Tidings or Tithing's...hmmm...Jordan will take the money!

Jordan wanted to write a little something in his Uncle Allyn's Christmas card so after I signed it I handed the card over to him. A few minutes later he announced he was finished and I took a second to read it before sealing it inside the envelope. Here is what I read:

We wish you a Merry Christmas, We wish you a Merry Christmas, We wish you a Merry Christmas , and a Happy New Year. Good tithing's you brings to us and your friends, good tithing's for Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Sorry Allyn, it looks like Jordan is hoping to collect 10% from you this Christmas season. I love how the words of songs are perceived in the mind of a 7 year old. It was a great laugh out loud moment for me, but as an FYI Allyn, Jordan accepts Monopoply cash. Merry Christmas!!

"He is the reason for the season"

A dear friend of mine spoke in church today and for part of her talk she quoted this poem. I loved it so much that I decided to post it. It helped remind me of the true reason we celebrate this time of year. It's so easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the season, and often times we miss the quiet, peaceful, and even reverent times meant to happen during the Christmas season. I am truly humbled and grateful for the sacrifice our Lord and Savior paid for each of us in order to one day be with Him again. I pray you all have a magical Christmas and make it a priority to create the time to sit back and gaze at the lights adorning your Christmas tree or share in the laughter of children as they tear open gifts they have been dreaming about getting, or as you listen to beautiful hymns and songs of the season being sung by choirs, friends or neighbors, that you also remember we do all of this to honor the birth of our Savior, our Redeemer, and our eldest brother, Jesus Christ. He truly is the reason for the season. Merry Christmas everyone!!

'Twas the Night Before Christmas (Christmas Spirit Version)
By Debra Coe (c) 1998 all rights reserved

'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care
With thoughts of St. Nicholas and what he'd bring there.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds
Without a moment of bowing their heads.
The scriptures were thrown on the shelves without care.
Little hope of remembering the precious words there.

And I with the tinsel and Ma with the lights
Had prepared for Christmas with no thoughts of Christ.
We had snowmen and elves and of course Santa Claus.
We thought we had decorated without any flaws.

For weeks we'd prepared with lots of traditions,
Cards of course and so much work in the kitchen.
We'd been to parties galore all dressed up in frills
And spent hours at stores to get the best deals.

The lights on the house were all flashing with fun
Lots of presents under the tree; we thought we were done.
We thought not of the needy, nor help to a stranger,
We thought not of the poor, and not of a manger.

No angels were singing in our house that night
We hadn't invited them so none were in sight.
The real spirit of Christmas was absent as well.
For only Christ's spirit will make our hearts swell.

And I wondered that Christmas how it could be
That the Christmas spirit wasn't stronger in me
Why Christmas didn't seem as it was in the past
Why Christmas just came and went by very fast.

When out of my wondering mind did appear.
Some scriptures I'd learned as a child so dear.
Of a loving kind Father who gave His own Son
God saw all our needs and chose Christ as the one.

Christ has the power to serve us so well
Healing the things that can lead to spiritual jail
I could change if I wanted with eyes that could see
"Come Follow Me," was His only plea.

I decided to change and begged forgiveness please
And asked how to serve Him while down on my knees
Serve others and do it as if unto Him
Was the answer I heard in the sound of a hymn

I rushed from my bed and I got scriptures for all.
So we could start Christmas just right after all.
So Christmas day we planed for the months yet to come
Of people we'd serve and we talked of the fun

Now Angels are singing in our home today
We finally invited them to come our way.
And Christmas is lasting the whole long year through,
With scriptures, prayer and devotion His spirit grew.

Confessions of a Mousejunkie!

Kevin and I just finished reading a book titled Mousejunkies and have come to the conclusion that the book easily applies to us. We are most definitely a Mousejunkie family. If possible we would travel to Disney 3 or 4 times a year, but if we can at least get our fix once a year we'll try to stay happy.

One might ask what it means to be a Mousejunkie. Well for one there's a unique Disney lingo you need to learn. For example if you know what the following means, you just might be a Mousejunkie yourself, "I traveled with my DH and 3 DS to WDW for MNSSHP and stayed at POR. Took the ME from MCO and had a great time at the MK. Wish we were Aper's so I could go back for MVMCP." Yep, mousejunkies talk in their own Disney language, and I'm a little embarrassed to say I'm starting to get it all down.

Anther characteristic of a Mousjunkie would be the undeniable pull you have every time you pass a Disney Store to go inside. Kevin and I go out of our way to shop there even if we don't buy a single thing. We transport into a happy zone whenever we walk into a place where cast members are there to serve us, and secretly wish we were cast members ourselves.

And of course if you're a Mousejunkie you just can't envision going on too many other trips that don't involve a Princess Castle. Even in a family with all boys, we get excited every time we walk through the Magic Kingdom gates and see the Castle looming in front of us. It brings excitement each and every time.

There's just something about the World of Disney that intrigues us no matter how many times we go. This year we managed to make it down twice, but I'm already making plans for a return tip next year. If not for the extreme heat and humidity in the summertime, I'm sure we would live closer to Orlando, but for now I'll continue dreaming about our next vacation when all of us can feel like a kid again and escape into a world of make-believe and mouse ears.

Our Disney Wonder Cruise

I can now say I am believer in Cruises as a form of vacation. This was a first for us, and I have to say it was a fantastic way to explore areas I've never been to and it was the perfect way to relax out in the open seas.

The kids and I had a magical time on our Disney Cruise last week. It couldn't have gone much better than it did (except for the obvious fact of Kevin not being able to come which still saddens me), but I discovered first-hand that cruising is a great activity for all ages and hopefully I can figure out a way to get Kevin on one before too much more time passes by.

Here's a few of the highlights we had on our latest adventure.

We flew in the night before the cruise and stayed at one of the Disney Resorts which picked us up and transported us all to Port Canaveral the following morning. Our plane was delayed out of Detroit, and we didn't actually get to our hotel room until around 1:30 a.m., but we all managed to be up by 7:00 a.m. for breakfast, a quick tour of the grounds, and an exciting bus ride to the terminal.

Pulling up to Port on Disney's Magical Express Bus.
You can see the ship out the window which brought on a lot of happy excitement!

Kyler, Jordan, and I had a lot of fun making magnets on our home computer for our stateroom doors. This was the boys door...Stateroom 2640.
Caleb and I stayed in the adjoining Stateroom #2638.

Inside our Stateroom.
We didn't pay for a veranda room, but we were upgraded to ocean-view rooms which came with these huge 4 foot porthole windows to gaze out of.

Our first meal on the ship.
We were anxious for the boat to sail.

The "Celebration Away" Party on deck 9 and 10 of the ship. Disney throws a great party to rev. up the excitement before pulling out to sea.

The boys each got a small goody-bag from me with bubbles, sunglasses, and a pin to celebrate the day.

We're officially off and sailing!

The views were amazing.

We saw a lot of characters along the way including Donald, Daisy, Pluto, Goofy, Lilo, Stitch, Chip & Dale, Peter Pan, Cinderella, Belle, Ariel, Captain Hook, Jack Sparrow, and of course Mickey and Minnie.

Meeting Captain Hook.

Kyler and Caleb in the Mickey Mouse kid Pool.
The Wonder also has a family pool and an adults-only pool area on the ship.

We had fun snapping pictures with all the Characters and getting their autographs for our keepsake book we made at home.

Kyler and I got off the ship for a super quick stroll in Nassau, Bahamas while Caleb and Jordan were being entertained at the Kids Clubs on the Ship.

Pirate Night is a night where all the passengers and characters dress up for the "Pirates IN the Caribbean" party. It's a huge celebration with music, dancing, Character appearances, and topped off with the only fireworks allowed at sea.

Caleb partying as a Pirate for about 15 minutes before he completely zonked out!

Pirate Night is a favorite for all passengers on board a Disney Ship.
We brought along our own Peter Pan to help keep all of us in line!

I'm still scratching my head at how Caleb can sleep through some of the noisiest experiences on the ship. This is smack in the middle of our Pirate Party. We were sitting next to the loud speakers and there were fireworks going off right above our heads. I don't have a picture of Caleb falling asleep during our mandatory emergency drill, but somehow he managed to sleep sitting up in a chair with his bulky life-vest on. That was a chore for me to carry him back to our room afterwards!

We met friends all along the way.

The Disney Wonder

What's a trip to Castaway Cay without Captain Jack?

The Ship "Flying Dutchman" from the Pirates of the Caribbean movies is docked at Disney's Private Island, Castaway Cay.

Of Course seeing Mickey is always a highlight when you're doing anything associated with Disney.
The beaches were in perfect form

And the food was plentiful!

This is the Mickey Pool found on deck 9 of the ship. We loved how it changed color during the evening hours.

A new playlist courtesy of Kyler

To help keep our family pumped about our upcoming Disney Cruise and trip to WDW, Kyler compiled my newest playlist. I edited it down to a more manageable number, but I must admit listening to the music certainly excites me. We're all anxiously counting down the days until Sept. 23rd when we get ready to set sail with Captain Mickey! A BIG thanks to my favorite 11 year old kiddo for keeping us all excited and psyched about our upcoming trip, even if I don't know much about the newest Disney break-out stars like Demi, Selena, Jo-Bro's or Miss Montana (i.e. Miley) I'll still be thrilled to see all of their impersonators and I might even find myself singing along to a little Highschool Musical.

A July heatwave in Utah. It all turned out great!

Sloths, giraffes, tigers and bears. Sharks, and eels, and mantas were there. Saturn and Mars, the list just goes on. A movie about BUGS, and how they abound. Of course there was food, and plenty of it. How could there not be ~ when talking about this family? We had buffets, and picnics, Lion House pie, an even a BBQ cooked by a great guy. The gardens at Thanksgiving Point were a definite treat, but something even more spectacular was a ride to the top of Snowbird's high peak. Up at the top, overlooking the valley, we even found snow in this 100 degree haven. What would our trip be without family reunions, and trying to get pictures to capture the moment. And of course, a true highlight was touring the new Mt. Oquirrh temple....a house dedicated to the Lord here on the earth. It was a blessing to see and a very holy place to be. A week went by quickly, but we managed to do tons. Thanks to our families for helping this dream become another reality.

My family at the Mt. Oquirrh Temple

This is a spectacular place to be and see!
It was a true blessing to be able to tour the inside of this temple before it was dedicated.

Uncle Brooks with his baby, Bailey!

Mireesa and I were finally able to get together and hang out for a while. It's been way to long since we were able to catch up in person.

Another treat was having a family picnic with Kevin's side on Sunday.

Our kids loved catching up with all the cousins they hadn't seen in a while.

We had a nice visit at Kevin's mom's house before going over to the picnic.

Family Picture time....1st up are Allyn and Jillee

Kyler & Hannah

Hailey, Jordan & Dave

My sister Kelcee and brother Brooks.

The Ehrhart siblings.
Travis, Jillee, Brooks, Tami, & Kelcee

The Ehrhart/ Scott grandkids

My Aunt Nancy flew out from Florida. It's been years since I've seen her, and my kids adored her.

Kyler at one of the beautiful pools.

The Scott boys walking the gardens.

Gramma and Caleb

Jordan found all the good smelling plants and herbs and made sure my Aunt Nancy got a good whiff of all of them.

Thanksgiving Point Gardens.
This is a gorgeous place to visit if you've never been here.

Uncle Brooks got in on the action of helping create a dinosaur mountain.

We seem to hit the Museum of Ancient Life almost every time we go back to Utah. It's one of Caleb's favorites.

Mom with a few of her grandkids.

The top of Snowbird.
In a couple months this will be a skiers paradise.

My incredible parents....Thanks for another wonderful trip full of so many memories!

Here's proof of the snow we found. Even in the July heatwave, there were small patches left on the mountain.

Jordan loved the rope towers taking you from level 2 to level 3 of the Museum.

Building and constructing towers and houses at one of the museums newer exhibits.

Navy Pier's Children's Museum had a water room, that was of course a highlight for my boys.

We finished off our trip at Navy Pier in Chicago. It was a great week, and another fantastic trip.