The Scariest Ride at Disney World

Our trip to Disney World was fun and flew by quickly. You know those vacations where you're up at the crack of dawn and in bed way past your bedtime? That was this vacation. I'm trying to recuperate, but with everything awaiting me at home, it doesn't look like that's going to happen any time soon. 

The park wasn't very crowded the beginning of the week, but crowds grew as we got closer to Thanksgiving. We spent Thanksgiving day with my parents and an aunt & uncle, eating at a resort, and then at Epcot and Downtown Disney. It was a pretty great day!

We rode most of the rides throughout the week. We had already made a family vow that we would not be riding Tower of Terror again due to the traumatization of the last time we rode it. Never again. La Petite Belle did chicken out a minute before she was to step foot on Rock 'n Roller Coaster, even though she had ridden it before.

However, the most terrifying ride for us was the bus ride back to our resort the evening before Thanksgiving. 

We sat on the bus, just like everyone else, minding our own business. People started to get off at their stops and the crowd on the bus got lighter and lighter. There was a particular couple toward the middle of the bus who pretty much made out the entire drive. It was quite disturbing seeing the guy nibble on the girl's ear. K Belle was disgusted and kept commenting to me about it. I told her to just ignore them and look the other way. No problem. We would be off soon.

Well ... There was only one other family on the bus with us besides make-out couple and their relatives loud-obnoxious couple who made their appearance prior to our departure. The guy from the loud-obnoxious couple came up from the back of the box and started making obscene gestures to the other couple, cursing, and saying (loudly) inappropriate things.

My Beau can tolerate a lot, but I had a feeling a storm was brewin'.

And, it was.

Beau looked at the guy (as the other decent family exited the bus) and said: "Hey man, I have young daughters here."

Loud-obnoxious Guy: "And?"

Beau: "And what you're doing is inappropriate and I don't appreciate it."

Loud-obnoxious Guy: "That's life. I got daughters too."

Beau: : "One day it'll make sense to you."

Loud-obnoxious Guy began to say a bunch of other stuff that I just ignored, but it included more cursing, singing inappropriate songs loudly, and mocking us. 

We still had another stop before our stop and, of course, they were at our stop.

We just sat there. The bus driver did nothing. He was approximately 85-years-old, so not sure what he could've done. I tried to keep the girls distracted from them. K Belle asked if we could just get off. She was scared.

These guys were pretty rough. I thought Disney World didn't allow riff-raff. I felt like I was at Six Flags.

I was hoping they wouldn't follow us or see where our room was. They were definitely ready for a fight and actually so was Beau. His words were: "I hope he comes up to me and says something so I can rip his head off." Um ... I'm sure that's what Jesus would do.

We got off the bus and went the opposite direction. Once we got back to our room, K Belle promptly locked all the doors.

We obviously survived through the night and they didn't come after us.

But, my question to you is: Would you or would you not say something to some hooligan who starts to speak obscenities or inappropriate talk in front of your children?

Beau did. I don't think I would have said something if he wouldn't have been there for fear of the guy and his friends.

Thank God for my husband. We never have to have any fear that he will not protect us. I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that he would fight someone to the death if they tried to harm me or the girls. I love that.

Well that went well.

I got a whole four comments from ladies wanting Roma's new children's DVDs. Wow. I think I've failed that angel.

Anyhoo ... you ladies get the DVDs of course. I will be contacting you for your addresses. Yay for you!

On a totally different note ... ummm ... I'm going to Disney.

So, I'm frantically cleaning house and packing right now. The car needs to be inspected, the dog needs to be groomed, and all the clothes need to be washed. Whew. I'm tired just thinking about everything that needs to be done.

I'm equally tired thinking about the 12-hour drive starting at 6:00 a.m. tomorrow. We won't even talk about the same 12 hours back.

But, I will be so happy once I see this little guy.

Disney World is pretty much the most magical place in the world. I literally had tears in my eyes the first time I saw Mickey coming down the street in the Main Street parade. 

This will be our third time going to Disney. Each trip has been different because our girls have been various ages each time. This time we take a teenager and an 11-year-old. I can't wait to see the fun that this trip holds. We have already made a pact that there will be no riding of "The Tower of Terror" because of our near-death experiences last time. But, roller coasters ... beware.

This is also the 40th anniversary of Disney World. In fact, Disney World and I have the same birthday. Think I could get some extra-special perks because of that? Maybe. I will definitely try.

Because I will be hobnobbing with Pooh Bear and Prince Charming, I will not be blogging next week. I hope to have some good stories for you the week after. 

Have a great Thanksgiving week with your families!

Four New "Little Angels" DVD Set Giveaways & My Interview with Roma (We're pretty much on a first-name basis now.)

OK. So, you remember when I posted that I was going to talk to Roma Downey?

Well, I did.

She was simply precious. And, I'm excited to tell you about her new children's DVD series and be able to offer four giveaways. Each giveaway includes two DVDs in the "Little Angels" series.

Each DVD teaches, not only a preschool learning concept, but life lessons through Bible stories.
This one ... ABC's ...

And, this one about animals.

I asked her a couple of questions.
What was your inspiration for this new DVD series and why did you want to get into this field?

Over the last few years, I had written a couple of children's books, so it's an area of the market that I've always had great affection for. I've raised three children myself and this idea had been growing inside of me probably since Touched by an Angel came off the air. It's no secret that I have a great love and affection for angels. I played one for almost ten years. I love kids and I love God. So to be able to combine what I do with what I love has been very, very exciting.


When I was a child growing up in Ireland, one of the prayers my parents taught and shared with me was a short little prayer: 
God in heaven, my Savior dear, watch over my children and draw them near. 
Send your little angels to be at their side, to light and to guard, to love and to guide.


And, that little prayer became one of the central inspirations for the whole series.

The stories on the DVD take place in the nursery of twins, Alex and Zoe. The action happens when the mother, voiced by Roma herself, is out of the room. There are eight angel characters painted on a mural in the nursery. These little angels come to life and connect with the twins, teaching them practical life skills and also introduce them to spiritual principles, where the twins get to meet and interact with Bible characters. Issues that the twins face are cooperation, obedience, being thankful, being helpful, forgiveness, and sibling rivalry.

One of the things I really appreciated on your DVDs was the fact that you took a moment to directly talk to moms in a real practical way. Is this going to be on all the DVDs?

I recorded a section called "Little Life Lessons with Roma" and I thought it would be a good chance for me to be directly speaking to moms and dad with ways to teach their children the lessons that were touched upon in that particular DVD and offer little parenting tips on how to tackle certain situations. You should learn to regard everything that happens with your children less as a challenge, and more as a teachable moment and opportunities for growth. 

I really did enjoy the DVDs and wish I would have had them as another option to VeggieTales, which are also phenomenal as you may know, when my girls were little.

You can also read here about MOPS giving "Little Angels" it's recommendation.

Here's a sneak peek:

I'm pumped about being able to offer 4 sets of the "Little Angels" series to 4 lucky readers. All you have to do is a leave a comment telling me who you're going to give these DVDs to and add your email so that I can contact you.

I will choose a winner on Thursday evening and post who the winner is on Friday morning.

Feel free to share this with all your mom friends. Get them to come on over and enter!

This guy's good.

Yeah, he is.

Check out these photos Chris Deville took for an upcoming conference brochure.

Yep. He makes me look good.

You can see even more great pictures on his website - www.chris-deville.com.

Excuses, Excuses

(How appropriate for this time of year.)
I hate excuses. I typically think like a teacher when it comes to excuses ... unless you have a doctor's excuse or have had a death in the family, you really have no excuse.

OK. That's a little extreme, I know.

But, there is a doctor's excuse and a death involved in why I only had one post last week.

I also hate when people use the excuse of "I've been so busy." It makes my skin crawl. To me it's like saying, I'm the only one that's busy, everyone else is just sittin' around popping bon-bons and twiddling their thumbs. Come on, people. Everyone's busy. And, everyone has to make time for everything. That's life.

Whoa. That was kinda hard-hitting stuff to preface why I hadn't done a post.

So, here are my excuses:

#1 Beau had (and still has) a kidney stone, which included a visit to the ER two Fridays ago.

#2 Work has been overwhelming. We are currently moving offices and trying to continue to do all of our regular jobs. My two offices are in disarray.

#3 School stuff, soccer, cheerleading, piano, church ... 'nuff said. Something's happening every night. And, honestly, soccer is about to be the death of me. Praise the Lord that the last tournament this weekend!

#4 Attended a great women's conference this past week where I found out I have a bit of Gideon, Moses, and Jonah in me. Thanks, Amy Groeschel! (There was so much good stuff from Christine Caine & Priscilla Shirer too. Wow.)

#5 Multiple Christmas production rehearsals and memorizing lines that make MacBeth look like a children's program ... OK, I may be exaggerating a bit, but it's a lot for me.

#6 The crazy person that runs my house (me) is having a garage sale this weekend to help fund #7

#7 We're headed to Disney World in less than two weeks. So excited but so much to get ready for!

#8 Planning an awesome '70s disco party for the week I'm back from Disney = anxiety.

#9 Finding time to read ANY of my Bible study book is almost impossible. And, blogging here or at Joli even worse than that. What's worse than impossible? Not sure.

#10 Our fish, Silver, died this weekend. Memorial service was conducted by La Petite Belle as we buried him in the flower bed. He's been with us for years and had a pretty good life despite his few times out of the water where he was desperately trying to breathe.

Remembering that I'm a wife and mom first carries the most pressure of all!

Now, there ... these are my excuses. I hope you are more forgiving than me.

This song has been stuck in my head after this past weekend. I think it's because God wants me to remember that it's only through Him that I can make it in everything, big or small. This one line stood out, "I look to You. I won't be overwhelmed. Give me vision to see things like You do." That's what I want. If we saw things like He did, there would be no anxiety, no stress ... just the big picture.