Why I love the Mouse :)

I know we all have coping mechanisms but as we wait for our next step in our adoption journey (which just happens to be injections of meds instead of immigration paperwork this time around :) I was feeling it again...love of Mickey Mouse.

It started when the "three Koreans" (what they like to call themselves) all wore their Disney tshirts and asked if I'd wear mine.  It was an innocent thing until being stuck inside our house AGAIN in 106 temps (and we don't live in the South and it's been like this for a whole month) made me feel as nutty as being trapped in a snowstorm for weeks on end...and then Cam was doing art and on the back of his paper drew a picture of himself standing in line and meeting the height requirement for the Star Wars ride (this is almost a daily thing to talk about..how he didn't get to ride it and when is he old enough etc etc).  That's when I broke down and called Disney...just to ask questions.

What I found out means AMAZING savings for families at Disney :)  Unlike the Homeschool Days of Disney, there is another better option to save money and it's called Disney Youth.  Families (big or small) can sign their kids up under Individual Enrollment and save hundreds of dollars on Disney admission AND their kids can take unique classes at Disney (one included..any extras are $28 per child).  I went over all the details with a Disney representative today and cannot believe it!  They actually do these programs all throughout the year (Aug, October and Jan/Feb are when many classes are held) and you get a significantly reduced rate for your entire family on multiple day passes.  For example, a normal 7 day hopper is $356/person over 10...through the Disney Youth program you can get it for $199 and it includes one free class at the parks.  Parents are considered chaperones and all family members get this same discounted rate.  Details can be found HERE.  This is so tempting on many levels but for now for our family and all the unknowns, we are all praying toward the possibility again in the future of going to Disney and it gives us something to think and dream and pray about until this heat ends :) :)

Chicken glue and the case of the secret hiding spot

My life is hilariously funny everyday but some days are just more so than others.  Yesterday I felt like I might be running an online and phone counseling hotline with many calls and people who needed help and counsel. I had planned to make a chicken and rice recipe and started my day realizing I was missing several ingredients.  Thankfully I have a teen daughter who LOVES to drive and so I sent her on one of her first missions to the grocery store.  Then it came time to actually put it in the crockpot and I realized that we normally cook it for 3 hrs on high..but I thought ok...I have to be out today for meetings so I'll do 6 hrs on low..BIG mistake.

So Rick arrived home for dinner and I informed him that I had accidentally created a new recipe called "Chicken glue" and we hoped it was edible.  Corey spent the first 5 minutes of dinner arguing with Daddy that it really was chicken glue and NOT chicken and rice because he takes things so literally :)  Then all of a sudden he says sincerely "Cam I'm sorry I broke your lego watch"

Now recently we've noticed Corey is processing things well and so when he makes a statement like that we no longer dismiss it as not true.  So we began to ask questions and realized that none of us had seen Cam's beloved new lego watch in a few hours.  You have to understand that Cam is our baby prince..and he LOVES his new lego watch and has miraculously taught himself how to tell time accurately in less than 2 weeks because of this watch!  So one by one people start disappearing from chicken glue night...and we begin an all out search in the bedroom for this watch.  We find the watch under the dresser but one essential itty bitty part was missing. Seriously if you knew Cam's emotions you would pray too earnestly that God might help you find the part.  Meanwhile in the spirit of keeping things calm, one of us would sit by Corey and just ask nice questions about what he thought happened to the itty bitty yellow and black part.  Then he says "oh I put it in my secret hiding spot"  Patiently we asked what that spot might look like..all the while taking him seriously because he doesn't usually say such things.  Well then Chels realized that the cooling vent near his bed was shut...and that was odd...so they took apart the vent and voila...itty bitty piece found.  We were all laughing hysterically without letting Corey see it lest he think the secret hiding spot is great :)  Who needs cable when all of you can go on a treasure hunt and realize that Corey is getting funnier and crazier in what he does during naptime :)  I love that kid.

Snow day, graduation and birthdays oh my!

We are happy to finally have our babies at the clinic in storage with all legal rights transferred to us!  We have a set date now for the embryo transfer which is September 17th (affectionately known as "snow day" at our house)!!  I begin medicines around August 1st and we are praying for low side effects and strength.  The funniest part right now is when we pray at night with the little ones and Caelyn (age 7) keeps saying with big eyes...pray for our babies..they are in the freezer and have to survive the Fall (she means thaw)!  Then Cam and Corey start asking questions: in the freezer?  Caelyn says yes but they are small like dust.  Cam and Corey: like dust on the ground...and so it goes and Mom reminds them that it's complicated and that we can pray and let God handle the details :)

It seems like life is now arranged around our snow day!  We have begun school for a few kids.  Christian is doing My Father's World this year and loving the switch to Teaching Textbooks (after years of being a Math-U-See family).  Caleb has started Personal Finance, Health and Horticulture and will be doing BJU DVDs for one more year.  Our little ones are doing MFW Adventures and we have completed 4 weeks now in anticipation of taking some breaks this Fall due to snowflake babies :)  The only adjustment I've had to make is to make sure we make a distinct change between subjects...a few weeks ago I asked them "where Jesus lives now?"  And Cam (age 6) said "Jamestown?"

In other news, our princess graduated from high school and is now an official full time college student online at Baptist Bible College with a scholarship that takes care of most of her expenses.   Her ceremony was a blessing to reflect on God's goodness to our family and the many "stones of remembrance" she has in her life to remember His faithfulness.  We were blessed by grandparents being able to fly in and several friends from our years in Ohio.

We had a huge birthday season topped by the very important birthday of Cam who turned 6 on June 30th and talked for a year about his desire for a Star Wars theme party.  He is definitely a little prince at our house and charms everyone with his smile and his love of all things Star Wars.

God has been so good to us and blessed us with a fun-filled June and His strength for all seasons!