Today is the perfect day to cozy up with your favorite children’s book and read to your littles❤️
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A little history ➡️
International Children’s Book Day is celebrated on the birthday of the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. He wrote some of our favorite children’s stories, ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes’, ‘The Little Mermaid’ , ‘The Ugly Duckling’ and ‘The Princess and the Pea’.
Happy Mermaid Day 🧜♀️
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Those who have birthdays today must be part mermaid right? Our beautiful niece celebrates her birthday today so we think it’s totally true!!
“Unless there is Good Friday in your life , there can be no Easter Sunday ” -Fulton J.Sheen
Yesterday was Good Friday . It’s a somber day remembering the sacrifice that was made for all of us. I often want to fast forward and focus on the celebration part of Jesus’ Resurrection instead of sitting in the uncomfortable space of what took him to the cross and what he endured for my sake and yours.
We decided to watch the Passion of Christ as a family last night and oh my was it hard to watch. The movie starts with Jesus and his disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane praying to God intensely asking him to take this cup from him but if not then his will be done. These moments of prayer are gut intrenched and brings you to your knees. These were the moments I would think any human part of Jesus knowing the sacrifice he would make asked for it to not be that way but still willing to do it if it was the Fathers will.
A few moments later , Jesus is betrayed and then arrested . As the disciples start to fight back , one of them cut off a guards ear . You see the guard in such agony and Jesus gently touches his ear and heals him in that moment. The other guards called to have him help them but all he could do was sit there in awe. I couldn’t help but to think about that scene . What was the guard feeling coming into the scene to arrest Jesus?How did he feel when his ear was cut off? What did he think when this man he came to arrest touched him and healed his ear? I wonder how that changed the guards life after that moment?
The progression to the cross begins and you see our Savior beat and spit on by his own people . We witnessed the scene where one of his disciples that walked with him ,denied him three times in a short time . We saw the dilemma of Pontius Pilot and the struggle he had with pleasing others and maintaining his position while also having the sound wisdom of his wife play against those.
Pilot commissions for Jesus to be disciplined to please the people but tells his guard to not bring death. The beating that came from the Roman Soldiers was difficult to watch .Those persecuting him wanting him to die and be crucified watched as the skin was tore from his back . We couldn’t help but turn away and stopped the movie at this point. It was so hard to watch .
One moment that really struck me through the movie was the way Jesus responded. He didn’t fight back,he didn’t ask his followers to fight ,he instead told them to put their weapons away, he didn’t curse or put them down and he didn’t try to run away or talk his way out of it . He willingly took it all.
I often think if I was living during that time , how would I have responded? Would I have been so caught up in the crowd cheering for his death? Would I have been a follower that loved him but when this time came deny him in front of others in fear of what they may do to me? Or would I have fought, trying to take on the whole world even though this was foretold ?
This weekend is way more then just celebrating .. it’s also about remembering all that his sacrifice was .
We were excited to be visiting San Diego for the first time and knew we wanted to stay close to the water and close to Sea World. The Hyatt Mission Bay Spa and Marina was an easy choice since it met both of our criteria.
We arrived later in the evening to check into our room. First impression …The hotel lobby was beautiful and welcoming. They had valets out when we pulled up as well as a luggage clerk on the ready .
The foyer was beautifully decorated, clean and welcoming.
At check in , they offered to upgrade us to a tower room with a marina view for a minimal cost. We considered it but asking more questions we realized it would not meet our needs so we declined. We then went over our details of the room we booked and at this point knew something was not right. It took quite awhile while the employee tried to work it out and then went to get a manager . When they returned , we were told the room we booked was not available that it was under renovation.
The manager offered us the tower room with a king bed and sleeper sofa or they could try to get the a room we booked together while we waited. We chose to wait to get the room ready so we would have the space we had planned on. We were exhausted from traveling and had already had a full day of adventures and were ready to just relax and swim.
After about 45min-1hour we went back to see the progress and the room was still not ready . At this point we were approaching 9 at night so we took the the first option the Manager Monica had offered us . It was a Tower room and she had a rollaway bed brought in as well.
She also offered us a room credit for breakfast for our whole family for the duration of our stay . She was amazing.She stayed calm and professional and tried to make the experience a good one despite all that had happened.
Upon entering the room we were quite surprised at the amount of space ! It fit us perfectly and had plenty of room even with a rollaway being brought in. I wish we would have asked to see it earlier vs waiting. It was more then enough space , clean and had stunning views.
Finally, we were ready to head to pool and relax a bit before bed .
Waking up the next day was breathtaking! The view of the Marina and the sun rise was spectacular and one of our favorite memories overall! It’s amazing at all the beautiful colors of the sky that God paints it.
We headed down to the breakfast buffet that was included with our stay ,courtesy of the manger. The event room was clean, well lit and nicely decorated. There was an assortment of fruit, muffins , cereal, bagels, as well as eggs, potatoes ,bacon and sausage . The waitstaff were all super friendly and attended all of our drink request. At one point in the meal, they came around with little shooters of fruity mock-tails to try which the kids loved!
This was our first experience with a Hyatt Hotel .The Hyatt Mission Bay Spa and Marina was conveniently located to Sea World , a beautiful hotel and had stunning views. Overall, we would love to try this hotel again under normal circumstances. At the time we traveled,many airports were shut down and guest were over extending their stay which is why there were not as many options for the other available rooms. If you are looking to stay in San Diego then we would recommend this hotel . The Manager,Monica,went above and beyond to provide great customer service.
Update:We did contact the hotel as well as Costco travel to let them know what had happened and they graciously took care of us. I value companies that take responsibility and make it right. We are looking forward to staying at another Hyatt .
Today is the first official day of Spring🌷Time to plan gardens, update yards, get fresh bark, clean out the coops and enjoy the sunshine ☀️
Happy St. Patrick’s Day ☘️
Wear green and celebrate today
Carlsbad beach is simply breathtaking 🌊
The view captured there was absolutely amazing!
There were surfers 🏄 riding the waves as the sun was setting which was so fun to watch.
The ocean was captivating as the tide started to move in and we couldn’t help but get caught by it as it came in. Such a beautiful moment ❤️ I wish we would have had a whole day here just to enjoy it .
Having an inviting table doesn’t have to be super fancy . You can take a few things to make a beautiful setting that is practical and inviting.
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The memories , conversations , plans, school work and sharing of life that happens around a table is immeasurable. It is essentially the hub of a home. A place to gather , cry , work out life and laugh ❤️
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I do wonder if every grain in the wood of this table could contain all of it. Would the grain lines of the wood be darker when there were years scorched by fire or hardships ,would the grain have lines wider in years being well watered and flourishing in love or have thinner lines in years of drought ? Interesting to think about what it would hold.
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What ever season you are in , remember it’s just that a season. Take time to enjoy your family or a friend around your table. Invite them to linger and stay a little bit longer. Savor the grain lines that are forming 🍁
“she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest.”
Proverbs 6:8 ESV
Thunder Mountain fun✨
This has been a bucket list adventure since I was a little girl watching Hee Haw ⭐️We had the opportunity to go visit @opry and do a backstage tour.
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Upon arriving,you are ushered into this beautiful room that is rich with history all over the walls.To see some of Country Musics Performers ,past and present is amazing.
You are then greeted by a virtual Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood as they walk you through the Opry’s history and how it all started.Seeing the past performances is priceless✨
It was also pretty cool to learn how they brought the wood circle from the Ryman with them when they moved.For performers, it is the highlight if their career to step onto the circle ✨The Opry has a limited amount of performers that get asked to become a member of the Opry . It is a lifetime achievement moment for those that are asked.
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It was so amazing to see the look at the @opry through the years. It totally took me back to watching the show sitting with my Grandma & Grandpa and the sweet memories⭐️
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If you are visiting @nashvilletn then you need to put this on your list⭐️
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a few tips .. DO NOT BUY ONLINE we figured this out the hard way . We bought tickets online and the service fee was slot more then if you just buy on property. The only time it would benefit you to buy online is if you are on a strict timeframe and need to plan your visit .
