Thursday Thankful & day 1

Thursdays are the day where I share what I am thankful for that week. If you have been following along, I bet you can guess what this week's post is about... 

Today... I am thankful for one thing & that one thing is very big & dear to my heart. 

Family.

I cannot explain to you how overwhelmed with feelings (happiness, joy, relief, excitement... etc) I was today when I spotted my mother & aunt in the arrivals area of Heathrow Airport. Honestly, I thought I could hold it together. But seeing them, I burst into tears & could not contain my happiness. 

There's a quote from the movie, Love Actually, which says this: 

"Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinion's starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don't see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often, it's not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it's always there - fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends. When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know, none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge - they were all messages of love. If you look for it, I've got a sneaky feeling you'll find that love actually is all around."

Today, the Heathrow Airport arrivals gate was a scene of love - the love between a mother & daughter, & an aunt & niece. Family. Just the love shared between a close knit family. 

They didn't see me at first but I ran towards my mother & abruptly embraced her. We both sobbed a little bit, as a mother & daughter reuniting should do. Mom's hug has never felt as great as it did in that sweet moment. Then it was on to aunt, & that one felt just as great. 

Man... Am I blessed & oh so thankful that those two are on this journey for the next 10 days with me. Can't wait to see what the rest of our adventure has in store for us...

In the mean time, here's a slight recap of today. 

While in Leicester Square today, we accidentally ran into the Cinderella exhibit - prepping for the upcoming premier here! Aunt was THRILLED about the possibility of exploring the exhibit... We didn't go in. You're welcome aunt. 

"Have courage and be kind." You go Cinderella, with your inspirational words. 

THE glass slipper. 

JK, it might be a fake. Regardless, it cost something like 2,000 pounds... AKA $3,000. 

They're really just asking to get in trouble.

I swear, mom talked to every cop or guard she could find. 

YAY! First stop on our trip today. 

2/3 sisters go exploring.

AWAITING THEIR ARRIVAL. 

I still can't believe they're here. Honestly, it's a dream come true to share the place I love with some of the people I love the most in the world. How blessed am I?

Off to bed - && we're off to Rome in the morning! Be blessed & Happy Thursday!