I really just want to take some time and think about why we celebrate Christmas. What does it all mean? Why do we spend all this time buying the perfect gifts and then wrapping them? Why does our calendar instantly fill up when December rolls around? Where does Jesus fit into all of it?

I love Christmas. Don't get me wrong. It's my absolute favorite holiday. It always has been. There's something about all the colorful lights everywhere and the songs and the joy of spending time with loved ones.

But I want it to be more than just a fun, busy month this year.

It's really easy to lose sight of Jesus. I've been doing it all month. I've been so worried about everything we've had on our calendar and all the things we've needed to buy, that I've kind of forgotten what all of it means. Or what all of it should mean.

I want to give gifts because it's a small reflection of the love I have for someone, and because Jesus gave us the ultimate gift by dying on the cross for our sins, not because I feel like I need to or have to. I want to do fun events with the people I care about because I enjoy their company and who they are in my life, not because it's just something we've always done or because I'm fulfilling an obligation. I want to watch Christmas movies and listen to certain Christmas songs because they make me feel happy and nostalgic, not because I want to make sure to check those off a list of things I've done this holiday season.

And so I've decided to take some time out this month to focus on the reason why this season is so special. I want to spend some time studying and reading the Word: the prophecies about Jesus's coming, His birth and what He brought to our world. I want to spend some time thinking about and expressing my appreciation and love for the people in my life. All too often we take people for granted or assume they know how we feel. And I want to spend some time examining my heart and my life to really figure out what this new year is going to look like for me. It's something I enjoy doing at the end of every year and I think it's really important for me. It helps me to be able to set my focus on some specific goals and helps me to keep myself accountable to them.

I'm also determined to make sure that Josh and I get to spend some time together as our little family of 2. I don't talk very often on this space anymore about our journey and where we've come from, but at this moment in time, we are both content and happy to be just the two of us. I know a lot of people (and it's not really anyone's fault, it's just kind of the way our society is) assume that we aren't a family because we don't have kids. But we are a family and our time together is just as important as it would be if we had 4 kids. We have been married for almost 10 years now and this will be our 13th Christmas together. We got engaged on Christmas Eve almost 11 years ago. This time of year is very important to both of us and I don't want this time to pass by without us getting to acknowledge all that it means to us as a couple and individually.

My hope is that all of us would be able to take some time out in the next two weeks and really reflect on this month, this year and our lives. Don't let the busyness or the obligations or whatever else it may be keep you from enjoying this time of year.

Being Thankful in the Midst of Trials

At the beginning of this month, I debated about posting things on social media somewhere that I was thankful for.

I've done it in the past on Facebook and Twitter, where I would post each day what I was thankful for that day. A few years ago, I kept track of things on my phone and did a weekly recap on my blog. Last year I posted collages on my personal Instagram account of the people and moments I was thankful for.

I think it's such a good practice to remember the things we are thankful for. It's something I wish I did on a more regular basis and not just during the month of November.

But sometimes it's also very hard to be thankful. When in the midst of trials, when things seem like they're falling apart, when life is throwing you curve ball after curve ball.

And yet, we are called to:

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

(1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, NIV)

Wherever you find yourself this November, on this day, in 2016, I hope you are able to look around and find some things to be thankful for. Whether it's your health or the health of a loved one, your kids, your job, your home, the food on your table, your friends, your spouse, or even the fact that God still has you on this earth...I hope we can all find something to be thankful for.

This election and everything surrounding it has brought out so many negative and hateful emotions and actions in so many of us. Let's cling to love and be thankful in all circumstances, in spite of the bad stuff. Let's remember that we are called to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. Let's live our lives caring for others and valuing them above ourselves.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Josh and I took a little trip to our happy place this month to see it decorated for Christmas!

The photographer told me to show my muscles and told Josh to act like a princess

I have now only experienced Disneyland at Christmastime three times...and each time I fall in love a little bit more. I love Christmas as it is, so to see my happy place all decorated with lots of pretty lights and garlands and trees? It's the best!

 Main Street tree in Disneyland

Buena Vista Street tree in California Adventure

The day we got there happened to be one of the days they were doing the Candelight Processional. This is something I have wanted to experience for quite a few years now. My parents took a trip to Disneyland soon after my sister got married and they were able to see it. I didn't even know it existed before then. So when I found out after we planned our trip that we would be there during the Processional, I was super excited!

For those that have never heard of it, it's a beautiful performance. They have singers from local high schools and choirs, as well as cast members from Disneyland, that perform Christmas carols on the steps of the train station on Main Street. A guest celebrity narrator is also asked to read the Christmas story...from the Bible! It was seriously one of the coolest things I've ever experienced. I was tearing up quite a few times as I looked around at the thousands of people that were hearing the story of Jesus's birth in Disneyland. It was such an incredible performance and I'm so glad we were able to get a spot to view it! The narrator for our performance was Lana Parrilla from Once Upon a Time (Regina/The Evil Queen).

Earlier that day, Josh and I walked through the new Star Wars Launch Bay to see what they had in there. It was filled with lots of really cool movie props, character meet and greets (we got to meet Chewbacca, as the line happened to only be about 5 minutes when we walked by), and a gift shop with tons of really cool (but expensive) Star Wars stuff you could buy.

The following day, we got a text in the morning that our friend S.W. was going to come join us for the day! He is an amazing photographer and happened to be in the area for a photo shoot, so he decided to come and hang out in Disneyland with us! We had a really fun day and were able to experience a lot of cool stuff, including the recently updated Star Tours and Hyperspace Mountain (a Star Wars overlay on the current Space Mountain).

The only group picture we got with S.W.

Star Wars Cantina in the Star Wars Launch Bay

The next day, we had a couple of things on our list that were very important that we do. One was to see the Aladdin Musical one last time, as they are replacing it next year with a Frozen show (don't even get me started on my feelings on that one). It's a show I've probably seen four or five times now, but it never gets old. The Genie is always hilarious, and his jokes often have to do with current events (like Justin Bieber crying at the VMAs and references to Shake It Off from Taylor Swift). I'm so glad we were able to see it again.

We also made reservations at the Big Thunder Ranch BBQ, as it is closing for good for the new Star Wars Land they are building in Disneyland. Josh and I had never eaten there before, so we wanted to try it out before it was too late. And man, was it good! It's an unlimited buffet of chicken, ribs and sausage, as well as coleslaw, corn on the cob, baked beans and biscuits. We also had to order dessert, even though we barely put a dent in it. It was delicious! If you are planning a trip to Disneyland before January 11th, I highly recommend eating there!

Josh also really wanted to see the bartenders in the Carthay Circle Lounge make the ice spheres that they put in some of their drinks, as they have this fancy way of doing it, but he wasn't able to see it. He did order a drink, which came with an ice sphere, but it ended up being diamond shaped for the Diamond Celebration. It was still cool, but I suppose we will have to try and see the ice spheres another time.

We also made a point this trip to go on the train one more time, as it will be closed for over a year during the Star Wars Land construction, and we rode on Soarin' over California one last time, as it will become Soarin' over the World (or whatever they end up calling it) next year. That has been one of our absolute favorites and I really hope they add some good smells into the new version.

We were also able to see the Good Dinosaur preview, and decided on one of our nights there to see the movie in the theater in Downtown Disney. If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend it. It made me cry quite a few times, and it is a really powerful story. Josh and I both really enjoyed it.

I was also able to get some more pressed coins to add to my collection. I discovered earlier this year that they put out new machines for the 60th, so I've been trying to collect at least one coin from each of those machines. I think I am only missing one or two currently, as I forgot to stop by a couple of them on this trip. Pressed pennies used to be one of my favorite souvenirs as a kid and I've recently re-discovered my love for them. Besides, they are much cheaper than most souvenirs you will find at Disneyland.

We also found the Little Man of Disneyland's house! If you've never heard of him before, there is an old book called The Little Man of Disneyland about Patrick Begorra, a leprechaun who took up residence in a tree in a secret location in Disneyland, after finding out that Disneyland was going to be built where his current home in an orange tree was located. The imagineers of Disneyland recently "added" Patrick's house on a tree in Adventureland. If you ever want to try and find it, I suggest hanging around Indiana Jones.

We didn't go on every ride on this trip, but we did everything we really wanted to do. And since we got to do a lot of extra stuff as well, I'd say this was a very successful Christmastime Disneyland trip!

Until next time!