Disney Christmas- Day 1

 We spent our first afternoon at Magic Kingdom.  We went straight to Fantasyland. 

 Lily had been waiting six months to buy this Stitch that she realized she wanted last time we were here. So, he was her first Christmas present.

 Later in the evening we went to the Garden Grill in Epcot.   She loves eating with the characters in the rotating restaurant.

 Pluto was a mess.  He took Stitch and had a blast with him.  Lily got a big kick out of it!

 Of course, it is always fun to see Mickey Mouse on our first evening there.

Earlier in the afternoon, we ate lunch at Be Our Guest (pictured above).  We ate in the room where the Beast had torn everything to shreds.  It was dark and so cool!  It was really neat since the rose was in there. The food at Be Our Guest was absolutely delicious!  They definitely have perfected the Quick Service Dining issues with this restaurant.  However, after Deluxe Dining, it is very hard to go anywhere else.  We are completely spoiled!

Christmas 2012

 We started our Christmas Vacation in Savannah, Georgia.  This is one of our favorite places, and it was also one of my Mom's favorite places.  We had such a wonderful time here. 

 We planned a lot of tours this time since we thought Lily would really enjoy that part of Savannah.  The first tour we took was the Festival of Lights.  This was a trolley tour that ended up on some land where they had tents set up with camel rides and bonfires for roasting Smores.  Lily loved making her Smores on her own.  It was freezing this night, but we managed to thoroughly enjoy our tour just the same.

 The following day, we took a tour of Julliette Gordon Low's House (she started the Girl Scouts).  Lily absorbed all of this, later saying, "I really loved exploring Julliette's house." We also went on a Paula Dean Tour with a wonderful tour guide who knew everything about Savannah.  She took us by St. John's Cathedral and let us out to go inside this beautiful church so Lily could see the manger scene.  It was a sight to behold and our pictures didn't dare do it justice.  The church was simply beautiful. 

We also purchased our very first Pete the Cat painting by James Dean.  Lily was thrilled about this one especially since she was able to help us pick it out.  We chose an earlier painting with the moon as the background because Lily has always loved the moon...since she was very little.  So, we decided together that it was the best choice. 

After spending a few days in Savannah, it was time to move onto WDW.  I will post pictures throughout the week that will show what we did each day in Disney World.  We had the best Christmas ever!  I am so thankful that we were able to spend time together as a family!  God truly blessed us!

As Busy as a Bee

 I took some pictures of Lily's work that I have put up in the classroom.  Last week, we had a story about HoneyBees.  So, they had a few stations where they had to tell about what they had learned.  Lily had to write a summary of the story (pictured above).

 She had to make a chart listing the responsibilites of the different types of bees from the story and illustrate it.

Then, she had to put some words in ABC order.  She is such a wonderful student!  I know she will love having pictures of her work someday in her Blog Book. 

So Grown Up!

 Every single day I am amazed at the young lady that is growing up right in front of me.  We are so blessed that God placed her into our lives and made her specifically just for us.  She is truly a joy...always happy...always kind... always thoughtful toward others...and so full of perspective in every situation.  She is always evaluating and assessing everything around her in order to understand it more deeply.  She also has some explanation for every act of kindness or rudeness...she can explain everything relating it to something she has learned from the Bible. 

Every day...I say to myself- I can't believe she is just five!  As excited as I am about watching her grow into this amazing little lady- there are moments when I just wish I could hold her in my arms, rocking her while I watch her go to sleep.  Of course, I have shared this with her.  She immediately crawls into my lap, hugs me tenderly, and says, "Ohhh, Mama- I will Always be your baby."  Yes...she will.