All I Can Say Is: Wow.

For a couple reasons. For one thing, today was Benjamin's first lesson with Infant Swim Rescue, which in a nutshell teaches him how to float and survive in the water if he ever falls in. It was emotional and stressful because from the moment he got in the water, he wanted out, and he wasn't going to cooperate quietly. He screamed the entire time {and our friend informed us that that is how it always goes}. He went under water and swam to the steps and we were so proud of him! However it was hard to see him react like that mainly because I have a huge water fear!

Anyway, another reason I am saying "Wow" is because I was just remembering our vacation at Disney, and I wanted to share more pictures with you!

Here's a dream come true for me!:

Seeing and standing in front of the Cinderella Castle! Wow! That was amazing! I have always wanted to see the castle, because Cinderella is my all-time favorite princess! This was incredible and I was so excited. One thing that disappointed me was that we weren't able to get someone to take our whole family picture here. Oh well!


We rode a few rides when we got there, including the Haunted Mansion {a big NO from Benjamin and a half-hearted one from me - I don't like being in complete dark!} - and then one that Benjamin actually enjoyed - The Pirates of the Caribbean ride! That one was a lot of fun. After the ride, we walked out to retrieve our stroller and ran across a side show run by Cap'n Jack Sparrow himself {okay- not Johnny Depp, but he was pretty much EXACTLY like him!}!



At the end of the side show, Cap'n Jack asked for volunteers to join his crew, and we jokingly raised Benjamin's hand - and surprisingly enough, Cap'n Jack asked him to join! So Benjamin {with the help of Daddy} got to stand on stage and receive a certificate that says he is a pirate now! {I am convinced this was Hubby living one of his childhood dreams through Benjamin - ha!!}


After this, we came across a folk band playing in the street and we stopped to sit and listen a while because it was really good! Benjamin danced a little bit and he really liked the music! {They even played Under the Sea at a different point in time when we passed by}


To my surprise {and, I suppose relief}, we didn't run into many characters. We did run into the line to meet Snow White, but it was kind of long and it was so very hot out so we didn't get in line. I snapped a couple pictures of her and I have to say her voice was JUST like the movie!


Benjamin Pendragon stopped to pull the sword out of the stone before he and Mommy got on the carousel...




It was so hot out so every chance we got to sit down, we took it! These were taken before we went to Minnie's Cottage - which by the way is NOT for a busy-body toddler.

Benjamin's favorite attraction was Donald's Boat! He had so much fun running from fountain to fountain with the other kids. He made a few friends and followed them around and talked to all the kids there! By the time we left he was completely soaked and so very happy - except not so very happy to have to leave! We were glad that he was able to cool off and thankful for the break from walking all over the place too!

Hey, you can even see the shoes that Hubby shed in these pix! Yes, the ones with the orange stripes! He enjoyed this attraction as well...


After this, we decided to head back toward the gates... and the rest... comes in yet another blog post!!

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While I have you, though, I'll go ahead and do the 30 Days of Music for today: day 26 - a song that you can play on an instrument : "Leave it to Beaver Theme". I can play this on Clarinet, or at least I used to be able to! I played clarinet for 6 years so I know a few... this one though was fun!

Far Above Rubies: Proverbs 31:24

"She maketh fine linen, and selleth it;
and delivereth girdles unto the merchant."
- Proverbs 31:24

We have already discussed before how the virtuous woman is willing to work with her hands. This verse discusses how she somehow finds the energy and time to make these fine linens, and then even has some left over to sell! She is interested in expanding the family's income and helping to provide for her family!

There are a lot of people out there who are not willing to work to help their families. While I don't mean you have to be a working mother {I certainly do not plan on being a 'working' mom}, that doesn't mean you can't keep your family in mind and do what you can to make extra money where you can. What sort of talents do you have? There are a lot of places you can sell your goods online!

What I have a hard time with is finding the time to do everything! Time management especially with a little one can sometimes be hard, but this virtuous woman does it!

I'm sorry I don't have more to say on this subject! I can't wait to hear your thoughts!

The Beginning of a Recap

So sorry for my absence last week! If you can recall, we were on vacation all last week visiting friends in Florida! We had SUCH a good time! I'm going to attempt to fill you all in this week with all the excitement so you may be bombarded with pictures here this week. I am sure you don't mind :) - anyway, it was a very fun week and although I took LOADS of pictures, I didn't take enough to really convey the excitement.

We got there very late Sunday Night/Monday Morning. It was so good to see my dear Kindred Spirit, Autumn, again! It felt like it had been forever! And we got to see her husband Matt and their daughter Alethia as well! It was so fun!

Monday we spent preparing for our Disney Trip!! Did I tell you we were going to go?? We ended up being able to get out to Disney on Tuesday and it was so much fun! I had never been before and obviously neither had Benjamin! Unfortunately Autumn had gotten sick since we stayed out so late that night trying to get everything ready (she is 21 weeks pregnant), so they didn't get to come with us. That was a big bummer. But we still had a ton of fun at Disney.

While I would love to put all of the pictures here in one big post, I'm not going to because I am still oh-so-tired! So let me just give you a few at a time and tell you about our trip!


We went to bed at 1AM and got up at 3:30AM to go to Disney! Yes, we are in fact crazy. We drove around looking for the place we were getting our tickets from {if you are interested, ask in the comments and I'll let you know - we got a good discount!}, and finally made it to Disney at 11AM. Yes, it took THAT long!

Benjamin was so funny! He would make Monkey noises everytime he saw Mickey and Minnie or heard us say "Mickey Mouse". I guess Mickey sounds like "Monkey" - and I guess to a one-year-old who has never seen Mickey Mouse {we don't watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse because of the amount of euphemisms for God's name being taken on that show - and I would never want to hear that come out of Benjamin's mouth!}, Mickey looks like a Monkey! ha! Anyway, it was so cute!


This was SO exciting for all of us, especially when Benjamin projectile vomited just as we got to this gate! Yes, you read correctly. I believe he was a little carsick. It wasn't a big deal, and he didn't do it again, so we were fine! He just had to change his pants so we didn't have any extras for the rest of the day. A little note for you who haven't been and want to take your small children: bring a few changes of clothing, not just one.

We took the ferry over to Magic Kingdom because it looked less crowded than the monorail. It was pretty fun and laid-back as well! I was so anxious to get to the park though! Finally, FINALLY we got there, and got through baggage check, and FINALLY we went through the gates into the most Magical Place on Earth!


Ahhh, the atmosphere! It was so much fun even walking down mainstreet! We got there right at the tailend of the opening parade! I am so glad we did, too, and I wish we had gotten there as soon as it had opened, but oh well!



We had wondered if Benjamin would be afraid but he really loved the parade! He loved all the singing and dancing and the floats and characters! He was GLUED. It was such a magical moment for me because it was my first time, and his, and we were experiencing it together! It really touched me and I admit that I did cry during this parade because I was so overwhelmed! It was so much fun!






And after the parade, we went on to enjoy the rest of our fun-filled, super super hot day!

That's all I'm going to share right now because for one thing a phone call distracted me, and another, it takes me a while to do all this, ha!

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I guess I should also pick back up on the 30 Days of Music where I left off! So, day 25 - a song that makes you laugh : Too bad I can't reuse "Trololo"... ha! okay, a song that makes me laugh... "Chimpanzee Riding on a Segwey" - Parry Gripp.



Yes, it is just for fun :)

Tomorrow we will pick back up with Far Above Rubies so be ready!

Whimsical Funeral?

day 24 - a song that you want to play at your funeral

Umm... well I don't really want songs played at my funeral merely because people usually associate funerals with sadness, and they are!!, but when my Papaw died, we sand "To Canaan's Land", and I still can't sing that song 3 years later.

But I guess if I had to choose, I would choose to have something cheerful and happy played. "Memories" by Eisley. I love how whimsical it sounds.



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We leave tonight for Florida. I don't think we'll be doing the Far Above Rubies this week, so those of you who are behind can still catch up!

I hope you all have been having a wonderful Lord's Day! Can I just say how blessed I am to be the wife of a faithful Gospel Preacher who is unashamed of the Truth? I am SO blessed!

Seriously Overjoyed!!

I have been looking forward to this weekend all week! ha! How about you? I know that so many exciting things have been happening this weekend, such as Julia's wedding, which of course would be exciting for her, but also her mother and sister and everyone else involved! Who doesn't love weddings? Speaking of weddings, the 30 Days of Music for today is: day 23 - a song that you want to play at your wedding

Umm, well, that has already happened! In fact, on August 11th, we will be celebrating our 3 Year Anniversary! I really can't believe it's almost been 3 years already! wow!

Anyway, I decided I would show you a few songs that were in our wedding. Of course, we didn't play the ACTUAL songs. I actually found this very beautiful solo pianist online and downloaded a few of my favorites. So imagine all these being played by a solo pianist, and there you have it. I chose my favorite 3. {And stick around afterward because I have more to say!!}

Phantom of the Opera, Think Of Me: This was played as the wedding party walked down the aisle. It was beautiful!


Mandy Moore, Only Hope: You might recognize this from the A Walk to Remember movie, but when I hear it, I think of our Sand Ceremony.


Stevie Wonder, Overjoyed: This was played as we exited the auditorium as Husband and Wife! I was overjoyed! It was very fitting!!


I have been looking forward to this one! hehe.
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OK. Now that that is out of the way!! This weekend has been so busy already! I have been struggling to stay awake during the days to be able to pack clothes for Benjamin and myself as we are going on vacation next week! I haven't been sleeping very well lately {Thursday night I wasn't able to sleep till FIVEINTHEMORNING!} so it has really been a struggle. But I am so excited to be going to visit friends next week for a couple reasons:

1. I LOVE MY KINDRED SPIRIT! Autumn & I are not "friends", we are SISTERS, and I love her to death! We were at MSOP for 6 months together and within that amount of time we grew very close and since Hubby and I left, we have only seen each other twice! And that was in 2008! She is 20 weeks pregnant with her 2nd child and I am just so excited to be visiting!! I can't wait to see Matt & Alethia {their 23 month old} either!

2. WE ARE GOING TO DISNEY! Yes, I thought it would NEVER happen but we are actually going to Disney on Tuesday and I have never been before! I am so excited! But the reason we are going is because we have amazing friends here who insisted to help us financially to go to Disney World, and I cannot say how touched I am that they helped us out. I am so thankful. I am so thankful for our Family in Christ! We are so blessed!

I am so beyond excited you guys... seriously! And do I even have to say that of course I will be taking pictures?? Ahhh this week is going to be SO amazing!

Oh hey I almost forgot! I got my hurr cut today and I am definitely sure you want to see it:



Yayuhh!

Well I hope you all have a wonderful Lord's Day tomorrow!

Oh, the Glory...

day 22 - a song that you listen to when you're sad

Well, I don't really listen to songs when I'm sad. So I chose a song that, when I listen to it, I get sad. So technically I listen to it when I'm sad... technically.

Casimir Pulaski Day - Sufjan Stevens

{And that's Soof-yahn, in case you were unfamiliar.}

I love Sufjan Stevens. I think I could listen to him all day. He is so talented!! He plays numerous instruments, even some on the same tracks on his albums. He's a good vocalist, and an amazing song-writer. There are very few songs of his that I don't like.

The reason this makes me sad is because it talks about losing someone to cancer {of the bone}.



Enjoy!

h-a-p-p-y!

Today was a very good day, I'd say. I had a lot of fun with my Benjamin! We broke out the Window Markers for the first time and drew all over one of the big windows in our family room! Benjamin had a BLAST!


He got a lot on the window, but he also got a lot on his hands too! That's how it usually turns out after Bible class too! We like to color pictures in Bible class and sometimes I let him use markers and it is messy!



This face is called the "Biggie" face. When we say "Where's my biggie?" or "Give me a biggie" this is what we get. For your information, a "Biggie" is the same as an eskimo kiss, but we say "biggiebiggiebiggie" when we rub noses and Benjamin thinks it is so funny! It has become part of our bedtime routine. We say prayers, give nightnight kisses, and then nightnight biggies.



I recommend these window markers for any of you who have kids and live somewhere where you will bake if you step outside during the day, or for rainy days! As long as you can keep them off the walls... ha! It kept Benjamin happy, and that made me beyond happy!

And while we are on the subject of Happy!
day 21 - a song that you listen to when you're happy

Easy! Fireflies by Owl City. I love Owl City! It's weird because I am really not into Synth stuff but I really like Owl City! It is just so much fun! This is even my ringtone!



{By the way, the title of this post is a reference to "I Love Lucy". Is anyone else here a gigantic Lucy fan??}