Disney World 2013!

We have been planning our vacation to Disney World at least since April of 2012, so it is hard to believe that it has come and gone so quickly! This was our fifth trip to Disney World since 2008. On our first trip we celebrated Emma-Caroline turning three and Sophie was only 7 months old. Each trip has been filled with many wonderful memories. We were so thrilled this year when our wonderful babysitter Ali was able to go with us. Ali had never been to Disney World before so we enjoyed showing her all the magic that Mickey Mouse had in store for her. Now that the girls are older they were able to ride almost all of the rides. Sophie was still too small for a few of the rides, but she didn't really seem to mind missing Expedition Everest, Space Mountain, and The Rockin' Roller Coaster. Those three rides by the way were Emma-Caroline's favorites.We all had a really wonderful time. Now I am going to do a photo blitz of our trip to Disney. Dreams really do come true!

Getting our yearly photo in front of Cinderella's castle.

Waiting for the bus to go to the Magic Kingdom!

 

It's a Small, Small World!

 

 

Riding the River Boat in Fronteir Land

Making a Wish!

 Watching the parade!

 Riding Ariel's New Undersea Adventure.

 

 Dining with Donald and friends at the Animal Kingdom!

 

 Miss Ali in front of the Tree of Life.

 

 Dining with Cinderella and the Princesses at Cinderella's Castle!

 

 Taking a spin on the tea cups.

 

 Visiting Pooh's House and havin dinner with Pooh and friends!

 

Waiting for the fireworks show to begin.

Miss Ali in front of Cinderella's Castle all lit up.

And they lived happily ever after!

The End.

The "Mouse" Race

I never anticipated as I packed our bags for Disney World that I would find our time there to be so contemplative. I have been to Disney four times since 2008. Each experience has been filled with much fun and many magical family memories. This Disney trip 2013 has been no exception to the amount of fun and magical moments we have experienced.  It has also been filled, however, with many moments of deep thought about life and faith.  Can you  picture me now, sporting my yoga pants, sitting on the lush green lawns of Epcot, eyes closed, lips pursed in a hommmmm, while I contemplate the meaning of life? :-) Although the idea of sitting quietly by myself in Disney basking in the glow of the winter sun sounds quite lovely, in reality I found myself standing in one line after another waiting and then waiting some more to get a piece of the proverbial pie in the sky. Perhaps it was the sheer sensation of the large crowds that seemed to swarm around me like bees humming around a honey-filled hive that drove my mind to an alternate universe far from my actual experience. Or maybe it was the constant stop-and go push of those around me as we collectively inched ourselves through chain-made mazes closer and closer to our prize that made me experience an "a-ha" moment. As I was standing in line waiting for the park to open one day, it occurred to me that Walt Disney didn't create a theme park in developing Disney World; but rather, he created a true microcosm of the world we actually live in. Perhaps Mr. Walt Disney chuckled to himself when he chose a mouse as the Head Cheese of the microcosm theme park he created. Perhaps he envisioned his World to be a life-changing experience as the participants actually became like mice and entered the "rat-race" of fun and magic. Don't get me wrong, I love Disney World. I have had and do have fun in visiting all of the beautiful and well-developed parks that are a part of the entire Disney World experience. This trip, for whatever reason, gave me a different perspective about how humans for the most part experience life. In our time at Disney, I did observe families having fun and enjoying their experience of the magical world around  them. I also observed families in great frustration as overly tired children cried and threw tantrums as their patience for waiting expired. I observed courteous behavior as each person waiting for their turn at the magic respected the person before and after his place in line. But I also observed a sense of anxiety as a designated family member rushed off to get fast passes in order to achieve the magic at a more rapid pace. I heard not only from the lips of those around me but also from my own lips, "There's no whining in Disney World, we're supposed to be having fun!" And fun we did have. Again I throw out a disclaimer that I am not bashing Disney World. I thoroughly enjoy Disney World, but sometimes it is just too much. My contemplative experience this go around at Disney World has left me with this realization. We enter into the "rat race" of life either by choice or subconsciously. We move along in our chained parameters seeking the prize at the end of the maze, however, in the end, after the "magic" has been obtained, do we sometimes feel like it is too much? We are overworked, over scheduled, overstimulated and exhausted. We may feel like we just want to throw in the towel and give up, but that is where our faith comes in to save the day. We realize that through our relationship with God we don't have to continue along the same man-made path in order to find real happiness. We can get out of the "rat race" and find our true joy and blessings in a slower pace of life in which we collectively work for the common good of others and find God dwelling amongst us in our very own hearts. In this New Year 2013, one of my goals for myself and my family is to tune in to the slower pace of life where we can hear God as he gently guides us along his path for our lives. I want to intentionally discover day-by-day the blessings God has in store for us as I look for ways in which to break out of the chains that keep us from fully enjoying the life God planned for us to lead. My hope is that through prayer, intentional seeking and small and big leaps of faith, we will experience a more peaceful joy filled life full of the wondrous blessings God has in store for our family.

Side Note: This is my final post from Disney from my i-Phone. After we return I will be posting more photos from our trip from the big girl camera. We really did have a wonderful time on our trip!

The Rainbow Connection

Close your eyes and picture him, Kermit the Frog singing in his his little frog voice, "Why are there so many, songs about rainbows, and what's on the other side?" If you are my age, you may remember that verse from the first Muppets movie ever made. It was reprised in the most recent Muppets movie made by Disney which I think was knock-it-out-of-the-park fantastic. It bothered me somewhat when Disney bought the rights to The Muppets. After all, Miss Piggy has never been about sharing the spot light, especially with a Mouse named Minnie. It still is weird to see The Muppets in the Disney Hollywood Studios, but I make my peace about it in knowing that they are well cared for by Disney and that Jim Henson's masterful creations will be preserved for posterity. Yesterday, we ventured over to Epcot for the day while on our trip here at Disney World. Epcot is one of my favorite parks here with the World Showcase and beautiful gardens and exhibits about the Land and Earth and Conservation. It also has some pretty neat rides that the girls love like Soarin' and Test Track. I will go on Soarin' but I like to wait it out on Test Track, which brings me to the title of my post, "The Rainbow Connection." No I didn't get serenaded by Kermit while I waited for my family to get off Test Track. In fact, Kermie and Miss Piggy and all the Muppet friends are housed only at the Disney Hollywood Studios. As I waited, however, I began to do the usual pass-the-time thing of people watching. At first I noticed unusual clothing, hairstyles, movements, etc. Then I started noticing languages and differences and similarities amongst the groups of families and their children. At first I commented in my head about how strange some of these people seemed to me. I almost always dismiss ideas of thinking others as "strange" as being a negative thought, but this time I decided to turn the word "strange" into the word "unique." At that point my people watching pass-time became an act of beauty watching. It dawned on me how amazing it was that God created all of these beautiful people to be so unique and wonderful in His image. As I continued to appreciate the uniqueness of each person I saw, I also imagined them as being like the colors of the rainbow. A rainbow is white light that has been split into many beautiful colors by a prism. No one color is more beautiful or more important than another. They are all equal yet unique to make up the one whole. I imagined God as the white light and we as all the different colors of the rainbow. Each of us is unique and beautiful but part of the same light that created us. As I pondered that idea, I felt blessed that God had given me that image and realization.
Maybe that is why there are so many songs about rainbows. Maybe we all do feel the Rainbow Connection in our hearts and find God in recognizing the beauty and uniqueness in everyone.

A side note, we are still here in Disney World and I am still posting from my iPhone. I will post more about our trip soon!

A "Magical" New Year!

Happy New Year 2013! Our year at The Avery House has gotten off to a magical start with a vacation to Disney World. We decided to drive down to Mickey's home this year after not being able to score any plane tickets for less than $500 a piece. The drive down from East Tennessee wasn't bad as we made our way through Georgia and passed by the exit to Macon, the city of my birth. The girls were incredulous that I was born in Georgia. I assured them that I was not making up any tall tales and that I am indeed a Georgia peach transplanted in Tennessee :-)! On this trip we brought our amazing sitter Miss Ali with us, not because we needed a sitter for the girls, but because she's never been to Disney and we love her dearly. We landed at Downtown Disney after our 10 hour drive on Wednesday and spent yesterday at the Magic Kingdom. Howie and I both were blown away at the number of people in the park! We've been here four other times and have never seen it so crowded! It's supposed to not be crowded at all after today. I have my fingers crossed! We were also shocked to see 6000 college kids from various Catholic Universities staying at our hotel the Disney Swan. We were going on and on about how nice and peaceful our hotel is to Miss Ali and that its a nice retreat after long days in the Disney parks, only to walk in and find 6000 enthusiastic college friends in the lobby. I sure hope Miss Ali doesn't run screaming for the hills before the end of the trip! ;-). No, in reality, its all been fine, just not the norm from years past. We are having a wonderful time and have plans for much much more fun! I am posting from my iPhone so I will have more photos from my big girl camera to recap our trip very soon. Until then, I hope that your year has gotten off to a magical start full of fun and adventure.