Dreams Really Do Come True

My family and I have just returned (actually returned late Friday night, but I have just now recovered enough to sit in front of the computer) from our very first trip to Disney World. For those that have not read enough of my blog (and lets face it, I don't even know if I would even read it that often), I need to relay one very important piece of information....I have 4 kids. I have 4 children...one....two...three....four! My wife and I have four children because we did not want five (a little wink to Bill Cosby there). :) But going to Disney World with four children (ranging from the age 8 - 3...yeah you read that right) can be a very daunting task. Now, the beauty of this story is that my wife's Dad and Step-mother went with us (they actually picked up the tab...There would be no way we could afford to take FOUR CHILDREN to Disney World) so we were able to play a man to man defense not the zone defense that we are use to playing around the house.

The motto that you could not run from and even repeats in my dreams with Snow White's voice and the theme of "It's a Small World" going in the background was...Disney World, where Dreams Come True. The motto was everywhere. It was on the maps. It was on the banners that flowed through the wind in the park. It was on the merchandise (cups, hats, plates, etc). It was everywhere. Now this was my very first trip to Disney World, so I do not know if this an everyday motto for them or is it something that they had worked up for their "Year of Million Dreams" campaign. But let me say one thing...They are right!

Through some of the pictures that I am displaying on this post you will be able to see that the dreams of an 8 year old, 6 year old, 4 year old, and a 3 year old really did come true. Let me give you some examples:
My 8 year old loves the Disney Princess - We were able to have lunch at Cinderella's Castle on our second day there.
My 6 year old loves Toy Story - We were able to meet Woody and Buz
My 4 year old loves (and love is really not strong enough of a word) Tinker Bell - We were able to actually watch Tink fly from the top of the Castle to the ground on our last night there.
My 3 year old loves Donald Duck (Yes, I know many go for Mickey but my youngest has fell in love with a sailor) - She was able to give the fluffy Duck one of the biggest hugs he will ever get.
These were actual dreams coming true for four of the most important people in my life.

Disney really is a place were dreams come true.

My post does not end here. Disney did not have the same kind of magic for me that it had for the children, but it did have magic.

You see the motto that I will be able to quote till my dying day, "Disney, Where Dreams Come True", could read a little different for me. It could go something like this, "Disney, Where Blessings Can Be Counted". I know, it doesn't have the same kind of ring...but I like it. :)

Where the magic happened for me while at Disney came in the form of Counting My Blessings. I know that this is not a new idea and it does not just happen at Disney, but to have an entire week full of "blessing counting" can really do the soul good.

My grandmother use to say to my dad, and in turn my dad has passed on to me, "Son, sometimes you just need to stop and count your blessings." Now, this piece of wisdom has usually been passed from one to the other during hard times. You know, those times in your life when it is really easy to be negative about everything around you because life is just not going exactly how you expected. It is those times in life, when we need to stop and begin to count our blessings. That is exactly what I was able to do a lot of during my trip to Disney World.

While watching the amazement in the eyes of my children, my soul began to fill and even over-run with gratitude with what our Lord Jesus has given me. Is my life exactly where I thought it would be when I dreamed my dreams as a young child and young adult...NO, but I can say that I have been blessed beyond anything that I deserve. And as I began to focus on these blessings I began to see that through the years my dreams for my life that I thought were SO important were just details. The dreams that really matter...loving wife....beautiful and healthy children....a supportive family unit around us, those dreams have come true in ways that I could have never imagined.

Oh by the way, that having 4 children thing is one of those things that makes life better than I could have ever imagined. :)

So, I end this post with a Thank You:
Thank You Disney for being the place that Dreams Really Do Come True!
Thank You Jesus for blessing me with a life that I could never have imagined!
May we all have some time to "Count Our Blessings"

God Bless and Keep Looking Up!