Happy Things 2016 Linkup// March Happies

It's the last week of another month! March is ending and April is beginning and there are some BIG things going on around here! And by big I mean like elephant and giraffe big. March went from being this quite little unassuming month to a month full of BIG happy things and it all kicks off with...

Not the greatest quality, I know, but... Africa! 

AFRICA!! Y'all! This girl is going to Africa! And I leave in just over two weeks. At the beginning of the month I had no plans to go anywhere out of the country, let alone to Africa. And now, I leave in two weeks. It's a crazy story that I will go into in more detail very soon because I am sure I will have lots of feelings to share as I journal through my trip, but the short version is this... God works in crazy ways! I feel so humbled (and excited and nervous and scared and happy and...) to get the chance to head to Nairobi, Kenya, mid-April, to learn about some amazing work being done to serve and work alongside the marginalized poor. I am preparing my heart for what I am sure will be a roller coaster of emotions as I travel out of my comfort zone and learn from people with stories that I can't even begin to comprehend. I said yes to this trip with a twisted knot of fear in my stomach, because traveling out of the country has always scared me, but since saying yes I have felt such a surge of peace. I have heard so many wonderful things about Kenya- about the amazing people I will meet and the things I will see- and my excitement is building by leaps and bounds. And yes, I am super stoked to maybe see an elephant or two, or fifty! 

I'm not really even sure how to follow that now (hence why Africa is getting it's own post- or segment of posts- really soon), but there have been some other great happies this month too!

EASTER!! The celebration of the Love conquering death! Though what leads up to that glorious day is hard and sad, it only makes the glory of Jesus' resurrection that much sweeter! He took all of that pain and suffering on for us, for me- undeserving, often sinful, broken, wandering me. I couldn't be more thankful for a God who Loves that BIG!! 

NEW SHOP HAPPIES!! The new goodies are now officially here! I couldn't be more in love with the "you keep me safe & I'll keep you wild" shirts that have just been added to the shop!! If you love them too, head over, take a peek and maybe grab yourself a happy this month!! 

Those are the biggest happies for the month of March in my neck of the woods! 

How was your month?! 

Link up below and share any happy posts from your month! 

Other March happies: a beautiful sunrise (as an avid non-morning fan I don't see many), Fun Spot spring break fun with framily, spring flowers, Quack Attack on Poverty 5k, spa day fun with the bestie

January Happy Things
February Happy Things

Link Up Rules: 

- Share a post (up to 2) about anything happy; it can be 5 happy things, 1 happy thing, really just anything for the month that has made your heart smile! 

- Feel free to share the image above, or link back, so that others can link up their happy things too!

- Leave a happy comment on at least one other post

- I will interact with all posts in some way (comments, pinning to Happy Things 2016 board...)

- Share your happy things on Instagram using #happythings2016

- Come back on the last Monday of each month to share your happy things for that month and start a community of people who are adding a bit of cheer to Mondays! 
- Link up will be run through Friday of the same week

An InLinkz Link-up

Birthday Weekend Recap!

How cute is this RV themed birthday sign at work?! They know me so well! 

We had one whirlwind of a birthday weekend. It started and didn't seem to have a stopping point; that is until I was headed towards our home office today to post this and noticed a body in the bed in our back bedroom. My dear husband was passed out, after having called into work not feeling well. I guess our older bodies just aren't made to handle so much activity... It was well worth it though. 

We kicked off the celebrations a little earlier in the week with a trip to Escapology, an escape room in Orlando, for Babe's actual birthday day. We escaped the wild West with 12 minutes to spare and feeling pretty proud of these old think tanks we have! Friday began the true whirlwind...

Babe and I kicked off my birthday day with a trip to Sea World. I had gotten tickets from work, so we figured why not use them to celebrate a little. We realized we had not been to Sea World in about 5 years (we are Disney people around these parts), so there was a lot of new stuff to see. We really loved it! It was a rainy day, which meant fewer people, so it seemed like we owned the place. We rode every ride in the front row and didn't even get that sick! I loved the new penguin encounter. The ride was so neat and then you open into the room where there is no glass wall separating you from the penguins anymore. You can see them, hear them, smell them AND (if there wasn't a handful of people watching your every move) you are even close enough to touch them! It was pretty exciting!! 

We wrapped up the evening with what was suppose to be a short night with some friends, which managed to make it's way into a much longer night. It made us all just a bit worn out for Saturday, but we still made it to a day of volleyball and football in the park to really celebrate the day with everyone! 

If you haven't gotten together for a day at the park recently, I couldn't recommend it more! We stayed for probably 3 hours and loved each and every minute of it. The majority of the group played and those who didn't lounged in the warm sunshine. We were laughing (mostly at ourselves and our "epic" skills), rolling in the sand, getting a little bumped and bruised, and having the time of our lives!! It had been so long since any of us and really played a sport and it felt really nice to be active! Made me feel like a kid again! 

Saturday night Babe and I went to watch my niece in her Christmas dance performance at a nearby hotel and somehow came home with 4 children (4 month old included) in tow. Ok, truth be told, we asked for them, but still there we all were! Now that was a party!! It was loud, crazy, fun and we loved every minute! Even the pretty much sleepless night making sure the baby was breathing or not needing his paci and that my oldest nephew was feeling alright. Ty (age 10) started feeling sick while we were watching Santa Claus 3 and, sure enough, the next day he managed to get sick as soon as we got him home (probably why I found Babe passed out in the bedroom, not feeling well). It had been so long since we have had all the nieces and nephews at once, and the first time with the baby, that our bodies had forgotten how tired they can get the next day! Major kudos to all you full time moms and dads out there!! 
            

We finished up the celebrations with an early Christmas at my sisters Sunday morning. Though they only live a little over 30 minutes away, we always celebrate early so that no one has to worry about driving that far in all the crazy, Christmas day, traffic rush! All the food, fun and family was the perfect way to end the weekend!

Hoping your weekend was just as wonderful 

and that you are gearing up for all the fun festivities that come with Christmas week! 

Happy 4 days until Christmas!! 

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One other little surprise was finally receiving the Chomp Sticks that I had been waiting to review (all opinions are entirely my own). I love me some good beef jerky, so I have to be honest and say I was a little skeptical. I can be a tough jerky critic! One bite and I was sold! The Chomp Snack Sticks are the perfect on the go filler-upper! They kept us going through the busy weekend! They were tasty (Babe ate the jalapeno one and very much approved) and easy to eat. I love that they are made from 100% grass fed beef. We will definitely be picking up more of these to enjoy in the future for our hiking adventures!