February 29th. Leap Day. Really, it should be declared a world wide holiday. An extra day for fun and relaxation, not work and more work. At least the stores are getting into it and making it about saving spending money. If I had any money to spend I might add to my material possessions.

I know only one person born on the 29th and I hope she is partying her socks off today. I think she is only 8 years old now. Even though she’s been around about 25.

And speaking of leap year birthdays, my cousin Doug and his wife Samantha were hoping for a Leap Baby, so we still have until midnight for Baby Mac to make an appearance.

Do you know anyone who was born on leap day?

Technorati Tags: leap year, leap day, birthdays

I have always said I wanted to have all boys. It isn’t that I am against raising a daughter. I just think boys are a bit more fun. But there are times when I get struck with a desire to have a little girl. For instance, when I see the tiny Auburn cheerleader outfits. They just look so darn cute and I don’t think Damon would let me dress Fuller in one. And I kind of dig getting pretty, playing dress up, and doing girly things and sometimes I think it would be fun to do that with a daughter.

And then this weekend, I saw something that gave me the “Must have a daughter” pang in the heart: The Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. Little girls (aged 3 and up) are given the treat of being turned into a princess through the magic of glitter, hair gel, fake rhinestones, and princess dresses. And if they have an appointment early enough, they can be prettied up to walk through The Magic Kingdom dressed as their princess of choice. How magical is that?

When my friends and I were walking through Downtown Disney (where the Boutique is located) we were able to go to the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique for our own free sprinkling of pixie dust. (Trevor’s was pirate dust, which I think is silly. Tinkerbell sprinkled Wendy and her brothers Michael and John so Trevor could have been sprinkled with pixie dust too.) It was enough to make me feel girly and be excited for the day I get to bring a daughter or niece(s) for their special princess day.

Technorati Tags: pixie dust, Walt Disney World, Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, princess

The entire time I was in Orlando Damon and I were putting on brave faces. We spoke everyday and everyday I asked, “How are you feeling?” And he would give an answer that was a long the lines of “Better.” I would do the same. But the truth is, we are still sick.

While I was living it up in Orlando my illness turned into a raging sinus infection. Flying home yesterday wasn’t too bad, but all day yesterday I was dealing with sinus pressure that was probably altered due to the flight. I feel a lot better today, but need a bit more rest.

Last night our family of three ended up at the ER because Damon’s ear was causing him off the charts pain and leaking. His ear was leaking. Turns out he had a ruptured ear drum and ear infection. The other ear drum had probably ruptured the day before.

It will all heal, but we take ear problems with Damon very seriously. His ear drums are a mess from ear infections during childhood. His sister has a hearing loss due to illness in college. And when he was diagnosed with Ménière’s disease a few years ago, it made us even more cautious.

Fuller still has a cough and congestion, but overall he acts like nothing is keeping him down.

Damon keeps saying how much he hates winter and right now, I have to agree. This really sucks. Our family needs to heal.

I have to admit, I miss my guys. I’m still in Florida and will return home early tomorrow morning, where I should immediately get two hugs. One from Damon and one from Fuller.

Homesickness is a bit strange. For one thing, I feel guilty for not enjoying the moment I am in. Currently I am sitting in my aunt’s house, using St. Cloud’s free wi-fi, and chatting with my cousin (we just looked through wedding pictures from Aunt Lois and Uncle Tim’s wedding where I was a star as the flower girl). But I have this tug, a real physical tug, on my heart longing for Fuller in my lap and Damon by my side.

Saturday I was able to visit The Magic Kingdom and I was a bit teary eyed when we had lunch at The Crystal Palace. Tigger, Pooh, Eyore, and Piglet were there and I knew Fuller would have had a ball meeting them all. I wanted to share that experience with him. I know, I will someday, but during the lunch I was homesick.

I talked to them everyday, getting a few interesting conversation gems from Fuller. I asked him what he was having for dinner and his response sounded like “ice cream.” I said, “Are you having ice cream?” And clear as a bell he replied, “NO! I have oatmeal!”

From the pictures posted, it seems Fuller was turned into a robot for a bit. I look forward to holding the little boy and hugging my man tomorrow.

When I arrived in Florida yesterday I was picked up at the airport by my Aunt Lois. She and my Uncle Tim live here and work for the mission agency Wycliffe. They have been involved with Wycliffe ever since I was about 7 or 8. And now they are beginning to be involved with a project called “One Story” translating Bible stories for presentation around the world. It might put them overseas again for about 6 to 9 months.

My cousin Esther (their daughter) also works for Wycliffe in the education recruitment division. She was overseas teaching children for about a year and came home to do recruitment for a while. She is currently working toward going to Papua New Guinea.

Wycliffe’s headquarters are here in Orlando, so my aunt offered to take me to see the offices, visit with Esther, and show off the Wycliffe HQ jewel- the Wordspring Discovery Center.

Wordspring Discovery Center is a tribute to the story of the Bible and the work that goes into translating God’s word into the languages of the world. I was very impressed with the caliber of the exhibit. Very high tech, engaging, and educational. It definitely appealed to visitors of all ages with plenty of interactive sections, and fun things to do. Because of ear discomfort I didn’t put on any of the headsets to listen to some of the segments, but the overall visit was excellent.

Aunt Lois said the center used to be free, but to have tours and other attraction guides bring people, those third parties need a commission. So, they started selling tickets for $6 an adult and lower for seniors, students, and children. Pastors and their families get complimentary admission. You can get web coupons from their website. The Wordspring Discovery Center has lots of tour groups come through. Some school trips going to Disney or Universal will schedule a day to visit the center as well. If you arrive at 10 a.m. you can get a guided tour of the Wycliffe offices as well as a visit through the Discovery Center.

If you bring your family to Orlando to visit Mickey or Spider-Man, I suggest spending a quiet morning or afternoon at the Wordspring Discovery Center. To learn more about the Bible is really a powerful experience.

Technorati Tags: Wordspring Discovery Center, Wycliffe, Bible translation

Took Fuller to the doctor this afternoon and he does have an ear infection. The most traumatic of the visit was the check of the ears. Fuller knows the doctor does this and had begun a mantra of “No ears, Mom.” He also knew the doctor was where we get medicine so when we went into the exam room, he asked, “Where medicine?”

Fuller is cursed with too much wax production in his ears and the ear with the infection had so much wax in it, Fuller had to be held down so it could be scraped out. Poor baby cried so much, and then when his ear started bleeding it was hysterics. And of course I couldn’t get near him to clean it properly so his ear made him look like he had been in a bar brawl.

Antibiotics have been administered and the doctor said to expect lingering symptoms of the flu and he should be much better in a few days.

My doctor’s appointment gave me the blessing of flying tomorrow, since I have no ear infection. I just get to take real sudafed (the kind you have to show your driver’s license for) before take off and I should be ok. I feel so much better after today’s activity than I did this morning, so I really think I was a bit dramatic in the morning entry.

Damon has also given his blessing for me leaving tomorrow, even though his fever keeps coming and going. So, I’m pretty much packed and tomorrow the Momma Train takes off at 8:30.

P.S. Damon does have access to this blog and to make posts. I’ll be sure to give him a refresher on how to do it.