My Trip

So many well-wishers have inquired about my trip. And since I've been playing catch up for the past week, the responses have been short, if at all. Unfortunately for me right now, God gave me a much better command of the language of numbers than the English language, so I must say from the start that no matter what I write it won't do justice for the time that I had.

I got to ride a plane. By myself. No one squirming in my lap. No thoughts of having a drink spilled on the person next to me. Only one bag to check through security. No dirty diapers to change in little bitty airplane bathrooms. And no one to entertain but myself (which is VERY easy to do).

And then a layover with Sbarro pizza. Man, I miss that place.

Arrival in Atlanta! I felt the humidity as soon as I was off the plane and I almost started crying. It was fabulously refreshing. It was 11pm and I didn't need my sweater. Or my shoes.

I saw Becca for, really, the first time in two years! She looked terrific! And then we started talking and didn't stop until Monday at approx. 4:30 when she left me at the airport :)

I crashed at about 12:30am local time. I woke up to see Micah, the little boy who made two two-page spreads in Hannah's baby book as her closest buddy and near-brother. What a fun kid! And I met Elisha, the sweet little girl whose unexpected arrival turned my friend's life upside down. She was definitely worth it.

Lunch at an international supermarket where I could literally buy produce native to India, Mexico, and Korea all in one stop. Then we had Bibimbop and Kimbop. Man, I miss Korean food. It was my first time eating it in 11 months.

Then there was a 2 hour nap, a thunderstorm so powerful and southern that I started crying on the front porch (in a rocking chair, of course, which added to the tears...I miss porches...). Then there was church at Becca's house which was so reminiscent of the Hospitality House that we went to together in Korea.

Then some sleep.

And then the scrapbooking started. But not before I had some Dunkin' Doughnuts coffee and a bagel with salmon cream cheese. Man, I miss that place. We scrapped for over nine hours in her mother-in-law's craft room with a break for Chick-Fil-A for lunch. Man, I miss that place, too! Then we went back to Becca's house, had some dinner, put on a pot of coffee and scrapped some more. (This became a small theme of the weekend.) And we talked so much and dumped so much emotional bagged that all day Sunday we felt like we had hangovers.

Sunday. I went to Michael's and got some wonderful baby paper for Levi's scrapbook. I wish that my Michael's sold that brand of paper. Maybe if I requested it....Then I had another long nap, and then I stayed home while Becca and the crew went to another house church. I listened to "Emma" and an old musical, the name of which has escaped me. And I scrapbooked. Becca came home, we giggled and chatted and went to bed WAY too late.

Monday. I didn't need to leave for the airport until 3pm, so we went to Hobby Lobby. Man, I miss that place. Got a 180 count pad of terrific patterned paper, helped Becca think through some decorating for her house, and then went back to Becca's house to...scrapbook. Yes, I got 13 2-page spreads of pictures made and then I "premade" 17 2-page spreads to use in books right after Levi is born when I have too many pictures and no time to scrapbook. It's a beautiful thing.

Then the hard part--leaving. Of course, we had to stop through the drive-through at Chick-fil-A one more time :) I got two John Grisham books read while I was gone, too!

Most importantly, I got fresh perspective, new ideas, confirmation of purpose, and a good ol' spiritual cleansing while I was gone. Not to mention a fresh connection with my beautiful friend. Thank you, Becca, for the wonderful trip! Thank you, Lord, for a husband who is so supportive and great with the kids. Thank you, Delta, for the frequent flyer miles!!