Waking up at 4am is not something I enjoy...ever! But when you know you are going to be in Orlando by 6pm that night, it makes getting up a little easier. We were SO blessed to have Diana take us to the airport that early in the morning. It was on our way to the airport that I realized, I had forgotten my cell phone and my new ColorNook that James got me specifically for this trip! Always my superhero, Diana went straight to our house after dropping us off and mailed it to us. (Thanks my friend!) 
When we got our bags checked and started our way through security, I didn't really think we would have that many problems. And we didn't BUT it is really tough to get a wheelchair, 3 backpacks, a laptop bag filled with electronic gadgets, 3 carry on bags, 3 kids, and 2 adults through without making a mom go nuts! I even had to go through the x ray machine because of the hardware in my foot. (Let me just say, I DO NOT MIND all of these precautions because they keep us safe, but it isn't the easiest thing to do.) This was the first time Julie and Jackson had ever been in an airplane and they were so excited. Our first stop was to Detroit and I have to say it was probably the best experience I have ever had flying! They even switched our seats around so that we sat behind the bullnose to give us more room to help with Jeffrey. Our kids were the only ones on the entire flight so it was so calm and quiet. The stewardess even brought all 3 kids wing pins. It was wonderful and the kids loved it! Jeffrey LOVED taking off in the airplane.
We landed in Detroit and it was COLD! I mean, seeing your breath in front of your voice on the walkway cold. We didn't have much time during our layover so we quickly grabbed a bite to eat and went to load once more onto the plane. This flight, we weren't so lucky...it was filled with people and over half were kids excited to get to Orlando. All 3 kids were so tired at this point that they feel asleep as soon as we got on the plane and didn't even wake up during take off. We arrived safe and sound in Orlando Saturday night and were met by the wonderful volunteers of Give Kids the World. (PLEASE check out their website to learn more about this magical place, www.gktw.org ) They led us through the airport and were so friendly and nice. They told Julie she could pick out our rental van and helped us load all of our luggage in. They made sure we knew where we were going and even wanted to give us money for the toll booths (Make a Wish made already covered that expense as well). We started to pull out of the parking garage and we knew something wasn't right. We drove to the gate and sure enough, we had a flat tire. But we quickly switched vans and we were on our way! When we arrived at Give Kids the World, we immediately knew we had made the right choice in our wish. It is AMAZING! We all went to check in and Julie and Jackson each received a stuffed Shamu (Julie named hers Shami which should make Courtney & Steve smile) and Jeffrey got a big stuffed Mickey Mouse! They told us a little bit about the place and while James followed in the van, they drove the rest of us to our villa in a wheelchair accessible golf cart which Jeffrey LOVED! Our villa was perfect for us and had everything we could have ever wanted, including more presents on the table!
The volunteers told us to hurry and get settled in because James needed to go to an orientation and the kids and I needed to get over to the main plaza because every Sunday is Mayor Claytons Birthday and they have a surprise party that was about to start. We unloaded in record time and went to eat dinner at the Gingerbread House. The volunteers at the airport had let us know that the food at GKTW was great and if we went away hungry, it was our own fault. They were right. After dinner, James headed to orientation and the kids and I had a birthday party to go to! We went to the main walkway and were greeted with tables to decorate your own cupcake, balloons, cotton candy, snowcones, and lots of dancing! 
We met up with James a little later and went and put the kids to bed. James then let me know what we were in store for the next week. 3 days to any Disney park, 2 days to Univeral Studios, and a free day to Seaworld. There were several other places we could enjoy free tickets if we wanted them. They also told James that all we needed to do is show the people at all the different parks Jeffrey's GKTW button and they would tell us, "Your moneys no good here!" at all the parking garages. At Disney we were told to have the kids play "Find the Disney photographers" and make sure they took our pictures and scan them on this special card. When we got home, we could order all of those pictures with a copyright release on a CD for FREE! They also gave a lanyard with to wear at Disney and Universal that would let all the employees there to know that Jeffrey was a Make A Wish child. Those lanyards got us to the front of all lines for the rides AND the characters. No joke! Now, I know there are people who think this is a lot of bunk but I will tell you this, it meant a heck of a lot to us. We went to bed with visions of Jeffrey's laughter on rides floating in our heads.
When we got our bags checked and started our way through security, I didn't really think we would have that many problems. And we didn't BUT it is really tough to get a wheelchair, 3 backpacks, a laptop bag filled with electronic gadgets, 3 carry on bags, 3 kids, and 2 adults through without making a mom go nuts! I even had to go through the x ray machine because of the hardware in my foot. (Let me just say, I DO NOT MIND all of these precautions because they keep us safe, but it isn't the easiest thing to do.) This was the first time Julie and Jackson had ever been in an airplane and they were so excited. Our first stop was to Detroit and I have to say it was probably the best experience I have ever had flying! They even switched our seats around so that we sat behind the bullnose to give us more room to help with Jeffrey. Our kids were the only ones on the entire flight so it was so calm and quiet. The stewardess even brought all 3 kids wing pins. It was wonderful and the kids loved it! Jeffrey LOVED taking off in the airplane.
We landed in Detroit and it was COLD! I mean, seeing your breath in front of your voice on the walkway cold. We didn't have much time during our layover so we quickly grabbed a bite to eat and went to load once more onto the plane. This flight, we weren't so lucky...it was filled with people and over half were kids excited to get to Orlando. All 3 kids were so tired at this point that they feel asleep as soon as we got on the plane and didn't even wake up during take off. We arrived safe and sound in Orlando Saturday night and were met by the wonderful volunteers of Give Kids the World. (PLEASE check out their website to learn more about this magical place, www.gktw.org ) They led us through the airport and were so friendly and nice. They told Julie she could pick out our rental van and helped us load all of our luggage in. They made sure we knew where we were going and even wanted to give us money for the toll booths (Make a Wish made already covered that expense as well). We started to pull out of the parking garage and we knew something wasn't right. We drove to the gate and sure enough, we had a flat tire. But we quickly switched vans and we were on our way! When we arrived at Give Kids the World, we immediately knew we had made the right choice in our wish. It is AMAZING! We all went to check in and Julie and Jackson each received a stuffed Shamu (Julie named hers Shami which should make Courtney & Steve smile) and Jeffrey got a big stuffed Mickey Mouse! They told us a little bit about the place and while James followed in the van, they drove the rest of us to our villa in a wheelchair accessible golf cart which Jeffrey LOVED! Our villa was perfect for us and had everything we could have ever wanted, including more presents on the table!
The volunteers told us to hurry and get settled in because James needed to go to an orientation and the kids and I needed to get over to the main plaza because every Sunday is Mayor Claytons Birthday and they have a surprise party that was about to start. We unloaded in record time and went to eat dinner at the Gingerbread House. The volunteers at the airport had let us know that the food at GKTW was great and if we went away hungry, it was our own fault. They were right. After dinner, James headed to orientation and the kids and I had a birthday party to go to! We went to the main walkway and were greeted with tables to decorate your own cupcake, balloons, cotton candy, snowcones, and lots of dancing! We met up with James a little later and went and put the kids to bed. James then let me know what we were in store for the next week. 3 days to any Disney park, 2 days to Univeral Studios, and a free day to Seaworld. There were several other places we could enjoy free tickets if we wanted them. They also told James that all we needed to do is show the people at all the different parks Jeffrey's GKTW button and they would tell us, "Your moneys no good here!" at all the parking garages. At Disney we were told to have the kids play "Find the Disney photographers" and make sure they took our pictures and scan them on this special card. When we got home, we could order all of those pictures with a copyright release on a CD for FREE! They also gave a lanyard with to wear at Disney and Universal that would let all the employees there to know that Jeffrey was a Make A Wish child. Those lanyards got us to the front of all lines for the rides AND the characters. No joke! Now, I know there are people who think this is a lot of bunk but I will tell you this, it meant a heck of a lot to us. We went to bed with visions of Jeffrey's laughter on rides floating in our heads.
1 comment:
Awesome picture on the plane. Jeffrey looks happy enough that his wish could have just been the planE ride...little did he know so much more to come!
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