There are bitter times like death, illness, and leaving- we experienced all three of those on this trip- but those times help us to hold on to the sweet times more firmly. The bitter is still better when we are together than apart. And we are reminded that even when things don't go as planned, God has always been in control.
Just before leaving for this summer's trip we received a phone call that Eric's Granny had died. We were sad we would not see her in a couple weeks or ever again this side of eternity. We rejoice that she was home with Jesus. We were conflicted if we should make the trip or make significant modifications. In the end the funeral was scheduled for the middle of July. The plan shifted to holding to the plan of traveling to Colorado first and then Eric would fly back for the funeral. It was a bittersweet time for the family saying goodbye for now to a wonderful woman.
While we were in Colorado, Eric's dad had a medical emergency. Eric's parents had to visit the Emergency Room twice and his dad had to be admitted for 24 hours of observation. He is doing much better now but it was a concerning couple of days.
The new van ran wonderfully the whole trip. However, the first full day in Wisconsin a tire took a flat. Not an emergency, but in a place that is unfamiliar it is sometimes hard to know where to turn. Katie's brother-in-law’s father, who owned an auto shop for years, came to the rescue and fixed the tire.
Because of the timing of the funeral, we had to alter our return plans. We had to be back home on a certain day and the funeral required we delay our departure from Wisconsin by a couple days. Because of this we had to cancel almost all of our appointments for the journey back. We are sad to have missed the opportunity to visit with those along the way and thankful for the understanding of those people we missed.
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