I Lied

Ok...so I lied.  I didn't update those posts, did I?  In fact, I'm not even sure I remember what they were.  But the blogging bug has been creeping up on me in the last few days and last night my friend said, "Yeah, Lacey, you haven't posted since February."  What?  I had to check for myself because I didn't believe her!  So let's try this thing again.  Let's see if I can find the long lost blog love.

So You've Noticed?

I know, I know...I haven't been blogging much recently. It's from a disease, or addiction rather, called Monk. A TV show that my in-laws turned me on to. Those of you who've seen it, know my pain. It's so good. My spare minutes have turned into Monk-watching opportunities.

But I've been missing my blog and so we'll have lots of new posts coming up. I promise.

Snow on the Grass

When we left for Florida there was no snow on the ground. There definitely was when we got back. The girls were asleep when we arrived home, but the next morning at breakfast Georgia said, "Mom! There's snow on my grass!"

She was happy for another opportunity to be outside in the snow with her dad!

Disney World Update

Many of you have been asking about our recent trip to Florida and I've been promising pictures on the blog. I'm finally getting to it! Here is the scoop on Disney World!

We arrived in Orlando early Wednesday afternoon. The girls were ah.may.zing on the airplane. I was nervous about flying with them: tantrums, boo-boos, eardrums, etc. We prepped Georgia as much as we could about it: being up high in the air, it might be loud, we'd have to chew gum, talk quietly and obey the lady who tells us to put on our seat belts. They both did really well and Georgia didn't even freak out when we landed, which is totally what I anticipated. Of course we had our moments (I overheard someone say they would never want to fly with children), but all in all I think we traveled well.

We were transported by Disney's Magical Express to our resort. It was so nice not to have to rent a car or drive in Orlando. This was also the first time the girls slept (about 2:30 pm) since we woke them up at 4:00 am. We checked in to our room and were able to purchase our tickets to the Magic Kingdom right at the hotel. Andy had to check-in to his conference so the girls and I relaxed and watched Mickey Mouse until he joined us for supper. He had another meeting afterwards until about 9:00. Since the girls and I had rested, everyone was charged up at normal bedtime, so we loaded up onto a bus (free from any Disney resort) and went to Downtown Disney. After getting some ice cream and seeing a few sights, Georgia finally conked out at about 10:00 pm. She'd been up for 18 hours with only a half hour nap!

The next day Andy had sessions until noon when he joined us for lunch. We had purchased conference rate tickets to the Magic Kingdom and could enter the park at 2:00 pm. We took the bus and were allowed to enter at 1:50. There was really only one thing on our agenda...see Cinderella. We wanted to find out right away where she was. I would not consider the trip successful unless we had a meet n' greet with the lovely princess. So thanks to my wonderful husband who is NOT afraid to ask for directions, we found out immediately where she was and got in line.

Ok...those of you who know Georgia know she knows and loves all the Disney princesses. Especially Cinderella. So when we got in line to see Sleeping Beauty, Belle and Cinderella, her mouth was gaping open. The look of awe on her face when she saw the princesses in their beautiful dresses was priceless! She did amazingly well talking to and hugging all of them (thank the Lord she didn't get scared and cry! I could see it going that way, too...), but throughout her talks with SB and Belle, she kept her eyes on Cinderella, knowing her turn was coming up. And when it did, she took off! She ran right into her arms and hugged her and talked to her and even got a lipstick kiss from her. Those princesses were spectacular. We spent at least 5 minutes with each of them and they were right down on Georgia's level, totally engaging her. When at last our time was up, we walked out and I just started crying. Yep, I'm that mom. I just felt like I had witnessed something so magical, something that Georgia's little heart found complete joy in and it was so sweet and so wonderful, I just couldn't stop the tears.







We then parked outside on the main street for a parade full of fun Disney characters. This was where we were able to see some of the other princesses, though from a distance. Unfortunately we didn't get a chance to meet one on one with anyone else. We saw Snow White, Cinderella, Belle, Ariel, Tiana, Sleeping Beauty, Jasmine and lots of others, too.

We then made a trip through the Swiss Family Robinson treehouse where Lola finally fell asleep...and hard. She was so heavy to carry, so I sat out the next ride which was a ride on a flying carpet (think Dumbo ride).

Then we boarded a safari boat and went on a safari cruise.

After a bite to eat, we went to the Country Bear Jamboree. This was the highlight for Lola and probably for the people sitting around us. They were animatronic bears that talked and sang mountain music. Lola loved it. I mean l.o.v.e.d it. She yelled through the whole thing! She doesn't yell when she's scared or mad, but when she's happy. People around us were cracking up at how excited she was. I tried to get a little video of it.

Then we went on the It's a Small World ride (again, Lola yelled through the whole thing), a Peter Pan flying ride, a 3D Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck movie to which Georgia replied, "I can't like this, Mom," and a ride on the carousel, which they both thoroughly enjoyed.

We watched the fireworks show, went on the Winnie the Pooh ride and then a quick stop at a Disney store for a few small souvenirs. That was the end of our magical day at the Magic Kingdom.

The next day we took it easy and slept in. Andy had the middle of the day off so after lunch we walked to the pool. There was almost no one there. We played in the kids area for awhile, then found out that the pool was in fact heated to 85 degrees! Andy and Georgia went for a swim and Lola and I soaked up some sun. That evening we went back to the pool because they were showing the Disney movie Tangled in the open air. We sat on pool chairs and cuddled under pool towels.

Saturday was travel again. Andy was gone in the morning, but after checkout, we hopped the bus one final time for a trip to Downtown Disney for a quick lunch at the Rainforest Cafe and one more indulgent sundae at the Ghiradelli ice cream shop.

Then we flew home! What a fun, spur-of the-moment trip. It was such a wonderful gift to be able to go. We were happy to be back home in our own house and sleeping in our own beds, but every now and then Georgia will say, "Mom, we're gonna see Cinderella again!" We sure hope to!

It's 3:42 a.m. and the house is still. I kinda like being awake at this hour. The reason for my early rising is not insomnia. It's the airport. Soon my children and husband will be awake and we will be off to....Florida! We are going to Disney World!

Shocker, right? Here's the scoop: Last fall Andy booked his flight and hotel for this week in Orlando because of a children and family pastor's conference that was taking place at a Disney World resort. In October we toyed with the idea of taking the girls but with the cost of flying and other things (like me shut up in a hotel room all day with two little people), we decided that we would wait until they were older (and could remember!) to take a trip to the magical world of Disney.

Then on Sunday we started kind of thinking, oh what the hey, let's go! Again, reality grounded us and we decided we had really better stay. But then, through what I can only explain as an extraordinary set of circumstances and people, we were given the opportunity to go as of late Monday night. How could we refuse?! We discovered that the hotel is a part of Disney World and so there will be plenty of places to go and see while Andy is away during the day so that problem was covered. As far as going to the theme parks, Andy has a half day on Thursday, so we'll enter the park at a discounted rate and the girls are free.

I still can't believe it! Georgia woke up from her nap yesterday and said, "Mom, I wanna see Cinderella." And I said, "Okay, Georgia! How about tomorrow?"

We'll fill you in on all the fun details when we return!

Do Your Kids Do This?

Georgia is going through a phase; at least I hope it's a phase. There really is no polite way to say it either....she gets naked. I guess she's not totally naked. She can't unsnap her cloth diapers, but I'm sure she'll learn how to do that soon enough. Unless (please, Lord, please) I can get that girl potty-trained.

I have to laugh at her though. The other day I turned my head for just a minute and the next thing I know she's wearing nothing but a diaper...and a rubber band. LOL! And she was wearing it just like a garter. That girl really cracks me up - for real! I really am impressed, though, with how fast she can strip down and it surprises me still that she can even undress herself after I've been doing it for her for so long.

And it's not just herself - she also is continually undressing her dolls and asking me to dress them, only to undress them two minutes later. Just what, pray tell, is the obsession with the removal of clothing?

Happy New Year!

I'm only a week late in wishing you a happy new year and even later in the Christmas pictures I'm posting. I was going to scrap a Christmas post altogether, but I have too much cute stuff.

(Part of the reason I'm behind is I've been designing this new face of my blog and I am sooo not computer savvy that it's taken two full days to get it figured out and I still have a few kinks to mess with. Anyway.....)

We had a great Christmas. We opened gifts on Christmas Eve so that we wouldn't be rushed getting ready for church on Christmas morning. It was so much fun to watch Georgia this year. This year she loved unwrapping her gifts and she loved what was inside of them. Lola, of course, didn't really care, but loved watching Georgia. Also this year Georgia learned all the words to Away in a Manger and we've been singing it ever since.

After church on Sunday morning, we traveled to Iowa Falls for a big Christmas celebration with all my aunts, uncles, cousins and their kids. Then it was on to my mom's for a few days of relaxation and fun and presents and games and food with my immediate family. A treat for us this year was my sister Ivy was home from North Carolina! We talk almost daily, so it was strange to think it'd been a year since I'd seen her. It was the first time she'd met Lola and it just made her trip that much more special. It also made it that much harder to see her go, knowing it may be another year before I see her again.


I hope that your Christmases with your families were blessed and filled with God's spirit and that you will be reminded each day of 2012 that God's mercies are new every morning!