Ripple affect...

Time flies in the blogging world just as it does in real life. You blink and months pass in what seem like seconds. I am continually amazed at how lives are intertwined, how one thing leads to the next and before you know it things snowball. I started to think about this on April 1st, yes April fools day. I was in bed and Royd came in and said that I HAD to get out of bed and come and watch the news, there was a clip that I had to see and it was all my fault that this was happening on the other side of the world. I obliged and went and waited, thinking what could possibly be my fault on the other side of the world....

You see, some 19 or so years ago a friend and I went on a late night neighbourhood romp with several rolls of Saran Wrap (Toilet paper was passe) and did 3 different cars, one being our pastors. It was great, no one expected us at first... Jump forward 4 or 5 years and said pastor was now living in Australia teaching at a Bible College and we decided that he needed to be "initiated" down under. So we wrote a letter addressed to the college - Attention: youth leader or something like that. Included in that letter was some $$$ and an explanation of "Saran Wrapping Cars" could you please go and do this pastor's car one day.... And they did. Now in 2009 this is what it has become.... WHO KNEW!





Who knows if it could be directly linked back to a simple letter written over a decade ago. But like a rock tossed into a still pond, the ripples reach far and wide. Maybe one friend told 2 people and those 2 people told 2 more... and so on and so on.... then someone who had heard about the crazy fun, thinks hey that would be a great April fools joke, they go ahead and low and behold the original letter writers 1000's of Kilometers away see the news clip. Full circle.... ripples reaching far and wide. Interesting to think how the ripples we make today could come back and affect us years down the road.

Was I kind today? Did I say or do something that made someone laugh, cry, feel loved, cared for? Did I send out good ripples? I sure hope so, I had some very intense, meaningful conversations today, about some life situations that are very very hard, health issues that have to be faced head on despite the deer in the headlight feeling of total shock and fog like reality of the moment. I pray that my words, were able to be a balm to the hurting, that I could ease the burden just a little by telling someone I care and that I will be praying. Even for just a moment in time - give hope.... I hope that I can sit down a decade from now and say remember when and share in the victory of healing and strength, rejoicing, celebrating - that would be a great return on my ripples (and the tears I shed today!)

A series of unfortunate events....

I started this post 2 weeks ago, life got in the way and now that I am going to post it now it seems sort of ironic. Today being Friday the 13th! I think the whole Friday the 13th thing is whooie, and for me it is just a sunny Friday in Feb. BUT if the date did hold any significant meaning for us our Friday the 13th happened a few weeks back, o.k. and it was a Sunday. But it was the sort of day that some would associate with the 13th....



The events that you are about to read are TRUE.... and happened over the course of a few days, however the bulk of them happened within a couple of hours... It was truly a series of unfortunate events..... or just another day in my life as crazy and random as it can be at times.

Jan 29 - We are out for dinner celebrating Shanna's 13th birthday (Yes that makes 3 teens in the house - but that is a post for another time and space) as is the birthday tradition in our home. The birthday girl gets to pick where we go (within reason) Pizza Hut it was this night. We had a great time, lots of laughs and fairly good food. Then we go to leave, we slide open the door of the van and we hear this clink, clink sound... something hit the ground..



Teryn says, Oh that might have been a pen that has been rolling around back here. Quite plausible, seeings as when the van got cleaned out one time there were 23 pens of various sorts rolling around. No wonder there is never one by the phone when I need one. Sidetrack aside... back to the clink clink... not a pen, but a nut like looking piece of metal from the van door.... OH OH....

The van door will not latch, meaning that it will not close. Did I mention that it is dark, and we did not have the foresight to park by the light in the parking lot that would shine on that side of the car. Trying to figure out where the "nut like thing" fit on the door was going to be a challenge. Thankfully we have 2 door entry on the van and there was light shining on the other side and my dear husband was able to figure it out - and insert the errant object and managed to get the door to close and lock. However it is in that position permanently, or at least until we find the $$$$ to get it fixed it will look like this...

Fast forward to Sunday.... Royd had been away on the island visiting a friend and I was headed to pick him up at the ferry terminal. It was late, it was dark, and it was snotting out (raining and snowing at the same time) plain miserable night. Visibility was a challenge at best! I am driving along and change lanes at the terminal to go into the pick up / drop off zone and hear this very very loud BANG! Then the tell tail sound of a flat.... pffts, ssss, pffst... Shoot! I had no idea what I hit, but I knew I did a good job of it. (figured out later on the way up the hill, that there is a low curb between lanes - I must have hit that!) No where to pull over until the parking lot at the terminal, over a block down the road. So there I was, riding on the rim, KNOWING that the tire was flat, if not total obliterated, knowing that the longer I drove the higher the possibility of greater damage. Thinking about the van door & the cost of that looming over our head. Praying that this would not add to that too too much! I managed to pull into the pick up area, this time I DID park by the best light available thinking ahead to the job at hand. Oh, so not the way to say welcome home dear.

Now I am not a slouch when it comes to knowing how to change a tire, it has happened before and I managed fine, but remember that I am at this point 3 weeks post surgery, not supposed to exercises or lift anything too heavy. So I sit and wait for the ferry to come in, I did manage to pull out the jack, tire iron and un hook (not remove) the spare and "set things up" for Royd.

I walked to meet him at the terminal and said ...

"I am really glad you are home"

His response, "oh do you need gas in the van" Funny funny guy - or either that He knows me well. The later is certainly true - I hate putting fuel in the van, the smell of gas gags me!

"ah no the gas is fine.... but, well, you are going to have to change the flat tire I just got!"

"oh....." He is a great guy.. that is about all he said.

Remember it is truly a miserable night... thankfully there was a huge golf umbrella in the van along with an old baseball mitt - which was great for kneeling on, not only for padding, but it also kept the knees dry! So it was not as bad as it could have been. However upon inspection we realize that I not only blew the tire but managed to dent the rim. OUCH -it looks like we will need a new rim and tire! $$$$ What can you do! On with the job at hand, 45 minutes to change the tire, pack things up and off we go.

Travelling down the road, catching up on each others weekends, traffic is good, due to the fact that we avoided all ferry traffic. Then we hit the Iron workers memorial bridge.. Accident. Bridge is closed, both lanes. This could be serious! Great I wonder how long we will have to sit in this traffic, it is around 10:30pm at this point. I phone home and tell the girls not to worry, we are going to be late, there is an accident on the bridge we are o.k. see you when we get home.

Sid accident had just happened, it is about 12 - 15 cars ahead of us, emergency vehicles were just arriving on the scene, we have no choice but to sit and wait for the bridge to re-open. We could be sitting here for awhile. Good thing we have lots to catch up on.....

Just a few minutes into our wait we notice that cars are sailing past us to take the last exit and managing to get back on the bridge just past the accident... should we, should we not... we debate, we wonder, we then hear the ambulance coming. We stay put, the only path for the Ambulance is to our right. Ambulance comes sailing past and cuts in about 4 cars in front of us thinking that they will be able to get to the scene, however there is no where for the cars to go to let them past, they sit there for about 5 minutes...

In the mean time Royd decides that he is going to take the exit, and pulls out to do that. Unfortunately at that exact moment the ambulance decides that he is going to do the same thing. We are just past as he pulls out and hear the grinding of metal and metal as the front end of the ambulance meets with the rear quarter panel of our van... Great! We are on an off ramp, there is no where to pullover, no where to stop and we just connected with an emergency vehicle oh his way to an accident. We got to a spot where we could pull and the ambulance could pull by and go. They roll down the window and tell us to pull into the bus loop to wait for their return. So we do... and we wait, and wait, and wait. On the up side while we were waiting, we were able to give a jump start to a lady and her son who were waiting in an unlit parking lot in a car that was not functioning trying to figure out what to do. We were more than happy to pull out our jumper cables and lend a hand.

About an hour later an RCMP officer pulls into the loop looking for us. 45 minutes of statements, discussion with the RCMP officer the Ambulance supervisor. Both who were surprised that we stuck around and waited, they said mentioned that most would have gone off. We figured that the ambulance driver was sure to have taken our licence plate number so they could still find us. Likely charge us with leaving the scene of an accident etc. Right now we are praying that there is no ticket coming in the mail. Turns out that all emergency vehicles under siren are protected by the law in an accident - they are faultless. We were told that if this was any other vehicle it would have been there fault given the area we were hit. The ambulance supervisor was pushing for charges, the RCMP officer was saying that because we stuck around and were co-operative that he was not going to issue anything. However they have a year to do so.. so if the supervisor pushes he may have no choice. We are keeping our fingers crossed.

Irony... I am forever yelling at idiots that do not pull over when the emergency vehicles drive by under siren. It is one of my biggest pet peeves. Not to mention it is dangerous. My kids tease me that the drives in other cars can not hear me. I will always pull over, I have been honked at, and had the bird flipped more than once in my direction. And we get clipped! Somewhere there is humor in that right?

On the up side of the whole thing, the tire was not blown. The rim was toast, however it was less $$$ to replace the rim than it would have been to get a new tire. I guess there is a little humor there. And if for no other reason we were in the right place at the right time to jump start that ladies car - get her on her way safely home. She was so thankful for our help. Or maybe the delay of the flat tire was just the right amount of time for us to avoid being victim in the accident. Why things happen when they do sometimes is a mystery - I am glad that despite all the unfortunate events these few days, we are able to look at them and see that in this world we are not alone, we are part of a bigger picture, a puzzle of sorts that piece by piece are placed together to form that bigger picture.

Coveting prayer...

My day tomorrow is fairly well planned. Actually that would be my day today, as the day officially starts when the clock strikes midnight, and the clock struck about a half hour ago. Which means as of this moment I am not allowed to eat or drink ANYTHING! NOTHING, not a sip not a nibble nada! The nurse at my intake appointment was VERY adamant about this.

Why is it when you can NOT eat anything all you think about is how hungry or how thirsty you are. I know I know if I were to go to bed at a regular time then I would not be sitting here at 12:45 thinking about what I can not have. Oh well, I have done it before I can do it this time. Easy as pie. mmmm pie.. geesh!

So here is how my day TODAY should play out...

Leave home at 9:30 (ride not yet procured - but I have several options open!)

10:00 am arrive at hospital for surgery #2 of 3

10:05 I will be ushered into the secret chamber - where unless you are having surgery or are with a child who is having surgery you are not allowed to follow! I am special I get to go there AGAIN! And to think there are many who have never been!

10:10 - I will be presented with the most lovely of gowns to change into... actually 2! One to close at the back and the other with the opening at the front - all modesty preserved! Ha! The best part by far is the lovely foot ware they offer.... Lovely elf stockings that go to your knees - a fashion plate I will be for sure! Whoot Whoot!

10:20 - a nurse will come visit with me ask me my name over and over, as well as the procedure I am having done (which by the way is a Unilateral reduction and lift of the left breast - a follow up to the mastectomy in September and the precursor to the implant coming in March! - Basically this is so I will have a matched set, and will not sag at an alarmingly uneven pace!) Once they have confirmed that I know who I am and what is being done. Said nurse will begin to poke and prod, insert an IV line, take my temperature, and blood pressure.

By 11:30 I will be escorted down the hall to the operating room - where I will spent approx the next 90 minutes in a drug induced sleep - The doctors and nurses will do their thing and in the end it will all be hunky dory! After my stay in the OR I will then be wheeled to a lovely suite where I will be allowed to nap for a little bit. Then the nurses will come and force me to wake up, take all sorts of vital information....including ask me my name AGAIN, and then I will be allowed to rest peacefully however just when I drift off to sleep they will come again, and wake me up to offer me some ginger ale and crackers when all a truly wish to do is sleep. Nope soda and crackers gotta get me up and moving... I have been told that I should be released to go home in time for dinner! Good thing there is pizza in the freezer and the girls are very good at fending for themselves because I am pretty sure that the only thing I will want to do is rest without interruption.
Whew it will be a busy day - of which most of it I will not be able to recall as I will have been knocked out!

For those of you who are inclined to pray I am coveting your prayers if you happen to think of me today. Please pray for the nurses and doctors as they do their job. Pray that I will be a patient that is grateful for their care. Please pray that the procedure will go smoothly and that there will be no complications. Thank you in advance for your prayers and well wishes. I had better get to bed! God bless!

O.K. It is time to get serrious.. but this first..

As a teen I wore a pin that read "Why Be Normal" many of my friends from that era remember it and have commented even years later. The pin I should wear now would read "Define Normal". I think that normal only exists in the dictionary, and if we were each to define it outside of that context the definition would be totally different each time. Normal for one is not normal for another.



That being said... I am pretty sure that this is not NORMAL anywhere but it is right now in my house! We are currently pet sitting! We have in our possession my sister's cat Manuelle - great cat, easy to have in the house, affectionate, cute, quiet, does not scratch the furniture or pee where he is not supposed to, great cat (and an easy house guest!) HOWEVER this cat washes his paws after he uses the litter box..... no joke. Monday night I dropped my sister and nephew at the airport, way too early in the morning, and since then I have noticed wet areas in the bathroom around the toilet. Now we do not have young boys in the house, the girls 9 times out of 10 will use the other bathroom, my husband is well trained and this has never happened before.

It was a mystery - very strange. Then today I figured it out.... though I have yet to catch Manuelle in the act, he uses the litter box, then hops up on the rim of the toilet and dips his paws in. Too weird! How did I figure this out... today there were traces of kitty litter in the toilet, and yesterday I noticed that Manny's paws were wet, being confined to the house I thought it was from his water bowl (but his muzzle was not wet!) At first I thought that he was drinking from the toilet, a common thing for cats to do. Nope not this cat, he is washing his paws. Who would have thunk it! Go figure - this is NORMAL in my house right now, at least for a few more days.

I think 2009 is going to be another crazy year! Time to hold on and put your head back the ride is just beginning!


Also not so normal for this time of year is the SNOW!!!! It just keeps coming. I have Dorie from "Finding Nemo" in my brain singing .... Just keeps snowing, just keeps snowing.... WOW! They say we have not had snow like this in our area since 1964! The year I was born - hmm maybe that is why it fascinates me, I love it! Even still after how many days now -It is beautiful, it is fun, it is quiet, and for us today it helps to make it feel more like Christmas. We are celebrating today with Royd's side of the family... Christmas round one was postponed due to Snow. Hmm looking out side right now I am thinking that maybe it will be postponed again until Easter. I am ready for who ever shows up when they get here. Snow or no snow, but I say bring on the snow!

Merry Christmas... a letter!

Dear family & friends (& random blog readers)

Each year at this time I think "I should send out a family Christmas letter" I love receiving them from others I just never quite get my act together enough to follow through with the good intentions. Life simply gets busy and I fail to make the time. This year I have been handed time in abundance, and I am taking advantage of it now to jot a few lines and finally get a Christmas letter out from our home to yours.

2008 has been an eventful year for us, a year filled with challenges and blessings. We have weathered storms and come out stronger for them. We have learned that a sense of humor can make even the toughest situations bearable and even the toughest situations could be so much worse. Through it all God has been faithful and we have been blessed over and over by the graciousness and generosity of friends and family. We could not have made it through with out their love and support.

The girls are doing well. They are growing up fast.

Our youngest, Shanna is 12 (13 next month) and in grade 7. She is our sassy, spunky, determined one, all things that will take her far in life & challenge us daily. She has a strong sense of right and wrong, there is very little grey in Shanna's life. Shanna brought home a stellar report card this week full of A's & B's. Last night we were at her school Christmas concert, and it was bitter sweet - I realized that this was the last of the elementary school Christmas concerts we will attend, ending a 12 year Christmas tradition in our home. The concert took us on an around the world trip of Christmas traditions - Shanna's group took us to Australia. Shanna has loved being "of age" to be part of the youth group at our Church and has enjoyed every moment of it. She enjoys babysitting... not to sure if it is the babysitting or the money she makes but she goes pretty much anytime the offer is extended.

Teryn at 14 (15 in Feb) has a zest for life that is contagious. She loves to make others laugh and is a chatterbox, there is never a dull moment when Teryn is around. 2008 has been a year of challenges for her, she received a prognosis of Irritable bowel Syndrome mid year, ending a very long period of medical tests, doctor visits and day trips off and on to BC Children's Hospital. Now that we know what it is that causes the tummy pain we are able to deal with it and move forward. Early this year Teryn was also involved in an accident at a concert in a church where the floor collapsed in front of the stage and 40 kids fell through to the basement (about 30 feet). Teryn and 2 friends were 3 of the 40. Thankfully the injuries were minor and no one was more seriously hurt. Teryn walked away with a very sore shoulder a few scrapes and a minor concussion. All this added up to allot of missed school at the end of grade 8, Teryn worked hard to bring home an honors report card for that term. Now in grade 9 she continues to work hard and do well. She plays percussion in the school band, her instrument of specialty being the Timpani drum. Teyn loves Christian music and lives for Saturday nights when "Extreme Praise" hits the airwaves of our local christian music station.

Ashlynn turned 16 in October is our strong silent one much like her Daddy. She is a joy, and an easy teenager to parent. She loves to read and draw and shop at Value Village. She has a keen eye and often walks away with designer items, it is fun to watch her in that element. I love that she realizes that you can find great stuff at a huge savings. Ashlynn is in grade 11 (where does the time go??)and is looking at a career in costume design. She has a fashion sense that is totally her own and loves to mix and match pieces to create that. Ashlynn is in the Sr. band at school and plays clarinet, and doing lots of talking at the moment about learning how to play the trombone next year. (There are currently no female Trombone players.... she likes the idea of the challenge!) She enjoyed a band trip to Nelson for a music festival in April and is looking forward to Europe in March with this group. She is also loving being part of the Dance Company at school this year.

All 3 girls continue to dance with Dance Imagination - It is a joy to watch them preform as well as work together with the other girls in the company. I love that they are all at the same place at the same time on the same days. I do not have to try to juggle and co-ordinate activities, and driving.

Royd continues to enjoy his work at the surveying company he has been with for 16 years. He does very little actual surveying these days, his job is more that of a draftsman. Which is very good on cold snowy winter days like today. He can sit in the warmth of his office and let the other guys do the field work. Royd is very involved with the worship team at Church - singing a couple of Sunday's a month and practicing weekly. Right now is in the middle of extra rehearsals and practices to get ready to sing on Christmas eve. He is a great dad and I am especially greatful when it comes to helping with math homework! He can often be found helping with homework after a long day at work. I am thankful for my husband, and the support he has been to me this past year, I know without a shadow of a doubt I would not have made it through with out his love and support. I am a blessed woman because of this man, he is my rock.

That brings us to me.... it has been quite a year. If keeping up with the girls and all that their lives have been has not been enough.. my own life brought its share of challenges to our family this year.

In a nut shell. . . (if you care to read details follow this link then continue reading from there) in May I received a nasty mammogram result back, telling me that the tumor in my right breast had returned and that there would be more surgery in my future. September 24th, I had a mastectomy to remove the tumor and remaining breast tissue. All went well and all tests have come back clear. God is good! Life has slowed down considerably for me since then. As a result of the diagnosis and the realization that I could not do it all, Mary my business partner for 11 years, and I decided to close our Scrapbooking Store, that happened in June. This has allowed me to focus on my health without other distractions.

Early on in the journey I decided that I was not going to let this get me down... I did not want to become negative or whiny. Sure there are days that I feel lousy, that I hurt for no apparent reason, that I would rather stay in bed...BUT thankfully they are few and far between. This will not break me. God has promised that we will not bear any burden that he does not think we can handle.I have to take this to heart. I take comfort in knowing that God thinks I can handle this. I have been blessed over and over and over again by the support and love of family and friends. By people who have been there to take the girls to dance, pick them up at school, by people bringing us meals, offers to go shopping, cards and flowers.. the list goes on and on... I do not dare to try and list people by name for fear of leaving someone out. I know I am right where I am supposed to be and that this current challenge is all part of a bigger picture, one I do not see clearly at the moment, but know that God does and that he is in control. And in that I can rest, truly rest and let healing happen. The journey is not complete, I face 2 more surgeries in the new year, but that is o.k. it is always one step at a time, and hey I a guess I am 1/2 a step ahead of many of you I know what I am doing on January 9th.... do you??? I hope that if you think of me you will offer a little prayer for the surgeon's team as that is the date for my closest surgery. Then I am off to Europe with Ashlynn to chaperon the band trip - So excited about that, first I have never been to Europe and secondly but surely more important... Ashlynn is excited to have me come along! When a 16 year old still looks forward to having her mom around on a trip with friends It is a good day! I will face my 3rd and final surgery after returning from Europe. After that I will have to resume life and find a job, what that will be or what it will look like I am not sure, however I am sure that this has all happened for a reason and that life is pretty much what we make it and we have a choice everyday about how we are going to live it.

Looking back on 2008 I would say that it was a good year... not an easy year but a good year. One we will look back on in years to come and think WOW... that all happened in one year! As it comes to a close we are thankful for the blessing of friends and family and the gift of being able to spend time with them, weather in person or reconnecting online. We want to wish each of you all the best for 2009 and a very Merry Christmas. May you know that you are loved!

Blessings

Di (for the rest of the crew here!)

Happy Birthday little sister...(I do not even know if you read this!!!)

Birthdays & December traditions...

Today is my little sister's birthday. For the next 3 weeks, I will hear the traditional "I am only 2 years younger than you....." something that started long long ago when the math made sense and she was too young to understand the concept of a calendar year....sometimes over time things simply take on a life on their own. That, I guess is where tradition starts.

Dawna, may your day be all that you hope it will be. I am thankful that you are not only my sister but my friend as well. (We worked hard at getting to that place! It was well worth it!) My life is richer and I am a better person because you are part of it. Take time to celebrate with style, like only you can. Love you.

Growing up, December was always an exciting time in our house.

Birthdays & Christmas both to be celebrated. How many people get that much excitement in one month, toss in New years eve and it all ends with a bang too.

My sister's birthday is today (December 2nd) mine follows in 3 weeks. Growing up it was not uncommon to be woken up by the other jumping on our bed. Now it is simply trying to get a phone call in early enough to actually wake the other up. Something that I failed at this year. (I did think of calling at 1:30 am as I was heading to bed.. but that would just be rude!) So I did the next best thing, left messages on all possible phones, message boards and email. Quantity - making up for early!

Dinner was always the choice of the birthday girl - a tradition we carry out in our house today. In between was a frenzy of birthday parties, with friends and family (several of my cousins have birthdays late in November or December) shopping, hiding and wrapping gifts. (only one year of snooping.... never again - it really is no fun on Christmas morning knowing what is in the special packages) and always the traditional trip downtown to visit Santa at Woodwards. Woodwards had the best window displays EVER! I wish I had photo's of those. The best thing for me having a birthday 2 days before Christmas was that I never recall being at school on my birthday! I always had a holiday for my birthday. Pretty cool if you ask me.

One of the biggies in our house was that the Christmas tree never went up until Christmas Eve. My Mom & Dad's way of keeping everything separate. Think about that for a moment... we put the tree up on Christmas eve, it was always a fresh tree, it was often bought that day too. Now if you have ever visited a Christmas Tree lot on Christmas eve, you will know that the pickings are slim. The best trees have been picked and have likely been decorated and in living rooms for weeks. One of our favorite stories is that one year we went LATE on Christmas Eve to pick our tree, probably around 5 ish, but to a young girl dark meant midnight. I think the guy at the tree lot felt sorry for us, he was probably getting ready to go home and in we walk. Dad, Dawna and I. We looked at every tree that was there, maybe 12, and sticks or twigs were a more accurate description than TREE. WE eventually chose one and when we went to pay for it, the guy said he could not take any money from us and let us take the tree home for free. He probably thought we were poor and could not afford a tree. When the truth was we were just sticking to tradition.

The other thing that my mom was firm about was that Birthday gifts were just that birthday gifts and she never wrapped them in Christmas wrap. Nor did I ever receive a combined gift from a member of my family. I have only EVER received one combined gift.... (that is a story for another day.. lets just say it only happened one time and it was a great gift and that my hubby is a very fast learner!) Birthdays were birthdays and Christmas in our house came 2 sleeps after my birthday. Where in your house you would have had to count way more sleeps if you ever kept track.

Happy Birthday Dawna! And to the rest of you out there, Happy December! Enjoy your day!

Stress thy name is travel...listen to the little voices in your head!!!

I have done a fair bit of traveling, I love it. I love planning, I love the airport, I love the anticipation of a new adventure. However today I was not loving the travel agency location I had been working with.

We are planning a trip! It is something we have talked about for years, but decided 3 weeks before we were to leave that this is the time to do it. A little last minute, but not a problem I am assured from the travel agent. Great, we find a package and booked it and paid for it, and were waiting for the travel documents to arrive. Which should have been this week some time. So today I was going to place a friendly touch base email....... here is how it went from there

4:05 - Send email just asking for an update and when I could come in and pick up my documents.

4:15 - Receive a "bounce message" email is not able to be delivered (strange I know the email address is correct I simply hit reply to one of their earlier emails)

4:15:30 - I tried to phone, and get a " we are sorry the number you have dialed is not in service" My stomach knots. I try a few more times just to confirm I dialed correctly.

4:22 - Teryn and I are in the car heading to the mall where the agency is located... maybe they are having phone issues / Internet issues... I am feeling like I want to vomit. I have one child on the way, driving with friends we are to meet up with them on Saturday when we FLY in!

4:45 - We arrive at the mall.... head up the escalator, I look to my right, and notice that the agency office has no lights on..... I am shaking... this is not good. We walk up to the door and there is a sign that reads " This ______ travel agency location is now closed. Please contact your CC company for any services not provided." Now what?????? My hands are shaking, I am close to tears, thankfully Teryn was with me.... I have to stay strong for her....

4:47 - We are back in the car, with a little plan. I get on the phone and call a few people to pray and head to the other mall where this particular agency has an office. Hoping they will be able to help me.

5:10 - Arrive at the second mall - I say to Teryn... lets see what will happen.. remember our God is bigger than this! Inside I am thinking.. what if this does not work out what are we going to do. Shanna is in the US, with no ticket home (I know I was not quite thinking rationally at this point because Shanna would just end up having a long drive home that was un-planned. She would be happy and safe...) I was feeling ripped right off! A mini pity party was going on in my little head. What would I tell Ashlynn and Teryn.... how would I deal with it! I was a mini mess!

5:12 - I see the agency and breath a small sigh of relief the lights were ON and the doors were open! The agent was busy and on the phone but they were open!

5:20 - I sit down with Nancy and ask her if there is any way she can help me. I explained my dilemma. She smiles and says, oh this is all I have been doing ALL DAY! Poor thing, I can only imagine the frustration she dealt with today. I am so thankful that we booked on the Credit Card and did not pay cash. Nancy was telling me of others who paid cash, and the packages were not booked - yikes! So sad and maddening for those people.....

5:25 - 5:55 Thankfully I had printed off and brought with me the emails I received from the first agency. For the next 1/2 hour Nancy made phone calls, trying to figure out what had happened, and IF (big IF) the package had actually been booked. I sat and prayed, tried to think of a positive outcome, all the while thinking about how we could fix it and salvage the vacation. Pretty stressful...... HOWEVER our Angel Nancy was able to find and confirm that everything was booked, and I now have all the documents in my hot little hands. WHEW! Stress like that is not fun! God truly is bigger than it all and things worked out.... I feel blessed!

The strange thing is last Friday when we dropped Shanna of in Langley with our friends I made a comment about not having the documents in hand and the possibility of something going wrong and Shanna having to remain with them for the remainder of their family vacation..... I should have listened to my gut and followed through, I should have listened to the little voice in my head....
Why is it that we do not listen to the small voice in our head... the niggley feeling that things are just not right? You would think I would learn, it is not like this is the first time....

Should have Could Have.... didn't
But SO VERY GLAD it all worked out.

California here we come.... if you are ready or not (We are!!!)