So our trip!!! We spent 1 week in Florida!! We had quite the adventure getting there! I flew with all the kids by myself while Anthony stayed home to work. The airport went very smoothly and so did the flight. We even had the pleasure of taking Milly's "Friendly Bear" each child from her PreK gets a chance to take them home for a few days! Well we got to take him to Florida! So Yes another bag to juggle:) Juggling 5 kids with everyone,carrying bags I thought we did great until...
We finally get back to Grandmas and I go to reach for my camera to share some of my pictures..NO CAMERA!!!! Where is it?? Did I lose it at the airport?? Oh NO!!! I left it on the plane!!!
I call my husband hysterically sobbing!!! If you know me my camera is constantly around my neck and it is like a 6th child!! Soooo praying..crying..countless phones calls..We think the camera is on a plane to Chicago!!! You cant ever talk to anyone just machines so I enlist the masses to pray someone turns it in!!! At midnight I get the text.. Its Found!!! All I had to don't was make the 90 minute drive back to Orlando to get it but boy what a relief!!! Now we could get on with the Sun and Fun!!
Day 1: A little cool in Florida standards but thankfully we are Buffalonians so my kids will jump in any pool!!! They had fun swimming and jumping!! Tommy decided although last year he was fearless he was now petrified of the water and he would not move off the steps!! I think the residents at the condo thought I was drowning him every time we tried to move him so..we gave up!
 |
| Our beautiful Blessings |
Day 2:
Much cooler and rainy today but they still managed to go outside a little. My crazy kids were wearing shorts and I had on jeans and a sweatshirt!! We headed of to church with Grandma so they could all meet the kids she has been talking about..Francesca especially loved the attention when they introduced us to the whole congregation!!! Hahaha I love embarrassing teenagers!!
Day 3:
Daddy comes today!!!!! While we are in sunny Florida he is in Buffalo while they are getting hit with a huge snow storm!! We pray he gets out and head to the mall so the kids can ride the carousel. We had lunch and Ice cream before the bad news came....
ALL FLIGHTS CANCELLED!!!!! Umm fast forward me hysterically sobbing again!! Are you kidding me!! I cant go to Disney without him and the 5 kids by myself!! Plus its not a family vacation without out Dad! We spend the remainder of the afternoon on the computer making call after call with not much but hope! Then finally the right person answers the phone and he gets a flight!! A very late flight but he got here!!
Day 4(Animal Kingdom)
This is the day we have waited months for!!!!!!!! We were going to get to meet face to face lots of adoption friends!!!! All with kiddos from Ethiopia!!! I was so excited to see some of the kids we took pictures of in Ethiopia! I was also excited to meet the parents!!!
I was most excited about meeting the Wanderers!!! When we were in Ethiopia we met the most amazing teenage boy, Joshua! All of our hearts melted for him! Adorable..so smart and so kind!! He had a close bond with all the the guys from AWAA and all the families. He spent alot of time with Milly and Tommy and told us of his desire to have a family. He was very honest about how he saw all the babies going home but "What about the older kids?" Oh..Break..My..Heart! He then introduced us the one of the most beautiful girls there! His sister!! And he told me of his other sister too!! Oh my 3 kids!!! That night I was on a mission!! I messaged my FB friend Susan about the 3 most adorable kiddos!! You must adjust your request to 3 kids!!!!! Fast forward!!!! They are her kids!!!!!!!!! They fit perfectly in her family and it is one of the most beautiful God things I have ever seen!!! We both spotted each other and hugged each other with tears in our eyes!! I LOVE ADOPTION!!
 |
| Me with Joshua Wanderer and Adonias during our embassy trip |
 |
| Our families united here= surreal!! |
We tried for the pool today but we didn't last as long..a bit too cold for our blood:) But they gave it a try. Grandmas neighbor took all of us out on his boat for a tour of Lake Lu Lu. The kids all got to take a turn driving the boat. Then we went for our favorite dinner..Golden Corral!! HaHa I know..not everyone favorite but with 5 kids..a chocolate fountain is a must!!
Day 6 (Epcot)
Today was a fun day!! We took our time and made sure to hit every ride. We had never been to Epcot before. The weather was perfect. I love memories like this with our family of 7. Smiles..laughter and lots of love!!
 |
| Start of the day.. |
 |
| end of a perfect day.. |
Its always sad to leave grandma but it was time to head back to reality...we had a wonderful trip with many wonderful memories:) Check out our video below to see all the highlights of our trip!!
