Thursday, December 31, 2009
Mommy, I had so much fun!
My sister and her family are in town for our belated family Christmas party. With my brother and my sister's family, there are 14 of us in all. We all had a great time just being family together. Enjoy our pictures from the last few days.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Florida, Disney and Christmas
Abby and I got home from Florida last night. We had an amazing time!! We started out at 6:30am on Saturday the 19th and we didn't get home until Monday the 28th. It was 10 days of pure bliss and great entertainment. The weather fluctuated between 68 and 80 degrees. Wow, could it get any better?
We decided to drive down to save money and I must admit, I was worried about the long drive down there and back. I thought it would be too long for Abby, but she did great!! I bought a portable DVD player over Thanksgiving break so we packed up a huge bag full of toys and movies and headed off. The DVD player worked wonders and she never said, "Are we there yet?" or "How much longer?" (that is, until about an hour away from home). She was a real trooper!
Our time share room was upgraded, which was a big surprise, so we had two bedrooms, two full bathrooms, a living room, and a huge fully equipped kitchen. The porch was even screened in so we could leave the sliding glass doors open. I was expecting to sleep on the pull -out couch and Abby on a blow up mattress, so two double beds and a bathroom of our own was the icing on the cake! Abby kept calling it our "apartment" instead of a hotel.
We headed off to Magic Kingdom on Tuesday. Abby was excited and loved every minute of it. I worried that it was going to be busy since it was Christmas time, but we didn't have to wait too long. The longest wait was to meet Princess Ariel, which was Abby's only request. Her face when she saw all the princess' was priceless. We loved the Buzz Light year Ride, Mickey's Philharmonic 3D movie, the Peter Pan ride and Mickey's Christmastime parade, which had all the characters so it was doubly great!
Much of the week was spent making puzzles, shopping at the outlet malls, playing with Christmas toys, reading books, playing card games, and trying out a new restaurant every night.
We headed over to Animal Kingdom on Friday. I had never been to Animal Kingdom so I was excited. The shows were fantastic! We were able to walk right into all the shows and onto all the rides. It wasn't busy at all! The Lion King show was awesome and so was the jungle ride through the safari to see the live animals. In fact it was so good we got off and went right back on it to see it all over again. A giraffe, ostrich and rhino were so close to the truck that I could reach out and touch them!
All in all, it was a perfect trip. We had great company (my mom and dad went with us), great weather, and a very relaxing time. It was exactly what I needed before life gets crazy here with a new baby and changes in routine. Now we're home and there's snow on the ground and it's freezing. But, at least I still have another week home to play and spend time with my amazing family.
Abby was so excited to go on vacation. She's been camping before, but this was her first long trip away from home.
We drove and drove until we found the palm trees!
Pooh and Tigger were the first characters we saw at Magic Kingdom. I was concerned that Abby would get scared of them, but she ran right up and gave them hugs.
Meeting Ariel was a dream come true! I waited in line for over an hour for Abby to get her picture taken, but it was worth it. If you ask her what her favorite part of Disney was, she'll answer "Meeting Ariel!".
Here we are sitting on the back porch in glorious weather playing a mean game of Crazy 8's.
My parent's room was attached to a bathroom with a HUGE whirlpool tub. Abby went in a couple times during the week. Each time she entered the water her name changed to "Princess Ariel". :)
Here we are entering Magic Kingdom. Can you see the excitement on her face?
Here we are entering Animal Kingdom. There were Christmas decorations everywhere. At the front of each park was a huge Christmas tree filled with ornaments that matched the park.
Meeting Minnie Mouse was also a big hit! The characters were by far more interesting for Abby than the shows or rides. Seeing them in real life was incredible. It was a great trip!
We decided to drive down to save money and I must admit, I was worried about the long drive down there and back. I thought it would be too long for Abby, but she did great!! I bought a portable DVD player over Thanksgiving break so we packed up a huge bag full of toys and movies and headed off. The DVD player worked wonders and she never said, "Are we there yet?" or "How much longer?" (that is, until about an hour away from home). She was a real trooper!
Our time share room was upgraded, which was a big surprise, so we had two bedrooms, two full bathrooms, a living room, and a huge fully equipped kitchen. The porch was even screened in so we could leave the sliding glass doors open. I was expecting to sleep on the pull -out couch and Abby on a blow up mattress, so two double beds and a bathroom of our own was the icing on the cake! Abby kept calling it our "apartment" instead of a hotel.
We headed off to Magic Kingdom on Tuesday. Abby was excited and loved every minute of it. I worried that it was going to be busy since it was Christmas time, but we didn't have to wait too long. The longest wait was to meet Princess Ariel, which was Abby's only request. Her face when she saw all the princess' was priceless. We loved the Buzz Light year Ride, Mickey's Philharmonic 3D movie, the Peter Pan ride and Mickey's Christmastime parade, which had all the characters so it was doubly great!
Much of the week was spent making puzzles, shopping at the outlet malls, playing with Christmas toys, reading books, playing card games, and trying out a new restaurant every night.
We headed over to Animal Kingdom on Friday. I had never been to Animal Kingdom so I was excited. The shows were fantastic! We were able to walk right into all the shows and onto all the rides. It wasn't busy at all! The Lion King show was awesome and so was the jungle ride through the safari to see the live animals. In fact it was so good we got off and went right back on it to see it all over again. A giraffe, ostrich and rhino were so close to the truck that I could reach out and touch them!
All in all, it was a perfect trip. We had great company (my mom and dad went with us), great weather, and a very relaxing time. It was exactly what I needed before life gets crazy here with a new baby and changes in routine. Now we're home and there's snow on the ground and it's freezing. But, at least I still have another week home to play and spend time with my amazing family.
Abby was so excited to go on vacation. She's been camping before, but this was her first long trip away from home.
We drove and drove until we found the palm trees!
Pooh and Tigger were the first characters we saw at Magic Kingdom. I was concerned that Abby would get scared of them, but she ran right up and gave them hugs.
Meeting Ariel was a dream come true! I waited in line for over an hour for Abby to get her picture taken, but it was worth it. If you ask her what her favorite part of Disney was, she'll answer "Meeting Ariel!".
Here we are sitting on the back porch in glorious weather playing a mean game of Crazy 8's.
My parent's room was attached to a bathroom with a HUGE whirlpool tub. Abby went in a couple times during the week. Each time she entered the water her name changed to "Princess Ariel". :)
Here we are entering Magic Kingdom. Can you see the excitement on her face?
Here we are entering Animal Kingdom. There were Christmas decorations everywhere. At the front of each park was a huge Christmas tree filled with ornaments that matched the park.
Meeting Minnie Mouse was also a big hit! The characters were by far more interesting for Abby than the shows or rides. Seeing them in real life was incredible. It was a great trip!Monday, December 21, 2009
not yet...
So I guess I'm being asked to wait a little longer. I know that God's timing is best, so I will wait.
I received a phone call from my agency this afternoon. I did not pass court. Apparently there was a letter missing from MOWA (the Ministry of Women's Affairs). My new court date is January 12th. We'll try again then. Thanks for your prayers, I truly appreciate it. Our God is good and I know he's holding me even in my tears. We're praying earnestly for January 12th.
In other news, Abby and I have made it safely to Florida. We're in a great time share and the weather is awesome. We're scheduled to go to Magic Kingdom tomorrow and then another park later in the week. Unfortunately we don't have Internet access at the hotel, go figure! So our updates will be few and far between, but you can expect a big update when we get home. Love to you all!
I received a phone call from my agency this afternoon. I did not pass court. Apparently there was a letter missing from MOWA (the Ministry of Women's Affairs). My new court date is January 12th. We'll try again then. Thanks for your prayers, I truly appreciate it. Our God is good and I know he's holding me even in my tears. We're praying earnestly for January 12th.
In other news, Abby and I have made it safely to Florida. We're in a great time share and the weather is awesome. We're scheduled to go to Magic Kingdom tomorrow and then another park later in the week. Unfortunately we don't have Internet access at the hotel, go figure! So our updates will be few and far between, but you can expect a big update when we get home. Love to you all!
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Oh yeah and we're in a blizzard among other things...
So, we're in the middle of a blizzard here. We had a snow day yesterday because the blizzard was supposed to start right after lunch. The morning was absolutely fine, and the blizzard didn't start until late in the evening. But it was a full force blizzard this morning with over 300 schools closed. BUT MY SCHOOL DIDN'T CLOSE!! I couldn't believe it!! The roads were horrible. I dropped off Abby at my parents and my awesome dad volunteered to drive me to work. I absolutely hate driving in the snow and I felt so relieved that he drove me. He even came to pick me up after school. He rocks!!
Schools have to have 75% attendance in order for the day to count as an academic day. The roads were so horrible that we didn't even make 62%. Therefore the day doesn't even count. You can imagine there wasn't one teacher there today in a good mood. Everyone was ready to complain, it was a rough day. We should have stayed home! I had 10 of my 27 students gone. It's hard to teach new concepts or give tests when over a third of the class is gone. The blizzard is supposed to last until 6am tomorrow so we'll see what happens with tomorrow's snow day.
Schools have to have 75% attendance in order for the day to count as an academic day. The roads were so horrible that we didn't even make 62%. Therefore the day doesn't even count. You can imagine there wasn't one teacher there today in a good mood. Everyone was ready to complain, it was a rough day. We should have stayed home! I had 10 of my 27 students gone. It's hard to teach new concepts or give tests when over a third of the class is gone. The blizzard is supposed to last until 6am tomorrow so we'll see what happens with tomorrow's snow day.
Here's a picture from last Sunday night. We went to my brother's church to watch my niece and nephews perform in their Christmas play. They did so well. Here is Abby and Seth. I just love this picture!
Saturday, December 5, 2009
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree
Abby and I have been waiting for today all week. Today we went to get our Christmas tree! I did all my school work and the laundry last night after work so that today would be totally devoted to setting up the tree and putting out all the decorations. It literally took us all day, but we had so much fun.
We got another free tree this year from my realtor so we headed out early this morning and picked one up. My parents also got a free tree so we went together. It's a good thing I live so close to them because I needed my dad's expertise, clippers and hand saw today to help get the tree home and set up. The rest of the day was spent setting up the tree, hanging the stockings, putting out the decorations, shoveling the walkway, making a quick trip to the store and baking the Christmas cookies for my cookie exchange. And now Abby's asleep and I'm watching White Christmas, one of my favorite movies! It's been a good day.
All of the trees were tied up so we didn't know what we were getting. It was purely a guess if there were holes in the branches, if it was full enough, etc. So we just grabbed the tallest one we could find.
The place were we go to get our trees also has a small farm with horses, cows, sheep, goats, pigs and chickens. We were able to walk through the barn and see the animals.
There was also a building there for hot chocolate (with marshmallows) doughnut holes, and gingerbread cookies. Abby loved the powered doughnuts and the more the powder the better!
This picture doesn't do the tree justice. I tried taking a picture in the dark, but the lighting was funny. It's a really tall tree and it looks awesome!
These are my favorite Christmas decorations to set up. Click on the picture to enlarge it and see each set. I have several nativity sets that I display every year. The one on the right (on the plate) is the set I picked up while in Guatemala getting Abby. The one next to that is the one my dad got while he was in Mexico visiting my missionary aunt and uncle. The one in the middle that looks like a coconut hut was a gift from a friend who went on a trip to Haiti. The one on the left I got while I was in Ecuador on a mission trip. The tall metal structure in the back was a gift from a friend last year. I just love the message. I can't wait to bring one home from Ethiopia to add to the collection. It's so amazing that all the sets look different, but the message is the same: Love came down at Christmas Time.
We got another free tree this year from my realtor so we headed out early this morning and picked one up. My parents also got a free tree so we went together. It's a good thing I live so close to them because I needed my dad's expertise, clippers and hand saw today to help get the tree home and set up. The rest of the day was spent setting up the tree, hanging the stockings, putting out the decorations, shoveling the walkway, making a quick trip to the store and baking the Christmas cookies for my cookie exchange. And now Abby's asleep and I'm watching White Christmas, one of my favorite movies! It's been a good day.
All of the trees were tied up so we didn't know what we were getting. It was purely a guess if there were holes in the branches, if it was full enough, etc. So we just grabbed the tallest one we could find.
The place were we go to get our trees also has a small farm with horses, cows, sheep, goats, pigs and chickens. We were able to walk through the barn and see the animals.
There was also a building there for hot chocolate (with marshmallows) doughnut holes, and gingerbread cookies. Abby loved the powered doughnuts and the more the powder the better!
This picture doesn't do the tree justice. I tried taking a picture in the dark, but the lighting was funny. It's a really tall tree and it looks awesome!
These are my favorite Christmas decorations to set up. Click on the picture to enlarge it and see each set. I have several nativity sets that I display every year. The one on the right (on the plate) is the set I picked up while in Guatemala getting Abby. The one next to that is the one my dad got while he was in Mexico visiting my missionary aunt and uncle. The one in the middle that looks like a coconut hut was a gift from a friend who went on a trip to Haiti. The one on the left I got while I was in Ecuador on a mission trip. The tall metal structure in the back was a gift from a friend last year. I just love the message. I can't wait to bring one home from Ethiopia to add to the collection. It's so amazing that all the sets look different, but the message is the same: Love came down at Christmas Time.
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