A WISH for Cold Tea? Ana's aMAWzing Disney Trip! 12/1-12/7 ~Last Entry~ p.127

[All7OfUs]

What an incredible story of such a Providential meeting. You were needed in Rick's life at THAT moment to give him hope and encouragement; how truly cool you were used as God's instrument to give a word of life.

Kathy, your dad is perfectly right! Things in THIS world are NOT the way things are supposed to be. But one day, when the TRUE King returns, all will be right and perfect and beautiful. In this world there is sadness and brokeness, but that won't last forever. We cry here and now, but there is a happy ending to this story. Take courage.

Tim, the princess parade was adorable. What fun for the girls to get to pretend their little hearts away. Very nice!! And you all went out in grand style with the limo ride as your trip's capstone.

Lovely, lovely report!

 

[onelilspark]

Sad your trip is over. Looking forward to the new TR!

I shouldn't read sad things at work...I look like a nutcase. Hope Rick's daughter is doing better

 

[petals]

Aw the start of your pre trip had me bawling and the end of your trip report had me crying again. Feel so sorry for all those little kiddies going through all that. My big brother died from cancer when he was 27 and I was 13

Juliana's trip seems like it was brill and what a perfect ending the princess getting to lead the parade

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Hi Tim, I started your report crying, and I'm ending it crying.

I am so happy that you were able to take this wonderful trip with your princess and she was healthy and able to enjoy it. I am even more happy that she came through her last scans with good news!

GKTW is such an amazing place - I am just in awe at how great they have made it, and how they meet the needs of families. The stars make me sad, too - for all the suffering they represent. I'm glad that many are happy endings.

Love the princess parade! So cute! Thanks for sharing the video! I will have to remember that one for DGD.

Your meeting with Rick is just another way for God to demonstrate his love - placing you in his path that day when he needed encouragement, and for you to be able to keep in touch through caring bridge.

Looking forward to your mini TR, and so excited for your new little prince to join your family! Praying for continued health for all 4 of you!!

 

[jedijill]

Great TR. I got the opportunity to donate to GKTW this year through my United Way contribution. In years before I had been limited to only *local* charities so it was great to support an organization that does so much good.

Can't wait to read your next report!

Jill in CO

 

[mommy2mrb]

Tim, just wanted to thank you for the GKTW link....I made our donation for the year and dedicated it to all of our DisBoard MAW kids! we will continue to do our part in helping such a wonderful, magical place for these wonderful children and their families!

 

[3prettyprincesses]

Tim, you've once again moved me to tears and my heart goes out to not only you, Mel and Ana but now also Rick and his sweet daugther Erin. It wasn't a coincidence that you just *happened* to bump into that particular security officer. He needed that kind of encouragement from someone who knows what he's going through. And I just can't sit here without tears in my eyes knowing that Ana was his ray of hope for his own daughter, that he looked at her sweet little face and felt hopeful. You ministered to each other, God knew you needed each other in that moment. I'm speechless and blown away, no wonder you nearly lost it at that point Tim.

Ok, enough of the sappy here. Isn't DTD fun? We really enjoy exploring that whole area. And I had NO idea that the BBB does a parade! How perfect for princess Ana! I too love how she managed to be in the front, so something my Marielle would do too!

I love this picture, if it's possible I think Ana is even cuter when she squints!

And of course, another shot of your beautiful girls!

What a wonderful trip Tim. You know, I remember back on your PTR that your plans had lots of time at GKTW. I thought it was a bit strange that you weren't spending more time at Disney. Well, I was 100% wrong because GKTW is an incredible place and I'm so happy that you all were able to vacation there. Thank you for taking us all along with you, it was magical, emotional and aMAWzing (yes, I used it again!).

 

[Jupiter&Wolfe]

thanks for taking me along on your journey, even if I joined in a bit late. What are the odds that you would run into Rick? Incredible story. I'll definitely see if I can make a donation to GKTW in the next week or two.

I'll be waiting for the next TR!

 

[DisneyRed95]

What an amazing trip report! Thank you for taking the time to write about your experience. I am so happy Juliana is doing so well. I know her story inspires everyone! She seems like such an incredible little girl.

What a touching moment for Rick. I'm sure it meant the world to him to meet your family and hear your story.

Thank you again for sharing. I can't wait for your next trip report and to hear about your magical moment!

 

[tinacaplan]

Well, as I believe has been said previously... I started this report crying, now I'm ending it crying. We passed someone from GKTW at MCO on our way in, waiting to pick someone up and I almost lost it right there, just saying thanks for all that they do. So, yeah, not sure I could have held it together had I been in your shoes. And it never ceases to amaze me when you encounter a nice TSA agent. But, wow...what a beautiful, almost poetic, ending to your trip.

And I have to say again that not only is Juliana beautiful, she seems to love posing for pictures! Her personality shines through.

Looking forward to the next TR!

 

[tinytreasures]

Thank you for sharing her trip with us
So glad you were there for Rick he sounded like he needed some hope in his life and I am glad you were there to give him some

 

[englishrose47]

Tim I am teary eyed too !!My prayers are going up for Rick's daughter Erin right now !!What a beautiful last day you had !!Ana looked radiant in the Princess Parade !! Also I have never seen the Shamu SWA planes before it was neat!!Please tell Rick that he has a whole community of well wishers here on the Dis who I know will be adding Erin to their prayer lists !!!

 

[petals]

Oh and I forgot to say I luv the Shamu plane

 

[FreezinRafiki]

On the way to the car, we stopped in the GKTW gift shop and bought a few souvenirs, packed those away, and started driving. It was an unforgettable week and GKTW was an amazing experience not just for Juliana, but her her parents too.

I wasn't even there and I don't think I can forget it! Your pictures and descriptions are awesome. Thanks for sharing!

We walked into the WoD and there was a commotion near the BBB. We went to see what was going on and come to find out, every day at 2pm, the BBB holds a princess parade from the WoD to the carousel for a carousel ride. Since Juliana was there the day before they let her join in with the parade. She received a princess ticket to join in the parade.

YAY! Parades!

The Fairy Godmothers in training lined up all the girls and taught them how to wave like princesses. Some how Juliana was in the front...

Her and Madison have that in common - the always seem to be the center of attention.

Juliana really had a great time! We had a few more minutes to shop before we had to drive over to the airport.

Disney just had to squeeze in one more bit of magic, huh?

Come to find out this TSA agents daughter has been battling a Wilms tumor herself but has been having a much harder battle than Juliana. Her cancer keeps spreading. The cancer has spread to her lungs and brain. Not only has she been going through multiple rounds of chemo but radiation too.

Such a small world. Sending prayers for Rich and his daughter.




Tim - the report, like all of your other ones, was very well done and an awesome read! Julina is such a special girl, and I'm glad everything came together for her and you guys to have an awesome trip. I'm glad we got to spend a little bit of it together and I hope our paths cross again - either in WDW or somewhere else. After all, Evan will have to meet his nemesis pretty soon.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Tim, thanks for sharing this TR. I'm glad we got to see GKTW and get a glimpse of what they do for kids in need. What a great organization.

And I'm just amazed at the story of Rick and his daughter. Incredible how you managed to pick just the right line, and your wife made just the right comment. Things happen for a reason. We'll keep his family in our prayers.

Can't wait for the next TR!

 

[llaxton]

Tim loved the trip report. Most importantly you answered the burning question in my mind is Baby #2 a souvenir from the December trip or did you already know. I agree with the others things happen for a reason. It wasn't chance you ended up in Rick's line you were sent to give him hope. Looking forward to reading the TR from this last trip.

 

[ellenbenny]

Great trip report Tim, thanks SO much for sharing it!! So many awesome moments, and a few tear jerkers as well. I loved following along, even though I really don't post much. Good luck to your and your growing family in the future, and I can't wait to read the next report!

 

[jenseib]

Wonderful wrap up Tim. I think you and Mel were put in that line at that exact time for a reason. It is wonderful that you could give Rick and family some hope!

 

[that's nice]

Okay, I have a request. Could you please go back to doing your updates AFTER I am in bed and I can read first thing in the a.m. when I'm still at home. I'm sitting here with tears running down my cheeks after reading Rick's story. How very blessed you and Mel are that Ana is fine; I hope that Rick's daughter will also be cancer free one day. My dad used to like to say when he heard that a child had cancer or some other ailment, that that is not the way it was supposed to be (he was about 80 when he said this); he said, "I've lived my life as have other older people, this should happen to someone who has lived their life and not a young child."

I'm sorry... I was having a hard time writing it.

I saw on her caringbridge site that they spent the day in Magic Kingdom 2 Saturdays ago while we were in Epcot. I really wish I knew ahead of time, we would of loved to meet her.

I agree with your fathers words... unfortunately, you can't pick and chose who gets sick.

A great wrap-up Tim; I am so glad that you, Mel and Ana were able to share this wonderful trip at the GTKW and have such wonderful memories.

Thank you.... we really had a wonderful time.

Please give Princess Ana a very special hug for me today.

I did... and she said thanks!

I sit here wiping tears from my eyes....what a wonderful day to end your aMAWzing trip... to hear about Rick and his family is heartbreaking....we will look for him on our trip and tell him hi from you all.

It really is a sad story.. I can see from the responses that it touched a lot of people.

what a wonderful treat to have Santa bring you home....

He was so nice and we called him Santa being so close to Christmas.

thank you Tim for sharing your trip with us all (and for getting it done before we leave on Saturday )

Your welcome! I finished it just in time!

your family is so special and we pray you continue to have many blessings with Ana's health, a great pregnancy for Mel and a sweet, healthy baby boy soon!

we will continue to keep in touch with you!

Thank you Lisa... I'll be following your TR soon!

I too have tears in my eyes after reading Rick's story. I thank you for posting it tho. It is a reminder to me of how lucky and blessed I am to have 2 healthy, beautiful children and that I should not complain about the little things like my DD's teething. I could have it much worse. I'm so glad Juliana is now healthy and I will pray for Rick's DD to one day be the same.

We are all lucky and blessed to have healthy children. Talking with Rick brought all kinds of feeling rushing back and hearing (then seeing) about his daughter broke our hearts and made us realize how lucky we are.

Oh and for a Princess parade and a safe trip home!

YEA! We made it!

The world is remarkably small, isn't it? My heart goes out to Rick's family, I hope Erin continues to recieve good news! It sounds like Rick really appreciated meeting you all.

He hasn't posted on her site in a few days so I'm thinking no news is good news. It was a pleasure meeting him and we are still keeping in touch.

That BBB parade is too cute! How fun that Juliana was able to participate!

It was a nice way to end the trip.. a princess parade!

 

[that's nice]

Thank you for doing the trip report for all of us and letting us come along and share all your wonderful adventures.
You sure have a cute little princess on your hands and soon a cute little prince as well!

Thank you Karin! It really was a wonderful trip!

It's great Juliana was allowed to come along to ride the carousel! It is one touching sight to see - we were lucky enough to catch the BBB princesses while being at DTD!

She was lucky! She loves carousels!

Isn't the parade cute! I love how they play the music for them over the speakers... there were even CMs coming out from the stores and waving to them.

My heart goes out to Rick and his family and it goes to show that it IS a small world after all! There are not many people who are familiar with Wilms tumors, but we had a case here in Austria a few years back and it was a near disaster one - fortunately the little girl had the strengh to pull through - so when I first read Ana's story it really hit me!

I didn't realize you knew about Wilms too. I'm happy to hear the little girl made it.. Cancer doesn't discriminate, it covers all races, genders, & ages. Hopefully, some day they will find the reason and a cure for all cancers.

Thank you again and a little thank you will go to GKTW too!

Your welcome.

Great timing for Juliana to participate in the BBB parade and carousel ride with the other at DTD! What a wonderful ending for Juliana's wish trip!

It was a great ending to the trip!

What a great idea to buy a Cinderella crystal slipper to get engraved to remember this special trip by!

Thanks to Big Give... she was able to purchase this with her money. We thought it was a fitting memento that she can have for a long long time.

I also got teary eyed reading about Rick and his daughter, Erin. Praying Erin will be cancer free! So glad that you were all able to go through the metal detectors.

Thank you for all the information before we left. We didn't experience any full body scans. It seemed like they were using them if there was a problem or just randomly scanning every 20 people or something. They told us that you can opt out and get patted, which we would have done.

Did Juliana say what her most favorite part of her trip was?

I asked her last night and she said the playground at GKTW and going to Disney. LOL That's our girl.

Thanks for spending the time to share with us your family's wonderful pixie dust filled trip!

Thank you for reading and all you have done for us.

Oh Tim. This isn't the first time you've left me speechless and crying. How exactly do you do that? It is amazing that you crossed paths with Rick. I am glad that he was able to find some strength in seeing Juliana. I will pray for his daughter's fight. I can only hope that the outcome is the same.

I'm sorry. It wasn't my intention to get everyone upset but it was crazy how it happened. I thought you all should hear it.

Erin really needs prayers to beat this monster.

I love that Santa was the same limo driver and that she got another little friend. Thank you for posting the two links, I'll keep checking for Ana's story. I also know that my work will match donations, so hopefully we can get something to them.

I couldn't believe she got another gift after all the gifts throughout the week.

I wasn't soliciting money but just putting it out there incase someone wanted to know how to help. GKTW is a worthy organization that runs 100% on donations. You can see more pictures on their website or follow them on facebook too. I do think donating to an organization that you can see how your money (or donating your time) helps people is easier than donating to just a name.

I look forward to the upcoming report. As always, thank you for sharing your Disney adventures with us. I look forward to many more trip reports with your upcoming new addition!

Yea. I gotta get the next report started soon.. It should go fast though. 1 month tops!

I finally got all caught up on your TR and just have to say, thank you again for sharing this experience with us. I don't even know how many times I have had tears in my eyes reading this story, Rick's story being the latest. I hope that their little girl wins her battle. I'm glad that you were able to give him some hope. We try to do that at work as well, pair up some of the current families with families that have gone through it all before so they can see the "light at the end of the tunnel" and just know that they are not alone.

That is great that you pair up the families. Knowing and seeing someone who has gone through the same thing as you makes you know you aren't alone. Our childrens hospital has events for all the cancer kids a few times a year. There are kids who are still in treatment playing along side kids who have beat cancer. It really pulls at your heart.

Reading your TR has given me so much to talk about with one of my fave little patients and they can't wait for their trip to the village this spring (fingers crossed it won't be pushed back again). It is just amazing how much they do for the kids there.

The village is so amazing... I know your little 'friend' will just love it there!

Thanks again for letting me tag along for the ride, and I can't wait to read about your next trip. Loved the FB pics/previews.

Thank you for reading!