An Epic Disneyland Vacation - Malachi

Our family (minus LB) just got back from an incredible Disneyland vacation.  We've been planning and preparing and counting down for several months now and were just so excited to get to go.  I wasn't sure the best way to go through this trip, so I will start at the top and go through the trip from the perspective of different kids, so there may be some repeats in the mix.  

The last time Malachi was in Disneyland, was back when he had just turned two.  He had also gone with us soon after we brought him home around 6 months old.  For some reason, the trip was very scary for him at 2 years old and so we told him we would wait and take him back when he was 5.  We held true to that promise with our first family Christmas trip to Disneyland.  Before we knew it, we were on the last link of our paper chain and on our way to Disneyland! 

It has been a couple years since he has flown on an airplane, so the whole trip was full of new and fun experiences!

He found himself dancing in the street with excitement as we waited for our ride to Disneyland. 

Our first night was spent just chillin, but we did find Santa! 

Then it was our first day in the park!  It was an exciting day! 

Now all the pictures are not in order, but the kids were doing great on all the rides and wanted to try out space mountain.  So we let them give it  a go. It was a little scary for Malachi but within another day he was willing to give it another try and liked it much better! 

He did however, LOVE Cars! 

 Even though he wasn't thrilled at first to meet the princesses, he quickly turned on the charm.

Autograph books were a fun way to interact and meet all the characters. 

He showed Anna and Elsa how Iron man flies, so Anna was giving it a try! 

Since typically it is loud noises that scare him, a set of headphones was great for him to have!  Here he is waiting for Star Tours, his favorite ride of this trip! 

Another favorite was Big Thunder Mountain 

And of course, a favorite from the last trip, the teacups! 

Not only did our big Ironman fan get to see all the suits

But he got to be Ironman too! 

Another super sweet moment from our trip, we saw this Santa Clause with his wife Mrs Clause several times during our trip. They were always decked out in festive red colors.  Before we left, our elf on the shelf Henry had told the kids that Santa would be vacationing in Disneyland and they would get to meet him there.  They did meet Santa the first night there, but then we saw this guy with his wife ON vacation and Malachi yelled to him "Hi Santa" so he came over and gave each of the kids a candy cane.  Malachi was just amazed that Santa was indeed vacationing at Disneyland!

Another favorite ride!  The weather was just perfect for this trip, probably the best we've ever had because it wasn't too hot or pouring rain on us.  It was sunny and 80 all week!  Perfect getaway from the cold if you ask me!

Another highlight for Malachi was building his own lightsaber.  We gave the kids tasks around the house before leaving (gotta work it when you can) to earn Disney dollars that allowed them treats and  a custom lightsaber during the trip.  He was thrilled to get to bring it home with him. 

Yep, it was an amazing trip with my amazing family! Stay tuned for more from Eli's perspective! 

Called to Love..... By Grace

This weekend I had the opportunity to attend for the 3rd year Called to Love.  Called to Love is an amazing retreat for adoptive and foster mom's.  This was a much needed resource for our region and I am so blessed by the fact that a group of women felt called to provide this resource for us mom's on this sometimes unique journey.  The fact is, in day to day life our families look and act much different than your "typical" family.  I almost feel bad for any waiting mama's at this thing, because they hear a lot about the "hard" with adoption.  As our last speaker stated, adoption is a calling, and it's not always an easy path to walk.  For us or our children.

In our previous years of attending, the focus has been a lot on our children and things we can do to help them on their journey.  It has always been good.  This year, I didn't really know what to expect. Seeing the list of speakers and breakouts, I was just kind of indifferent but sure something would stand out to me this weekend.  Can I just say, I was truly blown away this weekend.  The theme was Grace, and the focus in my mind this year was not so much on my kids, although I gleaned lots of wonderful information for parenting them too. But it felt more soulful in restoration and grace for us mama's. This season of life with 4 little's has just been exhausting for me. In a good way, but also it can be extremely difficult.  All the kids are quite little and constantly pushing us in different directions with appointments and extra-curricular activities. Then you throw in the normal daily life stuff and homeschooling and things have just been exhausting.

 This weekend was great for self care.  I came home truly refreshed and with fresh perspective.  This journey with ALL my kids is soooo not about me and I can't do it without much grace from God.  Even in the days since retreat, I have focused on taking care of myself.  If I take care of my needs, I am better equipped to take care of my kids. And if the day to day stuff is going to stress me out and in turn make me impatient with my kids, then it isn't worth doing. It was much needed to take a step back right now, let me tell ya, and just let go of some of that mommy guilt.  

I truly just adore the family God has given me.  They are a true and wonderful blessing from above.  I will finish this post with what I believe is a very simple but profound word given to us adoptive mama's because this is at the heart of why many of us chose adoption in the first place.  Not only did one speaker feel led to give us this word, but two.  Now when two separate speakers are given the same verse to share with us, I think it is worth paying extra close attention to.

John 21: 

15 When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”

“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”

16 Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”

17 The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my sheep."

In the past few days, I have been reminded and reflecting on the 3 themes the retreat has had thus far, they combine quite wonderfully into one theme:

Called to Love, love like crazy, by grace! 

A Night On the Town with our Princess!

My mom bought Sabrina tickets to a very special evening out with some of Sabrina's favorite characters!  I have never seen our little lady so excited!  She couldn't wait and was bouncing around the house waiting for the time to come.  She was mesmerized from start to finish!

Being so close, we got snowed on, a lot! 

It was a special and fun evening with our girl!  Such a fun age and phase we are in right now! 

Malachi's Soccer Season

We are in the midst of soccer season over here. This is Malachi's 3rd year of soccer but his first year on a "real" team with "real" games.  He is on a kindergarten team this year and his team is pretty darn good.  Malachi has definitely earned the title of most improved on his team this year!  He was so clueless at first on what he should be doing but got the hang of it and is a lot of fun to watch now!  

Scoring!

Celebrating as calmly as he can :)

Half Birthday's Abound!

In the hustle and bustle, we couldn't forget two of our favorite people and celebrating their half birthdays!  

Malachi was first up and he has been on the countdown to get to call himself a 5 1/2 year old!  I'm in complete awe of how fast this little boy has grown up in front of my eyes.  He's a born leader and a smart cookie!  We are really enjoying all the aspects of his life that keep us busy - soccer, taekwondo, swimming, school.  It takes a lot of activities to wear this kid out!  

And then of course we had our little princess who had her half birthday two days later.  She's a character.  Strong willed, sweet, funny, shy.  She's a hoot!  

Malachi requested peanut butter cheesecake for his special half birthday treat! We also enjoyed a fun movie night! 

And then our princess requested her favorite, a box full of donuts! 

I adore these babies so much and can't believe how quickly time is going. It is so fun watching them grow and start to develop into their own unique people!