An Ode to our minivan

Before I had kids I swore up and down that I would NEVER have a minivan.
I didn't want one. END OF THE STORY.
           There are other options, I told myself
            I laughed at people who drove them
            I mocked at the amount of crap people hauled
            I laughed every time I thought of myself driving one
            I swore I would NEVER drive one





I drive a minivan and I must profess my love of it for this season in life.
She hauls all the things that I can't figure out how to exist without.
She is coated in a beautiful layer of goldfish crumbs and some other unidentifiable snack.
On top of the crumbs from snacks there is a layer of toys and other random things.

She has had the honor of bringing home our son from the hospital.
She has picked up several kids from worse situations than I even want to imagine as we welcome kiddos into our home for foster care.

Our minivan is our families primary means of getting around as we all fit easily along with all the gear kids require and the dog. Our minivan is where I find a few brief moments to myself. It isn't totally unusual for me to sit in complete silence from work to daycare or vice versa. Silence is a rarity in my life, my introverted self savors the silence.

In our semi-annual cleaning of the van {I'd love to tell you we clean her weekly, or monthly, but really about every six months we get nervous we will lose a kid in the piles and do a deep clean of the van} it is always amazing what we find: countless daycare art projects, notes from daycare we probably should have read months ago, a stack of after visit summaries from doctors visits, band aids, toys, and things that only God can identify.

I'll be honest on family road trips my husband most often drives - I'll take my turn but I have a terrible sense of direction, so I spend my time sitting in the passenger seat, passing things back to the kiddos, climbing to the back to put pacifiers back in mouths, filling milk cups, returning the cd to favorite songs, crocheting, & sleeping.


I imagine if our van could speak she would speak of:
endless hours of listening to "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse"
the joy and frustration of road trips
countless conversations on the way to and from places
the songs our daughter has sung at the top of her lungs
the joy of the silence when all the kids are asleep
the late night drives to get a kiddo to fall asleep
the things that I have crocheted while riding
the stories we've told
the conversations we've had
the meals we've eaten
the previous cargo we've hauled



Today, and in this season of life, I give thanks for our minivan. I give thanks for the memories we make inside the van, the stories we tell, the miles it carries us, the sleep my kiddos get in it, and the places it takes us. Thank God for the minivan.

In the next few months our van will take us on countless road trips to: Wisconsin, South Dakota, Michigan, and to Colorado. Watch for adventures to come.


Do you like road trips?
Any road trip tricks or tips with small children?
Anyone else love their minivan?

Walt Disney World January Trip Photobook

Last year with Lucy being born I HATE to admit how far I had gotten behind with my photobooks, I HATE catching up with photobooks. I enjoy doing them when I am up to date, but once I get behind I literally DREAD doing them. I don't want to do them, so after last year (I blame Lucy for getting me behind) and having to play MASSIVE catch up I am trying super hard to NOT get behind this year, so far so good. I am up to date with our Marshall family 2015 book and Lucy's first year book is up to date for the most part. The calendar in Lucy's book could use a little bit of work, but that part is easy because I have a calendar that is hanging in her room that I also write everything on so that piece is just filling in the details.

Anyways, I managed to get an 8 by 11 book done for our January trip to Walt Disney World and thought I would share. {I got my book free due to coke rewards points - BONUS}

Click here to view this photo book larger

What is your favorite way to make scrapbooks?
How do you save your pictures so they aren't just stored on your iphone or computer?

February Photo Dump

Ahhh February, you sort of were wonderful and sort of the bane of my existence. I CAN'T handle the ridiculously cold weather any more and I am losing my mind. SERIOUSLY. I am over the ridiculously cold negative temps. I have read the books I wanted to read, I have watched more movies than I care to admit, my dog is climbing the walls because we can't take her for a long walk or really any walk outside, and frankly I am sick of having to warm my car for twenty minutes before I go ANYWHERE because it is sooooo cold. Midst the cold and miserableness I did manage to snap these photos. Enjoy a glimpse into my February: {True Story I admit none of them are to die for photos, however, given the month I have had, I am calling it a success.}

Downtown Puerto Vallarta

One early evening we took the city bus downtown and walked to old Puerto Vallarta and here are a few images from our time down there. Riding the city bus in Puerto Vallarta is an experience in and of itself, first there is not a time frame for when buses will becoming or going, they all just run continuously and stop pretty much wherever, so we had a little trouble getting back on the bus to return to the hotel. The bus drivers all seriously felt like they were driving for NASCAR and were racing one another, really I never felt unsafe, however it really was quite the experience. If you are ever in Puerto Vallarta I recommend riding the buses at least a couple times, plus they are way cheap.

Downtown we did a little shopping, hello bringing home Mexican vanilla, and wandering around. We saw a ton of cool architecture and the Church of Our Lady Guadalupe was GORGEOUS, worth stopping in for sure. There was a wedding going to take place later that night (on a Tuesday) and it was interesting to see the cultural differences in wedding attire.  

There were tons of these birds diving in the water
I found them fascinating to watch

Animal Kingdom

I love Animal Kingdom. I love their commitment to the animals, the commitment to help teach the people about the world around us and how we can better live in it, I love their commitment to animals who are endangered and their attempts at helping to increase the population of certain animals due to their limited number. I love the ways in which it is laid out. I love the huge tree in the middle with all the animals carved into it. Ahhh soooo much fun (and this is why I can't pick a favorite park at WDW, I LOVE THEM ALL). This is going to be the quickest fly through of Animal Kingdom ever. I am hoping to come back and do a post on the Jingle Jungle Parade, the Nemo show, and the Festival of the Lion King (which they are planning on moving to another location and have already started the construction on that - it will be interesting to see how long it takes them to get it done and moved - such a great show).

Kilimanjaro Safaris is ALWAYS a highlight for me. This trip we were able to ride several times (which I highly encourage every does because it is ALWAYS different due to the ways in which the animals move around and some are in hiding and some you can see). When we first arrived in the park we went straight back there and walked right onto the ride, which was amazing, it was early in the morning and all of the animals were out and moving about. We even got to see the lions moving around and what not. My favorite favorite favorite is the giraffes (I LOVE them and am fascinated by them - I am seriously going to paint my guest bedroom with giraffe spots on it. I am jazzed to move and start painting, thanks for volunteering to come help mom). This time they even had a baby giraffe. Soooooooo cute. The other crazy thing to see was a couple animals that WDW is working fervently to keep off of the extinct list. They have several endangered animals that they are trying to breed and hopefully be able to release populations of them back into the wild. I am thankful for organizations who work hard on things like this.

     The other fun around the park is obviously The Festival of the Lion King which is about a half hour mini broadway show of sorts, the flying gymnastic monkeys are my favorite! I am always impressed at what they are able to do with only setting up a minimal amount of gear. The fire twirler is also fairly impressive, I know he is trained in how to be able to do that kind of stuff but it always slightly scares me to see someone playing with fire like that, I fear there isn't much of a margin for error and it would really hurt to get burned (part of this goes back to my summer working as a hospital chaplain and I remember hearing people talk about the pain of being burned, the smell, and the pain they experienced every day as their bandages were changed). The music is fun as well and I love that they really work to get the audience involved. We did see the building that they are planning on moving the festival of the lion king into, and then transforming that space into avatar land (which I am not 100% sold on yet).

     There are also several other things which I really enjoy including: It's Tough to be a Bug, Mahara Jungle Trek, Expedition Everest, Pangani Forest, and Rafiki's Planet Watch. I feel that Rafiki's Planet Watch often gets over looked, a couple things I really enjoy about it is: there is always a couple characters to meet out there with little to no wait, the view inside the vet clinic (one time we saw a Zebra having surgery, which was ridiculously cool), the train ride out where you get to see where all the animals bunk down at night, and the small animals/reptiles/bugs that they have. In my opinion it is totally worth the trip out there (some complain it is too far out and not worth it - I totally disagree). Expedition Everest is always fun, I am not certain that I would ever want to wait an hour or anything for it, we fast pass it or ride when the wait is twenty minutes or less. True story: I have been spoiled by being able to travel in the "off season" to Disney when the crowds are generally fairly low, I seriously can't imagine traveling during the peek seasons any more. I have been spoiled without a doubt.

    The Jingle Jungle Parade, the Festival of the Lion King, and the Finding Nemo shows are always on my must do list as well. (Obviously, not the Jingle Jungle parade when it isn't the holiday season, in non holiday season it is just the Jungle parade, of which I love to see as well) I am impressed at the high quality of the shows that they do repeatedly throughout the day (the parade is only once though). I am impressed by the actors and actresses and how fun it is. There really isn't a bad seat in the Festival of the Lion King or the Finding Nemo show, they all are good really. 

   Other things to note about Animal Kingdom, there are some fun "magic photos" available, one where you get to pose like you are holding Simba like a baby, tinkerbell in your hand (this one is available at every park), stitch in the ground, and a couple of others, but baby Simba is my favorite. There are also usually some pretty good photopass options - around the tree of life, with expedition Everest in the background, and many around the different areas. I will have a post coming on the photo pass - who knows when, I guess you will have to keep reading to discover my opinions and thoughts regarding the photopass. 

Do you enjoy Animal Kingdom?

What is your favorite thing/attraction at Animal Kingdom?

What is your favorite Animal?

Walt Disney Plans for today - Epcot

Today we have fast pass reservations on our magic bands for:

• Test track - sooooo fun - I know this ride is pretty simple but I really do enjoy it and it always makes me think a bit about how they seriously test cars
• Mission Space - not my favorite ride - however my friends are pretty jazzed so I will go along for the ride
• Soarin - love love love this ride - I think it would be sweet if they would do this ride to other states as well - add in all the locations where there is a Disney location - Florida, Paris, etc

Our dinner reservations are at: Tokyo Dining(super excited about this)


Other highlights for me at Epcot include:

• The land - seriously love, love, love this ride.
• Wandering through the countries - sooooo much to explore.
• Food & Wine festival - this is the first time I have been here for it!Illuminations - ahhhhhh this show does my soul good

I am jazzed to be on vacation - despite being a little sad I am away from home. It feels wonderful to disconnect from work a little, it always takes a few days to unwind from work before I can completely relax.


Follow me on instagram for more pictures: sathomson
Really, I am taking most of my photos on my Nikon point and shoot and on my Nikon D300.
[Post trip there will be some serious photo dumping]

Follow me on twitter - no promises on how much I will tweet but as I noted in an earlier post - It seems to be a season of tweeting for me. Follow me at: sarahathomson

Back in the saddle

Summer has been crazy to say the least.

• I got married
• took 5 trips for work
• had my colleague on vacation for a month
• put my house on the market
• had a full ministry schedule
• co-directed a camp
• and a few more things here and there

I am thankful fall is around the corner (the kids are going back to school...whoooooop whooooooooop) and I am staying home for a while. I love being out and about. I love traveling for work and the opportunities it provides. I love my call. I also love being home and the routine of fall. I love knowing what is coming next and how things will flow. I love that people are around and the tourists are gone. I now am looking forward to the normalcy (as much as my job ever has) for the rest of the month. I think towards the end of the month I have several days of comp time that I am hoping to sneak away for a few days to go to Boundary Waters Canoe Area, but we'll see how that all plays out.

Our house is sort of going to be a revolving door for the next month and a half or so. We have Dakota's best friends, Gus and Luther, until Sunday. Oskar the wonderbernard comes on Saturday until the 21st of August. Then on August 20, Kevin, Martha, and Petzl (the black lab), are coming to stay until mid-September while life is in transition for them. It will be crazy but ridiculously fun month. Bring on dog-a-palooza and other such madness. Truthfully though we are blessed by having friends come and stay with us and we are thrilled to watch friend's dogs, we love them and Dakota thinks she has died and gone to heaven.

In the mean time we continue to have our house on the market - I am becoming less and less optimistic it is going to sell any time soon. Our showings have become much less frequent and we seem to be stuck at square one. Who knows. We continue to pray it sells and try to not look at houses online. I have found a couple that I am interested in but they have all sold and are now off the market. I have decided to not look at houses online again until our house at least gets an offer that we can even mildly consider. 

Goals for the rest of August:

1. Get ready for fall at work
2. Go through 4 boxes in the attic
3. Get spare bedroom cleaned out so our month long guests have plenty of space
4. don't get behind on Wine and Dine Training
5. Finish summer ministries photobook
6. kayak 4 more times
7. apply for my new passport
• I find it ridiculous that you have to pay a crap ton to replace your passport - which is still valid. blah blah blah. I am over this name change crap and companies that make it ridiculously hard to change my name. 
8. clean out bedroom closet
• Donate clothes that I don't need
• move some of the excess things that don't necessarily belong in my closet to the attic space

     ***Bonus goals*** 

• finish part 1 of our honeymoon photobook
• crochet a hat
• make a baby gift for a friend
• write three letters just because I can
• send a care package to someone for no reason
• try a couple new recipes
• finish a pinterest project I started last May

What is on your list of goals for the rest of the month?

Are you traveling anywhere fun the rest of August?

Do you use pinterest? love it or hate it?

Two: Places You've Traveled

For the next few Tuesdays I am linking up with Lauren at Life. Love. Lauren and Tiffany at The Austin Family Diary for their Tuesday Topics. This week's topic is "Two: Places You've Traveled." This is seriously the hardest one for me to pick. I am sooooooo very thankful for all the places I have been and the ways in which the have helped me become the person I am, I also am ridiculously thankful to return back home (wherever that maybe) to those I love.

One: WALT DISNEY WORLD

   I began traveling to Walt Disney World as a small child and have continued to go back for years. I look forward to every trip I take down to Florida. I am thankful for the ways in which they make magic still happen. I am thankful for the ways in which it allows me to continue to dream and hope. I am thankful for the ways in which they have incredible hospitality to all their guests. I am thankful for the countless memories that have been made there. My favorite races are the runDisney races! They challenge me and keep me running for sure. [I must admit that the Fargo races are a close second as well]

Two: HAITI

    Unlike WDW I have only traveled to Haiti once and that trip marked my life forever. I keep saying that I will go back one day and I haven't yet been presented with the opportunity to return. I will return some day. The people are wonderful and a piece of my heart lies in Haiti. I learned about love, faith, and hope while in Haiti in ways in which I could never have fathomed when our trip began.

What places have shaped you into the person you are today?

Have you left pieces of your heart anywhere?

Do you have any favorite places to run?

Family Arriving

MOM is here. She arrived Thursday night. Seriously, why is everything better when mom arrives?!
Since she has arrived she has been putting massive amounts of mason jars through the dish washer and spoiling my dog. Perfect all around - except Dakota goes through withdrawls when she leaves - for one reason or another Dakota can't figure out why when my parents come she gets to hang out with them all day and eat people food. When they leave however she spends time in her crate when I am at work and only gets to eat dog food.

Marc and I have family coming in from all over the country for our wedding. We were attempting to make a list of the states that will be represented at our wedding and here is what we have come up with so far:

Minnesota
South Dakota
Wisconsin
North Dakota
Colorado
Connecticut
Arizona
Texas
Illinois
Montana
Iowa
Michigan
Alaska
Tennessee
Idaho


*This list represents not necessarily where people are originally from but rather where they are currently living and coming from to get to our wedding - this also does not include the people that we sent invitations to who RSVPed and said that they couldn't make it.*

As we thought through our list of family and friends and how far some of them are traveling to be with us we were humbled for sure. Our. Families. Rock.

Packing-pa-looza

I leave THIS WEEK Thursday for California! SOOOOO excited (as if you couldn't tell) anyways. I have begun the packing-pa-looza. This is sort of a complicated trip to pack for due to several factors:

• I am running Tinkerbell Half Marathon
• I am optimistic about the weather being super warm but concerned that I am not packing warm enough clothes, so I then in turn want to throw in a whole bunch of warm clothes
• I am attending a conference for work after running Tinkerbell - this doesn't require work clothes but it does require more than sweats
• It is ten days - I don't want to over-pack but under-packing sucks once you get there

It is always a challenge to pack, I always try to pack as simplistically as possible but when there is so much going on it is a challenge for sure. I am a believer of the roll your clothes method and put things in your shoes. 

I also have my backpack to pack as well. For me I will be carrying on my running shoes (everything else can technically be replaced if they have to but it is impossible to get a well worn pair of running shoes), my ipad, my phone, some yarn (I need something to do on the plane), my running watch, and a snack or two (I hate buying expensive airport food). I probably will throw some other stuff in my backpack, I just haven't gotten to that stage yet.

Anyone have any tips for packing light?

Anyone else have a love/hate relationship with packing?

What are your necessities in your carry on bag?

Christmas Eve

I LOVE Christmas eve, seriously possibly more than Christmas day itself. Growing up Christmas eve was always the bigger day. It was the day when all of my family got together, had a huge meal, open gifts, and went to the eleven o'clock candlelight service. When we were really little we even went to church in our new Christmas pjs. It was glorious. To make the candlelight service even better (as if it wasn't already epic enough) we often fell asleep on Grandma or Grandpa and at the end of worship during the silent night one of us grand-kids always got to go outside with Grandpa to ring the bell. I am not sure why the tradition there is to ring the bell at the end of worship but it was and if you got to help Grandpa ring the bell it was even better.

Now that I am a pastor Christmas eve is a little different and I love it for different reasons. I love it because I get the opportunity to worship with sooooooo many people and many people we haven't seen since Easter. I love it because it is festive and we get to sing all the wonderful Christmas songs. I love Christmas eve because it is filled with such hope and anticipation.

My traditions for Christmas eve have obviously had to change, I no longer can be home in South Dakota for Christmas eve as I need to be here leading worship. My parents, brother, and his girlfriend as well as my fiance are all around this year and I believe my mom is cooking dinner to be ready for me to grab between services three and four and Christmas day is becoming a bigger deal. This year we are traveling down to Minneapolis (a couple hour drive) to meet up with my uncle and cousins for lunch. My guess is tomorrow we won't be up at the crack of dawn (or as my parents would argue before the crack of dawn when we were little), we will sleep in and enjoy a lazy morning. Santa still comes (whoop whoop) and we will exchange presents Christmas morning while chilling in our sweats. We will read the Christmas story and remember the story that claims each and every one of us.

We don't currently have any little kids who will be up crazy early and be nuts, our gifts will not contain tons of assembling (I would guess at least) or batteries that need to be found. For my immediate family we are between generations, my brother (24) is currently the youngest, and trust me he'd be happy to sleep until noon if we didn't have to be in the cities by 1.

I am thankful for God who comes to us as a human, a tiny human baby thousands of years ago. I am thankful for the promise of Jesus' return. I am thankful for the Holy Spirit who continues to meet us each and every day. I am thankful for the light of God that continues to shine in even the darkest of circumstances. I am thankful for family and friends who are willing to travel to spend Christmas with me. I am thankful for my family and friends who will travel to be present at my wedding in June. Thanks be to God for all the ways that God is working and the showering of blessings.