J's Wish Trip Dream Factory/GKTW October 1st-7th 2010

[fulseasmama]

Just had a minute to stop in and loved catching up with all your Big Give posts. Your kids look like they are really enjoying it which is just so awesome. What great fun as you get ready for your trip! It just made me smile to read your updates.

 

[J'sMum]

How is James feeling today? Keeping him in my thoughts and prayers.

Please let us know how everyone is doing...getting a little worried...you haven't posted in a whole day! ...seriously, I hope everyone is doing better!

Lynn

I hope all is ok.

Hi all, We are all ok for most part but holy moly a cold/flu not sure what this is has hit hard. James caught something at school - A kiddo on the bus thought it would be funny to cough dierectly in James face while he had a cold. and sure enough James caught it, Then of course that made Katelynn get it.. and now I have it and UGH just Ugh I suppose better to get now vs later. Dr's tested me for celiac disease to rule it out etc, I Guess our medical ins requires a series of other test prior to authorizing certain proceedurs to be done prior to other more intrusive/costly tests. So We are still here, just tired n sore but still planning. There is a new Big GIve package in and hopefully this afternoon kids will be up to opening atm sipping gingerale and chomping on ice is our best bet atm. Can't say as I can remember ever getting this ill in years. Usually I am the healthy one in house.. Ugh oh well On to better things -

James wish coordinater e-mailed. Limo will be at the house on Sept 30th at noon so we have a definate head out time now. and we will stay the night in Boston and fly out on the 1st on wishflight. WE should be able to make the 7:45 orientation so no need to try and ask for a private one easier on GKTW that way we are just staying in the night we fly anyways, and we do leave early on the following thursday which is ok , we did hope for a late flight out but way kids look at it and us too is we are thankful and grateful for any time given to us to be on the trip cause lord knows we would have never been able to do this. so when we head out on thurs we will stay night in boston again and leave hotel at 10am on friday it's about a 4 hour trip home so we will have all that afternoon to recoup and since it will be a holiday weekend, kids get a spare day off prior to headin back to school.... soooo perfect ~

I know Katelynn has pretty well packed, James is 1/2 packed. i have not packed a thing but do have a list started

OK so thats the small update, will try our best tp get pics of the newest Big GIve up tonight

*hugssss to everyone*

 

[xanphylus]

So you mean I'm not the only one who is sick this week? At least no one in the family has gotten whatever I have...... yet. I feel so gnarly. Hence the being up at 6 am to write this.... I hate stomach buggies- I now have a new found respect for all those kids who suffer through any kind of yucky belly symptoms.

The flight times sound pretty good, beyond the whole leaving early bit. But hey, you can't have everything right? And even better- you're on Wish Flight!!

Have fun with your next Big Give & can't wait to see pics, sick kiddos and all!

 

[cajunfan]

I hope you all get to feeling better! You need t obe good and healthy for all the fun you are about to have!

Lynn

 

[cantwaittoseemickey]

Wonderful Big Gives!! I am so sorry the cold bug has visited you all. NOT COOL of the kiddo to cough on James! I hope you all feel better soon.

Your trip is coming up so soon

 

[Mom2mitokids]

Hi all, We are all ok for most part but holy moly a cold/flu not sure what this is has hit hard. James caught something at school - A kiddo on the bus thought it would be funny to cough dierectly in James face while he had a cold. and sure enough James caught it, Then of course that made Katelynn get it.. and now I have it and UGH just Ugh I suppose better to get now vs later. Dr's tested me for celiac disease to rule it out etc, I Guess our medical ins requires a series of other test prior to authorizing certain proceedurs to be done prior to other more intrusive/costly tests. So We are still here, just tired n sore but still planning. There is a new Big GIve package in and hopefully this afternoon kids will be up to opening atm sipping gingerale and chomping on ice is our best bet atm. Can't say as I can remember ever getting this ill in years. Usually I am the healthy one in house.. Ugh oh well On to better things -

James wish coordinater e-mailed. Limo will be at the house on Sept 30th at noon so we have a definate head out time now. and we will stay the night in Boston and fly out on the 1st on wishflight. WE should be able to make the 7:45 orientation so no need to try and ask for a private one easier on GKTW that way we are just staying in the night we fly anyways, and we do leave early on the following thursday which is ok , we did hope for a late flight out but way kids look at it and us too is we are thankful and grateful for any time given to us to be on the trip cause lord knows we would have never been able to do this. so when we head out on thurs we will stay night in boston again and leave hotel at 10am on friday it's about a 4 hour trip home so we will have all that afternoon to recoup and since it will be a holiday weekend, kids get a spare day off prior to headin back to school.... soooo perfect ~

I know Katelynn has pretty well packed, James is 1/2 packed. i have not packed a thing but do have a list started

OK so thats the small update, will try our best tp get pics of the newest Big GIve up tonight

*hugssss to everyone*

Thank you for checking in. Sorry you all are sick. I hope all the sickies leaves soon.
Glad you have all the times. Korissa is so hoping we get a Limo too. With Kylee's they gave us a shuttle bus, but then we didn't even use that. Long story, but we had to drive the night before to the airport due to all the wild fire we were having. All the freeways near us was closed and didn't want to take a chance that we wouldn't get to the airport in time.

 

[J'sMum]

2 weeks til trip !

Ok we have 2 updates to do on Big Gives ! so please forgive me I will post those up tomorrow, Unfortunatly My grandparents are very Ill and family has decided they should no longer live on thier own so we are in the process opf moving them.. All this while being ill Yuck ! ah well tis life, will just make us enjoy Disney all the more We are soo looking forward to the GKTW pool Hoping we have some good weather for at least a day or two so we can use it a bit.

I MISS the Disboards !!!!!! omggg i had no idea just how addicted I have become but it's true. and if someone who is part of the Big Give could be so kind as to let me know how/if i could be part of this in the future that would be great ! I found myself again while grabbing groceries thinking .. see I could grab that and that and save it and in just a few weeks have a Big Give ready for a family, and with me learning how to sew (ONCE I GET BETTER) I could even do something with that so I would love to be able to pay this forward. Watching how katelynn and james has reacted to all the wonderful gifts and the extra smiles have been priceless and so heartwarming, so yeah I could go on and on but I wont just yet hehehe, My turn for the Nebulizer is coming up next and Rest is needed to go and finish up my grandparents... Once that is done I will have just under 2 weeks to finish prepping for James trip YIKES !

OK I was reading awhile back someone in panic mode a couple weeks prior to going and seeing as it was a couple months to go yet for us i so easily thought to myself.. Why are they in panic mode ? I see why now hhahahaha
GooOOoo with the flow I shall repeat this 10x a day!


Just wanted to pop in and do a bit of my rambling, let you guys know I am missing being here and miss reading everyones PTR's and TR's and Just random Disboard stuff etc, so I will soon be back with a disboard withdrawel vengence and Post like a madwoman !

*hugssss*

 

[snubie]

2 weeks til trip !

Ok we have 2 updates to do on Big Gives ! so please forgive me I will post those up tomorrow, Unfortunatly My grandparents are very Ill and family has decided they should no longer live on thier own so we are in the process opf moving them.. All this while being ill Yuck ! ah well tis life, will just make us enjoy Disney all the more We are soo looking forward to the GKTW pool Hoping we have some good weather for at least a day or two so we can use it a bit.

I MISS the Disboards !!!!!! omggg i had no idea just how addicted I have become but it's true. and if someone who is part of the Big Give could be so kind as to let me know how/if i could be part of this in the future that would be great ! I found myself again while grabbing groceries thinking .. see I could grab that and that and save it and in just a few weeks have a Big Give ready for a family, and with me learning how to sew (ONCE I GET BETTER) I could even do something with that so I would love to be able to pay this forward. Watching how katelynn and james has reacted to all the wonderful gifts and the extra smiles have been priceless and so heartwarming, so yeah I could go on and on but I wont just yet hehehe, My turn for the Nebulizer is coming up next and Rest is needed to go and finish up my grandparents... Once that is done I will have just under 2 weeks to finish prepping for James trip YIKES !

OK I was reading awhile back someone in panic mode a couple weeks prior to going and seeing as it was a couple months to go yet for us i so easily thought to myself.. Why are they in panic mode ? I see why now hhahahaha
GooOOoo with the flow I shall repeat this 10x a day!


Just wanted to pop in and do a bit of my rambling, let you guys know I am missing being here and miss reading everyones PTR's and TR's and Just random Disboard stuff etc, so I will soon be back with a disboard withdrawel vengence and Post like a madwoman !

*hugssss*

We would be happy to have you participate in future Big Gives.
Once you are back from your trip go ahead and visit our website.
http://s3.excoboard.com/DisBigGive
Register and once you are approved by one of the moderators, you are all set to help wherever and however you wish. You can see all the current gives listed on the home page, you can read about the families there and contribute when you feel ready.

 

[J'sMum]

We would be happy to have you participate in future Big Gives.
Once you are back from your trip go ahead and visit our website.
http://s3.excoboard.com/DisBigGive
Register and once you are approved by one of the moderators, you are all set to help wherever and however you wish. You can see all the current gives listed on the home page, you can read about the families there and contribute when you feel ready.

! oh soo awesome thank you Snubie, something to look forward to for after the trip

 

[J'sMum]

OK UPDATE TIME - - - - BIG GIVE - - - - so sorry for the delay on these last 2 Big Gives Thank you for being patient on this.

So we will start with the Big Give from Carrie

Carrie Thank you sooo much for sending these to Katelynn n James! They decided not to wait for the trip to use them because where we have been so ill they have had alot of down time and these were a perfect solution for those sickly boredom moments ! too perfect Pics are not from the day it was opened but after the fact because the pictures that was originally taken was ruined :/ But we at least have some !

These are too awesome !!! Thank you so much for making these and wow they are so creative ! I;m going to attempt.. Attempt ! to make myself one as I still color and would be perfect to toss into my purse, I color Mandala's small circle ones as a stress releiver when kiddos are in hospital I do not watch TV so I;m always looking for something to do to keep busy. here is a closer look at them !

Next BIG GIVE is from CajunFun ! HOLY moly wow Thank you for this one and here goes a story attached with it.

Ok between illnesses and helping my family try to move my grandmother it's been a hectic crappy couple of weeks. Well This big give came in and I dropped it off back at home prior to heading up to the town my Nana lives in. course kiddos are at home from school sick. Guess what... I know now they are the kinda kiddos to peak at a present ! lol they take after thier mumma hahahaha cause when I got home they had already been into Everything. But whats so cute is they were sitting on the livingroom floor together going through everything, I kid you not when I sat watching them for awhile it was my 2 lil ones again. Silly Happy Bubbly kiddos It's has been so amazing watching them with these Big Gives. so Cajunfun I wanted to say Thank you again for doing this because That moment in the middle of everything just going wrong all week was an absolute godsend. They loved everything and us too ! theat tote bag is sooo cool had me just a giggling at the skateboards and the "Go with the Flow" !!! you are just too awesome and sweet, everything was so personalized and ! Ponchos I knew we was forgetting something LOL and katelynn was like OH ! i didnt think of a beach towel lol so she was all excited and I wish wish wish i had seen them open them but the look they gave to me when they come running up with the towels was too cute. James was all excited about the towel as well because in some pf the pics he had seen about GKTW there is some pirate ship or something I dunno but amazing. ok here are the pics !


This Shirt James is sooooo sooo sooo I can not express how excited he is about this. He plans on wearing it to school this week, I told him it would be ok it was his shirt it was up to him. he laughed and laughed at all the squidward expressions and said "looks like daddy's expressions" LOL course that got kate and i laughing which in turned made us cough which in turn made us have a nebulizer run.... was an awesome laugh

Kiddo's with thier new beach towels ! Thank you they will be of great use as the kids did not own a beach towel, we were just useing our bathtowels so thoughtful

I could not get anyone to sit still long enough to get a picture of the 4 of us at this time in these shirts but we sure will while in one of the parks ! Thank you so much for the thought put into the design as well, and the color of shirts just everything I love how the A in Dream is the Dream Factory logo so perfect

OK here is one of me YUCK but I will show it because it gives me a moment to also show off another one of my children LOL Benjamin Franklin hehe he is the black blob at the bottom of pic... AND i also wanted to show this bag that is too awesome, it also has fav characters of each one of us in it and awwww Eeyore my hero is skateboarding LOL I love this and will use it as much as possible !

here is a picture of the kids posing with a couple more favorite items

OK here is where I would normally show a close up of Everything in the package... This one I can not do this with, Kids were already off and running with many of the items lol. a 14 yr old and a 17 yr old both acting 7 and 10 LOL !!!!! Thank you it's just what they needed to be able to do be young for a bit, I know they say you can not turn back time. But you can ease and regress for a wee bit LOL and they sure have soon enough they will have to be back in the same ole same ole but for them to have these past few weeks of being simply kids. A lifetime of childhood moments given back by everyone involved, Everyone from the Big GIve to Dream Factory of Maine to American Airlines, American eagle, Something Maagical foundation, and everyone inbetween. oh yeah! I was suppose to insert a picture no? LOL me and my babbling and typing tangents !

Here is the picture of almost everything that was in the box LOL

Ok also I took pictures of the WishFlight T-shirts that came in today we were so excited that we figured we would toss this one up on here too

This one is a close up of James t and his pin & luggage tag

OK thats the update for tonight, I will be back in tomorrow night to babble on somemore

 

[cajunfan]

I am glad it brought them some JOY!

I wish I could take credit for the designs, but they are not mine. The Squidward design comes from AmyMickey...she also is the supplier of the wonderful iron ons that I use. All the other designs are TEBI73! She did an awesome job. I have another design that someone on the creative board did for me, but I did not have the shirts to put them on. Otherwise I would have because they were so cool too!

Lynn

 

[cantwaittoseemickey]

Love the Big Gives! Those are some cool towels!Those crayon caddies certainly do come in handy in various places. The flight, the rental cars the villa and afterwards for hospital stays and etc. Love them!! Too funny how the kids were sitting there in the floor opening them. Now that is sibling bonding

 

[rcq925]

Love the Big Gives!! You guys are getting so close! I hope everyone gets to feeling better before you leave!

 

[xanphylus]

Loving the Big Gives! I love how the kids are actually being kids. Davy says "hi!" He has to go to the doctor today, so hopefully all goes well for him. He will smile either way though. Just had to drop by and say our hellos before we left though!

 

[Mom2mitokids]

Loving all the Big give stuff. Bring tears to see how excited they are. I just can't believe how fast your trip is coming up. We finally are in the 5 month range...lol

 

[cajunfan]

I forgot to say that I hope Katelynn enjoys the maps...you too...as seeing you two are the planners in the family...you will notice that yours has a few extra maps in it...I did not want t give to the kiddos in case they are not an option since they cost extra.

Also, I LOVe the Wish Flight shirts! They are so neat!

Lynn

 

[J'sMum]

I forgot to say that I hope Katelynn enjoys the maps...you too...as seeing you two are the planners in the family...you will notice that yours has a few extra maps in it...I did not want t give to the kiddos in case they are not an option since they cost extra.

Also, I LOVe the Wish Flight shirts! They are so neat!

Lynn

Hiya ! yes oh yes she Loved the maps and soooo do I , I have made a planner of sorts from papers that i was able to print which reminds me I will need to take a pic of that, and I added that into the planner pocket so we can grab it in purse when we go to the parks

I also want to say thank you to those who made the designs for shirts but I want to say thank you to you again for those, James just lovess the one that says James down it OH and pens n pencils ! lol the kids were so happy with those too specially James who is always looking for one lol *hugssss*

 

[J'sMum]

Hiya, told ya I would be back to babble a bit this evening for now I will babble then I need to run to the store to get Katelynn some hairdye LOL she wants to get her hair done for before trip... I am only going to get 1 box and streak the color in this time fun fun

James has his Remicade again tomorrow. As usual I have the dread feeling but hey, it will means once noon time hits tomorrow that it will be 1 week prior to leaving !!! Even though wishflight is on October 1st, we will be heading out on September 30th in limo bound for Boston, Dream Factory of Maine will be paying for us to stay the night in hotel. How fun ! makes the trip start a day early so during treatment time tomorrow up until James falls asleep (He always falls asleep due to the high amount of benadryl they have to give him so it will reduce risk of reaction) we will be able to talk about what will be happening in the upcoming week. Too fun so at least there is something positive.

James wish Coordinater will also be coming down to the hospital to spend some time with James while he is in, Which I am appreciative of, I;m not sure why but I do not like being alone with him during those treatments. My anxiety seems to be lower if someone is with me. I find myself watching every breath in and out watching the color of his skin, watching for anything and everything which just increases the anxiety of the idea we are shoving a toxic substance into him. I am currently working on rewiring my thinking as far as these treatments go. Hopefully someday I will be in a place where I can look at them as a life saver vs a toxin. I;m getting there just not completely yet. so for now its every 6 to 8 weeks anxiety cycle. Add fact I have an extreme phobia of driving on the insterstate. The whole day is just emotionally draining.. who am I kidding the day before day of and day after is emotionally draining. Having said that. I am grateful that the treatments are available, I am grateful that a Shriner Dr took the time to meet with my son and consult with his gastroentologist to come up with a solution that not only treats the Crohn's but the Arthritis he has due from the Crohn's.

James is even excited to see Chris again which is nice to see him happy because he has been struggling with happiness for quite some time now, even with this trip coming he still has his off days where he just can't seem to feel happy. very normal for a child/teen suffering with a chronic illness but still heartbreaking to see. Kids in school can be so cruel. He still has not gotten over the fact that some kids (even his best friend) teased him about having "retardation of growth" and that Crohn's makes you bleed so they gave him the nickname "jamiepad" ... UGH @ cruel kids. Well surprise surprise James shot up in height this summer which shocked many kids at school and now he has learned to just walk away when someone teases about his illness, he will even walk from his best friend if he starts in. that takes a huge amount of strength. I am so proud of that kiddo of mine i couldn;t even begin to express it. His strength, his will, his smiles, his outlook 99% of the time. My hero. Both of my kiddos are my hero's It's amasing. I would have never thought when I had them that they would be the ones to teach the most in my lifetime, but they sure have. I appreciate the small things like I never did. I love life more then I ever could have...

see.. Remicade week babbles LOL

My goals for tomorrow is this. 1. Make it through the driving on interstate LOL 2. get James home safe and sound from treatment. 3. Get that packing list written !!!!!!!


hahaha packing list. goodness gracious seriously I am thinking now maybe I will consider packing the day before? the morning of? LOLOL jussst kidding but it will be near close on that.

This trip has so many aspects involved into it I dunno honestly what the kids are most excited about. here is a list , incomplete of course of things kids have spoken about that they are just sooo excited about

--Limo ! not for just a 10 min ride but hours !
--Staying in a hotel - James has never done this
--Flying, kids have never experianced this and Wishflight they saw the video from GKTW and both think it looks fun. we are still in the dark. the letter said that people are working on making it a special event (not exact words here but i dont have letter in front of me)
--seeing not only disney but universal as well
--so far it looks like kids want to do the MNSSHP, so they have been talking about that
--they can't wait to see GKTW itself and see what villa we will be staying on and where on the map we will be

The list goes on and on and on

I know my two kiddos, even mum and dad will be so appreciative of this trip seeing as we have never had one. We went camping once about 8 years ago for 1 night with 7 kids if that counts? other then that nope never gone anywhere done anything. Oh wait ! we went to Funtown/Splash town for a day once several years ago. other then that nada.

Soooo Exciting ! and we have left the itin this way. We have each park individually planned with 5 things each, 2 for james and 1 for rest of us, these are the must have experinces per park. Rest of time in park will be go with flow. we do not have days planned. we have no idea what park we will do on a partic day. we plan to also leave that as a go with the flow idea. James will be our leader on this seeing as it is His wish trip I also know he is kind to his sister and will take her ideas into consideration. so GooOOoo with the flow it is

OK babbles have gone on and on and on and Katelynn is still waiting for a run to store for hair dye LOL she wants it done tonight not tomorrow hahaha so for now I will shush my babbles and come in tomorrow hopefully with good news again of a Remicade gone perfect !!!! last round was sooo awesome hoping this is the same

*hugssss* to everyone and happy planning/reading/dreaming !

 

[p00h4me]

I hope you will all be able to attend the MNSSHP! You do know that you can enter at 4 pm even though it doesn't officially start until 7 pm. Can't believe that you'll be starting James' wish trip in a little over a week!

Hope you are all getting over your colds and feeling better and that James' Remicade treatment goes well tomorrow.

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

Part 2 ! I figured it would be easier to break the two days up then to try and fit everything all on one post

Here are Today's Big Gives

First one that the kids opened was from tnkrbells65
Oh My Goodness @ that card ! James laughed so good at that one Too cute and so perfect That one will go into a frame and be hung up on our entry room wall ( we have random pictures in that room of special moments and friends and anything that is meaningful to us) Thank you for the gift card as well, James was very excited

Sorry...haven't been DISing lately and completely forgot to check to make sure that the card arrived! Glad you found it funny. I have second thoughts about the language but I'm sure teens have heard worse Have a great trip!!!!