i made it

I think that I can now face anything...well, almost. I made it through metal detectors, found my way through two airports, actually took a nap during my flight (something I never do) and was able to retrieve my luggage after waiting for it for about fifteen minutes.

I've decided that I'm not too fond of the Dulles airport. They have construction going on everywhere, all of the employees in sight were hanging around in wheelchair's and were of no service...or maybe I was just too confusing. Most likely the latter. But, to look on the bright side, I didn't run into any shady characters who told me my shoes made them happy. Another story.

I was seated next to two Italian men, neither of them small in the least. Imagine my inward delight when the one sitting right next to me moved to the seats across from my row! When the flight attendants came around with food and drink, the Italian men turned their noses up at it and just asked for ice water. Once there was room, one of the men got into the overhead compartment and pulled out a plastic bag. Out of that, he withdrew fresh fruit and freshly baked homemade subs for himself and his comrade. They look far more appetizing than mine...but I tried not to covet.

I did have a window seat, so I didn't suffer from motion sickness. I put my face close enough to the window without touching it as I could hear words from my mother telling me about how gross it would be to actually press my face against it. Who knows who was there before pressing their face to the window! ;-) I love you, Mom.

The flight was about three and a half hours long and covered land that I have driven through many a time. We did hit quite a bit of turbulace, but that just makes flights more exciting. :) When our plane landed, the pilot had some trouble finding our gate, so we taxied around for a while. When they finally let us off the plane, I went looking for the baggage check. They had a bus that would take you to get it, but the wait was about fifteen minutes. So I decided to walk. Down a very long flight of stairs, took a lengthy walk underground, up another set of stairs and found the room with people waiting for their loved ones and the baggage. I only saw one passenger from my flight waiting for their luggage, which kind of scared me because I thought I missed it. We stood there for quite a while and watched the belt hoping that something would appear. For a while, nothing came. More people began to show up and so did suitcases, boxes, duffel bags and other travel items. My bag did come out and I was pleased to find that TSA did not perform any searches in my suitcase.

I went outside to wait for my ride. I didn't have to wait very long. Mr. Matt Chancey and his son, John Nathan pulled up to the curb. After stowing my luggage, we headed west-out of Dulles and off to Harrisonburg. It was a very pleasant drive through the beautiful countryside of Virginia. The mountains, horse pastures, old farms still standing from the 1700's and small towns were refreshing after the flight. We stopped to grab a quick bite to eat and then jumped back onto the freeway.

We arrived at the Chancey residence at about 7:30 pm. The children and Mrs. Chancey were upstairs reading a book. It was absolutely wonderful to hug children! I don't realize how much I miss it until I'm alone...which rarely ever happens! :) After singing and praying, they headed off to bed, and the "big" people went into the office to mess around on computers. At about ten, I decided to retire for the night.

Today was a busy, but delightful day. We read some books, played outside for a bit, read some more books, played castle, and did I mention that we read some books? ;-) During nap time, Jennie, John Nathan, Alex and I went to run some errands. We had a grand time stopping at the post office, Wal-Mart, the library and Staples. There are some beautiful old churches in the area.

We had breakfast for dinner tonight. After that, we watched a very interesting movie, called "The History of English." unfortunately, we only had parts three and four. Once that was over, some Beatrix Potter movies were watched, and after that, it was once again time for bed.

As I write this, the children are all asleep, and the Chancey parents went out for their weekly date. Tomorrow holds some more fun, as do these next two weeks. I'm so glad there are children to care for here. It makes me feel more at home.