Disney Part 4--Magic Kingdom

The girls were pretty excited about seeing the castle for the first time and then after that it was running from one end of the park to the other trying to get all the rides done (which we did!).  We got there early and headed to the back of the park and it was AWESOME and weird.  There was no one else around.  We rode the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad 3 times in row.

Playing in the Pirates of the Caribbean giftshop

It's a Small World

The view from the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse...Hadley was pretty disappointed you couldn't go in the rooms and play with all the stuff but I was glad we watched the movie before we went so they knew what we were looking at.

Rapunzel's tower...(which you can't go in but is still fun to see)

We had lunch at the Beast's castle.

More Mickey shaped food (Mickey meatloaf:  good to look at, not so much to eat).

and we tried the gray stuff (it was delicious...don't believe me, ask the dishes).

and saw the rose (that Belle almost ruined everything by touching)...

Then we went to Enchanted Tales with Belle and Hadley was picked to be Philippe (the horse).

and Joni was one of the other castle characters :)

 Trying to pull the Sword from the Stone :)  

WE LOVE UNCLE BEN!

Hadley wanted to meet Ariel (which we did the second day) and Joni wanted to meet Merida (who she is dressed like) and so we did.  Andy skipped the parade to get in line so we didn't have to wait too long.  Oh, and she was awesome.  

She might have been a bit star-struck.  I might have been a bit teary-eyed.

The really good Snow White ride....the girls loved it but we only were able to do it once.  I would have done it a ton more if the line hadn't been over an hour long.

  

It was a little chilly that day and none of us wanted to get wet and then been cold so we wore our rain ponchos on Splash Mountain....yes we are those people.  I brought extra clothes for the girls and Hadley ended up needing those dry clothes after the ride but it was worth it.  I love Jo's face in this picture.

What a happy amazing wonderful exciting time!  I can't thank Ben and Janet and Kemper enough for wanting to take the girls and letting us go along!!!  THANK YOU FOREVER!

Love to you all!

Please Pray!

Hello, all, this is Andy.  I want to take a moment to update you on our adoption and to ask you to pray for us.  As some of you know, we are coming up against a deadline (April 1), where, if we aren't matched with a child, we will have to resubmit all of our paperwork under Haiti's new adoption guidelines.  We were told (only about 3 weeks ago) that the actual requirements of the deadline were that we 1) would have to be matched, 2) would need to travel to Haiti for 2 weeks and 3) that we would need to turn in our I-600 (an adoption form) personally in Port-au-Prince.  We knew the deadline was coming, but when we received the above details, it was only about a month before the deadline--which significantly cut down our chances of successfully completing the requirements.  We had less than a month to get a match, and if we did, to get plane tickets, and make sure we were in Haiti for at least two weeks before April 1.  The same day we got the notice, I called our agency, and they essentially said, "you'd better start planning on updating."  And so, that's what we've begun doing.

However, we received a notice YESTERDAY that the requirements for completion by April 1 had either been miscommunicated or changed.  As of today, all we need by April 1 is a formal referral by the adoption authority in Haiti (the IBESR).  If we receive a match, we'll have a month to turn in our I-600, but we don't have to travel to Haiti to do it.

So, there is still the high potential of being matched by April 1 (several other families in our same situation have been matched in the past few days), and IBESR says that they are prioritizing all I-600 families until then.

That brings us to our prayer request: we have been trusting the Lord, that His timing is perfect, and that we will be matched according to His perfect will--and we will continue to do so.  We also believe, though, that according to Scripture, "the prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working."  Will you join us in praying that the Lord would help us be matched with a child or children by April 1?  We don't know what God's will is, and are ready and willing to do the update process, but we are asking that He work mightily in the next few days for us (and the other families in our same situation) to get matched before the deadline.

Thank you for your prayers and support.  May Jesus Christ's name be exalted!

Disney Part 3--Hollywood Studios

This was the day we rode lots of rides and saw lots of shows.  

THE RIDES

We raced 200 other people, who were also waiting with us at the front gate, to the new Toy Story ride (only rode it once...but would have done it again if the line weren't so long). 

Star Wars (rode 2 times)...we watched all 7 of the movies in the weeks leading up to our trip and so the girls were pretty excited to see everyone....well mostly excited (except for Kylo Ren and the storm troopers).  This was also the only day we were there that it rained.  Sometimes it was a  downpour and sometimes a drizzle.  Thankfully, it was done by the afternoon, but it was a soggy morning.

So Disney prides itself on being authentic...the characters you meet keep their personalities in real life...Chip and Dale are silly, Sully (as you'll see below) is playful, and Minnie and Mickey are super loving.  The villains are no different.  So, the nervous looking faces on our girls are legit.  Kylo Ren was super scary and mean and if you could see his face, I'm sure he wouldn't be smiling.  

Tower of Terror--rode it 3 times!  (Note Janet's face again...far right).  Hadley and Andy are pretending to be sleeping.  I'm not sure Hadley would have slept through Nana's death grip!

Tower of Terror is in the background.

My favorite ride in all of Disney World and the only one that Hadley was too short to go on...Rockin' Roller Coaster (rode 2 times).

The Great Movie Ride

THE SHOWS

This was the closest we got to Anna and Elsa and we didn't have to wait 75 minutes in a line!  The Frozen Sing Along was entertaining and even though the girls knew all the words, they were mesmerized by the actors and didn't sing.  :)

The Honey I Shrunk the Kids Playground

  I loved this movie growing up and loved watching it again with the girls before we left.  We heard devastating news while we were there that in April, the playground will be torn down to make room for Star Wars World...boo :(

Joni in her spider house...she's sleeping in her "bed"

We love Mike and Sully!

Gotta have Mickey shaped food at every meal :)

Lots of magic shots this day.

One of the best night shows is at Hollywood Studios.  Mickey battles the bad guys with water and fire and wins.  It's a fun show.  The girls are showing off their "1st Visit" badges while we wait.  Best idea ever...bringing your own glow sticks from the $ store so you don't have to buy the $45 ones they provide.

 

Love to you all!