Author: Kyle Swearingen

Well these last two weeks of my sabbatical have definitely been interesting. I have never had this much time to think and reflect on people and things in my life. The first sabbatical I took part in I was a newlywed and spent my entire sabbatical with my wife and others around me. This time around, I spent my last two weeks by myself for most of the day and it definitely gave me the time I needed to reflect and refresh.

The week before last I was able to finish my book “Marriage on the Rock”. I also started my devotional. Originally, I had planned to do a couples devotional with Kelsey but that changed as do most plans on a sabbatical. Instead, I decided to let God lead me where I needed to go. So, everyday twice a day, I opened the Bible up randomly and read a chapter. My hope with this was for God to show me what I needed each day.  The results were definitely interesting.

On top of my book and devotional I got to play some golf and got into an exercise routine. Last week I started my morning with Meals on Wheels which I have really enjoyed and will continue to enjoy throughout the year.

This weekend, we took a trip to Dallas to visit my grandmother who I haven’t seen in a few years. She got to catch up with Kynlee and hear all about her stories from Disney World. They both really enjoyed the timer together!

Only one more day left on this crazy adventure and I am definitely ready to get back.

I can’t believe y’all haven’t found this yet. It’s right under your nose!

I am happy to say that my last 7 days have been spent relaxing, reading, and enjoying some rare one on one time with Kelsey. It has probably been close to a year since I have got to spend an entire week with my wife where it is just me and her. It was great!!  We went and played golf, which hasn’t happened in a few years, got to go to an early matinee, and even spent a few days walking around the neighborhood. Unfortunately, towards the end of the week Kelsey’s uncle passed away in Houston. He officiated our wedding and will truly be missed.

Now the hard part of my sabbatical begins…I have to be by myself. Kelsey goes back to work tomorrow and I can’t help but think what these next two weeks are going to look like. I’m almost halfway through my book “Marriage on the Rock” and I’m a bit indifferent so far. There have been some points that have been spot on for me and others I can’t quite grasp onto yet. I’m hoping to finish it by the end of next week.

I can’t wait to see what is in store for me over these next two weeks. I know that anything I plan will be thwarted by what God has in store for me. I’m just along for the ride.

Hint #2: I bet you thought I forgot about you all didn’t you? Well the key hides behind doors that have been owned by more than one. They lay beneath a ball of fun. 

**BONUS**

If you get this right and tell me the answer at kickball you will get a 3rd hint. What is brown and sticky?

After getting back home on Saturday, it was obvious we needed to take the next two days to recoup from our adventures last week. Kynlee needed to get back on her schedule and we needed to get back into a routine. Only problem is, I don’t know how to get in a routine that doesn’t involve work. Even as I’m writing this, it feels like I will be getting up at my normal time and stepping right back into my daily routine to get to work. It is going to feel strange in the morning when that doesn’t happen and even stranger when it doesn’t happen 23 more mornings. It is crazy how we crave routines and I’m excited to see what new routines I pick up over the next 23 days.  I will leave you with a fantastic quote I got from John Maxwell which is my inspiration for the coming days.

“You’ll never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine.”

– John C Maxwell

Well, it’s official…we survived Disney World and we had an absolute blast. Today was our last day here and our last day at the park. We made it a point today to hit every ride and character visit we missed the first time through. Surprisingly, we actually missed a lot the first time through.

Today, we hit the bigger rides. We were trying to warm Kynlee up for the bigger rides by starting smaller but to my surprise she actually likes the big roller coasters the best. We finished off the day with the daily parade and one last ride on Big Thunder Mountain. We are all packed up and ready to make our way back to Abilene bright and early tomorrow morning. It will be nice to sleep in my own bed again.

It’s so strange because I keep thinking I’ve got work on Monday and I can’t wait to see everybody. I have to keep reminding myself that I have 25 more days before that is a reality again. Next week is going to be some nice one on one time with Kelsey and I start my book “Marriage on the Rock”. It will be nice to slow things down for a little while.

Today was our “rest day” if you can call it that. We started the day sleeping in. Lord knows all 3 of us needed it. Once we got up, we headed down to the pool where we stayed until lunch time.

After lunch, we headed over to Disney Springs where Kynlee had an appointment at the Bippity Boppity Boitique. This is a place where she basically gets a princess makeover. She got her hair done like a princess and got makeup and her nails done. Once again she was in heaven and very adorable! One thing Disney is very good at is making you feel special. Everywhere we went after her makeover the employees would call her princess. Even the bus would announce to everyone that there was a princess on board. They definitely get the little things right!

Then, we headed to dinner and called it a night early, because we have another long day ahead of us tomorrow when we hit Magic Kingdom again.

Today started slow. We were definitely feeling the aftershocks from our adventures yesterday. Around 10 we finally made it to Animal Kingdom where we started it off with the only way you possibly could…with “It’s Tough to be a Bug”. This scared the crap out of Kynlee.

Throughout the day we made our way from ride to ride and capped it off with the Lion King show. At about 3 we called it quits and headed back to the resort for a quick nap before dinner.

For dinner, we headed back to Magic Kingdom and hopped on a boat to The Wilderness Lodge where we had dinner at The Whispering Canyon Cafe. This had to be one of the quirkiest places I have ever eaten at. There were a few oddities at this place. For instance, when we asked for ketchup they asked us if we wanted noisy ketchup. What we found out is when you want ketchup you have to yell “WE WANT THE KETCHUP!”. When that happens, whoever has the ketchup last gets up and brings you every bottle the restaurant has. This continues throughout the restaurant as tables want ketchup.

After dinner, we finished the night off by watching the fireworks from the boat. Tomorrow is a much needed rest day where we will spend the day by the pool.

So…I can officially check off 15+ hours at a Disney theme park in one day off my bucket list. I also want to paint a picture for everybody. From hour 1 to hour 15 Kynlee was fully engaged. There was no “getting tired” and “falling asleep” in the stroller. No, this girl was wired from the word go. Just to make this even more clear, she ran sprints for a solid 45 minutes around hour 14 while we waited for fireworks.

The day started with breakfast at Cinderella’s castle where Kynlee got to meet 4 of her favorite princesses. She was in heaven! After breakfast, the planner in me started mapping out our entire day. Of course, I needed to lay off a bit and try winging it for a while.

We hit up our first FastPass and then the rain hit. Perfect opportunity to try out those ponchos we brought! Kept on moving through the park hitting all the rides that had smaller lines knowing whatever we don’t hit today we can hit on Friday. Finished the night off with one of the best firework shows I’ve ever seen.

Animal Kingdom tomorrow!

Hint #1: Roses are red, violets are blue my key is hidden where it’s dark and gloom

What if I told you a trip to Disney World with a 4 year old could be stress free? Would you believe me? Would you think I’m out of my mind?

Today started at 4am. With our bags packed, our Magic Bands in hand and possibly the most excited 4 year old I’ve ever seen, we were off to the airport.  Before today even came, I had skepticism written all over my face. I mean will Disney really pick up our luggage for us and deliver it to our room? Will these Magic Bands that hold your room key, dinner reservations, FastPasses, park tickets and meal plan actually work? As we boarded the plane I immediately had thoughts running through my head like “What if our luggage didn’t make it? Since Disney was getting our luggage will they even tell us?”

Once we landed, all my fears and worries disappeared. We walked straight off the plane, straight onto Disney’s Magical Express where we were shuttled to our resort. When we got there, it was time to put these Magic Bands to the test. We walked over to the closest restaurant ordered some food and just placed our bands up to a sensor where everything worked perfectly. After eating, I got a text that our room was ready. This was test number two! We walked to our Little Mermaid room and once again the Magic Bands didn’t fail us. Got straight into the room and about an hour later our luggage showed up. Just looked clockwork!

After a short nap (to keep Kynlee happy and of course Sabbatical rules), we attempted to head down to the pool. Unfortunately, God decided we needed some rain so we scratched those plans and decided to head to Disney Springs to shop around before dinner.

Once we got to Disney Springs, we quickly realized that the best purchase we had made on this entire trip was the stroller rental for the week (also delivered to the room). We walked around for a couple hours before heading to dinner where we finished the night having some fantastic Cuban food. Again, only waving those magical bands that has our dining plan on it.

Disney has simplified this experience so much that the only thing you have to worry about is having fun. Tomorrow we adventure off to Magic Kingdom.

As you may have noticed there is nothing on my desk. I have hidden a key somewhere in there office. Let’s see who can find it first!