An amazing trip...

Wow! As I reflect on our time away as a family I am incredibly overwhelmed and amazed at the blessing of this trip! It was awesome!

I didn't have the opportunity like I had hoped to blog due to limited internet access at the Village where we stayed, but I posted just a couple of the village pictures right now until I finish unpacking and am able to find the disc's and websites to share with you! We had the amazing opportunity to stay at a place called Give Kids the World and you can check it out here. It was absolutely, positively stinkin' awesome (as Bryan would say)! It was quite overwhelming! The pictures or the website really does no justice for the place or the amazing volunteers and hard work that goes on daily 24/7! Our villa was awesome, it was a two bedroom, two bath with a family room and kitchen! AWESOME!

Our trip was truly amazing and as I write, my eyes are filled with tears, tears of joy and thankfulness for this time that God allowed us together, a time to kick back, laugh, cry, enjoy each and every moment and truly reflect on the beautiful life and family God has blessed us with!

So that is enough for today, my plan is to recap each day of our trip in the next few days! Hopefully I will have found my disc's and things by then to share more photos.

My prayer today Father is of overwhelming thanks! Thank you Father for this amazing time with my family, a safe trip, and for awesome prayer warriors right here at home! Father, I pray a prayer of blessing on GKTW and on each and every family who passes through there as well. May their lives be blessed by Your loving presence daily and may they know that You love them and are there for them in each and every moment, through the laughter, tears and with each and every breath we breathe! I thank You for Your love, grace and forgiveness and for your Omnipotent presence in our lives! May you be glorified in and through our lives!

Disney MGM Studios & Epcot

This day was yet another great day filled with fun & adventure! I only posted a couple of pictures just to signify where we were that day! I added the "Tower of Terror" in tribute to Hannah! This was her absolute favorite ride! Crazy child! I myself didn't ride it, but she and Greg tackled it with great enthusiasm! And loved it! Ashtyn and I just chilled out and "people watched" when they went on the rides Ashtyn was unable to. It was great!

We started out at MGM and it was a great park! We spent several hours there and then headed over to Epcot which was great too! Our favorite ride there was called "Soarin"! This is a simulated ride that truly makes you feel like you are "soarin'" over California! It was amazing! After a long day there we headed back to the village and ordered pizza (which was available to us anytime) and let the girls chill & swim and headed to the most awesome place in the village...the Ice Cream Shop! Talk about sweet! You can get ice cream from 730am until 930pm! And let me tell you what we enjoyed one of the best banana splits around! And it wasn't just the girls & I either...Greg enjoyed one as well!

Once again my prayer is of thanksgiving! This trip is a trip that we will cherish forever Father and I am so thankful! I thank you for all the families represented here and I pray that if it is your will Father, You will heal these children in a way that only You can! Thank you for the blessing of life and family God, thank You for being the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords!

Magic Kingdom...

Wow! After arriving late Sunday evening we were up and running at 6:30am Florida time...did I mention that my body was still on Missouri time of 5:30 am (ouch!)! Anyway, what an awesome day it was.

We started our day off early with an amazing breakfast here at the village. And let me tell you what...they go all out for breakfast...not to mention they fix our plates AND carry them to our table for us! Now that is service!

As Greg headed to an orientation about the village the girls and I road an amazing carousel at the village and just got acquainted with everything on the grounds! And it is spectacular! They have done a phenomenal job here! Again, if your interested you can check out the village here. (Blogger is not allowing me to post pictures but I will edit them in later!)

Once Greg was finished we headed out to Magic Kingdom and MAN and was it magical! We were truly amazed at the place! Between Greg, Hannah and I, I think we road almost all the rides in the park...although we started Ashtyn off on the wrong foot with a couple water rides that were a bit intimidating for her size (DUH!) she was a very good, but cautious sport! Did I mention we had the awesome priviledge of no wait for the rides? AWESOME!! Ashtyn has this pin she wore and it allowed us to go right to the front of the line! SWEEEEET!

Hannah amazed us with her braveness! She couldn't get enough of the roller coasters! The faster the better! Thank goodness...because she had to ride them twice, once with Greg and then with me! It was great to hear her giggle and quite hilarious as she would brief me on the rides before, during and after each one! She could not get enough of it!

The most wonderful and memorable time of our visit to the Magic Kingdom was the awesome meet and greet session the girls had the opportunity to have with each of the characters, but mostly with the "Princesses". That was Ashtyn's main wish...to meet them. So once we arrived to the area, the hosts sweeped us right up and cleared the room allowing the girls time to visit with the princesses. It was amazing! The caring and compassionate hearts of these ladies blessed my heart so much! Ashtyn was in total awe of them, they played "Ring around the rosie" with the girls and instead of singing, "Ashes, ashes we all fall down", they sang, "Ashtyn, Ashtyn we all fall down". Whew...talk about tears streaming! Hannah enjoyed it too, but she's more into the "older" stuff like Hannah Montana, etc. so although she thought it was cool, she had her specks on much greater things while we were there!

As if that wasn't enough excitement for all of us, Greg surprised us with an amazing dinner at Cinderella's castle! It was wonderful! The girls became princesses not only to Greg & I, but to the waiters as well, I became "My lady" and Greg became "My lord". Quite magical and the food was delicious.

To end our evening we enjoyed the most amazing fireworks display I have ever seen! It was stinkin' awesome! They go above and beyond awesome! (I really wish the pictures would upload!)

This day was amazingly memorable and one I will cherish for the rest of my days here on earth!

My prayer is of utmost praise to the awesome God I love and serve...not just for this amazing day but for His every loving presence in our lives and for the love He blesses me with each and every moment of the day! May You be glorified in and through our lives Father, may our actions and words point directly to You!

One day and counting...

Woooo-Whoooo! One more day and we are on a jetplane headed for Disney! We are all excited and ready to go! After lots of prayers from some awesome people we are destined for some relaxation and totally living for the moment! I am half packed and headed to work tonight, but that isn't seeming to phase my joy a bit (THANK YOU LORD!)!

Today was a blessing, Ashtyn & I had the opportunity to join the "Young at Heart's" for lunch at church. We had some amazing food and best of all I was able to finally put some face's with names....names I had prayed for or have received prayer from, it was great! I truly look forward to the next one. These people are the foundation of our church and are so incredibly in sync with the church's vision and supportive of the future of our church! They blessed my heart tremendously!

I am looking forward to blogging from Disney and plan to place some of our pictures from each day. That is pretty risky to say since I'm not very tech savvy, but with a little help and the Lord willing, I'm sure it will be fine!

My prayer today is of thankfulness, not only for the peace you have given me, but for the beautiful people I had the opportunity to meet today. Guide us today and keep us in line with your will Father. May we never forget those who paved the road before us and cherish their mentorship that they are so eager to share. I love you Lord, and I lift my voice, to worship you, Oh my soul rejoice, take joy my King, in what you hear, may it be a sweet, sweet sound in your ear...

I'm SO excited!!

Wow! Two posts in one day...that is a record breaker for me. But I was so excited to try my new link trick that Mel taught me that I had to post again. So here it goes....cross your fingers...let's see if it works!!

I had two wonderful phone calls today, one from Penny & one from Mel (it worked!). These ladies uplift my heart so much. We can talk about anything! God truly has blessed me with them so much! Mel and I talked so much about our husbands and how we should truly cover them in prayer daily as we encourage them in their job and in their walk. We live life together daily, so it is important to keep one another strong and accountable. So I wanted to post my prayer for them, so if you are reading I ask that you pray for the staff at Meadow Heights , they are courageously heading up the vision God has for the church and are doing an amazing job. I also encourage you to check our Mel's blog and check out her blog's from yesterday and today and link to the blogs she talks about, they are pretty cool!

My prayer: I pray a hedge of strength and protection around the staff at Meadow Heights, around their hearts and around their friendships. Father I pray that You would bind them together through Your Word, strength and love. Bless them in a way that only You can Heavenly Father. May they be filled with Your peace and Your strength today and always as they seek your wisdom, knowledge and understanding in their pursuit to fulfill your vision for Meadow Heights church. I thank you for them God and I thank you in advance for all your going to do in and through their lives and hard work. May their vision always be clear and their focus forever on you, fill them with the endurance to run this race Lord in a way that only You can. Once again, your awesome Father and I love and thank you.