Chicago - Take 2

Well, here we are once again packing for Chicago.  The weather outlook for tomorrow looks beautiful, as it has this whole week, so we are more hopeful that we will make it to there this time.  My boss told me this afternoon that he saw where there was another snow storm brewing on the west coast.  I'm hoping he was joking around with me, but if not, I'm not too worried as long as we can get there.  Our hotel is only 5 miles from the hospital, so I'm sure we can get there with or without the snow.

When our flights were canceled a couple of weeks ago, and thus Sophie's surgery, you all were so great to encourage us to look for the positive in the cancellation.  We were disappointed, but not upset, as we knew that God did not intend for us to go to Chicago as originally planned.  Last week while I was in Vancouver, it was revealed to us why God said, "Wait".  Sophie developed an ear infection.  This could have been detrimental to the whole expansion process if she had developed it after the expanders were in, so we were ver thankful that we had not yet had the procedure and had time to get antibiotics to fight the infection prior to the next surgery.  Nothing is coincidental.  Everything happens for a reason.

We found out today that Sophie's procedure is at 9:15 Monday morning.  Please continue to pray for all of us, and especially Sophie.  She has no idea what is about to happen to her.  It was less that an year ago that her little world was turned upside down when we traveled to China to adopt her.  She has adapted just beautifully, and we are confident that she will handle this just as well.

One Word Wednesday

Busted!

New Surgery Dates

We now have new dates for Sophie's surgery. She will have expanders placed on February 21 and, if all goes well, excision on May 13. Please continue to pray for all of us as we begin to prepare again and that the weather will cooperate!

Or So We Thought....

What a crazy few days it has been! The chaos ensued when on Monday talk began about a snow storm that was moving to the east and what a snow producer it was going to be. My hope was that it would move on through quickly and would be out of the way by the time Wednesday rolled around for us to catch our flight. It moved on through, but, in the meantime, dumped a lot of snow in its wake. Chicago got so much snow that the schools closed for the first time in 12 years, O'Hare closed for a day and a half, and Lake Shore Drive turned into a parking lot. Needless to say, when I found on Tuesday that O'Hare was closed and had canceled all flights, I began scurrying around trying to get us another flight. After many phone calls and a couple of panic attacks, I finally managed to get all 3 of us on one flight leaving Thursday evening. All was good.

We packed and left yesterday morning around 10am. As we drove north, it began to rain some and was really cold. By the time we got to Prattville, the ice was beginning to build on the windshield wipers and side mirrors of the car. The closer we got to Birmingham, the worse it got. It began sleeting and by the time we grabbed a quick bite of lunch and got back on the interstate, it was pouring down sleet, which quickly turned into snow before we got to downtown Birmingham. We saw several wrecks and people sliding on the overpasses. It was a mess! Thankfully, we left home in plenty of time, so driving 20 mph on I-20 did not delay us in the least.

We made it through security with only one bag having to be searched. Seems Elmo caused a little scare, but he was quickly released and we headed for the gate. With a couple of hours to spare, we relaxed and waited. The flight was showing to be a few minutes behind, but we knew it was in the air. We thought we were home free. The flight landed, and we began gathering our things to begin boarding the plane. That is until the lady working the gate announced that the flight was grounded until further notice and that they were waiting on dispatch to tell them whether our flight would go. I overheard her telling someone about there being ice on the landing gear. I don't know about you, but I like landing gear, and I want it to work when it's supposed to. I decided then that I would be happy to go home if they canceled the flight. Thankfully, that was what happened. We quickly gathered up our things and headed home.

It was a long day that turned out no where near what it was supposed to, but that's okay. We are safe and sound at home, and that is what is most important. So what happens next? We are working with the surgeon now to set a new date for Sophie's surgery. We are hoping to have it squared away next week.

Thanks to everyone for all of your prayers. Please keep them coming and stay tuned for our next attempt at getting to Chicago!