where our dreams came true

That's right - we are going to DISNEY WORLD in 2 weeks!!!!! Danny surprised me yesterday and told me that we are taking a last minute trip to Disney in Orlando, Florida! We have several friends that live in Orlando and work at Disney, so we are going to visit them and spend a few days at the parks. I can't wait! He has never surprised me like this before and I am about to burst at the seams. I've missed Disney so much! 

I've been wanting to go back ever since we got engaged. Danny and I met and started dating at Disney World back in 2007. We were both doing internships with Disney and neither of us have been back since! It will be so special to visit the place where we fell in love and all our dreams came true. It's going to bring back so many memories and I'm sure I will get emotional. This means so much to me and I really cannot wait. If it weren't for Disney, we would have never met and I would not be the person I am today!

"I only hope that we don't lose sight of one thing - that it was all started by a mouse." -Walt Disney

lately

I've been slacking in the blogging department lately. We don't have internet at our house (still! and we moved into our house in October!), so there are only a few times a week that I'm able to spend more than thirty minutes on the internet (besides on my iPhone which I wish was more compatible with blogger). So here are some updates on what we've been up to recently!

My sweet friend Jessica is due in July with her first baby boy! He is going to be spoiled rotten because she has so many people that already love him! Here is a picture of us at her church baby shower a few weeks ago.

Danny is completely entrenched in the World Cup right now. He is literally tivo-ing every single game for every team! He said that we are definitely going to the next World Cup in Brazil (in four years). Here is a picture of us watching the USA-Ghana game yesterday at the Alumni House. Costa Rica in not playing in the World Cup this year, so Danny was going for the USA until they lost yesterday. Now I think he wants Argentina to win...

The Alumni House has the most comfortable recliners that you can watch the game in! You can even order food and drinks and they will bring it to your chair. Danny was loving it.

Totally random picture. This is us at our friends Michael and Jill's wedding back in May at the Jackson Yacht Club.

And finally, what has been consuming all of free time recently:

No, we did not get a puppy. This is actually my mom's sweet little maltese, Bella. My parents went to Chicago for a week to visit my aunt Mary Pat and just got back last weekend. Danny and I kept Bella at our house while they were gone, and it was literally like caring for a child. She would wake us up at 1am, then 4am and then again 5:45am. We both work during the day, so I would go home on my lunch breaks to let her out. We normally do not spend that much time at home and we are always out and about doing different things - not the case with Bella! We spent almost all our time at home because we felt bad leaving her by herself. She was such a sweet puppy and we enjoyed keeping her, but I am glad their next vacation won't be anytime soon. This just re-affirmed that we are totally not ready for that kind of responsibility. But I do love love love sweet little Bella!

show us your life - my proposal

Danny proposed to me on July 14th, 2008. It was our one year anniversary and I knew we had dinner plans that evening, but I honestly didn't expect much else. I got home from work and our apartment was immaculate - I had never seen it that clean. Danny was lying on the couch watching tv...as calm as ever. He was acting so normal that I really thought we were just going to dinner!

Of course he suprised me with roses...

We went to dinner at Char (a local steakhouse), one of my favorite restaurants. I guess he couldn't contain himself any longer, because after the appetizers he proposed! He began by saying some really sweet things, and then pulled out the ring in front of everyone at the restaurant. I was so excited! We finished our dinner and enjoyed the moment between the two of us and then called our family and friends. My mom later told me that he had been at her house that day ironing his clothes for the evening and that he was so nervous! I never would have known.

Our proposal was sweet, simple and romantic. I love you, Hubby!

weekend festivities

I am still a little tired from our fun-filled weekend. Friday night was low key at our house because Danny was going to run his very first half-marathon on Saturday morning. He woke up around 4:15am on Saturday, and he woke me up around 5:00am. We got to the race right around 5:45am.  He was so excited!

This was right before the race - he was about to start lining up.

Out of nearly 1,000 runners, Danny finished in the top 100! He ran 13.1 miles in 2 hours and 6 minutes. I was SO proud of him! For some reason I was really emotional, and I had been standing in the hot sun at the finish line for nearly an hour, and when I saw him cross the finish line I started crying. I was just so happy for him because I knew he had been training so hard for this.

Sitting down after the race - he was exhausted! It was so hot [and humid] outside. It was probably around 90 degrees. Congratulations, Hubby!!!

We went home around 9:30am and just laid around and watched the World Cup the rest of the day. We were having a party at our house that night, so we started cleaning up the house and getting everything ready. It was a "backyard BBQ" party, so we setup the patio and had snacks out for everybody.

Danny firing up the grill.

This is a picture I took with my phone later in the night. There were probably about 20 people at our house. It was so fun! We invited all the neighbors on our cul-de-sac and I think everyone enjoyed themselves.

So here is the funny part: I went to the grocery store on Saturday to get all the food/supplies for the party. I got hamburger meat, ground turkey, lettuce, tomatoes, corn, etc. Later that night when the food was off the grill and everyone was getting ready to eat I started to put all the toppings out. I put out sliced tomatoes, ketchup, mustard, cheese, lettuce, buns and mayo. Well, when Danny was making his burger he put on all the toppings and took a bite. He immediately spit out his bite and looked down at the lettuce...which wasn't lettuce at all. I bought CABBAGE at the grocery store and thought it was lettuce! Everyone started dying out laughing, and our neighbors said they didn't want to say anything because they thought that maybe we just liked RAW cabbage on our burgers! I was so embarrassed but it was also really funny.

Overall, it was a great weekend. Thanks everyone for coming!

show us your life - china patterns

This week on Show Us Your Life it's china patterns. When we got married I didn't register for any fine china - I just knew we would never use it. I registered for my everyday dishes which are the Good Earth Pottery (made by a Mississippian).

We have the Bluebird pattern.

We mixed the Bluebird plates and gumbo bowls with Casafina mugs and cereal bowls.

For our wedding gift, Danny's parents gave us a full set of handpainted china from Costa Rica. It is beautiful and so unique! I wish I had pictures, but all I have is this picture of them in our china cabinet.

Also on the right side of this picture, you'll see dishes stacked next to mugs. I inherited these dishes from my grandmother, Nannie, and I love them. They have sentimental value to me.

Thanks for stopping by! :)

our weekend

We're having a BBQ party at our house this weekend and we're inviting all the neighbors on our cul-de-sac. We moved into our house last October and are still settling in (believe it or not, it takes forever). It is a new neighborhood filled with starter homes, and most of our neighbors are in their twenties or early thirties (lots of newlyweds). Since moving into our home we've had several parties with our friends, but we haven't really gotten to know our neighbors besides the casual small-talk you have when checking your mailbox. So I am really excited to have everyone over this weekend! Danny cut our grass yesterday and will finish weeding and edging they yard today. We also bought new outdoor furniture because the set we were using was from when I was in college and it was time for an update. I also put little invitations in our neighbors mailboxes yesterday. Now all I have to do is clean the house - yikes.

Danny is also running his first half-marathon on Saturday! He has been practicing every single day and I know he is going to do great. We bought him new running shoes and everything ;) I think he inherited his athleticism from his dad - he's been running marathons since Danny was 2 years old.

Please say a prayer that everything goes well! I will take lots of pictures and will share them with you on Sunday.

peaceful

Today was just a normal day. Nothing unusual.

But for some reason, I really felt the Lord's presence all day. He showed Himself to me numerous times today, and I couldn't help but to just feel joyful.

When I felt the hot summer breeze on my skin I smiled.

I then thought about my life, my family, and told Him how grateful I am.

I was able to meet my husband briefly for lunch and seeing his face reminded me of how lucky I am to have him in my life.

Every person I encountered today has been pleasant and kind. I managed to avoid worrying and stressing over nothing.

Thank you, Lord, for giving me days like these.

sweet summertime

One of the blogs that I often read is The Little Princess Diaries. She recently gave birth to her second daughter, and I love reading about their little adventures. She is on maternity leave right now and recently wrote a post about how much she loves spending the summer with her girls.

And that made me think: if I do not have the luxury of being a SAHM with my children (which I hope I will be!) then I definitely want to take my maternity leave during the summer and plan my pregnancy accordingly. I know this sounds crazy - it will probably just happen when it happens - but if I have any control over it I think that being off during the summer with my baby would be ideal. How relaxing does it sound to be poolside all summer with nothing to do but read and be with my baby?

I do have to say that God is the authority on when we will have children, and only He knows when the timing is right. I trust in Him to guide us and know that whatever happens is in His will.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you," declares the Lord, "and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you," declares the Lord, "and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile." - Jeremiah 29:11-14

our big vacation

After talking about it for nearly a year and a half, we finally planned [and booked] our big vacation. We will be spending a week in Jamaica in September! We are staying at the Sandals Grande Ocho Rios...it is all-inclusive and it's also a couples resort which means no kids (I do love children but it will be nice to a have an adult vacation). I've been to Jamaica once before when I was 15 and we stayed at Beaches, which is the family counterpart to Sandals. I can't wait to experience it as an adult with my husband.

We are so excited! It took a little persuading to get Danny to come around since he hates spending money, but I think he knows that once we have kids we won't be as likely to take vacations like this. I added a little countdown to the top of my blog and realized that we are leaving in 3 months! I just can't contain my excitement. The last time I have been out of the country was my trip to Costa Rica in March 2008.

Beside all the activities available on the resort (scuba diving, sailing, kayaking) there are tours operated offsite by third parties. We're going to do the Bob Marley 4x4 Jeep Tour which takes you through the mountains to St. Ann's Parish where he lived...you even get to see his house! Danny loves Bob Marley so he is so excited about this tour.

Let the countdown begin :)