Where Were You...?

World Trade Center Memorial 7/13

The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. Psalm 18:2

My students use to ask me where I was when Elvis died, or when Kennedy was shot, or when the challenger exploded. I loved when they would ask "What was it like to see man walk on the moon for the first time?" I cried when Elvis died (I was 11 years old), but I think I cried because everyone around me was crying. I wasn't born until 7 years after President Kennedy was shot and I was only 4 months old when man first landed on the moon. The Challenger explosion was very disturbing. I was a junior in high school and we watched that live on television in our morning class.

Statue of Liberty 7/13

Living so close to New York City for most of my married life, I looked forward to taking my children back last summer. My boys and I made an American History Road trip, stopping in North Carolina, Washington DC, Trenton, NJ, Philadelphia PA and NYC before we turned around and went home through the western part of South Carolina, GA and finally home.

It was a wonderful time of telling the stories of my childhood as they saw many of my childhood homes. They got to see their Dad's homes too. They heard the stories of how we met and when we visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Natural History Museum...they heard about many of the dates Mike and I went on.

I don't think I could live in Manhattan. We spent lots of time in Time Square...in the morning and at midnight. It is just a different culture..I love it, but I couldn't live there 24/7.

When I took my kids to see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, they understood what that was all about. My very own mother came over on a boat from Sicily with her Mom, Dad and 10+ siblings and ended up on Ellis Island. Fascinating.

Then I took them to Ground Zero. Where the Twin Towers use to be. We walked in the bookstore and saw first hand photos. You could hear pin drop...it was so quiet and reverent. (Much like Arlington Cemetery a few weeks prior to visiting NYC). You could hear people talking, whispering, recalling. Where were you Mom? Do you remember what you were doing?

My boys, taking in history. 7/13

Of course. Brendan and Kyle were just born 3 months prior. Twin babies, sharing a crib. I got the phone call. "Put on the TV!" I watched, in horror....for hours. 8:50am, the TV was flooded with news...moments after the first plane crashed into the North Towers. Live on television, while on the phone with my friend Kathleen, we witness the 2nd plane crash. I live a maximum of 20 minutes give or take from NYC. My husband worked closer. We had friends who worked in the World Trade Center. We had friends who worked on Broadway. Such an uncertain time. When the 2nd plane hit the South Towers, I went into my nursery and picked up two little babies, still sleeping, and held them in my arms. I wanted to be close to them. I wanted my husband to come home. I tried to call friends, the phones were down. I waited. I looked out my window from the second floor and could see the smoke.

The next morning blended into the night before. Our cars were full of soot and ash. My husband had to see families come in to where he worked; days, weeks later...waiting for loved ones to get off the train. Cars parked in the train station, never to be recovered. So sad.

St. Paul's Chapel of Trinity 7/13

As we talked in that little memorial shop in Lower Manhattan, my boys listened, understanding that many of us had lived history. But what impacted me that day was visiting St. Paul's Chapel of Trinity Church. The church that is noted as being the place where many fled to find peace on that day, and days to come. I walked in that place, and could sense the presence of God immediately. Where was God on 9/11? He was there. Present in the pain and loss.  He was in the hearts of man. He was with me that day. He was with my friends who worked and lived in the city. For that day, and many days to come...there were no denominations, no dividing walls. People found Jesus in people with skin on. That is where He is today. I believe when we break the dividing walls we can see more clearly. He is found in the men, women and children that He inhabits, in His creation that is all around, and yes, in pain. He was and He is...ever present!

I LOVE Elizabeth Elliot - she is one of my heroes. I close with a quote from her:

"I am not a theologian or a scholar, but I am very aware of the fact that pain is necessary to all of us. In my own life, I think I can honestly say that out of the deepest pain has come the strongest conviction of the presence of God and the love of God." 

Presence, Purpose and Power...

My two boys on a hike with Dad on Chimney Rock while Kyle and I stayed behind learning to find JOY.

...These three things I desire most in my life. While I'm studying "Joy" for my final teaching as Women's Ministry Director at Edgewater Alliance Church I'm really experiencing a myriad of emotions. So excited about the path that the Lord has placed before my family, seeing the incredible changes in my men and knowing that the decisions that we've made are most definitely the will of God, I am still going through some kind of adjustment. Watching Bagels & Blessings grow from a conception/dream to a fully grown and flourishing ministry over the past 5 years is most humbling and most amazing. I know it is time for me to move on, but the tears keep flowing. He knows what He is doing.

So the way I've been dealing with this adjustment is to bury myself in the study of JOY. It just so happens that like every other theme for the year that God has placed on my heart for the past 5 years, and every single teaching that I have labored through...I'm personally able to learn, first hand what I'm about to speak on. This is very exciting! The most exciting part, is that my family must endure the lessons I'm learning for themselves as well. It has been life changing for everyone in my house.

I'm not sure if it is because getting pregnant was so difficult for me, or that I lost 14 babies along the way that when I finally had children I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that they were only on loan to me, and it was my (and my husband of course) job to take what we've learned from the Word and "teach them diligently to my children" like it says in Deuteronomy and I'm pretty serious about it!

So I now share our most recent lesson on JOY.

I know it is important to for me touch upon the supernatural result of joy, regardless of our circumstances.

Last week my family and I went on vacation together - including Mr. Incredible (this would be his first real vacation in years and years)! I was very careful not to allow my boys to go near anyone showing signs of a sniffle, let alone any horrible virus. We had the hand sanitizer out and we were playing it safe. The Sunday before we leave, my Kyle gets very VERY sick. His temperature spikes to 102.3, he feels lousy! We took him to the Emergency Room they hooked us up with tons of medication...for just in case...but they were quite sure this was a virus and medicine wouldn't help at all. I BEGAN TO PRAY! First response...always prayer! Invite the presence of the HEALER! By Monday it got worse, he began to vomit. The plan was to leave Tuesday, we had reservations..you know how it is. I thought ok, this could just be a 24 hour thing, "cheer up family -- all hope is not lost!!" - I was purposeful in my attitude. We were going to praise God through all of this! Tuesday morning he wakes up with spots all over his body and he threw up again in the early morning hours. We take him back to the doctor because of the spots. They confirmed, it is a nasty virus, highly contagious and it's running rampant. He says we'll most likely all come down with it. Poor Kyle, feeling so miserable, and then adding to that the thoughts in his head about ruining everyone's vacation. We decided that he could only get better. We were going to take the chance and drive to North Carolina. We left hours later than we had expected, but we were on our way. We CONTINUED to PRAY!

I felt the very PRESENCE of the JOY GIVER in that van. We gave Kyle a bucket, we thanked the Lord for being SO GOOD to us! We were not going to let this virus get the best of us! I kid you not, PRAYER and PRAISE were going viral in that van. My boys were believing God for a miracle...and so was I.

Right about South Carolina I began to feel sick. My temperature was rising 101.4, and my stomach felt horrible. My poor husband! Should we cancel this trip! I decided that we should keep going. I literally, and purposefully, worshiped...OUT LOUD...from South Carolina to North Carolina...and as long as worshiped I felt fine...the minute I stopped...I began to feel sick again. We had a blast in the car. My husband and I taught the boys some old songs from our college days -- oh we laughed and sang and had the best time in the car!! I went to bed in my hotel room, humming "Thanks be to God who gives us the victory!"

The next morning...I was healed! Kyle on the other hand, had developed sores in his mouth. My poor baby! He laid there on a cot in our hotel room, and said...."Why hasn't God healed me?"

Don't we all wonder where God is when life is not looking or feeling good at all, when our circumstances flat out stink? YES, we've all been there before. I knew it was my responsibility to see Kyle through this and give him the tool to find the joy in the midst of all of this.

My husband and other boys went hiking on Chimney Rock and Kyle and I stayed back at the hotel. I was able to get some fluids in him and he and I just rested. We had time to talk about how good God has been in our lives. We pulled out those "stones" and remembered how faithful God has been.

You see joy flows from the discovery of our Lord and Savior in every circumstance where we wish to find Him. If we seek Him, we will find Him!

While I worked on my teaching for December, Kyle began to dose off. I could hear him whispering..."God has been good to us!" YES!!! That's my boy!

The next day, Kyle was able to eat, drink and laugh! He was feeling 95% better! PRAISE GOD! We had an amazing vacation...finding JOY in JESUS everywhere!

You see my family understands now how Paul could say, "Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice!" Phil. 4:4 We were already in God's presence and then, just like Paul and Silas we praised God through it all! Then just like Paul and Silas we saw the amazing Power of God come through! Hello JOY!!

My prayer is that this encourages you. Look at what you are going through right now as an opportunity to refine the skill of finding joy in the midst of your circumstance. Make it yet another chance to learn and experience the presence, purpose and the power of  God. You see, I'm pretty certain that JOY is best discovered through challenges/difficulties! So don't be discouraged, get in His presence, be purposeful and watch the power of God break through - HE loves it when His children bathe in an abundance of JOY.

Refections of Our Adventure - Road Trip Day 2

Well, I'm not exactly sure what happened, I changed photo platforms...so now I'm able to put photos back into my blog. We'll see how long this lasts. Back to our fall adventure! Day two of our travels woke us up bright and early. We wanted to see the sunrise, we wanted to have our free breakfast, we also wanted to explore a little bit...so we had no problem getting up and out. However, we did hit a few snags...like when we thought Brendan had been abducted.

I was so proud of myself, I was so organized. Got all the kids up and dressed and out to our free amazing breakfast. Typically, I like to make the beds again in the hotel room, but I didn't this time. (I'm still kicking myself for not doing this. My favorite Mickey Mouse pajama top is somewhere in North Carolina - so sad). We had a wonderful filling hot breakfast. Shane was elated...it was buffet style...that boy can EAT! Brendan wanted to go back to our room (which was a little bit of a hike up a hill to our building) so he could wash up and use the bathroom before we left. I was a bit hesitant, but he is so responsible and the other boys were still eating. I didn't want to make him wait or leave the other two...so I said..fine. Gave him my ONLY key card and sent him on his way. After about 15 minutes or more, the boys and I decided to walk back to our room to see what Brendan was doing. We half expected to see him on his way back or totally watching cartoons on TV. When we got to the door and looked into the window..no one was there. So we did what any rational people would do...banged on the door and yelled for him. (It was a small room...2 beds and a bathroom). No one answered. No movement..no nothing. Crazy how fast your brain goes to all of those criminal shows that you watch, you know, the FBI shows...where children are always kidnapped in old country towns...like the ones in Asheville, NC. The other two boys and I ran back down the hill to the main building..thinking maybe we missed him. Then we ran up. Every man walking now look like a child abductor. We stopped running, caught our breath and we prayed. I'm serious, we were scared! We went back to that room 2 more times and ran down the hill 2 more times and then we saw Brendan running down as we were running back up. We all screamed...BRENDAN!!!! Where were you. I hugged him...like I just rescued him from the snare of some wild beast. "Mom, I really had to go to the bathroom...sorry it took so long!" Traveling 101...remember that it can reek havoc on your digestive system. We're ready to hit the road now!!

This was so fun. I kept finding Kodak moments. I remember posting this picture on facebook and a friend of mine said..."Where were their coats?" If she only knew...they had no shoes on either. It was one of those shots where I just really wanted it on the side of some big crazy road...made everyone hurry to get out and get a shot! They were such great sports!!

Then I had this other wild idea. I was going to find the entrance to The Great Smokey Mountains National Park. So I took a little side trail. (oops) I didn't understand that for most of this journey, we were traveling through the Smokies...we were in the green area on the Garmin. So, I added about a half hour to my trip...because I kept driving and driving and seeing signs, but no "entrances".

However, it did give us some amazing things for our eyes to behold. Such incredible beauty, and some scary places too. So many hills and mountains, my poor little car.

 Finally we made it to Tennessee! Such a fun little welcome center. Lots of great photo opportunities!

OK..here is where I totally went up on the "BEST MOM EVER" rank. My boys had so much fun rolling down the hills. "Mom come on - its so much fun!!" OK..I did it! I was a little nervous that I would roll right into a pile of doggie doo, but NOPE. I think I kicked Kyle in the head, I felt a little nausea, but it was SO much fun! We laughed and laughed and high-fived each other! Such a great time! We could have done this for hours!

However, we knew we wanted to make it to Cumberland Gap. We had done our research and we were excited to step foot on the same ground as Daniel Boone, Abraham Lincoln's father, and countless others that had found their way west.

For early settlers and pioneers the Cumberland Gap was a gateway that led through the southern Appalachian Mountains into the great wilderness of Kentucky. They mostly traveled on foot, coming from as far away as Pennsylvania. Although many of these early travelers had different dreams and expectations heading west into Kentucky, they were all in search of land and a new start. They often traveled in groups for safety and had an insatiable drive to penetrate the great wilderness. Everyday was a struggle to survive as they lived off of the bounty of the land. Such incredible history here. We could have spent days just exploring..and we will go back!

It was a very VERY VERY steep drive up to the top of the pinnacle. I mean I at one point thought my car might go in reverse even though I was in drive. I was having to turn my steering wheel all the way left and all the way right. Very intense! However, we did see some absolutely amazing things on our way up.

When we did finally reach the top, we passed the part where we could see the boundaries of the three states. Brendan really wanted to be able to step in Virgina, Tennessee and Kentucky..all at the same time. I told him we would stop back at this point on our way back down.

It was FREEZING up here...and very VERY foggy. Well, we thought it was foggy. Loved knowing that we might see bears. No really, we had already planned how we would get out of that...we watched Man Vs. Wild before we left. I think we were confident that we could even eat the bear! lol!

So pretty. However, we did get out to the look out point of the very top of the mountain and we were so sad. All of this traveling, and we couldn't see a thing. The fog was so dense. So we just looked over at the fog and tried to imagine what it might look like.

As we stood there, Brendan seemed so disappointed. I mean I was too, but this boy just needed to see it.

Then right before our eyes we watched this fog just gently move with a gentle breeze. Suddenly we could see everything crystal clear! We were in shock. Brendan looked out at the gap and looked over at me and said..."Mom, it was like the Lord moved that cloud, just for us! I believe it did it just for us!!" My precious boy who had just told his Dad a few weeks earlier that he was wondering why God shows up for Mom all the time, speaks to Mom all the time, but never him. He has seen God's hand move in mighty ways for our family. No doubt about it. However, he has prayed, he has read the Word and he has struggled to see God move in his own personal life, answer his own personal prayers.

When his eyes could see the massive gap, the incredible colors and all of that wonder...he knew that only God could have done that, could have created that. Only God gets that Glory! I kid you not, this moment, changed my boy. Brendan was convinced that "every good and perfect gift comes from the Father!" and it was indeed personal to him. God has showed up for him.

Kyle just loved every bit of it too! We all did!

This will be a photograph that will be forever etched in my heart! Brendan taking it all in. Yes, we were in the clouds, we were up that high, so if you wait long enough, the wind will blow the clouds away, but WE give HIM all the Glory! I know my words are not doing that moment justice, because as I recall it, and type it, there are tears streaming down my face. We were at The Pinnacle and this was a pinnacle moment of my trip.

We stayed up here for quite awhile. Another one of my happy moments was when Kyle and Shane discovered that they can pick of leaves, throw them over the rail and they would be blown right behind them again. OH they laughed and did it over and over again! So much fun!

The laughter would soon be done. Climbed back down to the parking area only to find the scene in the picture below.

That would be all of my oil that had leaked out of my oil pump. My little engine that could. We carefully and prayerfully made it all the way back down to the park and continued to wait and see. I called Karen, Lorrie and Mike to see what I should do. So I got a park ranger to take a look to make sure it really was oil, then I filled up my tank with oil and bought some more for the trip to Karen's house.

This leg of the trip got me a little worried that I might be lost. Don't get me wrong, it was absolutely breathtaking, but it was also painstakingly slow. I thought for sure Madame Garmin was wrong. NOPE...she was totally right and taking me the scenic route! So worth every single second.

Just look at that beauty! Then finally, I had been to this house before...home sweet home!

This would be my view for the next 7 days! So incredible!

We still have several more days to document. I think I will document experiences instead of days now. Stay tuned for Karen and Anna's home, Asbury Theological Seminary, Shaker Village, Raven Run, High Bridge, The Kentucky River, Civil War Corn Maze, Lincoln's Birthplace and Boy hood home, Mammoth Cave, Alabama, Horseback riding, and Providence Canyon. Whew...I do hope my blog holds up!

On The Eve of Our American Adventure

I'm not sure who is more excited, me or my boys! I'm so excited that I'm writing this at 4:30am on the morning of our trip! I'm as planned (over planned) as I'll ever be! I have an itinerary, our bags our packed I was even able to squeeze a fall caramel apple party in before we left! It was wonderful - both our family and our friends were going on a road trip so we not only made caramel apples, we also made a very healthy trail mix for the road! 

So what planning goes into a trip like this? I made the decision to go to Kentucky 3 weeks ago. Crazy I know! Three weeks ago my husband took an envelope and started saving his tips from the deli that he was working part time. I put my guitar lesson money in there as well. We did receive a few gifts that were also placed in there...and this became my spending money...for 4 people..for 10 days! We are so going to do this! Gas was budgeted, hotel was paid for...this was to see how much fun we could have and how little we can spend. So stay tuned as I share all of our adventures...and how little we spend each day! By humanly rights we shouldn't be going on any vacation. We both had part time jobs...(I use the past tense because Praise God..Mr. Incredible is officially employed as an LPN for Indigo Manor..a nursing facility!..he starts tomorrow!) 

 I had to go into storage (friend's shed) to get our winter clothes. I hope the weather stays consistently cool...or we're gonna be HOT! The trunk of my car, my Toyota Camry is stuffed with 3 suitcases, a box of food and a laundry basket of snacks. Our plan is to only eat the food we brought, until we get to our friends house in Kentucky! (I'm sure we've over packed for a two day road trip to Kentucky!)

Prior to leaving so much had to happen. I needed a lesson on how to fix my car (which has 204,000 miles on it already)

So I can add oil, water and change a tire...and of course call GEICO for road side service!

This is probably the most exciting part of the drive...my friend/sister Michelle, put together a Mystery Trip for us! In that bag there are clues that are to be opened during various points in our travels. It's a mystery to me too...so I'll have more details about this after we open each envelope. I can tell you this...the very thought of getting to our first point...has me so excited..it is already worth it..just because of the anticipation of it! So...stay tuned I talk all about this Mystery Trip. You can find Michelle's blog over HERE.

Ok..I have to get in the shower and get in my car. We roll out at 6:00am. OH but one more thing, as you can see by the top picture. Each boy has a bag full of essentials. That would be my youngest superhero's bag...Woody and Jessie must accompany us as we travel southeast America!! Along with that are puzzle books, journals, a DSi, a clipboard with all sorts of road trip games that I carefully printed and saved on a flash drive for the ride home! There are licence plate games, and scavenger hunts, hangman, tic-tac-toe, automobile brands hunt game, maps of the states we're going through...plus I've printed 50 facts for Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Alabama! We'll be learning lots of History! However, that is not all we'll be doing. There will be some laughing, some bonding and some character training too. Do we ever grow out of Adventures in Odyssey? I don't think so! So..for our listening pleasure...we will have plenty of music and plenty of stories to be read to us!

OK...I'm off! Stay tuned. I have no laptop coming on this trip..so I won't be able to post a blog until Thursday night or Friday morning. I know you're not as excited as I am, but half of my excitement is writing about my trip...I'll see you back here in a couple of days!

Our Grand Adventure - Living History

Ready or not...here we go! My boys and I will be piling into the car in exactly 3 days. We'll be leaving Wednesday morning for our very first solo road trip. I say solo because Dad just got a new job as a LPN and he will most likely be starting his training this coming week. (by the way...we are so excited for him - new career in something that he loves!) We'll be talking to him every day and we will miss him for sure!

It was spur of the moment, but I think its going to be one of the best vacation we've ever had. We've not been on a real vacation..like out of state...ever. We've escaped up North to our old home town NJ during hurricane season one year, but this is for pure and simple fun/education.

My boys are learning American History (well at least my younger ones)..they'll be studying it for two years. This will give them a visual image of at the southeastern states and what it was like to move west. My children have never seen a mountain. Sad right? They've never seen a fall leaf. We'll be hitting the Smokey Mountains in the midst of Fall.

My friend Michelle has created a Mystery Trip Kit...that we'll be opening up during our trip...to keep it exciting. I don't have all the details yet, but as we go along I will be blogging details about our trip.

I've printed each boy a clipboard full of activities that should help in the car both on the way up and back.

We'll be going old school. I have 5 maps all highlighted, directions handwritten out but for a backup..we'll have the Garmin GPS. I will have the cutest most fun young superheros to keep me company in the car for our 13 hour trip up. We'll be going through all the Welcome Centers, taking our time and enjoying all the Kodak moment we can. Our plans are as follows...Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina..where we'll be spending the night! Then the next day we're hoping to have lunch with some friends of ours that live right here in Florida and will be camping in Tennessee.Then we will explore Cumberland Gap, famous for helping pave the way for early settlers to head west. We will walk in the footsteps of early pioneers and Native Americans, visit the ruins of fortifications used in the Civil War, experience the life of an early mountain community. Can you tell I'm a little excited..and we haven't even gotten to our destination yet?

Our good friends have mapped out our entire trip (they've made this trip several times)...including all the wonderfully educational places to stop and explore! Once we get up to Kentucky we'll be spending a week with my precious friend Karen! Oh how I love this woman. We miss our face time! Her and her girls have been generous enough to share their hospitality with my boys and I..and we are looking forward to every second. The weather will be chilly..but we're ready. While in Kentucky some of our plans are to visit Mammoth Cave, Shaker Village, and possibly the Creation Museum.

Not to mention sipping a Pumpkin Spice Latte on my friend's porch and running the hills of the quaint town of Wilmore, KY!

On the way home we'll be able to spend some time going through the center of Tennessee and have lunch in Nashville! We'll make our way south to Alabama where we'll see more friends and spend the night there. On our way home the next day we'll be seeing gorges, and military bases and of course...eventually our own beds again!

So..approximately a 10 day road trip. It will be a trip my boys and I will talk about for years and years! I've never driven more than 4 hours...so this should be interesting! Mostly, I'm looking forward to making memories and having some Mom and sons bonding time. I mean, I homeschool them and we have lots of time that way, but making memories like this is rare and special. We will miss Dad for sure. Especially when I'm exhausted from driving. But, we kind of feel like pioneers ourselves. Exploring land we've never seen before, doing things we've never done before, and just taking it all in! It will be a grand adventure for sure! So stop back and follow us as we begin our journey of living history!

The Creation of a Vacation

The day, the hour, the minute...finally arrived. January 2, 2012 - VACATION!  If you follow my life at all, you will know that it has been a very long time since our last vacation. Even our last vacation (3 days in Miami) was wonderful, but it took me 2 days to stop crying and then I only had one day of pure enjoyment. I don't know how else to explain the emotional, physical and mental exhaustion that comes from caring full time for an advanced Alzheimer's loved one can be (but that is what caused my 2 days of crying on our last vacation). We absolutely are grateful to the Lord for the opportunity to care for Pop for all of those years. It was an honor and our way of honoring our elders. We would do it again without question. However, even the facility director of the home where Pop and happily resides and Pop's physician told my husband and I that we went way above and beyond what anyone would ever expect. We didn't know...we wouldn't have even considered putting him in a home if God didn't orchestrate every detail leading up to that decision. My family unit is blessed to be able to know that we loved and cared for Pop for so long and we continue to love and care for him, he just doesn't live with us anymore.

With all of that said, the thought of going on vacation seemed like a distant reality. With Mike in school and our finances extremely tight, we really couldn't justify going on any vacation...our day would come...when Mike got a job.

Well, as the Lord would have it, we were blessed by another family who were unable to use their entire stay at their condo this particular week and they offered for us to stay in Kissimmee, Florida. I remember the day I was approached about this, I felt like Jimmy Stewart from "It's A Wonderful Life."  We happily agreed.

The week or two leading up to this particular day found my dog very sick and in need of x-rays and medication and 2 vet visits, my need of 3 medical exams, (a brain scan, mammogram & an ultrasound...all without health insurance), and finally the day before we left found out that we were never sent our homeowner's insurance bill and our policy lapsed and we now owed more money and a new policy had to be drafted. Whew there blew our budget, like in no time at all. I really didn't think we could do anything that resembled a vacation. I cried a river at how rapidly our funds were disappearing, but after my quiet time three days before we left, I had a new vision about our stay in Kissimmee. My goal was not to spend more than $50 a day on anything. We did it and I am amazed by God's favor once again!

So off we go! I was going to name this blog "Having a Blast on a Budget", but opted for the Creation.

In the beginning, God created an opportunity for us to get away...

Day 1 - found us drooling over the condo and feeling like giddy little children!

 My children could hardly wait to unpack their little bags and make their rooms "their rooms."

 Just being surrounded by "new to us" is always refreshing!

This little spot is where I wanted to do my morning devotions. However, it was way too cold, so I opened the blinds in the morning and stayed nice and warm in my blanket. Oh and I will save what the Lord taught me on this vacation for another blog...stay tuned. Powerful quiet time!

So on our first night, we knew we had to go grocery shopping, but we've never been to the Mall at Millenia and wanted to see what was so special. Well, it was indeed special...a very pricey mall, but so festive and beautiful.

We walked around, took lots of fun photos, dreamed big dreams, and my children rode the escalator several times. (Throw us into a closet and we could have fun..I kid you not!)

Took pictures of fun items. Some were not bad prices (not on my budget right now)...like those Star Wars cookie cutters from William Sonoma..aren't they cool?

Some were way way to pricey..but beautiful, like this table from Pottery Barn. Put your coffee down...$2,800, or something close to that!

No we did not stop at one of the 2 Starbucks at the mall. My gift cards are all gone and well, I just wanted to be careful. So the night ends in smiles because we went to Publix and bought ice cream for my boys and a whole bag of Starbucks Coffee (which I'm still drinking as of this morning).

And there was evening, and there was morning--the first day. - Under budget...success!

Day 2 - I can go a little crazy when I give myself my challenge - but we still had one of the best days ever..and spent NO money at all!

Kyle was the first one awake...he loves to find me doing my devotions..we started the day together, he sipping hot cocoa, me drinking coffee, both of us talking to Jesus.

Once everyone was awake we made homemade waffles for breakfast! YUM! Then it was time to get some energy out. We drove around looking for a park, couldn't find a public park so we took over the condo tennis courts and played for 2 hours.

Well, they played for two hours, I'm a lover not a fighter, so I gave up and went inside to do this....

and then I started getting dinner ready. When the boys came back they took showers and waited for me to finish dinner...all the while doing this...and it was peaceful, and we were happy and the house smelled of homemade pizza!

After dinner we settled in for some puzzle making and movie night! We had the absolute peaceful, free, fun day EVER!!

And there was evening, and there was morning, -- the second day.

Day 3 - After someone spotted my pictures that I posted on Facebook, via my phone..(did I mention that we didn't have wifi...another serious blessing actually) one of my friends mentioned that my vacation looked a lot like my normal life, minus the chores. I reflected on her words and thought...wow, she is right. Any given day you can find my household watching movies, engaged in nerf gun wars, or reading good books...so I've come to the conclusion that vacation is a state of mind. Day 3 found us doing things that we would do if we were home.

We hung out and finished that puzzle..we were all addicted! Then we went to one of our favorite places...Downtown Disney. It's free by the way..and although we would so much rather have been in Disney...Downtown Disney is far more relaxing and still gives the feel of the magic of Disney.

My children can't help but have a good time. When you see these two locking arms, you know its a good time!

Any and all photo opportunities...we are all about that!

I'm not sure what it is about us and trying on cool hats. It's just fun! Looking into the General Store at Fort Wilderness Lodge. You know you can go and visit any lodge or resort from Downtown Disney..yes you can!

We stuck around for Chip & Dale's Sing-A-Long and roasted marshmallows too. We brought our own marshmallows but did purchase the sticks...35 cents per stick. We also brought those sticks home with us..to use with our own fire pit!

They also offer a movie under the stars...we opted out and went back to the condo and watched "The Fantastic Four".

When we got back over to Downtown Disney, we caught a concert, and an opportunity to line dance with 75 other people. So much fun! Great night had by all - and way under budget.

And there was evening, and there was morning, -- the third day.

Day 4 - When we woke up there was this feeling of...this is our last "day" here. Kyle was the first to utter it in actual words, but we were all thinking about it. I tried to break the mood, by focusing on the fact that our day out wasn't going to be long and we still had one more movie night here in the condo.

So off we go...

Now Gatorland didn't break the budget. Nope..normally it would have, but this particular week tickets for Florida residents were $9.99 per person...that works for us! (Also, seeing as how we hardly touched our budget for the first 3 days, this was going to be our most expensive day out. Not bad!)

There were so many alligators and I happen to love them all! Really, they are so beautiful and I would love to be able to get real close...this one was right under my feet. There were shows throughout the day and they were hilarious. Such a fun time.

Shane however, spent $8.00 of his Christmas money so he could actually get up close and personal with a gator...he got to wrestle a live gator! That was COOL!!

Worth every single dollar if you ask him. I was a tad jealous, so happy for him! Next time I'm totally doing it!

 There were all sorts of snakes and birds...this really is our kind of fun!

 And of course hysterical photo opportunities...come on, we're the Engels, my kids are conditioned like Pavlov's dogs to smile and pose for the camera.

Ok..us too..I just don't post a whole lot of me. lol!

And there was evening, and there was morning, -- the fourth day.

Day 5 - The final day = Legoland

It was bittersweet. We knew we would be going to see friends, but leaving...was a tad more difficult for some of us. Particularly Shane, Kyle and myself. Maybe it was the bonding time, the sleeping arrangements, the lack of a cat, dog, 3 toads and fish to take care of, I'm not sure...but I sure am going to miss our little get-a-way! Off we were by 7:30am

Legoland, didn't bust the budget either. I organized a field trip and invited a bunch of homeschoolers and if we had a minimum of 15 children on this organized trip, we could get tickets for $5 per person. So for $25 my entire family got to experience a super fun filled theme park. All of it for less than the price of one ticket normally. We had an incredible time and even more special because we could share it with our friends, but I have to say, I would never pay $75 to come here...Disney, yes (even though that is hard to swallow too). However, my children would say YES..it was worth every cent! I agree it was awesome and I'm thankful we each paid $5.

Here are just a few of the pictures...trust me..some of those Lego creations were breathtaking! I won't show all of my pictures, don't worry!

 The weather couldn't have been more perfect!!

 If you start asking yourself, "Is that made of legos?" Just answer yourself..."yes."

 My pictures don't really do justice to the enormity of this place!

 We went of every single ride I think...some fast, some slow..all fun! I had the most fun walking with good friends, seeing our homeschool buddies in line at rides and sitting at lunch. I just love our community of homeschoolers. So blessed to have such great people in my life!

 This one made us laugh. This is Las Vegas...but our children see it and scream..."Look Africa!"

 We had our friend Seth join us & it made an even number..nice for riding rides!

 Look, Brendan got to sit under the nose of one of his heroes!

 The boys even got their "driver's license"!

You can see the shadows of all of us parents who were cracking up at the thought of these crazy kids ever getting their license. They were running stop lights and switching lanes, but by the end, they all got the hang of it!

The park closes at 5:00pm..which was exactly when we left. We had such a good time. We went a little over our daily budget because we had to buy lunch...too much thought going into making lunches and packing up my car. I wasn't prepared with the proper equipment to pack lunches on this day..so we bought lunch...the good thing was..it was a big enough lunch to cover two meals..so we went straight home after this.

We talked about how much we missed our pets and what a wonderful vacation we had. So thankful that the Lord provided a way for us to get a way, and provided people to take care of our pets! I almost cried when I picked up Dodger...I was worried he wouldn't remember me...no worries...his tail is still going!

And there was evening, and there was morning, -- the fifth day.

I look over all of these pictures and all of our memories and I can see that it was all very good! And there was evening and there was morning --