Day 4 (Yesterday)....Universal Studios Islands of AdventureDr.

Faith is ready for her day at Islands of Adventure.

Dr. Doom joined us for a photo...Faith likes characters, and Dr. Doom talked to faith with made her enjoy him as well.

Captain America has been one of our favorite movies this year.

Beautiful place...we have been enjoying the settings of these theme parks.

Faith's wish trip from Rainbow Connection (lovely people)...the day started out a little rough at Universal Studios Islands of Adventures as it was filled to capacity when we arrived.  The filled part wasn't so much of a problem for us as they give us VIP passes, but our tickets were messed up so we had to go to guest services to get it corrected.  After an hour...yes, this lady gave us quite a hard time, but I will say she was the only one in the park like this.  Everyone else was incredibly friendly...hmmmm...even Dr. Doom.  The VIP pass was great because they set an attendance record, but we were able to get to the front of any line except for the bathrooms.  They actually escorted us to the front and put us right on the rides...it didn't feel like a record setting day because of this.

Today we are off to Disney's Hollywood Studios.

Faith is having a Great Time...Day 3

Faith has been quite happy on this trip as you can see here with Gideon at the start of our Animal Kingdom visit.

Faith and the family get special attention wherever we go.

Faith and Hope got to be in the Lion King parade at the end of the show.

Hope got to smack hands with the character on stage...she thought that was so cool.

Faith was given special seats in the box for the Finding Nemo musical...she had a great view.

Animal Kingdom was quite fun for everyone...Faith did fall asleep on the safari ride.

We finished the day by park hopping to the Magic Kingdom.

It is amazing how great Disney is with Wish Kids.  We save lots of time by jumping to the front of all the lines...people don't mind once they know why.  We even get a special photo pass which allows us to take family photos with characters and throughout the park so we will have lots of great family photos with Mickey, Minny, Donald, and many more.  The time savings is amazing with the throngs of people...unbelievable the number of people here.  We would never come at this time of year normally, especially after seeing this.

Give Kids The World has been amazing as well.  We are enjoying their events and all the great food too!

Wish Trip...Day Two

We spent the morning with Florida State and Notre Dame football players at GKTW...they will be playing in the Champ Sports Bowl this Thursday.

Here players from both teams are hula hooping....hmmmmmmmmmmmm

After the fun with the football teams, we moved on to Sea World for an afternoon of fun.

Here the family got to feed the dolphins...this was quite fun and gave them a chance to touch the dolphins.

Faith has really been enjoying this trip...it has been wonderful to see her responding so well.

We took in the Shamu show...lots of splashing and mighty large mammals.

Here the dolphins were flying high and the family was loving it.

A little family photo before we headed out the gate.

So far this trip has worked out very well...we feel like we have already seen and done so much, but it has only been 2 days.  We have 7 more to go and more to do than we could ever get done.

Faith's Wish Trip....the first day

The Limo arrived at 7:30am to pick us up for the trip to Give Kids The World.

Faith enjoys her brand new car seat in the limo.

Our plane had just arrived and we were ready to go.

We had just arrived in the Orlando airport and were greeted with the sign Faith is holding in the picture

Here is our first night at Give Kids The World...it was a Halloween celebration...they celebrate different holidays throughout the week.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY...BIG NUMBER 3

The BIG Day began with a bubble bath...one of Faith's most enjoyed activities.

Now to opening presents, first with brother Gideon...wow, what is that?

Faith loves when her brothers play with her...Lightning McQueen and her bro

Faith prepares to open her next present with Big Sis Grace.

Already thinking ahead to the next present before this one is even open.

Surprise and amazement at the thoughtfulness of the gifts she received.

Falling asleep on the floor after a long fun birthday...ah this is nice.

Three years ago today Faith was born and we knew that we had an issue...just weren't sure what it was at that point.  Now 3 years later, we are all grateful to God that she is doing so well with her Trisomy 18.  Since November 2nd, Faith has dealt with surgery and sickness that lasted well over a month, but she is feeling much better and has picked up greatly on her energy level.  She is feeling better just in time for our trip to Give Kids The World.  This is a wish trip from Rainbow Connection, a local charity similar to Make A Wish.  We leave on Monday so Christmas will be a busy day of preparation.  We will try to give you a glimpse of our trip with some pictures and postings while in Florida.  What a present this will be...God bless us everyone!

TEARS WITH OUR FRIENDS

One of the families we have come to know best has endured a great loss while their beautiful daughter Lilly has enjoyed a great gain.  Lilly, another Trisomy 18 child about 1 1/2 years old, went to be with Jesus while she slept the other night.  Our family is crying today with them, but rejoicing in the tremendous grace of Jesus Christ.  We ask that you would pray for this family, but join with us in helping this family practically if you are able.  Medical bills with this can be devastating.  The Lilly Memorial Fund has been established to help with the many medical expenses Lilly incurred. Checks may be made payable to Christ Church and mailed to P.O. Box 1034, Cary, NC 27519.  This is a tremendous heartache as it is, but we can help keep it from being a financial burden on this family.  Please pray and ask the Lord what He would have you do.  You can learn more at http://pray4lilly.blogspot.com/.

Thank you Lord for extending your tremendous grace to Lilly's family and for receiving her into Your arms.

Sickness But Getting Better

Feeling Better...thanks for your prayers.

I am working on my drumming skills to join a new band.

I just don't get much cuter than this.

Ah...it's good to stand...I love this thing!

It has been a little rough the last month and a half with the last 2 weeks being more of a sickness with lots of mucus.  She is handling it well though because our 5 year old Hope has also been sick for about the last 3 weeks.  If we can get her by this mucus soon (which has kept us stuck at home as well), she seems to be much better in some ways since the surgery.  It appears her bowel movements are doing very well and no Miralax.  Maybe removing that growth will allow her intestines to continue operating better.  We still need to get totally over this sickness to know where she really is.  Regardless, it is nice to see her happy as can be today.  FYI...the great photos above were taken by Faith's sister Grace who is pushing 13 now.