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Travel Journal//Europe – June 2017

Abi Leah16 Comments

Hey, everyone! A couple of weeks ago, I got back from an amazing trip to Europe to visit my grandparents and cousins. I had so much fun with all of my family members, seeing some historic sights and meeting some amazing people. I can’t wait to go back!

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At Home in Belgium

We landed in Belgium early in the morning and were greeted by my Oma and Opa. It was so nice seeing them again! Most days of our trip, my family and I would stop by my grandparents house and eat meals with them. Oma’s food is so good!

We took a day trip to a beach and walked for a couple of hours. The beach was beautiful and full of shells. Since it was the 4th of July, we ate some red, white, and blue M&Ms to celebrate. :)

Shopping And Friends

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picture via sis

We spent several days shopping and looking for gifts to bring back home. One of my favorite days was when we stumbled upon a little neighborhood and met a really kind lady in her early 80s. She happily told us stories and showed us to a little chapel where she plays piano every week. It was so nice to meet another believer and to spend some time getting to know her. I know that I will never forget her.

A Short Road Trip

To finish off our vacation, my family and I all took a short three-day road trip to Germany. On the way there, we drove through Luxemburg and then stopped for lunch in France. It was really cool seeing how the culture and buildings looked so different as we passed through the different countries. It was definitely something that we don’t get to experience in America.

Germany was absolutely beautiful! I loved all of the houses and the flowers in the windows made me really happy. :) While in Germany, we took a bergbahn (old mountain train) to the top of a mountain; the view was AMAZING!

I had such a great time in Europe with my family. I can’t wait to go back and see them again! There will be a video coming up soon on my Youtube channel so keep an eye out for that! Have a great day! :)

signi

Travel Journal//Florida – March 2017

Abi Leah3 Comments

Hello, my friends! How are you? I just got back from my trip to Florida and it was beautiful as always! My family and I spent a week relaxing, exploring, and enjoying God’s creation. With a one-day trip to the Everglades and Disney, this vacation was one that I will never forget. :)

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God’s Beautiful Creation

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My favorite part of the entire trip was getting to see the sunsets. I think it’s really cool how God made the colors and lights work perfectly together to create a beautiful show that is unique every day. And how awesome is it that the clouds get to play a part in the show as well? The picture above is my absolute favorite from the trip. :)

Living On The Beach Front

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My family and I spent a good amount of time at the beach during the first couple of days. I loved hearing the waves crash against the sandy beach and watching the birds soar through the blue sky. Even better were the walks at sunset and afternoons spent reading on the deck.

Trip To The Everglades

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The day trip to the Everglades was also a lot of fun! We took a boat//kayak//walking tour through part of the Everglades. It was so beautiful and calming out on the water, watching the dolphins jump through the water. After the tour, my parents drove me and my siblings through a scenic road where we got to see alligators and birds.

(P.S. Click here to see the travel journal video!)

When You Wish Upon A Star…

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My parents surprised us with a semi-spontaneous trip to Disney for the day! We woke up early and drove the 2+ hours to the Magic Kingdom and then stayed for the entire day. It was a wonderful day and I loved every minute of it! The firework show at the end was amazing, a perfect way to end our Florida Trip. :)

What did you do for Spring Break or, if you haven’t had break yet, what are you planning on doing? Thanks for reading! Have a great day!

signi

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10 Things On My Bucket List

Abi Leah6 Comments

Hey, everyone! How are you? Today was AMAZING! My a cappella team got to meet with a college a cappella team to learn and sing with them. It was a great experience and we learned a lot about getting the songs to feel how they should sound.

Also today, I wanted to share 10 things on my bucket list. My actual bucket list is very long. If you want to check out the entire list, click here. ;)

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  1. Learn sign language. – I think sign language is really cool! Some of my friends know a bit of sign language so maybe they can help me. ;)
  2. Spend an entire day watching Disney movies. – Disney movies are really fun! There are so many that I haven’t seen in a long time and would love to see again!
  3. Have a beach bonfire. – The beach is so beautiful at night with all of the stars. It would be a lot of fun to have a bonfire with some friends on the beach under the stars.
  4. Visit Mount Rushmore. – Mount Rushmore is a must-see.
  5. Visit all seven continents. – I love traveling! It would be awesome to visit every continent.
  6. Go to a midnight movie premiere. – I’ve always wanted to do this. :)
  7. Stargaze on a roof. – I LOVE watching the stars!
  8. Participate in a color run. – I’ve seen pictures of color runs all of the internet and it looks like a lot of fun! My cousin, C, ran in a color run and she said it was really cool.
  9. Read 1000 books. – Reading is a great thing to do. :)
  10. Write a book. – I really like writing. Ever since I was a kid, I dreamed of writing and publishing a book someday.

What are some things on your bucket list? Let me know in the comments below! Have a great day! :)

signi

The Blogger Aesthetic Award

Abi Leah6 Comments

Hey, everyone! I saw this awesome award/tag on Nicole’s blog “Sorry I’m Booked” and I thought it was really cool so I’m going to try it. :) Be sure to check out Nicole’s blog here and her version of this award here. :)

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The Rules

  • Collect any number of images that you feel represent you as a person—your personality, aspirations, favourite things, anything at all that makes you you.
  • Put your chosen images together into a collage of whatever size and shape you find pleasing.
  • Share your masterpiece with everyone, in all the places.
  • Maybe nominate other bloggers as a way to tell them, “Hey, you, I think you’re awesome, and we should celebrate that awesomeness.”
  • Share these rules (and maybe the below tips, if you’re feeling helpful).

The Tips

My Aesthetic

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Vintage, pink, and floral – that’s me! Once, my friends and I were coming up with our “dream homes” and my friends came up with the perfect home for me; a small apartment over a little bakery with twinkle lights and lots of flowers. Loved it! :)

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Thanks so much for reading! I hope you all have a great day! Stay happy. :)

signi

What I’ve Been Up To 

Abi Leah5 Comments

Hey everyone! If you’ve been around my blog lately, you might have noticed that I haven’t posted for two weeks… That’s because I’ve been traveling but now I’m back! And I’m ready to tell you all about it.

I spent the last 13 days in sunny Florida with my family. It was beautiful. It was relaxing. It was hot. Very hot. But that’s nothing a dip in the pool can’t cure! :)  Continue reading →

My Spring Break in Photos

Abi Leah6 Comments

Hey everyone! Today I wanted to do something a bit different and share my week / Spring Break in photos. Let me know if this is something you would like to see more on my blog.

P.s. I apologize for the quality of the photos… I’ll work on that. Haha :)

 

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My favorite part of going to the beach is watching the sun set to a beautiful day. All of the colors reflecting off of the water as the waves slowly breathe in and out, it’s amazing.

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After a long day of biking, we (my family and I) stopped by a local restaurant for some fish and chips. This picture isn’t from there but it looks pretty close! I loved seeing the boats and eating by the water.

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My family took one day to go to the mall and I loved watching the sunset behind the palm trees. The weather was amazing and even though I didn’t buy anything, I loved walking around the mall.

Do you like this kind of post? Let me know! I will definitely consider posting more like this.

One Lovely Blog Award

Abi LeahLeave a comment

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Hi again! The amazing Grace from PaperClipsandPins nominated me for the “One Lovely Blog Award”! If you haven’t checked out her blog yet, click here to read her posts.

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  1. Thank the Person Who Nominated You.
  2. Add a Picture to Your Post.
  3. Share 7 Facts About Yourself.
  4. Nominate Others to do the Award. (Up to 15)
  5. Include the Set of Rules.
  6. Inform Your Nominees.

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  1. My birthday is this month.
  2. I am taking French, Spanish, and English this year.
  3. The beach is my happy place.
  4. My favorite color is pink. :)
  5. My favorite tea at the moment is Peppermint Tea.
  6. My personality type is INFP.
  7. I have been blogging for a year and half.

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Thanks again to Grace for the nomination! I hope you all have a great week!

signi

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Watching Turtles Hatch

Abi Leah2 Comments

A couple of weeks ago, I was blessed with the experience of watching turtles hatch. This was an unusual experience because normally turtles hatch during the night but these turtles hatched during the day time. Let me start from the beginning…

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A lady was walking down the beach when a baby turtle scrambled passed her feet. She didn’t have a camera so she asked my uncle who happened to be sitting on the beach. My uncle called us over from the balcony and we all ran down to see the turtles. By the time we got there, three turtles had already hatched and a fourth one was crawling out of the nest.

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It was amazing to see so many people gathered around watching the turtles come out, one by one. I was able to take some pictures on my iPad and my dad was able to get a video of my favorite turtle, Tumble. Tumble had a little trouble getting out of the sand. And once he (or she) did get out, he got lost on the way. I named him Tumble because well, he took a little fall but was able to get back up and keep crawling his way to the water. Tumble was also very grateful to the kind bystander who kept the birds away.

About fifteen minutes after little Tumble hatched, my mom called the Turtle Watch to let them know what had happened. Apparently, there were lots of red ants in the nest and they were biting the turtles, making them come out of their nest early. And you can imagine how much the ants hurt the turtles since they are so small.

What I loved about this experience was seeing how God is in control of everything and is so amazing. I mean, how did the turtles know to go to the water? How do they know when to leave their nest? How do they know to come back to the exact same beach they hatched on, twenty years later? It really is amazing.

“I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands.” ~ Psalm 63:4

signi

Mind. Blown. 

Abi Leah1 Comment

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I’m sitting here by the beach, wind blowing in my hair, sun sparkling on the ocean, dolphins swimming through the water. It’s so beautiful. I feel my sunburn and think about how powerful the sun is even from so far away. A dolphin jumps through the air and I think about how beautifully made she is. I see the water in front of me extending far beyond the horizon and I think about how big God is. Everywhere I look, there is evidence of how amazing God is. It all just blows my mind.  Continue reading →

The Gift of Family

Abi Leah7 Comments

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I look around and take in the beautiful view. The waves crashing on the shore, sparkling in the last rays of sun. My family around the table, playing Scrabble with smiles all around. I love vacations. After being online all day, I love having family time without the constant reminder of all the things I have to do.

We all need to just take a break from life and spend time with the ones we love. For example, my grandparents came to town last week. They would much rather have me spend time with them than me spending time with my iPad which I could do any other day.

So here’s my challenge for today: Put down your phone, iPad tablet, computer, whatever and spend time with the people you love. We never know how long we have on this earth and we don’t want to regret all the opportunities we had but didn’t take.

signi

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is our faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:22-23 ESV)