We have been planning a surprise trip to Disney World for several months. It has been so hard to keep the secret but we wanted to wait for the perfect time....and method.....of letting them in on this secret. Jason and I decided that a scavenger hunt would be a fun way to let the kids learn their fun fate. While Jason distracted the kids, I setup the fun. DISCLAIMER - the house is still a complete wreck from the construction that had to be stopped in the middle of the project. They started their hunt in the kitchen with the first clue.
Which took them to the piano in the office.
Which took them to the basketball hoop in the driveway.
Which took them to the washing machine in the laundry room (which ironically is the new washing machine which caused the water damage which caused the construction project whereby we had to fire our contractor and now live in a messy construction zone - but I digress).
Which lead them to the jackpot.....in our bedroom. Lots of fun loot!
Some fun etsy finds....custom t-shirts for our first timers, Mickey/Minnie ears and customized autograph books so they can get all of their favorite characters' autographs!
They look great in their shirts and ears.....my little Disney cutie pies.
We are going to DISNEY WORLD!
Once they really figured out what was going on, they were both excited although Lillie doesn't totally understand it all just yet. We have started watching some youtube videos of some of the rides and that seems to be garnering a little excitement too. Paul has been asking to go to Disney for a long time after hearing about the trips of many of his friends. This is a dream come true for him. And in case you want to re-live the excitement, here is video from the scavenger hunt.
It was 15 months ago that we saw Peter's face in pictures for the very first time and I will admit that the wait has been tough so far. There just hasn't been much movement on the Korean side and there just isn't much we can do about it. We did receive news in late January that our file has been requested to begin prepping for submission. We we so hopeful that we would be officially submitted for Emigration Permit quickly but then found out that there is a single employee that processes EPs at the Ministry. And that particular employee went on a leave....and had no backup so once again everything came to a screeching halt. Very disappointing. Today I heard some rumblings of some EP submissions and while I tried to contain my excitement, I really felt like this might be our time. I was thrilled to receive an email at 5:01pm with news that Peter was officially submitted to the Ministry for his EP. WAHOO! Based on some of the most recent families, it would appear that we *might* expect our court date in approximately 6 months. Now, this has a big caveat because the judges assigned to hear family court cases have recently changed. Previously there were 4 judges that worked part time on adoption cases and now there are 2 judges that work full time on adoption cases. It is still unknown how this change will impact timelines. It is within reason to think we *might* be able to at least meet Peter before he turns 3 years old in October. We had really hoped to have him home before his birthday but unless things really speed up, that is pretty unlikely at this point. I can't even put into words how exciting this step is for our family. We have had a lot of stressful events in our lives over the last several months and I am quite convinced that this is our turnaround point. And finally, a nice pictorial on our final steps.....here's hoping that the Ministry gets cracking and in 60 days we are on the receiving end of another exciting email to let us know Peter's EP has been approved!
Beautiful weather plus a long car ride means the kids were antsy to head to the park as soon as we pulled in the driveway. I decided to give Jason some quiet time so the kids and I strapped on our sneakers and walked to the park. The walk is about a mile each direction and it felt great to stretch our legs.
The acrobat....
The ladybug loves to slide.....
Big climber. Check out that beautiful sky!
So glad to have a fun park within walking distance....and so glad to have such wonderful weather to enjoy when we got home!
Since we won't be back before Paul's birthday later this month, GranJo decided to throw Paul an "Almost 7th Birthday Party". Too cute. She hung him a welcome sign outside the front door.
Our festive party table.
Taking a sneak peak of his cake....
Quick reading break before lunch.
The cake! It was super yummy.
Entertained by the Lego's that were mine when I was a kid.
Lillie got in some reading with Pa.
The opening of presents brought much excitement. Some fun ice cream soda and banana split glasses, a Barnes and Noble gift card and a Minecraft hoodie. He was clearly happy about his haul.
Miss twinkle fingers waiting for her cake.
Sporting his new hoodie.....in cognito.
This was really a lot of fun....Paul felt so special to have a part of the day all about him.
We had a jam packed Easter weekend filled with lots of sugar and lots of love. First up was some cookie making and decorating. They both had wild eyes even before the eating of the sugar began....
We got cleaned up and headed to the Our Lady of Grace Easter Egg hunt...our second year in a row. It was a tad windy but sunny....still needed some jackets. They were clearly ready to go!
Paul ran into the Easter Bunny and wanted a picture....Lillie wanted to be as far away from that bunny as possible.
It was all about staying occupied while waiting for the hunt to begin....whatever it takes!
Little ladybug during the hunt....
With his loot!
Cracking open their eggs to see what yummy treats were inside.
More sugar, more sugar.....
With our friend Sam....who wasn't nearly as happy to be sitting on that wall for a picture.
Back to the house to color some eggs.
And then to decorate the cookies we made in the morning.
We had a yummy dinner and tried hard to get the kids to actually go to sleep after all of that sugar. They awoke to their first round of Easter baskets.
And then it was time to put on our Easter best and grab some pictures before Easter Mass. There are times that I can't believe how sweet and charming our kids can be.
Our colorful family....full of love.
With Gram and Pa....love the look on Lillie's face.
On the steps of Sacred Heart.....
We headed to GranJo's for another fun egg hunt and some yummy food. Love this picture of Lillie and Auntie Jen.
Lots of fun loot in the second round of Easter baskets....including bandannas and finger puppets!
GranJo supervising and Lillie struggling to rip open that card!
Out front for their very own Easter Egg Hunt! And bucket heads made another appearance.
Oooh, that's a tricky one!
Hard at work collecting eggs.....pink and purple for Lillie and green and blue for Paul.
Having so much fun finding their eggs.....
What a super fun and jam packed weekend. So happy for the sun. So happy for time with family....although we missed Uncle Chris this weekend.
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