Magical

We went to Disney. Yes we did. 

I know some people love the thought of going to the most magical place on earth and others loath it. For us it was simply magical and I'm so glad we went. 

Here is a little back story on the months and weeks that led up to this trip. 

You see, we started thinking about this trip about a year ago, before Suzi was born. Keith's parents have been wanting to take the whole family and we all know there may not be another opportunity, so we decided to take an infant, a 2 year old and a brand new 5!  

Yes, we got looks. Some were in sympathy, some were "are you crazy??" But, you know you have to ignore lots of things when you are vacationing with thousands of other people. 

 

So, back to the planning. We did Disney in it's entirety. The resort hotel, dining plan, character meals, advanced fast passes, the whole nine yards. 

One month before our trip Keith decided it would be in the best interest of our family and his career, to look for another job. 

Louisville has very few software companies where Keith's skills can be utilized, so we were pretty panicky. 

Should we spend the money on a Disney trip?

Should Keith take a week off of job hunting to go on vacation?

How long would our savings hold out?

Yes, all of these things were going through our minds. We decided to pray about it for a week and trust the Lord to provide job/interview opportunities and then talk about it again. 

Within a week Keith had many phone interviews and a few potiential leads. 

Amazing. 

So, we decided in faith to continue on with the Disney plans. 

Over the next two weeks he worked hard on finding a job and 3 weeks to the day after his decision to leave his current job, he had 2 offers in hand. 

All the credit goes to the Lord here. 

So, Keith finished his job at the company who brought us to Louisville, we left for Disney the day after, returned, and now he's starting his new job today. Whew!

We are still kind of "holding on" and trusting the Lord and what He's doing at this time, but very thankful for His provision. 

So, back to the magic. 

Disney really does vacationing right and we had perfect weather, we even spent 3 days in the pool!

 

Yes, there were meltdowns, bad eating habits, and complete exhaustion on everyone's part. But we never wished we weren't there. We loved every minute of the crazy. 

 

We did learn about all that Disney provides for special needs families, which we didn't take advantage of this trip, but I was happy to know about them. 

Hannah did really well and by the last day learned that she's supposed to smile when a character comes over to take a picture. 

 

 

She loves ducks. After this she was quacking all morning. 

I think Suzi even enjoyed it, well enjoyed being with grandparents and cousins was probably her favorite. She really went with the flow. 

 

Such a sweetie. 

Eli rode all the rides he was tall enough for and was really sad when he was a hair too short for space mountain. His favorites were test track and splash mountain. 

 

And he even turned 5 while we were there!

 

In China @ Epcot

 

We were so blessed by this trip. So thankful to Keith's parents for allowing us to go and providing many helpful hands while we were there. 

 

I'll leave you with a few more pics. 

 

Breakfast at Chef Mickey's

Suzi was not feeling it here. 

Playing with Hannah in front of Cinderella's castle

 

 

Eli appeasing me with a pic. 

 

Our two little Minnies. 😊

 

 

Have a "magical" day!

Ahhh...beach 2015

There is just something renewing about sand between your toes and salt in the air.
The beach, it. was. nice.

The Wilson family has been going to the beach for as long as I can remember so I'm glad the tradition still holds and I can share it with my kiddos.  Of course, Hannah was not thrilled about the beach, except for the sand that she continued to eat, but give her a year and I bet things will be different.  

Sticking her feet in the Atlantic

It was nice to be on beach time and off therapy and appointment time.  I'm sure Hannah felt the same. We ate leisurely breakfasts and went out on the beach most mornings.  We took afternoon naps and ate lots and lots of shrimp.  

We waved to countless helicopters that flew over head and kept our eyes open for sharks but only saw a huge group of dolphins which was a nice surprise.  

We got up with the sun (or before it) because of Eli.  Most mornings he woke at 6 and does not know how to control the volume of his voice while others sleep, so we hit the sand early and took morning walks.  That's a nice time to be on the beach.

Eli loves the ocean and the waves, but knows how to keep himself safe.  It was fun to see him explore more this year.  

Another morning walk with my big boy. 

"You rule the swelling of the sea; when its waves rise, You still them."  Psalm 89:9

 Eli is also learning more about flying a kite.  The winds were high most days so it made for fantastic kite weather.  

Next year they won't be this little and I'm sure they'll be on to another adventure. I treasure these times with them. 

To say it was nice to "get away" is an understatement. I actually had not been to NC since before Hannah was born, but it was also nice to be away from the world of doctors and therapists pointing out things Hannah does wrong or constantly being reminded of her delays. This trip away caused me to let that go for a little while and just enjoy my girl the way she is and not worry about what she's not doing. 

I believe it helped her too, because while we were away she started sitting (yay!). Of course it's not for super long and she still falls over but it's an improvement and such a kind gift from God to this mama who doubts his goodness in my life so often. 

This trip and this girl are such examples of how the Lord knows me and how much he delights in his children. 

"For the LORD 

takes delight in his people; 

he crowns the humble 

with victory."

Psalm 149: 4