January 25-30, 2012: Disney World (Part 1)

Yes, we went back to Disney World! I can't remember if it was on our way to Gatlinburg or on the way home that I mentioned to Steven that we should go back to Disney World before I went back to work. He sort of rolled his eyes at me and said, "Um, I don't think I'll be able to take any more time off work". You see, we already had park tickets; we bought the 10 day park hopper, no expiration tickets when we were there in October. Our plan was to go back to Disney just before Logan turned 3 years old so he would be free and we'd only have to buy Addy's ticket. And, Addy wasn't 3 yet, so she would still be free!

After a couple more weeks of me mentioning how much fun it would be since I wasn't able to go on all the rides in October, and maybe we could go to a park just the two of us one day (since my parents were happy to go back with us!) Steven was getting more on board with the idea. He was able to switch some days off with a co-worker (hence working straight through the weekend before) and not have to use up any PTO. So, off we went to Disney!

The night before we left:


We left Wednesday afternoon and had time for Addy to play at the airport before we left:





Addy on the flight to Atlanta:


Our layover in Atlanta gave us a chance to have dinner with my aunt, Carol, cousin Amanda, and Amanda's baby Heidi. It was the first time we got to meet Heidi. Addy was in LOVE...and so was I, she is so sweet!



Steven met up with us in Atlanta. The flights were full and we all couldn't leave at the same time. After our visit with Carol, Amanda, and Heidi, all 3 of us were able to get on the same flight to Orlando. It was a late flight arriving in Orlando around 11:30 pm. Addy fell asleep during the flight and stayed asleep while we waited for my parent's flight to arrive (which was about 1 am) and we got in the taxi to go our hotel for the night!


Thursday morning, eating breakfast...after sleeping in until after 10 am!


After breakfast, we packed up and checked out of the hotel. Then we were off to the resort where we would spend the next 4 nights!


While my dad and I went to pick up the car rental...Addy got to play in the pool!




Once we got to our resort, Addy did a little more swimming. The pool was nice, it even had an infinity edge. You can see it in the picture behind Addy.


Thursday evening we went to Downtown Disney. We met up with my cousin, Tammy, and her family there for dinner and to hang out.






We ate dinner at Earle of Sandwich and it was super good! Poor thing was so tired, she fell asleep while we were eating dinner!


She perked up after her little catnap and went on a carousel ride!


Then the kids all had a Mickey Mouse rice krispy treat. Those were yummy!


And a family picture before we left!


After we put Addy to bed, I got on the computer to see if we could get a reservation for a character meal at Chef Mickey's or Cinderella's Royal Table. I'd been trying without any luck before we left for our trip. Well, our luck had changed and we were able to get reservations at both Chef Mickey's (for breakfast) and Cinderella's Royal Table (for lunch)!!! We were so excited!

Our breakfast reservation was at 8:50 am, which was perfect...except that Addy was so tired, she really wanted to sleep in! We just picked her up and left her in her pajamas! She really woke up once we got on the monorail to The Contemporary Resort where Chef Mickey's is at, so we changed her right then and there!



Chef Mickey's was fun! Addy absolutely LOVED all the characters!






After breakfast it was time to go to Magic Kingdom!


We spent most of our time going on rides, which Addy loved! It was fun for us grownups too, since we all took turns going on rides that Addy couldn't ride yet.

When we saw Chip 'n Dale Addy got super excited. She thought they were from the movie "Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked" that she saw just a few weeks prior. These were the only characters we stopped for all day since we had breakfast with Mickey and the gang and lunch with the princesses!



After riding the rides all morning, we had our lunch reservation at Cinderella's Royal Table (in the castle) at 1:10 pm. It was perfect, that's just when we were ready to eat anyway! Once we checked in, we got in line for our picture with Cinderella. She greets all her guests before you sit down to eat. :)



After the picture, we were shown to our table. We were so lucky to get one by the window! When we sat down, there was a coloring sheet, a new wand, and a "wishing star" waiting for Addy.


After we ordered our food, which was AMAZING, all the princesses came around to our table. Addy was in awe. She loved every bit of it!

Aurora (Sleeping Beauty):


Ariel (The Little Mermaid):


Belle (Beauty and the Beast):


Snow White:


We had a fantastic lunch, everything about it was really well done. Worth every penny! Thankfully Addy was free for this meal, she didn't eat much. Well, except her dessert! She had a cupcake that she got to decorate on her own with chocolate chips, marshmallows, and mickey shaped sprinkles.




After lunch, we went back to riding the rides...like the Mad Tea Party and the Carousel.



We watched a parade and then a show on stage in front of Cinderella's Castle.







We also had to get some Dole pineapple ice cream! My absolute favorite!



We went on more rides and managed to stay until the evening light and fireworks show! I really wanted Addy to see Tinkerbell fly from the castle since we didn't see that last time. When we were there in October, we watched the fireworks from the back side of the castle and didn't get to see Tinkerbell. She had a great seat!




Addy made it the whole day without a nap! She did great! We had so much fun at Magic Kingdom, and we were completely worn out by the end of the night!

I also want to mention that it was a great time of year to be there. There really wasn't much of a crowd at all. It was even lighter than when we were there in October. The weather was in the high 60s/low 70s. We actually had light rain off and on throughout the day, but even that was no big deal!

Today Was the Day...

We were supposed to meet our son, Logan, for the first time. We had his c-section scheduled for today. We had been dreaming about what this day and the days to follow would be like. And then, Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2011 came and all those dreams had to change. Seeing Logan when he was born on Dec. 29, 2011 brought a few of those dreams to life...specifically, the very fact that he looked exactly how we thought he would! A sweet angel, our son.

Today wasn't as hard for me as I expected it to be. Last Friday was a hard day, and yesterday was pretty emotional, too. But today wasn't bad. Of course it helped that we had so many family and friends sending their love and prayers to us! Seriously, I don't know how to explain what a gift it is to be on the receiving end of so many prayers. We received a lot of sweet cards, a few bouquets of flowers, and a precious doll.



I love this picture of Addy with the Logan doll, as we call him. It's a little bittersweet for me (but mostly sweet), because it's exactly how I mentally pictured her and Logan in many sibling photos. She would have been such a great big sister to him.

I work with the greatest group of people. I'm so fortunate they are like an extended family to me. They made today a little easier for me as well by giving me a sweet card filled with encouragement, and one of our therapists brought in a special lunch. They're the best, I tell ya.

After work, we came home and Jen, Chris, and the girls came over. We'd been under tornado warnings most of the day, and our area was at the greatest risk between 4-8 pm. We thought the best place to wait out the warnings was near our tornado shelter! The boys even managed to fit all 3 of the vehicles in our 2 car garage!


Thankfully, the tornados missed us. In fact, by dinner time it was clear our area wouldn't be affected so we went out for pizza! Then we came back to our house and played games and just had fun. It was a great way to end the day that we thought might be really hard on us. We are so thankful for all the people the Lord has put in our lives. We are blessed, that is for sure!

So, how are we really doing? I know so many people are wondering that. I also know it's hard to ask us that sometimes. Truthfully, we are doing pretty well. We definitely have our times of sadness just missing Logan with every fiber of our being. It's during those times that we also feel held up by God. We know He is guiding us in our grief.

After Logan died, I bought a new devotional called "Jesus Calling, Enjoying Peace in His Presence" by Sarah Young. It is the BEST. There are 4 devotionals that I go back to over and over again on those days that are just plain hard. The devotionals are written from the perspective of Jesus talking to us. I want to include those 4 devotionals that mean so much to me, and maybe they will bless you, too.

1. Bring Me your weakness, and receive My Peace. Accept yourself and your circumstances just as they are, remembering that I am sovereign over everything. Do not wear yourself out with analyzing and planning. Instead, let thankfulness and trust be your guides through this day; they will keep you close to Me. As you live in the radiance of My Presence, My Peace shines upon you. You will cease to notice how weak or strong you feel, because you will be focusing on Me. The best way to get through this day is step by step with Me. Continue this intimate journey, trusting that the path you are following is headed for heaven. (Psalm 29:11; Numbers 6:24-26; Psalm 13:5)

2. I am above all things: your problems, your pain, and the swirling events in this ever-changing world. When you behold My Face, you rise above circumstances and rest with Me in heavenly realms. This is the way of Peace, living in the Light of My Presence. I guarantee that you will always have problems in this life, but they must not become your focus. When you feel yourself sinking in the sea of circumstances, say "Help me, Jesus!" and I will draw you back to Me. If you have to say that thousands of times daily, don't be discouraged. I know your weakness, and I meet you in that very place. (Ephesians 2:6; Matthew 14:28-32)

3. I am with you. These four words are like a safety net, protecting you from falling into despair. Because you are human, you will always have ups and downs in your life experience. But the promise of My Presence limits how far down you can go. Sometimes you may feel as if you are in a free fall, when people or things you had counted on let you down. Yet as soon as you remember that I am with you, your perspective changes radically. Instead of bemoaning your circumstances, you can look to Me for help. You recall that not only am I with you, I am holding you by your right hand. I guide you with My counsel, and afterward I will take you into Glory. This is exactly the perspective you need: the reassurance of My Presence, and the glorious hope of heaven. (Zephaniah 3:17; Psalm 73:23-26)

4. I am leading you, step by step, through your life. Hold My hand in trusting dependence, letting Me guide you through this day. Your future looks uncertain and feels flimsy - even precarious. That is how it should be. Secret things belong to the Lord, and future things are secret things. When you try to figure out the future, you are grasping at things that are Mine. This, like all forms of worry, is an act of rebellion: doubting My promises to care for you. Whenever you find yourself worrying about the future, repent and return to Me. I will show you the next step forward, and the one after that, and the one after that. Relax and enjoy the journey in My Presence, trusting Me to open up the way before you as you go. (Deuteronomy 29:29; Psalm 32:8)

Many people have told us that they are just amazed at our strength to go through this. It is not our strength. Our loving God is holding us up, helping us put one foot in front of the other. Trust me, if it were up to me, I'd probably be curled up on the floor of my closet most days!

We know this is not about us. It never was. We have been blessed through all this, but we know the blessings go way beyond us.

I'd like to answer a question that I'm sure many of you would like to ask, but don't know how sensitive we are about it....will we try to have more kids? The answer is YES. We don't know if we'll add to our family with a biological child(ren) or via adoption first. Adoption has always been a part of our plan, we're just waiting and praying about the timing of adding to our family. And we're not sensitive about talking about it. We don't mind at all.

Something else that I know people may want to ask us about, but aren't sure how to, is pictures of Logan. We have pictures that we took as well as the professional ones that were taken. Here's the thing, I feel very hesitant to ask anyone if they want to see pictures of Logan because of the reality of what they are. I don't want anyone to feel obligated to say yes, especially if you don't want to! It will not hurt our feelings whether you want to see pictures or not, I promise! At the same time, I know that no one really wants to ask us to see the pictures because that can be awkward, too. So, if you are interested in seeing the pictures, please ask us! We definitely don't mind sharing them, but we likely won't just offer. :)

That's about all I can think of for an update right now. I still have the end of January and all of February to blog about! My goal is to be caught up by Addy's birthday. I better get on it!

January 20-23, 2012

Something else I put on my to do list while I was off work was to have lunch with Mackenzie and Katie at their schools. We started with Mackenzie on Friday, bringing her Subway after Addy and I went to My Gym. Then we took Chick-Fil-A to Katie on Monday. We had a lot of fun with both girls meeting some of their friends! I completely forgot to take any pictures, though!

In between our lunch dates, we had a weekend full of fun. My cousin Michelle came down to see us with her boys, Jack and Alex! We picked them up from the airport on Friday afternoon and had Jen, Chris, and the girls over for dinner as well. It was fun for the kids to get together and play, and for us big kids to hang out and catch up!

Michelle and I stayed up late talking, a lot about Logan, and it was just so sweet. We knew we'd pay for it the next day, but it was such a blessing to have that quiet time together!

Saturday morning we met up with Jen and the girls to go to Opryland Hotel to walk around. We had to make a quick stop and Target on our way, and that's when Michelle spotted Chick-Fil-A...or as she calls it, "Chick-A-Flick"! She said she wanted that for lunch, which we all love, but there isn't one close to Opryland Hotel. So, we just adjusted our plans a little and ate a really early lunch! It was awesome.


We made it to Opryland Hotel and we all had a great time. We were super impressed how well the kids did just walking around for nearly 3 hours! Water was definitely the highlight as we walked around, it just seemed to call the kids' names! So, on this trip we have Mackenzie (11) Jack (8) Katie (7) Alex (5) Addy (2).








We even found a flamingo for Michelle!


Cousins:


The whole gang:


Funniest part of the day? Losing the stroller. To get to the spot where we took the group picture was a bunch of little steps, like 2 or 3 at a time and it was just really annoying with the stroller. So we decided we'd just set the stroller off to the side while we went down to the waterfall and pick it up on our way back. Seemed simple enough until we tried to back track and there was more than 1 option and they all looked the same! We eventually had to split up and take different paths and then we found it! The kiddos actually liked that part! They thought it was fun to find the stroller because NONE of them were with us when we parked the stroller, they were ahead of us, so we couldn't rely on them to help us find it! It was a true scavenger hunt for them!

We ended our day there with a boat ride.



We hung out at Jen's house Saturday night, and Chris made dinner for us, even though he couldn't stay to eat with us. He was on his way out to spend the night with his middle school youth group boys so they could get up super super early on Sunday morning for a service project!

Sunday we went to church and then the kids fed our neighbor's horses. It was definitely another highlight for them! First, they had to entice the horses to come over by the fence. It didn't take long and they had the horses' attention! Then they fed them all the carrots we had, which wasn't enough! They all would've kept feeding them if they could!





Michelle and the boys had to leave super early on Monday morning. We were so glad they came to see us. We always have such a good time when we get together!

You might be wondering where Steven was during all this...working! He was around in the evenings, but he was working hard over the weekend so he could have the next weekend off. :)