Should

Just an update on how we are all doing.  Although pictures of our trip last weekend are great, I am sure some of you are wondering how this week has gone. Tonight was a "Normal" day. A sitter watched the kids for a few hours so Tony and I could run some errands together.  We went out for frozen yogurt tonight.  Our new normal is starting to show it's face. 

Tobin is doing fabulous in School! He not only stayed on green, for his behavior chart, he moved to Blue (which is great) two days this week.  He is still having some issues at home with behavior but for the most part he is really becoming his old self again.

Caroline cries at bedtime every night still. Last night was, by far, the worst night we have had since the fire.  She says she is scared.  When we ask her why she is scared, it is always a different reason- the dark, shadows, noises, etc.  I honestly think this is some sort of Post Traumatic Stress.  When the fire happened we woke her from her "sleep" to get to safety.  I don't think this is conscious for her to understand.  I just think she is scared.  Period.  Please continue to pray for her little heart to be filled with peace, and not fear.  Tonight she watched us lock the doors and test the smoke alarms.  We will not do this every night, but I thought it was important to emphasize "how" we are safe.  There were no tears tonight, just words from her telling us how she was scared.  We prayed together, like every night, then we talked through it and she eventually got to sleep.

Tony and I are doing remarkably well.  I told Tony tonight, "I feel like I have my best friend back".  He is happy again.  He is funny again, telling his jokes and making us all laugh.  We had a dance party in the living room tonight.  I can tell that his heart is finally at peace.

How am I doing?  I am doing great!  I am not sad anymore.  I am joyful and excited about the future and ready to move forward.  I'm not saying I won't ever be sad again, but I am ready to focus on the what is ahead for us.  I started planning Tobin's 6th birthday party tonight, and setting a date for my Scentsy "RE-Launch" party.  I lost every bit of my business, and am starting over, so I'm planning an open house to book parties, get orders, and "start over", as far as my business goes.  I'm actually getting excited about it.  Life has not been an easy process for me the last week or so.  Well, none of this has been easy, but I think I only had one week where I was really suffering, and sad.  I was eating, but not tasting.  I was smiling on the outside, but numb on the inside.  I feel like we can have a new normal now. I am thrilled to see what the future will bring!

We talked with a counselor this week.  It helped a lot!  If I took one thing away it was the fact that I need to stop saying "should"... "I should have grabbed this, or done this.  I should feel this way.  I should act this way."  There is no "Lose Everything To A House Fire: For Dummies" book.  Who says I should feel or act a certain way?  NO one!  Once I got this idea into my head and the should's out of my head, I started my mind going in the right direction.  Being positive is important.  There will be no more should have, should be, or should not for me.  I will simply be who I am, say how I feel, and accept it all knowing that all along, I have purpose. I have worth.  HE has a plan for us!

So, that pretty much sums up the "How ya doin" questions for now.

Keep praying for us.  I'll keep writing.  This blog is kind of like free therapy for me.  Thanks for all the prayers and support! We are so blessed!

LEGOLAND Trip Part two: Discovery Center & Rainforest Cafe

 

We got in line for LEGOLAND and the usher asked us if we had tickets, and what time our reservation was. We explained that our tickets were pre-purchased for us and we didn't know what time they were for.  She said, "OH, are you the Cobb Family?"  Tony and I looked at each other with a surprised look on our faces.  Then, she opened a VIP line and walked us to the entrance.  WHAT?!  Was this lady serious?  We were greeted with a smile and a man named Dave who was waiting for us.  He gave us an envelope and said, "If there is anything we can do for you today, please let us know."  

Look at the life-size Lego men hanging from the ceiling? Cool huh?

A "professor of operations" walked us into the "factory".  They showed us how Lego's are made. 

 Tobin was fascinated!  He is so curious about everything and this was right down his alley.

Next, we went to a ride.  We were Lego fighters and had to kill the bad Lego monsters to save the Princess!

 We were all excited about this!

 All the attractions had Lego men for pictures of what to do and what NOT to do on the rides.  I thought this was especially entertaining :)  I also think the little details were for the adults to enjoy. 

 Shooting the zombies!

 This one is hard to see, but it is our family on the ride, while shooting the bad guys! Ha!

There was a lot to do and see at the LEGOLAND Discovery Center.  We all loved the Lego room of the Dallas Metroplex.  Of course, it was all made out of Legos! Crazy!

Dallas Maverick's player, Dirk Nowitzki- life size Lego man.  Caroline apparently liked the dog better! Ha!

 Caroline's favorite part of our visit was the Lego Movie!  It was 4D. "What is 4D", you ask?  Oh, well that would mean that we actually experienced the weather in the movie!  When the helicopter took off, we felt a burst of wind.  When it rained or snowed, we felt it.  Literally, the kids were freaking out about the snow in the theater! When the big Lego Dinosaur spit at us, we felt that too. Yep, favorite part. Hilarious!

 Tobin actually got to drive a Lego Car.  Here is a photo, and a video for your enjoyment.  This was my favorite part, getting to watch him drive.  So fun!

People have asked us, "Was there anything for Caroline to enjoy at LegoLand?" She enjoyed it all, but girls are not left out of this fun place! That's right, there is a girl's castle and inside is Princess Karaoke and Princess Lego's.  So sweet!

 Can you see her little face peeking from behind the door?

 They have two different Lego Playgrounds for the kids to play on. She LOVED this!

 While Caroline and I hung out in the Princess Palace, Tobin and Tony built a car to race!

 He was proud of himself, and frustrated that I made him stop for a picture! Ha!

 In our enevelope was a ticket for Lunch! How exciting to eat at LegoLand!

 Even Tony had fun building Lego Forts!

 Look at the Stamp! Every little detail was taken care of!

 Legos in the fish tanks :)

 The Staff at LegoLand heard of our story and blessed the kids with backpacks full of treats! How special! Tony and I cried.  We could NOT believe it!

 After LegoLand we got on a Double-Decker firetruck stroller and walked to the Rainforest Cafe for dinner Reservations!

 (eating snacks on the way)

 Okay, can we just stop for a moment and check out this facial expression?  Does anyone else think this could win a photo contest? Ha!

 Okay, this expression is pretty priceless too!

After dinner we went back to the Hotel and crashed! What a fun and exciting day!  More pics to come later :)

LEGOLAND trip part One (and a Donation Update)

Have I mentioned we have some of the best friends in the world?  They treated us to a weekend away, just the four of us.  

Friday, we picked up Tobin from school and headed to pick up the rental car that was reserved for us.  Both of our cars are on the fritz these days, but they are paid for so we just make it work.  Our friends didn't want us to worry about our car breaking down, so they rented us a car. The car they had reserved wasn't there, so the rental company upgraded us to a Chrysler 300.  We felt like celebrities driving down the interstate!

We hadn't been on the road 40 minutes and the car started sputtering, and stalled on the interstate.  Tony somehow got it started again and we got off the road.  We came to an intersection and the car stalled again!  This time, we couldn't get it started.  This fancy expensive car had an electronic start and we couldn't get it to turn over!  I was beginning to think I needed to get the kids out of the car (as to not be sitting in the middle of a busy intersection) when Tobin started praying out loud, "Dear Lord, please let this car start so we can get off this road.  Please keep us safe Lord. Please get us to LegoLand."  Just then, the car started and we pulled off the road into a restaurant parking lot.  The car stalled again as we were trying to park.  After numerous calls to the rental company they informed us it would be 2-3 hours before they could bring us a new vehicle.  We ate some Mexican food and waited for our new car.

A couple hours later they brought us a car.  It was a much smaller compact car, but at least it was a running car!  We got everything transferred over and got the kids buckled in.  Just as we were about to pull out of the parking lot, Caroline threw up all over herself.  Oh. My. Word. Seriously?  We drove to the pharmacy, cleaned her up, and stocked up on medicines.  She had a fever and obviously was not feeling good at all.  We prayed for our safety, and Caroline's healing and off we went.  Finally, we were on the road at almost 9:30!

We arrived at our hotel at about 12:30am. The kids were wiped out.  They snoozed soundly as we carried them in and put them in bed.  Don't they look peaceful?

 

The next morning, Caroline was without fever!  She felt better so we got up and got ready to go to LegoLand.  The rental car company contacted us and told us to bring the tiny car to the nearest location and they would switch us out for a bigger vehicle.  

 

We did just that!  We ended up getting a mini van with a DVD player! Yippee! The kiddos were so excited!

  Off to LegoLand we went!

Can you tell how excited they were when we arrived?

 

 Look at the big Lego man we had to walk through to get into the door? How fun is that?

I'll upload some more pictures of the rest of our fabulous Saturday on the next post.

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UPDATE:
We have received many donations from people, some we don't even know.  We have received some amazing things.  Some we cannot use due to duplicates, or wrong sizes, etc.  I just want you all to know that tomorrow a big truckload of donations (ones that we cannot use) will be going to Luther to help the other fire victims.  Please know your donating is not in vain.  Our children know what it's like to loose everything and are going through their toys to give to children who are still in need. We may be in need, but others are as well.  Losing everything has made us realize that we don't need as much as we thought we did before.  Thanks again for all the donations, prayers, and support!