Castles in the Sky

Castles have been on my mind lately. 

No, I'm not a Disney fanatic.

Is it because one of my best reports I've ever written was a 6th grade paper on castles complete with drawings and a glossary I had created defining all the nooks and crannies you would find in one of these neat structures?                                        Nah.

Yes, I currently live with a six year old girl who loves all things princess-y but I don't think that's the reason why either.

However, I did babysit my niece and nephews today and in doing so, we built this castle after breakfast.

The three older children excitedly assembled the castle by pushing the sugar cookie walls together using the purple icing.

Voila! 

Afterwards, the baby was tuckered out....nibbling on a sugar cookie is hard work I suppose!  ;)

So why all the castle thoughts as of late?  They say if you build a castle in the air or sky, you're chasing an incredibly impossible hard to reach dream.  Perhaps my mind keeps returning to this expression as I seek the kind of employment I think I would be well suited for rather than just taking any job for after graduation 3 months from today. 

Oh my gosh, in three short months, life as I have known it for the last 4 years will change yet again!!!

I've applied to universities in five different states so far and while I have a couple "top picks" in terms of where I might want to go, I'm keeping an open mind in trying to discern where it is God needs me to be rather than where I want to go.  Some may say some of the places I have applied to are impossible or would be difficult to transition to but I'm going to keep aiming for that castle in the sky.  Besides, I would imagine the view is pretty good from up there.






Or maybe I've had castles on the brain since I'll be going to California soon and have been reflecting on previous trips to CA as I prepare for this one.  The first time I was out West, my aunt, a family friend, and I went to a castle winery in Napa called, Castello di Amorosa.  It was a beautiful winery nestled among the rolling hills with majestic views of the mountains and vineyards, was quite romantic, and of course served yummy wine. 



When I saw this courtyard at the winery, I couldn't help but think of Beauty and the Beast and imagine them dancing out here under the stars and string lights!!

I remember joking with Aunt Maureen and Laura that I had found my knight in shining armor while there.  ; )

On second thought, it could be due to driving by a nearby castle and when I do I think of a recent afternoon when Adam and I swung by and pretended to be royalty for a minute.  Ha!

Yeah, I'm going to keep chasing the dreams no matter the obstacles.  Who knows, maybe someday there will be two castles in the sky.  Why not?! 


This line of thinking also has me thinking about New Year's Resolutions...we're 1 month and 9 days into 2014 and some folks may have already fallen off the resolution bandwagon.  If you find yourself in that situation, as do I, let's get back up and start trying again tomorrow.  Keep going after those desires in your heart and don't give up...onward and upward my friends to your castles in the sky!