Disney and back!

What a magical trip to Disney World we had! The kids woke up on Thanksgiving morning to yet another "Tink gift" which had mysteriously been appearing for the past week. This gift was a bit larger than the previous gifts. Inside cute Mickey Mouse boxes were pillowcase dresses for the girls (to wear to meet Cinderella and Prince Charming) and Mickey Star Wars shirts for Prince and Tink. It was Mickey holding a light saber for them to wear to Hollywood Studios. There were also a few other items I'd picked up for them. The kids still had no idea so we told them to close their eyes and we put their Mickey Mouse ears on them. When they opened we asked them where they thought they'd need these.  Tink sheepishly chimed in, "At Disney World!"...I think she was afraid to say it thinking it wasn't going to be true. But yes, we told them that the next morning we were going to Disney World. They were so excited.

We spent the rest of Thanksgiving Day with family and watching the Macy's parade and doing Minnie pedicures/manicures on all of the girls. This is a tradition I started last year on our first trip. It really makes us feel like the trip has really begun.

Prince got sick on the 8 hour trip from Montgomery to Orlando. We though it was just car sickness but he started running a fever that night as well. We were worried but after some Motrin and much prayer the next morning he was ready to go. That fever never reappeared!

We checked into the Port Orleans Riverside and our room was ready! I wasn't expecting it to be ready that early so this was a nice surprise. We were able to unload our bags and head to Epcot! This was our first time in the World Showcase and I'd really been looking forward to it. I knew there was so much to learn about different countries and since it was Christmas time there were different storytellers in each of the countries telling of some of their Christmas traditions. I was impressed that all of Disney was unashamedly full of CHRISTMAS and the true reason for Christmas! There were Angels on top of the trees (large ones!), the Voices of Liberty in the American Pavilion sang Christian hymns about the Messiah, there were nativity scenes, etc. I was proud that although most of the country takes Jesus and Christmas out of this time of year, Disney of all places has choses (at least for now) to make it obvious what the holiday is all about.

We had a wonderful trip and the Christmas decorations were so georgeous. We ate lots of food from different places including Africa, Polynesian, German, and Asian. I'll try to post some pics later but I have to upload them first.

Now we are back and settled in for our Christmas holiday. It's not quite as busy this year for us! I'm loving that! We can take time to enjoy each other and truly focus on the fact that this holiday is a celebration of the birth of our Savior! God bless and Merry Christmas!

We're getting close!

Well, we have just two more days until we leave for our Thanksgiving trip to Montgomery and our surprise trip to Disney World! I can't believe we've been able to keep it a secret this long. The kids have no idea. I'm still able to pack and everything b/c the kids know we're going to Montgomery, so that helps. Although, Tink did wonder why I was taking all kinds of snack foods, etc. to Nana and Pawpaw's! lol!

I decided on a way to tell them, I think! Starting yesterday morning I started leaving little "Tink gifts" on the kitchen table. I picked up some $1 Disney gifts at Michael's and that has worked perfect. Yesterday morning before the kids woke up I left a puzzle that you color in front of each child's seat. Princess got a Princess puzzle, Tink got Tink, and Prince got Toy Story. They were all excited but it drove Tink CRAZY all day! She kept bugging us and worrying about who gave her the gifts. We explained to her that she should just be grateful and thankful, and that she'd probably find out one day.

This morning I did the same thing. In front of each chair was a box with rolled up Princess, Tink, and Toy story posters to color in it. There was also a brand new box of Princess, Tink, and Toy story crayons. This morning they were even more thankful and grateful. They even each (well, the two oldest ones) wrote a thank-you note to whoever was leaving the gifts. Tink drew a fairy in the clouds and wrote thank-you. Prince colored a Christmas tree pic and had his sister write thank-you for him. How sweet is that!?

My plan is to leave two more mornings of "Tink gifts" on the table. That'll get us until Wed. Then on Thurs. morning (we'll be in Montgomery) we're going to leave a large Disney box that I bought for each of them. It'll be filled with some shirts I bought for them to wear, dresses for the girls with Princesses on them, the personalized pillowcases that I had made for the characters to sign, etc. That's when we'll tell them. This is our Christmas present for the kids so we wanted to make it special. I may even wrap the gift items if I have time.

We'll be gone from Fri. to Fri. We leave Montgomery the Fri after Thanksgiving and we'll stay somewhere off-property that night. Then we'll check in Sat morning and head to Epcot for day 1! We're excited, but I'm a little stressed right now. It's nerve wracking trying to pack for 5 people for 9 days! Ugh! I'll write more when we get back!