Make a Wish

Seriously! This weather is awesome! We were outside for a bit in the afternoon again today and the fresh air just makes me feel better! I hear rain is on its way, but this week's weather has given me hope that spring is truly on its way:)

I wanted to take a chance to tell you all a little bit more about the Make a Wish Foundation. Of course you can click here to read about the great work they do. I received a follow up letter today from Make a Wish and they asked that we try and share their mission with as many people as we can. So, I'm doing my part and sharing this information with all of you. Perhaps you know a child who might be eligible for a wish!

Here are a few facts that I have copied from the letter I received today:

1. Health care professionals, parents, or the wish child may refer a child for a wish.

2. Many people believe that Make-A-Wish is for dying or terminally ill children. (This explains the look of panic in many people's eyes when I told them that Brady was granted a Wish!)

3. Make-A-Wish fulfills the wishes of children living with a life-threatening medical condition. Some of the life threatening conditions that generally qualify a child are leukemia, cancer, and transplants.

So, if you know of a child who is living with a life-threatening medical condition, please contact your local Make-A-Wish organization! In our case, Brady's wish was granted within 1 month of applying, but you can delay your wish being granted up until age 18. We wanted Brady to be able to fulfill his wish before his big orthopedic appointment just in case. I was shocked and amazed at how quickly they were able to put everything together!

Our family is really looking forward to finding a way to give back to this organization! Words just can't describe what a blessing the Make-A-Wish organization gave to our family!

Trip Report: Day 4

Before I get on with our trip report, I wanted to ask you if you would keep our family in your prayers. Tomorrow Matt and I will take Brady for our long-awaited appointment with the orthopedic surgeon. If you remember, we are seeing a new doctor hoping to get a more “hopeful” 2nd opinion. Although we are praying that there are options available to intervene and fight against Brady’s spinal deformity, we are nonetheless sad and afraid that we may have to interrupt Brady’s life once again with some form of treatment. We have read about several different approaches, all of which are quite ground-breaking, and they each come with their own risks and discomforts for Brady. Of course our greatest prayer would be that the XRAYs tomorrow would show no further progression in his spinal curve. Our God has shown us many miracles along this journey, and we trust that nothing is outside of His reach. Thank you for continuing to pray for precious Brady:)

We are already on to Day 4! That means that reliving my vacation is almost over too:(

Before I share what we did on Wednesday, here are a few pictures from my mom’s camera from our first 3 days.

Inside the main building at the Grand Floridian.

Daddy and the boys enjoying a break in front of the castle.

Toddlers in rain ponchos…too cute! They look like little E.T.s! By Wednesday we had been at the parks for two straight days and we were ready for a break day. At the beginning of our trip report, I told you a little about Give Kids the World Village.

It is a little confusing to understand how the Make a Wish process happens, but I’ll do my best. The Make a Wish Foundation of Western New York and Give Kids the World Village of Kissimmee Florida partnered together to make Brady’s wish come true. Give Kids the World village is a not-for-profit resort where families who are on Make a Wish Trips to the Disney-area can stay. The provide free food, lodging, and transportation to the families staying there. Even though we opted to stay on Disney property, we were invited to visit Give Kids the World as often as we wanted during our week. They are also the ones who provide Wish Families with tickets to Disney and other parks.

Matt and I went the first night of our trip for orientation and then brought the whole family back for the day on Wednesday. The moment we arrived, we knew it was a special place that we would never forget.

Give Kids the World Village has areas of villas were guests stay that look like a pretty neighborhood with curved streets and lovely landscaping. The common buildings of the Village are all themed for children and are simply amazing.

Here is the Gingerbread House Restaurant. We went here first to enjoy a free (and very delicious) breakfast. The Restaurant is staffed by volunteers, most of whom were retired men and women who were so sweet and accommodating. They served your food cafeteria style and then one of them would carry your tray for you back to your table.

Brady was such a goofball! Did I mention that he never stopped talking throughout the entire trip? When everyone else fell asleep in the car? Brady was chatting…While we were dead-tired on our way back to the resort? Brady was chatting…blah-blah-blah-blah!

Next the kids took rides on the Enchanted Carousel. There were no other kids on it that morning, so the Williams 3 got as many rides as they wanted! Allie of course sat that one out!

Our next stop was the Castle of Miracles. This place was full of interesting places for the kids to explore. When you walk in, you instantly notice the ceiling which looks like this…

The ceiling is covered with thousands and thousands of individual stars. Each star represents a child who has been a guest at Give Kids the World. I couldn’t help but be humbled knowing I was standing where so many families had stood before, each facing their own child’s illness, many of them knowing this is the last vacation they will ever take with their child. It was a special place…

When we arrived, Brady and I got to write his name on his star. Then he put in in a magic box and the Star Fairy came (via a few cleverly set up TV screens) and took his star and promised to fly up to the ceiling that night and place it among all the others. In a few weeks we will receive a certificate letting us know where his star was placed.

Here we are writing his name on his star. Look at his sweet little hand on top of mine.

The kids each also got to use the Magic Pillow machine. This was the most clever and adorable thing! The kids pushed a button to choose what type of pillow they wanted. The machine started shaking and making chicken noises (indicating that the “chickens” inside were busy stuffing the pillow with their feathers!). Then bubbles came pouring out of the machine! Finally a toddler-sized pillow dropped out of the bottom of the machine. SO super cute!

The castle was filled with all sorts of surprises for the kids. Here is Brady opening drawers and doors that covered one of the walls. Each time he did, he heard a silly noise!

Here are Cara, Grandma Kathy, Eli, and Matt on the way to the Amberville Train Station.

On the way there we stopped at a fish pond and got some great pictures!

This is one of my favorite pictures of the trip. I love how it really captures a spontaneous moment in time.

Always time for a hug!

“WAIT! Don’t move…I’ve almost got the picture….Oh forget it!”

At the train station, there was an incredible model train display!

I love taking pictures of my kids’ feet!

This monkey was showing us the way to the train rides. There were volunteers waiting there to give just us a ride (as many as the kids wanted!)

It had been drizzling all morning, but we were happy to find out that the mini gold course opened up after being closed due to the rain. Matt, who loves to golf, took the job of teaching our kids putt putt pretty seriously!

The kids of course don’t take anything that seriously!

It was time to eat again, this time we enjoyed food from Boston Market who sponsors a food stand inside Give Kids the World. Afterwards we enjoyed ice cream that the kids at the village can have for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!

We said goodbye to Give Kids the World Village in the early afternoon, but we knew we would be back someday! The Village welcomes all former Wish Families to stop back and visit for a day when they are in the area again. I will never, ever forget this place and we are so grateful for their generosity and love.

Even Brady was tired out. Notice he is snuggling up with his new pillow!

I must have put away my camera for the rest of Wednesday as I have no pictures to show! During naptime mom and I went to the Main Building at the Grand and asked a concierge to help us find a dinner reservation. Grandma Sandy and Grandpa Ron had reservations at Kona Cafe at the Polynesian Resort. We were able to get a dinner reservation for mom, the kids, Matt, and I at the Wilderness Lodge Campground. This campground area is part of the Wilderness Lodge Resort. By this point in the week, the weather was starting to change. Temperatures were dropping and it was a dark, rainy night. We got on the monorail and headed to the Magic Kingdom. From there we boarded a boat that took us to the Campground, which was about 10-15 minute ride in the cold rain! We docked and had to run into the woods and to the Trail’s End Restaurant.

Matt and I had been in this area on our honeymoon, but we had the pleasure of going to see the Hoop Dee Doo Review which was one of our best memories! That dinner show is right next door to where we had dinner. (By the way, I give the Hoop Dee Doo Review 4 very enthusiastic stars!)

The Trails End Restaurant was a rustic buffet with good country-style food. I’m giving it 3 stars (***) for good service and satisfying food. I’m not much of a country girl, so the rustic atmosphere didn’t do much for me:)

After dinner we headed back to the resort the same way we had come. This time it was just a bit colder and windier. We huddled together with the kids and told them that we were on a big adventure!

I want to take a minute to brag about my kids. Each of them really exceeded our expectations with their behavior throughout the trip. They were so much fun, so enjoyable, and truly well behaved. There were very few tears, I can’t remember any tantrums, and it reaffirmed what I already know…

I have four great kids!

Trip Report: Day 3

So we had conquered the Magic Kingdom and had a wonderful time! In all honesty, nothing compares to the excitement of the first day. Although there is something for everyone at each of Disney’s parks, the Magic Kingdom is truly the perfect place for toddlers. We knew that the next few days would involve trying to find the best attractions for our kids within parks that are geared towards older kids and adults.

I got a hold of Grandma Sandy’s pictures today, so here are a few from our first 2 days that I wanted to share before moving on to Day 3.

My four monkeys shortly after we landed in Orlando.

Here we are on the balcony of one of our rooms. Don’t worry, we were on the first floor.

Outside the front gates of Magic Kingdom that first day! Oh the excitement!

A beautiful shot of the outside of our building.

On to Day 2! We had plans to go to Hollywood Studios and also had dinner reservations at Chef Mickey’s inside the Contemporary Resort. We headed out around 8:30 am, this time we had to take a Disney bus to get to Hollywood Studios. By the way…at this point, Allie still had not experienced any carsickness!

Hollywood Studios is designed to be like a movie lot with attractions that focus on favorites in TV and film. I would say that we skipped about 80% of it just because it was not age appropriate. That being said, we still had hours of fun there!

In the Williams household the characters from Playhouse Disney are true celebrities! We just knew our kids would LOVE the Playhouse Disney-Live on Stage show which included puppets and music from their favorite morning cartoons. Here are the kids outside of the show!

And the grandparents were just as excited to see Handy Mandy and the Little Einsteins on stage! :)

A rare moment with Eli and I. He decided to be Grandma’s boy for, well, the entire trip!

It’s Leo and Rocket!

Blastoff!

Next up was the Voyage of the Little Mermaid musical stage show. It was about 20 minutes long and in a nice theater complete with some pretty cool special effects. My kids think that Ursula is totally awesome, so they all really enjoyed that part! Allie took a little nap on Grandma Sandy’s lap while we all enjoyed the performance.

We headed over to the Honey I Shrunk the Kids Movie Set Adventure. This attraction makes you feel only inches tall as you wander among a playground of enormous blades of grass, bugs, and other things you might find in your backyard.

Hello handsome boy holding onto that special button!

Look at how tiny Allie looks next to Grandpa and the blades of BIG grass!

For lunch at Hollywood Studios we took the advice of a Cast Member and went to Pizza Planet. I’ll give this place a strong two stars (**) out of 4. I just can’t let myself give over 2 stars for counter service restaurants. I admit it, I like to be waited on! We had a yummy lunch of pizza and salad.

Before I go any further I have to share one of the best things that I did on this vacation. I have a new love in life…drum roll please…

The Disposable Bib!!!

When you have four children under 3 who are all pretty messy eaters, you just can’t get away with not using bibs. At home we use these plastic-type ones that I have to wipe down and disinfect after every meal…that is 4 bibs X 3 meals & two snacks a day. I loathe this chore and the thought of doing this on vacation made me very sad. I decided to buy disposable bibs and give them a try.

Now before any of you environmentalists out there send me any emails I want you to know that these thin-paper-gems were a great move for our environment. You see I used to have to wipe down the plastic type bibs with countless wipes when we were out to eat, or take home the bibs and wash them. By throwing this thin paper bibs out after every meal, I saved time and resources. I LOVE these things! I found them at Babies I Us and also had some Bibster brand.

After lunch we left Hollywood Studios because it was going to be the last warm day of the week and we wanted to hit the pool. I hope we didn’t make this park seem boring, there is a lot to do there. If your kids are into Toy Story, Narnia, Indiana Jones, or thrill rides…this place will not disappoint!

It was time to enjoy some fun in the sun at the pool! Unfortunately our hero Brady suffered an afternoon-wrecking boo boo on our way out of Hollywood Studios. Brace yourself…remember the boy who has had two major surgeries, a spinal tumor, chest tubes, chemotherapy, and a Broviac catheter? Well, this boo boo made him grouchy for 2 straight hours!

Tragic, I know!

The rest of us carried on until Brady felt like joining in again!

Cara and Eli were the little fishies of the family! Here the are re-enacting a dance between Prince Charming and Cinderella. They are still role playing these characters now that we are home. Eli runs after Cara yelling, “Cinderella, come back! Let’s dance!” Adorable…

Allie wasn’t very excited about the water, but she couldn’t have looked cuter in her bathing suit! And yes, I’m the palest person I know!

Party Pooper…

After naps we all jumped on the monorail to have dinner at the Contemporary Resort. We had a reservation for Chef Mickey’s, a character dinner buffet with Mickey and friends. Now, I remind you, my reviews and just that, my own. Chef Mickey’s is consistently listed one of the best character meals in all of Disney World.

Our family agreed on this rating though…we give Chef Mickey’s one star (*). I’m going to be honest, I just don’t like the Contemporary. I don’t feel the Disney spirit when I’m there. I like pretty resorts, and the Contemporary seems cold and outdated to me. Chef Mickey’s had the same lack-luster decor. We were seated in a room with no view of the characters until they were right upon our table.

For food only, we would give Chef Mickey’s 3 stars (***), but the bad atmosphere, not-so-great service, and strange character interaction really didn’t impress. It was this night that we learned that sweet Cara was not really into meeting the characters. All of a sudden Pluto came bounding up the stairs behind her and just kind of jumped out at her. She totally flipped out and Pluto didn’t get the hint right away. Not 10 seconds later, Goofy did the same thing. She just clung to me and every bone in her body was shaking. She did warm up to Minnie Mouse and by the end of the week she was able to interact with certain characters.

Despite some of the negatives, Eli and Brady really enjoyed meeting Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, and Donald.

Look carefully at this next picture. It wasn’t funny then, but now, I’m cracking up. Here is Pluto trying to interact with Cara. She already had made it perfectly clear (you know, by screaming and trying to hide under the table) that she wanted nothing to do with him. Well, he didn’t let up. Here he is trying to wave his ears at her. She is clearly not amused. The baby in the background ended up screaming and crying too.

Here Cara is seconds later.

These kinds of things don’t scare Brady at all. Now boo boos and Band-Aids on the other hand…

Eli loved meeting Chef Mickey!

I acted as the middleman here between Minnie and Cara!

Hello All-You-Can-Eat-Desserts!

I wanted to add a few quick tips about character dining. You can make your reservations for these special meals up to 6 months in advance. Children under 3 eat free (woo hoo!) so this is a great deal for families with many small children. After doing 3 of them during our Make a Wish Trip, I would chose to do breakfasts only the next time we go. The breakfasts are about $10 cheaper and the food was just as good, if not better. If you are planning a day at Magic Kingdom, you can look into character meals at any of the monorail resorts. That way you can start your day by visiting the Grand Floridian, Contemporary, or Polynesian and have a character meal, and use the monorail or boat system to get to Magic Kingdom. Or you can start your day at Magic Kingdom, and take a break for lunch or dinner.

Later Tuesday night Matt’s friend Evan and his wife Lindsey visited us at our resort. We watched the Magic Kingdom fireworks right from our balcony and spend some time with them before heading to bed.

Wednesday would be another busy day! We were headed to Give Kids the World Village…a truly magical place!