Celebrating at WDW!

So, we just got home yesterday afternoon from a trip to Walt Disney World.  It was a very different kind of trip for us.  We've never been gone away from our children that long!  It was nice, but kind of weird, too.  

We weren't away from all of our children, though.  We met up with the oldest! She's working at WDW this semester on the College Program, so not only did we get to see her, but she also got us into the parks for FREE! Can't beat that!!

We also got a discount on our room.  This is outside on our balcony at Animal Kingdom Lodge. It's beautiful there! Who wouldn't want to see giraffes outside their door every day?!  I wanted to bring one home!

Lauren considered this our birthday celebration and Disney is HUGE on helping you celebrate! We received birthday buttons when we arrived and restaurants treated us royally when they knew we were celebrating!  On of our sons said it was a 2nd honeymoon, which topped our first one to Amarillo, Texas, by quite a bit! :)  Vier means celebrate in Swahili!

We went to Animal Kingdom on arrival day, then went to Magic Kingdom the next day.  Breakfast at the Beast's Castle in the "Be Our Guest" restaurant was great! The food was fancy-ish and we didn't like all of it, but it was good.  It wasn't our taste, but we know that many, many would like it.  We would order something a little different if we were to go again.  But the castle was beautiful!

One of our daughter's roommates was working at the Christmas store that day, so we went by to visit her.  What a fun job to say "Merry Christmas" every day! :)

That night we ate at "Whispering Canyon" at the Fort Wilderness Lodge.  It was great and lots of fun!!  This huge mason jar was the biggest water glass my husband has ever had. He was sooooooo happy!!

The "skillet" was great, too!  Served family style and in a never-ending fashion, this meal really fills you up!

They had a few fun photo props to take pictures.  I really liked this jail!

If you need ketchup at this restaurant, you don't just ask for it, you YELL it!  'WE NEED KETCHUP!"  And then the table with the ketchup takes it to that table!  There were 15 bottles on a table at some times! It was definitely a play on words for this place to be called "whispering".  There's NO whispering! Ha ha!!  Such fun!

You can't beat seeing "Wishes" at Magic Kingdom.  Our daughter told us the story behind the song the little girl sings at the beginning and end of the fireworks show. She had cancer and her wish was to be a part of MK in some way. It's her song that plays and may be her even singing it.  She passed away, but she did get her wish.  What a beautiful song and story!

The most beautiful part of the trip was seeing the annual International Flower and Garden Festival going on at EPCOT.  It was truly amazing!

God made beautiful flowers and man finds a great way to share them all with us!  Especially at EPCOT!

We ate at "Canada" on EPCOT day.  It was a delicious steak!  And great desserts!

Our daughter works in the American Adventure as part of the staff at the Liberty Inn.  What great memories she will have!

In Germany I found the best dessert ever - a caramel bar! It's in the Werther's store, but it's not Werther's caramel (or if it is, it doesn't say it).  It was so good, I got it two days in a row!

They couldn't leave Elsa and Anna out of the flower festival!  Elsa can't freeze the flowers now!

I had always wanted to go to this festival. It was beautiful, but also educational.  We learned so many things about plants and how to plant them that we didn't know!  But mostly, we got to enjoy the unique way Disney does things!

Another treat was this violet lemonade made with real violets! I talked our daughter into eating the flower.  She wasn't impressed, but it was just strange, too!  But, the lemonade was delicious!

We ended the day with Illuminations.

The last night we ate at Cape May in the Beach Club Resort. It was a lot more seafood than we like, but the food was delicious! They gave us a special birthday cupcake, as well.

The sandcastle they have displayed is so neat! We sat right by it!

That day we were at Hollywood Studios. We took the time to go to drawing class. Can you tell what we drew?  I thought we all did pretty well!

My husband and I sat in the old car replica for a quick photo. It was fun getting lots of pictures of just us together! We never do that!

We ended the evening with "Fantastic"...a wonderful ending to a great trip!

Animal Kingdom Lodge is a great place to visit!  It is expensive, so it was especially good to get a great discount on the stay.  In fact, that's the ONLY way we will be staying there!

But the perks of staying on Disney property is really worth a little extra money.

Our trip home started early.  We had to leave the resort at 3:30 a.m. (Florida time) and arrived in Dallas at 8:05 (Texas time).  After stopping for Bible class, worship, and lunch at Babe's Chicken, we arrived home at 4:00 p.m.  The boys were glad to see us, and we were glad to see them!

It was a very special trip and we had a great time celebrating many things: Our birthdays (a month apart, but celebrating in-between the two), our anniversary (early for 27th, but a late 25th), and our daughter being a Disney CastMember (CP).  Another of our daughter's roommates gave us a special welcome packet for celebrating our birthdays and anniversary when we visited her at the Boardwalk Resort.  

And now we're celebrating being home! :)

(I'm adding this photo after posting this, so it's just tagged on to the end. This carriage is from the movie "Cinderella". It's the real carriage that was in the movie! So cool!!)

Who's in Charge?

In practically every stage of life there is someone who is over us - a parent, a boss, a coach, a co-worker, and many others.  In a Christian's life, there is a higher authority that should supersede all of the other authorities.  God's Word should come before any man-made laws if they are in conflict with one another.  Our decisions should come from that Word, as well.

Let's look at "Who's in Charge?" today, and see what we can learn about each area.  Actually, as I finished point #1, I could see this post would be much too long to be one.  So, I'll be making this a "series" of posts.  Not sure how long, but several days.  (No posts on Saturday or Sunday.)

1.  Who's in charge in the family?  The parent(s)!
In a family unit, the parents are in charge of the family. In a Christian home, we know that the Bible says that the father is the head of the house.  The mother still plays a huge part of the family, but the husband is the head.  This isn't - or shouldn't be - a cause for women to become upset.  Sadly it has been that way in many cases.

God designed the family in this way for a good reason.  It wasn't because he thought less of women.  In fact, if you read the Bible you'll find Jesus was especially kind to women.  Some would say that he was even kinder to them than to men!  But God knew that in every situation, there must be someone who is ultimately in charge - the authority.  He gave that position to the man - the husband.

Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. ²³ For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church....Ephesians 5:22-23a

God established the covenant of marriage - only possible between a male and a female - and used the example of the marriage of the relationship Christ has with the church.  There is no debating the subject, and no human-made law will ever be made that will nullify God's law.  God still loves those who disobey this command and those who sin in regards to this covenant, but He will not condone or overlook the sin that goes along with it in any way.

 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her ²⁶ to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, ²⁷ and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. ²⁸ In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. Ephesians 5:25-28

Because parents are in charge of the family and the husband is the head of the family, we have a great responsibility to our children to raise them in a way that honors God.  It is our God-given duty and obligation.  As long as our children are living in our homes - and to some extent even a little longer - we must teach them and train them in many ways.  We must teach them to be honest, working citizens, but also to be faithful servants of God.

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ² “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise— ³ “so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.” Fathers, do no exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. Ephesians 6:2-4

More about "Who's in Charge?" tomorrow 

Up or Down

When I started dating my now-husband, I was only 16.  He was 22, so it was a big age difference.  Because my mom knew his family and knew their strong Christian background, she never worried about him or our relationship.  My dad didn't, either.  He wasn't the typical, "no one's dating my daughter until she's 20" kind of dad (thankfully!).  But now that our oldest, and only daughter, is 17, and will be leaving home in a little more than a year, I think about my future son-in-law or with my boys, my future daughters-in-law.

There are some important questions to ask yourself if you are of the dating age.  As a Christian, there are some very tough questions that are of utmost importance.  Don't think that you can change someone.  Perhaps they will change on their own, and perhaps you can help them change some, but don't go into a relationship expecting it.  Go into the relationship thinking of it as an "as is" thing, if you will.  In other words, you don't want someone who will change to make you happy while dating, yet after marriage, go back to the way they used to be.  Look at their family.  Look at the way they treat their family, their neighbors, the poor, the sick, the lonely.  Look at their relationship with God.  

So, on to the questions:

Will my relationship with him/her bring me UP or bring me DOWN?
Will he/she help me grow closer to God or draw me further away?
When I am around him/her, does he/she lift me up or drag me down?
Does he/she encourage me or discourage me?
Will he/she stand up for what is morally right and ethically correct or will he/she go with the flow - even if it's wrong?
Is he/she interested in helping others, or does it seem like he/she is more concerned with himself/herself?
Is he/she striving to be closer to God, or is that personal relationship ever even talked about?
How does he/she feel about the church?  Is it important to him/her or is it something he/she feels really doesn't matter?
What does he/she believe about Jesus?  Has he/she given his/her life to him?  Is he/she totally committed to Him?
How does he/she talk about his/her parents, grandparents, siblings?

These are just a few important questions.  Of course, there are many, many more.  But as a Christian, the ones that show whether the person you are dating with draw you closer to God or draw you away from God is the most important of all.  There is no other relationship as important as the one you have with your Heavenly Father and the one you have with His Son and your Savior, Jesus.  Nothing is worth allowing that relationship to suffer.  Nothing.

These questions can be used for relationships with friends and co-workers, as well.  It is our duty as Christians to teach others and bring them to Christ, but we need to be careful that we are not being brought down in the process.  We want to be one who lifts others up, who bring others up with us, and ultimately, people who point others to Him.

Stuck Together Like Glue

In Sunday night's lesson that I mentioned in my previous post, Dr. Gilmore talked about "Keeping the Family Connected".  In a marriage, there is a commitment, or there should be a commitment, by both the husband and the wife.  The thoughts below are partly from him and partly from me.

The "Commitment Promise" is:

1. Exclusive: The commitment only involves the married couple - the husband and the wife.  Adding to this couple or taking away from it defiles the commitment.  In addition, "adding to" would also include homosexual relationships that are not God's design of marriage.  (Note:  *Hooray for Kirk Cameron who is speaking up about this subject in Hollywood.  For obvious reasons, Cameron is receiving a lot of backlash for his willingness to speak up about this hot topic.)

2.  Unconditional:  The marriage commitment is not based upon any conditions.  It remains intact through the good times and the bad times, through thick and thin (both physically and metaphorically).

3.  Enduring:  The commitment endures through all stages of marriage.  The honeymoon stage doesn't last long.

Dr. Gilmore mentioned that there are three stages of marriage, though these stages aren't original with him.

Stage 1 is the "Enchantment" phase, when everything is like fairytale life.

Stage 2 is the "Disenchantment" stage, when the fairytale image wears off and reality sets in.  At this stage both the husband and wife realize that their mate does have faults.  This is the hardest stage and depending on how both parties respond and react towards this stage will determine whether or not the marriage lasts until the final stage.  Sadly, we all know, many marriages don't make it through this stage.

Stage 3 is the "Maturity" stage, when the marriage commitment has made it through the tough times, realizing that neither the husband or wife is perfect or flawless, but that each spouse is willing to overlook those imperfections and stick to the commitment regardless.  Reaching the "Maturity" stage takes work, takes love, takes forgiveness, takes perseverance, takes selflessness, and takes a faith in God.

Tomorrow we'll look at the glue that holds the family together.

Thank You, Joe!

Today I will be participating in "GRATITUESDAY", which is hosted by HeavenlyHomemakers. Please leave me a comment, send me an email or a message on Facebook about what you are grateful for today.

It is extremely difficult to just list one thing to be grateful for, isn't it? God has blessed us all so abundantly! But, today, I am grateful for my husband, Joe, and here are some of the reasons why:

1. He is a great husband and dad to our four children. He makes life fun. He enjoys making people laugh - especially our four children. Momma's not always amused at the times he likes to make the kiddos laugh and she prefers funnier jokes than those on Laffy Taffy wrappers :). No, really, I am thankful he likes to have fun. He lightens things up! Sometimes I'm too serious.

2. For every ladies' get-together, church event, party, luncheon, family gathering, decorating or entertaining event, we have in our home, at the church building, or at school, he is always very helpful. He carts tables, chairs, and plastic totes full of decorations around from one place to another. He runs errands, moves furniture, tidies up the yard, and helps in any way he can to help me or others get ready for the event. Then, after the event, he helps put it all back in place.

3. In some ways he really spoils me. I have only had to fill the van with gas a few times. He keeps it full for me. I think that is secretly because he's afraid I'll run it all the way to empty and then he'll be the one to have to come pick me up or bring me gas! He's right, of course, but I really do appreciate it! He keeps the trash taken out, keeps his clothes picked up, doesn't glue to the tv after work, doesn't expect the house spotless. He's not "typical" on a lot of "typical husband" lists, actually! I'm extremely blessed, I know!

4. Most importantly, he puts God first in his life. He shows that example to his family. His work with Tipton Home and for the children there is important to him. He is a great preacher (does this part-time filling in around here and for his work) and Bible class teacher. He rarely gets upset at anyone and if he does "they" will never know it. He lives out the truth that Jesus went through more by dying on the cross than we will ever go through here on Earth.

So, I am grateful for my husband. I don't tell him that enough, so it's a good thing he reads my blog :).

What are you grateful for today? Be sure to leave me a comment and let me know!

EEEEK!!! A Mouse!

A month ago....I thought I saw something run across the floor. I actually thought it was a big spider. A few days later I saw a few mouse droppings and immediately called hubby and asked him to get some traps. He got the traps and put them out a few days later. That very night we caught a little mouse! We put another trap out for a few weeks, but never had any more trouble, so took it out.

Yesterday morning....I was making the kid's lunches for school and went into the pantry, which is in our laundry room. My son, Zachary, and hubby were in the laundry room, too. As I opened up the pantry, out came a little mouse!"EEEEEEEKKKKKKKK!!!!!! A MOUSE!!!"I screamed and the little mouse ran out and OVER my son's foot - YUCK!!!! Immediately hubby went to get another trap and sat it out. I was expecting to catch the mouse last night, but we haven't - yet.

But here's the problem.....hubby is out of town for a few days. If the little mouse gets in the trap, what am I going to do?????? I don't know if I can take it out. Maybe I could talk one of the kids into doing it for me, you think??? Maybe we can pick a number and the looser has to take it out. That seems fair, doesn't it??? We'll see.

God will give us strength in times of need - even if I end up having to take out a mouse :).

So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Psalm 41:10