Christmas Morning Haucking

Randy's brother, Stephen, gave us two HUGE boxes of trains that they had collected throughout the years. We gave them to Tyson and Brennon to share. The moment Tyson finished looking through the goods, he said, "WOW, if Brennon and I have a garage sale, we'll be RICH!!!"

Nice!

Merry Christmas!!!

Burley

We decided to leave after school on Friday for Utah. Keilie was sick with something, so she ended up sleeping pretty much the entire drive. I do not like driving in the dark, so it was hard to have it stormy and darker than normal to begin with. So glad Randy drives when we are together. 

Things were going well, especially with the newly-raised speed limit in Idaho. We were making good time, had no gag-fests, and got more and more giddy as the miles passed. About five miles outside of Burley, ID, we noticed our lights start to dim whenever we went up a hill. When the engine revved, the lights would dim. Randy asked if I noticed, and at that moment they dimmed worse than previously seen. And kept getting bright-dim-bright. This was not good. 

Randy asked me to get him to the next town. By this time, it was the next exit just 1.25 miles away. We pulled off, grabbed a battery charger from Walmart, got a hotel room (Thanks Dad for the hotel points since there wasn't a Hilton) and got some rest. Even though we were only 2 hours from home, it was nice to get some good sleep. With four pillows in the tub, Shelby slept quite comfortable!

The next morning, Randy took the Yukon into a repair shop right next door to the hotel. They always use Saturdays for catch-up and travel emergencies, so there was absolutely no wait. They diagnosed a faulty alternator, had a new one delivered within five minutes, installed it, and had us on our way by the time we had eaten breakfast. And just like that, we were back on the road Home. 

Obviously we weren't expecting this adventure. Or expense. But there is no doubt that we were watched over. Blessed. We are loved. We have now had days with family, both Burrell and Dirks. My heart is full. How grateful I am for family. 

Merry Christmas from The Dirks'! 

Gingerbread Townhouse 2014

This is one of our favorite family traditions.

This year we got a Townhouse gingerbread kit. Just like our own house!

I sure love these crazies!! And I love Brennon's crossed eyes! Hopefully we get on the road for Utah today. I am a modern-day Ariel- I lost my voice. And generally feel rundown. Talk about crashing after Florida!! Happy Holidays!! 

Still

We still haven't quite recovered from our trip.  We are all quite sluggish in everything that we do.  Well, minus Randy.  I don't think that man has ever had a day that he just sat down and relaxed.  He is a goer, that's for sure.

Last night, Tyson fell asleep during Family Home Evening.  He was participating one minute, and head-bobbing the next.  I took him to bed at 6:00PM.  He woke this morning at 7:00AM.  Shelby and Brennon asked to go to bed at 7:30PM.  Shelby woke at around 7:45AM, and Brennon is still sleeping at 8:00AM.  There was a lot of contention on Sunday, so I told the kids that we were all going to go to bed early.  They went without a single complaint.  That never happens.  In fact, that is their go-to punishment.  Our kids hate nothing more than to get sent to bed early.  And they willingly went on Sunday night.  We are just tired.

The house has been picked up, for the most part.  But, I still have all of our clothes packed in the suitcase (the ones that Randy insisted I pack, that never got used).  Bathrooms need to be deep-cleaned.  Sheets need to be washed.  Kitchen baseboards need to be painted white.  And this, and this, and this.  I get little jobs done one at a time, and then just sit for a while.  I've been going to bed between 9:00-9:30 every night, ripping myself out of bed at 7:00AM (Alarm is set for 6:30.  Please, snooze has never been hit more in my life than in this last week.)

We

Are

Tired!

That tells me one thing...We had a GOOD trip!

Give Kids The World

 {Give Kids The World}

 Main Entrance, Front Desk and Lobby area.  And a cute boy!

 Amberville: Put-Put Dino Golf, Train Station, Teen Night, Electric Boats

 Julie's Safari Theater: Teen Movie Night, Village Idol, and pictures with Mickey.

 Gallery of Hope: Where you can read about Henri Landworth's story.

Our Story
The story of Give Kids The World begins with a little girl with a wish and the desire of one man to make that wish come true.
The little girl's name was Amy. Amy had leukemia and one wish - to visit the theme parks in Orlando. To facilitate Amy's wish, the request of a complimentary stay was made to a respected hotelier. As he had done many times before, the hotelier gladly obliged and Amy's wish was that much closer to being realized. Sadly, the remainder of Amy's travel plans took too long to arrange and her wish was never granted; Amy had passed away. Time simply ran out.
This unfulfilled wish inspired a man, the hotelier, to make a vow that no child in need would ever be failed again. That man was Henri Landwirth and his desire to ensure that Amy's story would never repeat itself is where the story of Give Kids The World begins.

 Kate's Kitchen: Catered by Boston Market.  Open for lunch, dinner, and delivery.

 Ice Cream Palace: Open from 7:00AM-11:00PM.  Free Ice Cream, as much as you want.

 Castle of Miracles: Star Fairy Tower- where each Wish Child has a golden star that was placed and will remain forever, La Ti Da spa.

 Enchanted Carousel.  My kids went on this at least twice each day.  I loved that there was also a place for wheelchairs.

The Village
Landwirth enlisted the support of colleagues in the hospitality industry, including our world-famous theme parks, to assist him in bringing these special families to Central Florida within 24 hours if need be. He called the project “Give Kids The World,” because that is just what he intended to do - provide memorable, magical, cost-free experiences to children with life-threatening illnesses and their families.
As the program expanded and the number of families continued to grow, it was apparent that Give Kids The World would need to create a place that could better serve the special needs of our families. The gates of Give Kids The World Village opened in 1989.
Today the Village is a 70-acre resort complete with over 144 Villa accommodations, entertainment attractions, whimsical venues, and fun specifically designed for children with special needs.
With the help of many generous individuals, corporations and partnering wish-granting organizations, Give Kids The World has welcomed more than 134,000 families from all 50 states and over 75 countries.

 Gingerbread House: Open for Breakfast and Dinner buffet.  The food was excellent.  Best Pot Roast I've ever had, in fact!

 One of two pools.  Zero entry.  They even had wheelchairs made out of PVC for children to be able to swim.  It was amazing!!

 On Saturday nights, the ships sails were raised for a movie night while you swim.  A Dive-In!

 Splash Pad

Families
Imagine a child whose illness prevents them from enjoying their childhood, from doing the things so many of us take for granted. Imagine a child whose weekly routine includes a steady regimen of medicine, needles, treatments, and pain. Imagine a family that would do anything to ease their child’s pain, to make their child smile, to make their child’s dream come true.

For so many families, these unthinkable odds are a reality. Give Kids The World exists solely to fulfill the wishes of children with life-threatening illnesses and their families, providing them a memorable, magical experience that will live in their hearts for years to come.

With the help of over 3,500 devoted volunteer angels, countless compassionate corporate and individual heroes, and dedicated staff members, Give Kids The World is able to give these children and their families the most precious gift of all – the gift of hope. Families enjoy a once in a lifetime opportunity to have fun, to relax, and to spend the type of quality time together absent from their normal daily lives. 

 Matthew's Boundless Playground: Monday night Live CandyLand Game, where the kids are the playing pieces.

 Keaton's Korale: Horseback riding on Saturday Mornings.  This was the only thing we told our kids "no" for.  It felt awful, but with all of Brennon's hives, and our own allergies, I wasn't interested in causing allergies when we planned to board a plane that evening.  Nope!!  Sorry, kids.  

Mom is a witch, what else is new?

Old Elmer:  Snoring tree.  It was just cute!

Henri Landworth
Like the special children Give Kids The World serves, its founder, Henri Landwirth, knows all too well what it is like to give up his childhood.  Born in Antwerp, Belgium, on March 7, 1927, Henri and his family were separated and became prisoners in the Nazi death and labor camps during WWII. Henri spent the years between the ages of 13 and 18 in camps, including Auschwitz and Mauthausen.  By war’s end, both of his parents had been killed, but miraculously Henri and his twin sister, Margot, survived and were reunited.  Henri worked his way to America on a freight ship, arriving in New York City with $20 in his pocket and little knowledge of the English language; soon after he was drafted to serve in the Army. 

Henri used his GI benefits to learnhotel,management and landed a position in a hotel, taking every opportunity to learn each job in the industry.  This first job became a lifelong career.


Since his retirement from a successful, innovative hotel industry career that spanned more than 50 years, Henri has devoted himself to improving the lives of those in need through numerous foundations and nonprofit organizations he has founded in addition to Give Kids The World.

Henri has earned numerous honors, including being named in 1988 as one of the 12 Most Caring Individuals in America by the Caring Institute and as Parents Magazine’s Humanitarian of the Year and the Orlando Sentinel’s Floridian of the Year in 1994.  On June
13, 1997, Henri received an honorary doctorate of Humane Letters from the University of Cincinnati.  He has twice been invited to carry the Olympic Torch.

His latest initiative is called Hate Hurts, a program that shares the message of how important it is to forgive those who have hurt us, as well as ending our own acts of hatred, no matter
how small.  Henri now tours colleges and high schools speaking about the lessons he has learned about the virtues of forgiveness.

Henri’s life and the story of Give Kids The World are chronicled in his book, “Gift of Life” which was published in 1996.

(All text, minus my own, was copied from www.gktw.org website.)

As soon as all of our kids are old enough, we are going to go to Florida just to volunteer here for a week.  It is not just a pipe dream, but a promise.  This is only one way that we can give back, to say Thank You.  We can help another family have a similar experience.  We will!!

Epcot

 Saturday, December 6, 2014

Having already packing last night, we cleaned up the villa, packed the car, took one last look at our "home" in Florida, and started our last day in the warmth.  Our flight wasn't scheduled to leave until 6:50PM, so we had a pretty full day ahead.  Since we had one more day that we could visit a Disney property, we saved Epcot till last.  We'd heard that it wasn't the most young-kid friendly, so we knew we wouldn't have a full day there.  It turned out to be the perfect thing for our short-day needs.

Like everywhere else, we got right on to every single ride.  We also got pictures with Pluto.  We were walking past, the PhotoPass photographer saw us, waved us over, and put us right in.  We weren't even really looking for more pictures.  It was a blast.  When we get our CD from Disney (another gift because of Make A Wish and Give Kids The World) I will post all of our fun pictures.

And just a side note, we arrived here at about 10:00.  See the little boy in Randy's arms?  That's Tyson.  He left the villa saying he just wanted to go home.  He was SO done by the end.  He was such a trooper.  I am proud of him for walking so much, keeping up with us, and having such a stellar attitude.  All of the kids did great.  More than great, actually.  But I am most proud of Tyson.

We made sure to ride Captain EO.  It was fun to see Michael Jackson, remember the "old days" before he got all psycho, and to see how far technology has come.  They are now introducing more 4D rides.  There is a lot of sound, movement, 3D visuals, and now some type of water to go along with rides.  I'm sure 3D was a big deal in the 80's, so it was just to show the difference between what we have now and what they had then.

We didn't go to any of the "Around the World" venues, mostly because we were all so tired of walking.  Also, we didn't want to pay $30/person for a meal.  We always made sure to get a little treat (Mickey Pretzel, Churro, etc.) but the actual meals at Disney were just way too pricey.  Especially when you consider that we had free meals at Give Kids The World.  So, we mostly just went to Epcot to say we'd been to Epcot.  And to get our 2014 Ornament that we collect each year.

We made it back to Give Kids The World to have lunch and play around the village until it was time to leave.  Make A Wish had someone waiting for us when we arrived at the airport to take us through security.  He took us to the very first of the security line (at the busiest airport of all time, I swear) and had us through in less than five minutes.  Before we started, he told us that we 'were about to cut in front of a lot of people.  Don't look them in the eye, it ticks them off.'  When we were through, he asked if anyone had given us a dirty look or said anything.  They hadn't.  I'm sure it was because of our shirts.  I even jokingly told him that we were used to cutting in line, we'd had a week of practice. 

We made it home by 12:30AM on Sunday Morning (3:30AM Florida time, which we were now accustomed to).  We were tired, we were exhausted, we were sore, we were glad to be home.  But I think the thing we most felt was gratitude.  It was a whirlwind-vacation, gone before we knew it, but it was also more than we ever could have hoped for.  I was listening to Cinderella yesterday while I was painting my pantry doors (I always have something on when I work).  As she's getting her wish granted by her Fairy Godmother, everything ready for the ball, the Fairy Godmother says, "No need to thank me," and Cinderella says,

"I wasn't...I,I mean, I do...It's just more than I ever could have wished for."

Those words stopped me mid-brush stroke.  Because that is exactly how I feel.  There are no words to fully express my gratitude. 

Our lives has been like Cinderella's this year, in a way.  Things were going great, we were having fun.  Then Caden gets sick.  Life looks bleak.  Caden feels "abused and humiliated." Our lives become dictated by the demands of others.  Cancer was like the Wicked Stepmother, asking more than we had to give.  We work harder than we have strength, sometimes.  "And, yet, through it all, [Caden] remained ever giving and kind."  Our Fairy Godmother came in the form of the many doctors, nurses, surgeons, friends, and family.  Our ball was this week.  Our lives are forever changed.  We are going to live Happily Ever After.  Because Dreams Do Come True!!

Cocoa Beach

 Friday, December 5, 2014

Cocoa Beach

 We only had about 30 minutes from Kennedy to the beach, how could we pass that up?  It wasn't sunny, in fact it was still sprinkling (like it had been the whole day, and much of our whole trip) but we couldn't be that close to the ocean and not go!

 

I'm pretty sure it was one of our funnest times as a family.  No agenda.  Nothing to make sure we get to.  Just pure fun!

 Keilie found a jellyfish.  It was breathing.  We used a stick and got it back in the water.  And then we found five more.  They were everywhere.  It was kind of scary realizing how many there were.  We watched our steps a bit more after that.

 Randy had me almost peeing my little pants.  He was so much fun!!

 Ladies, this man is taken.  And he's all mine!!

 He's teaching his sons well!!

 Love me some lovin'!

 I'm fairly certain that Tyson had the most fun in the water.  Brennon loved looking for shells, Keilie loved looking for jellyfish, Shelby loved running from the waves, Caden loved trying to get as far as possible without getting too wet.  But, Ty....loved everything about it.  He didn't care just how wet he got, he was just going to enjoy the beach.

 Shelby, Brennon and Caden never got near enough to have Dad throw them in.  How fun!  And you better believe I stayed far away after seeing him do it to Ty and Keilie!

 Hey, I've got a fun idea!!!  How about you all hold hands and jump when the wave comes it.  That would be so cute!!.....

 Until the wave comes in and drags Tyson under!!!  Good thing he didn't care how wet he got.  Cause he got soaked.

For the record, that's Keilie in the Rapids ride at Animal Kingdom, Caden and Shelby at the Shamu Show at Sea World, and Tyson at Cocoa Beach.  And none for Mommy and Brennon.  Perfect!!

Perfect way to end an amazing trip!  We still had Saturday, but we all felt this was the last hurrah.

Kennedy Space Center

Friday, December 5, 2014

When the Wish was made, Caden asked if he could go to Kennedy Space Center.  Space exploration has always been something that interests Caden.  Because we were staying at Give Kids The World, we got to go for free.  It wasn't as fun for the little kids, but it was amazing to be there.  The sad thing...there was an actual launch that morning that we didn't even know about.  We missed an actual launch!!  Oh well, we still had a great time!!

 We watched a video presentation of how the shuttle came to be.  The years it took, the ideas that were presented, the trials that were made, and then the eventual launch video.  I realize that I had been emotional for a whole week, but this was more than that.  I was so proud to be an American, at that moment!  To realize how huge this was in American history, to think about how it would have been to watch it.  The fear, the frustration, the excitement, the hope.  It was a beautiful video.  This time, my tears were for pride.  

I am proud to be an American!!!

 They had a 'ride' that was a flight simulation.  Tyson was literally 1 inch too short, so he and I got to watch the ride.  It was fun to see my entire family sitting on the front row.  It was fun to see their faces.  Their cheeks, especially:)

 Shoes come off.  Only big enough to crawl.  See what it's like to be an astronaut.

 This was a video re-enactment of Apollo 8.  After the tragedy of Apollo 1, we were determined to get someone up into space.  I put myself in the shoes of the three men that boarded that shuttle, that morning.  Were they going to die?  Was the shuttle safe- unlike Apollo 1? Had they said goodbye to their loved ones?  I can't even imagine all that they were feeling.  And then to be the ones that were in charge of the launch?  How scary it was for them.  Would three more men be sacrificed for Space?  It was an emotional time.  And, as the shuttle made it past the worst of it, the emotions were so strong.  We'd done it!  A man was headed to space.  It was so spectacular!

 Testing out the Mars Rover.  They needed something that could traverse uneven terrain, such as backsides of cute little kids:)  And Daddies!

I will never forget 9/11.  Ever!  I remember exactly where I was, what was felt, how the rest of the day was spent, and even the weeks after.  I will never forget.  Here is a time in history that others will never forget.  Something that was happy.  Something that has changed our lives.  Something that had many ups and downs.  Something that we can be proud of.  We won the Space Race.  We are forever changed because of this.  I am grateful for Space.  And for our day at Kennedy Space Center.