Disney: Day Five.

By day five, we were spent and yet we still hadn't even been to the Magic Kingdom.  

 Before we headed that way, Jeni and I had plans to visit the 'Castle of Miracles,' located on our resort.  Each wish child is given a gold star at the beginning of their stay.  Anytime during the week that you are there, you are supposed to make your way to the castle, decorate your star and give it to the star fairy to hang.  The following day someone delivers information to your doorstep describing exactly where your star hangs permanently among the other 100,000 stars in the castle.  

 The idea alone was overwhelming but to walk into the castle and be greeted by thousands of other miracles was breathtaking.  

 So we went to the castle.
While there, the children also had a special ticket that gave them access to having their very own personal pillow made right before our eyes!

 The ideas that go into making 'Give Kids the World' such a magical place are remarkable.  The pillows are a huge hit, of course, but I could immediately see how they brought security to the kids.  It is something that we were able to bring home, not only to carry on the memories but something tangible to hold onto when thinking about this time in their lives. 

 Nora decorated Mabel's star by writing her name with 3 hearts around it.  She later told me, "one for each of us, mommy." 

 Anytime we visit Give Kids the World in the future we will be able to find Mabel's star.  It's incredible technology that allows you to feel connected to not only a place, but a time in your life that is incredibly delicate and sacred.  I adore the idea and am so thankful to know that Mabel's star will forever be hanging in the castle of miracles, representing her life and the miracle of her every day.

 After our morning at the resort we headed to Magic Kingdom.  We rode the ferry both to and from the park on this hot, tired day.  None of us were super excited to be going out and quite honestly this day ended up being our least favorite, I believe.

 We did get to the park just in time for a parade which was exciting!

 My dream has always been to see my children sitting in front of the castle.  

Dream come true number 3,975 of this trip.

 Soon after we got to the park we realized that the characters would be putting on a show so we parked and waited.  It was hot.  The kids were good but we were all very antsy and anxious.  

 When the music started and the kids became enthralled with what was happening my attention focused to them as Jeni fed Mabel and watched her.  I took photos and even cried a little looking at the surprise and wonder on Nora's face when she saw the princesses dancing with their princes.  

 And then peter pan and captain hook arrived and Braden was in Heaven.  Their innocence captivates me.

  Sadly, I wasn't captivated for long before I was snapped back to reality.  I looked over at Jeni through the noise and the crowd and the color was far from her face.  She pointed at Mabel and in that moment I saw that her eyes were rolled back in her head and her formula was foaming from her mouth.  I picked her up and could tell that she wasn't breathing well and she fell limp in my arms, essentially non responsive.  Moments later I felt her start tapping her hand on my shoulder but her eyes still didn't look right and she was still much more limp than usual.  Jeni wanted us to run her to the air conditioning but it was far and I didn't think it would make a huge difference in that moment.  We did quickly make it to the shade and then eventually into the air of a nearby shop.  Jeni then explained to me that she had been seizing for quite awhile before she could even get my attention.

To be honest, neither of us knew if she would come out of it.  We both really felt as if that could have easily been her last moment.  It was so scary and from that point on, the day just wasn't the same.   

  

 We did manage to get to a few of our favorite childhood rides so that the kids could walk away with the same sweet memories we had from our childhood trips to Disney.  

It's a Small World was a hit as always. 

 

 

 At the end of the day we walked away knowing that we had at least visited the Magic Kingdom.

The truth is it was busy, crowded, hot and did I mention busy? 

 I can admit that by day five of Disney I felt like I could accomplish anything with these kids.  In fact, I think my remark later that night to Jeni was "Walgreens here I come."

If you can do Disney with three kids, you can do anything.  

I didn't know it but I would soon tap into my reserves.  Day six proved to be my most favorite of them all.....