Disney Highlights - Part I

A few weeks ago, Dan and I were able to take the kids to Orlando, where we had planned to go to Walt Disney World for a couple of days. My mom had won 4 airline tickets and very generously gave them to us, along with a day's worth of tickets to enter one of the parks. We decided to utilize the offer on the part of WDW, that if you come on your birthday, you get a free ticket and then be able to try out 2 different parks. This blog and the next one I will get to (hopefully before our trip to Trinidad) will give you a visual idea of the fun we had!

This was Lydia's first time on an airplane. Jake flew when he was 5 1/2 months old to PNG, so really it was his first time, as far as remembering goes. Unfortunately, I did not get a great picture of him on the flight.


She looks quite the experienced traveler already, huh?

Cool spaceman we took a photo op with.

We got to pick our rental car! Wish you could have seen the way Dan squished our luggage in there.

J & L could hardly wait to go swimming as soon as we arrived. They (un)patiently waited for mom to unpack. Finally, she was ready and Dad got a much needed nap.

Glad we swam then, because there was only time for swimming one other time during our trip. Had about an hour and a half in the pool until it was time to go have supper with Mickey & friends!!!

Apparently, Daddy wasn't the only one who needed a nap.

They slept just about the entire 20 minute drive to...

I tried to wake them up to see this sign, but it was no use. (Although Lydia still claims that she never fell asleep). The power nap was good for them so all could be in a good mood for Chef Mickey's! We got to see and get autographs from all these peeps...

Donald Duck

Goofy

Pluto
Minnie (aka "Meanie," as our trolley driver called her, which completely cracked up the kids). Who...

stole a kiss from the Jakester!
And of course, Mickey!

This was my mode of transportation for Friday and Saturday. Due to breaking my leg, I was not going to be able to walk WDW for 2 straight days. I offered to push Dan around in it as well and we could take turns, since he had injured his ankle with a bad sprain the weekend before. But he declined. However, it was great for Lydia, who if you know her at all, tends to walk at her own "speed of life." I would sit back as far as I could, which left a little spot for her to sit in the middle. Jake got a few turns too, but was great in understanding Lydia's "need" for it.

Gotta love the 3D shows...I believe this was the Muppets.

Had to include this pic...how often do you get to hug a snowman in May?

This was taken on our family favorite ride, Toy Story Mania. We liked it so much we got fast passes to go again. As you can see from the pic, you pull on the little string, while aiming to shoot all sorts of things (all 3D).

Remember Honey, I Shrunk The Kids? I loved that movie. They had a little playground area where kids could run around. Was fun for the kids, but impossible to keep track of them, so I planted myself near the exit.

Dan found a glorious bit of shade and planted himself there...smart man.

Lid in my chair. We separated from the boys so Jake could do Star Tours one more time and Lydia could see The Little Mermaid show one more time (one of her favs). This was during our short wait time.

Lydia would want me to show this picture. While we were waiting for the guys at our meeting point, we saw this little guy, as well about 10 others.

Last pic before we left MGM...sorry it's sideways.

More to come later...

Locks of Love

Lydia had been begging me to get her hair cut. She liked her long hair, but H-A-T-E-D when it came time for brushing it. She uses conditioner in the shower and we also put a spray in conditioner (could have bought stock in that stuff). But regardless, it was prone to some nasty snarls and tangles. And with summer coming, the thought of throwing in suncreen, chlorine, and sweat, it wasn't going to get any easier. The only thing was we were planning on donating her hair. Locks of Love needed 10 inches and we were so close (hence the begging). I had thought about Wigs for Kids, too, but I just couldn't make my girl wait for her hair to grow another couple of inches. So, finally the day came and I called my friend, Nancy. She told us to come on over after Lid got off the bus. I told Lydia that we were going to get her hair cut and she said, "Maybe I'll be on the announcements." I guess that same day a girl who had donated her hair got to be recognized on the visual announcements. (I wrote Lydia's teacher a note the next day, and Lydia did indeed get to make an appearance and do the Pledge). The following pictures show the BIG CUT!!! Ten inches is a lot of hair, but she looks quite cute! And little sis' got to get a matching cut!

Before (front)
Before (back)

Combing...

Braiding...

CUTTING!!!
Here's what we send in.

After (profile)

Claire's turn.

Can ya tell she was not too happy?
But it was all over soon enough and then the girls got to play with friend, Philip!

Holdin' Hands

Today, Jake and I made our way down to Malcolm's house. Malcolm is an 8 year old boy, whom we discovered a couple weeks ago, lives just 6 houses down from us! I think I was more excited than Jake that he has a play buddy so closeby. We've never had friends for the kids who lived on the same street in the 7 1/2 years we have had children (which I totally get...we never intended to stay on such a busy road once we had kids). We were on our way over to invite Malcolm to Vacation Bible School, which starts tomorrow (yeah, I know...procrastination). He wasn't home, so I told Jake we would swing back by on our way to church to try again and leave a note if they still were not home. As I was telling him this, I grabbed Jake's hand and led him back to the sidewalk. Usually, when we are out on the sidewalk, he is on his bike or racing me getting off the bus (not much of a race when Mom is not back to strength yet from a broken leg). I didn't say anything, just basked in the moment of holding my son's hand. I held back the urge to squeeze tight, because I didn't want him to let go if I drew attention to our hands. But my heart sure was squeezing tight. In the next minute, my mind raced from sweet, precious memories of the past to the unforeseen future with Jake. I remembered how teeny-tiny his newborn hands were, and then holding those sweet toddlers hands that wanted to explore, but then come right back to mama. Then it dawned on me, that compared to those seemingly endless toddler days when a mother's hands are so needed and wanted (I'm there with Claire), my son did not need me in that way so much anymore. In fact, I couldn't remember the last time I held his hand. And so, we continued, just the two of us down the street. Finally, I couldn't contain myself. I squeezed his hand and gently said, " I love you, Jake." He looked up at me, giggled, and told me he loved me, too. And I got my wish...he kept holding my hand. Granted, now he was swinging my arm as hard as he could and stretching our arms apart, but he was still holdin' on and that was all I wanted at that moment.

The handprints on the wall get higher and higher and then one day, they disappear.

Lydia Laughter!

All three kids have been making us laugh with the things they say and do, but for this post, I decided to highlight Lydia. Just a short and sweet post...Lydia made this list back in January and I saved it just because it brings a smile to my face. And just in case you read this wrong, as I did, #3 according to Lydia says "Make Crafs" (crafts). I know one thing for sure, I'm gonna add "Yell Big" on my to-do list!And although not much can top the t-shirt stuffing nights of Jake...Dan did capture this photo of Lydia sleeping in this odd position on our downstairs couch!

Some Things Never Change

Lydia Grace
Claire Danielle

Claire with Grandma Kanost

***Jake like to be wrapped up tight as a wee-little one as well, but we did not get our first digital camera until he was a few months old***

An Eggstra Special Scavenger Hunt

This year, for the Easter weekend, I wanted to do a type of walk-through-the-Bible egg hunt and tie it in with Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday. I had the idea and that was all...I needed to sit down and think, yet finding quiet moments to do so was becoming quite the challenge. I had shared my idea with my mom and she graciously decided to do the "homework" part for me. Basically, this is how it went down...Jake started off the scavenger hunt after I gave him a clue where to find the first egg. In that egg, was a slip of paper that had a quiz question and the Bible verse to go along with it. Jake answered the question and then found the located the verse in Scripture and read it aloud. Then it was Lydia's turn. My mom had typed up a master sheet for me and I read the next clue for her. Then she would find that egg, answer her question and read her verse. And so the turn taking began. Each answer would be tied into where the next egg would be hidden. Here are a few examples: What did they wrap Jesus' body in? The answer is linen and so the clue for the next egg was "You will find the next clue in the linen closet. What was Judas given for betraying Jesus? Answer: 30 pieces of silver & the clue was "you will find the next clue where Mommy and Daddy save their coins." We had them finding all sorts of accounts, relating the the story of God's greatest gift to us...His Son! In two of the pictures below, you will see J & L walking around with a heavy bookbag on. This task was given so that they could imagine bearing a heavy load, just as Christ bore His cross. At one point, we talked about the crown of thorns and how they beat Jesus and tore his beard out. They both really seemed to be taking this in. Near the end, we had them read in Philippians how Christ, even though he was God, humbled himself and became a servant and obediently went through a horrible death on a cross. Because He loved us so much (John 3:16)!! So, their task for this egg was to create a list of 5 ways they were going to show love to another person in the next week. At the very end, they both received a gift. Jake had gotten a new Bible for his birthday back in October, but Lydia still needed one. So, Lydia got her new Adventure Bible and cover for it and Jake got a cover for his and will also be getting a music cd of some of his favorite Christian songs, as soon as Daddy has a chance to do this. Even though Claire did not participate, she got a Bible-times coloring book the next day. Also below is the pictures we took on Easter morning. It was very bright and sunny, so that explains the squinty eyes.

Eggstravaganza!

Below are some pictures to highlight our Easter weekend. Dan and I haven't done traditional Easter basket with the kids, but we do dye eggs and do the fun, little egg hunts at our house. This year, however, we did do a unique activity with them, but I am going to post that separately, otherwise, this would be a super long post.

Here is a picture of some of our brightly-colored eggs. Decorating eggs is a bittersweet thing for me. The kids love to do it and it is a good reminder to me about taking pleasure in the "simple things." However, it was in the middle of an egg-decorating session two years ago, that I got the phone call that my dear friend from high school, Christy, had passed away and was at Home with her Saviour. What a joy it is to know she was a child of God and we will one day reunite and worship our Risen Lord together!!! When I hear or sing certain songs, like I Can Only Imagine, Come To Jesus, or In Christ Alone, I am so grateful for the power of my God and I think of my friend, who is basking in the Glory of The Almighty!

On Saturday, my mom came over and we hid the plastic eggs all around the backyard. I knew I had some regular baskets in my garage somewhere, but I wasn't sure where and the kids were anxious to get started, so I used gift bags (I save and reuse them). This picture was taken before the hunt began.

Of course, little Claire had to go first so that she would indeed have a few eggs in her bag. My mom and I had hidden some very obvious ones for her sake. I love this picture because it shows her face right after she spotted it...she was pretty happy with herself.

There's Jake and Lydia waiting in the background...

and their OFF!

(This is the only picture I have of Jake until the end of the hunt because the boy was too fast for me and my bum leg).

Lydia looks in lovely lilac!

This green egg was the last one to remain hidden. J & L were in this area for what seemed like a few minutes (we were telling them they were hot). A couple of times, it looked like each one of them looked right at it and missed it. Then, as you can see above, Jake walked right past it. Finally....

the Jakester has it!!!

We needed the eggs for the next thing we were going to do (see next post) so the kids had fun dumping out the yummies into one container to share. And of course, Claire helped herself to the findings during this time!