Home!

We are home.  It is hard to believe the trip has come and gone.  We had an amazing, wonderful, relaxing and simply enjoyable time!  I am so tired right now, 5:45 a.m. this morning was a long time ago.....

The trip home was incredibly smooth, despite the weather in Bozeman.  The drive down the mountain to the airport took us twice as long as it did on Friday due to the amount of snow that had accumulated overnight and the snow that was falling on us as we drove.  What a beautiful send-off it was.  It was 12 degrees in Montana and in the 60's when we landed in Austin.  As we landed in Austin, the kids were almost giddy with anticipation of being home.  They were thrilled that we were back in Texas!

I don't know if I have shared this before, but I have this little issue with flying.  Flying tends to make me very claustrophobic and anxious.  Add this morning's weather on top of that and my day was spent with my nose buried in a book, deep breathing, and a lot of praying for calmness and peace!!  I was able to enjoy the day and the experience of flying, but it was not without its challenges.  The rest of the family loves to fly, so I tried my best to appear calm.  I think I pulled it off, except for those texts before we took off exclaiming my anxieties to Thomas, who was 8 rows in front of me for the first flight.  :-/

It was so amazing to escape reality for a short time, but as I type tonight, I am repeating "Take a bath!" to the kids so they can get in bed at a decent time tonight.  (We stayed up late every night and slept in late every morning - our routines are shot!)   We are back to reality tomorrow with a trip to Dell for Amanda's infusions.  It feels a little more like crashing into reality.....

Please pray for Amanda tomorrow.  She has already started to dread the appointment.  Hopefully, she will share stories with our team at Dell and take her mind off her anxieties. 

So here we go, life returning to appointments and medicine.  Thankfully, the Christmas season is upon us and we have much celebrating to do with our families over the next week. 

So as I close tonight, here are a few things I learned on this trip:
1. I really do over pack.  Seriously.  I think I need help with this issue.
2. I love wool socks.
3. I have finally found a camera that I can't destroy. I bought a new point-and-shoot camera since I dropped my last one in the bottom of the boat, in water.  My new camera has dents in it from the snowmobile ride, but it still works!  As the kids tell me, "It is Sandy-proof!" and luckily, it takes amazing pictures.
4. We love the snow, but we love Texas more.
5. IT REALLY IS A DIFFERENT COLD!

This was in Bozeman - snow, snow and more snow!  Many flights were delayed, but we took off on time.

These two were ready to be home.

Hmm, ice on the wings can't be good...

Well, technically we didn't take off on time because they had to de-ice the plane, but we pulled away from the gate on time.  All I could think was, "This green stuff is supposed to help?!"

 I love these things! This is Denver, but they would have been so helpful in Big Sky...

So here we are, Amanda in her chair with Ginger, everyone else unwinding for bed and it is good to be home.  So many blessings to be thankful for....

Psalm 62:5-8
Yes, my soul, find rest in God;
    my hope comes from him.
Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
    he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.
My salvation and my honor depend on God;
    he is my mighty rock, my refuge.
Trust in him at all times, you people;
    pour out your hearts to him,
    for God is our refuge.