New Family Blog

I started a new Talbot family blog at scottammy.blogspot.com! Hope to see you there(:

Saying Goodbye....(12/21/10)

It was hard saying goodbye to our little home away from home. We had just enough time for Kacie to go to the Castle of Miracles. This magical tree made a special pillow for all the kids.
Brady had fun putting pennies in the wishing well. The well would burp or say something different each time the penny made its way to the bottom, so you can only imagine how many pennies went down just from Brady.

There are Make-A-Wish stars on the ceiling signed by each child that has visited the Village. Below Kacie is signing hers to be put up.

The picture above has three screens that show a fairy carrying Kacie's star to the special location that it will remain forever. Below is a picture of about where it will be located.They also gave Kacie a star that she can keep.

This is Kacie's Star Passport that we received after we got home, it shows where her star will remain forever.These are some of the presents that the kids received each day while at the village. Hasbro made a special edition Candy Land game of the Give Kids the World Village. It is so cool!

Make A Wish gave Kacie this special edition Barbie Doll.

The story of Give Kids The World begins with a little girl with a wish and the desire of one man to make that wish come true.

The little girl's name was Amy. Amy had leukemia and one wish - to visit the theme parks in Orlando. To facilitate Amy's wish, the request of a complimentary stay was made to a respected hotelier. As he had done many times before, the hotelier gladly obliged and Amy's wish was that much closer to being realized. Sadly, the remainder of Amy's travel plans took too long to arrange and her wish was never granted; Amy had passed away. Time simply ran out.

This unfulfilled wish inspired a man, the hotelier, to make a vow that no child in need would ever be failed again. That man was Henri Landwirth and his desire to ensure that Amy's story would never repeat itself is where the story of Give Kids The World begins.

Landwirth enlisted the support of colleagues in the hospitality industry, including our world-famous theme parks, to assist him in bringing these special families to Central Florida within 24 hours if need be. He called the project “Give Kids The World,” because that is just what he intended to do - provide memorable, magical, cost-free experiences to children with life-threatening illnesses and their families.

As the program expanded and the number of families continued to grow, it was apparent that Give Kids The World would need to create a place that could better serve the special needs of our families. The gates of Give Kids The World Village opened in 1989. Today the Village is a 70-acre resort complete with over 140 Villa accommodations, entertainment attractions, whimsical venues,and fun specifically designed for children with special needs.

With the help of many generous individuals, corporations and partnering wish-granting organizations, Give Kids The World has welcomed more than 100,000 families from all 50 states and over 70 countries.

Henri Landwirth

Like the special children Give Kids The World serves, its founder, Henri Landwirth, knows all to well what it is like to give up his childhood. Born in Antwerp, Belgium, on March 7, 1927, Henri and his family were separated and became prisoners in the Nazi death and labor camps during WWII. Henri spent the years between the ages of 13 and 18 in camps including Auschwitz and Matthausen. By war’s end, both of his parents had been killed, but miraculously Henri and his twin sister, Margot, survived and were reunited. Henri worked his way to America on a freight ship, arriving in New York City with $20 in his pocket and little knowledge of the English language; soon after he was drafted to serve in the Army. Henri used his GI benefits to learn hotel management and landed a position in a hotel, taking every opportunity to learn each job in the industry. This first job became a lifelong career.

Landwirth moved to Florida in 1954 and began to manage the 100-room Starlight Motel in Cocoa Beach, near Cape Canaveral. Space exploration was in its early days and the original Mercury 7 astronauts and newsmen covering their adventures made the Starlight their temporary residence. It was during this time that Henri forged lasting friendships with the astronauts and newsmen, including Senator John Glenn and Walter Cronkite; friendships that continue today. Since his retirement in 1986 from a successful, innovative hotel industry career that spanned more than 50 years, Henri has devoted himself to improving the lives of those in need through numerous foundations and non-profit organizations he has founded in addition to Give Kids The World.

With the original astronauts, Henri founded the Mercury Seven Foundation, now known as the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, which provides scholarships to promising young science students. Through the Fanny Landwirth Foundation, named for his mother, he has built a senior citizen center and a children’s school in Orlando and created a scholarship program for underprivileged children in Israel. In 2000, Henri founded Dignity U Wear, an organization that provides hope to children and their families who are homeless, abused, abandoned, or neglected by providing them with new clothing. Today this organization supports shelters in nine states.

Henri has earned numerous honors, including being named in 1988 as one of the 12 Most Caring Individuals in America by the Caring Institute and the Parent’s Magazine Humanitarian of the Year and the Orlando Sentinel’s Floridian of the Year in 1994. On June 13, 1997, Henri received an honorary doctorate of Humane Letters from the University of Cincinnati. He has twice been invited to carry the Olympic Torch.

His latest initiative is called Hate Hurts, a program that shares the message of how important it is to forgive those who have hurt us, as well as ending our own acts of hatred, no matter how small. Henri now tours colleges and high schools speaking about the lessons he has learned about the virtues of forgiveness. Henri’s life and the story of Give Kids The World are chronicled in his book, "Gift of Life," which was published in 1996.

What an Amazing Man! Thank You Henri Landwirth!

We were able to put up a shelf in Kacie's room so she could display all the fun things from this amazing trip. Thank you Make A Wish and Give Kids The World village. We hope to give back to both of these great organizations.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter (12/20/10)

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter was amazing, if only there was about 40,000 less people there. When we arrived there was a three hour wait just to get into the park but we were saved again by the Make A Wish buttons. The first thing we did was go on 'Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey' ride that was at Hogwarts. The whole journey through the castle was just as amazing as the ride. The ride incorporated simulated screens where you felt like you were riding a broomstick with Harry mixed with animated live characters from the movies.Touring Hogwarts you can see Dumbledore's Office, the Daily Prophet, see & hear Ron, Hermine and Harry talking, the Fat Lady, the Sorting Hat and yes all the paintings are animated and chatting with one another.

Hogwarts and Hogsmeade are just how you would imagine it.... Awesome!

Flight of the HippogriffOwl's Post Stacie, Taylor, Ryan, Jocie, Kacie, Kevin and Alexz were able to go to Ollivander's while I was helping Mom, Dad, Ruben, Teniele & Joshua get into the park. Since I wasn't there, the following is taken from Alexz's blog:

"One of the best parts of the park is Ollivander's Wand Shop. It is a very brief show and somebody gets chosen from their audience by Ollivander and he helps that lucky person get "chosen" by their wand. Each show varies and the person goes through a few problem wands and casts some funky spells that go awry before finding the right wand. Kevin and I were chosen together as the lucky ones! He asked us if we were together and how we knew each other. When Kevin said we just got married and there on our honeymoon, he replied with "Ahh then...I will let you go first for the very last time in your life!" He picked out a wand for Kevin, told him to repeat a spell that would bring his ladder to him. With the flick of his wrist and the casting of the spell, Kevin made all the wand boxes shake and come in and out of the shelves. Not his wand. So it was my turn. I was given my wand, flicked my wrist and thunder and lightning immediately followed. With that, Ollivander had an epiphany, He took our wands out of our hands, criss-crossed them and traded wands between us. As they touched our hands, music started playing, lights shown down us, and the wind blew from where we were standing. Exactly like the movie. Coolest. Thing. Ever."

Kacie got Ginny's wand after the show.

We all loved the Dueling Dragon Roller Coaster. We went on the red one first and the lady that escorted us to the front of the line met us at the end of the ride and asked if we wanted to ride the blue one next and of course we did. The people were so nice to us and they would always say things like, "enjoy the ride Muggles." On the blue one, I was on the outside and I could see the other roller coaster within inches of us. Scott read that they come within 18 inches of each other. It was so cool!!! Brady was really disappointed he couldn't ride it. He kept standing on his tip toes saying, "I'm big" However, he really loved watching it over and over again.

Brady loving on Alexz's Hedwig puppet. Everyone enjoying some Butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks. I had Pumpkin Juice.

I couldn't believe how much Honeydukes looked just like it in the movie. The whole park for that matter. It was like we were really there. Truly amazing!!!

Chocolate Wands, Every Flavor Beans and Chocolate Frogs!!!

Kacie absolutely loved the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. However, you wouldn't believe how long we had to wait in line to buy a Griffindor scarf and T-shirt and some stores had a line to even get in. Teniele bought four wands and I'm so glad she did because then she sold me Sirrus Black's wand for Brady. While we were shopping Mom and Dad took Brady to Dr. Seuss 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas' and they really liked it. The people at the Hard Rock were so nice. We went in just to buy Brandon a T-shirt and a worker saw our Make-A-Wish buttons and said that we could purchase anything in the store half price plus she gave Kacie this Hard Rock Angel pin.

Mom and Dad then took Taylor and Brady back to the Hotel while we went on more adventures at the rest of the park. We did Revenge of the Mummy Ride, Hollywood's Rip Ride Rockit Roller Coaster, The Simpsons, and Jurassic Park.

What a Fun Day!!!

Some of Our Favorite People (12/20/10)

This morning some of the Disney Characters came to the Village for a visit. They were so much fun!!!

Everyone from our group is here except for Kevin and Alexz and Brady was too scared.But, Brady loved Mary Poppins. She was the only person he would get his picture with and she was so cute with him. Here is some of their conversation. Brady: "I have a cold." Mary: (in her English accent) "Do you need a spot of sugar?" then she asked, "Brady do you like to play games?" Brady: "yes" Mary: "What kind of games do you play?" Brady: "The Wii" Mary: "The Wii? hmmm, I don't know what the Wii is?" Sooooo cute!" Guess what Brady's new favorite movie is....yep you guessed it...Mary Poppins!Joshua just loved everyone. Pluto was so cute with him!

Taylor and Ryan diggin' Goofy!

Goofy was so fun. He gave me a twirl and gave everyone hugs and kisses. I think even Dad got a hug.

I love these pictures of Kacie with Goofy!!! The one above was used on the front page of a newpaper article about Kacie's wish in the Malheur Enterprise out of Vale, OR.

We all went together and had breakfast at the Gingerbread House. All the stuffed animals and dolls have been donated.
The kids then decided they needed ice cream before we headed to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

Whenever we couldn't find Brady at the village, he would be here.