Josh is on the trip with us….Emma can’t wait to have him meet her grandma and see New York….where we vacationed all the time when we pastored on the East coast…

Graham hates having his picture taken…but this proves he’s with us….=)

We drove in drizzling rain much of the day yesterday. The kids did really well, all things considered. As we were leaving Colorado I was praying for a bathroom stop with some room for kids to run and play. And there was the most beautiful Colorado welcome center, for those entering from Nebraska. It was perfect. Grass and lots of it. Trees to climb. So the kids could run and play for awhile. It was so refreshing. Charlee and Nelly even loved the place.

Just as we climbed back in the car a storm was coming up. It was so windy. In minutes it started to pour. I really wanted to make Kearney, NE and that was about a 3.5 hour drive. Emma made sandwiches as I drove. The rain and wind got worse. And then it got dark.

It started raining even harder. There was nothing around. I really don’t like driving in the dark and I despise driving in the pouring rain with huge gusts of wind. Both at the same time? It was starting to freak me out. When it started to rain I had slowed down and at this point I had slowed even more. Thankfully, I was only going about 55 when the car hydroplaned. If I went any slower I would have been a hazard on the road as the speed limit was 75 and the trucks were doing all of that.

The car ended up hydroplaning twice, both times with semis near us. I was praying non-stop quietly outloud. The kids were silent. It was horrible. There were no rest stops or exits. Anyway, we spotted a hotel at Gothenburg, NE and pulled off the highway. When I went to get out of the car I realized I was shaking. I was so relieved to be stopped. They had room. They were pet friendly. They had adjoining rooms. Thank you Jesus.

As I was standing at the front desk I guess someone came in to check in also. I was not paying any attention. I heard the man behind the desk say, “Are you together?” A man’s voice said, “Not this time.” {Ugh. Disgusting.} I am sure he was just trying to be funny, but that is just not funny to me. I turned and looked at him and said, “Not any time! I have been happily married for 32 years.” He turned away. haha Probably would have been smart to say, ” Hey let’s do dinner, just let me grab my 8 kids {I have 10 but they’re not all with me….oh yeah, and 2 of our dogs. Where should we meet you?” =)

I called Dw when we got up to the rooms. I just didn’t know what to do. I realized that part of the reason I wanted to do this trip was to prove to myself that I even if I have five auto-immune disorders, I am not really sick. Okay, okay, I admit it. My body is sick. I am weary. So what should I do? Turn around? Keep going? We are 1/3 of the trip, one way. The kids all want to keep going.

I needed sleep and to pray. I let the big kids get everyone into bed and I literally, just put my nightgown on and climbed into bed. {It was as close as I could get to “Calgon take me away.”

After I climbed into bed, Emma sat with all of them last night and several prayed that the weather would clear and we could keep going.

Now it’s morning. It’s cloudy but not raining.

I have prayed and slept and we are forging on, thankful for your prayers. No doubt, they brought us safely to this hotel.