Yesterday Mark took part of the day off and our season-pass-holding family headed to Dollywood to enjoy an afternoon of fun. “A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.” Proverbs 16:9
We had a great time, it just wasn’t exactly how we planned it. The forcast was calling for high 60′s and scattered showers. As the children and I were heading out the door I realized that the showers weren’t very scattered and it wasn’t in the 60′s, so we scrambled to get some more rain gear and warmer clothing which caused us to leave a little late to meet Mark.
I got turned around on the interstate no less than 3 times on my way out of Knoxville. There is a lot of construction going on and detours, but still, I’m generally very good with directions, especially in my hometown. Proverbs 16:9
When we got to Dollywood we parked in the boon docks and the line for the tram was long, so we decided to hike to the next stop and catch a tram there. Just as we got the children, stroller and ourselves onto the tram, Mark looked at me and asked “Did you grab the passes?” Umm no, certainly he had gotten them. Oops! As he stood up to run back to the car, the conductor gave the all clear and the tram rolled into motion and the conductor had to say, “Sit down, please” over the intercom, so the whole tram turned and looked at Mark. 
We enjoyed the tram ride to the front gate and then Mark and a couple of the boys enjoyed a tram ride back out to our car and then back to the front gate again.
We rode a roller coaster in the rain and by then were wet enough that we decided to see the new circus show “Imagine”. We got in line early figuring that some extra time in a warm dry place wouldn’t do us any harm only to end up standing in line in the rain for over an hour as the previous show went late.
You just have to laugh and know that Proverbs 16:9 is true.
Being together, in the cold and rain is still fun when you have younger siblings to play with, check out Nick’s mohawk!
The show was terrific and the children were awed by the acrobatics and special effects. Mark and I were pleased that the performers were all fully clothed. (That is one fabulous thing about Dollywood; very family friendly!)
Next was a train ride for Colby (2), who had been asking about the train since he had heard the train whistle before we even entered the park.
Colby loves trains, sleeps on a train pillow, reads train books, draws and colors trains. He was duly impressed
After the train ride the children got to talk with the man who shovels the coal to power the train. He loved our children and as a special treat gave each of the children a piece of coal from the train. The children, with their black hands and faces were all ecstatic with their special piece of coal and began making plans to keep them forever.
Then we rode Nicholas’ favorite, the carousel. Nicholas loves to sit on the horse and laughs and talks the whole ride. 
Of course some of the other children enjoy the carousel also.
We were all tired and hungry, so we decided to head out and have a nice warm relaxing dinner at a restaurant (a rare treat) on the way home. As our large 12 passenger van began to pull out of our parking space we heard a bad, bad noise. Had we run over the stroller? Had something just fallen off of our van? As I looked in the rear view mirror, I realized. The car that had been parked next to us was missing it’s whole front bumper. Mark went to get park security while the children and I gawked at the damage that we had done.
When I say bumper, you may think of a small piece of extra metal attached to the front of a car. WRONG. Bumpers nowadays ARE the front of the car. So there is this formerly nice car sitting with the front end torn off and laying on the ground. I really wish that I had taken a picture. It was impressive.
Well, when park security actually saw the damage they realized they needed to call in the big boys. Yep, here comes the Pigeon Forge police department. So after police reports, paper work and some now sleeping kids, we aren’t quite so interested in a sit down meal, just something to fill our bellies before we go to sleep.
“A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.” Proverbs 16:9
I am so glad that our God knows what we need and loves us enough to give it to us. We had a delightful, memory filled day. We were able to enjoy our children and have fun watching them enjoy new experiences. No one was injured and I was reminded that I am not in control.
It is a dangerous thing to think that you are in control, that at any moment you can change yourself or anyone else, that you are not completely dependent upon God for every breath that you take. Yesterday God reminded me in a wonderfully gentle way, that I am not in control of anything. That I need Him and am indebted to Him for my very existence. How dare I think that for even a moment that I can disregard His instructions and still find my way. I can’t even drive through my own hometown without getting mixed up.
Praise God that He loves us so much that He even orders our steps for our good and for His glory.
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What a fun-filled wet day you had! Ok, the incident with the bumper of the other car probably wasn’t that fun.
We are seeing that God is changing our plans…make that “God’s plans are being revealed and we are changing our own plans to line up” in these last couple of weeks. Changes that we never would have anticipated 3 weeks ago, but are exciting albeit stressful at the moment. Glad you all had a nice day together. As they get older it is harder to manage getting everyone together at one time. We have tentative plans for a trip to Orlando for the home school conference there in May, but our second oldest daughter has a wedding and performance during that time, not to mention the piano recital for children 4 and 5. It looks like we may not all be able to go on our trip after all. We’ll see. Have a good day!
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Great story and a great reminder. Our Sovereign Lord reigns, and how grateful we should be.
I’m sorry about the incident with the other car but enjoyed seeing pix of Dollywood. I grew up in Morristown, TN and went there all the time. I have a lot of family in Knoxville, too. I left East TN for Memphis for college and now live in GA. I will always think of Knoxville and the Great Smokey Mnts. as home though.
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What a fun day that shaped up to be! I am impressed with your positive attitudes towards the day- life is definitely what you make of it! Smiling faces on children after standing in the rain in line for an hour? Truly miraculous!
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Hi Kimberly!
I am assuming you found my blog thru MckMama! Thanks for visiting!
And to answer your question-sure! I’d LOVE some more publicity! Did you have something special in mind?
Thanks so much!
Lynn
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Great Post Kimberly! Oh! And it’s a treat to see what you look like, too!
Sounds like fun…even with all the things that you didn’t plan on.
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Kimberly Reply:
March 31st, 2009 at 7:20 am
Ha ha Mandy, see what I look like after a day of roller coasters, wind and rain? There are other pictures of me on this blog, you just have to look long and hard. There is a great picture of our whole family, so that you can see what everyone looks like on my About Me page.
I keep trying to figure out how to get a picture into the sidebar, but I’ve not been successful. Any WordPress experts that can give me advice?
Blessings,
Kimberly
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Hi ! This is my first time to your blog (I believe) and I love it. all the posts and the pics, wonderful. I had a great visit and have bookmarked your site to come back often. wonderful! May you have a wonderfully Blessed week. Hugs to you, Miss mary
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Oops! I hate when I tear the bumper off of another car! :0) I would love to visit Dollywood sometime! It looks and sounds wonderful!
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Thanks all. We really did have a fun day. It’s hard not to when you have your family healthy and well with you. That is something that really struck me after we hit the bumper, we are all healthy it could be much, much, much worse. I’m thankful daily for our health and wellness see this post. There is no garauntee that we have tomorrow.
Miss Mary,
I’m so glad that you liked my blog. It is always encouraging to know that I’m creating something that others are enjoying. I hope you come back and comment often.
Blessings to all,
Kimberly
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