A little over a year ago, Roger's family began preparing for a family reunion. Since we weren't sure where we would be when the reunion came around, we didn't commit to going or not going. The reunion was set for August 15-22 in the northern part of Minnesota. Since we are in Arizona, we just didn't see how we were going to be able to get there. We prayed about it, checked into the cost of airline tickets, calculated the cost of driving, prayed about it some more and decided that we weren't going to be able to go. The kids were very disappointed as most of their cousins they only see once every three years at the family reunion. I felt bad that Roger wouldn't be able to see his siblings, especially since one of his sisters he hadn't seen in ten years. However, we just didn't see how it would be possible for a family of seven to attend. Our suburban already has a lot of miles on it, plus the cost of hotels, food, and fuel; so it just didn't seem possible.
But God had a different plan for us. One day I had a few extra minutes, so I was browsing on a few different airline websites punching in dates. I discovered that we could fly with Spirit airlines from Las Vegas to Minneapolis for about $90.00 a person! While that is a great price, there was still the fact that we would need a vehicle on the other end. After looking into vehicle rental prices, that idea went out the window! Apparently, there are no value vehicles for rent for a family of seven! I decided to briefly mention it to my friend, Gretchen, who has two minivans. She and her husband said that if we could get to Minneapolis, they would allow us to use one of their minivans during our visit. It stilled seemed out of our budget though, so we decided against purchasing the tickets. A few more days passed, and the family reunion was approaching quickly. I could tell that Roger was having mixed emotions about missing it, so I suggested that maybe he should just go for a few days by himself. He was adamant about not going by himself, but we just didn't have peace about going or not going. However, a few days later, a check arrived in the mail for Roger. It was a check from a job that he had worked at when we were first married. The check was for his employment earning investment, and it provided the money needed for plane tickets!! Now we had the money to go, but would the tickets still be cheap enough? And we have plenty of other things that need money, so maybe we should put the money towards one of those? However, God gave us peace about taking this trip to the family reunion, so we decided to go ahead and book the tickets. Because of Rogers flight schedule, I booked tickets to fly out with Wyatt, Travis, and Emma, and then Roger, Garett, and Chandler would fly out the next day.
Our children were so excited about the upcoming trip. Since we were going to be so close to my parents, I decided to see if I could work out surprising them. My sister, Jen, told me that she thought I should tell me dad since he's been working long hours hauling corn. So I told my dad that we were coming, but we decided to try to surprise my mom. Since her birthday was August 11, I told her that her birthday present would be a little late this year.
On August 15, I drove to Las Vegas with the three youngest children. Our plane was supposed to leave at 12:00 am. But on the way to the airport, I received a e-mail saying that our plane was delayed. However, I was already on my way, so we arrived at the airport about four hours before the plane would be leaving. By the time we checked our bag, went through security, and found our gate number it was still only about 9:00 pm. The boys watched a movie for a bit, and I put Emma in my ergo baby carrier. Wyatt kept insisting that he wanted to stay awake until the plane came, but by abut 11:00 pm., all three children were sleeping on the floor of the airport terminal. The flight was delayed until 2:00 am., which meant a long night for this mama! I didn't feel like I could fall asleep with all our carry-ons and children sleeping on the floor, nor could I leave to use the bathroom. I was worried that waking the children would be a huge challenge, but a foreigner to Las Vegas solved that problem. Apparently, he couldn't read the "no exit" sign, and opened the door. At 1:30 am., the door alarm went off, and promptly scared all my children awake. However, that wasn't how I intended to wake them up! Anyways, we made it safely on the plane with three tired children, two backpacks, a diaper bag, and three blankets..whew! There should be an award for that feat!
We landed in Minneapolis about 7:00 am, and my sister in law was able to pick us up at the airport. The kids were running on adrenaline, but they were excited about seeing the cousins at the family reunion. My brother in laws drove the minivan from Oshkosh to Minneapolis and dropped it off for us. I am very thankful that we had a vehicle to drive and one that would hold all of us! It was a rather long day, but we did arrive safely in Emily, Minnesota for the reunion.
Roger flew into Minneapolis on Sunday, August 16, with Garett and Chandler. Thankfully, my father-in-law and brother-in-law, Mark, were willing to go and pick them up. We spent the week with all nine of Roger's siblings, spouses, and children. The lodge was right on a lake, but unfortunately, the weather was cool and rainy for a good part of the week. However, the kids still had a lot of fun visiting with their cousins. I enjoyed a run/walk with my sister -in- law, Rachel, and was able to pick her brain about homeschooling and some ideas. I also enjoyed several good discussions with my sister-in-law, Ruth, about family, spiritual needs, and our children. Roger was able to go golfing with all the guys, and he really enjoyed that. The family reunion was also a time for Roger and I to grow closer to each other and strengthen our relationship. I am very, very, thankful to be married to Roger, and the family reunion was a good opportunity to cement that again in my mind. I think a good time was had by all, and the boys are already talking about the next family reunion! We are only able to get together about every three years as the family has now grown and spread out across the U.S.A and Canada. But it's good to come together and visit as a family.
We dropped Roger off in Minneapolis on Friday, and then I headed to Wisconsin. We were looking forward to surprising my mom, visiting with friends, and enjoying fellowship. We stayed the night at a friends house on Friday because it was a rather late night. The boys were excited to see their friends again, and kids can immediately pick back up on their friendships with each other. I, too, have a few close friends that I can pick up right where I left off as well, and I treasure those relationships. I stayed up late talking, and then we headed to my parents house on Saturday. Since my dad knew we were coming, he came out to greet us as we pulled up beside the garage. The kids were rather noisy in their efforts to tell each other to be quiet, and I had a hard time not laughing! However, they did manage to surprise their Nana! She was delighted to see them all, and the boys were thrilled to have the property that they loved at their fingertips to roam and explore once more.
My parent also had other visitors that afternoon. The pastor and his wife from Truth Baptist Church in Connecticut were in Wisconsin, and they stopped by for a visit. My parents had worked with Pastor Rowley for ten years before coming to Wisconsin. It was also a good visit for me because even though I was in first grade when we moved to Wisconsin, Mrs. Rowley had homeschooled all five of her children and kept them alive while doing it. :) She has the gift of teaching, so it was a special encouragement to me to ask her questions about some ideas that she tried.
If I spent time describing each and every day I was in Wisconsin, we'd be here for a week just reading! I'll suffice it to say that it was a busy, full week. The boys were able to go fishing with Papa, I enjoyed dinner at several of my friend's homes, and managed to squeeze in as much fellowship and visiting as possible in a week. I did manage to surprise my pastor's wife on Sunday, which I didn't know if I would be able to do. I only told a handful of people about our trip to Wisconsin as I wanted to surprise my mom. However, I had also wanted to surprise Heather, the pastor's wife, and I managed to do it. Unfortunately, it also meant we were both in tears a few minutes before church started.
My dad has been hauling sweet corn every night for the past month, so I knew he would be busy. I was happy that each of the boys was able to take a turn riding in the truck with their Papa. I know he cares deeply about their relationship with God, and he does his best to encourage them in the Lord. I'm thankful for the opportunities he takes to spend time with them. My mom listened to the boys read several times during the week, and I was thankful to have a reprieve from all thoughts of school. It was a challenge to balance out the time with my parents, try to visit my close friends, and make sure the boys had the rest and down time that they needed. I wish I had been able to have a one-on-one visit with my friend, Autumn, but time was not friendly! We had a small birthday party for Travis and Garett on Friday with a few friends. Travis turned five on Tuesday, and Garett would be nine on Sunday. It was Saturday before we could blink, time to pack up, say our good-byes, and head to the airport.
I feel like God filled up my spiritual well while in Wisconsin, and it was a mountain top experience for myself and our children. I also knew that coming back to Arizona would be difficult, I just didn't realize how difficult it would be.
My parents were able to take us to the airport on Saturday. I had spent the morning getting stuff out of storage, printing off our tickets, packing, and running last minute errands. It was a crazy morning! The weather was cool in Wisconsin for most of the week, so we were cold almost every day. I decided to leave most of the boys shorts in Wisconsin and get pants and sweatshirts out of storage. (I realized that I based my decision on being cold now as it is still 95 degrees in Arizona!) So, the boys will be prepared when the weather does get cooler, but they are going to be limited on summer wear! Oh well!
God constantly reminded me of the verse in Isaiah. "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee." Traveling with five small children, two suitcases, four back packs, a diaper bag, and a partridge in a pear tree...okay, scratch that one..., is a little daunting. However, we arrived early for our flight, and I put Emma in her carrier. Garett took one suitcase, I took the other, everyone picked up stuff, and off we went to the ticket counter. Because we were early, the line was short. An older gentleman was at the ticket counter, and he was very pleasant to deal with. Our bags were a few pounds over the limit, but he said not to worry about it. He asked if all five children were mine, and I said yes. He then spoke about his own children, and how his son had just recently been killed in a car accident. He challenged me to hug them close, and I told him hat I would pray for his family. He handed us our papers with tears in his eyes and reminded me to remember how blessed I am. And it's true, I am blessed.
Off we went through security, which went off without a hitch. The people working were very pleasant and handed out stickers to the kids. We found our gate, took everyone to the potty, and the kids watched and waited for the plane. We were sitting across from a grandma and grandpa who handed out snacks to the kids. Emma made friends with everyone at the gate, and hugged all the people she didn't know, which was everyone there! We boarded the plane at 9:30pm., and the ticket agent asked if all these were my children....yes! Because the plane wasn't full, the three boys were able to sit by the window. I'm not sure what the fascination was with sitting by the window in the dark, but it made them happy. I forgot to put a pull-up on the child who usually wears on to bed, so by the time we landed, he was wet. :( The seat was dry because he had been sitting on my baby carrier, but it also meant that I couldn't use the baby carrier to carry Emma. It smelled! Somehow I managed to wake everyone up, hand them all something to carry, and drag ourselves off the plane. We made it past the security checkpoint to were Roger was waiting. At this point, I realized that Wyatt didn't have his shoes on! He said they were in his back pack, and in my hurry to get everyone up and moving off the plane, I didn't even realize that he didn't have any shoes...oh well!
So...we are back in the Southwest. I have more to write about including our trip back, a wise decision that Roger made and a praise that came because of that decision, and my emotional journey back to Page. However, God is good all the time. Thank you for your love and prayers as we continue on our journey.
