Welcome to Believe Vacations’ Article Series: Love Is In The Air – A Disney Love Story! For our fifth article, we highlight agent Ashley Oldham. Our “Southern Boo” has one of the biggest personalities on our team and if she isn’t laughing with her friends, she’s making them laugh. A elementary school counselor in the real world, she excels in planning trips for families with young ones. But she’ll be the first to tell you, working to see the joy of other children was not always easy for her. Here is her Disney love story:
The Adventure Begins…
When you hear the word “adventure” in a Disney setting, you may think of Adventureland and the remote jungles on other continents from the Jungle Cruise or the swashbuckling tales on the high seas you encounter on Pirates of the Caribbean. You might think about the adventures the Darling children had with Peter Pan and Tinker Bell. You may even think about Disney’s California Adventure or making overseas travel arrangements with Adventures by Disney. Adventure may be defined as “an unusual and exciting experience or activity” and that is the true definition of my life over the past several years.
The Adventure Continues…
Brian and I fell in love and got married like any traditional fairy tale would begin. At first, there was nothing I would call “unusual” but it was still pretty exciting. In fact, “adventure” became our favorite word to describe our relationship. In 2009, the movie UP! came out. We enjoyed it and thought it was cute at first. But little did we know that thanks to the movie, adventure came to mean a lot more to us as a couple.
“Each Other’s Adventure”
For 5 years, we went through the physical and emotional battle of infertility. There were so many heartaches and heartbreaks, false signs and false hopes. We began to lose track of all the shots, bloodwork, ultrasounds, mileage driving and thousands of dollars spent to achieve the ultimate adventure we dreamed and prayed about together. But our adventure was not starting when we hoped. We began to think we made not ever get to take that adventure together. Needless to say, when we watched UP and followed Carl & Ellie’s story, there were lots of water works. So we began to appreciate what we had – each other. At one point during those trying times, I said to Brian, “maybe we are each other’s adventure and this is what it is for us.”
But God is good in all circumstances. And while He may not answer your prayers the way you want, or may delay His answer, or even provide as you have requested, He always hears the cry of His Children. I am so very blessed that he provided our two amazing twins! Don’t get me wrong, I will never put the lessons I have learned from Disney movies on the same level with the lessons I have received from God’s Word, but there was a reason we discovered a movie like UP! in those trying times. Disney was yet another reason to have hope, to press on, to smile and be thankful for what we DID have and to find encouragement that there are still wonderful adventures out there if we want to go after them. Since that time, we have had an adventure bigger, wilder, and more exciting than Brian and I could’ve ever dreamed.
Celebrating the Adventure
Brian and I decided at 10 years of marriage to celebrate our anniversary every year in Disney and the continue the adventures we have together. Our anniversary is in October so we get to enjoy the Food & Wine Festival & (in non-COVID world), Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. Disney is the perfect place to celebrate our anniversary and I encourage any couple to try it! The customer service is top notch, you’re able to splurge on amazing food and drinks and create new memories and adventures.
The Adventure Lives On…
God is good and we have our sweet twins, but not every infertility story ends like ours did. My prayer is that you find the magic as a couple and always celebrate your adventures.
Ashley became a BELIEVER in February 2020 and resides in Lexington, KY. You can use her complimentary services by reaching out on Facebook, Instagram, or emailing [email protected].
