We're Home!

We made it home!  It was a great day of travelling and the kids did so well.  We started our journey at 5:45 leaving from my Mom and Dad's house in Fort Myers.  35 minutes down the road Silas loudly announce he had to go "Poo Poo!"  And it sounded urgent.  We pulled over and I did a quick look for alligators on Alligator Alley.  All was clear, but poor Silas couldn't possibly do his "business" on the grass, so he said he'd wait for the rest stop.  Good kid, and smart, too!  We arrived in Fort Lauderdale and the Spirit lines weren't too bad and we checked in our luggage (6 bags, two carseats, two strollers and 6 carry-ons) without having to rearrange the pounds more than twice.  (40lbs is the limit.  That's tough!)  The TSA only wanted to rescan 2 of our carry-ons.  They were very curious about the Red Robin seasoning that my Mom bought for Josh.  We finally made it through security and put back on our shoes, unfolded strollers, grabbed two busy preschoolers trying to get away, buckled them in the strollers, count and recounted our bags and we were off to our gate!

  We found a corner to hang out in while we waited.  We feasted on hot dogs and took many bathroom trips.  First, I changed Micah.  It was a short walk to the family waiting room where the line wasn't as bad as the ladies line.  Then, I went back for Callie.  She was a bundle of energy!  She hopped OVER every leaf in the carpet pattern.  I quickly changed her diaper, then went back for Silas.  He didn't have quite as much energy as Callie, but did jump ON every leaf! He used the potty and by the time I got back to our little corner, Micah was ready for another change!  I think he scared everyone waiting in the terminal with us with his fussiness.  We received lots of "Oh please don't sit by me" looks!  When we walked down the terminal ramp Silas jumped up and shouted, "Woo Hoo!  Josh and Daddy, I'm coming!"  Once we got on the plane Micah nursed and was very quiet.  (He actually nursed for the entire 2 hour and 46 minute flight.  Ugh!)

 Silas was so excited to be on the plane, but when the plane turned, he started to say (rather loudly) "We're falling!  The plane's falling!"  Not the best thing to say to a nervous-to-fly Grandma!  But, all in all our flight went great and before we knew it we were touching down in St. Martin. Flying with Grandma must be the best.  She had movies, snacks, books, games...the kids did great! We gathered up all of our luggage again, and got into a taxi.  Mom's knuckles were turning white around every corner.  Our driver was wasting no time!  We had extra time on our hands before our boat took off, so Mom bought us some Cokes and Fries.  They were soooo good!

 My Micah did very good,but within minutes sprouted a heat rash.  Poor Baby! He'll get used to the Caribbean heat soon enough.

 Then, it was time to board the Great Bay Express Ferry.  The seas had been pretty rough earlier in the week, but Praise the Lord the seas were calm for us.  God is so good to answer prayer.  Mom and Brenna found a great place by the edge, but they quickly had to scoot closer to the center of the boat.  The man we saw before we got on the boat that had had too much to drink sat right in front of them.  Then, he proceeded to get several plastic bags ready in case he got sick.  Then, he seemed to change his mind and hung his head over the side of the boat while he turned green. And this all happened before we left the dock!  I could just picture my poor Mom and Daughter getting sprayed!  They moved and we enjoyed the rest of the boat ride.  The breeze was perfect and it was truly relaxing.

It was great to finally arrive to St. Barths around 6:30.  I've been praying for months that the Lord would give us all peace and a great desire to return.  About a week before it was time to go I told my Dad, "I don't want to leave, but I want to go."  I think other missionaries will know what I'm talking about.  The desire to be with family, friends, your home church and everything that is comfortable to you is very strong.  But, the Lord gives an even more overwhelming peace (the kind that passes all understanding) to be in the "Spot" He's called you to.  I wrote about it here around this time last year.  It's good to be back home!