Merry Christmas!

We wish each and every one of you the gifts if the season...faith, family and friends! God bless each one if you!

Cruising with Mickey

We set sail last Friday on our Disney Cruise! We were excited and quite the adventure...more than we bargained for to include a little one with a fibrile seizure, a round of the stomach flu but hey...that is what big families do...go with the flow and find the hidden treasures among all the stuff of life!

We had beautiful days at sea, great shows, good food and service, lots of time sloshing in the water, riding the crazy water slides and just enjoying ourselves ...days at sea were our favorite and were a treat after busy days at Disney World!

Finding the Unexpected

This year, 2013, is our 25 Anniversary. Darrell and I had always hoped and planned ...at least in our heads...that we would be able to go in a getaway in celebration of our time together. Those plans have always included all of our kids...but with so many things going in in our lives and not knowing the status of the 3 littles...we gave up those plans and walked away from all of them on a Monday last February. I personally had a lot of hope riding on that family vacation as we have been through some hardships as a family and I was praying it might be healing for us. I do have to admit the next day I cried a bit as I surrendered those hopes to God and gave it all to him. The following Friday, my mother-in-law called me out if the blue not knowing about my surrender and offered to take all 11 of us on a Disney Cruise as her treat...the trip would also include some if Darrell's sisters and their family for a total of 18! I made a few phone calls to Darrell and the agency the kids are with and they all said go for it!

We spent many months saving, added a few days to Walt Disney World, started the passport process for the 3 littles and planned. There were many uncertainties along the way to include whether everyone could get off work and a passport arriving  less than a week before we left but it was all in 

God's perfect timing.

We headed out on a chilly November day and picked dad up from work.we then headed to western Massachusetts to pick up Jessy. Michaela was flying in to Disney on Saturday. We drove through the night with the intent of stopping the next day somewhere in Georgia or northern Floridia. What we didn't expect was to make such good time we actually arrived in Disney a day early! What was suppose to be a travel day ended up becoming a day of swimming and visiting the shops in Downtown Disney! What a gift it was to have a down day. 

But the thing of it all that we weren't expecting was it was totally decorated for Christmas! Detailed beautifully decorated decorations met us while carols played every where!  If you have never been to Disney at Christmas time...it is a special experience...even the fountains go to the rhythm of the music and it was just spectacular to the carols.

We did 5 busy days at Disney.  We rode rides, saw shows, ate great food, and met Mickey! There were lots to do. This trip was quite different than other trips as we had never traveled there with little ones. There were times that were fun and crazy...sweet and tender ...and some frustrating time. The point of the matter is that we were all together as much as we could be and made special memories together....that is the blessing of family!

An Early Bit of the Holidays

Aunt Suzy and Oma visited this weekend...actually brought Jess from a cruise she had joined them on. We won't see them at the holidays so we celebrated early.

We ate supper and went to Orange Leaf for a special treat and came home to give gifts. There was plenty of excitement in the area. Harmony turned to me and grinned as she held her treasures tea set and said, "Merry Christmas mom." It was very sweet.

Jess's Adventures

Jess just returned from a 9 day cruise in the Caribbean with her Oma, Aunt Suzy and Aunt Cheryl.

She was able to swim with a dolphin, visit a friend from school, see some great sites, and enjoy the warm sunshine! After the cruise, she was treated to  2 Broadway shows. She got to see her favorite Phantom of the Opera! She saw Romeo and Juliet staring one of her favorite actors, Orlando Bloom. She went to a Flyers Hockey Game and Six Flags America.

Renwinman

Today we had a Renwinman... A gathering of the Reynolds, Winslows and Lowmans for a fun day of togetherness! These are te after pictures of the kids...after food, games, running outside, dessert (yum), and lots of good conversation!

Who Does This Look Like?

I love watching my girl dance! Today was a special treat that I got to watch her for quite awhile...and check out what I saw in the pictures...

Just like her big sister Michaela...Kiara sticks out her tongue when she is concentrating on a dance step! How crazy is that?

Just loving it!