Happy New Year! Last month was a lot of wonderful accented with heavy moments of fully leaning on the Lord. It's beautiful how God uses trials to show us what truly matters in life. More about that later.
For now, let's talk about some sparkles of sunshine!
Katie was chosen to perform in the Nutcracker with the Moscow Ballet- one last time. (She'll be too tall next year.) She was a Party Girl and a Mouse. I believe this experience will be a defining moment for my sweet girl. She absolutely loved every single moment. "Spasiba" and "Nyet" are words she'll never forget.
My husband had business in Florida and kindly asked if we'd like to join him. A snow storm, car trouble, flight cancellations and more made it quite the journey. We still managed to smile- most of the time.
We did some Christmas shopping and sightseeing in Kansas City. Nordstrom, The Cheesecake Factory and Country Club Plaza. There are certainly worse places to get stuck!
The window displays were delightful.
How cute is this??!
My favorite Starbucks- with a double sided fireplace. This is the outside portion- under a beautiful tree! It was much too cold to sit and enjoy, though. Inside was packed!
Anthropologie. It's inspiring just walking through their stores! Creative genius, to be sure.
Mugs and ornaments!
Coziness.
Lights were everywhere. The fairies had been busy!
I'm now on instagram! Are you? Leave your name and I'll follow you.
After delays and de-icing we finally made it to Chicago. Did I mention that we sat on the plane for 3 hours until they finally let us leave? It was CA-razy. Then we missed our connecting flight. But look at the beauty that awaited us inside the airport! Chicago, you took my breath away...
We slept 4 hours at a hotel-in our clothes- and were thankful. Everyone we spoke with (most had missed flights) were in good spirits. A man was convincingly dressed as Santa on the shuttle. He was quite jolly like Santa, too. That put a little smile in my heart.
We finally made it to Florida. Happily, we headed to the movies to see The Book Thief with my Dad. It was very good- but the book was better. It seems that's always the case.
It was so good to have a happy ending to our airplane adventure. Oh, but I have much more to share with you...
I've been wondering what my Lori has been up to! Love the pics, so glad to be updated with them! Looking forward to part 2. I once again have an empty nest (as of yesterday) Timmy's wife may come and stay a day or two before she rejoins him in El Paso Texas for 3 years....They should both be meeting up there after graduation in a week or two. ;). I am on Instagram ( of course) I actually have two accounts- my outdoor account is pnw_shutterbug ( you have to add the underscore) my more bloggy/personal account is The_robins_nest. I just started that one to get myself more creative indoors! Love you!
ReplyDeleteHello my long lost friend!! LOVED reading this post and catching up with you and the family!! Girls are getting so beautiful!! Still LOVE Mandys smile!! My Kaitlin is stuck here too!! LOL She is freaking out about work!! She re booked a flight that takes her to Alabama and then up to Connecticut Cleveland is totally closed!! I am in silent prayer here!! Glad to catch up a bit!! Love stories like that surving together as a family!! Take care and Happy New Year!! Love ya Fran.
ReplyDeleteHey Lori! Long time no talk. Ha ha ha! I hope you guys had a wonderful Christmas and a wonderful start in the new year. I also hope you guys had a safe trip to Florida and back home safely. How was your vacation? I bet the weather was gorgeous in Florida! You should come to California sometime! It's really great out here especially where I live. Oh! and is the Book Thief good? My mom has been dying to see it but we hadn't had the time to treat her out to go see it.
ReplyDelete-Rhoda
Robin- It has been a real roller coaster ride but God has been with us every step of the way. I know you had the most wonderful Christmas but I bet it feels good to have your space back as your own again. My parents were here for 2 weeks and it was fabulous. Going to follow you soon! Lori
ReplyDeleteFran- I'm sure you are loving Kaitlin's extended stay! It is so frustrating when the airlines aren't working, though! Hope things are starting to fall into place for your sweetie pie and that she doesn't have issues with her job. So good to hear from you! :) Lori
ReplyDeleteHi Rhoda!- Florida was amazing once we got there. It was a bit of a struggle travel wise bit so worth it! Mandy wants to come for a visit to California to see YOU! Wouldn't that be amazing!! The Book Thief is a wonderful movie and I think you and your mom would really enjoy it. It's much "softer" than the book as the story is rough but so wonderful. Does that make sense? Lori
ReplyDeleteHey Lori! I totally would like to meet all of you as a family. I'm sure my family would like to meet you as well! I am always excited to read your posts about all of your travels. Good luck and have a safe trip!
ReplyDeleteHi Lori, so glad you battled the weather and made it to Florida. Looks like you had a great time in 'Part 1' despite the travel chaos. I always enjoy seeing Katie in her beautiful dance costumes, Mandy's lovely smile and your Dad is such a fun person, love him and love you :) Lindsay x
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