Four Months in the Making… DISNEY WORLD!

When we first moved here, a very sweet woman and I were chatting at soccer tryouts.  After learning that we were new to the area, she offered me 3 free Disney World tickets!  I was in awe at her generosity, and I was especially touched by her big, beautiful, warming smile.

I hated to tell her that as grateful as we were, we could not accept her offer because we couldn't even afford the remaining 4 tickets for the rest of our family.  A couple of months later, she said she now had 5 tickets for our family if we could go on a Sunday.  I again had to graciously turn her down because we were trying really hard to keep the Sabbath day holy.

Meanwhile, our friendship continued to grow, and our children developed great friendships as well.  A few days ago, this sweet friend sent me another text….

She had 7 free tickets for our entire family to go to Disney World on Monday, January 6th!!!!  (Baby Jayden would be free.)

I of course accepted full-heartedly!!

Our children still do not know about our plans- all they know is that tomorrow morning they are going somewhere VERY SPECIAL.  They have guessed Disney World a few times with GREAT hopes.  Each time I said, "Really guys??  We can't even afford a house- what makes you think we can afford a trip to Disney World?" :-)

Our dear friend will accompany us into Disney World to get us all in… but first she gets to be the one to make the special announcement about where we are spending our day!!  I am certain a ton of screams, squeals, and giant hugs will be involved when she breaks the wonderful news about the special gift she has been preparing for us for the past 4 months. :-)

Guess what?  Jackson's birthday and her twin sons' birthdays are all on January 7th- the day after our Disney World trip.  Jackson turns 12-years old on Tuesday and will be receiving the priesthood as a Deacon in our church on the following Sunday.  (The 12th birthday is a highly anticipated and very special one in our church.)

Instead of using the valuable tickets for her own children, she is giving our family all the tickets she has so that we can go to Disney World as a family.  My heart is touched.  My heart is full of gratitude.  What a birthday party for Jackson!! What a sacrifice she has made!!

As we celebrate our truly special and Christlike child, Jackson, I am touched that he is honored by a gift from such a truly special and Christlike woman…. my dear friend.  This gift has been four months in the making, and we will be forever grateful for it.

We are grateful to God and grateful to our dear friend.