Off to see the "Real Tree" - April 19th - April 26th! Ali's Wish Trip PTR!

[dmbfan]

Thanks for asking. It's Garth's turn to put the kids to bed tonight so I'll look for you online (here or FB). If you're around and not doing anything, I'll give you a call. I'd love to hear how your Christmas was and how your Disney plans are coming along.

I will be around at 8:30 if you want to call or talk. Sorry it did not go as planned, I hope tomorrow brings a much better day.

 

[Momofwishkid]

Oh Kelly, Im so sorry you had such a lousy day I know how frustrating it can be when you dont get the answers you want and need. Gavin is known for being very uncooperative with the docs so I feel for you. Enjoy those margarita's and try to get some rest. I hope Ali does Ok and you get those answers soon.

 

[yinyanggirls]

I hate when I let people go against what I know isn't going to work. I have a couple of horrible memories like that too. The worst one was when she was waking up from anesthesia after eye surgery and I just sat in the waiting room way longer than they said it would take, not asking questions, not knowing what was going on. They finally came and got me as a last resort to try and calm her. They didn't think it would be good for the parents to see their kid so agitated. WHAT??? As soon as I held her she calmed down, even though she was still whining and wouldn't open her eyes. Makes me so mad I didn't ask questions when I was sitting there waiting....
Anyway, have a grande margarita and enjoy your night "off".

 

[pipersmom]

I'm sorry you had such a hard time yesterday, Kelly. I'm with Melissa..it bites when you know what the best thing would be for your child and the Drs totally disregard it. Hoping you have a better day today!

 

[kayrosek]

Hi, I stumbled onto your PTR and I'm hooked. The way your oldest daughter was as a baby sounds so much like the way my son Jonnie was. He coulden't tolerate food, coulden't gain weight and was constantly sick. Also the story of you guys taking in Gabe made me cry. I was one of those kids with a disturbing childhood and one of my highschool teachers offered to take me in. It diden't work out but the offer alone changed my life. It touched me in a way I cannot describe and I have never forgotten it. I'm so sorry to hear Ali is sick I hope she feels better soon and doesn't have to endure too much more in the mean time. I can't wait to read more!

 

[maroo]

Hi, I stumbled onto your PTR and I'm hooked. The way your oldest daughter was as a baby sounds so much like the way my son Jonnie was. He coulden't tolerate food, coulden't gain weight and was constantly sick. Also the story of you guys taking in Gabe made me cry. I was one of those kids with a disturbing childhood and one of my highschool teachers offered to take me in. It diden't work out but the offer alone changed my life. It touched me in a way I cannot describe and I have never forgotten it. I'm so sorry to hear Ali is sick I hope she feels better soon and doesn't have to endure too much more in the mean time. I can't wait to read more!

 

[kellyw8863]

Thanks, ladies, for the commisseration regarding the whole doctor thing. I hate having so many hands in the pot, so to speak. It makes it that much more difficult to figure out who needs to do what. And, for better or for worse, we really rely on Ali's complex care pediatrician (coordinates care with all of her specialists), who is just fabulous and knows us very well. When I called on Wednesday, neither he nor his nurse was in. I hate that these things always happen on the holidays!

Hi, I stumbled onto your PTR and I'm hooked. The way your oldest daughter was as a baby sounds so much like the way my son Jonnie was. He coulden't tolerate food, coulden't gain weight and was constantly sick. Also the story of you guys taking in Gabe made me cry. I was one of those kids with a disturbing childhood and one of my highschool teachers offered to take me in. It diden't work out but the offer alone changed my life. It touched me in a way I cannot describe and I have never forgotten it. I'm so sorry to hear Ali is sick I hope she feels better soon and doesn't have to endure too much more in the mean time. I can't wait to read more!

I'm glad you stumbled in! How is Jonnie now? Have you been able to find relief for him? Thanks for sharing your story about your own childhood. You know, the funny thing is that we never intended to do foster care, and if you ask us if we consider ourselves foster parents now, we would tell you, "no." We love the completeness that he has brought to our family, and we can't imagine things otherwise. I'm sorry that things didn't work out for you, and I'm hopeful that you found another path.

So happy New Year, everyone! Poor Ali is still sick, but we cultured her sinuses on Wednesday, and the culture so far is normal. Now we're just keeping our fingers crossed that something else hasn't/will not develop. We finally uploaded pictures from our camera, so I thought I'd go ahead and share some here.

The girls on Christmas Eve...

Sprinkling reindeer food...

The girls' and their beloved DSes...It was all they wanted from Santa...

Gabe thinking he's getting a PS3, but it's really a backpack...

And finally, the PS3 hidden in a box of Nutren Jr...

And finally, I asked this question over on the Wish Trippers thread, but I figured I'd ask it here, too. If GKTW if full for the week that you want to go, does that mean you can't got at all, or does it mean that you can go but not stay at GKTW? Just curious as to how that works.

 

[pipersmom]

Kelly, I can only answer from our experience. Melissa had asked for the same dates we did and was told there was no space that week. We got that same week she had asked for. Our assumption is that each chapter/region must have a certain number of spots allotted for each period of time? Just to keep things fair, I guess. So I'm crossing my fingers you get the week you requested. I'm not sure exactly how they choose who has to pick different dates and who they would put on site at WDW. I hope everything will work for you to be able to go on those dates, it sounds like they would try to work with you knowing you would have to wait a year otherwise.

Edited to add: I completely forgot to comment on the pics..I hate it when I do that!! The girls look so in their matching pj's. And the look on Gabe's face in the pic where he's holding the PS3..He's just glowing..I can only imagine how great that made you guys feel! It almost made me cry....

 

[dmbfan]

Those pictures are great. Both the girls are just tooo sweet...

I love how you totally fooled Gabe with the ps3... We did the same thing Hannah and her new Ipod...

 

[kayrosek]

Kelly those pictures are adorable. It looks like your family had a wonderful Christmas. I'm sorry Ali is still sick but glad her culture was clear hopefully she's on the road to feeling better soon. Jonnie is my little miracle child. We never did find alot of answers to why he was the way he was. We got a few minor diagnosis and then found out he had major food allergies and intolerences (at that time there were five foods he wasen't allergic to). Even staying away from the "bad" foods diden't help completley at first but with an extremly high calorie diet he started gaining a little weight. Now at nine he's nearly average weight for his height (although he's quite short for his age). Most of his intolerances have disapeared and he has only a few allergies left. His developmental delays were attributed to Autism and he has several learning disorders but he's doing great. Thanks for asking and sorry that was so long I promise I wasen't trying hijack your thread.

 

[kellyw8863]

Kelly, I can only answer from our experience. Melissa had asked for the same dates we did and was told there was no space that week. We got that same week she had asked for. Our assumption is that each chapter/region must have a certain number of spots allotted for each period of time? Just to keep things fair, I guess. So I'm crossing my fingers you get the week you requested. I'm not sure exactly how they choose who has to pick different dates and who they would put on site at WDW. I hope everything will work for you to be able to go on those dates, it sounds like they would try to work with you knowing you would have to wait a year otherwise.

Edited to add: I completely forgot to comment on the pics..I hate it when I do that!! The girls look so in their matching pj's. And the look on Gabe's face in the pic where he's holding the PS3..He's just glowing..I can only imagine how great that made you guys feel! It almost made me cry....

It's so WEIRD how it all works! At any rate, we should know something soon. We're supposed to touch base with her wish granter at the beginning of the week.

Those pictures are great. Both the girls are just tooo sweet...

I love how you totally fooled Gabe with the ps3... We did the same thing Hannah and her new Ipod...

Thanks. Did you get pictures of Hannah? Isn't it fun messing with them?! You can totally see on Gabe's face that he's trying to be appreciative, but he's also wondering, "What the heck?!"

Kelly those pictures are adorable. It looks like your family had a wonderful Christmas. I'm sorry Ali is still sick but glad her culture was clear hopefully she's on the road to feeling better soon. Jonnie is my little miracle child. We never did find alot of answers to why he was the way he was. We got a few minor diagnosis and then found out he had major food allergies and intolerences (at that time there were five foods he wasen't allergic to). Even staying away from the "bad" foods diden't help completley at first but with an extremly high calorie diet he started gaining a little weight. Now at nine he's nearly average weight for his height (although he's quite short for his age). Most of his intolerances have disapeared and he has only a few allergies left. His developmental delays were attributed to Autism and he has several learning disorders but he's doing great. Thanks for asking and sorry that was so long I promise I wasen't trying hijack your thread.

Thanks! We did have a good Christmas! Spent waaaayyyy too much money, which means we'll be eating cheap for the next couple of months, but it was so worth it! I'm glad that Jonnie seems like he is doing better. Do you have a PTR/TR here where I can "stalk" you? I'd love to read more about your family! And don't worry at all about "hijacking" my thread. I'm loving the people I am meeting here!

Ugghh...I can't believe back to school tomorrow. Good for the kids, bad for me. I have so much to do in the next week and a half before exams and grades close. I haven't even BEGUN to make my exams yet, and I have four classes worth to create. ACK!

Wish granter this week. Yippee! I can't wait. It will be nice to make things a little bit more "official." At any rate, I'm having a hard time controlling myself, and I've already started working on autograph books. And, we created an online account for our Disney Visa so we can get a card for those Disney Dollars.

Okay, I need to go do some more cleaning up and make a grocery list. And a shower would be nice.

 

[Momofwishkid]

Very cute pics! We do reindeer food every year too. Of course it's all the better when there's snow on the ground which we didnt have this year. Love the look on Gabe's face when he gets his PS3 good job on the trickery

 

[yinyanggirls]

Love the Cmas jammies! How cute that they all wanted just one thing. Tessa still wants everything she sees commercials for, and Phoebe doesn't care. Phew!

I remember all too well, the stress of not having dates yet, and not being able to reallllly start the planning! I'm glad you get to talk to the WG soon!

 

[dmbfan]

Hoping you pop on tonight and say " We got the call"...

 

[kayrosek]

I too am waiting to here that you got the call hope it happens soon. I don't have a TR I've been debating starting one. I found the Dis 1 1/2 before our WDW trip (our first ever) so there was no time for a PTR. We've been back a month and the idea of writing a TR seems daunting. This trip was wonderful there were amazing reasons behind it, but everyone here is sick of hearing about WDW and I need someone to share it with who isen't sick of hearing about it so now I'm thinking I'll start one.

 

[dmbfan]

Ahh because my facebook is acting up, I am not sure you got my message....but I have to reorder some supplies and did not know if you want the pedilyte for Ali?

Hope that call come today....

 

[dmbfan]

Ahhhh KELLY....WHERE ARE YOU????......

 

[kellyw8863]

Ahhhh KELLY....WHERE ARE YOU????......

I feel asleep putting the girls to bed. Wish granters are coming Saturday at 5:30pm!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[yinyanggirls]

So we have to wait another 5 days!?! I think we're in more suspense than you. J/K - not possible.

 

[kellyw8863]

Very cute pics! We do reindeer food every year too. Of course it's all the better when there's snow on the ground which we didnt have this year. Love the look on Gabe's face when he gets his PS3 good job on the trickery

Thanks! I'll be honest - the only reason we did it this year is because someone else made it for the girls. I mean well, but I tend not to get around to stuff like that. I'll lend you some of our snow. We have tons!

Love the Cmas jammies! How cute that they all wanted just one thing. Tessa still wants everything she sees commercials for, and Phoebe doesn't care. Phew!

I remember all too well, the stress of not having dates yet, and not being able to reallllly start the planning! I'm glad you get to talk to the WG soon!

Maya and Ali do the same thing, but when asked what they wanted most from Santa, they both said the DS. But, if we go to the store, or they see commercials, they are the same way.

I too am waiting to here that you got the call hope it happens soon. I don't have a TR I've been debating starting one. I found the Dis 1 1/2 before our WDW trip (our first ever) so there was no time for a PTR. We've been back a month and the idea of writing a TR seems daunting. This trip was wonderful there were amazing reasons behind it, but everyone here is sick of hearing about WDW and I need someone to share it with who isen't sick of hearing about it so now I'm thinking I'll start one.

Just take it one day, or even 1/2 day, at a time!

So we have to wait another 5 days!?! I think we're in more suspense than you. J/K - not possible.

I know! And I should be grading research papers and making final exams, but I know I'm going to spend the time here instead.

Did you all do something for your wish granters when they came? How long did the visit last? Ours are coming right at 5:30, so I'm wondering about nibblies or something.