Micah, Brock, Sophie and I went to Texas over the last week to visit my family. It was an adventure all around. We flew out in the evening and Sophie was perfect. She slept most of the flight and the rest laid in the seat next to me content and smiling (the plane was fairly empty so we had empty seats around us - Praise God!) Sophie's contentment made up for Brock's toddler curiosity. I lost track of how many times he hit the button for the flight attendants and how many times we apologized that we didn't need anything.
The temperature when we arrived was around 30 degrees. By Saturday it was around 70 and then on Monday it was 28 degrees with freezing rain. We took family to the airport on Monday evening. On the way there, one of the bridges started to freeze and we saw at least 2 accidents happen around us. After creeping at 20 miles an hour to cross the bridge, we all made it to the airport safely. However, Micah and I weren't flying out till Monday morning and more freezing rain was forecasted.
Tuesday morning after prayer with my Mamaw and watching the weather, Micah and I agreed our best option was to borrow the car and drive the four of us to the airport. Our flight was due to leave at 9am and we were praying it would be delayed (which never happened). We listened to the traffic reports and they quit listing accidents because there were so many. The first part of the drive went really smooth until we got to one of the major bridges on the way. Traffic was almost at a dead stop. Between the freezing weather and traffic it took us 45 minutes to cross the bridge instead of 10. As we were poking along, Micah noticed how fast the cars going the other direction were going. After he said this, we saw a Loomis armored truck sliding sideways next to us on the bridge. I turned around the see the truck make a 180 and slam into the wall of the bridge facing the water. It took a large chunk out of the concrete barrier, ripped the whole front axle/wheels off of the truck, and ended with the crushed front resting up on the wall hanging out over the water. I tried calling 911 twice but it was busy both times! Again, Praise God we were safe and the truck didn't crash through the wall next to us and hit our car.
It should have taken us an hour and ten minutes to make it to the airport but with the ice it took us almost 2 hours and 45 minutes. We arrived when the plane was supposed to be taking off and were told we could fly stand by on the next flight out. Our flight was a direct flight and the stand by one would take us to Atlanta with over a 2 hour layover. We thanked the lady for her help and went to sit and wait for the next flight. Micah took Brock to look out the window at the planes and noticed that our original flight was still sitting at the gate. He asked some one there if we could still get on and she said no because we had checked bags and you have to fly with your luggage. I was trying to be patient. I'm not always a good flyer and have never missed a flight. I was just glad we'd made it safe and focused on preparing for a day of travel with two little kids.
I looked up and the lady with the airline was calling us back over to the gate. She said if she could find our luggage, we could get on our original flight. It felt like forever before she returned. I just kept praying and pacing with Sophie that we could get on the plane. The lady returned and said "Some one must be looking out for you today." How right she was. She found our luggage without a problem and we were allowed to board. The flight had around 30 people on it so we claimed a whole row for the 4 of us and settled in. God is good! We had a great flight, both kids did really well - I think we all fell asleep for a few minutes at one point.
I know none of this happened by chance or accident. Like Mamaw said, God is always in control - even though I know that, I appreciate the reminders that He cares for me enough to hold a plane and keep us safe in the icy weather.
