What More Needs Said?

Today is the big day home. We are up and packing now while the girls still sleep. We hope to off here by 9am (Eastern) when we will drive to Columbus and have a lunch appointment there. We have to be to the airport by 3pm (Eastern)and off for 9 hours of flying throught 3 airports. If all goes as scheduled, we will be home by 2-3am (Eastern) after about a 22 hour day.

We need to give a very VERY V E R Y special thank you to our friends Ken, Lori, Rachel and Julia who have graciously opened their home to us while we were here in Akron, have fed us, and have provided some great fellowship and, well, are just great people! Go back to the Memorial Day post to see how great they have been to us.

We are pretty sure that not much more needs said right now except a picture of the back of the shirt that Rebekah will wear home today:

Last Day w Friends and Family

It is amazing how difficult this is to write given how wonderful things have been. Just having to say goodbye and getting back to a normal life is tough.

We woke up yesterday morning and were off for a very long day. We started by having an early morning lunch with long time close friends Ted and Gay. They treated us at an old hangout where mommy and daddy used to eat with them often before we left Ohio. They were very tolerant of the girls being girls and we were delighted to reminisce with them. Gay, Ted, Mommy and the Girls:
After meeting with Ted and Gay we headed to where daddy used to work and saw some very good friends and old colleagues there. We first went into the legal department where daddy used to work and then friend Linda (see pics in a previous post) took Rebekah all around her department introducing her to people who have been praying for her for a long time but have never met her until yesterday. It is such a blessing to us to be able to share Rebekah personally with those who have helped carry her (and us) to the point where we are today.

Then we headed to the shipping store and sent home two large boxes of extra heavy stuff, hoping to make our trip home on the airline today a bit easier. As we were driving to this stop it became clear the girls were about at their end. Rebekah started saying "no more," "home," and "airplane." We kept trying to say "just one more stop sweeties."

Then off to one last visit with daddy's family. They invited us out to their beautiful home for an outside picnic and some of the cousins were able to make it. As was very true when we lived here, the food was spectacular and Aunt Nancy puts on a great spread! The girls had a good time running around. Finally meltdowns began. Rebekah was begging to go to the car and go "night night" and actually went and was pulling on the car door. When daddy opened it for her she climbed into her seat and said she was going to sleep. When mommy and daddy and Sarah did not come and the car didn't leave she came back out for a few minutes but it was, at least for them, time to go. We didn't want to leave family but were delighted to get to see them at least one more time. Rebekah and Aunt Nancy:

Finally we stopped by the home of some close friends that we have lost contact with over the last several years. They were friends that we had gone to church with, spent time as young couples without kiddos with, and where around when they started their family before we left Ohio. They are people that we look up to and are role models to us in SO many ways. Their family has blossomed and they have 6 beautiful children. Rebekah and Sarah (after a short nap in the car on the way to this stop)actually did okay with some other kids their ages to play around. Here are Rebekah, Sarah and at least the 4 of their kids that were not already in bed.

It was a wondeful WONDERFUL day to end our trip with.

A Couple of Days w Friends and Family

Yesterday we spent the day driving around the area meeting with friends and family that we have not seen in awhile. Because of busy schedules on everyones part, and some "I'll get around to it..." on our parts, much of these meetings are last minute set ups and we have gone from not being sure whether we would be doing anything these last couple of days in Ohio to having 3 or 4 different visits a day.

Yesterday we started off the morning with the girls getting ready for school with Rachel and Julia, watching Rachel walk down the street for the bus and then walking down the street with Julia when she went to catch the bus. Rebekah and Sarah thought it was so cool that Julia was riding the bus to school and they got to go be there when she got on.

We then headed out to have lunch with some friends that daddy used to work with, Steve and Linda Hennis. Steve and Linda were the ones who were instrumental in getting us our first "parenting jobs" with kittens back when we lived here. When they all worked together none of us had kiddos and now there are 6 between us. LOTS of updating and stuff to talk about. It was really REALLY awesome to see them and we are hoping to see them one more time at the office where daddy used to work just after lunch today. Steve and Linda with Rebekah:



After leaving the restaurant we made one more last minute phone call to some other friends on that side of town that we have not seen in a while. Luckily we caught them and were able to go spend a bit of time with them between their errands and games and all of the busy things in life that we have to look forward to once our little ones get older. They have a little girl just a bit older than Rebekah who was a wonderful host, sharing all of her toys and playing with the girls so the big people could talk:

We then left their house and headed over to see daddy's Uncle Bobby (Rebekah's Grandma's Brother) who is the last living relative on that side of the family (except for Grandma obviously). He showed us some upgrades (actual complete rebuilding and additions as nice as they are) to daddy's Grandma's house where daddy grew up playing. The house has changed a lot and is now modern and classy rather than the older grandparent house that many of us played in. It was emotionally difficult for daddy to be in that area, in the house, etc. as daddy was close to his grandpa and grandma and misses them a lot. While we were there Rebekah fell (tripping on the perfectly level floor) and beating herself up, bloody nose, mouth and all. Obviously that took awhile to calm down. Here's the family with Uncle Bobby:

Today its 4 more "meetings," trying to get to a UPS Store to send home some boxes so we don't have to carry as much stuff on the plane tomorrow, packing, etc. Then tomorrow is a drive across the state back to Columbus and airline ride home that will get us there just after midnight Thursday night/Friday morning bringing this whole adventure to an end. Where do we go from there? It's all in God's hands.

Memorial Day Write Up

Remember, you can always click on pictures for a full size version.

Yesterday was a wonderful day with lots of new friends that have been praying for us for a long time on the blog. Here are Rachel, Julia, Olivia, Rebekah and Sarah too:

Olivia (who we have talked about many times) brought her mommy and daddy. And Olivia, Julia and Rachel's Grandma (Leanne from PA on our blog) was here. As was Julia and Rachel's other grandma and grandpa. It was a great BBQ day with fun outside and the Spongebob bounce house you see above that all the girls had fun in.

Here is where we are not really sure how to take this post. You see, it was a "bad" day for "Dora." Leanne from Pa (Grandma) brought a Dora pinata filled with candy for the girls. The candy was great, but it just seemed odd watching the girls wack away at Dora with a baseball bat. They really didn't seem to mind but it was kind of weird. Here is Olivia swinging away while Rebekah and Julia look on:

Rachel finally got the candy to start falling and daddy helped with a little bit of fine surgery to get the rest out for the girls. Great bounty:





And as if that were not enough, just after collecting all the candy down the street came the ice-cream man (lady). All the girls (except Rebekah) ran down the block. It was SO cute because the older girls ran ahead and Sarah was running trying to catch up. She had no clue why she was running but they all knew something that she didn't and it must be fun so she had to catch up. Of course, the vast majority of the girls had to get Dora ice cream:




And although we saved you the pictures of poor Dora after the baseball bat incident, there is probably no better way to end this post than with the way Sarah's Dora ended the day. There were some tears, but they quickly subsided as Rebekah ran over and offered what was left of her Dora saying "I share, I share..."

Memorial Day

Happy Memorial Day. We are very thankful for all of the heroes in our country that have fought to give us the freedoms that we have and for making this country the great country that it is. Please do not today (or any other day for that matter) go by without taking the opportunity to thank that hero living next door to you, the one in your family, the one you come across in the streets, etc. Thank you Tyler, Mark, Steve, Curt, Dave, Forrest, Ken, Tyson, Justin, Brad, Dinah, Joe, Uncle Charlie, Ryan, and a lot of others that mean so much to us.

Yesterday we woke up at our friends' (Ken, Lori, Rachel and Julia) home and Lori made us all pancakes for breakfast. Just before noon we headed into downtown Akron to meet daddy's family. In an effort to try and get as many together at one time as possible Cousins Pete and Jodi set up a spot for us at Spaghetti Warehouse - we got to be inside a trolly car all to ourselves which was neat. Aunt Nancy and Uncle Paul got there first and brought it loads of gifts and dessert for the family and to get things set up. After that we arrived and the others started filtering in.

Rebekah and Daddy's Cousin Joe


Rebekah and Daddy's Aunt Nancy


Mommy and Sarah Enjoying a Gift from Aunt Nancy and Uncle Paul (THANK YOU!)


Daddy's Cousin Jody Showing Her Normal Camera Face


Daddy's Cousin Lindsay (who is graduating next month - congratulations!) Showing Off Her Skills (Yes, She is Cousin Jody's Daughter And All Of Their Kids Are Hams!!!)


The Girls With Cousin Elizabeth

Cousin Elizabeth was not able to join us at the restaurant because she had to work at "Build A Bear" in Summit Mall. So we went to see her after we left. We had nothing else to do for the afternoon. It was good to go see her and the girls were only slightly distracted by all the bears. Neither of them have actually been inside a Build A Bear store before.

During our trips out we got to drive by the places where we used to live (which the girls really had no intrerest whatsoever in but it brought back some memories for mommy and daddy. After that it was back to our temporary home and an old friend Brian and his new wife Jessica (new to us but they have been married for a while) came over and we all sat and talked until late at night.

Today it is a BBQ with relatives of our hosts and frequent posters to the blog including little Olivia who is about Rebekah's age and has been a prophetess often telling her mommy what prayer needs Rebekah had before we even knew them. Olivia is from across the country and has never met Rebekah yet would come up with things like "Mommy, we need to pray for Rebekah's tummy" just before or just as we would start to have a problem with Rebekah's tummy. It can only be a God thing!

We hope having this updates are as enjoyable to you as they are to us getting to share with you. Your continued prayers, thoughts and support mean so much to us. Thank you all.

Party in Ohio in May

Today we met with My Kids Mom (See the Link to the Right) and Jemmers (whose blog is down right now) in Columbus Ohio. These are followers of the blog for several years and have become good friends. It was really cool to be able to have some personal time with blog friends, even more than just putting faces with authors through a picture. My Kid's Mom and her daughter Sara were there as were Jemmers and her foster son Derek. Sara played with Rebekah and Sarah and Derek took our tokens to figure out what the best games were so that he could get the most tickets as he wanted to get something from the prize wall for Rebekah and Sarah. That was REALLY REALLY nice of him.

My Kid's Mom and Rebekah


Jemmers and Rebekah


"Big" Sara and Rebekah

The morning started about 7:30 with getting the girls up. Mommy packed most everything last night and all we had to do was put in jammies, put on clothes and get the suitcases out the door to the car. That meant we were out about an hour later. We said goodbyes at the hotel and were able to give hugs and kisses to many of the staff. An hour and a half drive back to the airport to exchange rental cars for the last 1/2 of our trip (Thrifty is not what I would call most helpful...) Then we were off to Chuck E. Cheese for the gathering and then up to our friends Ken and Lori in Akron where we will be staying for a few days. Tomorrow (Sunday) we are meeting with daddy's family who are in this area for a family gathering. Then Monday with more blogging friends. Finally we will be back to Columbus on Thursday for our trip home.

While heading north out of Cincinnati this morning we had to pass the amusement park. We debated whether to say anything to the girls but decided we should. We told them to look out as we drove by Dora's House (or Dora's HOME as Sarah won't let us call places with people houses - smart girl). Instead of asking to go, Rebekah blew kisses towards the park and said "Bye Bye Dora, Thank You, I Love You." Both mommy and daddy were crying so hard we almost had to pull off the road! Then later on in the car we heard a song "What If She's An Angel?" or something like that, about a little girl that had some disabilities and the song talks about how people treat children (like Rebekah) who have some disabilities and are a bit different, and then finally asks 'What if she's an angel put here to make sure we are doing our job.' Yet again we broke out crying as we don't know why God has given her to us, but we are doing our best to make Him proud of the way we are taking care of her. SO MANY OF YOU ARE MAKING THAT JUST A BIT EASIER ON US - THANK YOU. It has been an emotional day.



Previous Updates to this Post.
Update 5/23/07
We will be meeting at the Chuck E. Cheese in Dublin (2711 Martin Road 43017, phone 614-791-9480) at noon on Saturday. If you can make it, try to let us know, but come. We would love to see you!
Update 5/6/07
We will be meeting at a restaurant for lunch. The exact place and time is yet to be determined but it will be around noon in the Columbus area. It is not too late to let us know you want to join us! Just Comment here or email us at family AT helprebekah.com replacing the spaces and AT with @.
----------------------
We are in the preliminary stages of setting up a party for our blog friends while we are in Ohio. We are looking at having a party in or around Columbus, Ohio in the afternoon of Saturday May 26th. That is Memorial Day weekend. It is coming up quickly!

We would love to meet as many of you as possible! We would like to get an idea of how many might come, so please let us know you can make it. You can leave a comment on this post, or send an email to us at "family AT helprebekah.com" replacing the spaces and AT with @. Rebekah loves people and will thoroughly enjoy meeting everyone.

A Brief Update...

...with more to follow after a bit of a rest.

Yesterday we decided we had had enough at the park. We called the local Make-A-Wish office and asked them if we could come see them and thank them personally. Today we met Beth and Kate at Danato's (sp?) pizza for lunch. It was AWESOME to personally get to thank the people that have done so much to make this possible. The are lovely and very kind ladies. Rebekah spent a lot of time playing with them as well as trying to just be little miss mischievous the whole time. Our only regret is that we totally forgot to get pictures with them until we were back in the car and heading out.

Late last night and continuing into this morning it was becoming more and more clear that we had to go back to the park one last time to see Dora. Rebekah and Sarah both kept asking for more, more and more Dora. So after we left lunch we headed straight there. We did one ride (the Swiper's Sweeper that they love so much) and then straight over to the theatre for the 2:00 showing. We were a bit early and got really good seats. Rebekah was again recognized by much of the staff. We had prepared Rebekah again for Dora being too busy to come talk with her but we were told that some of the staff wanted us to stay after the show so they could come talk with us.

As we got there, Jessie (who posted some comments in the last thread) came out to see us. She and Rebekah had just a few minutes with each other but became good friends. They talked, danced and Rebekah even sat on her lap. As Jessie said in her comment, she is a really close friend of Dora's, REALLY close...


After the showing we again waited around and out came Dora and Boots and they wanted to spend some time with Rebekah. This time all we shot was video (and I don't remember right off how to put that up here but will eventually look into it) but you can imagine the scene with hugs, kisses, dancing and a general good time being had by all. Rebekah and Dora are now good friends to and Rebekah (and Sarah) are calling her "My friend Dora." Rebekah gave Dora a Make-A-Wish Pin, a Make-A-Wish Bracelet, and one of Rebekah's Reach The Day Bracelets for Dora to remember Rebekah with. Hopefully Dora will let her friend Jessie wear them all the time. We know that Rebekah and Sarah will definitely remember it. Again, THANK YOU TO ALL OF THE STAFF AT DORA'S SING-A-LONG THEATRE - YOU ALL TRULY DID GIVE THIS LITTLE GIRL THE BEST GIFT OF HER LIFE!!! Thank you. Thank you.

Another Day At King's Island

Sarah gets a big hug from 'Lil Bill (Cosby)

Don't know what all to tell you about today except that it was an emotional day for us, or at least for daddy. Not exactly sure why but after spending two days at King's Island we may not be going back tomorrow (pretty much have worn out the Nickelodeon section and the rest of the park is too "big" for the girls). But leaving there today (and writing this) is kind of sad because it's almost like her wish is over. And I don't want her wishes to end...

Daddy got up early this morning and did some work while all the girls slept in a bit. Once everyone else got up we went to Cracker Barrel (see previous post about restaurants you have to go to because they don't have them out west) for breakfast using the gift certificate that the manager of the hotel got us. Then we went on to the park. When we got there the supervisor of guest relations had Dora doll for us, some Dora Bucks to spend in the park, and helped us get a stroller for the day. All of that was very VERY nice.

We headed off to the rides in the kiddo section and rode most of the same ones from yesterday (added one or two and subtracted a few). Apparently they were having staffing difficulties as only about 1/2 the rides were open at a time. Here are some pictures of the girls enjoying themselves today:

The girls on Swiper's Sweeper, a tiny flat roller coaster that swings you around at either end - they LOVED it and it was probably one of their favorites. It was the only one they went on multiple times in a row yesterday.


Another one of the favorites - the swings.

We got in another Dora Sing-A-Long show today. Actually it was the same one as yesterday but all the better as the girls knew the songs and the answers to the questions. As we were kind of afraid would happen, Rebekah kept saying "Dora come!" We had to explain to her a lot that Dora was really busy with other things and couldn't come today. But many of the staff did recognize us (including some of the on-stage actors) and came over to say hi after the show. During the show they kept waiving at Rebekah but she didn't notice. Word was getting around that there were pictures of them on Rebekah's blog and they wanted more of Rebekah's business cards. One of the most touching things of all was when one of the male staff members came over to daddy and said "Having Rebekah here yesterday made working here this whole season worth it!" Wow. If only there was some way to express to them what they meant to Rebekah. They literally made the wish of all wishes in her young life come true. If you guys are reading this - THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU (honestly written with tears of joy pouring from our eyes!)


This was a Blues Clues ride which Rebekah really liked.


This was the girls showing daddy "sister loves."


The girls "driving."


The girls and daddy on a "drop" ride. This picture was taken before the ride because I am pretty sure only the girls were smiling after...By the way - if you recognize any of the other kids in our pictures DON'T tell them about their pictures here, we don't have a clue who they are nor any releases to post their pictures.


The view from the Eiffel Tower.

YES, they actually have a full scale Eiffel Tower. At least I think the guy said it was full scale. It is over 300 feet tall and has an observation tower at the top. We rode an elevator up and the girls really enjoyed looking out. Rebekah enjoyed it more than Sarah and kept wanting to climb on the fence around the outside of the observation deck. Sarah had a bit of an apprehension and, even though she is normally the climber, she didn't want to get so close to the edge. Our day pretty much ended when we got down to the bottom. Someone stole our stroller. Can you believe someone stealing someone else's stroller, let alone a Make-A-Wish kiddo?! If you believe in Karma that person is REALLY in for it. Rebekah and Sarah had absolute melt-downs because their stroller was gone and there was nothing we could do about it. We carried them to the car and headed for the hotel.

On the way to the hotel we stopped at the last of the "mid west" restaurants that we don't get to visit in Oregon - Whitecastle. Not sure that it is worth explaining now and maybe we will later, but Whitecastle sells 1 oz hamburgers on tiny buns with 2 ozs of onions on them. It's just weird. Here are the girls enjoying their Whitecastle:


Tomorrow we plan on meeting with the local Make-A-Wish people who set this all up for us. It is almost over and, as we started this post, it is sad. THANK YOU again to everyone who has made this happen and thank you too to the rest of you who continue to pray and check up on us.

REBEKAH MEETS DORA!!!

Today was what it was all about. For those of you that happen to come across this page first: Rebekah is a little girl fighting (and winning) a battle with cancer. She was granted a wish come true from Make-A-Wish foundation and chose to fly all the way across the country from Oregon to Ohio to meet Dora the Explorer and spend a few days at Paramount King's Island Amusement Park in Cincinnati, Ohio. Today was the day that months and months (really years) of planning and the help from literally hundreds of volunteers and donors made possible. And a wonderful day it was. We owe so many thanks to Make-A-Wish for setting this up and to King's Island for hosting us.


We got to the park just after noon and were scheduled to see a Dora (and friends) Sing-A-Long show at 2:00pm. It took a while to get through processing passes to get us in and we headed straight towards the Nickelodeon section of the park. Other than "go to the Dora Sing-a-Long" we really didn't have any information on what we were supposed to do and that was a bit frustrating. We rode a few rides as we had some time and made our way to the outdoor theatre. When we got to the roped off area at the entrance for the theatre the young lady at the entrance knew exactly who we were and what we were there for. She took us in early and had a special seating spot all ready for Rebekah:

As you can see there were balloons and reserved spots. From the moment we sat down, Rebekah started calling out "Dora come, Dora come...," sometimes quite loudly. We had our work cut out for us to make her understand that we had to watch the whole show before we got to "meet" Dora. She kept saying "I in Dora's House, I in Dora's House." The show was a live version of at least a compilation of shows that Rebekah and Sarah know pretty well. They knew the dances and songs and were standing up in front of the stage dancing and singing along. Rebekah was so happy.

After the show we had to sit quietly (HA!) while the crowd cleared out. This was Rebekah's time. After the theatre was empty Rebekah again started calling "Dora come, Dora come!" And out she did. Out of one of the side entrances came Dora, Boots and a few of the other characters. First came Boots:

and that was great, but I don't have to tell you who she was really waiting for:

After some introductions (which really didn't need done as Rebekah and Sarah already knew who Dora was and Dora already seemed to know Rebekah), Rebekah was told that Dora had a special treat for Rebekah in her backpack. Rebekah was able to get into Dora's backpack all by herself and get out a special book signed by Dora and all of the staff personally just for Rebekah. While Rebekah was there, she left her "business card" with all of her information on it(maybe Rebekah and Dora will "do lunch" sometime):

Rebekah then took charge and directed all of the characters back to the stage. They belonged up there, not in the audience, and most of all Rebekah wanted to go up there with them. After a bit of confusion Rebekah, Sarah and all of the characters were up on stage singing, dancing, hugging, kissing and having a blast. I don't have to tell you that this was probably the best day of Rebekah's life:
Rebekah and Sarah, Dora And Boots All Dancing Together On Stage


Rebekah Giving Sponge Bob Square Pants A Kiss


Dora Showing Rebekah And Sarah Where Her Signature Was On Rebekah's New Book

When it was time for Dora and the crew to have to get ready for the next show they had to leave and goodbyes and kisses were everywhere. It was at this point that we thought we were supposed to meet with the park representatives and learn about what other special treatment/plans they had set up for us for the next 2 days. Unfortunately no one at the show knew anything about that and they directed us to the 10 minute walk back to guest relations. Once at guest relations no one there knew anything about Make-A-Wish, our attendance or who to talk to and try as hard as they could, they could not find someone to talk to. Finally they sent us back out in the park to try back later. After about another hour and half, the girls were getting beyond tired and breaking down, not willing to walk anymore and obviously not getting the "full" enjoyment of the park. We went back to guest relations and they had some names of someone to talk to but nothing more - they really REALLY tried and were very nice but just couldn't get a hold of anyone who knew what was supposed to be happening. Hopefully tomorrow morning they will have some info for us. Then as we were leaving we went to pick up daddy's pocket knife which they chose to keep for us "for safe keeping" as we entered. That turned out to be a bit of an issue as it was apparently lost, which was not that bad except we had some issues with people who didn't seem to care. Finally (40? minutes later), Ed, the head of security came over and very much took care of things. They still couldn't find it but he took responsibility for the issue and was willing to work to do something about it!

Hopefully tomorrow some of the bugs will be worked out and the girls can enjoy the spectacular park even more. At dinner Rebekah said she wanted to go back to see Dora again tomorrow. We explained that we will go see her but she will be very busy and won't get a chance to talk with her like today. Maybe the girls will be a bit more rested and we can spend some more time enjoying everything! Short a couple of very small glitches, it was the picture perfect day. THANK YOU TO MAKE-A-WISH, KING'S ISLAND, and ALL of you for your continued thoughts, prayers and encouragement. If you get a chance, please take a chance to donate to Make-A-Wish for all the great things they do and/or please take a moment to also thank King's Island (kingsislandgr@paramountparks.com) for their help in making a little girl's dreams come true.

Some Really REALLY Gracious (and Nice) Folks

Will get to a post about the park and meeting Dora next, but first we want to tell you about some really wonderful and gracious people that have touched our lives today.

First is Rob. He is the Operations Manager of the hotel where we are staying, Towne Place Suites by Marriott on Waterstone Boulevard in Cincinnati. Not only Rob, but actually all of the staff here have been extremely generous, polite, offering everything we could need, desire and then even more. Rebekah and Rob got to meet this morning and they had a great time. In fact Rebekah nearly took over the office from Rob and Rachel. Here are Rebekah and Rob:

(After today's pictures you will see how difficult it is to get a "normal" picture from our beautiful little Rebekah.

The second GRACIOUS person was the manager at Skyline Chili on Bardes Road in Mason, Ohio. We told you yesterday that we ate there last night and would again. Straight back from the park we stopped there. Word got around quickly that we were from Oregon,with Make-A-Wish and Rebekah had met Dora. The manager (Joe - and I think he was actually the assistant but he was in charge) came over and wanted to hear all about it. He thought it really cool and took care of our meal so that we didn't have to pay anything. The girls really are beginning to like Skyline (Cincinnati) Chili, and as you know, mommy and daddy already do. Rebekah has a new friend and wants to you eat there any chance you can:


(REMEMBER - you can always click on pictures for full size)

A Short Trip To The Zoo

THANK YOU SO MUCH TO DIANA DUNN and THE CINCINNATI ZOO AND BOTANICAL GARDENS. They provided Make-A-Wish with free passes (including Parking and some zoo-cash to spend) that we were able to take advantage of for a few short hours today.

Rebekah was not doing well with all the walking, the heat and not always getting to do what she wanted so we had to cut our visit short after only a couple of hours. We did get a few nice pics:




More to follow later after Daddy gets some work done...

We went out to eat to Skyline Chili. For those of you that are not from around Ohio, it is a "unique" blend of chili over spaghetti (or hot dogs), along with LOTS of cheddar cheese, and beans or onions if you want them. The overall taste is, as I said, unique. We will eat there SEVERAL more times before we go. They have some hot sauce that I believe is quite a bit hotter than tobasco to put on it too. Rebekah and Sarah both wanted it on theirs but we would not let them. Instead daddy put a few drops on crackers and gave it to each of them. They both ate it with just a slight expression change on their face. We asked Sarah if she liked it she said "yes," but when we asked her if she wanted more, she shook her head no and said "its too hot...." We had a great young waitress who took a bit of an interest in the girls and Rebekah wanted to leave her a card so we did, along with a decent tip for having to clean up the mess. Then we went shopping and stocked up on some groceries so we don't have to go out and there is stuff for the girls for breakfast.

This morning we went downstairs to pick up some of Rebekah's nutrition drinks that the medical supply company UPS'd here for us. The guy last night when we checked in didn't know of anything but we figured the day staff would have been the ones that would have received it. We had called ahead to make sure it was ok to ship things to ourselves here. Well, nothing. Then we found out that the medical supply company had sent it to "Rebekah Adams" and not daddy's name and the hotel did not match up the reservation so they refused it. Oops. Oh well, it is being resent and we have just enough to last us through another day. And Rebekah CAN eat if she really wants to so its not like she is going to starve. All of the staff here at the hotel is SO nice and wants to meet Rebekah. We truly feel like we are being treated like royalty.

Tomorrow we go see Dora. Hopefully there will be lots to tell.