A Magical Christmas

If you're a southern girl like me, you hold tight to your traditions, especially holiday traditions. But this year, we broke tradition and didn't stay home for Christmas. Instead we went to Walt Disney World for the whole week. We chose to stay at the Wilderness Lodge Resort, a great decision! (But don't eat at the Whispering Canyon Cafe unless you like rearranging the ketchup bottles and working for the restaurant, even though you've paid a pretty penny for your meal.)

In spite of my being sick when we arrived, we managed to venture out to Epcot on Christmas Eve. Lunch at the Biergarten was delicious and worth every penny, especially since it included reservations for the Candlelight Procession. We were exploring the European roots of our Christmas traditions with a German meal and entertainment.

And after that, we kept tradition alive and worshipped our Savior with Christmas hymns and Gary Sinese's retelling of the real Christmas story through scripture.

On Christmas Day, (with much thanks to our niece Katie, who spent phone time and jumped over hurdles to secure our dinner reservation), we celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary as guests of the Beast in his castle at the Magic Kingdom. Why is that so important? Our first movie date was Beauty and the Beast and it's been a personal Disney movie favorite ever since. Through the years I've collected a few B&B items. (Just so you know, collecting sentimental things is a tradition of mine.) We splurged on an expensive and delicious meal (an anniversary tradition), toured the castle and hugged the Beast himself before we left. He's the host with the most, and well-mannered enough not to ask why I would dine in his fancy ballroom wearing jeans and sportin' such a messy, unkempt head of wind-blown hair.

So the next few days were spent hopping between parks and enjoying the holiday tradition of playing together. We even saw AG's real-life yellow monorail in action:

Some of our favorite rides were Rockn Roller Coaster, Soarin' (a relaxing ride full of ooohs and aaahs), Star Tours, and Test Drive. We always love visiting the Art of Animation, and this year they featured the artwork of Wreck-it Ralph. That Vanellope was sassy!

In the middle of all this playing and fun, bless her heart, Abby-girl got sick. So I fulfilled the time-honored tradition of being a mommy who stays with her child and brings her back to health. Everybody needs to be mommied. Traditional southern girls know this best of all. And there was still time for more Disney fun including Indiana Jones and C3PO--

At the end of our vacation week, which was full of traditions kept, we talked about the tradition of always being home for Christmas. Would we want to start a new tradition of traveling together for Christmas? The consensus was a resounding "No." Even though we had a wonderful, even magical time, we couldn't escape the sense that it still didn't feel like Christmas. We like being home, together, worshipping and celebrating the birth of our Savior. Home, it seems to us, has its own magical pixie dust.

It’s the Little Things: Walmart and the Mail

Some people are complex, difficult to understand and sometimes even difficult to please. Not me. I’m a simpleton. It only took Walmart and the U.S. Mail to make my week a good one.

This past week a Walmart Neighborhood Market opened where once stood my favorite Albertson’s. I think it had been empty for at least 5 years, and my daughter Abby and I never quite got over the loss. But whatever the case, my life just got better. Being a wife and Mom and an elementary school teacher leaves me with the weekend to shop, and now I can even do that quicker, and even on the way home from work, if I want. Life is good!

And that highlight was upstaged by the mail this past Thursday. The Bands of America 2011 Super Regional Finalists DVD arrived! And the stellar performance of my favorite band (with my favorite French Horn player) is on it. For any non-band people who don’t understand, think of it as the crowning moment for a soccer mom whose kid just performed in state-wide finals. A field of 60 teams across the state (and Texas is a HUGE state), competed in the Alamodome, advanced to the finals, and in the finals, placed 9th! Yep. Broke the top ten—a milestone. Now, I can’t share that polished Alamodome footage with you because it’s copyrighted (and I don’t want to go the way of Mr. Dotcom), but you can watch a practice run through of the performance here. The show highlights the emergence of the arts in Paris during the Renaissance. It’s a beautiful show, and we’ve already been put on notice that next season’s show will raise the bar even more. I can’t wait!

The Flower Mound

Everyone who lives here knows The Mound. A bump in the ground that once served as a landmark to guide farmers on their way to the marketplace, and before that, a sacred ceremonial ground for the Wichita Indians. Today, it's a protected, fenced area that offers a nice view of the Dallas Skyline on a clear day and often hosts special events. I've even taken my students there as part of a community field trip. But I think my favorite Mound experience is the annual Easter Sunrise Service.
Watching the sun rise as we worship on a most holy day sets the world straight again. I like being reminded of how blessed we are to have moved here twelve years ago.
And now, with this as my setting, I'll blog about our life here. Or at least, I'm going to try!