We're at Disney!!!

We are in Orlando having a great time. We will go to Disney on Thursday for 3 nights and stay on site. The hotel we are staying at is absolutely amazing. It is the nicest hotel, by far, that I've ever stayed in. We are on the 21st floor and have an amazing view of the pool and the golf course. Whenever we see the hotel while driving, Will says, "There home! Lets go get it!" They have a Starbucks here, which is like heaven to me!The pool is fantastic and the boys have enjoyed it a lot. Will keeps talking about going to the "beach party" when he sees the pool. All of us went for a while yesterday. I definitely need to get Raleigh back into swimming lessons. We bought some small intertube rings and they helped a bunch. Will, in typical Will fashion, was very reluctant at first. He took a while to ease into the pool. After a while, however,he became fearless and loved every minute of it. We probably need to get him into swimming lessons as well. Maybe if we start young,it will help.
Today the boys and I went to Downtown Disney while Mike was teaching. They had a great time seeing the giant Lego creations. Outside of 1 store they had a giant Buzz and PotatoHead, which Will loved, of course. Whenever we were talking about seeing characters and going to Disney, Will kept saying, "NO!"....typical Will. When we left,everything we passed he thought was DisneyWorld and kept saying, "Let go Disney-Wor-uld". He LOVES all the fountains in Orlando and calls them "waterfalls". Ral loves the pool....and will have a ball at Seaworld this evening, I'm sure!

Willisms

Whenever you ask Will if he wants to do something..he either says, "Sure or Oh yeah!"
Too cute.

When he is pitching fits for someone, he always takes ownership of the person. He'll scream forever for "My daddy" or "My mama" or "My grandma Mary".

We went to Pizza Hut for the first time the other day. It made quite an impression on him, even though he only ate a few raisins, 3 bites of banana pudding, and 4 vanilla wafers. As we left, later on in the day, AND the next day, he whined and cried for "My PizzU Hut...My PizzU Hut...My PizzU Hut..."

When Will wants you to hold him, he'll say to you, "Hold you....Hold you mama...Hold you...Hold you daddy..."

Listening to the voice of God

We've had VBS this week. Ral has really learned a lot. They talked about Creation, the first sin, and the flood. On the way home yesterday, I was asking Raleigh questions about what he had learned, why Noah built the Ark, who was saved on the Ark, etc. etc. I tried to really point out that Noah was listening to what God had to tell him.
Ral announces, "Mom, God's been telling me something..."

Mike and I waited for a few seconds, wondering if...just maybe...Raleigh was hearing the love of God and wanted to talk about accepting Christ.

I asked him what God had been saying.

He told me, "God's been telling me to build a Transformer Robot."

I thought Mike and I would die trying to keep our laughter in.

At least he does have the idea that the Lord DOES speak to you!

Pictures!!!

Summer vacation

Summer vacation is in full swing at the Combs house. We just got back from a trip to Wilmington. The week before that, Ral spent 3 hours each day at "Fossil Camp" at the Hands on Museum in Johnson City. He LOVED the camp and really learned a lot. While he was there he made a volcano and a "fossil" as well as taking a field trip to the Gray, TN fossil site.

Last week in Wilmington was a lot of fun. We took both boys to the beach during the day...a first in our house.
Will was reluctant about the water at first, but after Daddy spent some time at the water's edge with him, he decided that he really liked it. He kept saying, "Let go beach party. Let go beach party!"
Raleigh always loves the beach. I enjoyed holding him and taking him out a little further than he could go on his own. He liked just laying in the shallow water and "swimming" around.
We enjoyed good food and fun times, as always in Wilmington. Kathy took Ral to see Kung Fu Panda on Sunday, then took him to a local lake on Monday.
Aunt Eveleyn and I met mama at Duplin Winery on Monday and had a great time eating and sampling the different wines. The only bad part was that mama got overheated b/c of the extreme temperatures and may not be able to travel out of the nursing home for a while.
We ate Smithfield chicken a few times while we were home. As we were driving by it, Ral commented, "Don't you just love that chicken store, Mom? They make the best chicken legs ever!"
Raleigh also attended VBS at the Wilmington Bible Chapel while we were home. I was so happy that he was able to attend.
His teacher was Mrs. Beal....a precious lady who loves the Lord who was my Sunday School teacher :) She is very special to our family. For the past 5 years she has brought lunch to my mom every Monday. A homemade meal for my mom every week...there is no price to what that is worth. She talks to her, reads books to her, and prays with her. There are definitely crowns in heaven waiting for Mrs. Beal...and Mrs. King...and so many others from the Wilmington Bible Chapel. It is a very small church, but is the true meaning of a church family.
Raleigh also learned his first bible verse there....I John 4:19.
We are so proud of him.

More summer adventures yet to come!

6 years ago today

Was the happiest day of my life. I married my wonderful husband, Mike, on this day in 2002. I can't tell you how many times I prayed to find a wonderful man. I found that...and so much more.

The almighty Lord knew what I would need when I got married. I thought I needed Mike for the things I saw in him THEN...not necessarily the things I would need later.
The Lord knew, however.

He knew I would need someone to provide more strength and support I could ever imagine when my mom was paralyzed when I was 2 months pregnant with Raleigh and my dad died when I was 7 months pregnant with Will.

He knew that I would need someone who loved my family and would gladly travel to Wilmington with me as Mike has done so many times the last 6 years.

He knew that I would need someone to listen to my cries as I mourned my mother's stroke and my daddy's death.

He knew that I would need inlaws far beyond the typical inlaws that most of us get. He knew that I would need inlaws who could travel to Wilmington with me to clean out my mama's house when she was put into the nursing home. He knew that I needed inlaws who could travel to Wilmington with me while I was pregnant 2 times. He knew that I needed inlaws to help with childcare...and so much more with my 2 boys.

I thought that Mike was the perfect man for me 6 years ago. I was right about that. The Lord knew I needed the perfect man for each day beyond June 15, 2002.

Thank you, Lord for the best blessing you could ever give me.
Mike...I love you!