Sleepless in Atlanta (and the winner!!)

Hi girlfriends!

Some of you may know that I have been visiting my brother, his wife and three children in New Hampshire this week. It was a spur of the moment, quick trip with my daughter and mom to see my “fresh out of the oven” new little niece for the first time and surprise my brother. I’m an admitted nervous flyer, so this trip was a true labor of love for me. Just seeing the surprise on my big brother’s face was worth that 3-hour layover we endured in Newark to get there. Well, almost. :)

In retrospect, the 3-hour layover in Newark was a cakewalk compared to what we would experience on the plane trip back just a few days later. Let’s just say that Wednesday would not have been a good day for me to do a break-out session somewhere on Finding Joy in the Journey. After being stranded in Newark…flown through a turbulent snow and ice storm after sitting on the runway for 2 hours…diverted to Atlanta…and faced with no other option but to get a hotel room (not at the Ritz, I might add) and sleep in the very clothes on our back, I was in no mood for the complete body search the airport chose to conduct on myself, my 5 year old, and my mother the morning after. They said we were randomly chosen by the computer, but at that point, I honestly felt more like I was hand selected by one more very evil puppet master sticking pins in a doll with my likeness on it. Oh, and did I mention that as I write this, more than 24 hours later, I still do not have my luggage? Joy.

My luggage obviously liked Newark better than I did, since it is likely still there. Or maybe it is resting peacefully in Atlanta. Then again, it’s probably in Istambul by now.

By hey – no matter that I don’t have my make-up, hairdryer, favorite jeans, or flatiron. At least I made it home. And trust me, it’s never felt sweeter to sleep in my own bed!

But though the trip home was not what I expected, the visit with my brother’s family was fantastic.

My daughter loved playing in the 3+ inches of snow on the ground…

















hanging out with her cousins…













and riding on the airplane…

















I loved watching her love those things, but I also loved holding this little precious nugget…

















Is she kissable, or what? My husband is so happy because I got my baby fix for a few days, for sure!

So, local friends, if you see me in a ball cap on Sunday, you will know that my luggage is floating around in an airport in Philly or someone is walking around in my favorite black boots. The only saving grace in that case is that they aren’t really all that comfortable, anyway. Is it wrong to pray for someone to get blisters?

I hope your week has gone better than my past few days, but if not, sister-friends, rejoice with me that we are not sleeping at a Super 8 tonight in two-day old jeans.

And even though I came home to a child sick with the flu, I am so thankful to have a sick child to come home to.

Yep, somewhere between Newark and lost luggage I remembered why I love home so much.

Seriously, girls…I gotta stop learning things the hard way. :)

Now to the winner of the Paula Rinehart book…it is…

Laura!

Congratulations, girl! Just email me with your address, and I will give it to Paula to send you your autographed copy right away.

To my other sweet girlfriends, thank you all so much for your comments and thoughts. I love hearing what you have to say. I hope that even if you didn’t win the book this time you will go out and get this book. It’s a great one.

And check back with me, again. You never know what giveaways might pop up on my blog! I think I have a few more friends to pull out of my hat to help me out with this. :)

Please visit me on Monday as I will be starting a new “get real” topic for the next two weeks. If you want to know how to make sense of your inner cravings for more, see me on Monday. I can’t wait to write about it.

Lisa :)