Princesses, Towers, and Cars

WOW! What a day! What a wonderful, glorious, stupendous day! (That's still not enough adjectives to describe what a great day it has been!). It was a day in which Andy and I were able to devote all our attention on our children and bless them with activities that they have wanted to do. I love days where all I have to worry about is making the kids day! Life is so much easier!

My day started off with my daughter. For years she has wanted to go to the Cinderella's Royal Table Breakfast - but we have never had the blessing of being able to get a reservation - but this year we did! We got up early and headed off to Magic Kingdom to the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique to get her hair done up all princess like. She loved it! She loves it when she gets to dress up (definitely NOT my daughter!) And BOY! Was she beautiful! It's kinda scary seeing how pretty she is all dolled up. She is definitely NOT wearing make-up or any such thing before she is 30!After that we went to the Cinderella's Royal Table breakfast where she was able to meet Cinderella, Snow White, Princess Jasmine, Princess Aurora (a.k.a Sleeping Beauty), and our favorite, Belle. I like Belle because she reads! Each princess was so kind and talked with her and had their picture taken. It was a great time! She was in her glory and loved every minute! After the breakfast we then stood in line to meet Ariel (Little Mermaid) and Fairies - Tinker Bell, Fawn, and Silvermist. So I think we have met every princess available to meet here in Disney. It was so wonderful to see her all excited and smiling and just knowing she was having a good time.

After our princess time, we women met up with the men folk who had had breakfast with Mickey. We headed off to Hollywood Studios - the one park we hadn't been to as of yet. Matt has been dying to go on the Tower of Terror. I have never had any interest - but since I was the only adult in our group even remotely willing to try it out - I was elected to go. Matt knows I'll try any ride once and had been hounding me to take him on. So that was the first thing we did. Daniel was insistent upon going with us and since I didn't want my dear friend Frank to be the ONLY bad parent in the world taking his young son on the Tower of Terror, I thought I would join him in that category. Daniel, even though he thought it was scary, wanted to do it again! I told you he liked things fast and dangerous! Matt and I went on a couple of times without Daniel and each time it got better - I really don't think it is all that scary. Matt had fun and was able to do the one ride he has been dying to do. We also went on the Rock-n-Roller coaster and Star Tours, saw the Indiana Jones Stunt Show, and enjoyed the Narnia: Prince Caspian Exhibit. It was a good day.

Before we left we discovered that you could have your picture taken with Lightening McQueen and Mater - almost full size cars! Daniel thought this was great! It would have been even better if they had been interactive, but oh well! He had his picture taken and enjoyed just touching and exploring the two cars.

The weather has been beautiful - sunny and upper 80's to low 90's. It is almost 9:00 pm and Matt and Sarah are swimming, while Daniel is all snuggie in his bed, fast asleep. Tomorrow we head to Blizzard Beach for the day. I can tell Daniel is going to be a nut! It will be fun! I may not blog again until Wednesday as you have to pay $10 for 24 consecutive hours of Internet service. I am using some of my b-day money to splurge so that I can blog. Thanks for praying for us! We are enjoying every moment of this vacation!

You have GOT to be kidding me!

Last Thursday morning, I awoke feeling as if God hated me and never wanted me happy again. You see, I awoke to the sound of my husband crying out "You have GOT to be kidding me!". We had decided that since we would be gone for two weeks we would douse the house with pesticide hoping to KILL anything that lived there. While dousing he found a bed bug in the boys room. WHY!?!?!?!? I can't even begin to describe the heart wrenching feelings it brought on - to find a wretched beast just hours before our departure for vacation. I have no idea if they are wreaking havoc on our house as I type this - but as far as I am concerned the house can burn down to the ground. We are in Florida and at this point I am never returning to Philly. So far, I have Daniel on my side and I am sure only a little convincing is needed to turn Matt and Sarah to my side - Andy is my only hold out - but as I see the edges of worry and stress lift from his face - I can tell I only need a few more days to convince him we should stay here and find new jobs. I am willing to work if that is what it takes!

Needless to say, we are having a BLAST here in Florida!

Daniel with his new
"toy" - a dvd player from my mom

We arrived Thursday afternoon without a hitch and stayed in a hotel with a great pool. We all got in our suits and enjoyed a lovely afternoon in the pool. Daniel was a complete nut and thinks he can swim without assistance. Even going under a few times didn't deter him! Looks like maybe this summer will be the one in which to teach him how to swim!

We headed to our Disney Resort, Port Orleans - Riverside, Friday and have been on the go ever since. Daniel has been amazing! It has been so much fun to watch him enjoy EVERYTHING! He isn't afraid of anything! And the great thing is he is exactly 40 inches and can enjoy most of the rides. His favorite word has become "AGAIN!!". Everything he goes on he wants to do again. So far we have ridden Pirates of the Caribbean 3 times as that is his absolute favorite ride of all.

Sarah tangling with some pirates

Other top favorites include Splash Mountain, Soarin', and Test Track. He likes things that are fast and dangerous! So far we have gone to three out of the four parks. He loves each and every one of them and would live there if we would let him. He has been so good - no tantrums! He is such an easy going kid!
Matt and Sarah have been doing pretty well. Matt is getting to the point where he doesn't want to do all the things we are doing - but he is learning a lesson in compromise. He and Andy are staying out late tonight as Magic Kingdom is open until 2 a.m.! It is good father/ son bonding time and lets Matt enjoy some of the rides that Sarah and Daniel would not enjoy.

I can't begin to tell you how relaxing it has been these past few days. Andy is relaxed and not thinking about everything there is to do with the house and ministry. I am relaxed in "trying" not to think about what the bed bugs are doing to my house and not homeschooling. The kids are getting our full attention - something that has been lacking these past 7 months. All is good. So while I still don't understand the whole bed bug finding last Thursday - except to help me lose my mind even more! - God does love me and desire for me to have times of peace. I am sucking all the peace I can out of these next 12 days that we have left. But I really don't think I'm going back to Philly - it looks like Andy will have to drag me back, kicking and screaming. We'll see.....

So sorry....

I have been absolutely horrible about blogging. Life seems to be going at warp speed as of late and there isn't enough hours in my day to accomplish everything I desire to do. We are all well. Matt "seems" to be getting better - still a bit irritable, but more tolerable! Right now we are counting down the days until we go on vacation - THIS THURSDAY! We planned this vacation last September. Back then it seemed so far away. Then when the trials came flowing one by one - this vacation became my "finish line" so to speak. If I could make it this far, I knew we could make it. And now it is finally almost here. We still have some obstacles to climb, but we are really praying that this time away - two weeks! - will be refreshing and bonding. We have missed so much of our kids lives this past year because of other issues crowding our heads. Please pray that we would spend tons of time with them, talking with them, growing closer, and making memories that will last a life time.

Where are we going? We are heading to Disneyland for one week and then to a condo in Orlando for the second week. While there we are celebrating my 40th birthday! This is a gift from my mom. We are so incredibly blessed! Please pray for safety and a refreshing time. We are burnt out and need some time to escape from our house and different issues (namely the bed bugs! Though we haven't seen any since Easter). Keep an eye out - I plan to blog everyday to keep a journal of all we are doing!

Finally...

Two weeks ago I took Matt to the doctor to get blood work done. He had been bitten by a tick in early March and I didn't want to take any chances that he did have it without showing any of the symptoms. Unfortunately, there was a mess up with the lab and blood work so we went again yesterday to redo the blood work. I got the phone call this afternoon. He has Lyme's disease. The doctor was shocked. Matt never presented with the bulls eye rash and never had any other symptoms, except one day he had a terrible headache. But it was only one day and I figured it was a sinus thing. I am glad I went with my instinct and asked the doctors to draw blood - otherwise this thing could have gone on for quite some time. Fortunately, Lyme's disease is very curable in children. He will be on an antibiotic for three weeks and that should be the end. The doctor says he doesn't need to be retested, but I think I am going to research this more thoroughly to see if he should be retested and what would show up if he was retested. Please pray that Matt would make a full recovery and that there would be no side effects to this disease.

He has been INCREDIBLY difficult as of late and we are hoping that that will be relieved soon. I did read that one of the side effects of Lyme's disease in children is irritability. I only hope that is our sons' case and not his true personality. He has had an incredibly difficult year medically with hoof and mouth disease last June and then sometime during last year he contracted mono (didn't find that out until he had blood work for a mysterious rash that had developed last fall) and now Lyme's disease. I am praying he will start taking care of himself by allowing himself to sleep and rest. He is so much like Andy in that he stays up all hours of the night thinking when he should be sleeping. Please pray for balance and rest for his body.

Updates...

I have several - I guess I'll start with the bad news update and end on a positive note.

The bad news is that the neighbors on our other side, the Hispanic family, has bed bugs. I talked with them this afternoon and tried to express how important it is that they get treatments started quickly. They had them back in January, got treatment and didn't see anymore. But now they have seen several. It makes me think they thought this was just a one time thing and weren't very diligent about looking everywhere, everyday. I am HOPING and PRAYING that they DON'T come back to this side. I think if they do that's the end and I am leaving this house and the city.

Now to the good news. Lilianna Faith Hinson is doing remarkably well! All her tubes are out and she is breathing well on her own. I actually was able to visit with Carisa, Frank and Lili yesterday thanks to kindness of Mrs. Hunter - Carisa's mom. She offered to take me over when she and Paxton went to visit. Lili is such a beautiful baby! It was a sweet time getting to see Carisa hold her for the first time since she was born and to touch her soft downy hair. She is a real joy to her family. Paxton was BEYOND excited to meet his new sister. I am so glad he is a loving big brother - something I am extremely jealous of as my first born is not as sweet with his younger siblings. I pray Paxton continues to be that loving caring big brother.

New Note - She is now in the Well Baby Nursery! YEAH! She's a fighter!

Another piece of good news is that I went to the Dr. for a three month check-up. My blood work came back GREAT! I am now in the NON-diabetic range with a blood sugar reading of 5.9, and my triglycerides, which had been over 900, are now down to 117. The exercise and eating properly are working! I am still on medication, but my hope is that with continued diet and exercise I will be able to get off them. I will continue to work and we will see how my body responds.

God is good - all the time. I have to keep remembering that. I pray that our neighbors would get rid of their bed bugs so we can go into the summer worry free. They multiply quicker in the heat - it could get pretty bad again. Please pray for God to eradicate these dreadful creatures once and for all!

Good news and prayer request

Today, Lilianna Faith Hinson, the new daughter of Frank and Carisa Hinson (our co-workers) entered the world via c-section. She weighed in at 7 lbs. 4.8 oz. I hear she is beautiful - with a full head of dark hair! But of course her two older brothers are absolutely gorgeous as well.

Lili, as she will be fondly called, is having some difficulty breathing and so is currently in the NICU with a tube down her throat. Please pray with us that Lili would gain strength quickly and she would be able to get out of the NICU fast.

Please pray for Frank and Carisa. Their last year has been as full of trials as ours. You may remember Frank dealing with cancer back in November/ December. Please pray for God's peace to reign among them and for Lili to improve quickly so that she may come home and be surrounded by the love we are all dying to show her. We have waited a long time for this little one and are anxious to have her home! Thanks!

I think....

I may just lose my mind! Last night while I was getting ready for bed I found ONE in the bathroom - of all places!! A tiny one. (If you don't know what I found - it's a bed bug!). I REALLY thought we were through with them. It had been 31 days since we had seen any or had any evidence of bites. But there it was. Crawling on the floor - stage 2, I believe. I have NO idea where it came from. I also found a really tiny dead one in our bedroom - that must have just died because I just vacuumed there last Wednesday before the exterminator came. UGH!!!! I am not at all pleased and am really starting to get angry. Why are we still dealing with these? What is God's plan in all this? Am I suppose to get rid of MORE things? Are we suppose to move? Leave everything behind? Honestly, I could get up right now and walk away from this house and never look back. If the house burnt down RIGHT NOW, I would not regret losing anything. I am that tired of this whole situation. Living out of bags is getting tiring. Getting ready for Easter Sunday was a fiasco as things were everywhere and not in their normal places. There is NOTHING more we can do to our house, except keep spraying pesticide and DE - which works only sometimes. I woke up at 4:00 am just crying out to God to please answer our prayers of relief. I want my house back - I want to live in peace - I want my children to be able to play freely on the floors - I REALLY want everything back where it belongs. I know there is a reason for this.....I just wish I would learn the lesson already so we can be done with this trial of 6 1/2 months.