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Do You Want to Hear a Funny Story?

November 5, 2014 By Stephanie 4 Comments

5 Nov

Sometimes it’s helpful to find a good recipe or a fun craft or project to do around home. Sometimes it’s nice to read a motivational or encouraging story. And sometimes it’s fun to just read something silly.

You know those moments you have in life that are not funny at all the moment they are happening, but after a day or a few days, or maybe even a lot of days pass, they become funny. And they become memories that your family enjoys or things that you will always be teased about. This is one of those stories.

One of my most embarrassing moments

As I have mentioned before my family enjoys taking a yearly trip to Walt Disney World. We work hard to get there and we enjoy just about every minute of being there. Well, a few years ago we had been planning on taking our trip during November, but an unexpected situation arose and we had to reschedule for December (we would be making it back home on December 23rd, right in time for Christmas). We were excited to make a special evening out of visiting Fort Wilderness (the Disney campground) where guests decorate their campsites every year for the holiday. We heard it is awesome to see!

The five of us on main street. We are from Michigan and wearing coats and are cold!

The five of us on main street. We are from Michigan and wearing coats and are cold!

Well, the first day of our trip my husband was not feeling well. After making a few phone calls he headed to an urgent care and a few hundred dollars later was given some medication to help him with a severe sinus infection. We did a little bit of resting in the room to help him recover but after that, we were good to go.

Our second to the last day of our trip we went to Animal Kingdom. In the morning we had plans for breakfast at Tusker House for Donald’s Safari breakfast. It was an amazing buffet with lots of food and plenty of refills of “Jungle Juice” which is a yummy mix of tropical juices. We enjoyed a great breakfast as a family and headed out into the park. After a few hours, I started to feel not so great. I tried to fake it for the family, but after a little bit, I told Dustin I needed to go back to our room. So we gathered up the girls and headed for the bus to take us back to the hotel.

Before breakfast - everyone is doing good.

Before breakfast – everyone is doing good.

Once we were on the bus I knew I was in trouble. You know that moment when you know you are going to be sick but you just don’t know how long you can wait? That is where I was. There was a sweet older couple who was talking to Dustin about the campground and how much fun it is to see the decorations. Dustin shared how we were planning on visiting that night. I closed my eyes and leaned my head against the back wall of the bus and prayed that everyone would just stop talking and the bus ride would be fast!

The moment my feet hit the ground when the bus stopped I grabbed our key from Dustin and ran ahead of the family back to our room. I made it just in time. I was miserable and I spent the rest of the day with my time split between sleeping and being sick. Dustin canceled the dinner reservations we had for a restaurant at another hotel and made new reservations for him and the girls at the hotel’s restaurant. Then, my amazing husband took the 3 girls (then ages 6, 3, and 1) to dinner by himself and he even took them to a campfire and Christmas tree lighting! They played on the playground and had lots of fun, while I slept.

During dinner with Daddy.

During dinner with Daddy.

Later that night when the girls were in bed Dustin and I sat right outside the hotel room. I drank Sprite and ate crackers and I started to think I must have eaten too much and made myself sick. I was starting to feel better and figured I just needed a good night of sleep.

The next morning came and it was our last day. We were going to Magic Kingdom. I was tired but didn’t want to ruin the trip for everyone so we headed into the park. We had a nice couple of hours, but the temperature had dropped almost 30 degrees overnight and we were cold! I was hanging in there, but pretty much avoided eating just to make sure I would be ok.

Then it all fell apart

My daughters were so excited to go on the Winnie the Pooh ride. We got in line and the girls played while we waited. Once we were almost to the front of the line I started to feel a little dizzy. I figured I would be good if I could just make it to the ride. The cast member told us what number spot to stand at so we could wait for our turn on the ride. And, as we were walking to the front everything started to fade out and spin!

I figured I would just lean back against the wall and be tucked out of the way of the other people. So I leaned back and slumped to the ground at about the same time everything faded away. Dustin later let me know I actually had pretty much sat down blocking the entire walkway for all the other people (oops!). I could hear Dustin and a Disney cast member ask if I needed help and I shook my head yes. I was thinking they might help me get to the Disney first aid area.

Well, next thing I remember I can hear someone talking to me who was from the fire department. I couldn’t believe it! If I had felt any better I would have been so extremely embarrassed, but I felt too sick to care at the moment. I had just been hoping for someone to help me get to the medical building or something like that, but was not hoping for that much help. Well, after they checked me out they figured I had probably been hit with a 24 hour flu that had been in the area. I was dehydrated but ok. I could hear my 3 year old asking my husband over and over again when we were going to go on the ride. He nicely explained that mommy was sick and we weren’t going to be able to go.

So they loaded me up in a wheelchair and took me back to the bus. I kept my eyes closed for most of the time, but realized when we were leaving the ride that because of me they actually had to shut down the Winnie the Pooh ride!! As in, make everyone waiting in line get out of line and go somewhere else! I am mortified, even now, to think about that. Dustin loves to remind me that I probably ruined some children’s Disney experience by not allowing them to have a turn on the Winnie the Pooh ride.

Our girls were disappointed and our oldest was worried (she is a big worrier) but the Disney workers were amazing and as they were wheeling me out of the ride through the gift shop, they gave our girls free stuffed animals! They also refunded us our tickets so we were able to use them on our next trip.

We rested in our hotel room for the rest of the day until our dinner reservations that we attended at Chef Mickey’s. I ate rice and a roll while my family enjoyed a large buffet and lots of fun Disney characters!

The two oldest enjoyed meeting the characters!

The two oldest enjoyed meeting the characters!

The youngest, not so much...

The youngest, not so much…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now my husband loves to point out that I am probably only one out of a handful of people who can say they shut down a ride at Disney World! How embarrassing!!

Filed Under: Disney Tagged With: Disney, funny story

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Comments

  1. Candace says

    November 5, 2014 at 2:52 pm

    What a rough vacation! It sounds like you have a great, supportive hubby :). He did a good job taking 3 girls under the age of 7 out and about while you rested. At least you have a funny story to tell!

    Reply
    • Stephanie says

      November 5, 2014 at 3:30 pm

      He did a great job with them too, even had to deal with potty breaks during dinner!!

      Reply
  2. Theres Just One Mommy says

    November 6, 2014 at 3:39 am

    What a vacation to remember! As moms we always try to just “deal with it” but sometimes our bodies have other plans!

    Reply
    • Stephanie says

      November 12, 2014 at 1:12 am

      That is so true!! We get so busy taking care of everyone else and sometimes our bodies say “enough”. It is definitely a trip we laugh about now 🙂

      Reply

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Stuck in Your Rut - Stephanie


Today has been a terrible, horrible, no good, very
Today has been a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. 

Some days are like that.

And sometimes those days are our fault.

My day was caused by a toxic client. As much as I would like to blame her, I take responsibility because I knew from the beginning that I never should have worked with her.

When we go down paths we shouldn't go down, we usually have painful consequences.

Several valuable lessons were learned today and I would like to share them so I don't have to relearn them again in the future and maybe I can spare you some future pain too.

1. Be careful when doing business with people whose values don't align with yours

2. When you feel you should get out of a situation, do not delay

3. Never do any type of work that leaves you feeling your values were compromised

4. Toxic people can play nice... for awhile... But their true colors will always show through in the end

5. Trust your instincts

6. When you turn a situation over to God, it doesn't mean the way out will be pain free

And finally remember, some days feel like terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days, but it doesn't have to stay like that.

Happy Friday!

I've been pondering this a lot in the past week.


I've been pondering this a lot in the past week.

I do a lot of work in the mental health space. I believe in the benefits of therapy and medication as needed. 

But as I help people share this message that "therapy is for everyone," I'm starting to wonder if we are spreading the wrong message.

Yes therapy can be for everyone. And there are some people who absolutely need the support and guidance of mental health professionals. But does everyone actually need therapy to be mentally well? 

That seems to be the trend we have taken as society.

Therapy can play an important role in helping people heal and live healthy, but are we becoming too dependent on believing we ALL need therapy? Have we lost the ability to process through difficult situations on our own or with our own support system?

I'm not sure. I'm still pondering. But I would love to hear your thoughts.


We see what we look for.

In our first house, we h
We see what we look for.

In our first house, we had beautiful sunrises and sunsets over farm fields. A few years ago we lived by the ocean where we saw stunning sunsets regularly over the water. 

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I was up early this morning and decided to sit outside and enjoy the cooler air and I had the opportunity to watch an incredible sunrise from this small little section.

It reminded me that we often get what we look for in life. If you want to see all the bad, you will. If you look for the good, you can find it. And just because we don't see good things happening at every moment (like I don't usually see the sunrises) doesn't mean they aren't still happening all around us.

#thankfulgratefulblessed #tuesdaythoughts #beencouraged


Wow! So true.

I came across this incredible remi
Wow! So true. 

I came across this incredible reminder in an email today from @lysaterkeurst and @proverbs31ministires.

Yesterday was a rough day. I got myself into a difficult conversation with someone and ended up saying things that I regret out of my frustration.

Too many times in life I have allowed my emotions to get the best of me which never ends in me feeling better than I did in the beginning. Carefully planned words are ALWAYS better than speaking in the heat of the moment.

Sometimes we need to say difficult things to people, but we can choose to do it out of love instead of frustration and anger.

So, I cannot control the actions of others or many details of this specific situation, but I can control my words in the midst of it, and I can control how much power I allow the situation to have over my life.

Sharing in case my failure can help anyone else do better.

#workinprogress #stilllearning


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The power of our minds and the way we choose to think is amazing!

A couple weeks ago on vacation, we had the chance to hold a baby alligator. There were grown people on the boat who were terrified to sit next to a person holding the alligator. Then there were those, like Macy, who took advantage of a new opportunity and gave it a go.

If we really think about it, this is exactly what happens in life too. Some people are too afraid to take a risk and try something new when the opportunity comes and others are willing to give it a try. 

Some are afraid to let their friends and family try a new adventure because their own fear is so strong so they discourage them from doing the thing even if that person really wants to try it.

Our minds and our thoughts are so incredibly powerful but the good news is that we get to choose our thoughts and actions. A new situation may feel scary, but that doesn't mean you can't choose to move past that fear and try something new.

#tryingnewthings #overcomingfear #chooseyourthoughts

Have you ever thought about how a click of a camer
Have you ever thought about how a click of a camera button has the ability to capture a moment in time? Pretty amazing!

We always make a point to take pictures of the big moments or the things we do when we travel, like our day trip to Nashville yesterday.

But there are so many day-to-day moments that make my heart happy too, like seeing my daughters cooking dinner (which they choose to do a lot - blessed mom right here!) or when my husband is helping the girls build garden planters for our veggies. I need to make an effort to take pictures of these moments more so I can be reminded of these simple joys. The days seem long but the years are going fast!

What is something you see in day-to-day life that brings you joy?

Do you ever just wish you had a quiet moment alone
Do you ever just wish you had a quiet moment alone?

I loved this little bit of time I had on our Tennessee vacation, sitting on the porch swing listening to the rain.

I'm guilty of filling my day too full and trying to do too much and tiring myself out.

This morning I was reminded of Luke 5:7 "But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed."

It's important to be intentional about creating space to withdrawal and pray.

Some days it looks and sounds pretty. Most days, it's finding the one quiet place in my house. All that matters is that we do it.

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Y
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Yesterday I had the pleasure of chatting with several different women. I'm getting ready to write website profiles for them and wanted to learn more about them.

I noticed something that got me thinking during one of the calls. 

I asked the question "Who do you enjoy working with?"

The woman gave me a long list of the people she didn't feel qualified to help. She shared her heart for people but would then explain the areas she felt she was lacking. 

I'm sure she didn't realize she was doing this. I know I struggle with doing the same thing. It's so easy to spot in other people what we miss in ourselves. 

So, how do you think and talk about yourself? Do you focus on where you are lacking and where you don't feel "good enough" or qualified? Or, do you acknowledge your skills and strengths? 

We all have areas we can grow and improve but we are unproductive when those are the main areas we focus on.

#focusonyourstrengths #thoughtlife #positivethinking #buildconfidence


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I've heard many times the old saying "hurting people hurt people" but this simple switch made it so different. 

It made me really reflect on my actions, words, and behaviors to see if I was helping or hurting others. It made me think about what areas of my life I needed to walk in healing so I could help bring others along.

I also love the way this shifted from the negative to the positive. "Hurting people hurt people" can be used as an excuse if you've experienced pain in your life. "Healed people heal people" is so much more of a calling to rise up out of painful situations to make a positive difference. It gives your hurtful experiences and pain a new purpose. 

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Can you relate?  
 
The zoo is one of our happy places, so we picked the warmest day of the week and took some time off to get outside and enjoy ourselves.  
 
Some of my favorite animals to watch at the zoo are the meerkats. 
 
If you ever watch a gang of meerkats, you'll probably notice that there is almost always one meerkat that is standing up checking the skies and looking around while the others are off doing their thing. Why? 
 
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Being easily offended and staying offended and angry gives things outside of your control power over you, your day, and your attitude.

If you're tired of not making progress in life and often feel angry, I encourage you to look inward. Sometimes I'm caught off guard by the things I thought I had dealt with and moved on from that I didn't.

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#fallcolors🍁🍂 #louisvillezoo

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My dad has been an incredible example of just asking. He doesn't overthink asking questions to people and because of it, he learns all kinds of cool things. He doesn't worry about if the person says "no" or responds negatively. He doesn't let fear stop him. 

Over the years, my husband and I have learned to ask for things we want. We asked for work from a church without knowing if they would be interested. We asked to barter handyman services and home repair in exchange for lower rent. 

We've asked for some weird things that don't seem like they should have worked out, but they did. And we would have never had those opportunities if we hadn't been willing to ask for them.

Are there questions you've been avoiding asking out of fear?

This.

It's so easy to avoid growth and change bec
This.

It's so easy to avoid growth and change because it's uncomfortable and painful. But so many times the life we want is on the other side.

#motivation #thursdaythoughts #growthmindset #growingpains #pushpastthehardthings


What if you don't wait to get started until everyt
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I'm giving you a sneak peek into what my incredible workspace looks like today 😜 
 
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It sucks to hear, but you have to get started before you're "ready". That's just the way it works. Don't let your circumstances get in your way. And - this might sound tough but - stop making excuses. Look for a way to make it work as best you can right now. 
 
 
 
#getstarted #femaleentrepreneur #makeitwork #midweekmotivation #takeachance #mompreneur #homeschoolingentrepreneur #overcomefear #buildyourconfidence

This quote rings so true to me. A little over 4 ye
This quote rings so true to me. A little over 4 years ago, I had such little confidence. I let fear control so much of what I did.

I was working to grow my freelance business and almost skipped an opportunity to take on work because the potential client wanted to schedule a phone call instead of just working through emails and messages. I broke out in hives just having to talk on the phone.

I couldn't handle ordering a pizza because I was too nervous about not knowing what to say. I overthought everything.

Fear controlled what I did and didn't do. It caused me to struggle in my thoughts and postponed my ability to go after the things I really wanted to accomplish.

Learning to overcome my fears took a lot of time. But slowly, I started to make progress. They were little changes at a time. I didn't even notice the growth as it happened. 

But then one day, that same client pointed out to me how much more confidence I had. And then another client mentioned how much I had grown in my confidence and ability to share my thoughts and opinions.

It ended up impacting every area of my life. 

But don't get me wrong, some days are still a struggle. Sometimes I still get hives when I have to talk on the phone or do a zoom call with someone I don't know, but not every time.

If you struggle with fear and confidence, know that you can improve and grow in this area. It doesn't have to be how you remain for the rest of your life. And so much of what you want is on the other side of pushing past that fear.

#overcomefear #buildconfidence #personalgrowth #growthmindset #motivationalquotes

Isn't it so easy to be happy and positive when you
Isn't it so easy to be happy and positive when you're on vacation? This picture is from over the summer when we did a mini vacation. It's easy when you get out of the routines of everyday life to start to think outside of the box and see new opportunities. 
 
But then we get back home. Clients need my attention. The house needs to be cleaned and dinner needs to be cooked. The kids have activities. And before I know it, I've fallen right back into going through the motions instead of really living each day. 
 
Here's your reminder for the day. I know it's Monday and it's easy to drag through the day. But choose to get outside of your comfort zone. Choose to look at things in a new way. Choose to start building the life you want to live, even if it's one tiny decision at a time. 
 
#mondaymotivation

Don't wait for the fear to go away. It's not going
Don't wait for the fear to go away. It's not going to. Choose courage and push past it and just watch as your confidence starts to build.


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