Busy, Busy. . .

The past week has been absolutely crazy. I feel for the first time as I write this post I can finally relax. The past six or seven days have been filled with many appointments, traveling, Christmas shopping, and a little fun here and there. My weekend started with going to Kissimmee to visit my aunt and uncle and also going to Disney.

Saturday afternoon and night we went to MGM Studios. Unfortunately I was unable to go on any rides because of doctor's orders. While in MGM we did find the time to see a behind-the-scenes look at The Chronicles of Narnia. The attraction was in one of the studios at the back of the park. As we entered the studio we stood in this small room with a wardrobe in front of us. Yes, it did look just like the one from the movie except a little larger so adults could walk through. Then after this cast member spoke, we entered Narnia. The inside of the studio was redesigned to look like the landscape of Narnia when Lucy first enters it. In the center of the winter landscape of course was a lamp and off to the side was Mr. Tumnus' cave/home. Then, standing above the cave was the White Witch(it wasn't the White Witch from the movie but someone posing as her). After she said something and left, this screen started showing clips from the film. When that was over we walked around a corner where there were many props. They included: the White Witch's sledge, miniature models, a statue of Mr. Tumnus when he is frozen and some other characters, many weapons including a battle ax that was probably 4 or 5 feet long, the White Witch's green gown, and also her wand. I have pictures of most of this but sadly enough I wasn't allowed to use a flash so they didn't turn out as great.

After walking through the Narnia attraction we headed over to this section of MGM where the backdrop for the area is New York City and San Francisco(set up much like a background for a film). On each of the buildings there were thousands of Christmas lights hanging. There were also many other Christmas lights hanging in-between buildings and on the roofs. One thing I thought was really cool was a nativity scene that was set up.

When we left MGM we went to Downtown Disney. There heard at comedy routine at the Comedy Warehouse and went to this really neat Irish Pub. The pub was something else. It was as authentic as you could get. We didn't eat there since we already had dinner but we stayed and listened to the live music. By a fireplace inside was a small band playing traditional Irish tunes. They had everything from fiddle, to Illean pipes, to Irish flute. It was really awesome.

The next day we ventured into Epcot. There we took in some of the live music. We saw one of my favorite bands, Off Kilter, who is a celtic rock band. Unfortunately much of that day it was raining because of this cold front. We part of the day walking around looking at the various attractions. Then at five '0 clock my aunt went backstage to sing in the candlelight processional. The candlelight processional is neat because Disney features a mass choir with a full orchestra playing Christmas hymns, etc. Also, they have a narrator who narrates the birth of Christ and the events leading up to it. The narrator that night was Harry Hamlin from a television show called L.A. Law. He was a really good narrator. Once the candlelight processional was over and my aunt returned from backstage we went to eat. When we finished eating I finally got to go on a ride. The ride is called Soarin'. On the attraction you ride in a hang glider over the sights in California. It may seem sort of dull but the ride is so realistic. There is wind blowing in your face, temperature changes, and also scents with each change of scenery. When Soarin' was over my brother and I weren't done yet. We headed back over to Downtown Disney, or what is actually called Westside, where we went to the Virgin Megastore. There I picked up some classical CD's and my brother picked up some DVD's of the Beatles.

Monday morning my brother and I woke up bright and early to travel back to Naples. This was good to give me more experience driving manual transmission. Our trip to Naples was uneventful with no surprises. That afternoon I had a doctor's appointment to get another x-ray. The good news is I wasn't any worse from before. Then my physician scheduled an appointment with the pulmonologist for Thursday.

Tuesday was composed of going to the store with my mom and working more on this scholarship. That night I went to Borders to get a new book since I left most of my other books at school. The book I got was ,"The Screwtape Letters," by C.S. Lewis. In the Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis writes a series of letters posing as the uncle of a demon named Wormwood. I was really interested because this is different from most books that I've read. Lewis said his intent was to portray how the devil and his demons try to tempt mortals. He does however add in a little disclaimer in the preface warning that everything in the book is not intended to be considered factual. I've been spending the past few nights reading the first few chapters of the book. Along with reading this book I've started reading the John chapters in the New Testament. Even though they're short they present a good message about temptation and God's love. It seemed to go hand-in-hand with The Screwtape Letters.

Thursday was probably my busiest day of the week. In the morning I woke up to complete a number of tasks before my court of honor. The first thing I had to do was go see the pulmonologist of course. Here's the really good news. He told me that next week I can begin practicing again! Also, I'll see him after New Year's to make sure I'm healing. Thank you for the prayers. If all goes well this next semester and I don't have any complications, then I should be okay. If not, that might mean something bad like surgery. Blah. In the afternoon I finished this scholarship I had been working on. Then I turned it in to the chairman of the organization, Sons of the American Revolution. The rest of my afternoon was spent in prep mode for the court of honor that night. I managed to complete everything with time to spare before the court of honor. The court of honor that night went real smooth after it started. I was glad to see friends from church there and other family friends. After the court of honor my family went to Sam Snead's Tavern. We had a good time talking and eating dinner. Our conversation was really funny because my father mentioned a new Tiffany and Co. in town. My grandmother then said to my grandfather, "Oh! Do you want to go have breakfast at Tiffany's tommorrow?" After dinner we went home and I went to sleep since I was very exhausted.

Today I woke up nice and late (11 o'clock) to make myself eggs and bacon. Yum :). In the afternoon I went with a friend to the humane society to try adopting a kitten for another friend who isn't old enough to adopt one. Turns out, when we got to the humane society all the kittens he was looking at were gone. Later in the afternoon I went with some friends to see Cheaper by the Dozen 2. Even though I vaguely remember the first movie I decided to go ahead and see this. Overall the movie was good. They presented some good family values and also provided good humor. I thought Carmen Electra received too much attention in the movie and the director played up these relationships between the children too much. In addition to that the film advocates a relationship between these two eighth grade aged children. Also, they gave Hillary Duff a really funny looking haircut. Other than the little lows Steve Martin along with Bonnie Hunt and the children were really funny.

God Bless and Merry Christmas

"The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever."
- I John 2:17