A Little Piece of Heaven

"A little piece of heaven..." there is really no other way to describe this past week. Imagine a place where you never doubt that you'll be taken care of, or forgotten, or allowed to be free to experience all your dreams, or to just feel special all the time. That is what this Make A Wish trip was like. The neat thing was, this trip was because Andrew had cancer, but it truly was for the whole family. As Andrew's parents, we could tell he was treated a little differently, but all of us were made to feel special. All of us were treated like royalty and allowed to do everything we wanted. This trip allowed us to celebrate as a family the victory we had over cancer and to feel like everyone we came in contact with understood our battle and celebrated with us. Let me spend most of this blog sharing our week and the great memories we made.

 From the moment we began the trip on Monday morning, we were honored. We were picked up in a stretch limo at our family's house.

  We were ushered to the front row of the airplane and cared for the whole flight. When we landed, we were greeted by a "Give Kids the World" representative holding a sign that said, "Wecome Andrew Gilmartin!" After visiting Avis car rental, we drove away in a 2010 Sienna van. We arrived at the most amazing place to stay we could have dreamed. It is called Give Kids the World and it truly does attempt to do that very thing. We were spoiled rotten with everything from ice cream all day long, free meals, a park that looked just like Candyland for the kids to play, tickets to all the amusement parks in the area including Disney and Universal Studios, and a whole suitcase full of treats for the kids to take home. We were also given parking passes to the parks and a tag to wear that allowed us to go to the front of all the lines. Yes, all the lines (and Disney was crowded). We made it in to see the princesses and Mickey in no time. We rode roller coasters in minutes where others waited for hours to hop on. We even got a private ride on Kilamonjaro safari at Aminal Kingdom. It was amazing. The characters stopped in parades to hug Andrew and high five my kids. We kept feeling guilty for all the other kids, but then reminded ourselves of the year we had with the battle. This was a time to celebrate and allow others to join in that celebration. I think the few highlights were the Princesses that the girls got to meet, the private meeting and signing with Barney after his show, and Andrew's encounter with THE Buzz Lightyear and Woody. He just stood and stared at them. This experience at the parks was truly a magical experience...one we all will never forget.
  Give Kids the World was also almost as magical. Every volunteer was friendly, helpful, and excited to have us there. We had unlimited access to meals, ice cream, and basic supplies. Our family also got to do amazing things like ride a train, visit a castle, and ride horses all at the GKTW. There was also a pool that resembled a beach and water fountains coming up from the ground that Luke loved to run through by himself. The kids actually had a hard time not just staying at Give Kids because they provided so many fun things to do. This amazing place is run by about 30 staff members and over 1500 volunteers daily. They have thought of everything a family with kids would need (stools in the bathrooms, night lights, toys, little tables and chairs, and more.) Again, we just felt like we were living in a dream the entire week we stayed here.

  So, where are we now? Well, we are back in our sweet home together. We have more memories, more stuffed animals, more pictures, and more Mickey ears than ever before. The kids are constantly reenacting their experiences and talking constantly about their time together. We all cried when we had to say goodbye and wished we could stay forever. But like all dreams on earth, it had to come to an end. We had to come back to reality....loads of laundry, preparing meals, homework, grumpiness, and responsibility. Our family added another chapter to our journey story with Andrew. A chapter of joy, celebration, and fun. Make a Wish is truly the most amazing organization ever and we will be forever grateful for the wish we had together last week. We will continue to journey together, keeping our eyes on the One that provided the healing in Andrew's body and the ways we would rejoice together at Disney World. We are thankful beyond words for the "little piece of heaven" we experienced!