Ten Disneyland Prayers

Lord, thank you for safe travels. Thank you the girls got all the autographs in their little, homemade books. Thank you the homemade shirts that (miraculously) fit. Thank you we have this picture. Thank you Nate smiled instead of running away screaming from the giant mouse. Really thank you for that one, since he looks about to bolt. Or as confused as Sam is by the whole thing.

Thank you, Lord, for letting us take our kids to Disney when they were just the right age (tall enough to ride Autotopia, yet small enough to believe they were totally driving the car). One more thing, Lord…could we hold on to this Age of Wonderment a little longer? Elisabeth’s “steering face” here looks a bit too real for a mama not quite ready for her kids to drive their own cars. 
Lord, thanks for keeping us safe on these rides. Of course, no one plummets to Disneyland from a giant Mickey Mouse ferris wheel, right? In the event of something like that happening, please let this trusting Mouseketeer not be the one. Ever.

Lord, thanks for letting us ride so many rides. Thanks for lines that were shorter than the apps reported. Most of all, thanks for letting us get out of Disneyland with only the one cut on Sam’s eye (given the jungle gym he seemed to find everywhere).

Thanks for the courage you’ve given these two daredevils. May they tackle life (or at least the Monday after Spring Break) with the same fearlessness they mustered up to ride the Matterhorn. And that Cars ride.

Okay, Lord, about Sam’s fearlessness when it comes to striking up a conversation with strangers. Or strange characters. Thanks for that. Maybe next time, we’ll keep it more appropriate? I’m guessing Dale will never be the same after Sam told him the story of Manny, our Greyhound, catching a squirrel in our backyard.

the kids’ enthusiasm and perseverance to do EVERYTHING at Disneyland, 

the family camaraderie (and by that I mean Nate’s obsession with his Goggy, Elisabeth’s love of staying right by my side, Catie’s willingness to chat about anything and everything with me, and Sam’s sweet spirit with us all.)

Lord, thank you for Santa Monica beach and the open, unstructured time running by the Pacific Ocean. Thank you for the magical end to a magical trip.

Thank you, Lord, most of all for family and friends who are like family (because you can live with them for six days and totally dominate Disneyland together and you still don’t want to say goodbye.).

For even more Disneyland memories, check out yesterday’s post.