A wish for a special little girl! Catherine's Make a Wish trip! May 17th-23rd, 2010

[wishin' on a star]

Nap time for hubby means a few minutes of the DIS for mommy!

Yesterday afternoon...another BIG GIVE!!! This was from Lyn, AKA cajunfan on the DIS. Boy, Lynn...my kids commented more than once that they felt like it was Christmas! What a fun package!!

YAY...a package!!

And it was full of goodies for everyone!!

Awesome Disney beach towels for everyone!! And they were all tied up in ribbons that the girls can't wait to put in their hair! Perfect choices for all three kids.


Daddy got some glow ropes!

And a pocket guide to Disney for families for me! Perfect...much easier to tote around than my Unofficial Guide!

And TONS of little packages for the kids to open! I waited until just before bed to pull this out because we had soccer practice yesterday afternoon...and we were opening for quite a while!

They each got a great Disney tote, cards, glittery stuff for the girls, activity books for the plane, keychain....oh my...the list goes on and on!!! They loved every last thing they opened, and were SO disappointed when I packed it all away for the next couple of weeks!

Lynn, you outdid yourself. It truly felt like Christmas here last night!

Thank you so much!!

 

[Momofwishkid]

Great Big Give. The kids look thrilled with all their goodies! Good job Lyn

 

[cantwaittoseemickey]

My goodness that does look like Christmas came to your house. Great Big Give Lyn! I love the smiles on thier faces.Even your dh looked so happy. That is just Pixie dust I tell ya!!

 

[wishin' on a star]

Yet another BIG GIVE!!!

This one was from Anita, AKA Granna4679 on the DIS. It was for Catherine. But everyone wanted to stick around and see what she got!

Reading the nice note inside...it was in cursive, so Carmella helped!

There's that smile creeping across her face!

So cute...a Minnie skirt and top!!

Modeling!! She knows she's hot stuff!

It fits perfectly, Anita, and Catherine LOVES it!!! Again, the BIG GIVE just amazes me. You ladies are so generous!!! Thank you SO MUCH!!

 

[ellenbenny]

Love all the big give stuff!! So great to see such happy kids too!

 

[twob4him]

18 more days!!!

I love all of the new packages and goodies!!! How exciting!!!

 

[xanphylus]

That Minnie outfit is excellent!!! And Cajunfan always has the "bestest" pixie dust everywhere. I truly believe she keeps a few fairies in her closets of something!

 

[wishin' on a star]

Love all the big give stuff!! So great to see such happy kids too!

Isn't it great? Their excitement is through the roof as we get closer and closer!!!

18 more days!!!

I love all of the new packages and goodies!!! How exciting!!!

Yikes... 18 more days? Really?! I told my DH tonight that I really needed to start making some lists or something.

That Minnie outfit is excellent!!! And Cajunfan always has the "bestest" pixie dust everywhere. I truly believe she keeps a few fairies in her closets of something!

The Minnie outfit is just perfect for Catherine! And the pixie dust from Lyn is fantastic. The kids had SO much fun opening her package!

 

[wishin' on a star]

There is so much "not good" that our kids have to go through before they can be considered for a wish...

And for once in their little lives, they are blessed with this amazing opportunity to visit the most magical place on earth and have the most incredible vacation with the people they love the most. And it's all because they have to go through so much "not good" stuff. The "not good" finally makes all of this great stuff happen.

When Catherine wished for Disney, I knew it would be magical. When I visited the DIS for the first time, I thought I was going to get some touring advice or recommendations for ADR's. Never did I dream that the DIS would bring so much joy to my entire family. The generosity and caring hearts of so many, have done so much to make my family smile. Thank you doesn't even begin to express how I feel today.

Maroo talks about every family having a magical moment during their wish trip. I know we've had our first magical moments already.

 

[Granna4679]

Yet another BIG GIVE!!!

This one was from Anita, AKA Granna4679 on the DIS. It was for Catherine. But everyone wanted to stick around and see what she got!

Reading the nice note inside...it was in cursive, so Carmella helped!

There's that smile creeping across her face!

So cute...a Minnie skirt and top!!

Modeling!! She knows she's hot stuff!

It fits perfectly, Anita, and Catherine LOVES it!!! Again, the BIG GIVE just amazes me. You ladies are so generous!!! Thank you SO MUCH!!

Ahhhhhhh! I am so glad she likes her outfit! Her smile just MADE MY DAY!
I hope you all have a great trip! I will be following your PTR and waiting to see all of the other Big Gives. It is such a blessing to be part of this group!

 

[wishin' on a star]

Ahhhhhhh! I am so glad she likes her outfit! Her smile just MADE MY DAY!
I hope you all have a great trip! I will be following your PTR and waiting to see all of the other Big Gives. It is such a blessing to be part of this group!

Thank you so much!!! She LOVES the outfit!!!

 

[wishin' on a star]

YIPPEE!!! Another BIG GIVE yesterday!!!

My kids are getting incredible spoiled, but boy this sure is inspiring us to do good for others in return for these amazing gifts. This box was from Naomi (I'm sorry I don't know her DIS name!)!

With a little help from Daddy, they finally got into the box! There was a nice note inside!

Catherine and Carmella both got the cutest little skirt purses with Mickey head jewels all over them. There was a puzzle books, hair ties, and a pen for each of them! THese will come with us on the plane for sure!

Catherine loved her ponytail holder so much, she wore it to dinner last night! The girls took their purses with them, too!!

John got an awesome set of Star Wars jammies!

There was also a great "Parent's Survival Kit" for mom and dad! It was hilarious, but all of it very useful! I tried to get a picture of the note on the top!

Here's a better picture of the purse. Catherine had already run off with hers, and I guess I didn't get a shot of it here. It's just like Carmella's in pink! The girls were totally pleased with the color choices.

He LOVED them, and with a little roll of the waist, they fit fine Naomi!!! No worries!

Naomi, Thank you so much!! What a fun box to open on what turned out to be a really special Friday night for us! The BIG GIVE is awesome. You came up with some perfect, cute ideas for everyone in the family!!!

 

[wishin' on a star]

We had an amazing night at Catherine's wish party last night! I haven't downloaded the pictures yet, but she was definitely the star of the night at the restaurant. It was really special. I will try to get the pics and story posted later today! (After soccer and t-ball games!)

 

[kellyw8863]

Fantastic Big Give pics! I can't wait to read about the wish party. You gus are so close!

 

[Canyon girl]

Laura,

You are so welcome! Our family is so happy that you enjoyed the package yesterday! We hope that you have a fantastic and memorable trip!

Naomi

 

[wishin' on a star]

Laura,

You are so welcome! Our family is so happy that you enjoyed the package yesterday! We hope that you have a fantastic and memorable trip!

Naomi

THank you again! Everything was just great!!

 

[wishin' on a star]

Okay, so we had no idea what to expect from the wish party. Our wish granters didn't have any info for us except to be at the restaurant at 7:30. So, we were allowed to bring my parents and off we went last night.

The dinner was at Maggiano's in Washington, DC. We didn't know, but April and May are their months to support MAW, and they have some signature dishes that they prepare and donate a portion of the proceeds to MAW.

In we walk, and our wish granters, Christy and Amanda were waiting for us in the lobby. It's more fancy than our usual dinner out, but pretty much your typical noisy italian restaurant. Well, we get back to our table, and the whole section of the dining room was done up with balloons, and our table had a big pink princess tablecloth, and a huge balloon bouquet in the center of the table. There was a pile of little princess gifts at Catherine's placesetting.

We were treated like royalty all night! Every single server in the restaurant came over to the table to greet us. The executive chef personally served much of our food, the manager was frequently at our table...we really couldn't have asked for more. But our waiter was truly the special guy. I'm not sure why, but he was the one who got to put the whole thing together. He did all the decorations, all the balloons, bought all the presents, and really was responsible for making the night so special!!

Here's a picture of Catherine and Doug! His 50th birthday is today, and Catherine asked if he wanted the balloons to take home!

The food was incredible. We ate, and ate and ate. Catherine chose pizza!

ANd then came dessert! Oh my...this was all for Catherine! The star cookies are lemon, and they are one of the special wish cookies on the menu! She didn't like the creme brulee much, but she loved the whipped cream!

Here's one of Catherine and her wish granters!

And then after we all said we were full, out they came with another HUGE plate of desserts to sample, complete with Disney princess party plates! Catherine devoured the cantaloupe off this one!

And here's a picture of the whole group!

Truly a magical night...I can't show in pictures how special they made the night for us. While we were riding home, Carmella commented that she felt like royalty when we were leaving, like walking down the red carpet!

We also got our wish package! They said they don't usually do it this far out, but might as well since we were all there. Pretty much all the plans we expected, and they also gave us our spending money. We had no preconceived notions of what to expect for spending money, and suffice to say we were very pleasantly surprised!! No t-shirts, which was kinda disappointing, so I think I'll have to head over to the Creative DISigners thread and get something made so I can do our own!

 

[wishin' on a star]

I have two big gives to post from today! I haven't downloaded the pictures to PB yet, so hopefully later, if not early tomorrow!

We're on our way to my parents' house to celebrate my birthday a few days early, and watch the derby. Mom's actually making a Cinco de Mayo dinner in honor of my b-day, so margaritas will be the beverage of choice tonight!

 

[twob4him]

The whole party and big give packages....I am just in tears of happiness for you all! How super special and I am so happy that Catherine feels like royalty!! What a sweetheart!

... oh and now its 16 more days!!!!

 

[xanphylus]

WoW!! You had the best party ever I bet! Catherine looked very happy. I love that she asked the birthday boy/ server if he would like the balloons for his birthday. That's super sweet. I am very glad you guys had a good time!!