Thursday, March 20, 2008

You take the good, you take the bad...

You take them both, and there you have...The Facts of Life!

Well last night I had a dream about Asher. This doesn't happen for me often as I usually don't remember my dreams but this was one of those, wake up in the morning feeling like you lived the dream kind of dreams. That threw me for a loop today. All I could think about was holding him just one more time and having him here with us.

When I went to bed last night I was agitated...I didn't mention this lovely tidbit of info from our vacation as I was trying to stay positive. In the past few days we have tried using our credit card and it was declined each time...I knew it had to be a mistake so once we got here I checked and the hotel we are staying in charged our room to our hotel multiple times...we are staying in a Hilton Garden Inn which isn't cheap but we had difficulty finding a hotel in Florida during spring break on short notice so here we are...it was for four nights so we will just say several hundred dollars. This of course put us over the limit and I have been trying to get it fixed each day. This has caused us to really rethink our finances as we have to have enough cash to also get home on. It has been incredibly stressful and the hotel has not been very helpful at all and it is THEIR mistake! They have not offered to do ANYTHING about it...they even wanted ME to call the bank myself. I can be very tolerant of a mistake but four days later and I still cannot use my credit card and I am TICKED! (ok that was my vent and hopefully poor publicity for this establishment)

Anyhow...we went to the Magic Kingdom today. We didn't get there until later in the afternoon as we knew the kids would not last all day. We were parked in the Happy section of the parking lot which we saw as no coincidence! We got there just in time for the parade which I have to say was a hit with the boys! They were so excited, just watching them actually made me cry. I cried because I knew how much they were caught up in the magic of it all and because those priceless memories are ones I will NEVER have with my other boys. It was bittersweet. (I don't think I ever knew the true meaning of bittersweet until recently)

The boys were so much fun! We were able to see many things and the boys had a blast! The biggest hits of the day were...Buzz Lightyear's Space ride thing, Peter Pan's flight ride, the parades of course, and the biggest hit was that we were chosen to start the race at the Tomorrowland Speedway, which for anyone who knows Luke would think he would have flipped, but Howard ended up waving the flag as Luke got shy. We were then escorted to the front of the line of the ride and the boys got to drive cars in the next race! It was so great! I will post pictures soon!

They were both terribly afraid of the fireworks which threw us since they had never been afraid before.

We got back to the hotel around one thirty and we are now about to drop! I got online to check our credit card which is STILL being held! And to check Eva's blog and Chrissy has posted updates so if you get a moment please check her blog and pray for her specific prayer requests. Eva is three days old now but is coming upon some big challenges. Her blog is listed at the right of this page.

Also we will be beginning our trek home tomorrow...we are going to drive north tomorrow and stay somewhere on the ocean for a night or two before returning home for Easter so please pray for safe travel and that this crazy hotel gets our credit card figured out so we can get a room tomorrow night!

I will leave you with this wisdom from Luke:

As we sat down to dinner tonight we were talking and Luke responded to something with his typical "I KNOW" and I said " is here anything you don't know?" and he said, "Well, actually there is something I don't know... I can't explain love." Apparently he has given this some thought. He asked us to explain it and we were at a loss...any suggestions? :-)

17 comments:

Kathryn said...

Love is when you want to be with someone forever. Its a special feeling that God made so that we are never really alone.

Its what came to mind that he might understand.

Sonja said...

Wow!!!! Straight out of the mouths of babes.

I have a 17 year old son who just asked the same question a few days ago. How ironic! I told him that "Love" was a special "gift" that God gave us when He made us. It is a feeling, a mood, a desire, a faith if you will. This was His GREATEST GIFT He ever gave. It is the ultimate gift package of all. It is kind of like "Faith". You have to believe in it but sometimes you don't actually see it in a tangible item.

It worked for a 17 year old but I'm not sure about Luke. I would bet that this is one of those things you ask God to help explain. I know I did!

As for the Hotel in Florida, I am so sorry for that problem. I live in Florida and believe me, it is not an isolated instance. My prayers will be that it will be resolved today.

I pray that this family vacation has been good for you and your family. May God give you safe travels home to celebrate His Easter Morning!!!!

Melissa Dovel said...

Love feels like....the way it feels when you tickle his tummy.
Love sounds like....a wisper in your ear.
Love looks like....a hug and kiss.
I think the best way to describe to him what love means is the things he finds most special that you do with him every day.

What a sweet gift of a question.

hugs,
Melissa

Lisa said...

My wisdom of what love is comes from a Clifford book that Evie likes a lot!

'Love is that warm feeling you get when you are with someone you care about"

Not an exact quote, but close.

Hoping and praying the rest of your trip goes smoothly. You are giving Luke & Ben some wonderful memories!

Love,
Lisa

Laurie in Ca. said...

Oh Kristy,

Pick that little guy up, hug him long and hard, kiss him and kiss him, whisper in his ear that you love him to bits and never want to let him go. Look him in the eyes and tell him "I love you forever" and he will never be alone. Watch his face:)
Praying for the credit card mess to be corrected. Turn Howard loose on them!!! Have a wonderful and peaceful trip at the ocean on your way back home.

Love, Laurie in Ca.

MamaBear said...

I can't really add much to the "love" discussion than what has already been said but just wanted to let you know that I'm praying that the credit card situation will be resolved ASAP. Having just come back from 10 days in Florida during which time we used virtually no cash, only cards, I know what a PROBLEM a declined card would be for most of us ... glad you were able to give the hotel some negative PR since they seem so unwilling to deal with the problem they created.

Blessings on the rest of your trip. May it be a time of healing and rest and precious memories for you all.

The Adoption Of William said...

I hope things get cleared up quickly for you...how annoying and stressful. THEY should be correcting this mistake...what poor customer serivce.
I pray you enjoy the rest of your trip.

With Love and Hope,

Jen

My Blog said...

Well, first of all, tell him
Love CAN'T be explained, only felt and held.
It is the feeling in your heart that holds onto memories, Asher will always be in his heart (and yours) because Love will keep him there.
It is the feeling that you MUST hug your Mummy or Daddy and it is what holds Mummy's and Daddy's hands together when they walk together.
It is how you know Jesus is in your heart, you feel His love in there and He holds you in His heart.
It is also what makes you sad when someone goes that you wish didn't have to. And what holds that last meeting forever in your heart and mind and memory.
Love is what wakes you each morning and helps you fall asleep each night.
It is what helps you forgive those who accidentally hurt you and what makes you say you are sorry when you hurt them.
It also is why God made us. He wanted someone to love so he made us. In a way, we all are love because we are made in His image.
It is beauty, fragrance, laughter, music, and best of all, Mummy.

MomMom said...

I visited your blog because I wanted to tell you that I walked to the mailbox today and noticed that there are happyflowers dotting my yard. I prayed for you!

BUT I also want to encourage you about the credit card issue. My mother works in the bookkeeping department of a bank, and she tells me crazy stories about problems. So I'm a second-hand expert. haha

In a generic sort of situation, if there's a problem with your card, the account is flagged and you can't use it until the issue is resolved. Because of privacy laws, if the flag was put up before the hotel realized that they needed to credit you back, they CAN'T just credit you back, because the account is off autopilot (for lack of a better term...) and somebody at a desk is going to have to go in and fix it. When YOU call to complain, they contact the hotel, the hotel should say it was a mistake, take the charge away, and your account should be back to normal.

BUT YOU HAVE TO CALL or it's going to take days or weeks for them to get to your discrepancy in the piles of paperwork they see everyday. If you've already called and they haven't done anything, CALL AGAIN. CALL AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN. I know you're on vacation and I know it's a pain, but keep calling until someone gives you a definite "We have fixed it."

I don't know that anyone would think to explain any of that to you while you're trying to get this fixed. It's kind of shortsighted, but it's one of those things that when you deal with it every day all day you forget that there are people who just don't know about it.

MomMom said...

Sorry that was so long and involved, and I hope it didn't add to your frustration!

Beth said...

I just read through your blog and one day your son will be able to read thru it and know exactly what love is. You have a wonderful site here and what an awesome testimony you have. Thank you for sharing your life with me.

Rachel said...

Praying for peace for you and your family. Praying that the hotel bill gets straightened out and that they compensate you for this annoying problem. Praying that you have a safe relaxing trip home.
Rachel in PA

Gram said...

i just read an article about how hotels put a hold on a specific amount on your credit card just in case you have additional expenses. then it is difficult to get the extra charges OFF your card and the card is then denied other places. the article even said that the hotels would claim that it was the banks problem to straighten out. exactly what you are experiencing. i may try and find the article for you if you are interested.

Gram said...

google: "hotels holding credit cards" and it will explain what is probably happening in your case as well. hope this helps! jan

Mountainmom said...

I had exactly the same thing happen at last year's homeschool convention at Rosen Shingle Creek in Orlando. I went to buy some curriculum downstairs and was declined. Turns out the hotel had double-run the entire amount (3 nights times $200, then doubled). My husband (who was in another state) was livid on the phone with them. I was probably not the best representation of a Christian homeschooler, but the hotel ended up "comping" the entire stay and gave me a room service voucher (no limit) because I missed going out to dinner with my friends (we were about to move out of state and this time was very impt to me). I would have your husband be very firm with the front desk, explain your situation, and ask them directly how they intend to resolve it. I had to continually stand there and ask the guy "exactly what time will you be here tomorrow?" (this was at night). As he wrote someone a note, I asked "How are you going to insure this is dealt with first thing tomorrow?" etc, etc. It was a horrible experience, but I would really push for some recompense on the hotel's end. They will say it is now a bank issue (a HOLD is different from an actual charge, which can be reversed immediately by the hotel), but it is their fault for putting it through twice. After my emotional breakdown that night, it was dealt with by 11am the next morning and I could use the card again. Good luck!
Lori in VA

Anonymous said...

I don't know what you say to Luke as I'm too busy wiping the tears....his four year old wisdom sure is something!

We hope you have a safe and happy trip home. We can't wait to hear all about it!

Love and prayers,
The Mays'

Emily said...

Hey friend! I'm so sorry to hear that our ugly enemy is trying to steal the joy of Disney for you by using dumb money worries. I've looked and looked, but haven't had much luck, where is your email address? I might be able to help!