Happy Mother's Day!!

Happy Mother's Day!!!

Me and my pretty mom!!

Today is Mother's day and I am way blessed with two amazing ladies in my life for moms, one is my mom Linda, and the other is my mother-in-law Adri. I am so thankful and happy that I can learn from them and grow from them. Both are wonderful women of God and have set wonderful examples of how to be loving wives and how to take care of a household.  I'm pretty darn blessed, plus, with genes and looks like they have, Jeremy and I'll have some good looking kids! Can't go wrong there! ;-)  So thank you to both of you for being role models, giving advice, cooking with me, shopping with me, and loving on me.  You two are the best mothers I could ask for. :-)  I will see you both later this week!!

Here are 5 things I love about each of my moms (just a taste, so you know how cool they are)

Linda

1. She loves God with a fierceness that is topped by almost nothing

2. She loves kids and teaching (I got the bug from her)

3.  She told me to do what I loved and always encouraged me

4. She taught me how to walk with God and how to pray

5. She taught me how important it is to enjoy and get manicures and pedicures once in a while ;-)

Adri

1.  She loves God with a quiet passion that amazes you 

 Adri, Jeremy, me, Ron! 

2. She is an AMAZING home maker in that she can cook ridiculously well, loves her husband, and manages to stay on top of everything in the house on top of keeping up a bee hive and vineyard (I'm exhausted just thinking about it)

3. she does cool things like having a vineyard, garden, and bee keeping, as something she does for herself.

4. She thinks through her advice, and actually listens to you, and allows you time to process what you say and is crazy wise and smart.

5. That she volunteers and is involved in her community, and loves on those around her.

Happy Mother's Day again to Linda and Adri, I love you both and you two are awesome! Also Happy Mother's Day to anyone else who is a mother, or an expectant mother, I hope you have a blessed day, and know that even if your kids don't always show it, God is always pleased with you and loves you loads.

Countdowns:

1 day till Busch Gardens

2 days till I leave Florida for Texas

4 days till I see my husband!!!!!

21 days till I start camp

77 days till I get to join Jeremy to wherever he has break or placement

Love you all and God bless, we just got back from the beach so I'm going to go shower!

Am

Yesterday was my birthday!!! Woot woot!

Hey ya'll!

Ready for Universal with my rainbow watch!

So yesterday was my birthday and it was AWESOME. Most definitely a day of blessings, I think God and the universe got together and was like, 'this chick is missing her hubby and it's her birthday, let's make it extra awesome'.  We woke up at 6:30 since we wanted to get to Universal Studios near opening, and to do that we needed some coffee power, so we stopped by Starbucks and I got a Carmel Frappachino, it was pretty good.  The lady found out it was my birthday and gave me a free cake pop.  It was pretty rich but pretty darn delicious.  On the way there I finished a book I had gotten the day before at the library called Firelight, quite grand. Loved it. 

Me and my birthday button!!

Anyways, so we get to Universal, and at the gate we tell the lady that it's my birthday and so she gave me a birthday button!! With my name and everything that said "today is my birthday" so all day people were extra nice to me, let me go in the front of the line to skip a huge wait, one time they announced it over the intercom and so a huge roomful of people applauded for my birthday. I felt super loved. PLUS, I was hanging out with my Aunt Sara and Cousin Court all day, so that was pretty fantastic. I'd never been to Universal before and so was nervous about getting everything done in one day because there are two parks, Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure.  (It was totally doable, we actually left a few hours before the park closed).

The Forbidden Journey Ride...saweet!:-)

There wasn't a ton of people there which was really nice, so there wasn't a long wait, except for the Forbidden Journey ride which was a 45 minute way, so we went in the single riders line, and instead of a 45 minute wait, it was a 3 minute wait...AWESOME! Then we went again, but it made us a little sick since we had just ate lunch at Mythos.  
All the rides were really cool, and in the afternoon we went to HP world, which was fantastic as well, smaller than I expected, I don't think they thought size of shops and stuff through as parts were a tad crowded, but I'm fairly small so I just slid through. :-) We walked right into one shop and were looking around and had some fun, and then exited and saw this huge line.  I asked someone what they were in line for and they were in line for the same shop that we had just waltzed right into. ::Smile::. It was a pretty busy day and I got to ride some fantastic roller coasters and even rode some on my own. 

In line for a ride!

BUTTERBEER!!!

We also were able to try the infamous Butterbeer. Hilarious story, you can get Butterbeer frozen or normal, and so we got two frozen and one normal and the lady gave me two straws, so I put one in the frozen for Courts and I went to put it in mine, but then for some reason put it in aunt sara's. Well, the way it is made with foam and stuff means you shouldn't put a straw in, so we're trying to take a picture at Hogshead in Hogsmeade and Aunt Sara's drink is volcanoing, just foaming over everywhere. It was hilarious.  I think I like my version of Butterbeer better than theirs though, I was pretty excited to find that out. :-D  We also had fantastic luck, because we'd get somewhere and there would be like next to no line and then after we'd leave or be in line the line would be huge, so we had some favor :-)  I think it was because of the super cool watches Court and I bought the other day, I have a rainbow watch and she has a batman watch, both light up....because we're awesome. 

Me and the map and a great make-up day. Love those.

When we came home, exhausted from a truly magical birthday, I saw a package and two letters on the table for me.  Gift from my parents and two letters from my husband.  Now, Jeremy was in BEAST week all last week, so I haven't gotten a letter in a while, so for my first one in a while to be on my birthday, well it was definitely the icing on the cake. I really enjoy getting love letters in the mail, I've fallen more in love with my husband in the past two months than I expected, due to these letters and things God's done in my life, AND I get to see him in 6 days.  I am a happy camper.  So while I'm finishing up reading these letters a random number calls my phone so I pick it up, and guess whose voice I heard on the other end?  Jeremy's. O my word, tears just streamed down my face, somehow he was able to call me and wish me a happy birthday. 
All in all, a wonderful magical, lovely, dessert filled birthday,
Thank you all for the birthday wishes and love,
I hope you have a whimsical Friday,
Am

Florida Dreaming

Hello friends,

Court and I on the boat!

I'm just sitting here in my Florida abode as the sun streams in through my windows.  I'm pry not going to do much today as I had quite the adventurous weekend.  We went to Key West, taking a 3 level boat. It was pretty intense. We had to leave our house at 5 in the morning, and at 8 in the morning our boat left the dock and got up to a pretty nice speed. 
 At one point, Court and I decided to go upstairs to get some sun and read, these two college guys were toasted, just wasted at 8 AM!! At 8 am all I will ever be drinking is one of three things: 
1. Chocolate soy milk
2. Apple Juice, or 
3. Orange Juice (pulp free, the pulpy kind weirds me out)

Red Tide...weird right?

At Key West we were planning on doing some hardcore snorkeling, but turns out that the red tide was in, which means the red algae was all over the beach and the first 30 ft of the ocean. It was pretty intense, so we did the touristy stuff.  Court and I headed over to the shipwreck museum and were able to look over the top most pier, where people would yell "WRECK ASHORE" when boats were in trouble because then Key Westers would go and save the people and take the treasure.  Pirates/rescuers/opportunists.  I was actually able to buy a necklace that was from a shipwreck, pretty darn cool if you ask me.  To be honest I never really buy myself anything, I think because I've always been nervous about how it looks spoiling yourself, but I've been learning lately that it's okay to get things that you really want once in a while, especially if you've been saving for it, or if it's just a special something.  Happy birthday to myself (I've been saying that quite a bit lately, ::sheepish smile::).  The only other thing I've bought for myself was my Poi and I'm in love with those, so I'm not apologizing to anyone.  Yay for confidence in my choices!

Me with the shrimp

          The other really cool thing that I did this weekend is I fed a sting ray. Actually not one. Multiple. A whole tank of them.  I fed them shrimp from my hand. IT WAS AWESOME.  
Granted their stingers were removed, but it was one of the coolest things I've done. While I was doing it, I said, "It reminds me of feeding an elephant" the people around me looked at me with confusion and I said "Because Sting Rays and elephants suck it up into their mouth/trunk to eat it, it feels similar in my hand" then I laughed at the analogy, only I would make that connection. :-) (For those who don't know, I turn into a 12 year old girl when I get really excited about things, this leads to a smile the size of a half moon on my face, my eyes as wide as golf balls, and rambling from me about how cool _____ is) .

This was a pretty big thing for me, feeding these sting rays. Now, as some of you know, I'm slightly terrified by water, and by slightly terrified, I mean for years I could not be in a pool alone or even by myself on a certain side of the pool for fear that a spirit would drag me under water (I'll explain in another post). 
I would like to say that for the first time in 12+ years I was in a pool, all by myself.  No one was around, and although pretty scary. I was fine.  I ended up getting out 5 minutes later because the water was cold, but that's besides the point. I'm pretty darn proud of myself.  See what I'm wearing?  That's my big girl pants. :-)

Also, last thing before I make this post into a novela, is that since I was three years old, I have wished to be a mermaid on my birthday, I'm fairy sure 17/22 birthdays have been mermaid wishes, at least last year was ;-) ANYWAYS. I found out this past week that you can BE a mermaid. It's possible.  They make monofins, so instead of two fins, it's just one, and then they make tails that go over them, so YOU CAN BE A MERMAID. There are people who do this professionally, they have a tail and do birthday parties, and help to raise money for the environment, and the oceans, and they swim and look gorgeous.  I also found out about a mermaid camp that TEACHES YOU HOW TO BE A MERMAID. Um yes. 
So, not this year, and maybe not next, but at some point in time, I will get a monofin, and either sew my own, or buy a mermaid tail, and become a mermaid.  And here something I thought I would never be able to cross off my list, has just become cross-off-able.

Umm, Yes.

Jeremy wrote me a poem he loves in response to me talking about how ridiculous some of my dreams are, feeling shot down, and trying to be confident in where I feel God has led me, and how people think I'm just a dreamer and that I should focus on 'real jobs' and 'reality':

We are the music makers

We are the dreamers of dreams

Wandering by sea breakers

aside desolate streams

world changers and world breakers

on whom the pale moon gleams

we are the movers and shakers

of the world forever, it seems

Best husband ever. One thing (out of many) that I was blessed with growing up was parents that told me to find my dreams and chase after them, not blindly, don't be a fool, but find what God has seeded into your heart as your desire, and then go for it, and don't let people who aren't chasing their dreams spoil the thrill of achieving your own.  I have done many things, most have been dreams or helping someone else with theirs, (China was Jer's, I was pretty nervous).  I hope in reading this post (and I think I'm going to write about Dreams in a post coming up, as I have some cool stuff that's been on my heart) that you think about what your heart wants, and what desire God has put in your heart.  Maybe it's growing a vineyard or bee keeping like my lovely mother-in-law, or maybe it's helping children discover the glory of God like my mom, or breaking a world record on a unicycle like my awesome dad, or going to the Air Force like my husband.  Whatever your dream is, go after it.  If you want to be a mermaid, practice swimming, if you want to write a book, set aside time.  Go after it, because if you don't.  Then you won't. And your dream will either become dormant, or eat away at you.  

Take faith, God will not give us temptations OR DREAMS that we can not accomplish or handle. 

Chase after those dreams,

Amber Jane