Make A Wish Trip Part 1

Wow. Where do I begin? We made lasting memories. We had highs and lows. Both girls are still talking about the fun times we had. We will always remember Lilly's Make-A-Wish Trip!

We were a little worried to travel on Tuesday morning because Emery got sick the night before. Fever. Horrible cough. Gunky nose. Not happy. Was she going to travel well on an airplane for 4 hours? We had a sleepless night and said a lot of prayers. The quote kept coming to my mind "Doubt your doubts, before you doubt your faith" by President Uchdorf. I just had to have faith that it would all work out ok. Jay kept thinking about that quote from President Hinckley "Be believing, be happy, don't get discouraged. Things will work out."

Both girls did great on the plane. Lilly loves flying. Emery slept most of the way. When we arrived in Orlando and were waiting for our rental car, Em found a pretty yellow car that she LOVED! Silly girl!

We were told to look for a person waiting for Lilly from Give Kids The World. Lilly was so excited when she found Cheryl. She ran to her and gave her the biggest hug! We got our bags, rental van, and directions to the GKTW village, and were on our way!

Give Kids The World is a magical place! "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." It lived up to it's name. There was a special spirit about that place. We were sad to leave. They treated us like royalty and we will never forget our time we spent there. Some of our favorite places at the village were the Castle of Miracles, the Ice Cream Palace (where you can have ice cream for BREAKFAST!), and Marc's Dino-Putt.

Inside the Castle of Miracles, Lilly got to send her special star up to Stella the Wish Fairy and she placed it in the Castle for all to see. Lilly will always be a part of GKTW and one day we hope to come back and visit and find her special star again. The picture on the left is Lilly pointing at her star with a laser pointer. There are thousands of stars in that castle!!

We had a few rainy days while in Florida, and one day it poured and poured. We made the best of it though. The girls loved having a "spa day" where they got their nails painted and make-up done. Lilly asked if they needed help painting nails because she is an expert! Lilly also enjoyed riding horses at Keaton's Korral. She is definitely an animal lover like her mama!

Have you ever seen a white squirrel before? Around GKTW there were white ones, black ones, brown ones, gray ones. We also spotted a few dinosaurs along the way while miniature golfing!

Mayor Clayton and Ms. Merry came and tucked the girls into bed one evening. That was special! Emery was already asleep when they got there and we were a little worried she would freak out if she woke up and saw two GIANT bunnies nearby. She has always had a fear of "costumed characters." Well, lo and behold, she woke up and gave Ms. Merry a hug! We were shocked! We were all convinced that she was still half asleep. We were excited to take her to DisneyWorld to see if she would warm up to any of the characters there.

On Thursday nights it's Christmas at the village. They played Christmas music throughout town and the girls got to see Santa and choose a special gift! We even got to meet a few special Disney characters at the village.

Magical. Unforgettable. Special. Amazing. Incredible. Fun. Uplifting. Inspiring. Wow. I don't ever think there will be a place that we stay on vacation that will top GKTW Village. When we would leave the village and come back, we would always get a "Welcome Home!" greeting at the front gate! We felt so welcomed. We felt so loved. And for that, I am forever grateful!

There is so much to be blogged about our trip. I'll try and get another post up soon!