Unbroken

Unbroken is my first read of the summer.   I love to read, but haven't had time to really read an entire book for quite some time.  Several months ago, I heard a visiting preacher tell the story of Louie Zamperini during one of his messages.  During the sermon, I quickly jotted down the name and was determined to find the book later.  I forgot about it until our first visit to the library for the summer this past week. As it turns out, the book was a good decision.  I couldn't put the thing down for four days.  Normally, a book this size, I could probably zoom through it in about two days.  But the content and subject matter in this book was so spellbinding, I'd often find myself having to lay it down for awhile to digest all that I'd just read.
Louie Zamperini was an Olympic Runner.  He'd been to the Olympics in Germany and was training for the next Olympics in Finland, when WWII came along.  He was drafted into the Air Force and trained as a bombardier on a B-24.  The plane made it through several successful missions, but on one mission the plane was practically destroyed, limping back home to retirement.  It wasn't any of these dangerous missions, but actually a rescue mission in another plane where Louie and the crew went down.  Only three men survived.  They floated on a raft for 47 days in the Pacific Ocean, one of the men eventually dying.  They endured hunger, thirst, sharks, storms, even an attack from a Japanese plane.  After floating some 2,000 miles from the crash site, they came to a group of islands taken over by the Japanese.  They endured at least three different POW camps under extreme circumstances.  After two years in these camps, they were rescued, mainly because the war had ended.
Louie then had to endure all the hardships that many veterans have to silently endure with little to no help, especially in those days.  He married and became an alcoholic and was filled with anger, hatred, and was consumed with vengeance from all that he went through.  His wife eventually talked him into going to a Billy Graham crusade held in the Los Angeles area, where Louis turned his life over to Christ.
This is an amazing story of hope, courage, and forgiveness.  I'm not a WWII or history buff, by any means, but I loved this book.  It was a captivation story that truly inspired me and causes me to have a newfound respect for those men and women who serve our country in war efforts.

It's time for a change

A few months ago a major event came into our family's life.  This event has caused us to reflect, inwardly, on our lives; the decisions we make, the way we raise our family, the standards we uphold.

I was raised in a very stable home.  We attended church faithfully.  My parents tithed and gave unselfishly to our church, and they encouraged us to do the same.  We were heavily involved in many ministries of the church.  And while my family held many conservative values and standards, they were very open about letting us choose what we believed in and figuring out our own standards for ourselves.  We were never made to wear culottes or skirts all the time.  We were expected to dress modestly and pleasing to the Lord, but we were given the freedom to choose what exactly that was.  Being from the south, and especially a beach side town, modest dress is very hard to achieve without being made fun of.  But through Pastors, Sunday School teachers, and other good examples in my life, I chose a certain style of dress.  I was careful to be respectful of others thoughts and standards.  If I knew I was going to a friend's house who did not wear pants or shorts, I would not wear or pack pants or shorts.  I would try and be respectful of their beliefs.

The same could be said of our music standards.  My parents listened to many different styles of music.  They encouraged us to be knowledgable in all styles.  We were introduced to classical, jazz, blues, rock and roll, country.  I always loved (and still do) classical music.  I ended up taking over ten years of formal ballet training because of that love.

When I went away to college, all of the standards that I made myself, from good, godly counsel and studying Bible principles helped shape me into what I thought was a very confident woman that was a good example to others.  And then I got married and moved up north.

Let me tell you, the north is different from the south.  In the "Bible belt" there is a good, Bible believing church on every corner. If you don't like one, there is bound to be another one that fits your needs.  Not so up here.  On every corner there might be a church, but it's not baptist.  And not always Bible believing. So the choices that we thought we had were slim to none.

We attended a church that was so dogmatic in their beliefs that anything different from their standards was automatically wrong.  I came into the church with such high self esteem, ready to serve the Lord in any capacity that I could find, that I just knew they would love me.  Everyone in high school did.  Everyone in college did.  I was the golden girl.  Not so here.  I was immediately asked to not wear my "short skirts" (they came to the top of my knee).  I was asked not to attend ball games if I did not wear culottes.  I was not welcome to come to visitation if I could not be dressed modestly.  I was labeled a sinner for my southern gospel and contemporary christian cd's.  Little by little, year by year, I was beat down.

I have been beat down so far, that all those beliefs and standards I worked so hard to find in high school and college, I have come to question many times over.  And now, here I am.  Back to square one. It's time to reflect again on those inward beliefs that, not some man wants me to have, but what God wants me to have.  I have lived so many years trying to please a man, that I have lost sight of what is really important.

Who cares if I wear pants?  Who cares if I listen to music that has a drum beat in it?  Do you know what matters?  It's my heart.  It's how I treat others.  It's showing compassion and love to others so that they might come to know Christ.  I have never been shown true, Godly love or compassion in many times of my life when I truly needed it.  It's time for me to become an agent of grace and show God's love to others.  I have to look past all the bad, past all the negative looks, past all the gossip, and be compassionate.  Be loving.  Show grace and mercy even when no one shows it to me.  I need to quit feeling sorry for myself.  Quit waiting on someone else to be nice to me.  Quit waiting for someone to show me love.  I need to be the one.  I need to be kind.  I need to take the first step.

It's time for a change.

Something good is going to happen to me!

Do you have hope for your future? Or do you generally expect negative or disappointing things to happen?

I must admit my prevailing thought has often been, What’s going to go wrong next?

I realized I have been living with evil forebodings, which created a vague feeling around me all the time that something bad was going to happen. 

I have been dreading that something bad was going to happen, while the whole time, God wants me to expect good things to happen. Jeremiah 29:11 tells us that God’s thoughts and plans for us are “thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end."

God wants me to say, “Something good is going to happen!”

The truth is, God doesn’t use us when we have negative attitudes full of self-pity, laziness, or an “everybody owes me” perspective. God works through faith! But before we can have faith, we have to have hope.

Hope is favorable and confident expectation; it’s an expectant attitude that something good is going to happen and things will work out, no matter what situation we’re facing.

Hope is determined and doesn’t give up. God wants us to be so locked up in hope, trusting that He can change what needs to be changed, that we can do what He wants us to do, and that all things are possible with God. If we will be steadfast in our hope, we can’t lose – we have to be winners in life.

Human nature is impatient, selfish and wants things quickly. Why is it that although it takes us years to get into our messes, we expect God to get us out of them in a few days?

In John 16:33, Jesus tells us that we are going to have tribulation, trials, distress and frustration in this world, but in spite of that, we can be of good cheer and take heart. Why? Because He has overcome the world. And when we live in Him, we become overcomers too!

That’s why Jesus died for us. He came to save us from sin and death and to give us abundant life –now. And I’m determined to have everything Jesus died to give me.

Make a decision to have everything Jesus died to give you. You have to do it on purpose. Be determined to do what God wants you to do and refuse to live with negative expectations. Ask God to help you live in hope and declare by faith, “Something good is going to happen to me!”

Feeling Disappointed

I have often been disappointed.  Disappointed in myself.  Disappointed in others.  But, isn’t it wonderful to know that we cannot disappoint God? Since He knows every decision we will make, He can never be surprised or let down by our wrong choices. He has no false expectations of what we can or cannot accomplish, and He loves us, no matter what.

When we are faced with difficult, painful, or disappointing experiences, many times we are quick to quote, “And we know that all things work together for good." (Romans 8:28)  But do we really apply that verse in all the daily details and challenges that come our way? Do we have faith that God is engineering our circumstances—no matter how uncomfortable they may be—for our ultimate benefit?

We believe Jesus is the Messiah who will come again. We believe in salvation by grace alone. We believe we will spend eternity in heaven. And we heartily say “Amen!” to all that. But then some big disappointment happens in life, and we cry out, “God, where are You? Help me!”

It’s one thing to know the fundamentals intellectually, but it’s something else to live by faith. Can we apply the principles of Scripture to our daily lives so that unexpected disappointment won’t keep us from being the person God wants us to be?

Disappointments do not mean that our Father doesn’t love us. He desires that we profit from hard circumstances, and He wants what is best for us. Remember, God is more interested in our spiritual growth than in relieving our pain. His best may not always be our choice, but because it’s His nature to love us (I John 4:8)), we can be assured that even letdowns are sovereignly permitted for our good.

Words are Wonderful Things

Keep a watch on your words,
For words are wonderful things;
They are sweet like the bees' fresh honey,
Like the bees they have terrible stings
They can bless like the warm, glad sunshine,
And brighten a lonely life;
They can cut, in the strife of anger
Like an open, two-edged knife.

--Mrs. E.R. Miller

Two Kinds of People

No; the two kinds of people on earth I mean
Are the people who lift and the people who lean.
Wherever you go you will find the world's masses
Are always divided in just two classes.
And oddly enough, you will find too, I think
There is only one lifter to twenty who lean.
In which class are you? Are you easing the load
Of overtaxed lifters who toil down the road?
Or are you a leaner, who lets others bear
Your portion of labor and worry and care?

-Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Forgotten Posts

I failed to post about our yearly trip to Tennessee for Thanksgiving.  I can't believe I forgot it!  It's the one trip I look forward to every year.  Here are a few pictures from that trip.  We stayed in a lovely home in Signal Mountain.  We debated going to Gatlinburg this year.  It's getting expensive and crowded and there's just not time for it.  So we stayed in the Chattanooga area. We got to visit with family there.  We also went and looked at Christmas lights at Rock City.  It was a really good time for us.

I also failed to post on our Christmas Day festivities.  However, there are a couple of good reasons for that.  One: it was very low key, since we had just returned from Florida.  We were worn out!  Second: we only took two pictures!  And as you can tell below, they weren't really good ones (As a side note, he's not giving the thumbs down because of Christmas, it's because he didn't want me to take his picture!).  Chad's battery was dead on his phone and his iPad's memory was full.  I, on the other hand, just didn't think about getting my phone out.  Oh well. There is so much more from December that we will remember, besides just Christmas day!

New Car

I used to drive an Audi A6.  I absolutely loved that car.  But, it was starting to get older, and repairs on foreign cars are costly.  So, we sold it on Craig's List.  After much consideration, I decided on getting an SUV.  I really wanted something with a third row seat, in case we ever needed to give someone a ride.  Between the kids and their friends, all the traveling we do, and all the things I transport back and forth to school, this seemed like the best idea.  We knew we were buying a Toyota. After all, we do need to support the company that gives us our paycheck!  In fact, this very vehicle, Chad was in charge of its production!
I really love it!  It's is 2013 Toyota Highlander SE.  It has black leather seats and almost all the bells and whistles.  We got it on Christmas Eve.  It sure would have been nice to have for our trip to Disney, but that is a whole different post in itself.  In fact, I'd like to forget all the drama that the Audi caused us.

Last leg of our trip--Pensacola

All along, I had been telling the kids that we were going to Florida for Christmas.  They had just assumed we were going to see my family and not go to Disney World.  I kept thinking that they may be just a tad disappointed if we didn't go see them, even with the grand surprise of Disney World. After all, that was what they had been looking forward to for the past month (in their heads).  And so, on our way back, we stopped and spent a few days at the condo with my parents.  We also got to see my brother and his family. 

The boys went to Ft. Pickens to explore one day, while the girls did some shopping (just a little).  We also had a nice dinner out at Hemingway's on the Beach and opened all our Christmas presents afterwards.  

The beach was beautiful while we were there (it's beautiful all the time).  It was pretty cold, but we still managed to get out and walk a little while and collect some shells to bring home.  I love the beach.  I never realized just how much I loved it until I moved away.  

Disney World--Tips to Remember

First off, here are a few links to the sites I visited daily.  There was so much helpful information on these.  My first and favorite was, My First Visit.  If you are planning a trip to Disney, there is so much helpful and detailed information on this, that you will feel very informed and it will help you make a lot of decisions more easily. This was my favorite website, by far.  

The other two websites were also very helpful in planning which parks to go to on which days.  Touring Plans and Undercover Tourist.  I also bought a book from Touring Plans called "The Unofficial Guide to Disney World 2012" that was very informational.

My first tip:  Wait until your children are old enough to actually enjoy it!  You'll enjoy it better that way, too! I can't tell you how many articles I read before leaving about scheduling nap times and what kind of stroller to bring and what to pack in the diaper bag, cooler, and backpack.  And I AM SO GLAD I DIDN'T HAVE TO DO ANY OF THAT! My kids don't need naps. And they don't need strollers.  And we didn't need to fill a diaper bag with all that stuff that little kids need.  I understand why you would want to bring your small children to a wonderful place like Disney World.  There were so many times when our kids were little that we would see other families going and it made us just a little jealous.  But after being in the humongous crowds and seeing all the crying children and frustrated parents, I am SO glad we waited.  Let me be honest.  We live 14 hours away from Disney World.  This trip was our first, and maybe the last.  It was expensive.  I wouldn't want all that money and all the planning to go to waste by taking little kids that won't remember it.  

All we took was a cinch bag that was lightweight and able to be carried on my back.  It had an outer pocket for easy access to tickets, money, and the camera.  Inside the bag, we kept clear plastic ponchos (in case of rain), wet wipes, kleenex, hand sanitizer, a couple of bandaids, some tylenol, a water bottle, and some individually packed snacks.  That's it. And you know what?  We were fine.  Another advantage to this is that they check every bag before you enter the park. I felt bad for those families waiting in line while their stroller, diaper bag, backpack, and cooler was being checked.  I smiled and waved with my little cinch sack as I passed by them (not really).

My second tip: Buy your tickets from Undercover Tourist and don't buy the park hopper pass.  The only reason I could think that the park hopper would benefit you, is if you were visiting a park for the day and had reservations for a meal at another park on the same day.  But for us, one park a day was all we could handle.  It made for a lot less stress. Undercover Tourist is trustworthy and is one of the only sites I found with tickets at a good discount.  Saving money anywhere you can is good.  Also, the longer you stay, the cheaper your tickets (per day) are.

My third tip:  Stay on site.  Stay on site.  Stay on site.  Is it more expensive?  Yes.  But SO worth it. If you can swing one of the resorts on the monorail, do that.  Do it.

My fourth tip: Do the dining plan. Trust me. If you are really wanting to save a lot of money and want to avoid doing the dining plan, I suggest skipping dining at Disney altogether (maybe with the exception of a character meal or two) and plan to buy/bring groceries.  It would be very easy to have breakfast, lunch or dinner at your resort.  Or pack a cooler to take to the park for meals. We had a refrigerator in our room, but not a microwave.  However, I read somewhere that you could request one and they'd put one in your room. HOWEVER, if I could do it again, I'd do the dining plan.  Hands down.  We felt like every meal, we were pinching pennies and ordering the cheapest meal we could to save money.  With all the amazing restaurants in Disney, we really didn't eat all that great.  If we had gotten the dining plan, it would all have already been paid for and we could have eaten a lot better.  What would be a great option, would be to plan a trip when they offer a free or discounted dining plan.  

My fifth tip:  Plan some down time.  Whether it be one whole day or a few hours in the afternoon of each day, plan it.  The resorts have so many fun things to offer, that the kids really wanted to do some of those things, too.  You don't have to spend every minute of every day at the park.  You'll hate yourself after about the third day, if you do.  Contrary to popular belief, there is such a thing as Disney overload!

Lastly:  Plan accordingly, but have fun!  I am a major scheduler.  This trip was a scheduler's dream! I planned which days we would go to which parks, according to the crowd calendars I found on the above websites.  Then from there, I planned which rides were a "must see" for us. I had planned on following the itinerary given in the "Unofficial Guide" but in the end, we just did what we wanted.  One thing I wish I had been more careful with was the Fastpass system.  I would forget to get a fastpass for a particular attraction, and then by the time I remembered, the fastpasses were already used up or the return time for our fastpass was so late in the day, that we would forget about it.  So, don't forget to get your fast passes first thing!  I did read they are coming out with a new system soon that is supposed to be even more convenient.  The thing for us, is we would be too lazy to walk ALL the way over to one side of the park for a fastpass, then walk ALL the way to the other side for the current attraction.  That is a lot of walking!!  We would try and cover sections at a time, instead of zigzagging all over the park. Call us lazy, but that is what we wanted to do.

The Grand Floridian

When I booked this hotel, I had so many questions.  Everyone kept telling me it was the 'best of the best' and if I had the opportunity to stay there, I should do it.  After doing the research, I found it was very far out of our price range and there was no way we could afford it.  However, a friend from high school emailed me that she could let me use her employee discount (she works at another one of Disney hotels part time).  Because of the time of year we were going and with her discount, we were able to get the room for 50% off of the regular price.  After talking to other people who had been to Disney and weighing the options, I decided we were going to spring for it and stay there.
One thing you have to realize is that Disney is almost like an alternate universe.  The prices for everything are sky high.  So even with our 50% discount, we were still going to be paying WAY more than we would normally pay for a hotel room.  I had reservations about the room the entire time, but was holding my judgement for when I actually saw the place!

When we arrived, I was in awe! The lobby was so amazing.  Five floors tall with a huge Christmas tree and a life-size, real, gingerbread house.  There were three restaurants there, as well as, about four shops.  Every night there was some type of live music.  From piano, to choirs, to a jazz-type band, the atmosphere was amazing.  The hotel, itself, was almost like it's own amusement park.  The resort is massive!  There are rooms in the main building, where the lobby is.  And then there are about ten satellite buildings with more rooms!  Each building has a name and has it's own beautiful lobby.  There is also a pool with a huge slide and rock waterfall.  At the pool, there is also a ping pong table, private cabanas and a poolside restaurant, too.  There is even another restaurant by the lagoon with amazing water views.  There are boat rentals and a beach, too!  I'm telling you, you could come stay at this hotel and never have to leave.  That's how fun it was!

Each afternoon and evening they had scheduled activities for the kids.  In the afternoon, there were fun games with prizes by the pool.  In the evening, they had a big blow up movie screen on one of the lawns where the kids could play mario kart on the wii, watch a movie, or trade pins (more on that in another post).

A few other things I loved about this resort:  I loved the convenience.  We could ride the monorail to Epcot or Magic Kingdom and in a matter of less than five minutes, we were where we wanted to be.  That was SO nice!  I think it may have been worth the extra money just with that!  We also were right on the Seven Seas Lagoon.  So we had our own private ferry boat to take us back and forth to the Magic Kingdom.  That was just as fast as the monorail and was very enjoyable.  The other thing I loved about the Grand Floridian was that we could see Cinderella's Castle from the courtyard, just outside our building.  Each night, we would sit out there and watch as the lights came on and then watch the amazing fireworks.  For me, I can't handle big crowds.  And as much as I wanted to have that experience of being on Main Street for the fireworks, I had usually reached my level of people-handling by evening and we would have to go back to the resort.  The kids were usually tired out by this point, too.  So, it was nice to see it from a distance, without being shoulder to shoulder with a million other people.  We could hear the music and everything, too!

Here's a few of the hidden Mickey's we found in our room!

Magic Kingdom

We spent two incredible days at Magic Kingdom.  This was my favorite park, by far.  It brought back so many memories that I thought I had forgotten.  From, "It's a Small World" to "The Tiki Room,"there are so many fun things to do.  From the timeless favorites to some new ones, we didn't even scratch the surface after two days.  Maybe we are lazy.  Maybe because it was the last park we visited, so we were already a little worn, but whatever the reason, I don't see how someone could come in upon park opening and stay until closing! And like I read in my various research, it really is important to arrive to the park prior to opening.  The longer it is open, the more crowded it becomes!

One of my favorite things we did was breakfast at Cinderella's Castle.  We got to go in before the park opened.  That made for some nice pictures before the crowds arrived.  It was very magical to get to see the park for the very first time with the morning fog still not lifted and to see a clear Main Street leading right up to the castle. Amazing.  The breakfast itself was wonderful and the kids really enjoyed every aspect of it.  Even Caden.  It was a lot of money to splurge on, but to me,  it was worth it.  I mean you get to eat in Cinderella's Castle! Not many people can say they've done that!

We got to do most of the attractions that I had planned on seeing.  There were a few we didn't fit in and a few that weren't on the list that we found time for! There is a new expansion area called Fantasyland featuring Belle's World and a few other things.  It was so packed, we couldn't even fit our way in.  Maybe we'll get to that in a future trip, after the newness has worn off!

We really tried to keep the souvenirs to a minimum since we spent so much on the hotel and the tickets, but once we saw everyone with these balloons, we couldn't pass them up.  How often do you get the chance to buy a $10 balloon? Ha! 

Epcot

Let me start off by saying that Epcot is a fun place.  And it's not that it's NOT kid-friendly, it's just that it is more interesting for adults.  Our kids enjoyed it.  We really enjoyed it, but we probably would have enjoyed it more without the children.  It had so many neat things to look at, but not necessarily things that our kids wanted to take the time to look at.  I would have loved to have taken more time to explore each individual country represented there.  We, more or less, just walked by each country.  Taking a moment to stop and "look" and then move on.  We did eat at a great little Italian place (in Italy) and had a fabulous pizza and salad. One of the best parts about the World Showcase, that the kids enjoyed, was seeing all the princesses or characters in their respective countries.  They got to get a lot of autographs in their book!

The Seas with Nemo and Friends was really fun.  There was a part called "Talk With Crush" that we all enjoyed.  But, really, other than that, we didn't really ride any of the rides there.  The Test Track was one we were wanting to do, but it was not working on the day we were there.  We did get to do some shopping for some gifts and souvenirs. So, all in all, Epcot was fun.

Hollywood Studios

Our next stop was Hollywood Studios.  This park has the vibe of a 50's town with the overwhelming theme of a movie studio (duh!).  It was fun to walk around and there were all kinds of neat shows to watch and several cool rides.

Savannah's favorite ride was the Tower of Terror.  Unfortunately for her, she has two parents who are not as young as they used to be.  I refused to ride any of the roller coasters or "thrill rides." Chad, was able to handle a few, but his recovery time is alot longer than it used to be.  Lol!  She did not get to ride Soarin', because of her two old parents.  I didn't think it was a good idea to let her stand in line by herself or ride by herself.  So, she had to miss that one.

One of the kids favorite things to do at each park, was to get an autograph from their favorite characters.  It was alot like standing in line for a ride.  You had to wait 15-30 minutes to see them. Buzz and Woody were the ones at Hollywood Studios that were a lot of fun to meet.  Everyone had told us to ride the Toy Story Mania ride.  We had gotten a "fastpass" earlier in the day, but by the time was getting close for our ride, we were plum tuckered out and left.  Oh well.

Animal Kingdom

Animal Kingdom was the first park we visited.  I really had no expectations for this park, at all.  I had heard mixed reviews on it, so I didn't really know what to expect.  And I don't know if it was because it was the first park and our excitement level was high, but we LOVED this park.  It was one of our favorites!

The first thing we did was have a character meal at the Tusker House restaurant.  It was served buffet style and had an African/Middle Eastern flair to it.  I thought it was fabulous.  Chad, who isn't really into ethnic foods beyond mexican and italian, didn't care for it too much.  We got to see Minnie, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy.  It really was a pleasant experience all around.

We also went on a "safari," which was really neat.  We saw all kinds of animals and it was well worth the wait. While we were there, we also saw a Finding Nemo show, rode Expedition Everest (well, Chad and Savannah did), and we all enjoyed the Dino area.
Animal Kingdom was lots of fun.  I wish we had been able to spend more time there!

Disney World, Part One

We made it to Disney! And, miracle of all miracles, I managed to keep it a surprise from my children! If you know anything about me, you know I am a terrible secret keeper. The stress of it all about did me in.  And if I did it again, I'm not sure if I would keep it a surprise for so long.

Here's how it all went down:  We told the kids we were going to Florida to visit my parents for Christmas.  Which, technically, we were.  Just not right away.  On the way down, we told them we were going to try a "new way." We told them, the "new way" was taking longer than we expected, so we were going to stop and spend the night. I had already booked a hotel with an indoor pool, so they could get their wiggles out from the ten hour drive.  When they woke up the next morning, we told them they could open one present.  I gave them their present and inside was a Mickey Mouse shirt with their name on it, and an autograph book.  They were a little confused, but as it sunk in, they got very excited.  We ate breakfast and then left for Disney.  It only took about two and a half hours from where we spent the night.

For our first trip to Disney World, I had done lots and lots and lots (and lots) of research.  I bought books, followed people on twitter and Facebook.  Bookmarked websites.  Asked friends.  Asked strangers.  And one thing I found is that it is definitely important to plan ahead.  But the other thing I found is that once you get there, most of the plans just go down the drain! I had taken a lot of time to write out itineraries that included all the popular attractions and rides.  And you know what?  We didn't follow a single one of them! It is such an amazing place, that we just wanted to take it all in at our own leisure.  If we found something that looked interesting, we did it.  If we saw something that didn't look to our liking, we passed it by.  And even though we spent five nights there, there is no way that we could have seen it all.  So, even though we didn't do all the things we might have "planned," we still had a really great time.

The one thing I wish I had planned better was, our food.  We had gone all out, financially, and stayed on site in the Magic Kingdom at the Grand Floridian.  I also booked two character meals.  One, in Animal Kingdom, at the Tusker House.  The other, in Cinderella's Castle at Magic Kingdom.  Because of these splurges, we were trying to save money on all the other eating expenses.  Food is so expensive there, even the "cheap" stuff.  So we did not really eat any great meals.  I wish I had stopped at the grocery store before we came in so we could stock up our refrigerator with breakfast, lunch or dinner things.  I had only brought snack items.  That way, if in the middle of the day, we came back to our room, we would have something to eat. Or, I should have gone on ahead and gotten the dining plan.  That way, the money is already spent and you don't have to worry about who eats what and how much it costs.

I am definitely glad we stayed on site.  It was so convenient to be able to quickly go back to our room and rest for a little while and then head back later on in the evening.  If we had stayed off site, it would have taken ten times as long to get back and forth, making it even more tiring. Also, from our hotel, you could see Cinderella's Castle and the firework displays each night.  It sure was nice watching it from the water rather than in the middle of a large crowd on Main Street.

Back to School!

The 2012-2013 school year looks to be a great one!  My babies are no longer babies and are growing up faster than I care to think about.  Those rough days as infants, toddlers, and preschoolers are gone.  Those precious moments go by so fast, if you blink, you miss them.  Don't take for granted one moment...one memory.  The dirty clothes, messy kitchen, dusty furniture will always be there.  But, your kids won't.  Love them while you have them!

Savannah starts fifth grade this year.  I'm hoping this will be a great year for her.  She is an amazing student, who is very smart.

Caden starts first grade this year.  This is really his last year that I can "baby" him.  As a first grade teacher, I know the amazing transformation that takes place in this grade.  He goes in as a little boy and comes out at the end of the year as a big boy.

Here are a few pictures of them on their first day of school.

Summer Pictures

Now that school has started and summer is almost over, I can look back and say we had a pretty decent summer.  We went to Nashville for the weekend.  The kids and I went to Florida while Chad was in Japan.  We also visited Chattanooga for a friend's wedding.  Here are a few highlights, in pictures.

The Parthenon in Nashville

Cheekwood Gardens in Nashville--This was a beautiful place.  At the time we visited, they had a tree house exhibit where area artists had made all these different treehouses of all different styles and themes. It was the coolest place.

What summer would be complete without a visit to CMoe in Evansville?

In Florida, we got to see the Blue Angels....twice!

Boating with the kids

USS Alabama in Mobile with cousins, Tabitha and Brody.

We got to ride a steam locomotive in Chattanooga!

A beautiful wedding with many good friends from college.  A wonderful day!

Writer's Block

I am so busy, I don't know whether I am coming or going.  A lot has happened over the course of the summer.  At one point almost two years ago, I had sworn off teaching forever.  I tried over that course of time, to find a new career.  I watched two precious children from my home.  I worked in retail and was training for a regional manger.  I even considered going back to school for another degree.  And through all the searching, I found myself right back at teaching.  That's right, I have gone back to teaching elementary school this year.  I don't know why I tried to move away from it.  It has always been my first love.  I love kids. I love school.  I love all the craziness that goes with it.

However, that is not the point of my post.  In going back to teaching, as well as both my children going to school, baseball, gymnastics, and all the church activities we are involved in, we have been busy!  And one thing that has suffered in all this busyness is my writing.  I'm not a really good writer, I know. But I enjoy it.  I enjoy blogging and telling random people that I may, or may not know, all about the rocks rolling around in my head.  But, I have been so busy I haven't had time to really sit down and write.  I've written one short story (a novella, if you will).  I've started a second one, but have gotten to a road block where I can't think of what to make come next in the story.  I have lots of ideas for blog posts, but every time I think about them, I'm nowhere near a computer to sit down and write them.  I'll try to get better at it. I want to write more.  I want to get better.  But until I get rid of this writer's block on my story, I'll never get better.  How do you get past writer's block?  I don't want to start something new, without finishing the old.
So here I am, writing to you out in the great blue yonder, about my writer's block.  Maybe this will help something come to me.  Hmmmm, I'm waiting......

Savannah's 10th birthday!

We've never had "big" birthday parties every year for the kids.  We decided long ago, we would only do small ones with family unless it was a milestone birthday.  Well, around here, 10 is a milestone birthday!  I mean, it's double digits, people!
Savannah invited about 12 friends over.  We rented a few inflatables and a snow cone machine and we had lots of fun!  She wanted Subway sandwiches for lunch, so we ordered a few trays of those with her favorite chips and soda on the side.
For her present from us, she wanted a white iPod touch and we debated on that for awhile (actually, she wanted a phone, but around here, we think it's stupid for 10 year olds to have phones--she can wait until she drives for that), but in the end decided on getting her one.  Chad came up with the design for her cake and we had our friend, Celeste Johnson, make it. We didn't let Savannah know what it looked like until it was time to sing Happy Birthday.  She was thrilled with it!
I can't believe my girl is 10 years old--time flies when you are having fun!

Savannah currently loves singing, gymnastics, anything zebra print or purple, movies, and now...her iPod. She is an amazing student.  She has such a servant's heart with the sweetest spirit.

Here she was on day one.  Such sweet memories.