Disney Memories!

We have had a winter storm here in the South. Hard to believe isn't it? I am thrilled to be playing in the snow and cozying up in front of a fire. But the days are getting longer and I am wishing for warmer weather. I am remembering my trip to Disney back in November and thinking of the beautiful weather. So, I am blogging today about our trip and all the fun we had...


We had 9 glorious days to play at Disney and here are the girls at the Princess breakfast with Cinderella. This was our first time to the Akerhaus, located at Epcot. I really enjoyed the food and the girls were able to visit with all their favorite Princesses.

I'm not sure how many of these we actually consumed, but we had chocolate stains on every outfit!

We took one day out of Disney to visit Sea World and it was fabulous. There were no lines and we could pick our seats at every show. Here we are with the cast of the Dolphin show!

Parade, after parade, after parade...Yes, we saw them all!

As you can see, we didn't have any problems with crowds. We had time to hit every ride early in the morning, then we just ate for the rest of the day!

Here is Rebekah feeding the dolphin at Sea World! She is such an animal lover and she was in awe of these gentle creatures!

It didn't matter what time we went to bed, Emma was up at the crack of dawn. On the very first full day she whispered over to me at 5:30, yes that was 5:30 AM, "Mom, I see a sliver of light." So, each and every day she was the alarm clock and we were up and outta' there by 7. On the only morning that we had to be up early, Emma wanted to sleep in. However, the Princesses wouldn't wait so I got to wake up this Sleeping Beauty.

If you have never been to Disney around Christmas you really should make a point to go. There are such beautiful decorations and trees everywhere. There is a special display called the Osbourne Family Lights that is more than magical. It is millions of lights up and down a street at Hollywood Studios. The lights perform to Christmas music and snow (soap) falls as everyone stares at the display. It is a must see!

Me and my man!

The teacups were a hit for all members of the family! Well, not me, but I don't like Woozy rides!

Chef Mickey was yummy! I mean who wouldn't want to eat at a buffet that included great breakfast food along with cupcakes, doughnut, chocolate, etc...

Here is Princess Kitty and Tinkerbelle!

Oh, I miss the warm weather! Not one drop of rain for the entire trip!

By nightfall I was tired! I finally took possession of the stroller for myself. It wasn't long before there was mutiny among the troops though! I would like to note the toilet paper I have tucked around the toe of my flip flop on my right foot. I thought since it was so beautiful outside I would wear flip flops in the park. What was I thinking? I had a massive blister by the end of the day! Fashionable or not, I wore tennis shoes every moment after that!

Sweet! Isn't it the most precious thing to see the wonder and excitement of childhood in the eyes of your own children.

As some of you know, my mother was battling Lymphoma during our trip and had just finished up her last Chemotherapy. Needless to say, she didn't have any hair and refused to wear hot wigs for the entire trip. So we had a great selection of hats for her. It was a good thing because the children ended up needing to wear them because of the sun! Of course, Emma was the only one who wanted to wear them all at once!

My sweet Rebekah at the Swiss Family Treehouse!

I love Disney, and love the It's a Small World ride more than any other. I guess it is because it is one of those eternal, never changing, things you can count on. I can remember it from my childhood and know that my girls look at it with the same wonder that I saw.

Here is my mom, who "Fought like a Girl" to go on this magical trip. She had more stamina than either of my children and my husband. I am so glad she was able to go and it wouldn't have been the same without my parents there. We really had a magical time!

Blinging up the Cast!

I am dedicating my blog to my sweetie pie, Rebekah! As many of you know she suffered a stroke in utero that left her with Cerebral Palsy. This requires a whole new world to navigate through as a child and mother. One of the many things we get to share is a bi-yearly trip to the Hospital for Botox treatments. She receives many injections in her arm and leg, with subsequent casting of the lower extremity to stretch out her spastic muscles. (No, I do not get to get any of the extra Botox, just in case you were wondering.) Anyway, we have struggled with cast for most of her life. Casts are hard, ugly, difficult things to decorate. We have been through many phases and colors with the castings, but have finally come to grips with the necessity of this inconvenience! Now it is just an opportunity for glam on a whole new playing field!!
We have settled in on a color and typically spend our evening working on a beautiful light blue cast. Imagine our shock and horror when the cast technician said he was out of Carolina Blue. Well, army green and hot pink were NOT options and so we had to go with the dark blue. Okay, dark blue is a color that has been banned from my childhood due to my mother growing up in Chapel Hill. Now the trickle down effect has occured with my daughter. We could not, would not, settle in on a dark blue cast. Something had to be done............

A trip to Conference store and Michaels just about did the trick!

But then we realized there are some people who need a little more direction and may still be confused by the color of the cast. So it was off to my mothers for an embroidered patch........

A few crystal sparkles hot glued for good measure, a ribbon toe ring, and Voila!


(Sorry for the blurry picture but don't you just love the Ribbon toe ring! I have way too much free space in my gray matter!)

Christmas Morphing!

I love Christmas! Who doesn't love to transform their home into a flurry of color and greenery. There is nothing more peaceful than a roaring fire and the soft glow of fading Christmas tree lights, while listening to Nat King Cole.

Here is the beautiful stocking my mother made with loving care for my daughter, Rebekah.

I usually use quite a bit of ribbon in my decorations and this year was no exception.

Here is a look at my finished mantle. I am looking for the perfect large candles to hang beside the picture. I am also searching for a beautiful picture of the Nativity to hang during Christmas.

I started collecting Dickens village pieces several years ago and quickly ran out of room. My husband made me a table to display the village on. However, now I don't have any more room so I have had to stop collecting. The new pieces are adorable but I don't have enough house for all my wants!

Here is my small display. One day I will have a porch like Susan's to fill with all my pretty things!

My bannister is short but that has not stopped me from glamming it up! My poor family can't even hold on anymore. The Christmas season doesn't last that long, right? I tell them it is all for the cause of Christmas!

Here is the most beautiful decoration in my home. It also happens to be the most precious to me and the one that brings me the most joy!

Please visit other exciting blogs with Susan at Between Naps on the Porch!

Merry Christmas

First Day Goodies!

I love to give little gifts. I enjoy surprising people with fun, yummy treats. I always try to pull a little something together to give to my daughters teachers the first week of school. My friends call this my "kiss-up" gift but the teachers seem to appreciate the gesture so I continue to do something small all throughout the year. It is never expensive and just takes a few minutes to put together.

I found these really cute tins at Michaels on clearance for $2.00. I then went to the dollar bin that was 40% off that day and found a few Crayola note pads and task clips. I already had the popcorn at home and found a candy bar with a little girl on the front for 2/$1.00.

I was making chocolate covered pretzels for my oldest daughters teachers so I put a few of them in to boot. Of course, the Juicy Fruit was a steal at .25. I just printed their names on card stock and glued the card to a popsicle stick and Voila.

How fun is that!

Hereditary Creativity!

I have always considered myself creative. I come from a very long line of creative women, who have more ideas and energy, than time. I love to think outside the box and come up with new ways of doing things. However, I think there may be a new Creative Diva in the house!


As many of you know me daughter, Rebekah, suffered a stroke in utero. She is a subsequent left Hemiparesis child and has many challenges with everyday living. She does not use her left hand and only minimally uses her arm as an assistive tool. It has become very important that she start lifting her arm up due to shoulder weakness. If she continues to ignore her left arm it could potentially fall out of socket at her shoulder. Therefore, we have been trying to come up with a solution for this all summer. I have discussed modifications that could be added to desks and tables with her father. During one of these lengthy and complicated discussions my brilliant, creative, brain-injured child suggested we Velcro her hand to the desk. I was blown away by her insight and quickly realized that simple solutions are sometimes the best solutions.

So, here she is with her new fancy Velcro strap working away on her homework! It has worked so well that she has one in both her classrooms at school and I can really tell the difference with her arm.

And here I thought God gave this miracle child to me so I could teach HER things!

I love Fall! I love the weather, the fall colors, the trip to the pumpkin patch, mums and the slight cool in the air in the morning. I took a trip to Michael's today and was so inspired by the fall displays that I knew I must create something for my front door.

I used a fun ribbon that I taped to the top of the door to hand this precious basket full of fall flowers!

I had seen a similar arrangement in a magazine and thought I coul pull it off okay!

My next fall purchase will be a camera! Then I will be a better blogger with great vibrant pics for all my friends to enjoy. Happy Fall Decorating!

First Day of School!

Is there anything more exciting than the first day of school? Don't answer that, we all know there is, but for children it is a monumental day. Rebekah was more than ready to go back to school after spending the summer with her 3 year old sister. Here she is wearing her new Justice bookbag. I looked and looked for a sling bag until I realized that a messenger bag would work out perfect for her special needs! It wasn't a hard sell, seeing as how it is bright pink and has alot of silver bling to boot!

The first morning she jumped out of bed like a bunny! Not so quick now that she has been back for a few days.

Now, Emma was not so excited about going back to school. She spent most of the summer complaining about a boy in her last year class that apparently terrorized her frequently. I was relieved to find out that he no longer goes to her school and will not be an issue this year. Luckily, Emma has several friends from her church that are in her class!


Emma is going to be my fashionista child. She wanted to pick out all her new school clothes and insisted that she wear a skirt for the first day. "Don't I look pretty mom?" was the morning song.


As a mom, I was so excited about the first day back. I planned to eat breakfast with some friends and then do a little light shopping for the first day back. I did not, however, plan on getting upset and crying. When I dropped Emma off at the entrance (as I was instructed to do by the teacher instead of walking her into her classroom) she didn't hesitate to get out of the car. She was excited to be carrying her big girl bookbag with her new mermaid blanket tucked safely inside. She started to walk off and then turned to me and said " Wait, I need to give you a hug mommy." Of course, I grabbed her and insisted that a hug would not do without a kiss and then she was GONE. I watched her take the hand of her assistant and walk right out of my grasp. I spent the next few minutes crying and wondering how 3 years could move so quickly. Children are such a wonderful gift to us. I wish I could hold them forever! I pray that God will give me the strength to let them go when they are ready to fly on their own!


For now, I will cherish each kiss, each hug, each laugh, each tear, each bedtime story, each bath, each dress up, and each first day of school!