Where to start...how about the beginning?

We've now been home from our winter Disney getaway for a week and I've wanted so much to blog about our trip but haven't had a clue where to even start...so I've decided to start in the most logical place...the beginning! It has honestly always been a dream of mine to visit Disney during the Christmas season...to see all the lights and decorations done in true Disney style. This year it became reality! It was everything I'd hoped it would be and more! December has definitely become my favorite time of year to visit...not to mention it was pretty nice to go from 18 degrees to 81 in just a few hours!

We spent our first Disney day at Epcot. Here's a bit of what we did while we were there...

Notice we are in long sleeves...it was freezing! It was even colder when night fell, and I was tempted to buy one of those $60 Disney hoodies, but thank goodness I held out because it certainly warmed up by the very next day!


Visited with Nemo & Friends


Took a trip to Mars in Mission: Space


Check out that tree!


Stopped in Morocco for some lunch and delicious Baklava!


Went back to the U.S.A. where we found this life-size gingerbread house


What a recipe!


Enjoyed a nice drum show in Japan


Posed for a picture in Italy =) My favorite thing about Epcot is visiting the different countries. During Christmas, each country has a special event describing their Christmas traditions.


Visited some Vikings in Norway


Saw an amazing candlelight processional including a mass choir and orchestra, accompanied by celebrity narrator, Andy Garcia. They told the TRUE story of Christmas in the most beautiful way!


Watched IllumiNations fireworks show...definitely the best fireworks in Disney World!


Took in one last 3D show...Honey I Shrunk the Audience


And said "Good Night" to Epcot

Next Post: Disney Day 2 - The Magic Kingdom

Happy Early Birthday To Me =)

Last week my sweet husband treated me to an early birthday dinner at one of my favorite places...The Melting Pot!! We had our first Melting Pot experience during our anniversary trip to Portland last June and we were definitely ready for another one. We went out to celebrate a little bit early for two reasons:
1. We were leaving to go out of town (more posts on that to come)
2. This particular night was a one-night only fundraising dinner for St. Jude's Hospital, and who doesn't love a fondue fund raiser? =)


We love The Melting Pot! This one is in downtown Tacoma.


Course 1 - Cheddar Cheese Fondue


Course 2 - Salads
For those of you who know me well, you know I don't eat salad because I find lettuce disgusting. However, being the grown up girl I am becoming, I picked the California salad (on the left) which came with spinach and other greens besides lettuce. I made a good effort, and even enjoyed the first two bites or so, but that was about all I could stomach. Besides, I needed to save room for what was to come...


Course 3 - Meat and Veggies
We had two types of steak, chicken, salmon, and shrimp...yum, yum!


FINALLY!! Course 4 - Chocolate Fondue!! We chose white chocolate since we had a white and milk chocolate mix last time. The white chocolate is our absolute favorite!! And just look at all the yummies you get to dip in the chocolate...


They even brought out a special chocolate birthday surprise =)


I am so thankful to have a husband willing to go all out to make sure I have a special day. I love you Derek Thomas!!

Thanksgiving is already over?

We had only been in Washington for a month when Thanksgiving came last year. We knew we wouldn't be able to make it back home to be with our families so quickly, which meant we would be spending our first Thanksgiving away from them. It was very strange, kind of like Thanksgiving didn't happen, even though we were super blessed to spend it with another family who so lovingly invited us over. Still, there's no turkey like your mom's turkey =)...or in my case, Mom's dumplings and G's turkey!!

This year we were so excited and so fortunate to actually get to be home with our families for Thanksgiving. We flew in on Sunday afternoon and flew out on Friday morning. As always, time flew by and now we find ourselves asking what happened to Thanksgiving?? It was a fabulous trip home and we got to see so many (but not all) of our friends and family. We even got to meet new faces, like my sweet friend Kimberly's baby Noah.

It's amazing how even the littlest of events are big events when you only get to see your family a few times per year...like going to the orthodontist with my cousin, or stopping to eat at Chili's on the way home from the airport, or hitting Sonic's happy hour every single day just b/c you can! There are so many little moments that are really huge moments because they are spent with family.

Regretfully, we didn't get a ton of pictures this trip (too busy having fun I suppose) but we did get a ton of memories and just a few pictures to go along with that...


Hanging out with my family at Thanksgiving lunch #1. I cannot tell you how wonderful it was to see my Dad! He looks amazing, even better than when I saw him last July. Thanks so much to those of you who have been and continue to pray for him and our family. They are truly felt and appreciated =) And in case you don't recognize the dark headed chick on the floor, that's my little sister and her new hair color...I guess we do look alike after all!


Pictures of the grandkids...let me break this down for you...
Bottom row is Lauren (my sister) and Jared
Middle Row is me holding Zack (Jared's brother) and Josh holding Jacob (his son)
Top Row is of course my sweetie Derek and Brittney, Josh's wife who is expecting baby Jaxton in January!


Us with MawMaw Betty and Papa Howard at Thanksgiving lunch #2
We are so lucky that Mrs. Joanna hosts Thanksgiving at her house and invites her family as well as Mr. Darron's so that we get to have everyone together for Thanksgiving. I am so blessed with such a fabulous family of in-laws!!


This is one of those priceless "little moments" when Zack jumped in a pillowcase and announced that he was "Zack in a Sack" =)

And of course, after Turkey Thursday comes Black Friday. Allow me to elaborate for you. Our flight was scheduled to leave New Orleans at 7:00a.m. Knowing that I would only get a couple of hours of sleep anyway, my mom, my aunt, my sis, and myself decided to shop the night away. We started with the outlet mall in Gulfport, which opened at midnight. Sounded fun until we realized that of the thousands of people there, they were all concentrated in 5 stores! So we waited in only one drastically long line and then moved on to Old Navy. It was then 3:00a.m. and nothing else had really opened yet, so we found Sonic, ate breakfast, and then headed to New Orleans. Arriving at New Orleans around 4:50, we realized that we could probably hit Wal-Mart before traveling to the airport, so like the crazies we were, we did it. Grabbed a few Wal-Mart deals (what I could pack in a carry on suitcase) and arrived at the airport at 6:00a.m...what a night! I am not usually a good airplane sleeper, but I snoozed just fine on this occasion. It was a great night and I wouldn't trade it for anything!


My best Black Friday deal...a 24 Hour Sonic!!

So even though Thanksgiving has passed, I am constantly reminded to "give thanks in all things!" Thanksgiving is not just a holiday, it's an attitude and so thankfully, Thanksgiving can last all year long =)

Fly a Kite Photography Pics

Since we've been in Washington, we've been beyond blessed to make new friends and form new relationships. One of our friends is Dawn, who is also a photographer. She offered to take some pictures of us so that we could share them with our families. So a couple of weeks ago, she came down to Steilacoom and we had a little photo session. She is so talented and we were so excited that she wanted to use us as her "guinea pigs" in trying out her new camera. So here are a few of the pictures we took...Hope you enjoy =)

The Latest on Life Church

Warning: This is a pictureless post (hope you won't be too disappointed) =)

Hard to believe, but mid-October made one year since our move to the Northwest. Sometimes it feels like we just arrived while other times it feels like we've always lived here. We moved here in response to a burden placed on our hearts for the people of the Northwest, in particular, the city of DuPont. So much has happened in the last year and most recently, Life Church had gathering #3 this past Sunday night. I can't tell you a ton of specifics about it, but I will share what I know.

Well, first you may wonder why I don't know...the reason is because I spent Sunday night in "Gym Church" with the kiddos! Anyone who knows anything about me knows that I love kids, especially kids belonging to other people...you know, the kind you can have SO much FUN with, spoil like crazy, and then send them home? Yep, I love those kids! And I am perfectly aware that I will have kids of my own one day and someone will return the favor, but that day is not today =) Gym church was alot of fun...we had play time, snack time, story time, more snack time, and lots more play time! It was a blast!

Meanwhile, across the street, Life Church was happening. Our prayer focus for this month has been for the Holy Spirit to penetrate hearts and move people closer to God...we want people to leave Life Church unable to speak of anything but our Savior, and just anxious to tell someone else about Him. Although I don't know how many people were in the coffee shop, I do know of at least 6 faces that were new to our Sunday night gathering, several of which are getting involved with our small group Bible studies as well. We're so thankful that God continues to move people in our direction so that we can move people to His direction, which is, after all, the reason we're here, the reason we exist. Please keep praying for Life Church! Our next gathering will be December 20th...just 5 days away from the day we celebrate the birth of our Savior!