Disney World Magic Kingdom

We drove down to Amber's house on Tuesday night and woke up early Wednesday to go to the Magic Kingdom!  The children were so excited- the littles had never been and the older two didn't remember.  :)  Amber gave us four passes so we only had to buy two children's tickets.  :)

First stop- Adventureland and the magic carpet ride.

We tried to let Charlie and Marc Jr. ride together but they said Marc wasn't old enough to take him.

Daddy saved the day.

By the way- it was VERY CROWDED- even in February!

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We rode a boat over to Tom Sawyer's island, which the children really enjoyed.

It was at this island that one of the worst moments of my life occurred.  We were all walking through a long, dark tunnel, and Tucker was right in front of Marc.  Right before the exit Marc banged his head on the ceiling and stopped a second to grab his forehead and in that quick moment Tucker was off and disappeared.

We knew he couldn't have gone far so I sat with the children and the adults ran to find him.  We looked for 15-20 minutes.  Now remember- we are on a small island and we are yelling his name and he is nowhere.  We are all beginning to think the worst and start searching the waterline and all of a sudden we see him standing on the boat ferry platform in a crowd of people.  He said he'd been sitting on a rock, then he found a playground and then he went to the ferry figuring we were there.  He wasn't scared at all.  When they brought him to me I fell apart crying.  The boy needs a leash!

Country Bear Jamboree- old school Disney!

We went to Belle's house and did the theater show with her.  How fun!  Julia was the wardrobe- Landin and Tucker were plates.  :)

We ate lunch at Belle's castle, which was truly magical. It is gorgeous!

On to the Haunted Mansion and Jungle Cruise.  During the cruise the boat driver said, "this is an old Cambodian temple...." and Tucker shouted- "Cambodia!  Cambodia is in southeast Asia- it's also called Kampuchea!"  And everyone just stared and laughed.   

Pirates of the Carribean!

At this point Amber and Landin had to leave for an event so our little family stayed on into the evening.  

 It's a Small Word!  We knew Tucker would love this ride because of all the countries, but we didn't realize they don't have flags so we had to guess as to which country was which.  Tucker was great at this.  At one point we were in South America and saw these waterfalls and I said, "I wonder where this is?" and Tucker said, "Oh- that's Paradise Falls- we are in Peru!"  Somehow Myanmar was brought up and Tucker said, "the country Myanmar is also called Burma."

On to Tomorrowland!  First- rest our legs on the People Mover and Carousel of Progress.

 Buzz Lightyear Ride-

 We went to a dance party with the Incredibles-

And we saw a parade on the way out- truly magical Disney!

This, that and the other

I have realized that all the 'nesting' instincts that kicked in during pregnancy have to have someplace to go so we are getting things fixed up around here.  :)  We got a new comforter set and rug for the master bedroom, and we are organizing the bookshelves and loving the results.  Saturday we spent at Lowe's getting things to fix up the basement patio that we almost never use.  I'm loving the cozy new look.

Sunday the boys wanted to be "wittle match boys" as Charlie calls them.  They love to look alike.

Every Sunday Tucker attempts to climb this tiny tree, gets his foot jammed in the branches, and requires rescuing-

Marc and I taught a lot this weekend.  On Valentine's evening we drove to a convent in Cullman to speak at the Engaged Encounter weekend.  There were about 20 or so couples there, and I really enjoyed talking to them.  Sunday we taught Julia's Sunday School class and were impressed with their knowledge.

The boys love pretending to be Julia's puppies-  "Sparky and Spark Spark".  She ties her hair ribbons to their wrists and they go all through the house.

We have a special treat for the children this week- we are going to DISNEY WORLD!  :)  They older ones haven't been in years and years, and the little ones have never been.  To prove how unfamiliar we are with Disney, I overheard Julia telling someone that we were going to the "Magical Kingdom" and "Epic".  :)  

Valentine's Day

Saint Valentine was a priest and martyr. I am so sad that so many people, especially teens, have no idea what real love is.  Poor girls everywhere feel "empowered" by being nothing but a puppet on a string.  St. Valentine, pray for us.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.   I Cor 13:4-8