Back from Disney World!

I just finished this blog post for our ministry blog and thought it worked here too. For those who read both, sorry this is a repeat! :) Enjoy!

Our latest travels led us to Walt Disney World! My mom had mentioned in passing more than 4 years ago that maybe she would take us to Disney World when we were back in the US. Maggie, who was 3 years old at the time, never forgot! She held her Mo-mo to that "promise," and Mo-mo didn't disappoint!

After months of mad planning by me (hey...it was a good stress relief for me to plan for a fun family vacation!), we finally flew out on January 8. A small, funny mistake? When I booked the flight out of Allentown via Newark, NJ, I failed to notice the little note that read, "Continental Bus Service" next to the Allentown flight. Yep...we were on a bus to Newark! :) The kids were excited, but I have to say the adults on the trip were less than thrilled. We didn't realize it until 2 days before we left!

We stayed at the Disney All Star Sports resort. With it's larger than life sports decorations and fun theme, it made a great place to crash at night. And that's pretty much all we did there! We were on the move!

Staying on Disney property meant we got to use Disney transportation to and from the airport and to and from the parks everyday. It was literally Disney Disney 24/7. It might have been a bit too much Disney for Scot and my Mom, but the kids loved it! And it was convenient.

We were off to the parks every morning at 7:30am and didn't get back to the hotel until 8 or 9pm at night. The kids did well with the long days. We had few meltdowns and nothing more than the usual sibling spats.

It was as magical for the kids as I hoped it would be. Meeting characters was exciting, especially for the younger 3. And even Thomas got excited about a few of them. As we exited the Buzz Lightyear ride at the Magic Kingdom, Scoty spotted Buzz Lightyear. I wish I had a picture of that moment! He shouted, "It's Buzz Lightyear!" and all 3 kids took off running to get in line to meet the Toy Story space ranger. It was fun!

Our days were filled with princesses and pirates, mice, ducks, bears, and dogs. :) We got to ride favorite rides over and over again, meet lots of Disney characters, take in some nighttime fireworks, see parades, participate in some Jedi training, enjoy delicious food and take in lots of Disney shows. It truly was a magical vacation by my estimation. It was a once in a lifetime experience for us, and I'm so grateful we had the opportunity to share it with my mom!

So, now it's back to the grind. The kids had physicals (and lots of shots and bloodwork! UGH!) yesterday, we got them registered for school, and we did a school tour of the elementary school where Thomas and Maggie will attend. We are all anticipating life on some kind of a "normal" schedule. Scoty has a doctor's appointment Monday with an Orthopedic specialist to see what's going on with his tip-toe walking (prayers appreciated for that), and then the kids start school on Tuesday. Please pray for a smooth transition for them.

So, that's where we are! Thanks for your prayers for us. Scot begins his spring tour on February 2 with 2 weeks back in Florida. The remainder of the tour will be done in Eastern PA. We've got lots of speaking engagements lined up. And, of course, our hearts are with our friends back in Palestine/Israel.