We’re back from our weekend getaway to Disneyworld in Orlando, FL! My daughter and I had a blast and crammed a whole bunch of fun into 3 days and 3 nights! This trip was a much needed break amidst a summer of heartache and chaos. We both worked really hard to make this trip happen by selling lots of “stuff” that we simply didn’t need anymore. We’ve decided we’d rather spend our time and effort making memories together than collecting “stuff”. So, between Craigslist sales, a trip to the flea market, and two gifts…off we went to the most “magical place on earth”.

So much happened while we were away that it’s simply hard to condense into one blog post, but I’ll just highlight a few of those lighter moments today…

**Our trip began with a flight from Charlotte to Orlando. As we were just about to land, the gentleman sitting beside me struck up a conversation with me that went like this:

Man: “What was that?”

Me: Thinking he was referring to the pilot letting down the wheels, said, “The wheels of the plane.”

Man: “No. I KNOW that. What was that wet, smelly stuff that just flew all over me?”

Me: “Oh…that? The lady in front of you just misted herself.”

Man: “Great. How am I gonna explain smelling like a woman to my WIFE sitting a few rows ahead of me. Will you be my alibi?” (with all seriousness in his question)

Me: “Uh…sure.”

Later, after landing and exiting the plane. The man pulled me aside to have me “meet” his wife and proceeded to say, “If I smell like a woman…this lady here can vouch for me.”

**One evening, while having dinner at the resort food court, Anna suddenly announced, “I’m stuck!” Perplexed, I asked her what she meant by that. Apparently, she sat in a seat that hadn’t been wiped off too well from the previous patrons, and her pants were stuck in something sticky sweet. It wasn’t super glue, so she was able to get up. But, at this point…I was laughing so hysterically that I could hardly catch my breath.

**That laugh would later come back to haunt me. On our flight home, the kiddos in the seat behind me apparently spilled their soda. At some point during the flight home, my shoes didn’t want to come up off the floor. Now…I was the “stuck” one! (What goes around comes around.)

**You know how when standing in line for a ride, someone will usually come up and ask you how many are in your party? In other words, they need to place you in the correct line based on the number of people you’re riding with. Well, when this particular ride worker asked this question of Anna once during the weekend…she confidently announced “FIVE”. The worker walked away to find 5 spots and then came back to get all “five of us” only to discover only 2 of us standing there. Again, she said, “How many did you tell me?” Anna then realized her mistake and said, “Oh…I mean two. Just two.” While on the ride, I asked Anna, “Where did you come up with 5? Are we riding with some of your imaginary friends? Or – were you saving spaces for some newfound folks you met?” Giggles ensued…and so did the ride.

**One of the highlights of the many shuttles that we took to get around Disney was the bus driver that led our caravan of riders into singing the famous children’s tune, “The Wheels on the Bus (Go Round and Round)”. As I looked around, the faces on the bus represented Indians, Muslims, Caucasians, African-Americans, and Latinos. But, everybody on the vehicle knew that song! (Now if it could just be that way with “Jesus Loves Me”!)

All kidding aside, we had a great trip. There were a couple more serious moments that I’ll blog about (maybe tomorrow), but this time together was nothing less than an expressions of God’s abundant mercy and grace showered down upon us! To Him be ALL the glory!