I need YOUR help!

OK guys, We need help!

There are two bills in Congress right now...

HR 653 - To amend title IV of the Public Health Service Act to create
a National Childhood Brain Tumor Prevention Network to provide grants
and coordinate research with respect to the causes of and risk factors
associated with childhood brain tumors, and for other purposes.

and

S 305 - A bill to amend title IV of the Public Health Service Act to
create a National Childhood Brain Tumor Prevention Network to provide
grants and coordinate research with respect to the causes of and risk
factors associated with childhood brain tumors, and for other
purposes.

Yes, you read that right, they are completely identical. The bills go hand in hand, but must be passed by the senate and house seperately before thay can be passed into law.

Lets get this done!

So what do you need to do?

#1. Contact your Congressional Representative and Senator in Washington D.C., representing your district, and ask them to support these bills and vote in favor of them.

You will need you full 9-digit zipcode, which can be found here

To find out who your Congressional House of Representatives Member and Senator are, visit this site.


#2. Contact your State Representative and State Senator (at your state Capitol) and ask them to file or support a joint resolution urging Congress to pass these bills. Remeber, you are asking for a "joint resolution".

OK, to find out who this is will be a little trickier. You will have to google "your state" general assembly. You may see a button that says "Who represents me?"

I have done the work for the top-five states that visit this blog. They are:

North Carolina

Vermont

Florida

New Jersey

Georgia

The best way to contact them is through e-mail. PLEASE, pretty please, and cherries on top, take a couple of minutes out of your day to do this.


Go ahead and take a look at the bills that we NEED to get passed:

House Bill 653

Senate Bill 305


#3. Ask your friends, family, helper network, medical professionals, church, community, school, teachers, and anyone else you can think of to do the same. You can copy and Paste this, and send it to everyone in your e-mail address books. The more noise, the better. In legislative affairs, it is very true that the squeaky wheel gets the grease, so to speak.

#4. If Congress passes these bills, and if your state passes a joint resolution, make sure to thank your Representatives and Senators.

To track it, you can go here

At the end of this post, I am going to include a couple of sample letters, the first is for your Congressional representatives in Washington, and the second is for your State representatives. They are just a little different. YOU DO NOT NEED TO USE THESE. But, you can if you want to, just make sure to add personal details.

Please customize your letter. Form letters that all say the same thing are extremely ineffective. But if you follow a general format, include personal testimony and clinical statistics, and “ask” for a specific action, your e-mail or faxed letter will be VERY, VERY impactful.

Hey YOU! Reading this right now, I am asking YOU to take action.





LETTER TO CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTATIVE AND SENATOR
Your Name
Your Address
City, State, Zip

Today’s Date

Representative/Senator Jones
VIA E-MAIL/FAX (as applicable)

Dear Representative __________(last name) or
Dear Senator ________________(last name):

I am writing today to urge you to co-sign and pass companion bills HR 653 and S 305, which creates the “National Childhood Brain Tumor Prevention Network Act of 2009.” This vital legislation amends a portion of the Public Health Service Act and provides grants and coordinates research with respect to the causes and risk factors associated with childhood brain tumors.

As the proposed legislation cites, tumors kill more children than any other disease, and brain tumors are the second most common type of cancer in children. Childhood brain tumors are the leading cause of death from solid tumors in children. There are newly recognized types of brain tumors, as defined by the World Health Organization, and many of these newly recognized types occur in children. The causes of the overwhelming majority of childhood brain tumors are unknown. Brain tumors have substantial costs for affected children, the families of such children, and society. Childhood brain tumors cause significant morbidity and the loss of many years of potential life. The prognosis for most childhood brain tumors is dismal and survivors face lasting adverse health effects. Because of the relatively low overall incidence of childhood brain tumors, such tumors frequently do not receive sufficient attention and research funding.

No single institution has a sufficient number of patients to independently conduct research that will adequately address the causes of childhood brain tumors. There has been no comprehensive study analyzing all relevant clinical, biological, and epidemiological aspects of childhood brain tumors to identify potential risk factors and determine the cause of such tumors. Existing national cooperative clinical oncology groups primarily investigate treatment options and prognosis and do not typically examine the origins of childhood brain tumors or the risk factors associated with such tumors. A significant majority of children with brain tumors are first treated by neurosurgeons and not by oncologists typically involved in such groups.

[INSERT HERE, IN YOUR OWN WORDS, YOUR PERSONAL EXPERIENCE WITH A PEDIATRIC BRAIN TUMOR.]

Thank you for your leadership in the House (or Senate as applicable) and your consideration of this request. I would appreciate it if you would advise me of your actions on this extremely important and groundbreaking issue. My e-mail address is _________________. I look forward to hearing from you soon. (include your phone number if you wish.)

Sincerely,

your name
your address

LETTER TO STATE REPRESENTATIVE AND SENATOR

Your Name
Your Address
City, State, Zip

Today’s Date

Representative/Senator Jones
VIA E-MAIL/FAX (as applicable)

Dear Representative __________(last name) or
Dear Senator ________________(last name):

I am writing today to urge you to sponsor a joint resolution in the state assembly urging Congress to pass HR 653 and S 305, which creates the “National Childhood Brain Tumor Prevention Network Act of 2009.” This vital legislation amends a portion of the Public Health Service Act and provides grants and coordinates research with respect to the causes and risk factors associated with childhood brain tumors.

As the proposed legislation cites, tumors kill more children than any other disease, and brain tumors are the second most common type of cancer in children. Childhood brain tumors are the leading cause of death from solid tumors in children. There are newly recognized types of brain tumors, as defined by the World Health Organization, and many of these newly recognized types occur in children. The causes of the overwhelming majority of childhood brain tumors are unknown. Brain tumors have substantial costs for affected children, the families of such children, and society. Childhood brain tumors cause significant morbidity and the loss of many years of potential life. The prognosis for most childhood brain tumors is dismal and survivors face lasting adverse health effects. Because of the relatively low overall incidence of childhood brain tumors, such tumors frequently do not receive sufficient attention and research funding.

No single institution has a sufficient number of patients to independently conduct research that will adequately address the causes of childhood brain tumors. There has been no comprehensive study analyzing all relevant clinical, biological, and epidemiological aspects of childhood brain tumors to identify potential risk factors and determine the cause of such tumors. Existing national cooperative clinical oncology groups primarily investigate treatment options and prognosis and do not typically examine the origins of childhood brain tumors or the risk factors associated with such tumors. A significant majority of children with brain tumors are first treated by neurosurgeons and not by oncologists typically involved in such groups.

[INSERT HERE, IN YOUR OWN WORDS, YOUR PERSONAL EXPERIENCE WITH A PEDIATRIC BRAIN TUMOR.]

Thank you for your leadership in the House (or Senate as applicable) and your consideration of this request. I would appreciate it if you would advise me of your actions on this extremely important and groundbreaking issue. My e-mail address is _________________. I look forward to hearing from you soon. (Include your phone number if you wish.)

Sincerely,

your name
your address

Perks of a Mega-Family

I am a Dunkin Donuts girl. I was, after all raised in Vermont. However, where I am now located, is Krispy Kreme country. I have not ever been to the actual Krispy Kreme shop though. Mainly because you can often find these Krispy Kreme fundraisers all over the place. T-Ball, cheer-leaders, parks&rec., schools, there they are, groups of kids, in the street, selling donuts. You don't even get out of your car. They just walk up to the window, and the deal goes down.

Today I ventured into the Krispy Kreme shop. They have the best program in the world, and after today, I am now a Krispy Kreme fan. Why oh why did I wait so long to take advantage of this incredible offer? We always get these little pamphlets on report card day saying to stop into Krispy Kreme for a donut for every "A", up to six. Well, I have never taken the kids over to Krispy Kreme, because we have seven kids, so what good would six donuts do us?

Today was different. Today, I had my kids, as well as my brother and his step-daughter, who goes to the same school as my elementary kids, with me. And we decided to check out the Krispy Kreme incentive. A donut for each "A" up to six was true. The part I misunderstood? Low and Behold! Up to six PER KID! 32 donuts later, we left Krispy Kreme, without a penny out of pocket. Yes, that was THIRTY-TWO donuts.

My brother and I also came to a new realization about all of those Krispy Kreme fundraiser's. We now know where they get all those donuts they are selling. We know your game coaches. We know you do those kids' homework to make sure they all get A's for your fundraisers. I feel bad for the poor kid who gets a B+. He gets thrown off the team doesn't he? Who cares if he's the pitcher? He needs to bring home the donuts!

GKTW: Day 4, Part 2 (Rest schmest. Who needs it?)

We got back to the village in time for dinner in the Gingerbread House. It was fantastic of-course. Although our plan was to go back to the villa to relax, we were told that tonight's village activity was a life-size candyland game in which the kids are the characters at Matthew's Boundless Playground. This playground was aptly named "boundless", for it's wheelchair accessibility. A playground with a candyland theme, built of accesible ramps is a sight to behold. Because our picture's were taken at night, we were unable to capture the magic of this place.

The older kids asked to spend some time in the gamerooms, and we figured that they needed a break from the parents, so we took the younger boys over to be pawns in the game. We were told later that the older ones had an amazing time.

Over at the playground, the boys were paired with an incredible volunteer, a college student, who told us that this was where she chose to spend all of her Sunday evenings. She had GIANT candy-land cards, with colored squares of single or double, just like the real game. The boys took turns pulling a card, and then they had to go to whatever the card said, by way of whatever the volunteer came up with. Because our boys are physically able, the transportation methods involved dancing, crawling, spinning, crab-walking, etc. They had an amazing time! When they got through the game, in true kid-heaven form, they were rewarded with handfulls of candy, and snow-cones.







After the life-sized candyland game, It was time for a new game, make a life-sized candy cane! The boys were paired with Miss Merry, and another great volunteer, and they proceeded to turn Miss Merry into a candy-cane.



Wrapping Miss Merry in red & white streamers turned her into a candy-cane




Being asked by the emcee "What kind of candy-cane" they turned Miss Merry into.
"Peppermint" duh. Also they were asked if they planned on turning their parents into candy-canes when they got home. Their answer "If they let us".



There were more games (and a dance party) at Matthew's Boundless Playground that night, but we decided it was time to go check on the other kids over at the gamerooms in Amberville. We found them, and since our night of relaxation was not happening, we decided to use the pillow-coupons we had received, and make Andrew's star in the castle of miracles. First though, another ice-cream trip to the ice-cream palace.

The thing that I thought was so cool about the pillow-making, besides the machine itself, and the fact that it spit out un-duplicated, unique pillows for all the kids, were our voluteers that night. We were assisted by a young girl, and her mother. I know that at home, our kids' volunteer opportunities are limited by their age, and I am so greatful to GKTW for allowing people of ALL ages the chance to volunteer. I wish we were closer, so that our kids could volunteer there. It is definately something that will happen though. All of them have mentioned it to me.



Bubbles are cool




They have to turn the knobs and push the buttons to make the perfect pillow. The buttons say things like 'dreams' and 'wishes'.




Can you see the feathers that didn't make it into the pillows? They say Rejects. lol.





Did I mention bubbles are cool? Even Andrew thinks so.






Andrew makes his star.

The ceiling is covered with them, and it was sobering to realize that Andrew's trip was forever memorialized in that moment. For the rest of our lives, we have the opportunity to visit his star there in the Castle of Miracles. It is his, and I pray that he will have the chance to visit it.

When he was done, he had to put it into a box, and the 'Star Fairy' came and took it. The next day, we received the coordinates for his star, pinpointing exactly where it was located. The Star Fairy had put it up overnight!




We went back to the villa, tired, content, excited about what tomorrow may bring, sad that we had reached the half-way point of our trip.

Give Kids The World - Day 4

Day 4 (Sunday) started like so many others, a hearty breakfast in the Gingerbread House, followed by a ride on the Merry-Go-Round.

Rick sitting under a mushroom. I know I keep saying this, but every little detail at GKTW is just so amazing.




Never assume your kids are too old to ride. They may be bigger than me, but here in kid heaven, fun was equally had by the 6 yr-olds and the 14 yr-olds.





During orientation, on day 1, I was given a priceless tip by the lovely woman who orientated me. The tip was this: If you can, save the Disney parks for after the weekend, maybe the holiday crowds will go home.

So that is what we did. But, we only had 3 days left, and 4 Disney parks, and even though it was Sunday (still the weekend) we had to start the whole Disney thing. Our plan was to hit Disney's Animal Kingdom and Epcot in one day.




The first thing we saw when we walked in was this amazing 'Tree of Life' these pictures don't show the magnificent size of this tree, or the intricately carved animals all around the trunk.




Onto "It's tough to be a bug" Most of us loved this show. Another 4-D one. Not Andrew's favorite.



The main thing that we wanted to do at Animal Kingdom was the Safari, and it didn't disappoint. We saw all kinds of animals, including lions. I wont be posting all of the pictures taken by all of us of the animals. I will though, post the pictures of us on the safari.



Do people still use this stuff?




Alright, one pic of the animals we saw:






At some point, I realized that Kyley was upset that her phone was not taking great pictures.



Really upset. I gave her the camera, made her the official photographer, and she got very happy.



After the Safari, We headed to Asia. Disney does such an amazing job with decoration and architecture, and Animal Kingdom is no exception. It was amazing.



Kali River Rapids! So it was hot, and we were ready to get wet. Up to this point, on every water ride we had been on, somehow Rick had avoided get wet. We would get off of rides and all be soaking, dripping, and he would have one spot on his shirt. This is what he was bragging about before he went on this ride, and continued to be the one plummeted with water, over and over again.



And then the absolute funniest part of the trip, When we all got our stuff out of the "dry storage" after the ride, Rick couldn't find his shoes. They were gone. And then he saw them. Sitting next to him on the ride, not in dry storage at all. He literally had to dump the water out of them that had completely filled both shoes. Priceless!

Drumroll please....

Expedition Everest!






Definately one of the highlights of the whole trip. Many of the kids' favorite ride. Very cool. We rode this one 3 times! The scariest thing happened here though, Kyley left her little back-pack on the ride. Fortunately, we got it back, from lost and found. With her phone and all her money still there!

From here, we headed over to DinoLand, to find the dinosaur ride. So we're in the back row in this pic, but look at the guy in the front row. Definately more scared than any of my kids.



We found ourselves back at the beginning of the park. Yeah, we missed A LOT of Animal Kingdom, but we had a 3-day park-hopper pass, and 4 parks to do. I am incredibly thankful for this book:



It was given to us by Make-A-Wish at our send-off dinner, and I read it cover to cover. I was able to go through, and make a list of all the things we HAD to do. This way, when we actually got to the park, depending on how much time we had, we could focus on the stuff I thought our family would really enjoy. So because we wanted to get to Epcot, we left Animal Kingdom for good. We loved it there, and I wish we had more time.

Off to Epcot!!!



These next 2 amazing pics were taken by Rainia, I love her eye for architecture!




First thing we HAD to do was a ride called Soarin, all of us wanted to watch it since seeing the video that Make-A-Wish had given us. It was a parasailing simulator. It gave the feeling and illusion that we were parasailing over California. Everybody loved it.



From there, we headed to "The Seas". This is where we had to have "the talk". For the first time of the whole entire trip, one of our kids started to get cranky. It was bound to happen, and I knew it was just a matter of time. We had been running non-stop, and we were tired. So the actual crankiness, involved rides vs. shows. So "the talk" actually centered around the difference between Disney and Universal. Thank goodness had had been to Disney a couple times as a kid, and knew what Disney was all about.

I had to explain that while Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure were about thrills, and rides, Disney was about a feeling. Instead of a 60-second thrill ride that makes you feel adreneline like we experienced at Universal, Disney was about the feeling you have the whole time you're there. It's sights, and smells, and sounds, it envelopes you. So there were going to be a lot more show type experiences, and a lot less adreneline type rides. "The talk" helped a lot. The kids seemed to have a shift in how they experienced the rest of the trip.

So back to "the seas". This is where we experienced one of the highlights, Turtle Talk With Crush. This was actually a show, with a movie-theater sized screen of an underwater scene. In it was Dori from Nemo, but mainly Crush. So Crush talks to you. I mean REALLY talks to you. Now remember, he is completely animated, inside a movie, and talking to the audience. Happily, one of the people he chose to have a conversation with was "Andrew Dude". Now if you have seen the movie, and know who crush is, you know exactly what I'm talking about. Anyway, Crush and Andrew carried on a rather long conversation, and Andrew talked about it for the rest of the trip. I am so glad that he got singled out.



OK, Journey into Imagination. Hhhhmmmm.... 'Nuff said. The "Image Works" part was cool, if we had time to explore. It was very similar to a science musuem, in that you do a lot of hands-on type stuff.

At this point, ALL of our kids were getting cranky. (And so was I.) I can't believe that they went FOUR days before it happened. We were hungry, and after a quick snack, we decided that instead of trying to get the rest of Epcot done today, we would go back to the village and come back tomorrow. It was a unanimous decision, and the plan was go back to the villa and RELAX!!!

One more thing in 4-D before we left, Honey I shrunk the audience.



Coming soon...Day 4 Part 2 titled "So much for relaxation"

Vocab Lesson

Oh-yeah, I almost forgot. I totally meant to write about this earlier. We have a new word in our house, and I LOVE it. (I am so weird). It was created, by Joshua, at some point early on in our trip. daa-da-daaaa.....ScootchaBootcha. Yes, I think that this is some combinatation of scoot, and booty, two words I have been known to say. Anyway, ScootchaBootcha, as in move over.

Like "I'm squished, will you please scootchabootcha?"

Or more realistically, "I was hewre fuwst! Scootchabootcha!!!"

So now, everyone in the family is using this word. Much cuter to hear the 6-yr-olds say it then say, Rick, but gotta love the word none the less.

Coming Soon

I am trying to get day 4 posted. It takes a while to go through the pics, choose which ones I am going to post, edit, crop, and compress, and then upload them. Plus I have been spending way too much time with my wireless guitar hero guitar.

The People have spoken.

At least that is what I told Rick when we were discussing the price of the Sea World photos. In true Rick fashion, with his Southern Manness and his MANwiches, he said all in one breath, "The people can't tell us what to do, What did they say?" And then we discussed the benefits of asking complete strangers for advice. (I did post the question in more than one place.) So we both agreed with 'The People', and $68.39 later, in 4 to 6 weeks we will be receiving 10 pictures on a CD. Plus one print. They asked me what print I wanted, and because I couldn't see the thumbnails very well, I asked them to choose the one that had the boy in the grey hoodie looking the happiest.

Also, you're not fooling me honey. You might drink the beer, but I know you prefer the girly drinks when I break out the blender.

I'd like to thank the academy

Today is my birthday. And just to prove it, Kristine gave me this:



Thanks Kristine! I would also like to thank my Mother for 31 years of WAY too much information, helping to result in the clusterphunk that is my mind. Thank my fiance for putting up with my ass, and thank my kids for this:



Y'all know what Mama needs.

I'd also like to thank American Idol. Because of you, my goodnights with Jacob go something like this "goodnight over the raaaiiinnnbow, skiiieeesss awwweee bwwwuuuueee." So nice to be serenaded everynight. And while I'm at it, I'd like to thank google, because thanks to you, Mama DOES know everything, including how Johnny Appleseed died. You know, cause inquiring minds need to know.

Oh-yeah, rules of the award:

1. Put the logo on your blog or post.

2. Nominate at least 10 blogs which show GREAT ATTITUDE and/or GRATITUDE!

3. Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.

4. Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.

5. Share the love and link to this post and to the person from whom you received your award.


Hhhhmmmm, I think I will do as the person who gave it to me Yeah, I linked to her 3 times, What of it? And nominate 2 more blogs, instead of 10. So, my childhood peeps, Shannon, aka Mama to a Diva who I've known since - what is it girl? Kindergarden? First? And Alissa, who I've known since freshman year of high-school. Love you ladies.

A break from M-A-W?

I am wondering if anyone is bored with the MAW trip posts. I definately have to post them, because, as you know if you have been following me, the whole purpose of the blog (besides free therapy) is so that the kids can read it when they are older, and remember the insanity excitement of their childhoods. I have though, been posting them over at another page I created specifically for the trip. So my question is, do I keep posting them here, ignoring, until I finish, the usual daily thoughts complete with Jakeisms, one-liners, and being mistaken as a prostitute? Or do I just post the link to the Make A Wish trip page for those who want to read it, and carry on with the usual Doodlebelle crap? So go ahead and vote. I am seriously asking for comments here. If you choose not to comment, I will be forced to try and make a decision on my own, and you all know that I make crazy decisions like trying to get in shape.

Also, while you're commenting, how about telling my husband-to-be to stop picking on me about the whole spiderman thing. I mean seriously, any hot-blooded girl would have reacted exactly the same way in the presence of a red and blue super-hero in tights, right?

Woo-Hoo!!! (I hope)

Guess What?


Sea World found our pics! Well, they found 10 of them. I know that there were more, but oh-well. They are very expensive, $60 for a CD with the 10 pics, plus S&H. Also, I can't see them very well because they sent little bittie thumbnails to preview. But, I think we should get them. This experience just meant so much to us. What do you guys think?

Severe Winter Weather (hehehe)

I interrupt the broadcast of our M-A-W. trip to bring you the severe winter storm of '09. (VT peeps commence laughter now)

Look at my dog (Crystal) she doesn't know what it is



She is ssoooo happy. And super cute if I do say so myself. Oh-yeah, Rainia is too.



The looks on their faces are looks of amazement and confusion. What is this stuff?



Why I love this man so much (He's a big kid.)



All 3 of these snowballs ended up thrown at me



Our backyard. Did you all know we have 3 acres?



one last pic of my baby. She loves the snow. Who knew?

Make-A-Wish trip, Day 3, Part 2

Dear People,
So I don't know about you, but my computer is getting really slow to load with all of these pictures. I have decided to compress the pics. The good news is that the page should load faster. The bad news is that some family and friends are saving these pics, and although they should look fine compressed on the webpage, they wont look that great when you use them for anything else (Mom). So if you are reading this, and would like to use the pics, just e-mail me what picture(s) you would like, and I will send it(them) to you in their original size. The pictures I have already uploaded to this point are in their original format.

Thanks,

Heidi


Day 3, Part 2

So after our Dolphin Encounter, and my break-down of tears of joy, we had to wash our hands of the lovely smell of the fish we were feeding to the dolphins. Well, they did. I didn't, because I was taking pictures the whole time. Don't worry though, I did take time out of my picture taking to take advantage of our amazing opportunity and pet the dolphins. I just didn't touch the nasty stinky fish.

From there, we went to check out the manatees. This was Kyley's special thing, she actually has manatee posters in her room, and they have a special place in her heart. We all have a lot of pics of the manatees, and there is really no need to post them all here, but I will show you some of my favorites.



Just to show how close we were



I like this picture of the boys, and their reflections



Three of my 4 favorite guys. Yes Rick is looking at his phone, but that is because he was taking pictures with it. He did an incredible job of leaving business in North Carolina during this trip. He was completely child-focused, and as the boss, I know how hard that must have been.



Apparently I am not the best map reader, plus Sea World's map is a bit hard to navigate. We waited for the Shamu show for an hour, only to find out that the show we were watching was not Shamu at all. Actually, that sounds worse than it was, because I am the only one who waited for the show. The kids and Rick took the opportunity to finally spend some of their money in the gift-shops. Plus, I was glad for the wait. I took advantage of Andrew's wheelchair, and just sat. After the continuos running of the last 3 days, it was nice. Turns out that it is a good thing that I am a bad navigator, because we saw an amazing show that we may not have seen if we had been in the right place. It was called "Blue Horizons", and starred (very cool after the morning we had) dolphins.






After the show, we were hungry. Those of you who know us well, know that Kyley and I enjoy healthier foods, while the rest of the family likes, well, junk. Sea World offers both, so we seperated. Unfortunately, we then spent an hour trying to find the others, and poor Rick had SIX by himself. But this was a good lesson, and we didn't seperate again during the whole trip, except for the times the boys were not big enough to ride.

After lunch, we went looking for the real Shamu show. We were hoping to get there early, and try to explain that this was Andrew's wish, Sea World not disney, in hopes that he would be chosen as the kid. But, because of my mess-up with the stadiums, and spending so much time at the wrong one, we got in with just enough time to get good seats. We all loved it!







Now for some rides. The Polar Express Experience at Sea World was cool, but we had been spoiled by the amazing 3 and 4-D adventures at Universal Studios, so the kids rated it pretty low. Also, we didn't get to see any polar bears, they were hiding.



On the other hand, the Journey to Atlantis ride was very highly rated for the kids. One of their favorites of the whole trip.





There were some kiddie-type rides, and because of the silly guilt Rick and I had about the whole line-jumping thing, only the younger kids rode these. It just seemed nicer for us to say to the ride-operator 3 or 4 than it was to say yes NINE of us want to be put on the ride in front of everyone who has been standing here for an hour. It was a silly guilt thing, and I know that without the line-hopping we would not have been able to do even half of what we did, and we know that this may have been Andrew's only trip to the Orlando attractions, so I am forever greatful that we had it.

Anyway, there was a lot more that we could have done at Sea-World. We were all dying to get back to Universal Studios, so we bowed out after making sure we did the shark exhibit. Our excitement and big rush to get back to Universal is also the reason that we didn't stop to view/purchase our professional dolphin encounter pics. I am still waiting to here back from Sea World about those.

So when we got over to Universal, after using the van as a changing room, (Some of us, me and Josh especially, were soaked after the Atlantis ride) we went crazy. I did not take a lot of pics of our final evening at Universal, mainly because I was like the kids, loving every minute of it. Who can be bothered with taking pictures in this amazing place?

I will just reiterate that Universal Studios was INCREDIBLE the rides were better than Disney, and they were so great with our VIP pass. We were able to jump on all the rides without any wait, ride them as many times as we wanted, and it was not obvious, they back-doored us. WE LOVE UNIVERSAL STUDIOS!!!



We laughed, we played, we skipped and jumped. There is a reason Day 3 was so special for us. We were just all in the best of moods, and soaking in every second of it.

A funny story about this Jimmy Neutron ride, by the time we got on it, we had been riding so much, with no waiting, that we were actually super comfortable on the rides. They were becoming second nature to us, and when this ride broke out into a 4-D chicken dance, complete with throwing us all around, while other people on the ride were holding on for dear life, I looked over at Brooke, and then Kyley, and saw that the three of us were totally chicken dancing. We weren't riding the rides, we were living them!



So I'm not going into all of them, but the best rides according to our kids are The Simpsons, and Revenge of the Mummy





We had already decided that we were going to make it a late night, and not be back in time to have dinner at the village, so when the park closed, we spent some time at City Walk. It was crowded, it was neon, and it was exciting.







We got back to the village in time to order pizza. Yes, they also have free pizza delivery, until 10:30 every night, which they deliver to your villa. A few of the kids actually fell asleep on the way back to the villa. Good thing we ate a late lunch. But the ones that were awake for the pizza, all said it was the best they had ever had.

Also, might as well mention it now, The village is a gated community, and you have to be approved for entry to the gate, so when we got back every evening, we had to be buzzed in, and state who we were. It was always so cool to here "Welcome home McQueen's!" or "Yipee, so glad you're home!" Give Kids The World truly had every little detail covered. Amazing.

Make-A-Wish trip Day 3

Possibly the best day of our trip? Certainly the day that made me cry with the incredible awe of what we were experiencing, and how this was something we would never experience again.

Before I start this post, let me tell you my regret of the whole trip. I know that we had a trip of a lifetime, and we handled it well. I know in my heart that we did everything we could possibly do in the time alloted to us, and that there will never be a "wish I would have done this" moment. That said, I do have a regret on day 3. What turned out to be the experience of a lifetime was photographed by the pros at Sea World, and we did not go to the photobooth to view or purchase the pics. I have since contacted Sea World, and they are looking for our pics, and there is a possibility that they haven't been deleted, so keep your fingers crossed for us. In the mean-time, I took my own pics that day, and of course I will share them with you.

Day 3

We had decided that because Sea World was Andrew's main wish, we would set our alarm for this day, get up early, and be there when the doors opened. So some pics of the Gingerbread house, empty. Every other time we went in here, this place was packed.




This place, as you can see, is absolutely incredible. You can barely see it, but in the left-hand corner here is a white player-piano. It plays itself for lovely ambiance while you are eating. lol.




So you can't really see it in this pic, but in these tables are thousands of peppermints, yes, they are real. Also, I don't know if I have mentioned it, but all tables and chairs at GKTW are child-sized. Not baby sized, where they would be uncomfortable to sit in, but child-sized, so that adults look quite funny sitting in them.



After breakfast, we excitedly headed out to Sea World.



Just as we planned, we were there waiting when the gates opened. First up, the Stingray Lagoon, where the kids got to pet the Stingrays.

Now, onto what I consider the highlight of the whole trip. What I am hoping Sea World will find pictures of. Bare with me as I post these pictures that you may or may not find as amazing as we do. I took a lot of pics, and I am so glad that I did.



Our Dolphin Encounter!!! Thank-you Sea World. Thank-you Give Kids The World. Thank-you Make-A-Wish Foundation!
























This is where I cry. I hid my face in Rick's shirt and just bawled. I had to hide myself from the crowd that had gathered to watch our experience. Throughout the whole trip I saw it. The question marks in people's faces, the anger, the disgust as we cut in line for rides, to meet characters, and got the VIP treatment everywhere we went. What the people just didn't understand, what they couldn't comprehend, is how difficult it has been for these kids. ALL of them. How so many nights we have held eachother and cried not knowing whether or not we would have a son, a brother tomorrow. How Rick's girls had to leave the only home they had ever known and move in with me when Rick and Andrew went to the hospital. Their young lives turned upside down, scared, lonely, sad. They lost their brother, their Dad. As it was, they had already lost their Mom. How my kids had to suddenly accept this whole new family, share their rooms, their Mom, and adjust to me not being able to give them what I always had.

Our kids have spent so much of their lives without us, and not just physically while we are at Drs. appointments, or living in hospitals, but emotionally, when we are so scared and confused ourselves that we simply cannot provide the attention, the love, the peace that so many take for granted.

And poor Andrew. If only the people who looked at us with anger when we jumped in front of them while meeting Spiderman knew how many nights he had spent in ICU, fighting for his life. How he had to learn how to walk, at eight years old. How the Drs. wouldn't give him a CT scan for two years because he didn't have insurance, and so he was simply slowly dying. There is just no other way to put it. He was just so sick, withering away to nothing, and in so much pain. His body fought so hard for him, as the cancer took over and slowly tried to kill him while we went to Dr. after Dr. and no one would help him.

If they knew that he has been picked and prodded more at 11 years old than most adults are in their whole lives. And how it still hurts so badly every single time. How the statistics say that he has a 50% chance to be alive at 18. What the hell does that mean? Or how because of his vision disability he will never drive a car.

So many nights we have prayed together, been brought to our knees in fear and pain, asking God for one more miracle. And on this day, he gave it to us. One more miracle. And it was one that we never asked for. One that I never would have known to pray for. So on day three, and every day, thank-you God, not just for answering our prayers so many times, but for giving us amazing blessings that we don't ask for.

So yes, people with the dirty looks, I am sorry that you had to wait in such long lines, that you didn't understand why we didn't, why we got VIP treatment. We DID all look healthy after all. And you didn't get to see my tears. I hid them in Rick's shirt. But they came, and they came down hard, because of the joy my kid's got to experience on this day. And I can guaratee that as you look at these close-ups of their faces, you will not see in a single one of them fear, loneliness or pain. On this day, they got to experience pure JOY.












And the picture that makes me cry every time I look at it:



So I will need to write the rest of day 3 later. I am emotional, and it takes a long time to upload photos. Stay tuned.

Day 2

On Day 2, I woke up early. I was just so excited. It was about 5:30, and I made a fresh cup of coffee, and sat enjoying my quiet-time. Rick soon woke up, followed by Josh. There was a Walmart about 1/2 a mile up the rode, and we needed new coffee, so Josh and I set out for the Walmart. How funny to discover that there was a whole Disney section inside of it. This was good to know, because lots of the apparel found in Disney could be found at this Walmart much cheaper.

The kids woke up, and we went for our first breakfast in the Gingerbread house. Delicious! Buffet style, anything you could want for breakfast, and again, all-you-can-eat.

Our plan for day 2 was Sea World. This was Andrew's main wish, and the first thing that he wanted to do. But, because the kids got off to a late start, we decided to save Sea World for the next day so that we could be there when it opened. I was really emotional about this. I just felt that because of it being Andrew's main wish, we should spend as much time there as needed. We made the decision to start with Universal Studio's Islands of Adventure. What we didn't know at the time, that we know now, was that Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure would be two of our favorite parks. These parks for us were better than Disney. I wish that we had spent a full day a piece at these two parks, but we just didn't know. We have decided though, that for our next Fla. vacation, we will invest in visiting these 2 parks.

So my big regret of day 2 was not taking enough pictures.



Straight off the bat we started with excitement. While our kids made all the height requirements at the Disney parks, This wasn't the case for Islands of Adventure. There were a couple of roller coaster's that the boys and Rainia couldn't ride. Kyley didn't want to try it, so I stayed with them, while Rick and the 3 other kids rode this:





They all loved it except for Andrew. He decided that roller coaster's weren't his thing. We had an amazing pass that was the golden ticket. I wore it around my neck, and when we showed it to the ride workers, they back-doored us straight to the ride. Usually it was through some back alley, up an elevator, and right onto the ride. Amazing!

From there, we went to The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman. On Marvel Super Hero Isloand. This ended up being one of our favorite rides of the whole trip. It was a 4-D adventure that was so thrilling. All of us could ride this one, and it was AWESOME. 4-D is like 3-D, in that you wear the glasses, and the visuals jump out at you. The difference between 3 and 4 D is the added senses. When you see the fire, you can feel the heat. If something is wet in the visual, you get wet. On this ride, it was done perfectly. On day 6 I will describe how 4-D can go tragically wrong. (I'll just give you a little hint. It involves the sense of smell.)





We headed over to Toon Lagoon, where we met Betty Boop:





After meeting Betty, we decided to head back over to Super-hero island to try to meet some characters there. The first one was Spiderman, and we went right to the front of the line with our make-a-wish pins. Our Spiderman picture came out blurry, but we did get the professional one. We got 1 picture free of charge, and decided to use our coupon on this one.

I had no idea, but apparently I have a thing for Spiderman. I didn't even realize it until Spiderman said "What are YOU giggling about Mom? Get over here." This is what Rick and the kids picked on me about for the rest of the trip. Yes people, I giggled like a little school girl when I met Spidey. Anyway, I got over my awe enough to shake his hand and pose for the picture. Spiderman then told us to head across the street, and up an alley for a special meet and greet with a bunch of the characters.

We met another Make-A-Wish family there who were also staying at the village, and we met plenty of characters. None of them, though, had the effect on me that Spidey did. I think it had something to do with the costumes. When I could actually see their faces, it wasn't so great. Capt. America did comment on my "rocks" though while we were posing for the pics. My reply? "Yeah, yeah." What is that? Yeah, Yeah? I don't know why I said that, but it made Capt. America laugh.




Mine and Jake's favorite guy:






Next, it was back to toon lagoon, where the kids rode a few rides. We then headed over to Jurassic Park, where we came face to face with so many dinosaurs. We also took the Jurassic Park River Adventure, and flew on some pteradactons.








We then headed over to The Lost Continent, where there was a talking water fountain. Not a drinking fountain, but a large water fountain that talked to the crowd. There was also another large roller coaster, but this time only Brooke and I rode it. There was also a show that we started to watch, which ended up broken, but that wasn't such a bad thing, because Josh was actually crying he was so scared.





The talking water fountain:



The roller coaster "Dueling Dragons"





Poseidon's Fury. This is what made made Joshua cry.




Finally, the last island was Seuss Landing. A magical place. We truly felt as if we had entered a Dr. Seuss book. It was really cool.











Back to the Spiderman ride for one more before heading over to Universal Studios. (We had park hopper tickets to the Universal and Disney Parks, meaning that we could hop from park to park on the same day.)



First up, watching Shrek in 4-D!



Next, the only ride that I remembered from visiting Universal in my childhood, ET. Here, Jake left his beloved CP3O. He did ask to go back to ET a few times, and we had to explain to him that CP3O and ET were now good buddies. Next was Men In Black. This ride was way too hyped for what it actually was. The cool thing about it though was that there were no bags aloud, not because it went upside down or anything. I think they wanted to make sure no photography got in there. Anyway, they had these lockers to put your bags in, and they were fingerprint operated. I totally felt like James Bond opening that thing.

It was late, and we were tired, but we had time for one more ride. The Simpson's in 4-D. This ended up one of our favorite rides of the whole trip! Everyone loved it.

When we got to the park in the morning, we had rented a wheel-chair for Andrew. He didn't use it for the first half of the day, but the boys did. By the end of the day, We were so glad that we had it, because Andrew ended up needing it.

Another thing I'm glad I did was take this picture, of our parking area:



We missed dinner in the Gingerbread house back at the village, so we went to Friendly's.





We were exhausted, but happy and content after such an exciting day.

In my Prayers

I am trying to get day 2 posted, but I can't because of this page. Little Coleman Larson has ended his battle with cancer. He has touched so many lives in his time here, and was one of the first carepages I started reading when I started this adventure a year ago. Team Larson, you are in my prayers, and your unwaivering faith is so incredibly powerful. You have been an inspiration to me and so many others on how to cherish every single day that we have with the children that God entrusted in us.

(The link is located on CarePages, the health-care community that Duke referred me to a year ago. You need to register to access these pages, as privacy is so very respected there. Coleman's page is called "ColemanScott".)

Day 1

Exhausted, we woke up at 4:30am. Rick and I hadn't gone to sleep until 1:00am the night before. It was actually New Year's Eve, which Rick celebrated in Walmart, and I celebrated packing last minute stuff, and going over the lists I had made. The kids woke up easily though, they were all freshly bathed from the night before, and knew exactly what clothes they were wearing. We ate breakfast, and waited on the limo to pick us up. We had been told there would be a limo coming to get us, and it actually turned out to be a bus. Apparently 9 people and the stuff needed for a week for 9 people is too much for a limo.

The bus passed by our house 3 or 4 times. Then Rick flagged it down. The kids were all so excited, and Andrew talked the whole 45 minutes it took to get to the airport. I mean, he didn't even stop for a breath. And Jake sang. The rest of the kids were quiet and tired. But in good moods, and happy spirits.

Our Bus Ride:


It was dark, and I was trying to go over in my head all of my lists, and anything we may have forgotten. So, I didn't take many pics.

We arrived at the airport, where the driver was nice enough to take a couple pics of us:



Our experience in the airport seemed so organized. You would think that we were seasoned travelers. The kids listened to every word, and followed every direction that we gave them. Security was a hassle, with having to take off all of our jackets, and shoes, but we got through in no time. I thought that our Make-a-Wish pins would be a problem going through security, but they were no problem at all. As I was putting my shoes on, one of the security guards mentioned to me that she had told the kids to go ahead and move on, and they had replied "But Mom said to stay right here." She laughed and told them that if Mom had said it, then they better stay right there. She was very impressed with the organization and herding of 7 kids, as were a few of the other passengers who made comments to me.




We made it through security, and found our gate. We had a little time to spare, so while we were waiting, I ran to a souvenir shop to look for a gift for my Grand-mother who lives in Orlando, and the ever important gum to help with ears popping. The kids took it all in, and looked out the windows at the upfront view of the planes out the window.



Seeing Rick take that pic., A kind woman stopped and offered to take one so that we could all be in it:



When it came time to board the plane, we heard the best thing possible. The ticket checker made an announcement that the plane was only about 40% full, and that it would be great to spread out and evenly distribute the weight. YAY!!! The kids got to move around, and most of them had window seats, and we had so much room. It was great! We bought drinks for all the kids, and a kind steward took an interest in us, and brought us some of the best cookies ever. The ride was an hour and a half, but seemed to all of us like 20 minutes.

Some pics the kids took on the plane:

Kyley looks so sad? Scared?


But I don't! Also, check out my new haircolor.








When we got off the plane, we were met by the first of many GKTW volunteers who touched our lives this week. GKTW has over 5000 volunteers a year, who run things with kindness and compassion, who truly want to be there, and who spoil the children like they have never been spoiled in their lives. We were met outside the gate by a wonderful woman, holding a welcome Andrew sign. She showed through the maze that is Orlando International Airport, and brouhgt us to our rental car, provided by Make-A-Wish. She then gave us step-by-step directions to the GKTW Village.

Me and the kids waiting on Rick to get the rental car:




The wonderful woman who met us outside of our gate:



We followed the directions to the Village, and excitedly went in to check-in. Our Villa wasn't ready yet, so we ran around exploring everything that we could. What a feast for the eyes! We were in kid heaven! everywhere you looked was something else. Something amazing. There were trash cans that talked to you, sculptures to climb on, and amazing things to do and see. Every corner, every inch of this place has a surprise, a special detail.

The welcome signs:





The House of Hearts:


The Welcome center:


The ceiling inside:





Exploring The Village:

These things were placed sporadically through the village. Of course, no quarters needed. Like everything else at the village, money is useless here.















This is one of the talking trash cans. It sucked trash up his nose, while saying thank-you. He also asked for trash every time you walked by. The kids all mentioned that the world would be a much cleaner place if all trash cans talked to you. This was definately true, as mine went around searching for trash, and kept it in their pockets just so that they could feed it to these guys.





One of the trolleys. These ran all over the village, taking people to eat, to the playgrounds, or just for a tour. Jake thought it was so cool that he could stop these trolleys, driven by volunteers, simply by putting up one hand. Unfortunately, he loved to do this, whether we were actually planning on taking a trolley or not. More than once we had to apologize to the trolley driver for Jake stopping it. He always just laughed and waved as he continued on his volunteer route.



Amberville:




When you walk into Amberville, the first thing that you notice is the incredible trainset village that they have set up.:




This thing was amazing. They had it rigged so that the buttons you could push outside of the glass, worked all these different parts of the town.



After playing with the trainset, Amberville was also home to two game rooms, with all types of games. No money needed, of course.












After running around and playing all the games, we explored some more, and found these great motor boats that you could control from inside:








Believe it or not, Amberville has another purpose. It is also a real trainstation! This is JJ! And he is run by different volunteers, who take the kids for a ride whenever they request one.






After riding JJ the train twice, we ran over to the Castle Of Miracles. This was probably the kids favorite place at the village. This was also where Rick and I were stopped in our tracks. The ceiling of the castle is covered with stars that the wish children who have stayed at GKTW wrote their names on. There were thousands of stars, and we stood there staring at them. I wondered how many of the children who had a star up there were still alive.

But back to the amazing Castle. The Merry-Go-Round is located here, which the kids rode every day after they ate breakfast. Also, so much excitement inside.



A view of the castle and attached Merry-Go-Round:



The front door of the Castle:



Rusty. This was the talking Knight who welcomed you into the Castle:




I'm not sure how to describe this. It was a huge climbing structure with a slide, but it was also home to many surprises and sounds. There were little doors in this thing that the knomes live in. It was awesome.






Rainia and Josh as King and Queen



These cupboards and drawers were so funny. When you open them, some of them were full of toys or art supplies, but others made loud noises. You never knew what you were going to get. A toy? or a lound Boing? Hysterical.



The magic Wishing Well. This had a large bucket of pennies for the kids to dig into. The catch was, when they threw in their penny to make a wish, The well answered with different sounds. Amazing! You might get a splash, a moo, or even a belch. There were all kinds of sounds coming out of this thing, and the kids loved dropping in the pennies.



The Pillow Machine. We got a certificate for 7 pillows, which we made on another night. Lots of buttons and knobs to make the pillow of your dreams.



A Magic mirror. In this picture, you can see what the children see when they look into it. They become a King or Queen. However, if an adult looks into the mirror, nothing happens...?



This clock went off whenever he felt like it. Not on the hour or half hour, just whenever he felt like talking and singing he would!!!



The playroom inside the Castle of Miracles.



The ceiling of the playroom



The kids loved playing in here. There were tons of toys, dollhouses, electronics, and dress-up clothes.



We were starving by this time, and off for lunch we went. Lunch is in the ice-cream palace, also home to all you can eat, anytime you want ice-cream.





After lunch, all you can eat hotdogs, any type of sandwiches, pasta salad, chips, and drinks, we had ice-cream of course. Any flavor you can imagine, any topping, including banana splits and milkshakes. All courtesy of Friendly's.



This wall mural is a GKTW version of CandyLand





After lunch, we went to check on the status of our villa, and it was ready! We received our welcome packages, which included our Bunny Book. This was the guide to the village. It included maps, schedules, and directions to all the theme parks in Orlando. The kids received stuffed animals, and t-shirts. Andrew got his GKTW pin, which was our key, and they explained that he was the boss, every wish he desired, that button would grant. We headed to our villa, which was actually two villas, because of our large family.

In each villa, there was a full kitchen, living room, and patio. There was a laundry room, and two bedrooms. Being child heaven, the kid-decorated bedroom was the master. It was huge, with an incredible master bathroom with jacuzzi tub and a seperate shower. The "adult" bathroom was just a regular one. So having two full villa's, we had two master bedrms and baths.

We decided to split the two houses into a "girls" house and a "boys" house. So in one villa was the 4 girls, and in the other were Rick and I and the 3 boys. They were connected by one of those suite doors that you have to open from the inside of each house. This door stayed open all the time, to the girls dismay.

Inside the villa was yet another surprise. A bag full of gifts for the kids. toys and coloring books, reading books, and stuffed animals. Our kitchens were stocked with snacks and drinks. Absolutely amazing!

Here is a picture of us outside of our villa, taken by our guide. (Another amazing volunteer.)



This is villa 113, we also had #114. Notice the Mcqueen sign.

At this point, Rick and I were absolutely exhausted, and HAD to take a nap. He layed down while I took the kids to the movie rental store, no money needed of course. We rented two movies, and took them back to the villa. This was our only down-time for the whole trip. By the time I got back with the kids, Rick was already asleep, and I quickly joined him.

After a quick, refreshing, much needed nap, we were awakened by the telephone. My mom was in town visiting my Grand-mother, and they were coming over, joined by my Uncle, who also lives in the Orlando area. Although they both live in the area, neither one of them had heard of Give Kids The World, and were excited to come check it out. It was also time for orientation. They only needed one adult at orientation, and Rick said that I was more of an adult than him, so I went to orientation while he visited with the family.

Orientation lasted about an hour, and I got the tickets and details of all the theme parks and other stuff we could do if we had time (yeah right). After orientation, we had Christmas with my Grandma (Nanny), and then it was off to show them all around the village.

Every Thursday night is Christmas at the village, and we got tipped off while showing the family the Castle of Miracles that a line always forms to see Santa after dinner, so maybe we should do that before we ate. Yes, Santa is at the village, every Thursday night! We said goodbye to the family, and ran down to Julie's Safari Theater to see him.




The amazing thing that you can't see in the picture, is that after you visit with Santa, There is a HUGE shelving unit with hundreds of toys on it. The kids all got to pick one. Jake got a star-wars action-figure set, Andrew and Josh chose footballs, Rainia got a fur-real kitten, and the three older girls all got tiny MP3 players. Incredible!

It was time for us to eat dinner, and our first time inside the Gingerbread house. Dinner is an all-you-can-eat buffet. Two buffets actually, the "kids", and the regular buffet. On the kids buffet was hot-dogs and hamburgers, french-fries, macaroni & Cheese, and spagetti. The regular buffet had different family-style meals each night. This was Thursday, so it was Christmas dinner. Delicious. All the food is served by volunteers, and they wont let you carry anything yourself. They carry your tray to the table for you, and clean up after you as well.



The memorable thing about this dinner, was Josh asking for dessert. Yes, as if an ice-cream palace wasn't enough, they also have a dessert bar every night. Anyway, Josh asked for dessert, and he hadn't eaten all of his food. Rick told him to finish his dinner, which is what we always do, and then it hit us both at the same time. Rick turned back to Josh and said "Never mind about that boy. If you want dessert, go and get some." It hit us that this was the kids week. Here we were in kid heaven, and for this trip, probably the only time in their lives, all the rules were gone. Dessert before dinner? Sure. You would rather have soda than milk? Absolutely. You want to carry your new toys everywhere with you? Including to the dinner table I hope. Clothing? Whatever you want of course. And we weren't the only one's with this philosophy. Everywhere you looked were girls in princess dresses, boys in wizard hats, and toys, and smiles, and laughter. So much laughter.

To top off our night, we went outside, for the village Christmas parade, which was actually more of a dance party. It was incredible, awesome, I just don't even have words to describe it.

This is Murphy:








Patches, The kids favorite character. (And a great dance partner for Brooke):








And Mike:



And Penguin. (He's Shy):



The Boss of GKTW Village, Mayor Clayton:



And his girlfriend, Miss Merry:



These are Mayor Clayton's and Miss Merry's convertibles. This is how they get around the village. lol.



Also some random kid.



After this incredible day, we went back to our villa for some much needed sleep. Only one last surprise for the kids before bed, Their share of the money Make-A-wish gave us for the trip. They got $100 a piece spending money. They screamed, and cheered. What an amazing day. And as the kids went to bed, I know they were exhausted, but thinking about all of the excitement they had already had, and all that was to come.

Our disney trip

I am not sure where to start. We are back, got back at about 8:00 pm last night. I am exhausted. The kids are exhausted. We have decided to not send them back to school today, because we all need a day to recover. The trip was truly amazing. Magical, and wonderful. We were treated like royalty, and the kids will have a difficult time adjusting back to reality. They have never been so spoiled in their lives. The volunteers at GKTW (the village) catered to their every whim. I have hundreds of pictures that I am trying to get organized, and I will try to start posting some of them tonight. Here is one: