Lost!

Ok...we'll start off with the end of my trip. But before we do that, go visit Minga and see some really good pictures of my two little cuties and get some encouragement for what God can do for you in the midst of tragedy.

Anyway, speaking of tragedy...ok, not tragedy just things not going my way. :) I wanted to leave grandma's house by 9:00 Ohio time so I could stop by a friend's house (sorry Alma) and stop by Aunt Joanna's on the way home. I packed the night before so all I had to do was drive off into the sunset (er, sun rise). Everything was good to go...the girl's were in their car seats with food in their tummy's and, well, the keys might help. Wait, where are the keys? You've got to be kidding me. Where in the world would I have put them? Yeah, I think Grace might have eaten them. Seriously, almost two hours later dad (and mom because it was her idea and she brought it out to me) came to the rescue by using his long standing friendly car salesman status to call down the road to the Chrysler dealer and ask if they can make a new key for the van. Shew, I finally have a key at least. My visits with friends and family though? Shot!

So, off we go into the wild, blue yonder. Everything is fairly smooth, the girls are a little fussy, I'm listening to Libby's new cd (compliments of Dibbers) full of kids fun Christian songs and it's raining. None of this bothers me. Once we hit Ft. Wayne it stops raining so I stop at Meijer to do a bit of shopping that I know I'm not going to want to do once we get to Dubuque...besides Grace has only enough powder left for one bottle and we might need more before we get home. There are only a few things that need refrigerated and I've got a/c so I just grab it all. Back in the van and homeward bound. An hour later...Grace is fussy and I hear the sound of liquid splattering everywhere. "Libby, did your sister just throw up?" "Yes." Great! I stop in Warsaw and clean Grace up as much as I can. She's thrown up all over her blankie and is now mad at me for taking it from her. I give her my dress that is hanging up in the van and it seems to calm her down for the moment. Back at it again. An hour and a half later? Are you serious? Is it Grace again? She is something stinky back there. We stop and change the diaper and head back out...AGAIN! I'm getting frustrated, but hey, life goes on. We just keep moving and I keep singing Libby's songs louder and louder to try to drown out the whining voices in my head. We get on the Indiana toll road and we are almost through another state. Oh, but wait. It's rush hour and the line is fifteen minutes long to pay the toll (the line beside me was only ten minutes, but you know how that goes...watch the movie Office Space if you aren't sure). As we are sitting for our fifteen minutes of boredom, I notice that it is absolutely sweltering hot. Wait a minute, the a/c is on, why is it so hot? I check the thermometer which is reading -40 F at the moment. What? It's flippin' hot outside, why is it reading -40 F? Yeah, we now have no a/c and I'm HOT...in more than one way now!

I immediately call Chris to ask what the heck is going on and to vent some (as he's reassuring me that there is NOTHING he can do from Iowa to help me right away). The next thing I see is...well, not familiar in the slightest. I'm looking for a mile marker and...yeah, 90 W. What!?! You have GOT to be kidding me! Now I'm just sobbing...sobbing and driving. The girls are both awake just staring at me (or trying to on Grace's part). They aren't saying a word! I finally get pulled off to ask for directions right at the Indiana/Illinois line. I am so lost now it is not even funny...did I mention this is rush hour? The people at the gas station tried to help me, they truly did, but I'm still lost as ever. I ended up back on 90 W as I cried and cried and cried. Then I started hyperventilating. I'm thinking I really need to pull over, this isn't healthy. At this point, I see the sign for the next toll booth which is a whopping $3 (fresh wave of tears). Then, I see a set of beautiful arches for all hungry patrons of the tollway. This tiny shack of a McDonald's which is located in island of the toll must certainly have a way in for both sides, right? So, I pulled in (the wrong side of course) to the tiny parking lot and am trying to figure out how to get to the side with three parking slots, NOT the drive thru way, and decide to cut through this tiny section which has an arrow telling cars to go towards me...I go anyway. Of course, there is a car coming at me, but they saw me in time. I put my hands up in that "I'm SOOOOO sorry gesture" and then smile because I am now on 90 E. I think I ended up driving about an hour to an hour and a half out of my way by the time I drove BACK down 90 E to where it connects with 80. I was afraid if I tried to short cut it I would make things worse. I ended up stopping at a McDonald's with a play place so I could feed Grace (with the formula I bought from Meijer) and let Libby play for a bit. Of course, I ended up with ketchup down the front of my shirt, but what's a little ketchup after the day I've had? It's all good. We did finally make it home at 9:30 that night...twelve hours later. As for the keys? I'm serious, I think Grace ate them. They are still only visible to God. I swear He's sitting up there going "I can see them...they're right there. No, not there....THERE!"

Hey, thanks, your a TRUE friend if you hung in there with me and read my whole disastrous (ok, not so much, we're all still healthy) trip home.