Welcome to Thankful Thursday - December 29, 2011 and pictures of the Holyland Experience outside

All pics of lights and scenes from the Holyland Experience

in Orlando, Florida compliments of lil o me!!  lol

Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;
 worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness.

psalm 29:2

Good Evening Sweet Friends,

How are you???  Still celebrating

the Christmas season??? 

Have to say we are.....especially

since hubby is off.  His being off

at Christmas time for almost 2 weeks

 has always been a tradition at our 

house,something the whole family 

looked forward to. When the kids were

still home and in school,  he was

 usually off the whole time they were,

 which made it such a fun time. We

would always watch lots of Christmas

movies, and Sometimes go out to Steak

 and shake or somewhere around 10 or 

11:00 P.M., just cause we could,since

we had no schedules to keep,

and just for the fun of it.

Our kids loved that...........course,

so did I cause I am a nite owl.  lol

Yesterday hubby and I went to the

Holy Land experience in Orlando.

So our

#1

I am thankful 

is that Scott, Megan, Dee and Jerry had given
 us tickets for Mother and Fathers day this year,

and that we saved them till Christmas,
 cause we knew it would be cooler weather
 and decorated for Christmas. It was way more 

crowded than we anticipated, unfortunately,

 so we didn't get to see all the shows they 

had, but we enjoyed it ....it was a nice day,

cause it was only 65 degrees, and gorgeous.

It has changed some since we were there

last, some of the changes were good,

and some not so good.  Some things

don't look as authentic as it did the

first time we went.  It is well,  how shall

I say it....more glamorized and glitzed.

Can you just imagine the disciples with

really bright colors, sequins and shiny

 metallic fabrics!!  Enough said!!

All these pics were taken in their parking lot

#2

I am thankful

that we heard a guest speaker/evangelist

 they had and people were very moved by

 him, it was like a Billy Graham meeting, but 
on a much smaller scale, but it was great to
 see so many responding to his invitation,
 so we felt great about that!

#3

I am thankful

that we didn't run into one rude person,

all day, so that says a lot.............lol

That made it a really lovely day out.

This was just one of their many nativities, sorry it didn't
turn out better, but I did get it looking better than it did.

#4

I am thankful

that we found out upon entering the

park that you could drive thru there

after the park closed to see the

christmas lights.

We were disappointed that the park

closed at 6 PM cause that meant we

wouldn't get to enjoy the lights. They

leave the gates open for people to drive

 thru from 7-ll PM., 

 What a nice gift to their community!

The Bethlehem Innkeeper

#5

I am thankful

we were in an area so we could go looking 

around for awhile and then have dinner at

 Olive Garden and go back to see the 

Christmas lights,

They were wonderful!

and we so enjoyed them.

The 3 wisemen,  sorry it's so blurry.

#6 

I am thankful

for an Olive Garden gift card our

neighbor had given us months back,

which made our whole day free............

Can't beat that!!

#7

I am thankful

for just being able to rest and relax

and kick back for a few days as well.

#8

I am thankful

for every lovely and sweet gift I got

 for Christmas.

I have to say this lil donkey reminded me of donkey in the 
Shrek movie, I loved that character!  So cute!

#9

I am thankful

for the gifts we were able to purchase

and give this year,  cause at this time last

 year we were still in layoff mode.  lol

So what a joy that was..........

#10

I am thankful

that being at the Holyland was a constant
 reminder about Jesus and who He is and what
 He stands for.........and I am so glad we have
the priviledge of celebrating His birthday
and this wonderful season of the year.

This nativity scene on the wall was done with lights
and nothing else, can you see all the lambs below it!
click to blow up the picture, if you want or any of them!




#11

I am thankful

that a dear lady that goes to our church,

that fell a few weeks ago, breaking her

hip and leg, and jamming her arm, is

coming along so well....we saw her at the

 rehab hospital right before Christmas

 and she was up and walking so well,

with a walker still,  but the progress

was amazing,  and she just has best

attitude I have ever seen.  We went

to encourage her, and came out more

encouraged by her!!

such a sweetie............

This is inside the park taken thru the fence!  lol

#12

I am thankful

  she feels so loved and cared for, because

so many have rallied around her, and she

has had so many visitors, as she is a widow
and has no children or family that lives here.

she said everyone at the hospital and

rehab hospital keep asking her, what church

 do you go to anyway,  we have never seen

anyone have so many visitors......

Think she could be the main reason......

This is inside the park too, see the pretty
fountain in the foreground.

#13

I am thankful

that is such a good testimony for our

church family,  and maybe some might

decide to visit our church because of it.

Well, that wraps it up for this week.
Hope you are feeling thankful as well.


Thanks for stopping by, and I am
thankful for all the sweet comments
 you leave.


Love, Hugs,
and New Years Blessings.
Nellie




Hopefully next week I can show you
some pictures inside Holyland Experience.