December 2014 Update

Oh, December! You whirlwind, you. Let’s back up and start at the beginning.

The Elf. Since I let the cat out of the bag about Santa I was hoping to be relieved of my nightly duty to move the elf. Because, well, I suck at remembering to do it. Except that tLG still expects it to move. Even though she knows it’s not real. It’s all about the chase. Something new to look forward to every day. I should have known. Lordy. So, once again I had to ask Siri to please remind me every night at 9:30 pm to “Move The Thing.” Y’all have no idea how much I depend on Siri. Seriously.

Archery. Somebody managed to watch Hunger Games over Thanksgiving break. And then somebody proceeded to ask me about archery nonstop until I found an archery range. Turns out that somebody seems to have a natural talent for archery. By the end of our first lesson, somebody was shooting arrows into the long target with the big bow. And now somebody is having their birthday party at the archery range next month. Because somebody wanted a Minecraft party and there are bows and arrows in Minecraft.

Me? My arm looked like this when I was done. I don’t think I was doing something right. Ouch!

Birthday. I turned 35 this month. Yes, I’m actually admitting my age. I have claimed to be turning 25 for the past 10 years. It’s been a running joke in our family. But, for some reason, I actually feel good about turning 35. I’ve been doing a lot of reflecting lately. I think back to the person I was at 25 and cringe. I’m not convinced that 30 was much better. The Lord has been hard at work these last 5 years and I am thankful. Each day I am becoming more and more comfortable in my own skin. I am more patient and slower to speak and act. I’ve figured out what makes me tick, where my comfort zone is, what pushes my buttons, and how I cope with the uncomfortable. Most importantly I’m learning to embrace the uncomfortable because I’ve been shown enough times that God will use that circumstance to stretch and grow me. Now, I could be dead wrong here, but I think 35 is going to be a good year. Because, for starters, We. Went. To. DISNEY!!!

Disney. This trip got planned after a few casual text messages between me and my Nashville bestie discussing how much we love Disney. So we decided to go together. At Christmas! Let’s see. “The most magical place on Earth” at the “most wonderful time of the year” with my most favorite people? Yes please! The best part? Victoria loves Disney even more than I do and basically planned our entire vacation. It was like I had my own professional Disney planner. Disney will have  to have it’s own recap post but here are just a few teaser photos. Seriously, you just can’t beat Christmas at Disney!

Christmas. I let tLG open her big gift before we left on vacation (camo luggage) and she opened her stocking on our last night in Disney. Tucked inside were tickets to the Clearwater Animal Marine Hospital. You may recall that this kid claims she is going to work there when she grows up and is enamored with the Dolphin Tale movies. So she was thrilled to meet Winter + Hope in real life. After a little layover in Clearwater we made the trek back to Nashville. My girl really is a fantastic traveler!

And now we are getting ready to welcome 2015. I can hardly believe it. For one last look at December photos, click here.