Sunday - To Canada We Go

We truly did not know what to expect of this day.  Would Lily put on the brakes and refuse to enter the plane? Would James have to throw her over his shoulder and carry her onboard screaming?  Would SE decide she was scared too and James would have to put her on the other shoulder?  Would I take too many meds and then he would have to carry all three of us?  Would the Porter’s take one look at us and run for the hills vowing to never vacation with us again?

Once we passed through security in the Charlotte Airport, we settled in to wait for our boarding time.  It was not long and we heard James being paged to security.  He had walked off without the bag that had both girls’ blankets in it.  Thankfully, he had left our itinerary in the bag with his name on it.  Tripp and Angie both said that is one for the Ebenezer board! The Ebenezer board comes from 1 Samuel 7:12.  “The Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen.  And he called its name Ebenezer saying, ‘Thus far the Lord has helped us.’”  The Ebenezer board is a way of recognizing the many ways the Lord helps us.

We had no anxiety meltdowns of any kind!  NONE!.  We boarded our first flight and it went beautifully.  I was a bit white knuckled but a little bit of Ativan did the trick for me.  I must thank my doctor.  I e-mailed her last week and asked, “Are you sure I don’t need Valium (kidding – sort of – not really)!”  She assured me I would be fine and she was right.

The girls holding hands on the shuttle ride to the airport.

The sweet lady in front of Sarah Ellen held her hand during take off.

Once in Toronto, we had a four hour layover.  We ate lunch, grabbed Starbucks and played games to kill the time.  The second flight was great as well.  It was four hours.  The kids watched movies, colored and chatted while the adults read and slept.  Lily actually said, “This is fun!”  Our second Ebenezer experience.

 When did she become a teenager??

Once in Calgary, we picked up our rental cars and set out for Golden.  Golden is a three hour drive along the Transcanadian Highway through Banff and Yoho National Parks. 

We stopped for dinner at a Subway and were rewarded with the most beautiful double rainbow. Number three for the Ebenezer board.

The drive to Golden brought back so many wonderful memories of our Sabbatical trip.   Scenery for miles and miles that words or pictures could never capture..  We came through some storms but little did we know a terrible storm had passed through Golden – one of the worst they have seen in years.

As we turned into the driveway to the ranch, two trees were down blocking the road.  Hmm, what to do now??  We had no cell phone service and had no idea how far we were from the cabin and it was 11:30 PM!  Little did we know our first hike would be at night in unknown territory after traveling all day.   Thankfully we didn’t have to far to go and ran into someone that showed us the way.  Finally, dirty and tired, we had arrived to our house…and the power was out!!

Here We Go!

We decided to fly out of Charlotte making one less leg of flying for our newbie flyers and their chicken mama.  We drove up to Kami’s and dropped off my new heart, Moose. We got Moose a week ago and he is seriously the cutest puppy on earth.  I really feel like all 2 pounds of him could have hidden in my purse for the trip.  I left him lots of items with my smell on them so he would not forget his mama!

 

We then headed up to Charlotte.  James took the kids for an evening swim at the hotel pool while I vegged out in the quiet room trying to think about anything but flying  We settled in for the night excited and nervous for our big adventure in the morning.

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Canada, Here We Come!

We are going to Canada!!   We are going to do this!  We are really, truly going to do this!  The idea formed last year while we were hanging out with the Porters.  “Let’s go to Glacier National Park together.”  Well that sounds fabulous, but there is one slight problem.  I. DON'T. FLY!  I have flown in the past, but that was before I had children.  I have flown to Mexico, San Fransisco, New Orleans, and Arizona and I hated it each time.  Having children was the perfect excuse for me to not have to fly anywhere.

Then this silly idea formed about going to Montana.  It formed and grew and became detailed and before we knew it, we were booking flights.  WHOA – how did that happen?  Lily and me on an airplane – I am not sure the Porter’s know what they are in for!!!!

When I came to terms that this was happening, I delved into research.  Angie mentioned that Banff is only a four hour drive from Glacier so the next thing you know, we all have passports.  We found the perfect place to stay on a buffalo ranch in Golden, Canada.  Our host, Leo, seems to be one cool dude and I cannot wait to meet him.  The views of this place look amazing and if we are truly lucky, we may even get to see the Northern Lights.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Once we leave Canada, we will drive down to Montana and stay in Columbia Falls near Glacier National Park.  We will meet up with Chris Collins and his family and explore that area.

National Parks, rodeos, horseback riding, rafting, waterfalls and so much more.  "I can do all things through Christ Jesus who strengthens me."