Wheeeeeeeeeeeeee ~ What A Trip

I've been soooo busy since we came home that I forgot that I started this the day after we got home.
~     ~     ~     ~     ~
Really, I didn't drop off the face of the earth again!  We were up in the States and most of the time I was without access to the Internet.  Plus I wanted to wait until I got home so I could post pictures I took while away!  The pictures will be coming on some future posts.  But first, let me tell you a few of the interesting bits and pieces from our Christmas here in Cayman and also our trip.

First of all, we weren't leaving until December 26th.  Needless to say Christmas just didn't feel like Christmas!!  Dennis & I had decided we weren't buying gifts for each other here, but we did receive several gifts from some school students and Church families.  I suggested we put them under our tree and open them on Christmas morning as that way we'd still have presents to open.  We received so many nice gifts.  Then we were invited to some of our friends home for dinner and afterward we played a game of Taboo.  We had quite the day and were glad for friends and not to be stuck home by ourselves on that special day.  But it just didn't quite seem like the Christmases I've been used to in the past as there was none of our family with us and the weather was really warm ~ in the upper 70's & lower 80's.  And no, I'm not complaining about that :o)  It just seemed so different without cold temperatures outside!!  We really did have a beautiful day for our first Christmas in Cayman.
SUNDAY

On Sunday morning, we got up and finished packing our suitcases, because as soon as Church was over we were planning to head out to the airport.  Our flight which Dennis had booked way back in August was a direct flight to Philadelphia and was scheduled to leave Cayman a few minutes after 2:00 pm.  About a week before we were to leave I heard or read that the West coast was getting blasted with snow storms and also mud slides.  Jokingly, I told Dennis that those storms would probably be to the East coast by Sunday when our flight was to land in Philly.  Little did I know!!!  We continually watched the weather forecast for the Philadelphia area during the week before we left.  Sunday morning when we got up we checked it again and sure enough the worst we feared actually was happening right before our eyes.  We got on the Internet to check our flight and kept refreshing the sight for our flight and up until we left for Church it had not changed and we were happy as we were still going at the appointed time.  BUT by the time we got home from Sunday morning services and checked again the flight was delayed but supposedly by only 30 minutes which we didn't think was too bad!!  The friends who had invited us to Christmas dinner also were the one's who took us to the airport and waited with us until it was closer time to board the plane.  After going through security and all  those fun things, we sat and waited for our flight to be called to start boarding.  It wasn't too long until we were whisked off to the skies heading home to Philadelphia.  I was so excited as I was going to be seeing my sister and brother along with their families.  A short time into the flight, one of the pilots came over the speaker and was telling us that they had put extra fuel on the plane just in case we couldn't go to our destination.  He continued telling us that they had just come from the northeast (Philly) and they weren't sure what the conditions would be like when we arrived.  How comforting!!!  We sat back and enjoyed the trip which again was our first direct flight.  For just a few months through the winter some of the airlines have these direct flights, but usually we have to fly into Tampa or Miami and then go to wherever we're headed.  So as you'd do on a over four hour flight, we were reading, doing puzzles and just relaxing.  I had looked out the window and saw it a beautiful sunset above the clouds.  The sky along the horizon was red!!  Oh, it was breathtaking!!  Later, I looked out and saw the lights were lit on the wings and could see the snow flying by.  Of course I thought that was not a good sign!  We had began our descent into the city of Brotherly Love but this particular night it wasn't too lovely for us.  We came down below the clouds and you could see the lights when all of a sudden we started going back up into the sky.  I thought this couldn't be but it was!!  Once again the pilot came on the speaker to inform us that the wind sheer at the airport was too high and if we tried to land would blow us off the runway!  SWEET!!  So, now we were on our way to Charlotte, North Carolina!!   Unfortunate for us, we already had hotel reservations and a car rental waiting for us in Philadelphia!!  Upon arriving in Charlotte, the pilot or stewardess told us the airline would give us a voucher to use for our hotel which was for about 40% of the total cost.  SWEET AGAIN!! But before going to our hotel everyone had to go to the ticket counter to see what was going to be the outcome of the next leg of their journey.  Finally, we went outside the airport afterward to wait for our shuttle to the hotel.  It was so bitter cold and Dennis had no jacket at all and I had a little fleece jacket.  We thought we'd freeze and never see our families :o)  Finally, we got to our hotel, got settled in and warm. 
MONDAY
After a very short night, we woke up about 3:30 am and went to the airport at 4:30.  The long, long, long lines of people were stunning to say the lest and to make it very interesting, the ticket counters didn't begin their mode of operation until 6:00 am.  It wasn't a very pretty sight, let me tell you!  People were very edgy and grouchy, which you can't really blame them.  The lady at the ticket counter told us Sunday night that we'd be flying to Pittsburgh early Monday morning and then on to Philadelphia.  Without needing much time to think about it Dennis decided not to go to Philly, because the airport was closed and not to reopen until at least noon that day.  And the way things were going for us we'd probably be stuck at the Pittsburgh airport longer.  Since we were going to West Virginia and were only two - three hours away we rented (another) car and drove to his Dad's.  Upon arriving there, the ground was very, very white with probably close to 8 ~ 12 inches of fluffy snow!  It was pretty and fortunately the main roads weren't bad.  But what made that part of the trip so good was that we had called Brandon & Karissa.  They met us and we stopped to have lunch together.  It was so great to see them and Caden and Jordan!!!!  This Grammy was greatly pleased and now my trip was fulfilled :o)  Just to squeeze those two little guys was worth the trip, believe me.  When we got to my father~in~law's, Dennis' sister had Christmas dinner ready!  The ham and all the goodies were very tasty!!  Then came the fun of giving the presents we had bought especially for the boys.  Of course, Caden had the pleasure this year to open his little brothers gifts.  I'll post my pictures later!

TUESDAY
Dennis got up very early around 5:30 am.  His dad had cataract surgery scheduled that morning and Dennis along with his sister were taking him in for that.  I happened to wake up when Dennis got up and my stomach was upset, but for a while I just laid in bed thinking I just had a stomach ache.  Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.  Within 45 minutes to an hour, I had went into the bathroom 5 times so sick.  What I thought was just a slight stomach ache caused me to be in bed all day long sick as a dog!!  It was bad enough that I was sick but why did that have to happen when my Grandbabies were visiting with us?!?!?!  That just didn't seem fair to me!  After Dennis got home with his dad from the surgery he kept checking on me.  About 6:00 pm, he said he wanted me to get up and get dressed as he was taking me to an Urgent Care Center.  I said I'd get up but no way was I getting dressed as I was way to sick for that nonsense!!  I put on my robe and Dennis found my long winter coat and a pair of my boots.  Off we went to see the doctor.  After doing blood work, taking a urine sample and pushing around on my sick stomach they diagnosed me with a Urinary Track Infection and the stomach flu.  What a way to spend your vacation, right?  All day long I laid very still in bed because my stomach was so sick and I despise throwing up.  Thanks to the doctors antics of pushing on my stomach that ended my thoughts of not getting sicker!  Can anyone explain to me why a doctor would do that?  Not too smart if you ask me!!
Tuesday was a day Dennis and I were very apprehensive about.  We were waiting for a phone call from a surgeon in Cayman.  I didn't put anything about this on my blog because of Dennis' previous request, but five days before we left Cayman to begin our vacation he had to have surgery to remove lesions and lumps from his chest.  His doctors didn't give us a lot of hope thinking that there may have been cancer there.  So, Dennis called his surgeon at 2:00 when he was supposed to and couldn't get an answer.  Then around 5:00 he went back out to find a good signal for his cell phone and called again.  This time he got the doctor but he said he still hadn't got the results back from the pathology tests!  UGH!!  So, needless to say our hearts were very disappointed to hear that.  After we got home from the Urgent Care Center I headed straight to bed.  Also, this particular day we had freezing rain which later it warmed up a little and melted off all the snow.
WEDNESDAY 
When I woke up, my stomach felt a lot better but I felt pretty washed out and weak!  Finally after realizing I wasn't any sicker or any better I spent most of the day on the sofa sleeping off and on while Caden played around me :o)  Oh, the joys of grandchildren!!  Dennis was supposed to call his surgeon back around 2:00 pm.  When he did he received wonderful news that he had no traces of cancer!!!  We're still rejoicing over hearing those great words!!!  God answers prayer and is soooo good.  So, we were and are so elated with the good news from the surgeon.  Also, on Wednesday Dennis went to his dad's doctor and had the stitches removed from the surgery and is healing up quite nice even though his skin was very sensitive to the tape they used for the dressing!
THURSDAY
It was a fun day being able to play with Caden and hold Jordan :o)  I love my Grandbabies, can you tell???
FRIDAY
This was a sad day as Brandon, Karissa, Caden & Jordan headed back to Ohio!
SATURDAY
I felt good enough to go to the mall and do some after Christmas shopping :o)  Then Dennis, his dad and niece met his sister and I to have an early dinner at a favorite Chinese restaurant.  It was yummy even though my sis~in~law and I had a late lunch.
SUNDAY
We went to Dennis' parents Church.  It was the first we were back there since my dear Mother~in~law passed away in October that was hard!  For dinner we had T-bone steak done on the grill, baked potatoes, beans and salad.  It was delicious!!  Then later in the afternoon after the dishes were done and the kitchen cleaned up, we went to the cemetery to visit Dennis' mother's grave.  It was bitter cold and the snow was flying through the air.  When we left there we went to visit one of Dennis' aunts and uncle.  We like to visit them when we can!  It was nice to be with them for a couple hours.
MONDAY
Dennis had to take his dad back to visit the eye doctor who did his surgery.  I decided I was going to stay at the house and do some major cleaning!  I worked literally all day cleaning and trying to straighten the house for my father~in~law.  Next week, he'll be 79 years old and just can't do what needs to be done.  I like to help him out and do what I can while visiting there.  Late in the afternoon, we ran out to the store to get some more goodies to put in a box for Brett and went to the Post Office to send it off.  Then we went to a little country restaurant for dinner.
TUESDAY
We got up early, I changed the sheets on our bed and straightened up what needed done before leaving to go to Ohio for a few short days.  On our way to Ohio we stopped at the DMV to get my drivers license changed from our Ohio address to the West Virginia address we use.  We tried previously to do this but never had all the paper work they demanded we had to have.  Finally, after several other attempts I was able to get them changed.  So glad that's taken care of!!
On our journey the excitement was growing knowing we were going to be seeing Brandon, Karissa, Caden and Jordan again for a few days.  We had made plans with Karissa to pick up the boys while she was working and take them back to our hotel until she finished when we would meet up with her and Brandon for a late dinner.  We had a blast with the boys!!  After having a nice dinner with all of them we had the pleasure to take Caden back to the hotel for the night with us.  He thought he was the cats meow!!  He asked me if he had to go to bed?!? :o))  I told him he could stay up all night if he wanted to.  I finally gave in to some cat naps while he played with his Pappy.  About 12:30 am he crawled up and got in bed with me.  Oh, how sweet is that??  He woke up about 7:30 am and then the day was in full swing.  We ate breakfast at our hotel, then shopped with him and later on met some friends for lunch and visiting.  That evening we met Brandon after work and Karissa with the boys again for dinner.  I knew it was going to be hard leaving them.  In fact, I was rather sick in the stomach and couldn't eat much just thinking about leaving!

  ~     ~     ~     ~     ~
To be continued and pictures will be coming, too!!