A Comedy of Errors...NOT!

I am back...did you miss me? 


Sooo...

Last Saturday morning we got up earlier than usual for a vacation day (we had been in Florida all week). We finished packing up, cleaned up the house, and loaded the car up.

It was time to leave.

A lot of times I go for a walk on the beach one last time.

But I didn't this year.

I needed to finish some things up.

And I knew it would just make me sad.

I was already sad.

I cannot explain it. 

I just feel at home there.

I have never lived on the beach. I didn't even visit the beach much as a kid. 

But it is like home.

There is a calm.

Even when my children are driving me crazy.

It really is my rejuvenation to help me get through life for the rest of the year.

Don't get me wrong. 

God really does that.

But the memories of the beach, my feet in the sand, the waves lapping at my feet.

All are music to my heart.  Soothing to my soul.  My reminder of who God is.

Anyway, we needed to get on the road.

It had just worked out that Mark's nephew was getting married that night.  Perfect timing!  We were heading that direction.

We even gave ourselves some wiggle room with time.

Plus we gained an hour back due to time zones.

Ready, set, go.

We were on our way.

Except not too long after we left we found ourselves crawling along with a whole lot of other people who were also leaving the area.  And our wiggle room time shortened. 

What should have been a 40 minute drive took about 2 hours I think.

Not long after we got onto the interstate which was moving much smoother, a child announced he/she had to go to the bathroom.

We pulled off and found ourselves in a line of traffic.  Again.

Then we got moving again and I was feeling hopeful.  Maybe, just maybe...though we would be cutting it close.

And then we got near Mobile.

And we were at a turtle's pace again.

Sigh.

Okay, so maybe, just maybe, we could get to Mark's parents, change our clothes, drop off the dog, and head to the reception.

Then it rained.  Hard.

And just when I thought we might make it, we heard a horrible noise and slowed down.

You have got to be kidding me.

A blowout.

Again.

If you have read for a while, you may remember this happened to us in Mississippi when we were coming home after Christmas. 

I am beginning to wonder about my van and Mississippi highways.

We pulled over to the first safe area we could, a little side road.

Mark got out to check what had happened.

A few minutes later, I glanced out and saw him wincing.

Oh no.

I hopped out of the car to check on him.

Apparently we not only had a tire blowout.  Hubby also had a knee blowout when he crouched down to look at the tire.

I am so thankful that we had three people (actually five all together) stop by to check on us.

They helped us in a BIG way since hubby couldn't put any weight on his leg and I couldn't get the tire off myself.

God took care of us.

We finally got the little "donut" on then headed back down the road.

Too late for the wedding.  Or the reception.  Not to mention the hubby couldn't even walk.

We at least got to have a nice visit with family after the wedding was over.

The next morning we got a new tire and found some crutches for Mark to use.

And then we headed back on the road again.

Overall, that trip was uneventful compared to the day before.

We still had a moment or two of standstill traffic.

But we finally made it.

Home at last. 

On a positive note, we came home to find the new Arkansas birth certificates of our younger two waiting for us.  Woohoo!

And the vacation is over.

But don't worry...I will be coming back with pictures.  Very soon.

More later.

Reba