Once Upon a Time...

...in a land far, far away...

Oh wait, that's Star Wars.

We came, we saw, we bought stuff, we ate candy and other miscellaneous junk food, and we slept like babies when we got home!  Here are a few pics from the trip:

This is inside the Bibbiti Bobbiti Boutique.  Oh the sweet girliness!

One of the gorgeous scenes at Epcot.  I loved how glassy the water appeared.

Cinderella's Castle with the sun gleaming behind.  Through those arches fairy godmothers work their magic, transforming little girls into princesses.  It is enough to make me want to be four again!

Princess Tiana's dress...made up of Tiana dolls!  She is SUCH a big deal...the first African American Disney Princess.  For my daughters, it is HUGE.  They finally have a princess who is beautiful, smart, funny, and brown...like them.

I realize this would seem to be an odd picture to place here.  Once you read this story you will understand why this may be one of my favorite pictures that I took all week.

It had been a rough day with DJ...my oldest son.  He is a "tween" and, well, we are walking through tween issues...sometimes publicly.  He is a wonderful, godly young man but struggles at times with handling disappointment like all of us. 

We were waiting for the Epcot fireworks to begin.  In fact we had been waiting for a while and he was bored.  He wanted to duck into a nearby shop but because there were hundreds of people crowded around us I did not feel comfortable letting him out of my sight.  He didn't care about the fireworks, didn't know what the big deal was, and would much rather be on the boat back to our cabin so he could watch Disney Channel until he passed out from sheer exhaustion.  That, of course, was not an option.  So he sat down hard, crossed his arms, and pouted.  My heart felt heavy, and I was annoyed at the same time.  If you have tweens I am sure you can relate.

Suddenly a frail woman approached me.  She was small, bent over, her hands were clenched in arthritic fists, but she opened one just enough for me to be able to see what she held.

A small, silver cross.

"I have been observing your beautiful family," she said in a clear voice.  "I was wondering if you would allow me to give a gift to your eldest.  I know how hard in can be on the eldest child sometimes."

I was almost speechless. 

"Of course.  Thank you.  That is so nice of you."

With that she slowly hobbled over to where he sat, bent over, and whispered something to him as she presented the cross.  His eyes changed from dark with anger to lit with surprise and...joy. 

In that moment his stubbornness melted and he ended up watching the fireworks by my side...even apologizing for his attitude.  She quietly went back to her wheelchair and never looked back.

I believe that dear woman was sent straight from God, from a Father who saw a child in need of what only He could give, and she heard the Call and obeyed.  Our God who commands all the armies of Heaven took notice of my son and loved on him in that moment in a way that neither my husband nor I could do.  My son needed it to come from Him...and believe me, he knows that is exactly where it came from.

That cross...that little 10 cent cross that you can buy in a bin at the bookstore...the one that says "God Loves You"...is worth more than all the gold in the world to me.  That little cross represents the tangible presence of God in the life of my son.  He sees, and He knows every detail of his heart and He has him safe in the palm of His hand.

Indeed, my heart is full.