The Chronicles of Biscuit - "Did You Forget You Had Kids?"

The Chronicles of Biscuit: Stories about our youngest son, Tyler, whose nickname is Biscuit.

After working over four hours on a belated Christmas dinner Tuesday, cleaning up the some of the kitchen, and trying to get pictures from Disney World uploaded, I sat down on the bench at the dining room table and was talking to my husband about something.  All of a sudden Biscuit said, "Mom, did you forget you had kids?"

I was surprised at his question, but looked at him and realized that I had been on the go from the time he had gotten home from school until then.  He was missing me just being with him.  I asked him if he wanted to rock for a while and he said yes.  We rocked and talked about how some days are just busier than others and that, no, I hadn't forgot that he was my child....or that any of his three siblings were my children either.  But, occasionally, some of the things I do as a mother, are things that I may be "doing" for my family, but may actually be taking me away from "being" with them (Ex. the Christmas dinner that evening).

We continued talking about how life has changed and that he's not the little boy who needed me all of the time like he once was.  I teased him and asked if he always remember that he had a mom.  He said he did, but sometimes he acts like he doesn't!

Let's think about God for a moment.  As a child of God, do we ever question God and say, "Do you remember that you have children?"  I pray we don't, but I'm afraid we may act like that sometimes - as if we don't truly believe that God will do what He promises He will do.  Sometimes we have doubt.  Sometimes we have fear.

Now, think about God as our Heavenly Father.  Do you think He ever looks at His children and says, "Do you remember that you have a Father?"  I'm sure the answer to this question is yes.  Many times we, as His children, act as though we're not His children.  Occasionally we act as if we're living this life all on our own and without a higher authority who can give us strength, wisdom, and unconditional love.  And, sadly, sometimes we're so busy "doing" for Him, we may not actually be taking the time to "be" with Him.

Biscuit was reassured that I knew he and his siblings were my children.  We can be assured that God is and always will be our Heavenly Father.  He knows who His children are, as a shepherd knows his sheep.

Thank you, God, for knowing us - for remembering us - and for never, ever forgetting us!

"I am the good shepherd. I know My own sheep, and they know Me." John 10:14

Teaching Children About Table Settings and Table Etiquette

Yesterday was our 4-H club's monthly meeting date.  There aren't many 4-H events going on in January, so for the meeting I (as the local 4-H leader) decided to do something different and teach them about table settings and table etiquette.  I knew that some of our members would be gone for another school event, but we still had 12 in attendance.

I have taught my own children about how to set the table correctly and continue to teach them table manners at each meal (it seems!).  I've always wanted the table set properly, for most family meal times. I guess it was drilled into me and stayed with me during my junior high and high school home economics classes, because that was always my favorite class in school.

So, as the meeting began yesterday, I asked the members to go wash their hands.  They looked at me like I was crazy (and even commented to some of the teachers in the hallway that they couldn't believe they were having to wash their hands!), but I told them that they were about to have a fancy meal and needed to listen carefully to the instructions.

Before sitting down at the table to eat, each member was given a table setting place mat, which I printed off from Parents.com.  It showed an example of a simple place setting. They had to set their place setting properly, though we were just using paper and plastic ware.

After each plate was properly set and examined, I distributed the "food", which was bowls of snacks, such as cereal, popcorn, M & M's, and things like that.

The members had to pass the bowls around the table family style and properly, from left to right.  If they needed something else, they would ask another member politely to pass the snack.

While the members ate their snack, we discussed table etiquette.  I found a lot of quizzes and information from these sites: A to Z of Manners & Etiquette and Family Education.

The children learned, but had fun while learning.  It helped to have a tasty snack mix as the entree'. Table manners are important, and learning proper ways to enteract socially with others is important. 

Family meal times have changed throughout the years, but that family time is important.  Yesterday, as going through the quiz, I asked the question, "When is it proper to begin eating your meal?"  One member answered, "After the prayer."  I loved that answer and for my own family, that's exactly when it's time to begin eating.

Great job, 4-H members!

Top Ten Tips for Walt Disney World

Though going to Disney World twice doesn't make me an expert on "all things Disney", I thought I would share with you some tips that have helped our family. If you have any tips, I would love to hear them, too....just in case I get the opportunity to go back some day!

1. EXTRA COSTS
Be aware of extra costs that can add up during your trip to Disney World. Parking at Christmas time was $14/day. Storage lockers can be rented for $12/day, but after returning the key you can get $5.00 back. Most airlines charge for checked bags, so look up the prices online before you head to the airport.

During the year before our Disney trip, our children put any money they received in an envelope with their name on it.  Little by little that money added up, so that when it was time for the trip, each of them had saved up quite a bit of cash to take on their trip.  They were allowed to spend their money on souvenirs and on gifts for others.  The youngest needed a little guidance in spending his, but not much.  In fact, he came back with half of the cash he had taken!  I would have thought he would want to spend it all, but he didn't.

Santa helped the kids with their money, too.  He left gift cards to Disney in their stockings.  This made it possible for all of them to return with some of their saved cash.

I mentioned before that on saving money for our trip we saved change.  Little bits and bits of change can add up quickly into money for your trip! 

Other extra cost things would be:  Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique where little girls get a princess makeover.  See the Disney website for costs and for information about booking a makeover.  Last time I looked the prices ranged from $50 to $250.  There is also a dress-up plan for boys.  They are made into pirates and other characters.  Lots of fun for little ones, I'm sure!

2. FOOD AND BEVERAGES
Guest staying at a Disney resort can buy a dining plan, which is customizable to meet your families' needs.  For others who are staying off-park, food costs can add up quickly.  I mentioned in yesterday's post that we took sandwiches to the park every day.  Some days we would eat them early and some days we would eat them late, but either way, it saved lots of money by taking them.  We also took snacks and water.  I'm pretty sure that any soft drinks or juices in plastic/paper containers are okay - just not glass or metal.  Your food and water can be stored in the locker - ready and available at any time. 

While we were at Disney World, there was a promotion going on where some restaurants had 30% off during certain hours of the day.  We planned many meals around that schedule to get the discount.  Also, some of the restaurants would give receipts with 20% off of merchandise at certain stores during morning hours.  We took advantage of that savings, as well.  Disney doesn't offer deals like that often!  And one more tip: some restaurants in the parks allowed free drink refills when keeping that paper cup.  We did that a few times because options included lemonade and Gatorade-type drinks.

3.  CHARACTER MEALS
Character meals are not cheap, but they are worth the money.  We have done character meals at Chef Mickey's (Mickey and friends), the Crystal Palace (Winnie the Pooh and friends), and Cinderella's Royal Table (6 Disney princesses).  If doing character meals, be sure to book early.  Reservations can be taken 180 days before the desired date.  The character meals often include a portrait package (Cinderella's Royal Table) with the meal.  The characters also come to your table,  so your children can get autographs there instead of waiting in long lines at the parks.  You can also take pictures using your own camera at the character meals.  At Chef Mickey's the portrait package is separate from the meal price, but the picture comes in a special folder.  The cost is somewhere around $25.00.

4.  DON'T SKIP THE SHOWS
Of course the rides at the Disney World parks are lots and lots of fun, but be sure to take time to see the shows, too.  You will not be disappointed in any of them, plus it gives you an opportunity to rest your tired legs!  I wish I had worn a pedometer because I'm certain we walked 10 - 12 miles each day we went to the parks! 

 Our favorite shows are "Nemo" at Animal Kingdom and "Beauty and the Beast" at Hollywood Studios. There are also stunt shows, magnificent parades, and random entertainment at various times. One of the funniest things was a mime show in the Italy section of Epcot. It was just two guys performing on the street and everyone gathered around to watch. Very entertaining!

5. PACKING FOR THE TRIP
If you are renting a house or condo with a washer and dryer, only pack a few sets of clothes per person rather than lots and lots of clothes.  This cuts down on packing and utilizes the appliances you've already paid for.  Also, even though you'll be wearing the same things over and over, you won't be seeing anyone you know at the parks, most likely, so no one will know....and I'll never tell!

Also remember that if you are planning to purchase souvenir t-shirts, that will count as one of your outfits.  There's no need to pack too much. 

Our first trip we actually mailed a box of clothes in advance.  It was easier because our four children were younger and not able to take care of their own luggage, plus we were having a family wedding the weekend we were leaving and it was easier to get it done in advance.

This trip we didn't mail clothing in advance, but did mail some food and the Christmas decorations I mentioned in yesterday's post.  Of course, nothing would have to be mailed at all.  It just depends on your particular needs.

6.  BE PREPARED FOR THE SEASON

During our summer 2008 trip, it rained every afternoon at Disney World. We bought cheap plastic ponchos and used them daily, but the only problem was that they began to sour in the hot, humid air. This time we didn't get ponchos in advance because of it being winter. We didn't need them. Of course you can purchase ponchos at Disney World, but you'll be paying quite a bit extra for them. I did notice that Target near Disney World had some that were Disney themed. They weren't the cheapest like we used before, but they weren't too high, either. They might not sour as soon, either, which is a huge plus!

7.  DRESS ALIKE
For our days at each of the parks, we planned to dress alike for our Christmas vacation trip and our 2008 trip.  There are several reasons we do this:  #1:  Spotting family members is a lot easier when everyone is dressed in the same colors or styles.  (The goofy hats you may have seen in the pictures above made our kiddos pretty visible, too!) #2:  Packing is also a whole lot easier when all packing so much of the same thing.  You can decide one thing to wear and everyone else just follows suit for that particular day! #3 And my favorite reason is that when everyone matches, then everyone coordinates for family pictures!  I took almost 2,000 pictures, so the picture-taking is important to me!

My sister made our family matching Mickey head t-shirts for Christmas.  I can't tell you how many compliments we had on those shirts.  She could sell them!  My husband almost sold his and would have if the price had been right (just kidding!).  We saw family groups with matching tees that were so cute.  Also, at Downtown Disney, there is a Design-a-Tee store where you can design your own t-shirt.  Prices range from around $17.00 to $35.00.  Shirts are ready in about an hour.  Our children did shirts of their own, which was a lot of fun.  I saw several family groups that had made matching shirts at that store.  They would say "________ Family Christmas" and then "Disney World 2010".  Very fun!

7.  GET UP EARLY OR STAY LATE
During peak seasons, get to the parks early.  On Christmas Day, we arrived at the park at 6:30 a.m.  We were riding rides at 7:00 a.m. and by 8:00 a.m. had ridden several rides multiple times.  It was so neat being able to take pictures of Cinderella's Castle with NO ONE around!  Many resort guests go early and stay late.  Disney offers extra magic hours for their resort guests, which is a benefit of staying at the resorts versus renting a home or condo.

If you would rather, go to the parks late. Many of the rides may be less crowded later on, but be aware that the more popular rides may still be long. There is a fast pass option where rides can be booked for later on in the day, but for the most popular rides those ride times can be taken up before noon.

During times such as Christmas, there is always the possibility that the parks will close because of their full capacity.  This happened to us on our last day to go to Magic Kingdom.  When we got there, we were told it was closed.  I was really, really disappointed knowing it was our last day.  They encouraged us to go to Epcot and even gave us a free parking ticket, but since we didn't buy a Park Hopper option that would allow us to go to more than one park a day, we didn't go into Epcot.  Instead, we hopped on the Disney buses and went looking at Disney resort hotels - just for fun!  That was kind of neat and lasted a few hours.  Finally, Magic Kingdom opened back up and we were on our way to enjoy our last day at Disney World.

8.  STAY LONGER
During both of our trips to Disney World, we've stayed 10 nights.  The first trip we went to the parks for 7 days, but this time we went 8 days.  At first my husband got tickets for only 7 days, but added another day when we got there.  Now, for six of us....how much do you think that 8th day cost us????  ONLY $30!!!  FOR ALL SIX OF US! Yes, one more day at a Disney park for only $30 dollars total. So, even though it will cost a little more to stay longer, it really isn't that bad at all, and the time spent getting lots and lots of time at each of the park, is well worth it.

9.  COMPARE FLIGHTS
When booking flights, begin checking early.  I'm pretty sure that flights can't be booked until it's 300 days until your trip, but begin then by looking at prices.  One thing that I've found is that sometimes it's cheaper to purchase one way tickets instead of booking round trip flights.  That's how I've booked both of our trips, anyway.

I only made one mistake in our flight schedule but it was a big mistake.  A month before our trip, I received an email from Expedia telling of a flight time change.  As I looked, I noticed that it said for the airport:  Dallas.  The DFW airport says DFW, so I looked further.  I had us leaving out of DFW, but returning to Dallas Love Field - two airports.....several miles apart!!  OH, NO!  What to do? What to do?

My husband called Expedia, but it would have been $150 per person to change the flight - too much for us to want to pay.  A shuttle from Love to DFW would have been $85.  Not too bad, but still money that didn't need to be spent.

Well it just so happened that one of my husband's brothers and his wife moved to Plano this past summer, which isn't too far from DFW airport. We asked if they were going to be around during our trip and they were.  They drove us to the airport, kept our Expedition, then parked it at the other airport the day we were going to return!  Cost?  $11.00.  A much, much better plan and a mistake that actually saved us money.  I like that!  I'll have to remember that mistake :).

10.  BE FLEXIBLE
This tip may very well be the best bit of advice I can give you.  You must be flexible in your planning.  You may spend hours and hours planning and charting your course, only to find that something has to be changed when you arrive at Disney World.  Maybe your plan is to get to Magic Kingdom at 8:00 a.m. and stay until after the fireworks show, which begins at 10:00 p.m.  That makes for a very, very long day.  It's likely if you have young children that they will be really tired by the end of that long day.  It's even worse if it's hot and humid.  It drains you.

Instead of staying all day, maybe it would be better to leave for a few hours in the afternoon.  I've heard that many resort guests do take afternoon breaks.  Maybe instead of going early, you sleep later one morning and eat a big breakfast before heading out to the park around noon.  Sometimes that extra rest is much-needed by everyone.  Disney World is a vacation, but it's crammed-full-of-activity-vacation, so you'll be tired.  In fact, I would like a Christmas break this week to recuperate from our trip last week (it's not gonna happen, though!).

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So there you are.  My "Top Ten Tips for Disney World."  Please let me know of any tips you might have.  Also, if you would like more information about Disney World - with a lot more insight than I can give, please visit my husband's cousin's blog:  Dad's Guide to WDW.

A friend passed along another great website where you pay a minimal fee to get lots of help for Disney vacations:  http://www.tourguidemike.com/

Our Disney World Vacation - Clutter and "Stuff"

Because there are six of us in our family and to save some money, we rented a house in Kissimmee, Florida.  We did the same thing in 2008.  The two houses have been within 10 minutes to Disney World, so it's not far, but the advantage to renting a home is being able to have many meals at the house.  Another big advantage is having plenty of room and a washer and dryer.

This rental home was cheaper than many hotels would have been.  The only catch is that most rental homes require a minimal seven night stay.  We stayed ten nights.

We chose this particular home for the way it looked (mostly me....I like to see how they're decorated) and for the game room (mostly for the kids, of course).  We especially liked the Mickey Mouse decorated room for the younger two boys.

The kitchen was equipped, though the "equipped" part was lacking in this particular home.  Still, we were able to have all breakfasts and several main meals at the house.  We also took sandwiches for lunch or for snacks to the parks each day.  Disney doesn't mind their guests taking in food or water at all (probably even bottled soft drinks would be okay).  Taking snacks and water saves a bunch at the parks.

When  we arrived at the rental house, we were excited to see the rooms.  You'll notice that it's decorated, but there is NO CLUTTER!  That is such a great feeling!

There are not piles of junk mail, no mounds of laundry waiting to be taken care of.....in fact - no piles of ANYTHING!

The garage/game room is neat and in order.  The floors are clean.

Beds are made.  The boys rooms are without toys, trash, and "stuff".

Everything is neat and tidy.

But then WE arrive.  Then we bring our STUFF into the home.  We buy STUFF.  We collect papers, pamphlets, Disney World memorabilia.  We get our clothes dirty.  We cook.  We live.....and pretty soon.....there's "STUFF" and CLUTTER all over the place.  JUST LIKE HOME!

We even sent a Christmas tree and other decorations to the home to make it seem more like home and more like Christmas. (Yes, more stuff - boxes of stuff!)  Of course, at the end of our stay, it was up to us to get rid of all of that stuff.  Much of it came home with us.  Some of it was mailed home.  Some of it was thrown away.  We de-cluttered the house before we left so that it could be cleaned and ready for the next house guests.

I was thinking about our lives when we first become a Christian.  At that moment, our lives are uncluttered.  They're made clean by the blood of Jesus.  Our sins are washed away...all the "stuff" is gone.  But sometimes, little by little, we allow clutter and "stuff" to come back into our lives.  Sometimes this is deliberate. Sometimes it's not. Sometimes some of it is beyond our control.

Each January brings a new year.  For many it brings commitments to live differently in some way (diet, exercise, Bible reading, deep cleaning a room, house, etc.)  Maybe now is a good time to de-clutter our lives?  Maybe there is some "stuff" we should get rid of?  Just as our Florida vacation home began with just the bare necessities, but began filling up with "stuff", maybe we should take the time to analyze our lives.  Maybe we should take the time to get rid of all of the things that get in the way of our Christian walk.

Christmas at Walt Disney World

Happy New Year, everyone!  May God bless you during this new year - 2011!.

During the past two weeks, I've taken a break from blogging.  It was my intention to take a week break, but because we were still on vacation and had limited Internet service, I decided to go ahead and take the second week as well.  It was a much needed break from the busyness of everyday life and our family enjoyed it immensely.

Two and a half years ago, my family went to Disney World for a ten day summer vacation.  At that time, we never thought we would ever go again to Disney World, so made the vacation extra long to be able to do everything we would ever want to do.  As the vacation ended, we didn't want to leave - not one of us!  We all wished that it was even longer than the ten days.

When we arrived back home after that trip, we decided to go again some day.  We asked the kids' opinion on whether we should go again some summer or whether we should go at Christmas time.  They all agreed on Christmas.  We decided then to begin saving to go during Christmas of 2010.  We saved for 2 1/2 years for the trip.  One way we save money is by not spending our change.  We save the change we get from purchases and don't spend it.  We found a bank that has a change counter and we opened a special account just for saving money for that trip. It was worthwhile to open the account and use the change counter, so that we didn't have to roll the change ourselves.  Half of this trip, as well as the 2008 trip was paid for with change.  That is a good thing for the kiddos to see - that "small" change can add up!

This past Christmas vacation at Disney World was also ten days long.  But this time - maybe because of the cooler temperatures - it actually seemed like a long time.  We would have liked to stay on vacation, still, but we felt like we had been gone for a long time and that we had a long, enjoyable vacation.  We did everything we wanted to do, despite the large crowds at the parks.

Christmas time at Disney World is magical!  Of course, any time at Disney World is magical!  Disney does a great job at making the most of the season, using lots of lights, Christmas trees and garland, music, parades, special events, and even using fake snow.

This week I will share with you some pictures of our trip and also give a few tips about planning a trip to Disney World.  I'll also share a few devotional thoughts during the week, as well.

Again, have a very Happy New Year and thank you for reading "Shine Like Stars"!  Have a great week!