Happy 33 month birthday, Ellie-Kate! (10/26/10)

Hi Everyone--

In the frenzy of everyday life (and, especially in times of illness, travel, or sports seasons), we tend to focus on getting from point A to point B in the most efficient way. Today was a wonderful time to pause, though, as Ellie-Kate and I spent the day together-- not in a hospital or theme park but in our own home :) We took a few moments to celebrate her 33 month birthday, and, as I glanced up in her room at the very first picture that we saw of Ellie-Kate, I realized that two years have now passed since we first saw that picture and fell in love with a beautiful pair of sweet dark eyes. I'll never forget trick-or-treating with good friends of our's and receiving amazing encouragement for finding out more information about this precious child. The Halloween season will always be a blessed reminder of a miraculous time of God leading us to this special little girl. Truly, praise God for His gentle guidance, prodding, and provision!!!

The past few weeks HAVE been a blur for us, though. Amid preparing for the tennis banquet and for our trip to visit Britti, last Monday, my mom called with news that my 93 year old (64 pounds!) grandma took a fall in her home, breaking her hip and injuring her shoulder. Blessedly, she survived surgery, and she is now recovering in a nursing home in Warsaw. We feel pretty good about the facility. It's very new, and she's able to have a private room and bath in the rehabilitation portion of the center.

Meanwhile, Ellie-Kate started having problems with breathing. We took her to the urgent care, and one of our favorite doctors on call noted that he could only detect an ear infection but that we should watch her closely and take her to the ER if we noticed any change. She just wasn't acting right. Around 9:30 p.m. on Monday, October 18, we drove to the ER, and the staff was great. They took us right back to a bed, did tests, and gave her a breathing treatment. We learned that she had pneumonia. The doctor released her around 3 a.m., but, around 6 a.m., I had to administer another breathing treatment. At 9 a.m., we headed back to the ER because she just couldn't breathe well. After a stressful day of more tests, breathing treatments, and IV antibiotics (as well as the caution by the doctor that we might need to transfer her to Columbus), we were finally able to get a handle on her breathing, and she turned a corner. We asked if she was able to travel, and the doctor said yes-- we could take her antibiotics, steroids, and breathing treatments with us.

Blessedly, Ellie-Kate bounced back quickly, and we were thrilled to proceed on our trip to see Britti. She was able to get us into the parks for free. We were also able to get strollers and lockers for free and to get an incredible deal on our cabin (in Fort Wilderness Resort) and dining plan. Membership truly has its privileges!!!

We went to Magic Kingdom on Thursday, October 21, eating breakfast at Cinderella's Castle with the princesses and supper at Crystal Palace with the Pooh friends. We also enjoyed the Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween part which enabled us to trick-or-treat around the park and watch a cool parade and fireworks display.

On Friday, October 22, we ate breakfast at Tusker House in Animal Kingdom with Mickey, Donald, Daisy, and Goofy, and we had a blast at Rafiki's planet watch and on the safari ride (Christie, Roger, Emmy, and Ellie-Kate) and on Mount Everest and Dinosaur (Britti and Chelsea). We grabbed dinner at Restaurantasaurus before heading back to the resort for a sing-a-long with Chip and Dale as well as s'mores over the campfire. The event included a trivia contest, and our family actually won!! (Ellie-Kate carried around that stuffed Woody for the rest of the trip!)

On Saturday, October 23, we ate breakfast at Akerhus in Epcot with the princesses and then did various attractions in Future World before heading to the World Showcase. Emmy and Ellie-Kate enjoyed getting stamps at each of the countries, and Britti and Chelsea did one more ride and then headed back to the resort for horseback riding. Roger, Emmy, Ellie-Kate, and I stayed at Epcot until 2 p.m., and we then headed back to the resort for a nap (E-K), swimming (Emmy), and pony ride (E-K). That evening, we had a tremendous time at Mickey's Backyard BBQ where the girls all danced with Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Chip, and Dale.

On Sunday, October 24, we ate breakfast at 1900 Park Fare (at the Grand Floridian) with Alice, the Mad Hatter, Mary Poppins, and the Pooh friends. By this time, Ellie-Kate was getting much more comfortable with the characters, but she still didn't want for any of them to touch her. After breakfast, we packed up, checked out, and played one last time on the neat playground at the resort. We arrived back in Athens around 8:30 p.m.

Overall, it was a great trip!! Chelsea was a bit stressed due to massive end-of-the-grading period school work, and it's always challenging to accommodate competing interests due to diverse age ranges and preferences. However, it was just medicinal to see Britti. We all miss her so much, and the girls were NOT happy about leaving her again. She just makes everything work when she's around. Fortunately, we're going back down to Florida for Thanksgiving so we'll be together again before we know it, God willing.

Hope that you enjoy the pictures of our quick trip to the most magical place on Earth!!

Christie