On my way north

This morning, Elijah and I are headed to Chicago.

I say Chicago, but it is actually the suburbs. And now it is not even the suburbs of Illinois. Most of my family has spread over the border into Indiana. I say Chicago because it is easier, but in truth, it's quite far from the city.

Elijah and I are going to visit my Dad's mom. Isaac was able to meet Grama back in August when the family had a shower for me. Now, it's Elijah's turn. Grama has been living with cancer for quite some time now. She has opted not do chemotherapy, and we all continue to believe that the Lord will give her many more years. However, I wanted to make sure that Grama got to meet Elijah as soon after he was born as possible. She has prayed for this baby for many, many, many years, and I definitely wanted the two of them to get to know each other. It is unlikely that Grama will be able to make a trip to visit me and the tickets to Chicago were very cheap. So I booked one.

This particular weekend works out well. My Dad has spent the last few days driving to Chicago. He will actually pick me up from the airport and return me there on Monday. He goes to visit his mom for a few weeks each summer, and this is his scheduled time. In addition, there is a graduation party for my cousin Madeline as well so I'll be able to see a lot of my family while I am there.

I am staying with my cousin Jason and his wife Kathleen. I can't wait to see them and their two cuties: Cullen and Emmie. My Dad comes from a large family: five brothers and sisters all still residing in the area. In addition, many of the 16 grandchildren are there as well. That's lots of people to see and introduce Elijah to.

I also got a Facebook message yesterday from my childhood friend and distant cousin, Holly. She actually lives very near my family and wanted to get together. It turns out that another one of my childhood friends, Kelly (aka Stegfamily) is only three hours south and is going to drive up as well. We are all going to get together on Sunday morning. Holly, Kelly, and I have known each other since we were babies and we went to school together for most of our life until Holly moved away before high school. This is a really special treat! I have not seen Holly since 1995. I think I saw Kelly once about 4 years ago, but otherwise, our contact has only been online. How cool is this?!

Holding down the fort on Eglin is JB the great. I had already set up a sitter for Isaac on Friday AND Monday. However, this week, JB found out that Friday is now a "Family Day" and that he has off of work today! So he and Isaac will spend three full days together, and Brittney will watch the little man on Monday until I return. I have asked JB to blog, but he has told me he does not want to. I asked him very sweetly, and he very sweetly said that he and Isaac have a lot of plans, and he doesn't have time to blog. I will try to blog a bit while I am gone, but you may not hear from me much until I return on Monday.

I really wished I could have taken Isaac too. But not only would I have to pay for a seat, I'd have to fly with two babies. The logistics of that made me break out into a cold sweat just thinking about it. I'd also have to watch two babies in a house that is not my own. In the end, it just made more sense for him to stay back home with JB. If we would have known John was going to have this family day, we may have opted for him to join us, but the tickets are now sky high, and JB is really looking forward to a few days to catch up around the house.

If you think of it, please pray for Elijah and me on the trip. It would be fantastic if there was an extra seat on the planes so I could bring his car seat on. If not, please pray that he is content. Elijah does fine until he gets tired. Sometimes when he is tired I can rock him to sleep, but sometimes only a swing or chair or crib will do the trick. Elijah has a very loud cry, and I just get a little nervous that he'll let it loose for an extended period of time on the plane. I get a little nervous that he'll get really sleepy, and Mommy's arms won't be sufficient. Just pray that he has peace and we both have a fantastic trip there and back.

Bye all!