Disney Tips

I love Disney World!  As a child we were able to go a couple of times and to me there is just something magical about the place.  I am not sure my husband would agree but he is a good sport and realizes he has two little princesses at home who love it too!  One perk of living in Florida (beside the beaches, humidity, and very hot temperatures) is Disney.  They usually have really good deals for Florida residents.

 

A year ago we decided to purchase, for the first time, Season passes.  We went with the lowest price which was weekday passes (we usually can’t get away on Sundays anyways so this works great for us).  So this year has been filled with many visits.    I love going with no pressure to fit it all in or do a whole park in one day.  It has been a wonderful way to really enjoy Disney.  So on that note I thought I would share some tips…

1.  Don’t push your children to go past their limit!  I promise it will be more enjoyable for all involved if you don’t run your babies raged!!  Especially if they still are nappers.  Thankfully mine gave up naps really early on so that has never been an issue but some are blessed with children who see the need to sleep.  Allow them that privilege.  You may not hit every ride on your list but it will be a much happier day.  Go slow!  Take time outs to go back to the room to take a swim or a nap.  Plan maybe just one or two late nights or sleep in a little.  The parks aren't going anywhere.

2.   Bring lots of snacks!  I know Disney has wonderful snacks located all throughout the park but sometimes they don’t fit in your budget.  I love Pringles for chips since you can’t crunch them up in the can or pretzels they are pretty durable too.  We always have a cooler packed with waters or Capri suns.  I like the water bottles and then bring the flavor packets which cut down on what I need to bring.  Disney does have water fountains so you can refill as you go.  Lollipops are good for waiting in the stroller.  Grapes or apple slices are another one of our favorites.  Cheese sticks are yummy too.

3.  My list of staple items found in my bag…

Ponchos – have you been to Disney?  If so you know it rains, a lot! I bring the old ones too that may be small or have ripped a little and use to cover our stroller.  Also I don’t buy mine at Disney.  It is very hard to locate your children in a sea of clear Mickey ponchos, but if they have pink or yellow ones those babies will stand out in the crowd! (Plus it is cheaper)

Wipes – both sanitizing and baby wipes.  You will need these for lots of things!

Camera

Video Camera

Cell Phone

Aspirin/Excedrin/Tylenol for the adults in your party

I don’t carry cash we use our Key to the World Card so I don’t even bring my purse just my license and that card

Epi Pen-Sophia has a severe peanut allergy

Lip gloss

Tissues

Gum

Lots of patience!!

I will do a part II at some point in time.  We are headed there in a couple of weeks (yippee) so I will share some more tips after that trip.

Lessons to Learn

I really believe we will never stop learning in life.  There is no ultimate level we will reach.  We have a goal which is to be like Christ and that is what we live for. I generally lead a Ladies Bible Study at our church.  This spring we are going through “Seeking Him” by Nancy Leigh DeMoss.  This is my second time to lead this study and I am enjoying it even more this time.

Our goal in this Christian life is to Seek Him.  Why don’t we do it?  Why do we fill up our lives with so much else?  What is stopping us from really "getting real?”  I have really been asking myself those questions.  Throughout this study she takes you on a journey to spiritual revival.  It is a great study and if you will be really honest with yourself and God it could be life changing.  I know for me it has been!

I really think my ladies are enjoying it and we are seeing some real life change being made.  If you are looking for a great study to do or lead I would highly recommend this one.  You will not be disappointed.

Amblyopia

What is amblyopia?  Amblyopia means there is a vision deficiency in an eye that is otherwise normal.  It usually only affects 1-5% of the population. It is what Michaela was diagnosed with at age four by her eye specialist.

When I took Michaela for her three year old well check up at the Dr. She did not do well for the eye exam portion.  We flagged it.  Thinking it could be eye problems or it could be a VERY active three your old trying to focus on a paper at the end of a hallway with lots going on!  When I brought her for her four year old well check up she totally failed again.  She did not even know they were holding up a paper L  They recommended us to go and see an eye specialist, which we did.  They diagnosed her with “amblyopia.”  Once it was explained to me I totally understood why she could not recognize all her letters or even write her name.  To simplify it Michaela's brain had stopped asking one of her eyes to work.  She was completely relying on only one of her eyes to see.

It was at our first appointment they gave Michaela glasses to wear and patches for one of her eyes.  Usually amblyopia is only in one eye and rarely in both.  So thus began our new way of life…glasses and an eye patch.  I can never form into words how wonderful Michaela was with all of this.  Most children would have fussed and argued.  She did not.  She has never taken her glasses off…she wishes she could sleep in them!  Only a few times did she ever ask for her patch to be off.  What a brave and kind little lady she was. 

We have been seeing Dr. Duss for three years now and we are so thankful for her!  It was at this last eye appointment a few weeks ago that Dr. Duss declared her healed of her amblyopia!  She said had we not caught it when we did Michaela would have completely lost sight in that eye!  I guess I was not fully aware of how serious her case was.  So the moral of this little story is GO to those well check up appointments for your little ones!  In our case it saved Michaela’s eyesight!!  I am so thankful for the doctors and nurses God puts in our path!

Here are a couple of pics of our little lady at the eye doctor.

Cooking

I have a love/hate relationship with cooking.  Some days I love it, some days I don’t!  I always enjoy it most when I have everything ready to go and it is not a complicated recipe. I love to do things in the crock pot too.  I work and am always on the go so I am always looking out for easy and yummy new recipes. 

I love watching the Food Network but I have to tell you  I have fallen in love with The Pioneer Woman. She has such a neat story and I was born in Wyoming so I have western roots.  She is fun to watch!   I love her blog but what I love most is her recipes.  They are so easy.  She explains every step which I really appreciate.  She gives you exact measurements which I really appreciate and she shows pictures of each step which makes it so much easier to follow.  My sister gave me her cook book for Christmas and there is so much I want to try.  I made two of her recipes in the past few weeks.  One was from last weeks show and it was so yummy.  A few weeks ago she made this soup on the show and highlighted it on her blog.  It was the Tuscan Bean Soup.  She cooked hers with shrimp.  I did chicken in mine and we all loved it. 

I am very grateful for anyone who can make the never ending job of preparing meals a little more fun! The Pioneer Woman does that for me!!  If you have not already check out her blog www.thepioneerwoman.com!

Daddy Date Night

This past Friday night there was a Daddy Date Night at school.  My girls were both soooo excited to get dressed up and go with daddy on a real date.  I think they would have preferred not to share but that’s ok. 

They were so cute deciding what to wear.  They wanted to look their best and wear lip gloss.  They asked for mousse in their hair and on and on it went.  The funny thing was that they both wanted him to be all decked out too.  They really wanted him to wear a suit.  He compromised and wore a sports coat and tie and he even tried to color coordinate with them.  Best daddy ever!

I have to admit that while we were getting ready and planning I was convicted two ways…One being…do I always look my best for my husband?  Do I want to please him and make what I am doing special for him?  Sometimes it is so easy to put on the glitz and glam when we are dating but how about 10 years later?  I decided I need to work on this.

Secondly I was convicted about my heavenly Father.  I sure want to do and be my best for Him as well.  I want Him to be pleased with how I act, what I say, and what I think.  Overall it was a really good reminder to me.

They had a wonderful time.  They came home with roses and lots of memories.  I am so thankful for a husband who is willing to invest time in his two little princesses.  What a great daddy!!

Here is one picture from the night.

Oh how I love my family!!

100 Days

On Monday it was the 100^th day of school for the girls.  Michaela’s class really did not plan anything but Sophia’s class was going to be having a celebration.  They were given a project to do…I have to admit I was very excited…our first school project.  I have told my husband that once they enter the world of paper projects I will completely let that be all him but if it involves glue or other crafty stuff…it’s mine!  They had to bring in 100 objects and it could be anything and they needed to display them somehow.  So we went to work.  Sophia loves to color!  When she was younger she would color anywhere and everywhere (carpet, walls, clothes…the list goes on).  I have become a mom who only buys Crayola washable products.  I would recommend them to any other mom who has a color everywhere type of child.  I also love color wonder products.  Ok, back to the project.  Due to her love of crayons I thought we could somehow bring in 100 crayons.  So when thinking of a fun way to display them we came of with flowers (another favorite of Sophia) and making a little garden on a display board.

Here is the finished project.  We used sidewalk chalk to make the background sky and grass.  We glued 10 crayons for each flower and then used a marker for the stem of the flower.  I was one proud momma.  I think she was very excited too!!

We did this on Saturday and by Sunday morning my sweet Sophia was sick L  I took her to the Dr. and she had another bad sinus infection (I hate all the pollen).  So she missed her 100^th day celebration and her 101^st day celebration but you better believe we brought the project in for the 103^rd day! 

I am so thankful for my Sophia.  I hope she still loves coloring for many more years!!

Say Thanks!!

My husband and I were attending the Jacksonville Pastors' Conference at First Baptist Church this past week and I met a very dear lady...

A year ago I was going through some very difficult times in my life.  Too much to write about now...maybe someday.  Anyways, I was up most nights for hours as my family slept away.  So I did a lot of reading.  One night I happened to read Kelly Stamps blog.  I liked her immediately as she had a little girl and grew up in a pastor's home.  Two things I could really relate with.  Her little three year old Harper was very sick at birth and was in the NICU for sometime.  Our little Sophia was also born with some difficulties (nothing nearly as serious as Harper but she was in the NICU for a few days).  So I felt somewhat connected through that too.  So I read her blog and ultimately her mothers blog.  Many nights those blogs became such an encouragement to me.  To "read" someone else's story, hear their struggles, weep with them, and see our Lord intervene in some trying times.  Anyways, they became two of my favorite blogs to read.

One night while reading Miss Judy's blog I read that she and her husband come to the Pastors' Conference at First Baptist Jax every year.  This was last year and we had just been and I immediately thought how fun it would be to meet her.  I tucked that information away and thought maybe next year.

Fast forward to this year...so I tell my husband how much I would really like to meet her, etc.  There are thousands of people there and he says that he prays I do but don't get my hopes up.

So Thursday came and went, nothing.  Friday came and went, nothing.  Finally Saturday night was upon us.  This was our last night as we were needing to be at our church on Sunday all day.  So this was my final chance.  I prayed about it.  I talked with Michael again and again he was not very encouraging...but then not 3 minutes later...there she was.  I could NOT believe it.  There she was walking in with a group.  I ran over to meet her.  I was crying and I don't think I sounded/looked normal at all but I know God sent her there just at the right time so I could just say thanks.  Thank you for encouraging me along this dark road I have been walking through.  Thank you for letting your light shine so brightly for Jesus.  Thank you to Kelly for telling her story every day.  I just wanted to say "thanks" and the Lord gave me that opportunity.  I wish I had a picture to share but I don't (great planning on my part I know) but I will never forget it!!

If you haven't read their blogs yet...please do.  You will be so encouraged.  Here are their links...

http://www.kellyskornerblog.com
http://hisdoorkeeper.blogspot.com/

So the moral of this little story is...you never know what a blessing you are to someone!!