Well, a HUGE thank you goes out to all who prayed us through a very long, but very smooth trip across the globe. Many people helped us pack up, Grandma and Grandpa put in lots of last minute babysitting, etc. Even the ticket agent checking our mountain of luggage was pleasant. The people waiting ‘forever’ in line behind us where totally supportive and even told fun stories of growing up in Zimbabwe. You just never know how God will provide. This was likely our smoothest trip yet!
I still do not recommend two consecutive overnight flights with a long Heathrow layover in between, but we seem to have mastered the art of getting a napping couch in a busy airport. =) Besides, we got to meet the police squad in between snoozes after Joel left his backpack unattended on the other side of the couches. =)
There was a classic moment of panic when the policeman, who strolled up with Joel’s bag, asked me for ID. I don’t know if it was the fact that I hadn’t slept more than 3 hours in the past 27, or that we had walked several miles to get to the napping-couch-section with 3 kids in tow, but I couldn’t come up with my ID for anything. Kent had our passports, and he had gone to the security desk to inquire about the very bag elusively floating between two tall policemen and myself. It was a bit surreal. “I know this looks bad, Officer, I just can’t find my ID right now.” Strangely enough, I could recount every item INSIDE the bag and could probably give an approximate replacement value… Mommy brain at its best. Fortunately, the police had pity on my groggy self and the repentant 6-yr-old at my side and gave us the bag anyway. Grace.
We are back to Where the Wild Things Are! Home in Congo. Our yard had gorgeous 6-ft sunflowers all over, our basil looked more like a bush, and the marigolds spelling ‘welcome’ had grown waist-high! I LOVE being warm! Our kids are thrilled to romp in the backyard in sandals and shorts and we are eating as many mangoes as possible. =)
In the past 4 days, we got mostly unpacked, got a swing up in the loquat tree, welcomed our two puppies to their new home, got a little sunburned and failed miserably at sleeping on a schedule. Our house is very dusty and many things are needing to be done to get us back in working order, but we are safely and happily home!
Even had 3 monkeys up on our roof this afternoon!
Wild.
Where the Wild Things Are by Kimberly is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International
3 Comments
Linda · May 18, 2011 at 2:36 pm
Oh, Kim, I'm so glad you read your post. Lots of prayers!
I laughed out loud about your bag and police story. That story is definitely one that will be handed down to kids and grandkids.
How well I remember those 39-hour marathons and missing two nights of sleep in the process, and in between, the queasy grogginess of waiting in London for the next flight. I did it often because my job required it, but never with little ones. Bless you all!
Take pictures of those sunflowers!
Big hugs and prayers,
Linda
Brittany Martin · May 18, 2011 at 6:18 pm
So glad you made it back safely! My boys prayed for you while you were away that God would keep your house safe.
Allie · May 20, 2011 at 4:56 pm
I'm so glad you guys had a smooth flight! I'll keep praying for ya' 😀
*Allie*