To Grandma's House We Go

As most of you know, my dad had to have heart surgery in February 2007 to replace a valve that closed. So, I decided to head to the States for 6 weeks to visit and help out, while my husband was working out of town. My sister-in-law came out to Germany for 2 days and flew back with me to help out with the kids. With all the lines to wait in, bags to carry, children who need their hands held and get carsick, and with the long flight, I needed the help. Thank God she came!

The flight was pretty empty since it was the last weekend in January. So, we had a little bit of room to stretch out in. That was really nice. But, it didn't stop Ariel from getting sick. A bit into the flight, she was watching tv with Auntie, and she was trying to say something, but Auntie couldn't understand her. So, Ariel stood up and was crying and stomping her feet. I was sitting behind them at this point, and so I asked her to repeat herself, and she said "I'm gonna be sick!" yikes. So, we hussled for a doggie bag, and were hard pressed to find one. We finally did though, and Auntie held it up for Ariel to use, but not quite soon enough. Since Ariel was still standing, Auntie got the privilege of being puked on. So gross! The staff brought us club soda and paper towels and plastic gloves to clean up everything. Lucky us, eh? That was the extent of our excitement getting to the States. But when we got there, the flight arrived early, and so we had to wait for Pa to pick us up, during which time we froze our hineys off.

We then spent a couple days resting at the in-laws, and then I drove the kids out to Michigan for a month. The stay there was exhausting, but everyone had fun. They had record low temperatures for most of the month, (such as 25 below zero for the high!) so we were always cold. But, we got to go sledding, which we loved. It was so amusing watching the kids in the snow!

Then came the day for the surgery. That was not fun, but we passed the time at the hospital by playing games and walking around. The doctor came out at about 4hrs and said he was done, and it went well. Then the waiting game started to see how the recovery would go, especially for the kidney. He was barely out of the woods when we left Michigan, but God has kept him going for so long, and we continue to trust Him for continued life and a healed body. But this is a day by day progress.

While we were in Michigan, we got to see some old friends and family we hadn't seen for more than a year. That was nice. Really nice. We also did lots of shopping, visiting, a bit of cleaning thrown in. Lots of stuff going on. I didn't get as many pictures as I would've liked to, but I did get a few of the fun in the snow, and the delicious Lemon pie that I've been craving for about 3 years. It was great to finally eat some. Well, probably half the pie. lol Mmmmm.... pie