Disney...the Last Day

Day Four

Happy Father's Day to Corey!!! You are a wonderful dad...thanks for spending this Father's Day celebrating in such a special way with us. The time you invest in us, the way you support us, and the priority you've made our family are truly blessings!We decided to spend our final day at Disney entirely at the Magic Kingdom. We began by heading to Frontierland to ride Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain...both lots of fun! We also went to Adventureland where we rode Pirates of the Caribbean (one of the boys favorites), Aladdin's Magic Carpet, the Swiss Family Robinson's Tree House...We had another rainy afternoon, but stopped for lunch and a bird show (not a favorite) and then headed back to our resort for a nap.We had a long night ahead of us! We watched the fireworks one last time....the fireworks were definitely one of the highlights of the trip! Disney does something really neat for their guests who stay at the resort...Magic Hours!!! Only guests who stay at the part can ride during these times...they are either open early or late. In our case the additional hours this day were from 11pm-2am. And oh, yes...we enjoyed every minute of it! We were able to ride Space Mountain, the Buzz Lightyear ride, It's a Small World, and several others ...all without any wait! We also went to the Hall of Presidents, a haunted house, the Carousel of Progress...again, hehe... It was so much fun! We had the BEST time...this final fun night was such a wonderful conclusion to one of the best family vacations ever! We definitely hope to go again one day.Day Five

We ate a late breakfast at our resort the next morning and then the boys had their caricatures done by an artist. The taxi picked us up and we were on our way to the airport. The boys were so tired...they fell asleep in the cab. Once there, they took time to make friends with everyone around us :) And then we loaded up on the plane and headed back to Nashville. Nanny picked us up at the airport and after a few hugs and kisses, we were on our way back to Home, Sweet, Home...Paris, Tennessee! Whew...what a wonderful but extremely busy couple of weeks! It has definitely been a time of great memories that will last a lifetime...we're so grateful to God for the opportunity to spend this time together as a family!

Disney Part 3

Day Three

We decided to head to Hollywood Studios to start out our third day. We were able to ride the new Toy Story ride...lots of fun, but we only did it once. It was our longest wait the entire time there 50 min. or so...which by the way was surprising to us. The lines really weren't that bad! We also were able to meet some neat characters, some of the Little Einsteins, Handy Manny, and then Buzz Lightyear and Woody!!! How exciting...check out Bennett's expression...precious! Then we caught a Playhouse Disney Live show.Afterward, we headed back to our room to let the boys rest...we were all pretty tired at this point! After nap time, we got ready for our dinner at Narcoosee's...wow, what a treat! It was located at the beautiful Grand Floridian Resort inside Disney. When we planned our vacation, we decided to do the Disney Dining Plan. We were really glad we did, but realized that we could have managed quite well with a smaller plan...3 meals + 2 snacks each every day= too much food! So, when we booked our dinner here, the fact that it used two of our dining plan meals each was no big deal. Had we paid cash, it would have been the most expensive meal we've ever eaten. It was incredible! But Corey and I were a little nervous that we were sitting beside a senior adult couple with no children at an expensive restaurant...you just never know how your children will act. What a blessing, not only was the meal incredible, but the boys behaved so nicely that the couple commented what a pleasure it was dining next to us after the dinner was over...whew! Our dining plan included appetizers (Corey and I had the fried calamari...so good...the picture doesn't do it justice, the boys both had chicken noodle soup...with Mickey Mouse noodles!) a main course (Corey had steak, I had lobster, and the boys had filet), and then dessert (B had a Nemo cupcake, Caleb had a chocolate sundae, Corey had creme brulee...two different types, and I had a beautiful chocolate truffle). Whew! What a meal...we won't do anything like it again for a long time I'm sure, but it was so much fun and the presentation of each dish was so pretty!Afterward we took a boat ride from the dock at the restaurant to Magic Kingdom for a few rides. We headed to Space Mountain...Bennett was too short :( so Caleb and Corey got to ride together first and then Caleb and I rode while B and Corey went to ride something else together. We rode the Carousel of Progress again (can't figure out the boys intrigue with this ride, but the kept singing the song all week..."There's a great big beautiful tomorrow, shining at the end of every day!") And then we watched the fireworks show again...in the rain. It was such a precious memory...all of us just standing out in the rain getting poured on, but enjoying every moment of it together! What a fun way to end the day....only one more day left...hard to believe!

Disney Continued...

Day Two
After an amazing first day, we couldn't wait for our second day! We began with breakfast at our resort...these Mickey waffles were so cute! We decided to head to Animal Kingdom and Epcot. Our first stop in Animal Kingdom was a safari ride...it was so wonderful! We rode on a bus and were actually pretty close to the animals. We saw lions, elephants, rhinos, giraffes, and lots of others! After that we visited a petting zoo, and we got signatures from Flick, Pocahontas, Rafiki, and Jimminy Cricket! I'm sure there were a lot of other neat things in Animal Kingdom, but it started raining on us again, so we decided to head on our way.
Next we went to Epcot. We went on the ride inside the big sphere and then took a boat ride across the lake to see some of the countries represented. We saw a really neat drum presentation in "Japan" while waiting to eat dinner at the Japanese steakhouse, Teppan Edo. Lunch was absolutely delicious and very entertaining...the boys really enjoy watching the food being cooked in front of us! Afterward we were able to go to a really neat aquarium...the boys loved the dolphins! And we were able to talk to Crush, the turtle from Finding Nemo. Then we saw Donald Duck, Daisy, Pluto, Goofy and....MICKEY! We waited for a while, but it was worth it :) There was also a really neat test track car ride and we saw Kurt Warner getting on when we were getting off! Then we decided to take a ride on the Monorail from Epcot to Magic Kingdom and back...it was a fun way to see Disney from a different perspective.We ended the day with a swim in the pool at our resort...it was a fun, refreshing end to a great day!

We're going to Disney World!

It has been a dream of mine to take the boys to Disney World while they are young and everything is still magical to them. Imagine my excitement when Corey and I heart that SBC was in Orlando this year! Because we knew we would already be there, we decided to fly the boys there with us to experience the dream ;) They didn't know we were going until the morning we were preparing to leave the hotel we stayed in for the conference, so we woke them up with the exciting news! They were thrilled!

DAY ONE
We arrived in Disney World Thursday morning, checked into the All-Star Movies Resort and then headed strait to the Magic Kingdom. Mom, Zachary and Natiley met us there for day one because they had been in town for the convention with Dad. We had a blast covering most of the rides in Fantasyland and Tomorrowland. It actually started raining on us really hard at one point, but we just ran through the rain from ride to ride...I think the boys liked this almost as much as the rides! It was an absolutely fun memory...and I'm glad we didn't mind the rain, because it rained on us every afternoon or evening we were there! We ended the evening with dinner at the Crystal Palace where me met Winnie the Pooh, all his friends, and Tigger too! The boys had little green autograph books that they had all the characters sign when they met them, so these were our first autographs! The wait for dinner was unusually long due to a miscommunication, so when we were seated, the hostess asked the boys which Pooh characters were their favorite...a few minutes later she returned with a stuffed Pooh for Caleb and a Tigger for Bennett!
Right after dinner we headed to Main Street Disney to catch the parade and fireworks show! It was incredible! Everything we had imagined about how magical Disney World would be was exceeded. The castle was stunningly beautiful all lit up! It was truly a dream come true to experience this as a family!Just a little note...Caleb took the last two pictures all by himself with his camera! I was so impressed!

SBC 2010...Orlando

After a short night's sleep, Corey and I headed to church to prepare for Sunday worship. It was so good to see our church family! Our boys had been in Jackson while we were in Honduras, so Michele had brought them back to Paris and was going to bring them with her to church. Just before Sunday school they arrived, and I've never been so excited to see them in my life! We had big hugs and lots of smiles and kisses!

After a wonderful morning, we grabbed a quick lunch and then changed over our bags from Honduras clothing to Southern Baptist Convention/vacation clothing...whew! By 3 o'clock we were on the road back to the Nashville airport...weren't we just here?!The boys were so excited about their first flight! They generally haven't gone with us to SBC, but with it being in Orlando, we decided to tag our family vacation onto the end of the trip. They loved the flight and even got to sit in the cockpit with the pilot before the flight! We arrived at our hotel late...after 11 pm. We were so ready for bed!

The pastors' conference was amazing! We were able to hear Francis Chan (wrote Crazy Love, which I did with the girls for a book study this past spring) and David Platt. When David Platt was preaching, he said that we must be willing to give our lives in order for the Great Commission to be fulfilled. He said that some would die for the cause, but that it would be a cause worth dying for. Caleb looked up at me and said, "Mom, if God tells me to go, I will. I'll die. I won't even care!" Oh, my...I lost it! What does God have planned for this child? I cannot wait to see...he makes my heart so proud with his sensitivity to other people and to the Lord. And as we worshiped, I was holding him and had my hand raised in praise...he lifted both his hands and his sweet little face up toward heaven and just worshiped, too! It was one of the most powerful moments I've experienced as a mother and as a Christian! I can't really put it into words.

Throughout the conference there was an emphasis on adoption. The SBC is starting the Minister's Adoption Fund to help pastors and missionaries with the cost of adoption. Several pastors and professors shared their families' stories about adoption. The question was posed, "What if instead of being known as the convention who boycotts things, we became known as the convention who cares for orphans and widows as we're called to do in God's word?" Powerful! Stay tuned for more on this very soon....and an exciting announcement! ;)