Monday, January 28, 2013

Strolling the Boardwalk and Exciting Luke News!


     This is the last of the Christmas/Disney posts. I hope I haven't bored you all to death! It has become a Christmas tradition for us to have an early dinner at Disney's Beach Club Resort. They have a wonderful seafood buffet that also has all of the "normal" Christmas items on it. Another reason we love to have our dinner here is that the resort has a beach and a lake, so a walk after dinner is a perfect ending to the day. This year, we noticed that the path of palm trees that leads from the Dolphin Hotel to the Swan Hotel had beautiful lighting. Much to our surprise, Christmas music started playing and the colors of the trees began to "dance" to the music. 





The Dolphin Hotel, is not a Disney Resort, but it connects
 to Disney property. The fountain outside is huge and so pretty. 


     The view of the Disney Boardwalk (which has a hotel, restaurants and shops) from the Beach Club Resort is gorgeous at night. You can walk all the way around the lake.  



They were showing movies on the beach, 
Disney movies of course!





     It was a beautiful Christmas evening. Temperatures were in the 70's, the sky was clear and it was the perfect ending to a perfect day. There are things I miss about being home for Christmas, but mostly I just miss the members of my family that aren't with me. As for the weather...I love it!


     This was my dessert plate from our dinner. I didn't eat every bite, but I ate enough that the walk wasn't just pleasant, it was necessary. The little dish with the caramel on top was Popcorn Panna Cotta. You can't see the custard layer below the caramel. It was amazing. I asked for the recipe and they are supposed to send it to me. They said that they pureed actual popcorn and strained it to flavor the custard. We all tried it because it sounded so strange and we all loved it. As for the rest of the meal...crab legs, shrimp, turkey, mashed potatoes, chowders, salads, standing rib roast and so on. Yes, I always gain weight when I go on vacation! 

     Now for the exciting Luke news. As his parents are saying, God, Luke and the donor are a great team. An important number for Luke is his ANC (absolute neutrophil count) number. The higher the number the better and his has been jumping by leaps and bounds the past week. It reached over 7000 yesterday. This means that the transplant is working and the best news is that if all goes as planned, today he "rings the survivor bell" at the hospital and gets released to the apartment they have rented nearby. He will still have restrictions and risks, he certainly isn't out of the woods, but it all is going very well and we pray that this amazing progress continues. Thank you for your continued prayers. 

7 comments:

Blondie's Journal said...

I am so happy for Luke and his family. This is wonderful news. I'll keep those prayers coming!

Gorgeous pics, Sue! The desserts are awesome. I haven't been to Disney World since I was 18 so I am really out of the loop! I'm so glad you had a great holiday there!

XO,
Jane

Glenda/MidSouth said...

Wonderful news about Luke!!
I have enjoyed hearing about and seeing the photos of your trip. The caramel popcorn dessert sounds interesting - bet I would like it also.

Nellie's Cozy Place said...

Hi Suz,
what wonderful news about Luke, I know they must all be so full of joy, but will certainly keep praying, reminds me I need to call and find
out about Andrew, only saw his dad
from the distance, but didn't get to talk to him, and they were suppose to
get results back on Friday I think,
so hoping it was good news too.

All your pics are gorgeous, nothing like disney magic that is for sure.
All that dessert look scrumptious,
I gotta have some choc. or something now..........lol
Very interesting pop corn dessert.
I remember when my I was a kid my next door neighbor and best friend used to make these caramel pop corn balls and they were to die for.
We used to use a carmel frosting that you made from a box, betty crocker I think, but have never seen it since.......and they were
amazingly good! I love pop corn and caramel, so that dessert would be right up my alley. lol

It is in the 80's here today, on
Thursday it is suppose to dip into the 60's for a day. lol

Hope all is well with you hon,
Blessings, Nellie

Flo @ Butterfly Quilting said...

beautiful pictures...looks like a very relaxing and yummy Christmas!
Great news about Luke..that bell will sound very sweet!

Traci said...

Wonderful news about Luke!!!

NanaDiana said...

Nothing in the world like Christmas at Disney! Love all your pics.
I am thrilled for Luke and his family. God bless them and may his progress be uphill from here on out- xo Diana

Sophie said...

Seems I've missed a lot.