Beyond a Year

This past week we celebrated a birthday and remembered a death. Boo turned twenty (no, I am not old enough to be her mother! Well, at least I don't feel old enough!) and we passed the year anniversary of Eric's death.
Honestly, I can not believe that it has been a year. I look back on this year and am amazed at the accomplishments and growth that we have all experienced. I would have rather not gone through the grief and pain of losing someone I loved dearly but through this trial I have found that I truly can "do all things through Christ who strengthens me". Praise His holy name!

I knew that we needed to get away but had no idea what we should do. Boo had said that she would love to go to Disneyland on her birthday and since the park is offering a free pass on your special day I figured that this would be the perfect getaway. We stayed at a beautiful resort (compliments of some incredible friends...you know who you are!) and enjoyed a warm holiday away from home.
So, I have a few pics to share and some sweet memories to tell. The first memory will be the sweetest of all. I spilled the beans to Boo that we would be going to Disneyland for her birthday. I wanted her to plan out our day but she quietly told me that she wished I would have kept it a big secret and surprised her. She kind of likes surprises! What she didn't know was that I had kept a rather big detail out of the plans: her
dearest friend would be joining us on our day to the park.
When I faked a Starbucks run she had no idea that our friends would be waiting for us. She walked in and couldn't believe who she just "happened" to run into. She was overjoyed when she found out that they would get to experience Dland together.

There is about forty or more of these huge green cones on your way to the park. Goose has successfully jumped all of them. I finally captured it on film. Our hotel was about a mile from the park so we decided to walk and enjoy the beautiful 70 degree weather.

I think that Disney's marketing team deserves a raise. This is the year of celebration at Disneyland parks. On your birthday you get into the park for free. Not much of a loss for Disney when they know that the majority of people would not go to Disney by themselves. We took the obligatory picture with the floral Mickey in the background.

The kiddos in Tomorrowland.

Surprise! Surprise! Brown Sugar was tall enough to go on the Matterhorn.
She loved it as did we all. January is a great month to visit Disneyland. The weather was in the 70s and there are few people in the park. We walked onto every ride.

The Pirate's Lair on Tom Sawyer's Island.

We met this sweet lady while she was "feeding the birds". She was feeding the ducks on the island and allowed Brown Sugar and Lil' Cowboy to help her. These "cast members" are what make Disneyland great. She is one of twelve (out of four thousand) that have been working at the Disneyland park for over forty years.

I am embarrassed to admit that in this picture I am choking back tears. We always joked that Eric was Tigger. In fact, on his obituary it ended with TTFN. He would say this all the time. I went up to Tigger and said "I love you". This character kissed and hugged me which sent me into a spiral of emotions. My only embarrassment is that a six foot mute stuffed character reduced me to tears! But really, it was just another moment of healing. Another moment to accept that this is my new life.

Boo and L-bird on the Jungle Cruise.

Sweet Friends.

Boo and her Knight in shining armor....a bit stiff don't you think?

By the end of the day we had enjoyed all the major rides at least two to three times. What better way to end the day then with a Mickey cookie!

The next day we headed over to Griffith Observatory with our friends, the Schroeders. They graciously filled our day to the brim so that we would not have to think about the year before.

Boo and I at the Observatory and with the famous Hollywood sign behind us.

We just can't go anywhere without learning something! Isn't that beauty of homeschooling? Anyway, if you are ever in the LA area you must, must visit the Observatory. It is a free museum that is worth an hour or two of your time.

R and Einstein.

We spent a bit of time driving through Hollywood and Bel Air. Have you ever seen the "I Love Lucy" episode where Lucy tries to dig up the John Wayne star? Well, just remember that view of Hollywood Blvd rather than visit what it has become. This stretch of road is a sad reflection on the entertainment industry itself.
We drove right through this area and headed for the beach. The weather was around 78 degrees and the beach was beautiful.

There was a lot of digging, building, volleyball playing, and sun-bathing.

My girls!

So, we spent one day at Disneyland and we spent the next with friends. What did we do the rest of our time away? Played in the pool, sun-bathed, worked out, and visited even more people!

"Uncle" Rick was Eric's best friend from Navy days. He moved his family out to California from Wisconsin to help me with the pool business until we finally sold it. He is down in Southern California for work and so we just had to meet up with him. It is always fun when Uncle Rick's around. We call him our "Christian" version of Jim Carrey.

We also met up with Emily and Kathleen. Both were Eric's co-workers. We so enjoyed catching up with both of them.

Our last night in LA we took the elevator up to the roof (14 floors up!) and watched the Disneyland fireworks. Just another page in the exciting times of the Davis family.

Thank you for all the emails, cards, Facebook messages, phone calls, and prayers that you showered my family with this past week.
We have now officially made it through the first of everything. It doesn't seem possible. It seems like the day before yesterday that I was making funeral arrangements and wondering how this had happened.
I still wonder but I am truly thankful for all that God has done for the kids and I. I mean really, I have nothing, absolutely nothing to complain about. I am blessed! Blessed to be the mom of six incredible kids, blessed to have been happily married to an incredible man for twenty years, blessed to have a faith that sustains. Oh, and blessed to have friends like you!
~Heather