Thursday, July 29, 2010

Disney Trip 2009 - Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party

Nana bought us ladies tickets for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party Parade.  The rest of our group headed back to the hotels, but Nana, Ava and I stayed in the Magic Kingdom for the extra special parade and fun festivities.  We made sure to get front row seats along Main Street so we could see the parade up close.   Nana bought Ava a HUGE lollipop to give her some sugar and wake her up.  It was going to be a very long day for her, but she was up for it after a few quick licks of her lollipop.

Ava was in her Belle dress and the best part about wearing a princess dress around was the employees all made a huge deal out of making sure they commented on the princess.  I think she simply loved walking around and everyone thinking she was a real princess.  She just couldn't get enough of that pampered feeling. :)

While we were waiting for the parade to come our way, we were visiting with some of the families around us.  Before long, some of the little girls, about 8 of them, gathered in a group to play together.  The drawing factor was the girls all were dressed in princess outfits of some sort.  We had a Belle, Aurora, Ariel, Tinker Bell and Jasmine.  The girls were all so giddy and laughing and squealing.  Too cute.  They were dancing in a circle and allowing each girl to get their chance to get in the middle and jump around.  It was neat how they didn't know each other from Adam, but they all had a love for princesses and that was all they needed. 

The parade was awesome and then it snowed on us while the parade was going through.  We also got complimentary cookies and hot cocoa.  It was a great girls night.  We were all getting pretty tired so we headed back to a pavilion to sit down.  Then we saw the most amazing thing.  Cinderella's Step Mother and Step Sisters were hosting a dance party and they were so entertaining to watch.  We ended up staying there for about an hour just dancing and letting Ava run around.  They taught her how to do the hula-hoop, sort of.  The characters did a great job staying in character.  Mom and I couldn't stop laughing.  The little girls were mostly afraid of the Step Mother.  She was kind of rude and she walked around with a scowl on her face and her nose in the air. 

We started heading back out toward our bus and Ava fell asleep. I literally carried her for about a mile, cause she was out.  Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party was a ton of fun.  We made some more really nice memories.  :)

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Disney Trip 2009 - Day 3

December 8, 2009

This was our first day at the Magic Kingdom. Ava spent the night with Grandma and Pappy at their resort. We were standing in line waiting for them to open the gates and they had a really neat group come out and sing to the crowd, welcoming us. Then some characters came on the train and got out and were singing along and waving at us in the crowd. Christian loved this, partly for the train, and partly for the characters. He liked Mickey Mouse. Christian was standing in such amazement, that when I was trying to get his attention for a picture, he wouldn't even look at me, he was so enthralled with all that was in front of him.  :)  So funny. 

The Magic Kingdom was the one park I personally couldn't wait to get into.  When we first got in, we saw Pinocchio, and So we went to get in line to get his autograph.  This was the first character Christian had to meet and greet without his sister. He was a little nervous but he did go stand by Pinocchio for a picture.  I had Christian's Hair spiked and Pinocchio thought it was a mess-up so he kept trying to flatten Christian's hair with his hand. He acted like he was licking his hand and trying to flatten down the do.  Pretty funny. 

After we got done in our Pinocchio line, we hear Ava yelling for us, as she ran toward us.  She had arrived with her grandparents.  We wanted to see her and Christian's face as they first saw the castle, so we purposefully had not walked around the corner to see the castle yet.  Magic Kingdom is set up that you have to crest a small hill before the Castle becomes visible.  As we did this, the kids faces lit up. They saw the castle and with awe and excitement.  Their faces were priceless.  They finally saw the castle that shows up in every Disney movie.  IT was such a very magical moment.  :) 

The first thing we did was stood in line at Ariel's grotto so Ava could meet her and get her autograph and a picture taken with her.  Then we rode on the DUMBO ride which happened to be the ride the kids couldn't wait to go on cause they saw it advertised on the video of Disney.  :)  Pappy Bumbaugh and Grandma Bumbaugh rode that ride with them. Pappy also rode the Tea Cups ride with us. That was a fun ride too.

Daddy took Ava on her first roller coaster. . .the Goofy roller coaster.  She loved it.  She looked at daddy and said, "Daddy, that ride got up in my belly."  Daddy says he will never forget that moment in time.  She rode it a few more times after that and loved it.  The starting of our little dare devil.

Daddy, and the two pappys went to go take Christian on some car rides and Grandma, Nana, Ava and I were just walking around in Tune Land, looking through Mickey and Minnie's houses.  We came upon, by chance, where they had Cinderella, Aurora and Belle to meet and get your pictures taken with them.  The line was non existent and the lady told us we could go right through.  I couldn't believe it was about her time to see her "real" Cinderella. In fact, when we walked into the room, the first princess was Aurora,and she was really in amazement then.  The next one was Belle and she was fine with seeing her.  The final princess she got to meet was Cinderella.  This brought tears to my eyes.  I have always dreamed of taking MY little girl to Disney and what it would be like for her.  I saw a dream come true in this little girls eyes.  She was nervous and shy and yet so very excited all at the same time.  I looked up at my mom and mother-in-law to see what they thought and they too had tears in there eyes.  It was just plain magical.  I can't explain it but it was a moment I will NEVER forget!!!

We were all so excited and I couldn't figure out why she was so upset.  When I asked her, she said, "I am not dressed up to see Cinderella."  We had made a big deal at home telling her all about how she was going to dress up to see her and wear her Cinderella dress. This was not at all what she had imagined for her first time to meet the princesses.  So, Nana, being Nana, rushed to our hotel resort to get the famous dress and all the accessories.  Then we all met back out about an hour later to go back through and see the princesses.  The Pappy's, Grandma's, and Parents were all helping getting her ready for the BIG DATE.  She was truly treated like a princess, pampered and all. When we went back through, she knew more what to do and what to expect.  She smiled and posed and she was so excited that Cinderella noticed her dress and slippers.  She was beaming.  Such a magical moment.  I have to say too, Christian definitely loved the princesses too. He couldn't get enough of them and he surely showed off and shot them his cutest little smile.   

His favorite was Jasmine.  We stood in line for a few minutes to see her.  Aladdin and Jasmine were standing together. We never could have expected the reaction that Christian had to Jasmine. . .he was in LOVE!!! He ran up to her and basically jumped on her lap.  He wouldn't take his eyes off her and she was slightly embarrassed.  He was mesmerized.  Too funny.  We couldn't get his attention for awhile and finally Aladdin said, "yeah, buddy, I know, I felt that way the first time I saw her too."  She kissed him on the forehead and the cheek and he talked about "Jasime Kiss me" for weeks.  He really did like her and to this day he still talks about how pretty Jasmine was and he says, "my Jasime."  We really wish we had our video camera running at that moment.  It is another one we will never forget.  :)

The rest of the day at Magic Kingdom was full of excitement.  We rode more rides and met more characters.  We saw a parade and a show all around the castle.  We got to see fireworks too.  They lit the castle to look like it had ice cycles all over it.  Stunning.  Over all, it was a fabulous day.

Friday, July 23, 2010

Disney Trip 2009 - Day 2

December 7, 2009
We ended up doing Animal Kingdom that day, since we heard it was not quite as busy there. We met Harry and Margaret at the Festival of Lion King. Christian loves the Lion King, so we knew we had to hit that first. We were not sure what to expect, but we were def. excited. On our way to the festival, we ran into Pocahontas. This was Ava’s first run in with a real princess. She was so excited. She stood in line behind a few people and then it was her time. Pocahontas was gorgeous, and she was so nice to Ava. Then they stood and did the “warrior pose” with their hands on their hips. She was so excited. Then we headed in to the Lion King Theater.

The Lion King festival was awesome. We were in the elephant section, so we had to throw our arms up as though it was our elephant trunk and then we made the elephant noise. Christian was in shock as he watched what played out before him. He kept staring with his eyes wide open and his mouth almost to the ground. He was so excited. Ava thought the lion, Simba, should know who she was since she knew who he was, so she kept calling out to him, “Simba. . .Hi Simba!!” The show was great. They had awesome acrobatics and singing and we all enjoyed it so much.  Pumba and Timon came out and talked and they stole the show, as per usual.

As we were leaving the Lion King Area, an impromptu singer came wondering up to the kids and asked their names.  He had a microphone on and everyone could hear him.  He started singing a song about Ava and her brother Christian from Pennsylvania as he played his guitar.  He asked about three questions and then he put together a song for them.  They weren't too sure what to think, but I loved it!! He mentioned her Pet "ava Crawler" and then mentioned Simba at Grandma's house.

When we left, we headed right for the “finding Nemo” show. We had heard this was pretty good too. The kids did well with this one. However, Ava was getting a little tired of sitting. After the show, Micah and Harry split to go ride a roller coaster, and we took the kids on their first ride. The dinosaur ride. They loved it. It was so much fun. I know they were very excited about being able to ride on a ride finally.

Then we headed to the bone yard, where the kids were free to run and play and we could let them go without their harnesses. I was so happy to see them running and playing on the obstacle courses. They did pretty well.  At one point, I lost sight of Ava and that freaked me out quite a bit.  Luckily, I had both my dad and Micah's mom helping me keep an eye on the two rug rats. :)


The last thing we hit that night was the safari. The animals were out and it was very cool seeing the live animals. The kids again, were in shock. We got some pretty good pictures.

It was very hot that day, so we were once again exhausted when we all turned in.  We went back to our rooms and then Ava ended up staying the night with Grandma and Pappy Bumbaugh at their resort.  Our plan was to meet back up the next day. . .this time at the "Magic Kingdom."  :)

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Disney Trip 2009 - Day 1

December 6, 2009
Our Disney Trip had finally arrived. We met Harry, Margaret and Micah at the Hardees in Greencastle and we were on our way. The plane ride went off without a hitch and we landed in Disney. The kids did excellent with riding and took turns sitting with their four grandparents. We rode the Disney shuttle to our resort hotels and got freshened up. Then we all met back up at Epcot for dinner and fireworks. The kids stood in line and met Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, and Donald. They were so excited. Of course, there favorite was Goofy, but that was always there daddy’s favorite too. :) Christian was not so sure of the characters, but once he saw Ava skip up to them and hug them, he was not far behind. The one time, Mickey reached out for a high five and Christian ran behind Ava. Ava looked back at him and then turned around and gave Mickey his high five. Christian went running up to do the same. He was not so sure, but once he saw his sister was fine, he decided he couldn’t be left out. Micah and I were very worried he would be so scared of the characters, but man did he prove us wrong. He had as much fun as Ava with the whole Disney experience. So sweet. (the funny thing, was once we got home, Meeting Donald Duck was a high light for Christian. He would say, “see Donald duck, funny!!”)

After we met and got our pictures taken with the main crew, we shuttled ourselves onto the Epcot Space ride inside the big ball. Nana and Pappy were in front, then Harry and Margaret and then Micah and Christian. I got to ride with Ava, which turned out to be quite an experience. It is a slow moving ride and very interesting, if you can understand the language. When you first get into your cart, the touch computer screen tells you to pick a language. Ava jumps in and pushes Portuguese, and that was what we read and heard the entire ride. It was really funny. No matter what I tried, I couldn’t get it to change back.

To finish off the night, we went to the water side to see the reflections of illuminations and fireworks. They were so awesome. The crowd was crazy, but really worth it. Then we all headed back to our resorts to get some rest before the next day when we were planning on hitting “Magic Kingdom.”

Our Hotel Rooms were really cool.  We were in Pop Century and it had a section for each decade.  Ours was the 70s decade and our hotel had huger thank life platform shoes, a twister game for the kids, old telephones and huge foos ball game / statue.  There was a three story tall Mickey Mouse statue standing outside our hotel area too, right as you went up the elevator.  We said our hotel resort had enough activity going on and things to do, we could have spent a few days of vacation hanging out there.  We definitely would go back to that hotel again.
 
We had adjoining rooms with mom and dad so our kids spent the night over in Nana and Pappy's room.  We all slept good that first night, after a very long day of travel.

Potty Time

Christian is now 3 years old. His birthday is in October and we are trying to get this boy potty trained before his 4th Birthday. I have been working hard core for a while now and he doesn't seem to be getting it. He seems to think that you go sit on the potty after you poop in your pants.  This is quite frustrating.  He wants so badly to wear his boxer briefs I bought for him, but then he messes them and then we have him and the puddles to clean up.  I have used different tactics but I have decided a lot of it comes down to him just needing to decide he wants to take the time to go to the bathroom when he has to pee.
If I set a timer for every 30 minutes, he goes every time the timer goes off, but after a few days of doing this, if I let him go to see what happens, he goes in his stinking diaper every time.  So frustrating.  He says he is still a baby and he gets so excited when we buy him more pull ups. He also takes it upon himself to change his own pull up. He will stand there, pee directly into his pull up, take it off and throw it in his trash can.  Then he promptly opens his drawer, gets another pull up and puts it on. I had to hide his pull ups and wipes to prevent this from happening. :)  What am I going to do with him. 

I do however find it extremely funny when he does pee in the potty and he is standing.  When he is done, he shakes his little bum back and forth trying to get the last drop.  My husband say, "Christian, you can wiggle you can dance, but the last drop always end up in your pants." :)

So the absolute best part of this though, is how he seems to have an interest in this potty training thing at the most inconvenient times.  For example, yesterday, while at the zoo, every time we walked by a Porty potty, he would say he had to pee.  I told him that he pees in his diaper all day long, so I refuse on a hot sticky, stinky day, to take him to the potty in one of those things.  Haha. Maybe I am just not a good mommy. :)  I hate those things.

Anyone have any suggestions on what to do to potty train a little boy??

Monday, July 19, 2010

What Happens when you drink a lot of Milk?

Ava was playing house the other day.  She was "Michelle" (me) and she had a little girl named "ava" and a baby in her belly who was later named "Christian."  She came to my house, and I was Nana, by the way.  She came into my room and said, "Well, I think I need to lay down, I am soooo tired.  I have to rest."  then she said, "would you like to talk to my baby in my belly?"  I sang to the bump under her dress and talked and then she sat up in bed and said, "I have a Dr. appointment.  I will be back."

About a minute later, she came back and in her arms she held her baby.  She was so sweet and so funny. I was surprised and I said, "oh, did it hurt?"  she assured me, "nope it didn't hurt even a bit."  hahaha, Wouldn't we all love that to be the case??
Okay, so then, she was "feeding" her baby and we were talking.  I was trying to rush the process a little and I asked if the baby was done yet.  She smiled and said, "No mommy." as though I were silly to think so.  Then she said, "See, I drank A LOT of milk this morning, so my boobies have a lot of milk for the baby to drink.  It might take a LONG time."  :)

Friday, July 16, 2010

Old Friends, New Memories

My junior year of high school, a very special person entered into my life.  Her name was Hilde Taule and she came all the way from Norway.  We met pretty near the beginning of the school year and spent a lot of time together making memories and having heart to hearts.  Through her I also made some new friends and met some people I wouldn't have ever met had I not been in her life.  She was a foreign exchange student for a year and she stayed with the Draper family.  A few people we spent a lot of time with were the Pucketts, including James boy, and the Draper family.  Life was easier then, just time to sit around and enjoy life.  The day I said good bye to Hilde was a very sad day in my life.  We of course got busy with our lives, and lost contact, which we all know often happens when living so far from each other.  A few weeks ago I got wind that Hilde was back in the states and visiting the Draper House over the weekend.  She was bringing her husband, Anders and her two precious children Lars and Ylva.  I couldn't wait.  It had been 12 years and I wanted to catch up with this old dear friend.

Friday night we headed up to the Draper stomping ground.  I was nervous at first, wandering if I had changed, if they had changed and if all the others had changed. I have to say, Hilde and I both commented on how the 'Draper homestead' felt as though it was in a time capsule and was exactly the same as 12 years ago.  Pretty cool.  Still open to all and representing many memories had and more to come. 

So, when we arrived, they had food and a trampoline and a pool.  We had left our kids with my mom so we could visit easier and then told them we would bring the kids the next day.  Hilde and I got to catch up and visit without running after four toddlers.  People were in and out all night long and hugs and laughter and much reminiscing went on.

The next day we went to get the kids and headed over to the Draper's house once more.  Ava was so excited about meeting one of her mommy's friends' little girls.  She told Christian on the way over that Ylva was her friend, and not his. 

My favorite part was how the girls played together.  They couldn't understand each other's language at all, but we were amazed that they had so much fun playing together.  They jumped on the trampoline and Ylva was naked cause we had just gotten done swimming.  Ava had her suite on, and without them even communicating, Ylva and Ava started laughing as Ylva was helping Ava to yank off her suite.  Then they were jumping, naked, together on the trampoline.  It was hilarious.  They couldn't understand each other, but they grunted, laughed, and giggled and had a blast.  SO cute.

Here are a few pictures of some of our fun new memories. 
Anders, James, Micah, and Brother John

Hilde and Ylva sharing a popsicle, thanks to thoughtful James.

Christian, beside the big Great Dane dog . . . . Bruce.  He could have rode on his back.

One of the many moments on the Trampoline.  That was one word they understood each other say!!

Playing my little ponies on the Trampoline.  They seemed to do this with ease also.  Pretty cool actually.

Lars and Christian playing together.

Micah and Anders visiting. 

Hilde and I posing for a picture, while at the park with the kids.  They really did get along so well.  Christian and Ylva wanted in on the picture action.  :)

Great times!!! Saying goodbye wasn't easy but we decided we couldn't let it go 12 years again. 

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Christian's First Dental Appointment

I was so nervous.  A few months earlier we took My daughter to the dentist and Christian went along.  He observed his sister and the whole process and when she was done, he tried to climb up into the chair for his turn.  I went right home and scheduled him his appointment.  However, I think every mom is a little nervous the dentist is going to tell us the kids mouths are full of cavities and we are not doing a good job.  The other fear factor is if the kids are going to cooperate with the dentist. 

When we first got there, the he was "so esscited" as he says when he thinks something is exciting.  He actually did really good with the keeping his mouth open for the dental hygienist.  He was so tiny that his whole body was on the upper part of the chair, so when it bent in half, and laid back, he was all on the upper end.  Too funny. The dental hygienist thought this was really funny.


Getting ready to shine up his pearly whites!!


They scooted his little head up to the pillow and see how his legs are just barely on the rest of the chair.

She explained everything she was doing and using.  She had Mr. Thirsty that he got to hold and this was his favorite part.  She put a little bib on him and then put sunglasses on him so the bright light wouldn't get in his eyes.  He was very well behaved and quiet.

Here he is with Mr. Thirsty.  After the fluoride treatment, she allowed him to sit and use Mr. Thirsty for awhile.  he figured out you could make all sorts of noises with his mouth, and for literally 10 minutes, he did this.  So funny.

Another picture of the process.  He was so calm.  He does actually have two cavities, but they feel it was from how the teeth developed in the womb, and their was a weakness.  We have to take him somewhere to get them filled.  :(  Poor guy.


Sissy's turn to watch.  She was all worried about him.  Trying to tell him what to expect.  Overall, great appointment. 

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Gymnastics Camp 2010 at Wilson College Gymanstics

Over all Ava loved the camp.  She was quite excited to show off all of her stunts.  She was the youngest in her class and that made her strive harder to do the stunts the older girls could do with no problem.  Here are the few pics I got.  Now I hear her playing with Christian and pretending she is a gymnatics teacher and he is the pupil.  :)

Her first day and ready to go to gymnastics camp.  She got to pack her own snack, swimsuit and towel.  She was so excited she even let me do her hair.  :)



Her last day as she is exiting the gymnasium.  She has to get her hand stamped.  :)

Ava with her teachers Miss Lyndsey and Miss Ashliegh.  She loved them and though she informed me that they were not as nice as mommy and they weren't even like a mommy, they were okay.  She said, "see mommy, they live there at gymnatics and I live at home with you.  You are a mommy and you are better than they are."  :)  I have to say, melted my heart.  I love her.  I was so proud of her for making through the entire week!!!  She is growing up right under my nose.  My baby girl.

P.S. I thought this was funny. The one teacher, Miss Lyndsey, told me that she thought Ava would be a great Cheer leader cause she has the energy for it.  Hahha. I guess it was a very nice way to say she was high energy.  :)

A Fun Day at Lakemonte Park, Altoona, PA

Michele, or should I say, aunt One-L, came to visit us for a day in July.  We decided, last minute, to take a quick road trip to the amusement park in Altoona.  It was fun.  We left our house, headed up to pick up her nephew Tyler and then we were on our way to a fun day.

It only cost $5.00 per person to get in that day and if you are military, you get in for free. :)  We started around and got to ride the oldest roller coaster.  It's called 'Leap the Dips', and it can be found at http://www.lakemontparkfun.com/  This is actually the world's Oldest Operating Wooden Roller Coaster & National Historic Landmark.  It was built in 1902 by Edward Joy Morris.  41' high and the steepest drop is 9'.   Fastest speed is 10 MPH.  This was actually a scary ride for bean.  IT was interesting.  Only one little cart for the coaster.  Gotta check it out.  While we were on the ride, Michele, Tyler, Ava, and myself; Micah took Christian on a rickety train ride which they rode like four times in a row. Pretty cool.  Christian was pleased with this.

Then, after the Leap the Dips ride, we stopped and bought some food to munch on and headed over to the main rides.  This park is like, as Micah calls it, a carnival on steroids.  Somewhat rickety rides and yet the kids loved it. Then they had a water park called the Island Waterpark and that is where we ended up for the day.  It was pretty hot so the kids splashed around while we got to sit and visit.  It was a great day and we made some good memories.  It did seem forever till we made it home though. :) Long ride.


At the front of the park they had a wooden train for the kids to climb on.  Aunt One-L got in the train with them.

Here we are on the rickety train. . .fun times.  Christian was in awe.

always have to get some pictures.

Christian and One-L at the Island Waterpark

Christian shooting Tyler with the pirates' cannon. Christian thought it was great that Tyler kept coming back for more.  Tyler was great with the kids.

The kids carrying back handfulls of water to cool off Aunt One-L, as per her request.  hahha.

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Ava's Hero. . . or Not!!

Today a very scary thing happened.  We were swimming with some family at my aunt and uncle's above ground pool.  The water is too deep for my toddlers, obviously, to touch the bottom.  There were four moms supervising 8 children in the water.  Two of the children were 9 years old and very capable, while the other six are needing supervision at all times. 

Ava and Christian both had swimming lessons a few months ago and so they had these new flotation devices called backpacks.  Ava has two boards on hers and Christian has three boards.  They both do pretty well  as long as they have their swimmer back packs on.  I don't worry too much about Christian cause when he is in the pool, he usually has at least three different swim devices on and refuses to allow us to take any off.  However, Ava, on the other hand, loves to see how many she can take off and still stay a float.  The other day while in the pool, she asked me if she could take her muscles off.  I told her no and she said, "then, how am I supposed to be a mommy if I wear these?  I want to be a mommy."  :)  Needless to say, I informed her that she was wearing them until her feet could touch the bottom. 

So, back to today.  I was sitting on the deck cause I was thinking it easier to keep an eye on both children when I was able to see the entire pool in a quick scan.  They don't always stay close to each other and I feel when I am in the water, it is hard to manage both sometimes.  Ava and her cousin Reece had been running and jumping off the deck into the pool and then swimming over to the ladder and doing it all over again.  At one point, Ava got out to get pizza. I was sitting on the deck beside her and the next thing I knew, I heard a gargled, distressed scream and there she was in the pool with NO swim flotation device and struggling and going under.  My heart leapt up into my throat.  I couldn't reach her so I grabbed her hair that was floating on the top and pulled her up until I could get her arm.  I whipped her out and as I was doing so I caught myself yelling at her for not wearing her swimmer.  As I cradled her, I realized how scared she must be and I started to cuddle her little shaking body.  Her heart was racing and she was crying and trying to get her breath.  She told me she thought her back pack was on and then someone kept pulling her under water. She was crying cause no adults could see her.  We assured her that MOMMY saw her and that she did a good job at yelling to get some one's attention.  I had to swallow my fear and just calm her down.  Seems to be a mommy roll a lot of times.  :)

She kept saying, "no one could see me"  and "I couldn't breathe" and "why was no one saving me?"  She sat on my lap for about half an hour and then she told me she was ready to try it again but she needed mommy to get in with her.  It took her awhile to get comfortable again in the water, but in the meantime she was singing a son to me.  She often does these random made up songs with whatever is on her mind.  In her song she said , "and mommy saves me when I am under the water. . . .and she always saves me.  I love her cause she saves me and I save her when she is underwater too."  I teared up.  My little girl saw and understood that I was there for her.  I thanked God that I was the one sitting on the deck and that I was the one that pulled her out in her moment of distress. I felt God planned it that way to reassure her "mommy is here for me."  She has had a lot of hard times in the past few years where I have not always been there and she didn't understand why. I am so grateful that this was a positive experience and she trusted me enough to get back in the water with me by her side.  I also found out later that my sister-in-law, Brianna, had felt the urge to pray for all of the children's safety today in the pool on her way to the pool.  I KNOW that was God's prompting and I am so grateful Brianna followed through.  :)

Okay, so what did I get from this very scary moment in my life?? I got this.  How often do we feel as though we are sinking in our circumstances.  We can't get a breath and need air and we need help.  We feel as though we are thrashing around in an uncontrollable situation and no one can see us and no one can save us and we can't get to the surface.  We thought that jumping into the situation we had our flotation device, Jesus, but we find we didn't really ask him about it before we made the decision or maybe we haven't talked to him in awhile.  Ava told me later tonight that she thought she could touch the ground, but then her head was under water.  How often do we think we can handle a situation on our own, thinking we can do it without God and then we realize in the middle of the situation, that we are helpless and we need God more than ever.  So we start yelling out for help.  Sometimes it seems like he doesn't hear us or doesn't see what we are going through.  Ava didn't think I saw, but I did, and that was of course because God prompted me.  In the same way, I have had times in my life when I feel that God doesn't see me, but He does.  He knows what I can handle and he knows just when it is time to step in and save me.  I am sure sometimes he wants to yell at me for making the wrong choice or for giving into a temptation I have been warned about, but before long he is comforting my soul and loving me and cuddling me in his big loving arms.  He is saying, "Michelle, I saw you, I heard you and I am here."  That is enough to comfort me, but I then often have to have him 'swim' next to me for awhile until I have the confidence again to go on in life.  He is faithful though and always there.  I am so grateful for the Awesome Hero that we have in our LORD.  Glory be to God.  Lord, please help me to remember to always keep you near and to always check and make sure I have my flotation device, Jesus, in tow before jumping into the deep water.  :)