and MAN was it hot!

I'M BACK!!!!!!!!!! Yessirree! That's right, that trip is OVER! As you surely have noticed... I am using TONS of CAPS and exclamation points. It is because I am excited to be HOME!!!!!!

We left on a jet plane, not sure when we'd be home again... :0) ... on Saturday the 18th. Linda picked us up at the airport and we continued on to my Mom's house to spend the night. It was really nice spending time with her. The next day she guided me around the parts of Hendersonville that have built up and I would have NEVER recognized. The Indian Lake area, where there used to just be a movie theatre, is crazy nuts now.

It wasn't long before I had to be in Smyrna to have a meeting that was 17-18 years in the making. I had dinner with family that has a huge story behind it. I won't go into details here, but there has been a whole ton of prayer and healing behind this meeting.

So I made my way, with Jakub, Jack and Linda to Cheddars in Smyrna, TN. I don't think I have been so nervous since I was about to deliver Jack. I kept telling Linda that my face felt like it was on fire. I had a lot of time to wait and just pray that I would make it through this without having a total come apart. Matt, Miranda and Lyla were the first to make it. It was great to see him and meet his wife and daughter. We chatted for a while before Wes came in. Then started the constant making fun of Betsy for being a blonde and her lack of ability to be prompt. This actually broke the ice a LOT and I relaxed. Boop finally made it and it was like we all picked up where we left off, yet better. I felt the sincerity and the love that was freely being thrown in my direction. It was a great experience that I would NEVER trade.

We then made our way to Corinth where an impromptu birthday party for Jakub was waiting for us at midnight.

Over the next week, and let me tell you I DO NOT MISS the 100 % humidity of the South, I made my way around town, saw tons of faces I haven't seen in quite a while. Granny was supposed to have surgery on Tuesday, which went horribly wrong when they tried to give her a platelet infusion. She reacted bad to it and wound up staying in the hospital for 3 days. Over those days I spent a lot of time with Everett.

The whole time I was so very ready to get back home to be with my husband. The old addage that there is no place like home is so very true... also distance makes the heart grow fonder.

Finally, Monday afternoon we started out toward St. Louis. I saw Chelsea for a brief moment... a LOT shorter than I would have liked, but Josh's grandmother was in the hospital not doing well.
We spent the night in St. Charles, MO and woke up early the next morning and made it as far as Minneapolis, MN. The next morning we made it up and enjoyed the landscape of North Dakota and spent the night in Billings. We finally made it home last night around 6. I was so ready!!!!

Jason came in at 11 and begged me to never leave him again...LOL. I wish he could have gone with us, it would have made the whole experience that much better. I missed him terribly.

So now Linda is here where she belongs, which was the whole point of the trip anyway. We are so excited to have her back with us!