Thornton Mom

For Christmas Santa gave Elizabeth a ticket to Disney's Beauty and the Beast the Traveling Broadway Musical.  Santa arranged to go with our cousins, aunts and uncle and sister and spend the weekend with them. Friday I picked Elizabeth up from school and raced to Virginia to beat a storm that was blowing in.  I was nervous that it would interfere with the show.  On the way we listened to the Broadway Musical Alexander Hamilton.  Elizabeth and her cousins are obsessed with this musical and listen to it constantly but I had never listened to the whole thing. The musical was a fun idea and very creative in its use of words and music.  I had to ask my aunt lots of questions to be able to understand exactly what was going on, but now I do know more about our Founding Father Alexander Hamilton. We LOVED Beauty and the Beast.  The best part was seeing Elizabeth's jaw dropped through the different scene.  When it was over she said, "That is exact...

Our first day in Disney started in Hollywood Studios.  We began on Rocking Roller coaster and then immediately went to Tower of Terror.  Maddie and Michael waited patiently for all of us to ride those rides and were quite delighted by the reward of Disney Jr. Live!  Everyone did great on Rocking Roller coaster but Samantha did not like the Tower of Terror and when I went on with Elizabeth I was terrified.  I kept grabbing her leg as we would go up and down.  I was really wondering why I even got on this ride.  I was grateful when it was over.  Elizabeth loved it, it was by far her favorite ride. Because my feet are not yet back to normal I ended up being in a wheel chair for the trip.  It defiantly had it's advantages.  One was that we got to sit right up front for many of the shows.  Here Maddie and Samantha wait for Beauty and the Beast to begin.  That was stunningly beautiful and fun. Michael wanted nothing more than t...

Samantha was able to get a butterfly to land on her hand.  You can see it right on the tip of her fingers near her nose. The butterfly hung around.  It even came and visited daddy and Michael.  It was so fun as it allowed us to pick it up and allowed us to hold it.  This was on Friday.  It was a fabulous day.  Derek had returned from Ireland the night before and was able to just hang out at home on Friday.  We went to Elizabeth's drama class play that afternoon and then we all went to the pool that evening for swim team.  I don't think Derek got a break from the kids for the 4 hours we were there.  He is a wonderful husband and father. Book of Mormon, Alma 46:8 "8  Thus we see how quick the children of men do forget the Lord their God, yea, how quick to do iniquity, and to be led away by the evil one." I d...

 Happy Birthday Maddie!!  Today is her actual birthday.  Up to know she has had 2 parties and lots of celebrating.  We are so happy to have her in our family  She jumped up and down this morning as she exclaimed, "I'm 5!!!"   The Infinite Atonement (Illustrated Edition) , by Tad R. Callister pg. 113--"Part of the human experience is to confront temptation.  No one escapes.  It is omnipresent.  It is both externally driven and internally prompted.  It is like the enemy that attacks from all sides.  It boldly assaults us in television shows, movies, billboards, and newspapers in the name of entertainment or free speech.  It walks down our streets and sits in our offices in the name of fashion.  It drives our roads in the name of style. It represents itself as political correctness or business necessity.  It claims moral sanction under the guise of free choice.  On occasion it roars like thunder; on others ...