Disney World

(Click the picture if you want to see the album)

My mom has been begging to take Mary Kate to Disney World since she was 2. She even asked if she could take her without me...yeah right, when pigs fly. The plan was to take her when she turned 5, but it made sense to tack on our Disney trip to our Young Life All Staff Conference in Orlando. A major thanks to Granna and Nonna & Grandaddy for taking care of our kids while we were at the conference...and for Granna driving both of my kids to Orlando by herself. So, we've been planning this Disney trip for about 2 years. I was really excited when Rebecca and Ethan (my little sis and her husband) decided to go along. I only have vague memories of being at Disney with Rebecca when we were little, so I was looking forward to making new ones with her. The last family trip to Disney, I opted out in order to go to Pioneer Plunge (but, since I'd say that's where my relationship with Jesus really started I think that was a good decision). But, I was really sad that we were all going to be there without Stephanie (my older sister) since the twins are too young to conquer Disney yet. To start the day, we were all meeting up at the hotel. When I walked in the room, Mary Kate came running out saying "surprise". I just assumed she meant that she was excited about the day. Then, Stephanie popped out from around the corner. I was so excited, I started crying. I was so happy that I was going to Disney with my mom and both of my sisters. It made it even more special. But, I'm definitely looking forward to the next trip when we'll have Emma and Dalton with us too. It was an amazing 3 days. I must give a shout out to my amazing friend/trip planner, Mollie, who let me steal all of her research from the past 2 years and use her stroller that made the trip so much easier. As a kid, I don't remember ever being sad about leaving Disney or wishing that I could go back, but I was sooo sad to leave and I can't wait to go back. It was so....magical. The kids faces were priceless...all the time. The weather was perfect, the lines were short, and there were minimal meltdowns. The most stressful thing was dinner. We would always have plans to grab something after we got back to the hotel (since we were using the shuttles to the parks and back), but that would always end up being 9 or 10 at night. There were 2 nights that my kids didn't even eat dinner because they were conked out before they had a chance. We were always having too much fun to stop and eat while we were at the parks. So, the major thing we would do different next time is drive our own car to the parks. We did 2 days at Magic Kingdom and one day at Animal Kingdom. Thanks to Granna, Mary Kate got a princess make-over at Bibbidy Bobbidy Boutique. Mary Kate was so precious, loving every minute of it...and so was I. Ford got Knighted, which meant he got some funky paint and glitter in his hair and a sword and shield that sat on the bottom of the stroller all day. The kids had a blast hunting down all the characters for autographs, and the characters always made it worth the wait. Ford's favorite rides were Peter Pan and the Flying Carpets. Mary Kate actually rode Splash Mountain and loved it. However, she did NOT love the Haunted Mansion. She didn't even make it through the line the first time we tried. The second time, there was no line so we thought we could get her in without noticing, but the first time the lights went dark, she started crying and begging to leave. Joel was her hero and took her out. Personally, I loved the Buzz Lightyear ride. I could go on and on about how much fun we had, but then this blog would never end. I'm so thankful that we got a chance to go. And, I love knowing that the Kingdom of Heaven will be even better than the Magic Kingdom.

Fonduely Yours

I think we've started a new Valentine's tradition...family fondue night. I remember having so much fun doing fondue with my family growing up, but I've never done it with my kids. We had a lot of fun...and, we didn't burn the house down.

Solitude Retreat

I'm choosing to ignore the fact that there are many highlights from the past couple of months that I've failed to blog about. Actually, I started many posts and deleted them...mostly because I just didn't feel like posting and there was other stuff that I wanted to use that time for. Now, my OCD personality is resenting that because I'd much rather have everything documented...in chronological order. Before I talk about our magical time at Disney, there is one thing that I wanted to reflect on from the solitude retreat that Joel and I went on in December. I was soooo looking forward to this retreat, especially after our time in New Zealand (and sabbatical in general). This summer was such an incredible time of abiding in the Lord. It was like a big, gigantic feast. Then, we came back home and it was like I was living off of crumbs, trying so hard to hold on to what I experienced this summer. I was looking forward to the solitude retreat with the hopes of feasting again. But, I got there and I was so consumed with wanting something to "happen" that nothing happened. Then, I talked with our retreat leader and she encouraged me to stop holding on to what God did this summer and open my eyes to what he is doing NOW. Shortly after, I was sitting by a tree. Since it was December, most of the leaves had fallen but there was this one leaf dangling over my head. It's like it was holding on for dear life with the wind beating against it. I realized that I was like that leaf, and if I could just let go, there would be freedom for new life. "Letting Go" quickly became a common thread throughout my time at the retreat, and has kind of become my "theme" of the year. The following was my advent reading my last day at the retreat. It was incredibly fitting..."Praying means being constantly ready to let go of your certainty and move on further than where you now are. It demands that you take to the road again and again, leaving your house and looking forward to a new land for yourself and your fellowman. This is why praying demands poverty, that is, the readiness to live a life in which you have nothing to lose so that you always begin afresh. Whenever you willingly choose this poverty you make yourself vulnerable, but you also become free to see the world and to let the world be seen in its true form. For you have no need to defend yourself and you can tell loudly what you know through your intimate contact with him who is the source of all life. But this demands courage. If you are to make real all the consequences of a prayerful life, you might well be frightened and wonder if you should dare. Then it is vital to remember that courage is also a gift from God for which you can pray." (Henri Nouwen's With Open Hands) So, I've been trying to let go...let go of control, of trying to live an error-free life, of the world, of the past...and trying to live with hands wide open to receive the new things that the Lord is doing everyday.

Okay, so I didn't make it to talking about our Disney trip yet, but it'll be next. Who knows when "next" will be since it took me 2 months to blog about the solitude retreat. Ha