Thursday, December 31, 2009

Final Days

We've had some busy days to tie up our vacation... we're on our way out of town tomorrow after breakfast.

Olivia had another day of skating.

Yesterday we went to Give Kids the World Village to visit.  WHAT A WONDERFUL AND AMAZING PLACE!  We first were blessed enough to go there as visitors for a week during Olivia's Make a Wish Trip in August 2008.  Families can go back and visit any time they'd like and participate in any or all of the activities whenever they visit... just can't spend the night or take part in a meal. :)

We went the morning they have horseback riding.  The kids LOVED it, especially since Liam who was too young in 08 to ride!

The men who brought the horses said Olivia was a natural... :)


Braeden was shy, but finally gave the photographer two thumbs up!  They take photos of everything when you stay there, and then give you a CD of the pics when you leave.  They got my email to send us these...


Liam was on cloud nine!


After riding, the kids got "Official" cowboy certificates and hats!


We found the paver that Grandma and Grandpa donated money to have put in...


Got to see the new pool/water area - amazing! but no pictures :( - and the new Garden of Hope (this pic does NOT do it justice - gorgeous!)...


Rode on the train at the Station building, inside are toy trains, boats to drive, games, etc...


After GKTW, we headed to Downtown Disney for lunch and a little shopping.  Grandma and Grandpa got Braeden a basic lego set for Christmas, we've only had Duplos until now, and we got some more at the lego store to add to it.

The olders and I shopped around and each spent a little money on a special something.  We had fun watching the "animals" at Rainforest Cafe!  (Though we actually ate at McDonalds!) :)


Today we started off at Krispy Kreme, then went to Chuck E Cheese.  We played first and then had our lunch... it was nice and not too crowded...


Later Olivia and I went to do some shopping.  The kids each got a little money for clothes for New Year's, so we hit the deals and found some great ones!  Olivia spent her $20 on a shirt and two pairs of knee highs at Gymboree, and a shirt, scarf, and mittens/gloves at Gap.  I found the boys matching shirts, some shorts, and a few other things at Gymboree, and even got myself a few things at Gap.  Gap had adult clearance an extra 40% off, and kids clearance an extra 25% off.  Weird!  


We've had a great vacation.  Tomorrow will be hard.  The kids are already so upset to be leaving and say off and on, mostly Braeden, that they aren't getting in the car, I'm making them leave, etc.  How to explain when Braeden says family doesn't leave, that we actually see a lot more of our Grandparents than some?  Hard to "make" them go.  Will be a sad sad morning!

2 comments:

:)De said...

Happy New Year to you all. Wishing you happiness and Peace,

:)De

Leslie said...

How fun! Happy New Year! Praying for the goodbyes and the trip.

Post a Comment

Let's Connect!

Search This Blog

Followers

About Me

I am a single mom to four amazing kids; each of whom just happen to have been adopted. The first three were adopted through foster care, and we just completed an international adoption from Haiti. Our family has grown through adoption and I am all the more blessed to know each of my children. I worship a mighty God, teach Special Ed, love bargains, and am inspired by Pinterest... come along with us for the ride!


Olivia - 14

Olivia - 14

Braeden - 11

Braeden - 11

Liam - 9

Liam - 9

Macy - 5

Macy - 5

Check out my Teachers Pay Teachers store!

Blog Archive

What you should know about HIV

-HIV can NOT be spread through casual/household contact. HIV is not spread through hugging, kissing, shaking hands, sharing toys, sneezing, coughing, sharing food, sharing drinks, bathing, swimming or any other casual way. It has been proven that HIV and AIDS can only be spread through sexual contact, birth, breastfeeding and blood to blood contact (such as sharing needles). - HIV is now considered a chronic but manageable disease. With treatment, people who are HIV+ can live indefinitely without developing AIDS and can live long and full lives. - People who are HIV+ deserve to be treated with love, respect, support and acceptance as all people do. Additional information on transmission of HIV can be found on the Center for Disease Control website: http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/resources

Other Awesome Blogs

Orphan Crisis

• 147 million orphans in the world
• 50 million orphans in Africa 
• Every 14 seconds a child is orphaned by AIDS
• 16,000,000 have been orphaned by AIDS
• Every week, AIDS claims as many lives as American fatalities in the Vietnam War
• 854 million people do not have enough to eat
• Malnutrition is associated with the deaths of 5 million children under the age of five
• Every 2 seconds an orphan dies from malnutrition


Hence the title of my blog

Little Did I Know

Little did I know that the road would be so rocky
Little did I know that the trip would take so long
Little did I know that my heart could hurt so much
Little did I know that God is never wrong

Little did I know that love could be so powerful
Little did I know that a dream so far could go
Little did I know that God would place the right ones
Little did I know that my heart, so large, could grow

Little did I know that a dream has it’s own timing
Little did I know that this day would finally come
Little did I know that four souls would be sent to guide me
Little did I know that they would choose to call me mom

But God knew all along and He had a plan to follow
God knew all along that my dream would soon come true
God knew all along that we five should be together
God knew all along that I’d share it all with you