Magical Moments

Very cool Disney Metro line and station.


Wow, we had an incredible time at Disneyland. The weather was perfect and there were no lines, just walk right on to the rides. It's a smaller park, which is wonderful when you have a little one. It's all new and pristine. They just built It's a Small World and this was our first time to go on that as it was closed the first time we went to Disneyland in California. Abbey loved it so we rode it several times.
We also did her other favorites multiple times. This included Dumbo, Cinderella's Carousel, and the Tea Cups.
Right when we entered the park we met up with Snow White and Cinderella at the castle. Abbey was thrilled to talk with them and they were so kind to her.
We saw several shows, the highlight being the Lion King, which was Broadway caliber. I hadn't realized that the park would be decorated for Christmas, but it was beautiful. There was a giant tree on on Main Street and all the characters and employees were decked out. The parade was "Let It Snow". It was the first day and it was fabulous. It was so amazing to be sitting with Abbey eating gingerbread man cookies, with it "snowing", and watch all the Christmas songs and dances. Afterward they has a special Holiday Ball show with Sleeping Beauty in front of the castle. It didn't officially open until the next day, but they did it as a special event for the media so we got to see the castle light up with twinkly lights. I thought about all we went through that brought us to these special moments. If we hadn't gone through all the hard things, we couldn't have experienced this, and it is so worth it. Having a precious three year old daughter with eyes full of wonder at Disneyland at Christmas is such an incredible gift. We stayed at the Disneyland Hotel which is gorgeous. It's right on the ocean and is modeled after the Hotel Del on Coronado Island.
We loved all the special Disney touches. Our bathroom mirror had Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs carved around it and all the amenities matched the theme.
The huge flat screen TV was loaded with Disney in several languages and it was so fun for Abbey to be able to watch Playhouse Disney in English!! She got to take a huge bubble bath, which was a real treat since we only have a shower in China.
The next morning we had a long leisurely breakfast on a little victorian sofa surrounded by gingerbread houses and Christmas tea decorations.
Abbey loved the buffet with imported cheeses and all kinds of nuts, two of her favorite things. I was in heaven with the croissants and coffee.
Princess Mulan came in for a visit and we also went to the playroom and did a craft. We then headed back to the park and did all the Fantasyland rides again. After that we headed on the subway to meet friends in Hong Kong at a new mall. We were all going to travel home together but I realized I had left our passports back in the safe at Disneyland. We were so tired at that point and I had two doses of migraine med that day and decided we would just go back and stay for another night. We moved over to the Hollywood Style Disney Hotel and spent another cushie night with Playhouse Disney and a bag full of snacks and noodles from 7-11. It really turned out to be a blessing to stay longer and the next day we took the subway back to the new mall and shopped and ate all day. I was able to get several Christmas gifts for Abbey. We spent a chunk of time in a big Barnes and Noble style bookstore called Metro. It had tons of books in English and a craft area that Abbey got to color in for about an hour. It was really fun. I am so thankful to have had this very special time with Abbey, what a huge blessing.

Abbey was running around after the Golden Mickey's show with some of the streamers that fell. I caught a glimpse of her and had a flash forward to a day in the future when she may be holding a bouqet in her hand.She got out in front of the crowd waiting for the parade and put on her own little show, complete with some very funny dancing.

I am doing better with travelling. If I can't manage Abbey's stroller and the suitcase, backpack, and packages, then I have her get out and push the stroller while I manage the other things. She is a really good helper and loves to be out with people and action. I've also learned to use lockers and help desks to leave things so we aren't so burdened down. I was worried how I could even manage before we went on the trip but it really fits in with one of the life lessons I've learned in the past few years. When you are on the path you are supposed to be on you have to just step out, not knowing how you will make it work and then you will find the way. It probably sounds silly, but for me it's just more steps of walking by faith. And when I've really needed help people have given it or I've stopped and yarped and He has made a way for me. And it helps having an extremely cheerful and energetic child. Honestly, she needs nothing to be happy, she just is. And if she is given something like a straw or a napkin to write on, well that's just the icing on the cake for her. She's now ridden on a zillion elevators, escalators, and in tons of taxis, trains, and buses. To get to Disney we took a van and then to come home we took the subway, a bus, and then a taxi. Going through immigration and customs can take some time, but again, we are getting the hang of it now and it gets so much easier and more familiar each time.
We hope that all of you had a great Thanksgiving being truly thankful, as we are. We are now off today for a big turkey dinner. It's an appreciation dinner for donors to the orphanage. We made about 60 cookies today in our little toaster oven that the children can decorate (with the M&M's Kelly sent us : ) tonight at the party.
Love and hugs to our friends and family who we miss so very much,