The Long Trip Home - Day 9

With alarms set for 4:00 am, Mary and I were both surprised when we woke up at 3:30 instead.  Apparently God thought we needed more time this morning!

We packed up our chargers and bath bags had some snacks for breakfast.  We were downstairs waiting on the curb by 4:30... and were still waiting at 4:50 am.  Hmm.  That's not good.   Our ride never showed!  So we asked a security guard if he could help and he called a friend who drove a taxi. The man showed up quickly but only had a mini-van... for 6 of us, 6 luggage, 6 carry-ons, and a stroller.  We squeezed in and were on our way as soon as possible.

The ride to the airport was interesting.  The van lacked suspension in the rear so it was bouncy!  Beyond that, every dash indicator was lit up and the gas tank read empty.  BUT... we were on our way and beggars cannot be choosers.

Once we arrived, we stood in line for 20 minutes waiting to check our bags.  We were already 30 minutes behind from the driver, so I started getting nervous.  But, God just blew open the doors for us as we were never more than 5th in line as we approached each of the 5 security stops.  We had no time to stop for breakfast as we immediately boarded the plane.

The plane ride went really well.  I was grateful that the personal entertainment package offered more movies on this flight.  While waiting for our ride, Sammy dropped my iPad and shattered the screen... I was nervous to be going into a long flight like this without it but Sammy did great!  As soon as we boarded, Sammy synchronized our screens so we could watch Ice Age together.  It was very sweet.

We had about 1.5 hours to get our luggage, get thru immigration and go back through security.  Everything went smoothly and again God took care of the details allowing us short lines and friendly staff.  We were speed-walking through JFK to find our gate... no time to stop for lunch!  As the gate came into sight we looked up at the displays and realized our flight had been delayed an hour.  Ugh!  Although we were disappointed, we appreciated having the time to slow down and made our way back to The Shake Shack for a good lunch.  We relaxed a while longer with a few rounds of Uno and Spot-It.

As we headed back to our gate, I received a notice on my phone that they had upped the time of our flight and it was LEAVING in 15 minutes.  Again, we had to speed walk to get to the gate and walked right on the plane.  The flight staff was quick to settle us all in our seats so we could take off and make up some of the time... until we had a glitch with the boarding agent and needed to wait 30 minutes for take off.

Eventually we did take off and we had another uneventful flight.  The kids did amazing!

I made a Starbucks run while we waited for the stroller.  Then we made our way through the Detroit airport to find our bags.  When we arrived, the carousal was stopped and our 6 were the only remaining bags on the belt.  Wonderful!  We grabbed them and headed out for our trolley to the parking lot.

Since we drove two vehicles, the girls loaded up the black truck while the boys headed on to the red one.  Scott was surprised to find his battery was dead!  So we waited just a second while the driver went to get jumper cables and were on the road in minutes!

We were leaving Detroit right around 5:00 pm so the traffic was pretty heavy for quite a while.

From the outside it seems we had a lot of things go wrong today... but none of them caused issue.  Each time we felt God intervene and take care of the situation on our behalf.  It was an adventure and so fun to see our Heavenly Father at work.

We drove home, stopping at Wendy's in Howell for supper.  We pulled in the driveway minutes before 8:00 pm.  Its been 16 hours of travel and we are tired and ready for bed.  It is good to be home!

Rest and Rain - Day 13

Today we planned an easy and relaxing morning.  We knew that Roger and Dean would be leaving this morning and wanted to be available to say good-bye when they were ready.  So, there was a lot of snuggling, the Disney channel, laundry and a bit of hide-and-seek.  It was wonderful... in a very different way!

We said our good-byes around 11:00 am and then headed down to the pool and hot tub.  Today is much cooler than its been so far this week.  Hurricane Joaquin is in the Caribbean and there is a low pressure system by Florida sending a lot of rain and clouds our way.  The forecast says we are expecting 5-7" rain fall by Sunday!  Grandma stayed in her comfy clothes but brought her book down to enjoy.  Mom spent as much time in the hot tub as she could.  

After that we headed upstairs for lunch... broccoli ham ring.  We decided to head out and run some errands this afternoon.  A trip to the beachwear store, the grocery store, then over to Crumb Buns for some dessert for later.  While we were out, our route brought us right past the bowling alley from yesterday so we stopped in to look for Elsa's shoe (see yesterday's post).  I didn't want to get Sammy's hopes up, so I had the kids stay in the car with Bev. 

I walked in and scoped out our tables from dinner.  Then I went to our bowling lanes which happened to be filled with 6 business men.  I explained and they graciously helped me look under the couches and in the cushions saying "we get it... we all have kids too!"  Unfortunately the search didn't turn up anything.  So, I headed out to the parking lot to have one more look around.  As I stepped out the door, I shared a quick moment with God knowing that although that shoe is small and insignificant, it matters to Sammy (a lot) and she matters to Him (so much more).  No kidding, I finished my prayer and looked down to see a perfect blue high heel shoe perfect for Sammy's Elsa doll... I had found it!  Thank you God.

I climbed in the back seat of the van to explain what had happened to Sammy.  She was excited to have her shoe back!  And we took the time to reflect on how good God is to us!

We let each kid rent a movie tonight and headed home.  Grandma did Bible with the kids again... they all seem to enjoy it!  Then we worked on supper and got started on the movies.  Tyler picked a new movie about two wolves "Alpha and Omega" and Sammy picked "Home" since Grandma hadn't seen it yet.

After we finished, we decided to head down to take a quick dip in the hot tub... I mean, really, who cares if its raining???  Both kids enjoyed filling their swim shirts up with air and floating around the tub.  It was lots of fun.

It was a nice evening... everyone hung out in comfy clothes and just relaxed.  Sammy even let me braid her hair.  I guess sometimes a rainy day on vacation is JUST what you need!

(don't look too closely at the braid... its bumpy.  But hey, its not everyday she lets me do her hair and I wasn't gonna risk missing out completely by going to get a comb or brush)

Second Time Around - Day Nine

It seems like yesterday we were just driving this same route to the airport in Detroit.  But yet, so much has happened in the last week we were home.  Tyler had a fabulous 10th birthday.  We walked around Art Prize, finished our academic year, and were visited by the Tallmadge Fire Department.  Best of all, though, we got to spend time with Dad!

We left around 8:30 am and got on the way.  The drive, park-n-go, and baggage check went smoothly.  We requested handicap assistance through security and were escorted to the front of the line where the TSA Agent spoke directly with Sammy and gave both kids instructions on how to clear the Security Screen quickly.  We had lunch at McDonalds and headed to our gate.

The flight was quick and we landed in MB at 2:15 pm.  We had a short wait for the van and then were back!  Oh that ocean is gorgeous... she never gets old!

We headed down to the ocean for a quick dip and were thrilled with what awaited us... Look at ALL the shells!

Uncle Roger, Aunt Gretchen and Dean joined us for a swim too!  Then it was up to the pool and upstairs to get cleaned up for dinner.  We ordered Pizza Chef and had lots of fun getting caught up again.  We eagerly watched the tide come in.  The waters were higher than I've ever seen...  all the way up to the dunes and beach grass.  Crazy!

Tonight's lunar eclipse caused the higher tides.  We stayed up to get a glimpse but the skies were cloudy and we didn't see it.  However, Dad knew how important it was to us to see so he got some great shots so we wouldn't miss it.

Just beautiful!  Today reminded me of the beauty God's given us in His creation all around us.  As I did my devotions tonight I read about God's power to control the weather, the tides, and the oceans.  Wow.  Thank you Lord!

Good Morning Gorgeous!

This was the sunrise this morning from the balcony.  I've spent most mornings enjoying this view with a cup of coffee and my devotions.  AMAZING!

Pot of Gold

Tonight we invited Roger and Gretchen over for tacos for dinner.  The kids requested that we eat on the patio again.  But just as we were setting down to eat, a storm blew in.  It was beautiful to watch the lightning and rain come down. 

 

After the storm had passed the kids suggested we look for a rainbow and very faintly we noticed one straight out from the condo...  the colors grew bolder until it was clear as day!

 

 

The best part was that you could see the colors come all the way down to the sand.  It was the first time any of us had seen the END of the rainbow.  GORGREOUS!