Our Story

Hello readers!

Jed had a good dr appt on Tuesday. Please mark your calendars for December 1st. That will be our first set of scans since stopping chemo. We need your prayers that his cancer will never return.

Now, for the good stuff! More Disney pics......

We kicked off our week at Disney with a trip to Epcot! So much had changed since my last visit as a teenager with my parents.

Kendall's favorite place was the "character greeting spot" and we had a pass to the front of each line from Make-A-Wish.

Reagon and I loved going through all the countries at Epcot.

Of course, Kendall couldn't wait to get to "Africa" and drove us crazy the entire time we were there! LOL

We finally made it to her favorite country and she looked through every little shop until she found the perfect keepsake. She bought a beautiful hand crafted necklace by this African man. He signed her book and taught her a few words in his native language. I pray that someday she is able to go on the mission trip to Africa that she talks about so often.

You will see this "monkey leash" in most of our pictures. It was the best $10 we spent!

Reagon was also a big help on the trip. We all took turns pushing Jed in the stroller or hanging on to his "monkey tail" and trying to keep up with him!

Josh, Jed and Kendall spent a lot of time together while Reagon and I would go off on our own. At one point, we found them by following the laughter!!! I couldn't figure out what could possibly be so funny with this arcade game......

and then I checked out the screen! Josh, Jed and Kendall were "inside" the game and we got such a big kick out of playing. We have a copy of the game so we can now play this at home on our computer and it is really a lot of fun.

We had a great day at Epcot and look forward to going back......hopefully when Jed is a bit older and no monkey leash is required. lol =)

One of the greatest things about our vacation was our week long stay at the Give Kids the World village. What an amazing place! This non-profit resort was founded by Henri Landwirth, a holocaust survivor who spent five years as a teenager in Auschwitz concentration camps.

When we arrived at the village, we were checked in and taken to our villa. The houses are so cute. Our house was yellow with cute white windmills on the roof. The sign said "Welcome Home Harpers" and the refrigerator was full of drinks and snack and the table was covered in toys for the kids. Each evening after returning from the parks, the kids would find new gifts on the table.

GKTW goes above and beyond to make every family's stay extra special.

You never know who you will see at the village. Jed was excited to meet Diego!

Jed had a blast in the evenings playing in the waterpark. We would order our food and sit poolside and watch the kids play and swim. It was the perfect way to end each busy day.

Jed loved riding the horses! We would participate in one activity each morning at the village after breakfast and before leaving for the parks. There was always something fun going on for the kids!

I believe Kendall and Jed rode this carousel close to one hundred times during our stay!!! It didn't matter if we were on our way to breakfast or dinner or to an evening activity, they would always jump on and take a ride!

The game room was a fun place to play. The kids could play pool or wii or a variety of fun games while Josh and I crashed on the leather couches from a long day in Florida!

Jed and Kendall made sure to play a few rounds of putt putt each night before bed.

One evening, the village hosted "Village Idol" where the kids perform and their siblings are the judges. We had so much fun! Jedidiah was contestant #3 and he sang "The Bear Necessities" from the Jungle Book.

He is listening to the comments from the judges!

Kendall meeting Ronald McDonald

Reagon could usually be found at the ice cream shop, texting or on facebook!

Kendall loved playing in the pool with all her new friends. Some were wish kids and some were siblings.

Jedidiah with one of the many ice cream cones. The ice cream is served from morning to night, all free, all day!

While Josh and Reagon played basketball one evening before dinner, Kendall and Jedidiah rode on a horse drawn buggy around the village.

I wish everyone could see how amazing this place is! The kids can run and play and the parents can sit and visit or just relax. The volunteers are so wonderful! They are constantly handing out balloons or cotton candy or making something fun for the kids.

The movie theater is on the left in this picture and the game room is under the large wooden soldier.

Reagon with Alvin and the Chimpmunks inside the movie theater. Kendall was too busy getting her popcorn and coke!

Every Thursday is Christmas in the village. Santa delivers all kinds of toys for the kids. Christmas music fills the village, there is cookie decorating and a parade!

Jed with his friends before the parade

Playing a game of pool before bedtime

Each child is asked to write their name on a gold star that is permanently placed on the ceiling in the Castle of Miracles.

The food in the village is delicious! We enjoyed a huge buffet of food for breakfast each morning, including big stacks of pancakes and waffles from Perkins. The food is completely free to the families in the village. We were served Boston Market meals every day and pizza delivered each night.