Pigtails!

I am loving my "Lily-doll", and her hair is so much fun to fix!

Little Reading Princess

I am so thankful that she LOVES to read!

Good Morning World!

(And Kitty says "Good Morning" too!)

Ready to Rock!

Lily is ready for KidRave at Faith Promise!  She loves being a part of the Kids' Worship Team!

The Orange Factor

When you combine the light of a faith community (yellow) with the heart of a caring family (red), you exponentially expand your potential to make a difference in the life of your child.
       (And yellow and red make orange!)

                                        --Parenting Beyond Your Capacity by Reggie Joiner & Carey Nieuwhof

Jamie and I are reading a new book.  Yes, we always read our books together.  Years ago we decided that we would spend the same amount of time telling each other about what we read after we read it...so we just decided to always read together.  Plus, we enjoy it.  So, really that is the main reason we do it.

At Faith Promise, we use the ORANGE curriculum for our students.  Jamie has been to hear Reggie (the creator of ORANGE) speak before, and he loved listening to him.  So, we couldn't wait to finish our last book (Tim Tebow's book) before starting this one.  As you know anyone can have a child, but you need God and prayer to really be successful at this adventure! It also helps to have a great community of Christians to widen your circle!

So, you may ask- what does this have to do with Miss Lily? 

     I thought today would be a wonderful to day to share some of our "yellow" even though she is really "red"to us!  We are so thankful that God purposefully placed Aunt Trina in our lives, but especially in Lily's.  She is truly a bright shining light in Lily's world.  I am thankful that in the daily struggle of trying to be the best Mama for Lily, I have wonderful people to help me along in showing her the right paths to take.  Trina is an excellent role-model for our daughter, and she probably could never imagine the impact that she has on Lily's thoughts and actions.  There is not a day that goes by that we don't have a conversation referring to Trina, her love of butterflies, the conversations and stories they have shared, and the meaningful moments they have spent together. 

Thank you Aunt Trina for helping us raise our daughter, and thank you God for giving us this beautiful child to love, care for, and mentor.  We are coming up on some very important days in the life of our family.  So, it seems like at this time every year, my emotions are heightened as I remember the journey it took to receive His precious gift. 

Mornings...

Nothing like waking up to a pillow fight... and this beautiful smile!

Rainy Days

We got out of school today for a flood day, so we decided to go help Baba at church.  For lunch, we went to eat lunch with Brian at Chick-Fil-A.  Lily was enjoying our day together!

A Tea Party for Sushi, Kitty, and Lily

I know what we can play...

"Let's pretend we are at the beach, Mama!  I will go get our towel, beach chair, a ball, a pail, and of course- the seashells for us to find in the sand!"    
              ( I personally love the pajamas!)

Friends

Heidi, Lily, and Teodora playing together at the AR Party!

The TRUTH

She said she loves sleeping in our bed...because we have a DVR!

Dreaming with Kitty

Watching Lily sleep is one of my favorite moments...

The Final Day

Well, this is it.  It is the final day of the year and our last day at Disney World.  This year has been filled with blessings...too many to count.  It has been filled with wonderful family times and more love than any person could possibly imagine.  Our prayer is that next year will find us filled with Jesus's spirit on His spiritual track for our lives...listening and being who He wants us to be in everything we do.

Good bye Disney World and 2012~ Hello to a brand-new year of beginnings, ends, and new experiences for everyone!

The Best Husband & Baba Ever!

Our very last night in Disney World, there was a little storm.  Well, that could be an understatement...if you glance at the picture above.  It didn't really affect the girls in the family because we were in our room after a long day of spending time eating around the world at Epcot.  But, there was one thing that we did not get to enjoy...the funnel cake from the American Pavilion.  Now, how could we eat around the world and not have something from America!  So, this wonderful, amazing, terrific man took on the storm and raging rain as it attacked him while he walked outside to the Boardwalk to bring back a yummy treat for us all!  Look at that smile on his face!  Not even a complaint from this man... he is always serving whether it be at church, with his friends, or with his family!  We adore you Baba!

The Best Gift

 So, what is the best part about Disney World and why do we continue to go back every year...  spending time together!  There is nothing like the family time that we are able to have when we go to Disney World.  It is a total escape from the pressures of a working family, and it is a magical place where we can focus on each other.  I could not imagine a happier place to be for us.  I am so thankful and blessed that God allows us these opportunities to love on each other and get away together.  Every time we go, the trip becomes even more special and memorable.  When I say this was the best Christmas ever...it is agreed upon by two other people as well!

Bonjour!

 Next, we shared some crepes in France.  Yes, we saved the best for last.  Lily loves her Strawberry Crepe, and she also loved seeing herself eating the crepe as Baba showed her the pictures we had taken with our phones.  Before we left the park that evening, we also enjoyed some more French specialties for dinner.  We ate baguettes with turkey, ham, and cheese and quiche.  Lily also loves taking back chocolate croissants to enjoy for her breakfast the next morning.

Norway & Germany

We moved on to Norway where we shared our favorite candy bar, D'aim- which we discovered in Paris years ago.  Then, we went to Germany to share a caramel covered pineapple and grapes at the Kringla Bakery which specializes in all things Werther's.

Eating Around the World (in Epcot)

 We actually started out in Mexico with some Churros and Nachos!  Yummo!  Then we headed to China where we enjoyed some Peach Oo-long Tea and some Orange Chicken. While we were there, we got to listen to the Monkey King.  That was another present for all three of us!

Our Favorite Park

 Our favorite park is Epcot, which is why our favorite place to stay is The Boardwalk.  We love that we can walk to Epcot in five minutes or Hollywood Studios in about 15 minutes.  We enjoy the freedom of staying here...not having to rely on waiting on the bus all of the time, the leisure of riding the Monorail over to the Magic Kingdom, and the laid back environment of Epcot.  So, we make sure to spend lots of time here on each trip.  I forgot to mention that the food at this park is by far superior to all of the other parks, as well.

 We loved spending time together when we would wait in lines.  It turned out to be such magical moments of talking, laughing, and being silly together.  It actually provided some rest time too which we seem to need more of this time around.

 Lily also just enjoyed people watching and hanging out at Epcot.  We do so love this park!

Another Outfit for Stitch

Lily bought this outfit for Stitch next.  It was really cold one night while we were there, so she decided Stitch really needed a sweater and a hat.  I am so glad that she took such good care of Stitch.  What an excellent little Mama!

Lily's Favorite Rides

 We spent lots of time on "It's A Small World" in Magic Kingdom.  Somehow the line always looks so long, but no one goes to the left side...and we always go the road less traveled.  So, we manage to make that line shorter that it ever appears.  Lily also loves the Winnie the Pooh Ride and Peter Pan's Flight.  The new Ariel ride in Fantasyland was also one of her favorites.

A Royal Breakfast

 Eating breakfast at the Castle was such an amazing experience.  Seeing all of the Princesses was a terrific addition, but it was actually eating in the castle that made it so special.

 We had a delicious breakfast of fruit, pastries, eggs, and bacon.  Of course, it was completely delicious.  I, on the other hand, wanted something a little more "royal".  So, I ordered Chocolate Cream Cheese French Toast.  It was fabulous!  This was a lovely start to the day after Christmas.

Jedi In Training

 In a galaxy far, far away... there lived a little Princess and her Jedi, Stitch.  Lily has been a fan of The Force for awhile now.  Yet, on this trip I believe she enjoyed the Star Wars experience even more than her parents!  She was thrilled to make her very own lightsaber.  But, she was even more thrilled that Stitch could become a Jedi.  The clothes became a big Christmas present for Lily this year.  She ended up buying four outfits for Stitch.  My personal favorite are his pajamas which he has to put each night before bedtime.

May the Force be with you!

The Fantasia Experience

Fantasia was truly another great part to our Christmas Day!  It turned out to be a present for all of us.  We had the Fantasia Dining package, so we had special seating.  You can tell that we were one of the first ones in that area.  But, it did not stay that way long.  I was amazed at the number of people that were there.  It must of seated thousands of people.  Of course, now we know why people stand there and wait for hours to see this amazing show.  It is a tradition that we will now become a part of!

The Christmas Lights

 After seeing Fantasia for the first time (which was absolutely awesome!), we walked over to see the Osbourne Family Spectacle of Lights.  We had heard about it, and we had even seen pictures of it before.  But, it was nothing like seeing it in person.  It was beautiful!  There is really no way to describe thousands of people walking down the street slowly staring at these lights in wonder while experiencing some faux snow made from bubbles that was icing on the cake to these Disney Fans.  Yet, it gets better...

All of the sudden, the music starts and lights dance!  Every person just stopped and stared at these lights in complete awe.  One of my favorite memories was an elderly couple dancing in the middle of the street as though they were the only ones there.  There was not a dry eye around as people stopped, smiled, and commented on their love for one another.  It made this day the most magical Disney experience we have ever had!  Merry Christmas to us!

A Christmas Locket

Lily has been wanting a locket for a long time, and she found a little treasure when we spent the day at Hollywood Studios.  Many times you will find certain items at only one of the Disney Parks, but most of the time you will see the same things at each park.  This was one of those special gifts.  She found this in a small store outside of Mama Melrose's Restaurant.  She loves it because when you open up this Minnie Mouse locket, there is a little picture of Mickey Mouse.  It is very dainty and pretty.  She loved this present!

Christmas Morning

 This was probably our favorite day...it seemed to be the most magical of all.  We started out with breakfast at the Polynesian.  This wasn't just any breakfast...it was with Lilo and Stitch.

 Stitch is Lily's favorite character at the moment.  She has been crazy about him since last summer.

 This was such a special present for her, and the food was outstanding!  Definitely a beginning to a blessed day!

Day 2 in Disney!

 I forgot to include this picture of Lily asleep at the end of Day 1.  She fell asleep while we were at the Candlelight Procession with Gary Sinise who told the Christmas story.  How precious is she!

 We had some LeFou's Brew at Gaston's Tavern in Fantasyland.

 Lily loved being at the Magic Kingdom this year.

 We ate lunch with Pooh and his friends at The Crystal Palace.

 We enjoyed spending time together as we waited in line for a few rides each day.

 Lily loved riding the Magic Carpets of Aladdin, and she especially loved being in charge of making the carpet go up and down.

We ate Tony's Italian Restaurant, and this was my dessert...Cheesecake with a chocolate drawing of Lady and the Tramp.  Isn't that beautiful!  Another great day at Disney World!