Lately

I haven't written in awhile because March has been such an eventful month!  Friday night I got to speak to the ladies at McLaurin Heights Baptist Church in Pearl, MS.  There isn't much that I enjoy more than a bunch of ladies getting together and visiting.  Everyone was so nice and welcoming and I just enjoyed getting to know them so much.  I had big plans of taking a lot of pictures, but alas this is the lone picture that I have as evidence of this event.  The piano in the fellowship hall reminded me of the churches I went to growing up.   It felt like home to me and I loved it.

I spoke about dealing with stress, setting healthy limits, and how God can bring something good from even the hardest of times.  I'll share some more about what I spoke about later this month.  The time I spent preparing for the event over the past couple of weeks was really good for my heart and was a refreshing reminder of the way God provides.  Also, a big thanks to my friend Susan for coming with me and driving me because there is not a time in life when I get much crazier than during the last few minutes I spend in the car before a speaking event!

Earlier this month Will and I set out on a 10 day spring break trip.  This is by far the longest trip that we've been on together and it was quite the adventure.  First, we made a quick stop in Mobile and spent the night with our friends Afri and Joey.  Then we headed down to Naples, FL to visit with our friends Matt and Emilee.  We had the best time visiting, the beach was beautiful, and Emilee is an awesome cook so we ate an abundance of great food.

Next, we headed back up to Orlando and Will and I spent a day at Harry Potter world.  It would be strange for a lady of my age to carry on about a love of Harry Potter, so I'll just say that at one point HP world was so magical that it moved me to tears of emotion and I'll leave it at that.  Later that night Will's parents and two younger brothers met us in Orlando for dinner and we spent the next four days at Disney World.  I can't say enough about what a great time we had.  I haven't been to Disney World in several years, and I'm happy to report it was looking better than ever.  Will's mom, Lisa, and I found so many opportunities to laugh at those four guys while we were hustling around the parks.  Oh, we laughed so much and had so much fun.

It seems like my physical abilities have taken a turn for the worst in the last seven years.  I don't remember my feet hurting at all the last time I was at Disney, but I cannot describe how much my feet hurt by the middle of our first afternoon.  I had worn some snazzy white and gold new balance sneakers in an attempt to be practical, but they let me down in the worst way.  Since it was literally impossible to carry on in that condition, the real highlight of the trip came when I paid $45 for these.

Yes, those are Mickey Mouse Crocs.  I'm sure the tan young ladies in their cute shorts and midriff tops couldn't help but be jealous of me.  Just for the record, I read several articles that highly suggested the Croc as a Disney shoe and they definitely did the job.  I guess you do what you have to do when three full days of Disney are ahead of you.

One night we watched the fireworks show in Magic Kingdom and I thought about where I was in life the last time I watched that show.  I was a junior in college, I hadn't met Will yet, and the thought of being a counselor had never crossed my mind.  I thought of the things that I hoped for back then and of all of the things that have happened since, and I couldn't help but feel awfully thankful.  I really did have this sentimental thought process during the Magic Kingdom fireworks show amongst all the crying children who had reached their limit of Disney magic for the day.

We actually took some pictures of our trip!

And that's what I've been up to lately! During April I will be guest writing for the Mississippi Women Bloggers blog all month.  The theme is "renew" and I'm excited about the things I'm thinking of writing about.  Be sure to check out my first post here today!

Whitney