Where've Ya Been??

Well, can't ya tell by that Southern accent?  I've been back to my mothership - FLORIDA!! I'm drawn there like a magnet.  The girls were on Spring Break so we made a last minute decision to take an all girls road trip, and we brought along one of our favorite people - Mrs. Dellynne.   We had a great time and made lots of memories!


We can normally drive to my little small town in North Florida in about 13 hours, but by the time we hit the FL state line, it was 28 hours after we had left Maryland.  We were driving the day of the terrible storms and tornadoes that hit the east coast last Saturday.   After hearing the weather reports on the radio and realizing that we were right in the middle of a line of tornadoes, we did a lot of praying.  We were just south of Raleigh, NC.  Both Dellynne and I knew at the same exact time when we were supposed to get off the highway and find some shelter.  We ended up at an assisted living facility.  Along with all the residents, we hunkered down in the hallway with our pillows over our heads while the tornadoes went over, the doors were blowing in and glass was breaking, but God is sovereign and we came through.  Dellynne had all the residents singing with her through the storm, and I pray that we were a blessing to those people.   After getting back on the highway, we realized if we had gone to the next exit, we would have been right in the middle of the devastation.  We finally found a hotel at about 11 pm after trying no less than 20 hotels.  


The next day was bright and sunny and we were off again!! Needless to say there was a small celebration when we saw that Florida sign!


We were so glad to arrive at Nana and Papa's house - the girls jumped in the pool right away.








The best part of the day was just a few minutes after we arrived, I was sitting on the porch watching the girls swim when I hear my sister Karen from Minnesota say "I hear there's a party out here!!!"  I turned around and I couldn't believe my eyeballs!  When we were in the midst of the tornadoes the day before, I was on the phone with her (crying - because I just knew I was about to die) and she was in Minnesota.  She decided to hop on a plane (her husband is a pilot so she can do that, and also because it was snowing again in MN) and she actually beat me to Florida!!   I'm pretty sure that I screamed when I saw her, repeatedly. 


I didn't get a picture of us in the midst of the excitement (although I have one on my phone), but she also brought her daughter Casey along.  My girls were so excited!  I have so many pictures to blog about our trip!  Next stop - warm sunny Florida beaches!