Well, I’ve been home for a week now. I enjoyed helping Kristin, and seeing Nebraska, but it’s nice to be back, too. I love how a trip away can remind me of the joys of experiencing family life together here, and puts a fresh perspective on my daily chores… Kinda like a “new spring in my step” this week, lol! 🙂

Made many memories while I was out there…laughing with my nieces as I taught them the “chicken dance” [Um, I won’t go into detail about WHY I have that song on my phone…but I am 75% Polish, lol!] 🙂

…survived a fall down some steps without any broken bones, praise the Lord! Simply made an unwise decision about not using the railing – sure made me thankful for every successful step after that!

...and my arm muscles are much stronger now after so much Sawyer-cuddle-time… 🙂

But the trip home was a bit taxing.

My flight out of Lincoln was postponed by 5 hours due to mechanical issues. Because of this, I would miss my connecting flight in Chicago. I didn’t mind the extra time waiting, because I THOUGHT I could use the time to blog & make use of free airport wifi. BUT, when they made the announcement that there were only 4 seats left on the same flight the next day (for those who wanted to try again tomorrow), and I saw how many other travelers were in the same boat as me… When the spokesperson said it could be a WEEK before we’d all have a flight out, my hopes of a leisurely 5 hours began to be dashed. A note about me: I am not a big fan of rushing or making quick decisions. I’d much prefer time to think, pray, and ask questions…

Instead, I was completely consumed with investigating other flight scenarios, updating family, & requesting prayer… All while keeping the corner of my eye peeled for the rep to come back to the podium so I could ask some questions. She finally did appear, and I joined the rest of the room in line, waiting for her time. My main prayer now was to be able to exude Hope in this circumstance… I was surrounded by soooo many upset people! That prayer was answered with a wonderful conversation with the German man in front of me. Because of this delay, he & his family were going to be severely inconvenienced in their travel to Germany. As my “minor” plan-change dimmed in comparison to his, it was a joy to shift my prayers to him, and as we spoke about it, it led to over an hour conversation about his walk with the Lord. It was beautiful, and I hardly noticed how long I waited for my turn. 🙂

It was decided that I would get to Chicago, accept a voucher for a hotel, and be aboard an early morning flight home. I was fine with this & ready for the next leg of my adventure to begin… Until I began to board the plane…

Upon boarding, I was informed by another passenger that there was a flight that had been delayed in Chicago that we might be able to get on & still make it to Ohio THAT NIGHT. Of course, my calmness was now disturbed & since I had to turn my phone off on the plane, my final txt to Mike was that he needed to pray as the Spirit led him, because I was too overwhelmed to even know how to pray…

Got off our plane in Chicago, raced to the gate for the other one, and missed it by 5 minutes… Ug. Such a sickening feeling! 😦

Went to customer service, and what do ya know? ANOTHER detained flight headed to Ohio – leaving in 30 minutes!! More rushing & sweating, but it was a successful effort to board the plane… Only problem was now I was flying to the Cleveland Airport instead of Akron/Canton, lol. My poor boys had to leave our house at 11pm for the 1.5 hour drive to the airport… Yeah. Felt like a re-run of our Christmas night, lol… Thankfully, all went well & by 3am, the 4 of us were home & in our beds. Geesh. What a day! 🙂

Lord, as I recount last week’s trip, I see so much evidence of You around me. Thank You for the opportunity to help Kristin & more bonding time with my nieces & nephew… For teaching me to s-l-o-w down and watch my steps… For protecting me, when I forgot to do that… For the sounds of laughter as fun was had… For conversations about You with family & beyond… For modern transportation, and plan b’s, and plan c’s… For knowing what’s best for me when I have no idea… And for pushing my “comfort level” to where I never would… Continue to shape me into who You want me to be. Amen

And I love this pic that was floating around on FB… 🙂