Home is Where the Heart is...

And, that's about all I remember of that Steven Curtis Chapman song. Sorry. If you had caught me at about 9th grade I could've sung it by memory at your wedding.
Enough of that.
: )

I am HOME. Whew. It is good to be home. When my son, Caleb, ran into my arms saying "Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!" all I could do was squeeze him tight and cry. I ached for him during these 12 days apart. I am very thankful to be back home.

Even though it was a long to time to be away from Caleb this trip was the perfect amount of time for what I needed to do. I am SO THANKFUL for all of you who made this trip possible. Each one of you who paid for a plane ticket, bought me a meal, gave me a gift, enveloped me in a hug, prayed for me...thank you. My home church, ECC, in Bloomington Indiana labels themselves as a "Receiving, Equipping and Sending" church. That's what each one of you did in Chicago, LA, Denver, Michigan and Bloomington...you received me, equipped me to head back and then sent me again. I loved it. It was needed.

And, props to my Mom and Dad. They were here in Romanian taking care of Caleb while I was in the States. I know, they're awesome!

There were some really cool things that God did on this trip - all airport related. I wanted to share them with you because they rocked my face off. I think you will be really encouraged to see God's miraculous hand in these 'small', yet significant, ways. Be encouraged!

1. At O'Hare, when I checked in for my flight to LAX, the computer never asked me to pay for the 2 bags I was checking in. It should've been an automatic $25 fee.
2. My flight from Chicago to LAX was the only AA flight NOT delayed the entire day.
3. My luggage on the flight above was supposed to arrive with a different flight but for some reason actually arrived on the flight I was on!
4. Checking in for my flight from LAX to DEN I realized both my bags were like 10- 15 pounds over. The guy next to me in line paid $80 for 1 of his bags being ONE pound over. (Note, his line was being run by a woman who has spent a lot of money to become a Janet Jackson look alike.)
My line was so congested that I stepped back to try and move the extra pounds to my carry-ons. Some people with carts moved in front of me and blocked me from approaching the desk for the lady to give me my luggage tags and weigh my bags. The lady instead came to me and I told her that they were 'way over.' She responded with "I don't care today!" Stuck my tags on and said I was all set.
5. I headed to Denver to check in for my flight to Michigan. The charge was supposed to be $15 for the first bag and $25 for the second. Wouldn't you know...the computer BROKE just as I had to enter the number of bags. That particular screen just froze up. Instead I had to put "zero" and skip that page altogether. She entered my bags manually instead and says "When did you buy your ticket?" "Sometime in February", I responded. She looked at me for awhile and then sticks my tags on and I was good to go. No charge!
6. I'm trying to remember right now what happened at the Indy airport....oh yeah. Same deal. My bags are overweight but I was able to transfer enough to my carry-ons to check them in. No charge again for my 2 bags. Everyone else in line is paying.
7. In Chicago, checking in for my flight to Budapest, one of my bags was overweight. She let it slide because my other bag was a little underweight.
8. My flight from Chicago was delayed but I still had enough time to make my tight connection in Amsterdam. I was pretty sweaty at that point though - way to go Amsterdam in being the longest airport ever.
9. I made it home safe - with no bags - but safe. The taxi should deliver my bags today.

God rocks.
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