Last night, I just couldn't seem to quiet my mind. I think it was all because of one thing: I purchased our plane tickets to Portugal!! I am so excited! And today I will be reserving a room for us at the fabulous hotel I've found! Having this completed really makes it seem real that Don will be back with me before too long! Now, just to wait...but I'm getting good at that!
It might take me a while, but I truly believe I could think of 14,000 things to be happy about right now! Thank you, God, for all of Your incredible blessings! Even though my husband is far away, he is safe & doing amazing things! And God is continuing to bless us each day! I will always remind myself of these 14,000 things when I begin to feel gloomy ♥
So while I couldn't sleep, one thing I did was that I created a bit of a new look for my blog! Most everything is the same, but you will notice anew image at the top. This is perhaps my veryfavorite photo from our wedding two & a half years ago. Wow, where has the time gone?! I love this photo of us. I think that it perfectly captures our love, Don's dedication to our country, & the wonderful relationship we have together! If only I could crop Layla & Lucius beautifully into the photo, we'd be set, right?! They could be peeking in from one side... On second thought, I think it's perfect just as it is :)
I've been wanting to do this for a while, & I love the way that it turned out! Let me know what you think! Happy Sunday, everyone!
I woke up this morning to one of my favorite things: a thunderstorm. It made me want to pull my duvet up around me & snuggle in for a bit more sleep. But the doggies had other ideas. Layla came in & rested her head on the bed beside me, just close enough that her nose was touching my face. And Lucius, who is such a midnight wanderer that I have to put him in his kennel for bed so that he doesn't fall down the stairs {yes, it's happened}, was crying for me to come let him out. So we got up. I made a big cup of some of my favorite green tea, gave the dogs their breakfast, & started some laundry. It's going to be a cozy day here today, I think!
Now, for more on London. { You can see my other posts on this travel topic by clicking right here. } My dear, I have more pictures than I know what to do with! It's a daunting task to go through them all & pick out a few to share here with you all, but I will do it! I promised to! And now, I have the time :)
Day Three in London: My brother & I booked a country bus tour to take us to Windsor Castle, Stonehenge, & Oxford. We were really excited to get out of the city & see more of the true England. { As I started this post, I intended to cover all of day three, but I'm realizing Windsor Castle will take up a lot of space! I hope you enjoy these reviews, because it's going to be a while before I'm finished! }
Windsor Castle was our first stop, & we've both decided that this was one of our very favorite places of the entire trip. This is the largest castle in the world that is still inhabited & it is at least as old as the ages of William the Conqueror. The castle's floor covered about 480,000 square feet & I'm sure that we saw only a snippet of that! Oh, & I must say that the Queen was there at Windsor while we were touring the grounds! Yes, indeed! The flag was flying high to let us know!
The Queen is in!
We had only two hours at the Castle {which our guide agreed was ridiculously short!}, so we booked it from one place to another. First, through security. Yes, full security with metal detectors & all. Must keep the Queen safe! Then, we walked the grounds & got our bearings. We overheard that The Changing of the Guard was soon to take place, so off we went to watch! My brother took so many photos that I teased him we could make a flip book :) Here's just one!
As we'd waited for the Changing of the Guard to begin, we ducked into St. George's Chapel, which has become one of my very favorite that I've ever seen. { You can visit their official site here & even explore 360 degree virtual tours here as well as listen to the Chapel Choir & the Bells of St. George's!Or perhaps you'd like to see St. George's Chapel at Christmas. Please take a peak; it's lovely. } We did take pictures of the Chapel, but none of them really do it justice. So here is a photo from INEtours.com.
Beautiful, isn't it?
After watching the Changing of the Guard, off we went to see Queen Mary's Doll House. This doll house, built in the 1920's, is complete with working plumbing & electricity. In its beautiful little rooms you can find miniatures everything a real house would hold: working toilets & ceiling lights, carpets & musical instruments, even little wine & liqueur bottles filled appropriately! The books on the bookshelves are miniature versions of real books made by the authors themselves, just like the famous works of art on the walls. It was amazing! And huge! Here are some good photos for you! I didn't take any of these--we weren't allowed to snap any photos! So these are from Getty Images, Royal-Windsor & TravelBlog.
You may remember my mentioning the movie The Young Victoria in a previous London Travel post. I watched this movie a few weeks before visiting London, but knowing more about Queen Victoria & Prince Albert really made the visit more enjoyable. Victoria became Queen of England at the age of 18 & she was married to Prince Albert a mere three years later. Together, they had nine children. Albert passed away from typhoid while at Windsor Castle. He was only 42 years old. Queen Victoria wore black for the rest of her life, had Albert's clothes set out every morning, & always kept a setting for him at the table. They are buried together near Windsor Castle at the Frogmore Royal Mausoleum.
The story of Victoria & Albert has really stuck with me. Their love, their dedication to one another, & their strength to do the right for the country that they loved. True love & true loyalty. There can be nothing more noble, I believe. Do watch The Young Victoria. Their story will stick with you too. I got a bit teary just watching the trailer. You will love it.
Windsor Castle is a beautiful place filled with beautiful rooms & beautiful stories. I would love to go back someday & spend much longer walking the grounds & learning more of its past. How wonderful it is to visit such places; how strange to think that I may never be back again. But to see them once is far greater than to never see them at all! It's important to always make the most of your time, no matter where you are!
Welcome to all of my new readers! Thank you so much for stopping by & for seeing something here in my humble little writings :) I really appreciate all of your sweet notes lately & all your encouraging words! Please, stick around & see what happens here! ♥
Two years ago today, my dream came true: I married my best friend & the love of my life! At the time, I thought our relationship was so good that it couldn't possibly get any better or any stronger, but it grew more perfect every day! And even today, as we celebrate together while we're thousands of miles apart, I can still say that I couldn't possibly be more happy! When you are this much in love, you know you can get through anything together! Thank you, Don, for being my husband & for making my life so incredibly wonderful! I love you more than anything in this world ♥ Here's to many many more years of wedded bliss!
June 14, 2008: I love you, Don!
This is quite possibly my favorite picture of us from our Wedding ♥
We didn't know it at the time {wait, or maybe we did!}, but June 14th is also the Army's Birthday! How appropriate, right?! And so, Happy235th Birthday to the United States Army! Thank you, more importantly, to all of those who have served this great country, past & present, along with their families who are just as brave!
*Update from the "Sandbox"!* Don has safely arrived in Afghanistan & all is well! Hip hip hooray! He's been able to send me text messages still {how amazing is that?!} & emails as well! He says that it looks a bit like Southwest Oklahoma...with more sand :)
Remember my post from a few days ago? The one where I was a bit down in the dumps & needed a lift {pun intended}, so I posted some pictures of celebrities looking cheery & free as they jumped into the air for their TIME magazine photographer? Well, my fabulous MIL reminded me...Don & I did just this for a few of our wedding photos! Now that I think about it, I wish we'd done some this way with just Don & me, but that's ok! We have a lifetime for that :) Having the entire bridal party jumping together was an awesome look! It seems to be a pretty common trend in wedding photography lately, but I still like it :)
I can't believe this was almost two years ago. June 14, 2008 was our fabulous wedding day! It's almost time for our anniversary, baby ♥ Don bought me a beautiful bouquet of red roses before he left. I love that man! {Oh, & yes...I am barefoot in this picture!}
We had so much fun taking wedding pictures together! Our photographers were fantastic. It was a man & his wife, which made it all the more perfect!
In just a few days when it's actually our Wedding Anniversary, I will post a few more of my favorite wedding photos. I can't believe that it's already been two years! And they have without a doubt been the best two years of my life. I know that everyone says that; it's pretty cliche! But I mean it. Being with Don, no matter where that is or what life is throwing at us at the time, is exactly what I've always wanted. Even now, with this deployment just beginning & an entire year of separation before us, I wouldn't have it any other way. My husband is my hero. My husband is my best friend. My husband is mine & I am his! Nothing in the world can change that! ♥
So, here's to jumping for joy at all of life's blessings! {I'm hoping that I'm blessed with a Skype call today!}
I'm an Army Wife living a very blessed life with my incredible husband & our two adopted Great Danes! I blog about our experiences, our travels, & anything else that inspires me! I hope it inspires you too ♥
