Disney World Trip Report Day 2 of 12

I loved this day!

I set the alarm and got up early to catch the sunrise on the beach.

It was majestic, and I practically had the beach to myself.

It's one of those experiences that can't really be described..I'll let the pictures tell the story.  

(get ready-there's a LOT of pictures in this post.  I just couldn't narrow it down any further!)

"When I'm lost I feel so very found when you anchor me back down." - Mindy Gledhill lyrics to Anchor

After Kyle and Maddie woke up we had breakfast and headed to Live Naval Oaks National Park.  We decided to let Maddie choose the route.  

We originally planned on hiking a short distance, but Maddie ended up choosing the longest trail possible :)  

We estimate we must have hiked a good 2 miles before making it back to the parking lot!!

The weather was nice, but it was getting hot and we didn't come equipped with enough water fort that little adventure. 

Once again...TONS of pics! :)  

We left the Nature Park and had lunch at a place we discovered was a local favorite, the
 Native Cafe...always a good choice to eat with the locals!
They had the best fish tacos I've ever had.

We've decided from now on, we will just order Maddie french fries.
That's all she eats anyway, and she gets quite offended when her fries have to share a plate with other things like grilled cheese!

Now it was time the beach!
 The weather turned on us a little and became overcast.  Temps were still ok, so it was actually nice to not worry about severe sunburns.  

This was my first time in the ocean.  The waves were pretty rough and I found myself trying very hard to stay decent.  At one point I was extremely concerned the waves ripped my swim shorts right off, but happily it was only my imagination! 

 

Maddie LOVED the beach.  After a while, the water was chilly and the breeze picked up…it was COLD.  Maddie wasn’t about to let a little discomfort ruin her time on the beach.  We toughed it out, but finally when her legs were blue and she couldn’t stop shivering we pulled the plug.  A nice warm-up in the hot tub and she was the right color once again. 

 

Next, we got cleaned up and made our way to Crabs! We got em.  The atmosphere was so fun…right on the beach with a playground for the kids and everything.  Food was mediocre.  Ate some more oysters on the half shell and decided I definitely like ‘em. 

Pensacola was great but now it's time to pack up and get ready for the drive to Orlando!!! 

Disney World Trip Report Day 1 of 12

Hey guys!  

We're back!!!

We had the most amazing time on our vacation to Florida.  

First we drove to Pensacola and stayed a couple of nights on the beach and then we made our way to

 Walt Disney World!!

I decided to give trip reports day by day so it won't be too overwhelming...plus we took TONS of pictures.

I doubt I could fit them all in one post!

And before I jump into the trip report details here's a couple of tips that I found extremely helpful:

1) save up your money and splurge!  

This helps so much when you are actually there to not have to worry about what things cost because, let's face it...Walt Disney World is expensive.  But knowing that the money was already in the bank really helped me to enjoy everything so completely.  

2) plan plenty of time to be there for more flexibility

I think this is important especially with little ones.  We had a total of 7 days in the parks and it was wonderful to leave in the afternoon when Maddie needed a nap, or it was raining, or it was getting hot.  Knowing we could always come back REALLY helps.  Not to mention how helpful it is to maximize your time not standing in lines (more on that later)!!   

So, we began our little trek at 2:15 Monday morning, April 29th.  

We intended for Maddie to sleep most of the first leg.  

She woke up at 4:30 am!! 

But it was of course still dark outside and she just sat there quietly. 

I dozed on and off but woke up just in time for the glorious sunrise at 6:47 am!

I had also put together some road trip tunes. 
It just so happened that Lucky Diaz and the Family band began singing, "Here Comes the Sun" to create the perfect moment!  

We stopped and had breakfast at a Cracker Barrel in Louisiana. 

Lunch was at a local restaurant in Mississippi.  

 Maddie had noodles and rice and fruit.  Three of her favorite foods...of which she ate none of it! 

 I had red beans and rice.  I asked the waiter about this dish and he asked me if I liked ham hock. I said yes, but had NO IDEA it would be that big!

Kyle had a shrimp po boy and oysters on the half shell.

Maddie stayed awake the entire day until finally around 4:00 she dozed off. 

She slept for about 2 hours which was perfect because we drove through a pretty rough rain storm during that time and she woke up just in time to arrive in Pensacola!  

When we got there Maddie had a one track mind....SWIMMING!!

The weather was overcast and a little chilly but we didn’t have the heart to tell her no.  She was SOOOO excited!  We swam for an hour or so and then headed back up to the room to get ready for dinner. 

We ate at Peg Leg Pete's for dinner.  

This was my first time ever to eat oysters on the half shell.  

I have to admit, as gross as they look, they were surprisingly delicious!

Here's a couple of my favorite pictures from our first day...

Kyle took this shot! 

 

 

Deep-Set Beliefs

Starting a photography business is hard.  

There's a lot of things that can get you down and cause frustration.

The constant barrage of information as well as competition is paralyzing.  

Sometimes I begin to compare myself and the insecurities bubble up.

I can get in a funky state of mind that's not good.

It's negative, unproductive, and unnecessary.

The only thing I know to do when I get in the funk is to go to Scripture.  

God gave me this verse, Psalm 37:23-24

"The Lord directs the steps of the godly.  He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they may stumble, they will never fall for He holds them by the hand."

I've clung to that verse like a barnacle holding on for dear life the last few days.  

Reciting it over and over and over and meditating on it. 

Finally, I had what they call in the therapy world "a breakthrough"

As I was driving home from the grocery store, I realized it didn't say If you ask nicely, God will direct the steps of the godly. 

He just does it.

I was begging God to do something He just does. Period. 

Then I realized I lacked belief.  

I didn't really believe God did this because I have an internal, deep-set belief that I wasn't worthy of that kind of attention from God.  Who am I that He would delight in every detail of my life and hold me by the hand?

This was huge.

Like gigantic, this-could-change-everything-huge!

The next realization solidified the entire experience.  

As tears streamed down my face on the way home from the grocery store, 

God assured me I was worthy of all of His attention not because I'm a good person, 

or I did something right, or asked for the right thing...

but simply because of Jesus and the power of his blood.  

Because of Jesus' work on the cross, I can have the chance to be reconciled to God and receive his gifts of presence, time, attention and guidance.  

That's life-changing enough to change some misguided deep-set beliefs!!  

I've Got Some Catching Up To Do! First Up, Easter!

Ah, finally.

A quiet morning with a now-healthy little one and time to blog!

Maddie survived her first tummy bug.  

At 4 1/2, I would say we are certainly lucky to have avoided that so long.

It's awful!

So on to happier topics...Easter!  

Easter was really different for us this year.

It was the first year since Kyle and I have been married (13 years!) that we stayed home.  

On the Saturday afternoon before Easter, I decided I would do a big Easter dinner for the three of us.

Whole, roasted chicken, broccoli, green salad, some other veggie, and rolls.  

That turned into pizza.  

But...at least it WAS homemade!

AND, this was the first year I didn't sew Maddie's Easter dress.  

Although I did enjoy having the dress purchased and ready a month ahead of time, this will definitely change next year.  

That brief moment of enjoyment could not replace the joy of staying up late the night before trying to finish the last hem, having the sewing machine do crazy things it's never done before, realizing I bought the wrong size zipper, have cut the pattern out wrong, and have sewn the sash backwards! 

Yes, it's crazy but I totally missed it this year!

Plus, we never even dyed Easter eggs.  

OK, wait...I'm just now realizing now that we actually had a sad little Easter. (lol)

Maddie sure looked cute though!

Hope your Easter was happy, happy, happy! :) 

I'm 35!!

A few weeks ago I celebrated my 35th birthday. 

I have 3 gray hairs and the sleep lines linger a lot longer than they used to in the mornings.

Despite that, I still feel 25!

It was a great day with a sweet birthday surprise from the ladies at bible study and a great dinner with friends.  

Maddie made us napkin hats!

I got this from Kyle....

any guesses at what it could be?

Keep reading to find out! :)  

One of my best buddies from grade school invited me to come work out with her.  

I got really concerned when she told me she's only thrown up once. 

I haven't "worked out" in years!!

After a very intense workout, I didn't feel so great, but I had survived!  

But then, as the day went on  and especially the next day, every cell in my body was screaming, 

"YOU'RE 35!"

"YOU ARE NO LONGER 18, OR 25, OR 29...YOU'RE 35!!"

It was brutal, but the cells are right.  

It's time to really start taking care of myself which means more regular exercise

and continuing to eat well.  

Which brings me back to the mystery gift from Kyle. 

It's a rice cooker!  

It cooks the BEST brown rice you've ever tasted.

It's fluffy just like white rice with the great, nutty flavor of brown rice.

Best of both worlds. 

Plus, we made steel cut oats that were absolutely delicious!