From A Mom of Boys and a Bulgarian Princess

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.

Dear Life,

Kumaka has had the most challenging year of his life this year. He has pretty much lived in a cast the whole year. I think he's only been out of a cast for 3 weeks or so. He's broken two bones, fractured one bone, and had a twelve hour surgery requiring a blood transfusion. He's had to have a broken hip plate replaced, and a bad break repaired. To top it off he got cellulitis. He has been to the emergency room five times this year. But one thing has not changed.

THIS SMILE

In February, two very special people came to visit Kumaka. (See HERE) They were wish grantors from Make-A-Wish. They talked to him about three things:

Where he would love to go

Who he would love to meet

What he loves to do

Kumaka was pretty shy....and although we determined he loves Justin Bieber, and he loves Macaroni and Cheese, the only other thing we figured out is that he loves Disneyland, and that he would LOVE to go to DisneyWorld. The wish grantors took all of the info they received, and after a few months, we heard the news that our whole family would be going to Walt Disneyworld in Orlando, Florida.

To announce everything to Kumaka, we were able to have a fun party which included pizza from our favorite local pizza place, Lamppost Pizza, and our close friends and family. It was perfect. Kumaka had the best time, and was so excited to hear all of the things that would be happening. On December 16, a limosine will be picking up our family and taking all seven of us to the airport. We will then be boarding a flight to Florida. We have not all traveled on an airplane together...ever. I had not even flown with my husband anywhere until this summer when we went to Hawaii. We will be staying at Give Kids the World, a wonderful amazing place that has a variety of amazing places to eat, play, and have fun at. Everything is completely accessible, and everything is completely free! We will have our own villa....and our kids can eat ice cream for breakfast if they want. (Should I tell them about that???) There is miniature golfing, the latest in Xbox and Wii games...and pizza. There is a swimming pool, and movie nights. That in alone is amazing. Add to that the three day Park Hopper Tickets for the all things Disney, which includes Epcot Center, Disney's Hollywood Studios, Disney's Animal Kingdom, and of course the Magic Kingdom itself. That all will blow our mind. But wait...there's more. A two day park hopper pass for Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. Spongebob and Harry Potter here we come! Finally, we will have one fantastic day of SeaWorld. One of the very best things that just is conincidental is the date of it all...Kumaka's birthday is December 20th. We will be at the happiest place on earth celebrating like rock stars for this amazing kid who really and truly is a rock star. We are so thrilled that Kumaka will have this experience....and after the year he's had....he truly deserves seven days of fun!

Kumaka's wish party made the local paper...see it here:

Kumaka, Dad and Mom at his Wish Granting Party