Making Magical Memories

Great things come in small packages!

I think that the most vivid memories of Christmases past are usually not about the gifts that were received or even given, but of the spirit of love, the special warmth of Christmas worship, the cherished traditions of home and the results of just being Jesus to one another.

Yesterday was amazing. We were pretty sure that our boys wouldn't mind not opening too many gifts on Christmas. After all, we only ever do 3 gifts per child, but those gifts are treasured. This year we decided that we just wanted to focus on making memories. As our boys get older, they desire to spend time with friends (which is understandable and acceptable), but we know that before we know it, a girl just might steal their heart...and then our lives will change dramatically!

So my husband and I figured out a way that we could afford annual passes to Disney World this year. We were going to surprise them good! We had to wake them up at 5:30am...my youngest was VERY tired.

I had packed a Bible in each of these boxes (for weight). On top of that I laid their annual pass to Disney and then on top of that was a Disney World rain poncho!

You can tell by the looks on their faces...they were in total shock. It has been several years since we visited Disney World. We were going to Disney on Christmas Day! Last Christmas Mr. Incredible had to work...we waited around until he got home, then he had to go to bed shortly after that. This Christmas he had off! It just happened to be on his day off! That alone was a gift!

So, there wasn't a whole lot of unwrapping to do. As we arrived at Disney, we were very aware of those men and women having to work on Christmas day...and doing so with a smile. We thanked every Disney worker we could for giving their time. We wore our "We Are Family" shirts that our church had made for our Pastor's sermon series...on Family Values. We represented our new church (Family Worship Center was on the back of the shirt) as well as Jesus!

 It really is a very magical place! You can't help but smile!

Let the memory making year begin! We made sure we let others go before us in line if they were struggling to get there first. We moved back so smaller children could see things. We really tried to think of others today! That is what made the day so special. We knew we could keep going back to Disney and we had no problem showing people the love of Christ on His special day!

 It's a small world is one of my favorites. It never gets old!

Italy - my heritage!

You know, because he wants to be president someday!

We explored Tom Sawyer Island. That was fun...going over on the raft and then exploring trails, mines and crooked bridges! We even explored a hidden escape hatch!!

Exploring Tom Sawyer Island!

After Tom Sawyer Island, we went to our Fastpass destination...Space Mountain. This ride just about did me in. Maybe I'm getting to old, but my brain felt like it was jostling around just a little too much! So as the other boys and Dad went on Pirates of the Caribbean, Shane and I went to a show and got a great spot for the Christmas Parade!

Waiting for Mickey and friends to do their Christmas Celebration Show!

 Parades are my favorite! Especially at Christmas! The songs, the smiles, the snow!! Really you can't beat it!

 

We survived Disney on Christmas Day. It really wasn't as bad as everyone was telling us it would be. We ended in up in a restaurant off Disney grounds (not easy to find on Christmas day) and we blessed the socks of our waiter Gus. He was amazing, did everything with a smile, but would have much preferred being home with his family!

I love that my boys enjoy being with us! I love that they enjoy serving with us and we are in fact still their favorite people! They couldn't stop thanking us and hugging us and dreaming of what to do next! This will get them away from their electronic devices a bit, help them use their imagination, and keep us all active...as walking around Disney parks...is GREAT exercise!

Looking forward to spending some quality time with each other this coming year - building magical memories that will last a lifetime! It was a different Christmas...not a traditional one by any means...but it was quite magical to say the least!

How To Keep Cool & Stick To Your Diet at Disney

We had a wonderful day in the Magic Kingdom for the twins birthday. They got the royal treatment! It was a Friday and it was 95 degrees. Why is it important that I share those two details? Well, I weigh in at Weight Watchers on Saturdays and it was ridiculously hot outside (hence the title of this blog!). I didn't want to register a gain on the scale the next day so I had to be very careful not to splurge in the land of milk & honey!

Here we are on the boat to the magic Kingdom, after our pep talk about going slow and keeping cool!

So the recipe to keeping cool in the dead of summer at Disney goes like this:

ride Splash Mountain (get soaked) then ride Thunder Mountain (get dried), then repeat 4 times. Splash Mountain, Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain....Great Fun! (By the way, just a plug for Disney. If you have a child with special needs, they give you a pass to get on everything without the wait! Thank you Disney for blessing us!) Then Kyle discovered this: A fountain in front of the First Aid Station. Yes we ended up in the First Aid. Shane sliced the skin right off of his finger and it wouldn't stop bleeding. Fun!

The other way to stay cool is to go into all of the air conditioned attractions. Here are my boys preparing to get their permit to carry a weapon!

And here we are purchasing hats...the gifts shops are freezing cold!

Then of course there is always this:

This is not Weight Watcher friendly, so I set out to find something cool and refreshing and free (free as in the value of points on Weight Watchers). Where there is a will...there is a way!

Chilled (packed in Ice) Sour Dill Pickles...YUMMO! I love pickles and yes they are free on Weight Watchers and only $ .95...so we purchased a few for the road! This little stand in Liberty Square sells fresh fruit, veggies and ice cold pickles!

So there we are above...staking our spot for the fire works and evening light show...soaking wet from, you guessed it Splash Mountain! We had a wonderful magical day. My kids were amazing, we were there for 12 hours straight! We just love Disney. We miss having our Annual Passes, but we enjoy it every time we go!

Kyle and Brendan both agreed: This was the best birthday EVER!