We had a great time at Hollywood Studios last week. Then on Thursday my friend Cyndi and her family came to spend two nights with us in our condo. It was a little tight with 11 people in our 2 bed room condo but it was night to see them and we had a nice time hanging out. We swam a little Thursday afternoon. Then Cyndi, Patrick and I took the younger kids to IKEA to play in the play area while we browsed. Steve stayed back at the condo with the Bean, Bug and M. They had a little as there was a kitchen fire in a condo two doors down from ours. Nothing major but they had to walk down 12 flights of stairs and hang out downstairs for awhile. We then enjoyed empanadas for dinner.

Friday Steve’s parents came for lunch and then took Steve to the airport for his flight home. After that we swam for a while and then played a round of mini-golf. Then Cyndi and I went to see Mamma Mia. It was a great movie. We really enjoyed ourselves. It was really nice to spend some girl time together.

Saturday we had to clean up and pack up all our stuff and check out of the condo. Once that was done we headed to the Orlando Science Museum. We had a blast. They had a Norman Rockwell exhibit that was enjoyed by everyone. We all had fun in the category one hurricane wind tunnel, with 74 mph winds. The kids had fun seeing how much they would weigh on other planets but only Patrick was brave enough to get on the scale. And then he only got on it when no one else was around. The kids also learned about dinosaurs. Then we finally headed to kid town so they could just play and the adults could talk. Jill, a dear friend that I only get to see once or twice a year met us at the science center, so it was nice to get to sit for a while and chat.

Then the kids and I loaded up and headed to my dad and step-mom’s house where we are spending the rest of the week. When we got here I learned that we were going to Sonny’s BBQ for dinner. YUMMY!! Bean cleaned her plate in record time.

Today my grandparents came over for lunch. It was a nice time of visiting with them. There were four generations of our family here today. That is rare for some families today. I treasure that each time I get to come home and see my family. Tonight we must have spent an hour or so with Bug asking the adults questions out of her Guinness Book of World Records book that she brought  with her. We learned some interesting facts. And it was a fun way to pass the time. Oh I did play one round of Super Smash Brothers against my brother on the Wii. Bean and Buddy have been playing a lot of that game with their uncle since we got home from dinner last night. Bean has gotten pretty good at in a very short amount of time.

Well it is late here. Tomorrow I think we are going shopping so I need my rest so I can keep up with the kids. I will post some pictures from the trip soon.

Tomorrow we get to go see the mouse, you know Mickey Mouse and all of his friends. The kids are really excited. All Buddy has talked about today is, “when are we going to the Toy Story Mania?” That is a new ride that they have at Hollywood studios, which is the park that we will be visiting tomorrow. Thanks to a friend that works at the House of Mouse we will not be spending big bucks to get into the park tomorrow.

Yesterday we went over to one of the other resorts run by Westgate to play mini-golf and have lunch. Lunch was really yummy!!(Free didn’t hurt either…lol) We had chicken wings, rice and pinto beans, fried plantains and all the soda you could drink. We have really been enjoying our vacation. It could not have come at a better time.

This morning we had breakfast (free again) by the pool before heading over to visit the IKEA store. I have been to the IKEA store in Chicago and it is something else. So I decided that Steve really needed to experience it too. The store in Orlando is nice, not as big as the one in Chicago but it has FREE childcare!! Yes, you read that right. There is a play area at the front of the store where there are IKEA workers that will watch your children while you shop in the store. You can shop for up to an hour child free. We didn’t leave the kids today but I thought that was a GREAT idea.

The other thing I wanted to tell you about is if you have a science museum anywhere near you, you need to look into getting a membership. My friend Cyndi has had a family membership to her local science museum for a couple of years now. Her family is coming up to visit us here in Orlando on Thursday and they were planning on going to visit the museum here. A lot of the science museums around the country are part of a network and if you are a member of your local museum then when you are out of town you can visit other museums with your membership. So as a gift my friend bought our family a year membership to a museum close to where we live for get this, $35 for all five of us for a whole year. So on Saturday our two families are going to visit the museum here in Orlando together. Then when we are back home we can go to Nashville or Knoxville and visit the museums there. I was looking at the list of museums that participate in the program and we can even go to museums in Australia!  If you want to check it out here is a link of the museums that are in the program.

Well I am headed to bed. I need to get my rest so I can be ready to walk, walk, walk, walk tomorrow!!

It is so nice to be on vacation. And I think other than our honeymoon, this condo is the nicest place that we have ever stayed. It is well worth the pennies that we paid over the past two years for it (Long story, I will tell it another time).

We have had a great time already spending time with family. We stopped at Steve’s parents house for a night on our way to the condo. The kids got to see some of their “summer” friends while we were there. There are some other kids that visit their grandparents every summer that our girls have gotten to know the past couple of summers. Grandpa took them over to have ice cream with Melissa after dinner on Friday night. And they got to swim with her on Saturday before we left.

Yesterday we went to church at Eastpoint Fellowship. The pastor there was our pastor when we were first married and he is the pastor that ordained Steve into the ministry. I wanted to share my sermon notes from yesterday because it as a great reminder to me that there is great freedom in Christ.

DO NOT, DO NOT, DO NOT: The Sounds of Legalism By Danny Strickland

Colossians 2:16-23

1. Let no one judge you. v 16-17

A life that is centered on Jesus and what He did on the on the cross has no place for legalism.

2. Hold fast to Jesus to be truly spiritual. v18-19

There are few things more dangerous among Christians than spiritual pride and arrogance.

3. Let the laws of God rule your life, not the legalistic rules of man. v 20-23

This is a perfect description of legalistic religion defined more by what we don’t do than what we do.  All legalistic rules have the appearance of wisdom but have no real value. Legalism does not restrain the flesh, it it feeds the flesh in a subtle way.

Self-imposed religion is man reaching to God trying to justify himself by keeping a listing of rules. Christianity is God reaching down to man in love through Christ.

This sermon was a good reminder to me that if I can’t find something in the Scriptures, then it is not something that I need to to follow.

After church we spent the rest of the day with my dad, step-mom and brother, having some awesome Italian food and a great time just hanging out and relaxing.

Today we are heading to to pool and maybe a little miniature golf. We shall see what the day brings.

Maybe I will post some pictures tomorrow.

Remember when I did this?

That was back in May. It really hurt and it was the big toe on my bad foot. I have had to wear orthotics in my shoes for the past couple of years because my feet have been giving me problems. Well the problem with my foot seems to have been solved by me dropping the mug on my foot. Back before we went to Indiana for the annual Southern Baptist Convention I bought a pair of croc knock off flip flops at Wal-mart just to wear down to the pool at the hotel. Well they have become my favorite pair of shoes this summer because I can actually wear them without my feet hurting. That is nothing short of amazing in my book. So instead of having to undergo surgery for the problem with my foot, all I needed to do was drop a mug on my toe.

Who knew?

Well I must finish the final things of packing for our trip. And pick up the house so that we come home to a clean sort of clean house (hubby will be home for a week with out the kids and I, who knows what state the house will be in…lol) I’m just kidding my hubby does dishes and laundry so I don’t have a thing to complain about, oh and he cooks too.

Florida here we come!!!

A couple of months ago I started a list of 100 things to do before I die. I only got 10 things on my list in that post. So I thought it was time to add to it.

1. Find a really good pair of sandals for the summer.
2. Lose 50 pounds.
3. Blog for 100 days in a row ( I was well on my way to doing this until I had to go out of town and had no internet access)
4. See the Braves play in every National League ballpark. (Been to two)
5. Own a Mustang.
6. Go on a mission trip every year.
7. See all 50 states. (Only 33 to go, went to Indiana last month)
8. Go on a tour of the Holy Land.
9. Go to Paris, Rome, Venice and London.
10. Read some of the classics like To Kill a Mockingbird, Oliver Twist and Moby Dick.
11. Finish my Bachelor’s Degree in 2009
12. Try sushi (this is only for my hubby, cuz I love him, not putting a deadline on this one)
13. Take the kids to Washington DC
14. Mentor young ladies
15. Learn how to sew
16. Learn how to quilt after I learn how to sew
17. Watch the Princess Bride
18. Drive up Cub Mountain
19. Visit the Statue of Liberty again
20. Go skiing in Colorado
21. See the Grand Canyon
22. Visit Mount Rushmore
23. Learn how to make freezer jam
24. Learn how to can vegetables
25. Ride an inverted roller coaster (like the Batman ride at Six Flags, St. Louis)
26. Go to the top of the arch in St. Louis
27. Go whitewater rafting
28. Learn how to take really great pictures
29. Organize all the pictures I have already taken (notice I didn’t say scrapbook though…lol)
30. Embrace my passion for teaching

This is a blog I have recently stumbled upon. This is his post for today. I found it very funny because, well just because.

Ragamuffin Soul.

Gossip is such a problem that no one even acknowledges it as a sin anymore. I know I have been guilty of it.

Please pray for the Martin family. Their little girl, Shelbi went home to be with Jesus today.

You can read her story on her CaringBridge site at http://www.caringbridge.com/visit/littleshelbi.  She died today (July 15) around 12:58 p.m., and is now in Heaven with Jesus.

Please pray for Shelbi’s family, that they will have strength, comfort, and healing through this difficult time.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)

I am so ready for vacation that I can hardly contain myself. I need a break from all of the busyness that this summer has brought. The kids have been out of school since May 21st and this is what they have done so far, are you ready???

• 25 t-ball/softball games have been played
• Bean has been to camp at her new middle school
• all three kids went to the Children’s Conference at the Southern Baptist Convention
• 2 weeks of Vacation Bible School have been done
• one student choir lock-in
• 4th of July Celebration
• Bean went to Crosspoint (her first time at camp away from home, she had a BLAST!)
• a couple of trips to the lake to swim
• Bug had her softball team party at the city pool

• Bean and Bug went to a sleepover b-day party, a swimming party @ the city pool, and we all went to a b-day party where the kids played on a slip and slide the other day

I’m sure I am forgetting something along the way but you get the point, it is time for a little bit of a break before school starts. Time to go visit with our family. Reconnect. Revive ourselves. Refocus.

One of the blogs I have been reading for a really long time is Because I said so. Dawn is the mom that a few years ago auctioned a baseball off on ebay after her boys broke things in the house after of course being told not to play with a baseball in the house. I remember seeing that auction on ebay at the time and thinking it was hilarious. Well then a while back she took her 6 kids grocery shopping a box of Pokemon cards ended up coming home  with them and those ended up on ebay. That is when I started reading Dawn’s blog. She is funny and having 6 kids there is never a shortage of things to blog about.

Dawn often recommends other mom’s site’s and one she talked about yesterday really caught my attention. This I think is just about the best idea I have seen in a long time. The product is called Safetytat. The tag line on the web site says, “Get the tat that brings the child back.” It is a temporary tattoo that you can put on your child that you design that can have your phone number on it so that if you get separated from your child, all your child has to do is find a store clerk or police officer and they can call you. If you have a child with a medical issue such as diabetes or autism you can even put that on the tattoo.

Fortunately I can’t ever remember at time that I have been separated from any of my kids for more than a minute or two (though even that is scary). But we are getting ready to go on vacation and we will be going to one of the Disney theme parks, which we all know has lots of people. Even with the girls getting to be where they can remember our phone numbers I still think this is a good idea for them because if they actually got separated from us in a place like Disney in the heat of the moment they might not be able to remember what our number is. So check it out.