God has been gracious to us and has been with us through our journey of love and life. He has carried us through some of the most difficult times and has given us joy in the midst of sorrow. He has also been loving and given us abundant blessings. Most importantly, He has provided us with faith. May we share that faith with others.

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11
"God's gifts put man's best dreams to shame".
Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Thursday, September 8, 2016

Legoland

Because we decided to drive to Florida for vacation, Dave decided we should leave early in the morning to beat the traffic.  We put tired kids in the van around 2am and set off for Florida.  Liam was so excited - he talked most of the way, but did manage to fall asleep for a little bit.  It was a pretty un-eventful trip, which was a blessing.  We packed our lunch and found a rest-stop with picnic benches.  The only problem of the day was that Lilly got car sick and threw up on herself.  Thankfully, we knew we would be able to wash her clothes once we got to the Disney resort.  
Once we got to Orlando, we realized that gas stations are few and far between.  We were a bit panicked that we would run out of gas.  After finally filling up, we drove through Chick-fil-a and picked up Grandma Kusch from the airport.  We stayed in a hotel near the airport the first night.
The next morning (September 8th) we got up early and drove to Legoland.  This was something Liam had wanted to do for a long time!  We checked into our room and then headed over to the park.  September was the perfect time to go.  We did not have to wait in lines for rides.  It was hot by the afternoon, so we went back to the hotel and swam in the pool.  One of the highlights was the "party in the elevator".  The elevators had a disco ball and music, so we partied overtime we went up and down.  The kids were tall enough for the rides and Liam was even able to ride a few on his own, which was a relief for Dave, since he was getting a little sick from all the rides.  Both kids loved driving school and driving the boats.  Liam loved the roller coasters and Lilly loved riding the horse.
Side note - It was a blessing that we rented a van.  Our van had a problem that we didn't know about at the time.  It stalled when we drove it up to Michigan later in the month.  We couldn't imagine having it stall between Indiana and Florida!  God was looking out for us.





wall of mini figures








Lego towns

























































Monday, September 5, 2016

Lilly's 5th Birthday

Lilly had a wonderful birthday!  This year, she decided she wanted a Finding Dory party.  The highlight of the party came when Lilly had her cupcake.  For the first time, she was able to blow out her candles.  She was so stunned.  I was so happy for her.  There were many teary eyes.