A wish is a dream your heart makes

Dear Life,

I am so sorry for neglecting my blog.  Kumaka was terribly sick the week before his Make a Wish trip.  And then we were off...on the greatest adventure our family has ever been on. 

First...the limo came.  Yes...I said limo.  












Then...we went off on an airplane.  Three of my kids have never ever been on a plane...our whole family has never flown together anywhere.




Then...we made it to Florida and after getting a little lost we found Give Kids the World, the village we were blessed to stay at for the week.

We slept...and then got up to eat at the Gingerbread House.




Then...we had ice cream.  For breakfast.  (The ice cream shop is open from 7:30 am to 9:00 pm...they ate ice cream for breakfast every day)

The whole week was magical....and amazing.  There were times I cried.  Like the ugly kind as I thanked a Disney cast member for her wonderful treatment of our boy.  

Disney World BLEW. MY. MIND.   So magical....we loved it.  And we somehow made it to ALL the parks even if it was just for a bit.  

I was so very touched by the amount of people that volunteered at Give Kids the World.  There are a little over 100 full time employees...and around 1500 employees a month.  Meeting all of the wonderful people that took time out of their lives to serve was amazing.  There were retired people, college people, families on vacation.  The very last day we were at Give Kids the World and went into a room that told us all about Henri Landworth, his life as a Nazi Germany concentration camp survivor, and how he came to America and created this wonderful place.  You can read about Give Kids the World HERE. We were given a week to play, laugh, and enjoy our family without thinking about hospitals, broken legs, and any of that.  Kumaka had the week of a lifetime.  And our family learned something...the importance of giving back.  We have made a family commitment to do some kind of service to others at least once a month.  We also would love to go back to Give Kids the World and volunteer.  

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.