Yesterday's colonoscopy went well. I was out by noon and we went out for lunch. I preferred a nap but by the time I was halfway through the nice big burger I was wider awake. The fries could have been crisper but who cares? It was food!
Dad ended up in the ER with an irregular heartbeat. They kept him overnight for tests and released him this afternoon. I went this morning for a visit and had lunch with Mom in the cafeteria where we ran into an old friend.
I'm reading Nourishing Traditions and did a little price checking while I was out and about. I was happy to find that wally world now carries a couple of things that would be useful with that kind of cooking. Good to know after seeing the prices at a couple of health food stores in town.
Well, off to make sure the Boss is doing his chores properly and then fix supper.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Sunday, September 26, 2010
My day
Pretty much sums up my day. (Well, my jug says N instead of C, but you get the idea.) Never again will I schedule a colonoscopy for a Monday. Not only does it mean no Bible study tomorrow but I missed out on eating out with the kids. Something I really enjoy. It would have been much better to do this on a school day when I'm home alone, plenty of work to do, and only one meal time with the kids home. Today was spent really wishing for a Sunday dinner and then avoiding the kids while they watch movies since I enjoy munching while watching.Now I've started drinking that nasty stuff you see up there. I have to drink 6-8 ounces every 15 minutes until it's half gone. Then get up an hour earlier than usual in the morning so I have time to follow the same procedures and finish 2 hours before my procedure. I can't wait for this to be over! Although I'll settle for the jug of nasty being over. Blech!
Saturday, September 25, 2010
More trouble in Lebanon
HERE is one more reason to be here than there this year. I just wish they would hurry up and do something about Hezbollah. I know there will be great bloodshed in the process, but that's because Hezbollah is like an oil spill. You have to clean it up early or it just gets bigger and bigger, messier and messier. But just like an oil spill it has to be cleaned up or it poisons everything.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Shiny Suds Commercial
This video is SO funny! Good food for thought too. Now that I'm home and the ingredients for various homemade cleaners and detergents are more readily available, I need to be more careful what I use. Although I do love the big bottle of lavender-scented Pine-Sol I bought a couple of weeks ago. {sigh}
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Why I'm moving to Missouri
ELCA Receives 3 Lesbian Ministers
All my life I've been a Lutheran. I'm the granddaughter of a Lutheran pastor. Grandpa was ordained in the Augustana synod. When he retired he was with the ALC. (For you non-Lutheran's out there, I won't try to explain all the different synods and their histories. It's a bit confusing for me too. My home congregation was LCA. When I was in college there was a merger of 3 synods, the LCA, the ALC, and one other that I had never heard of at the time and still can't remember. If anyone reading this is a former member of this synod, mea culpa.
When Grandpa passed away, he was serving an LCMS congregation in a small town not too far from here. That's is very unusual. The LCMS is very particular with whom it will have table fellowship. Even though I'm a Lutheran and agree with the doctrine surrounding Communion, I can not take Communion in the church we're attending. But this little church was too small to afford a full-time pastor but too stubborn to give up trying to get one. The pastors in the circuit had known my grandfather for many, many years and knew him well enough to know that this little congregation would be in good hands.
I love being a Lutheran.
But I can no longer be a member of the ELCA. It no longer holds to the Truth. It picks and chooses which parts of Scripture are to be trusted and which ones weren't really intended for this day and age. How arrogant! Do you really want to be the one to decide which parts of God's Word are intended for us and which aren't? Do you really want to be the one who has to stand before God someday and account for this extreme arrogance? I certainly do not.
The Scripture is very clear on the qualifications for leaders in the church. Due to the choices made by people living the homosexual lifestyle, they can not meet those qualifications. There are many heterosexuals who also fail to meet those qualifications, so there is NO discrimination against homosexuals.
In the day of discrimination lawsuits and quotas, it's often too easy to forget that the job of pastor isn't one that you can choose for yourself. You do not look at the list of jobs out there and decide that you want to apply for that one. It's not even a matter of completing the coursework for graduation. As far as I know just about anyone can take the courses required, calling or not. However, you must be called into this job. I don't just mean the congregation issuing a call for a pastor...GOD must call you. If He doesn't, then it doesn't matter what minority you belong to or if you're the biggest contributor the ACLU has ever seen. You're not qualified to be a pastor.
In my pre-marriage and pre-children days I was on a change team for racism. I learned a lot and I formed lots of opinions. Most of them are unchanged. I absolutely believe that in the world, everyone has the right to train and apply for any job they want. Gender, color, religion, sexual orientation don't matter. I personally don't care if there are gays and lesbians in the military or not. As long as everyone is held to the same standard of performance and behavior as everyone else, they should be able to have whatever job they want. Just as it is wrong to withhold a job from someone for any of the above reasons, it's just as wrong to give someone a job for the same reasons.
But in the church there's a higher standard involved than some equal rights amendment. The amendment does NOT apply here. Gay and lesbian rights do not apply here. Women's rights do not apply here. No one's rights apply here. God is the only One who is Right. Get it?
All my life I've been a Lutheran. I'm the granddaughter of a Lutheran pastor. Grandpa was ordained in the Augustana synod. When he retired he was with the ALC. (For you non-Lutheran's out there, I won't try to explain all the different synods and their histories. It's a bit confusing for me too. My home congregation was LCA. When I was in college there was a merger of 3 synods, the LCA, the ALC, and one other that I had never heard of at the time and still can't remember. If anyone reading this is a former member of this synod, mea culpa.
When Grandpa passed away, he was serving an LCMS congregation in a small town not too far from here. That's is very unusual. The LCMS is very particular with whom it will have table fellowship. Even though I'm a Lutheran and agree with the doctrine surrounding Communion, I can not take Communion in the church we're attending. But this little church was too small to afford a full-time pastor but too stubborn to give up trying to get one. The pastors in the circuit had known my grandfather for many, many years and knew him well enough to know that this little congregation would be in good hands.
I love being a Lutheran.
But I can no longer be a member of the ELCA. It no longer holds to the Truth. It picks and chooses which parts of Scripture are to be trusted and which ones weren't really intended for this day and age. How arrogant! Do you really want to be the one to decide which parts of God's Word are intended for us and which aren't? Do you really want to be the one who has to stand before God someday and account for this extreme arrogance? I certainly do not.
The Scripture is very clear on the qualifications for leaders in the church. Due to the choices made by people living the homosexual lifestyle, they can not meet those qualifications. There are many heterosexuals who also fail to meet those qualifications, so there is NO discrimination against homosexuals.
In the day of discrimination lawsuits and quotas, it's often too easy to forget that the job of pastor isn't one that you can choose for yourself. You do not look at the list of jobs out there and decide that you want to apply for that one. It's not even a matter of completing the coursework for graduation. As far as I know just about anyone can take the courses required, calling or not. However, you must be called into this job. I don't just mean the congregation issuing a call for a pastor...GOD must call you. If He doesn't, then it doesn't matter what minority you belong to or if you're the biggest contributor the ACLU has ever seen. You're not qualified to be a pastor.
In my pre-marriage and pre-children days I was on a change team for racism. I learned a lot and I formed lots of opinions. Most of them are unchanged. I absolutely believe that in the world, everyone has the right to train and apply for any job they want. Gender, color, religion, sexual orientation don't matter. I personally don't care if there are gays and lesbians in the military or not. As long as everyone is held to the same standard of performance and behavior as everyone else, they should be able to have whatever job they want. Just as it is wrong to withhold a job from someone for any of the above reasons, it's just as wrong to give someone a job for the same reasons.
But in the church there's a higher standard involved than some equal rights amendment. The amendment does NOT apply here. Gay and lesbian rights do not apply here. Women's rights do not apply here. No one's rights apply here. God is the only One who is Right. Get it?
At last!
The church we've been attending since August is wonderful! The Divine Service has no contemporary music, the preaching is Christ-centered, and the kids are loving Sunday school. Even though the Boss is only 13 and not a member, the head usher lets him help hand out bulletins before church. The Peanuts ran off to Sunday school this week with hardly a glance in my direction, other than to wave "bye"! The adult class I'm attending is studying the Gospel of Luke.
Last week I was encouraged to come to the Faith Foundations class that meets on Monday mornings. It's the women's group. There's another group that meets on Wednesday evenings for men and women who work during the day. I wanted to go last week but the Boss was home sick. Yesterday all 3 kids were healthy and at school and I went. I loved it! The pastor lead the whole class (usually we will break into groups to discuss the "homework" and then end with him) and he's so good. He's got a great sense of humor and while being serious and respectful he had us laughing as well. I'm going to love this Bible study!
The class for members starts Sunday during Sunday school. While I'm eager to begin and join the congregation, since Baba will be joining us in December I want to wait and do it with him. Luckily the next class starts after the first of the year. Just.have.to.be.patient.
Last week I was encouraged to come to the Faith Foundations class that meets on Monday mornings. It's the women's group. There's another group that meets on Wednesday evenings for men and women who work during the day. I wanted to go last week but the Boss was home sick. Yesterday all 3 kids were healthy and at school and I went. I loved it! The pastor lead the whole class (usually we will break into groups to discuss the "homework" and then end with him) and he's so good. He's got a great sense of humor and while being serious and respectful he had us laughing as well. I'm going to love this Bible study!
The class for members starts Sunday during Sunday school. While I'm eager to begin and join the congregation, since Baba will be joining us in December I want to wait and do it with him. Luckily the next class starts after the first of the year. Just.have.to.be.patient.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Neat e-mail
Like most of the e-mails that are forwarded to all our inboxes, who knows if there's any truth to the supposed source. But regardless if the author is a 15 yo or a 100 yo, it's a good one. Just had to share it.
BY A 15 yr. Old SCHOOL KID IN ARIZONA
New Pledge of Allegiance (TOTALLY AWESOME)!
Since the Pledge of Al legiance
And
The Lord's Prayer
Are not allowed in most
Public schools anymore
Because the word 'God' is mentioned.....
A kid in Arizona wrote the attached
NEW School prayer:
Now I sit me down in school
Where praying is against the rule
For this great nation under God
Finds mention of Him very odd.
If scripture now the class recites,
It violates the Bill of Rights.
And anytime my head I bow
Becomes a Federal matter now.
Our hair can be purple, orange or green,
That's no offense; it's a freedom scene..
The law is specific, the law is precise.
Prayers spoken aloud are a serious vice.
For praying in a public hall
Might offend someone with no faith at all..
In silence alone we must meditate,
God's name is prohibited by the state.
We're allowed to cuss and dress like freaks,
And pierce our noses, tongues and cheeks...
They've outlawed guns, but FIRST the Bible.
To quote the Good Book makes me liable.
We can elect a pregnant Senior Queen,
And the 'unwed daddy,' our Senior King.
It's 'inappropriate' to teach right from wrong,
We're taught that such 'judgments' do not belong..
We can get our condoms and birth controls,
Study witchcraft, vampires and totem poles..
But the Ten Commandments are not allowed,
No word of God must reach this crowd.
It's scary here I must confess,
When chaos reigns the school's a mess.
So, Lord, this silent plea I make:
Should I be shot; My soul please take!
Amen
BY A 15 yr. Old SCHOOL KID IN ARIZONA
New Pledge of Allegiance (TOTALLY AWESOME)!
Since the Pledge of Al legiance
And
The Lord's Prayer
Are not allowed in most
Public schools anymore
Because the word 'God' is mentioned.....
A kid in Arizona wrote the attached
NEW School prayer:
Now I sit me down in school
Where praying is against the rule
For this great nation under God
Finds mention of Him very odd.
If scripture now the class recites,
It violates the Bill of Rights.
And anytime my head I bow
Becomes a Federal matter now.
Our hair can be purple, orange or green,
That's no offense; it's a freedom scene..
The law is specific, the law is precise.
Prayers spoken aloud are a serious vice.
For praying in a public hall
Might offend someone with no faith at all..
In silence alone we must meditate,
God's name is prohibited by the state.
We're allowed to cuss and dress like freaks,
And pierce our noses, tongues and cheeks...
They've outlawed guns, but FIRST the Bible.
To quote the Good Book makes me liable.
We can elect a pregnant Senior Queen,
And the 'unwed daddy,' our Senior King.
It's 'inappropriate' to teach right from wrong,
We're taught that such 'judgments' do not belong..
We can get our condoms and birth controls,
Study witchcraft, vampires and totem poles..
But the Ten Commandments are not allowed,
No word of God must reach this crowd.
It's scary here I must confess,
When chaos reigns the school's a mess.
So, Lord, this silent plea I make:
Should I be shot; My soul please take!
Amen
Thursday, September 16, 2010
A liberal Saudi
This is a very interesting video. Unfortunately it cut off a bit too soon. I'm heading back now to find more. Please give it a listen.
Whew!
We had quite a storm last night. I'm guessing it knocked off the power for at least a few seconds since my ceiling fan was off when I woke up the this morning. But the clocks in the kitchen were still saying the correct time. Luckily I have a battery back-up for my clock in the bedroom. Unluckily I use my cell phone as an alarm and it had the incorrect time. I can't figure out how that happened, unless power was lost to the tower and it's clock is messed up? Is that even possible? It still says it's on central time but it was about half an hour behind my clocks.
Needless to say we didn't have time to get the Peanuts on the bus so I drove them to school. It so different from last year. They just run off and up the steps to the school. The Little Prince turned to blow me a kiss and kept on going. Last year, while the Diva was happy to run off and forget a kiss half the time, the Little Prince had a special routine we had to go through. He loves school so much that mornings are very good. Thank you, dear Lord!
The Boss is still sick. He's been out all week. He's feeling fine most of the time. Just can't get over the gastrointestinal bug he's got. When I called the doctor for some advice on how to speed up the recovery the nurse recommended a probiotic. Hopefully that will help things progress a bit faster. He's getting bored and is ready to head back.
I've been baking Swope bread lately. It's a wonderful whole wheat bread (not entirely whole wheat, a bit of unbleached white) and no yeast. It's more of a batter you pour into your pans than a dough you place in, but that just means it's so much easier. It mixes up while the oven is preheating and tastes wonderful! We all really like it.
The puppies are still trying to herd the horses. The horses just stare at them like, "You know this is futile, right?" Although they do a good job of keeping the 3 of them together. Amir even has tried to herd the dogs right back and does a decent job of it. LOL The other two just stand there and occasionally kick out but haven't tried to hurt the dogs yet. They don't act like that when I'm out there alone with them but only when one or more of the kids are.
It's finished raining, according to the TV, but it's still cloudy and I love the view from the windows with dark skies. I'm thinking it would be a good day to head out to find some new sandals while they're most likely to be on clearance. Just hope I haven't waited too long to find my size. Hopefully there aren't too many of us size 9's wanting Earth Shoes.
Needless to say we didn't have time to get the Peanuts on the bus so I drove them to school. It so different from last year. They just run off and up the steps to the school. The Little Prince turned to blow me a kiss and kept on going. Last year, while the Diva was happy to run off and forget a kiss half the time, the Little Prince had a special routine we had to go through. He loves school so much that mornings are very good. Thank you, dear Lord!
The Boss is still sick. He's been out all week. He's feeling fine most of the time. Just can't get over the gastrointestinal bug he's got. When I called the doctor for some advice on how to speed up the recovery the nurse recommended a probiotic. Hopefully that will help things progress a bit faster. He's getting bored and is ready to head back.
I've been baking Swope bread lately. It's a wonderful whole wheat bread (not entirely whole wheat, a bit of unbleached white) and no yeast. It's more of a batter you pour into your pans than a dough you place in, but that just means it's so much easier. It mixes up while the oven is preheating and tastes wonderful! We all really like it.
The puppies are still trying to herd the horses. The horses just stare at them like, "You know this is futile, right?" Although they do a good job of keeping the 3 of them together. Amir even has tried to herd the dogs right back and does a decent job of it. LOL The other two just stand there and occasionally kick out but haven't tried to hurt the dogs yet. They don't act like that when I'm out there alone with them but only when one or more of the kids are.
It's finished raining, according to the TV, but it's still cloudy and I love the view from the windows with dark skies. I'm thinking it would be a good day to head out to find some new sandals while they're most likely to be on clearance. Just hope I haven't waited too long to find my size. Hopefully there aren't too many of us size 9's wanting Earth Shoes.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Good-bye...we'll miss you so much
Aunt is at peace now. The cancer can't hurt her any more. We'll miss her. She was such a big part of our lives. But it's hard to be sad for her. Just for ourselves and our loss.
Friday, September 10, 2010
Yesterday after school the Little Prince wasn't feeling well. Soon, he asked for a pan. Uh oh. Yep. He did. After that his tummy felt better but I still made plans for him to stay with our neighbor while the Boss, Diva, and I went to Open House. He was sick again right before we left so I knew it could be a long night for us. I enjoyed talking to the teachers last night. They love my kids!
The Little Prince's teacher said that he's so creative that he sometimes has her almost on the floor. Yep, that's my boy! The Diva has a classmate that doesn't like her. She's never encountered that before. She's always polite and nice even to the kids she doesn't like so this is a new experience for her. I noticed last night that they sit right next to each other. This could be an interesting lesson learned.
The Boss has had a good start to the year. Still needs to work on organization but has found stuff to be involved in. Go, Boss!
When we picked up the Little Prince he had been sick again about half an hour before and was running a fever. Uh oh. But he'd still felt well enough to regale S with his ideas while taking his bath. That's my boy! He crashed as soon as we got home and slept through til around 7:30.
However, around 2:30 the Diva woke me with a stomachache and clean up in the bathroom. Didn't quite make it and we didn't grab the Little Prince's pan. My bad. After another sick about an hour later she was asleep. I was really hoping the Boss would be next so I could turn off my alarm but no such luck. Got him off to school and then went back to bed. About the time I was drifting off to sleep the Peanuts woke up, glad to find out they were staying home, and were ready to play. We spent the day in front of the TV watching PBS Kids after the Diva started feeling bad again. She's not rebounding quite as quickly.
While I'm disappointed for her that she misses the chance to do a dance and some cheers at the high school football game tonight (she spent time after school doing Jr. Cheerleading), I was starting to look forward to being lazy with the kids tonight. However, it turns out I have a parent meeting for soccer tonight.
It's OK. I don't need sleep. I'm a mom. zzzzzzzz
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Burn the Qur’an? No, absolutely not!
I have no love for Islam. None at all. I can also say that for various sects of Christianity. Especially the brand that's rearing its ugly head in Florida lately. While I have no love for Islam, I do have many Muslim friends and acquaintances that I do love. It upsets me greatly that they have to be insulted and hurt by some egomaniac with a "church". While I have no love for that pastor and his teaching, I do pity the members of his congregation who are being fed his vile filth week after week.
I hope and pray that our military personnel and innocent civilians around the world don't have to pay the ultimate price for this man's stupidity. Seeing as how he's a religious extremist...perhaps a stint in Gitmo would be in order?
Meanwhile, here's an excellent blog post on the subject.
Burn the Qur’an? No, absolutely not!
I hope and pray that our military personnel and innocent civilians around the world don't have to pay the ultimate price for this man's stupidity. Seeing as how he's a religious extremist...perhaps a stint in Gitmo would be in order?
Meanwhile, here's an excellent blog post on the subject.
Burn the Qur’an? No, absolutely not!
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Yucky!
One of the things I was looking forward to after my return from Lebanon was the chance to dive into all the clutter and mess in my house. Moving back from overseas meant there was lots to do as we merged stuff brought back with us with the stuff already here. Add to that 2 extra kids and lots of fun activities and you just don't have much time to get it all done. Beyond keeping things around generally clean and healthy for us, not much cleaning up was going on.
Now I'm back and ready to dig in. Only one problem. I've picked up some kind of bug and feel yucky. Argh! NOT what I needed. I'm alone today. No one to entertain or get in the way. I can just work to my little heart's delight. I felt worse yesterday. I'm feeling a bit better today and did get laundry done and clean out the dog's pen. That alone could make a person sick. I'm not feeling as dizzy or queasy so maybe I can still salvage part of the day and tackle one of the smaller jobs waiting for me.
Maybe after I fold my laundry and I'm waiting for something to simmer on the stove for the kids I can read some of my housekeeping/decluttering books for some inspiration and start writing out a plan. If I don't I'll just end up wasting more time than I actually use effectively.
Hopefully tomorrow I'll feel up to tuning my iPod to Issues, Etc. (gotta love Wi-Fi) and digging in.
Now I'm back and ready to dig in. Only one problem. I've picked up some kind of bug and feel yucky. Argh! NOT what I needed. I'm alone today. No one to entertain or get in the way. I can just work to my little heart's delight. I felt worse yesterday. I'm feeling a bit better today and did get laundry done and clean out the dog's pen. That alone could make a person sick. I'm not feeling as dizzy or queasy so maybe I can still salvage part of the day and tackle one of the smaller jobs waiting for me.
Maybe after I fold my laundry and I'm waiting for something to simmer on the stove for the kids I can read some of my housekeeping/decluttering books for some inspiration and start writing out a plan. If I don't I'll just end up wasting more time than I actually use effectively.
Hopefully tomorrow I'll feel up to tuning my iPod to Issues, Etc. (gotta love Wi-Fi) and digging in.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Well, that was entertaining!
I'm home again after a quick trip to Lebanon to take the cousins back. It was a good time, thought stressful. We left Tuesday afternoon after a morning that went smoothly according to plan. My parents arrived to load us up and get the timers set on the lights. Cousin E helped Dad do that and I got a call from the website where I bought my tickets for the return flight. Turns out Royal Jordanian had canceled my flight due to not having my passport number, nationality, and DOB. I gave it to the lady who reissued the tickets for me. Good thing we were running a bit late to the airport. But we made it in good time since it wasn't busy. That's the nice thing about doing your check-in at a regional airport. Shorter lines.
We arrived in Chicago and got to our next flight in plenty of time. We sat and sat and sat on the plan thought and finally got word from the flight attendant that we were waiting for delayed flights to take off. There was bad weather not too far away that was delaying other flights and we had to wait our turn. We started to taxi and turned around and came back to the gate. There was a technical problem that needed fixing so we were sent back inside where we were given chips and drinks and A/C. After maybe half an hour we boarded again and got to take off.
While at the gate I asked about our connecting flight to Beirut. We were leaving 3 hours late and only had 2 hours between flights anyway. She said as soon as we took off the airline would know our arrival time and they would take care of it for us. Sure enough, by the time we got there we were booked on the next flight to Beirut. The flights were relaxing and uneventful. Unfortunately when we got to Beirut only one of the 4 suitcases had made it there with us. I guess the other 3 wanted to see the Eiffel Tower? We retrieved them Friday night and I slept over at my SIL's to pack (I'd kept our clothes there to keep the mildew out) and spend time with her.
Aunt is not doing well. She's so thin and has to go in to the hospital every couple of weeks for more blood. It was so sad to know that I was saying "good-bye" for the last time. I don't know what I ever would have done without her the first year we lived there.
Yesterday's trip home went very smoothly. Another passenger complained about the airline and their reputation. He normally tries to avoid it. I have no complaints though. We only had 45 minutes between arrival in Amman and departure for Chicago. They divided up the passengers according to connecting flights and escorted us to the proper gate and got us through security quickly. We got on the plane and took off on time. With less time to transfer the bags than they had in Paris, they managed to get both of mine to Chicago with me.
There were two men near me who were very nice and good company. The man across the aisle to my right works for a private security company in Iraq. He was headed home for vacation. I was in a row of 4 seats and only one other person was seated there with me. A very nice Jordanian man on his way home to Texas. While people who are traveling are allowed not to fast, he had decided he would anyway. He would be going 22 hours. I hope he made it with no ill effects. I felt bad for him being surrounded by food but he slept most of the time and wasn't bothered by it.
There was also the woman who decided that she would really enjoy the free alcohol. And enjoy it she did. Unfortunately the other passengers didn't particularly enjoy her enjoyment. Twice she tried to sit next to my Jordanian friend. The second time he looked at me like, "What the hell?!" I don't know what he said but he managed to get her to move without offending her. She did manage to get into a shouting match with some passengers and her language wasn't particularly lovely. My security friend slept through it (I wish I could have). I told him about it later and he said if she headed toward the cockpit to wake him up and he'd tackle her. I told him I doubted she could have found the cockpit.
That leg of the journey was over 13 hours and I nodded off sometime during the last hour or so. I was just wide awake so I read a book (the whole book) and watched a couple of movies.
After the typical long wait at customs I got my luggage and headed to my last flight. It was nice to have such a short flight. Mom and Dad picked me up and I went home to watch a movie with the kids and head to bed. I'm tired now, but since it's a holiday tomorrow we can sleep in. Today was church and it was nice to be home. We're being lazy and playing. Tomorrow will be work. And less laundry than there was this summer. Yeah!
We arrived in Chicago and got to our next flight in plenty of time. We sat and sat and sat on the plan thought and finally got word from the flight attendant that we were waiting for delayed flights to take off. There was bad weather not too far away that was delaying other flights and we had to wait our turn. We started to taxi and turned around and came back to the gate. There was a technical problem that needed fixing so we were sent back inside where we were given chips and drinks and A/C. After maybe half an hour we boarded again and got to take off.
While at the gate I asked about our connecting flight to Beirut. We were leaving 3 hours late and only had 2 hours between flights anyway. She said as soon as we took off the airline would know our arrival time and they would take care of it for us. Sure enough, by the time we got there we were booked on the next flight to Beirut. The flights were relaxing and uneventful. Unfortunately when we got to Beirut only one of the 4 suitcases had made it there with us. I guess the other 3 wanted to see the Eiffel Tower? We retrieved them Friday night and I slept over at my SIL's to pack (I'd kept our clothes there to keep the mildew out) and spend time with her.
Aunt is not doing well. She's so thin and has to go in to the hospital every couple of weeks for more blood. It was so sad to know that I was saying "good-bye" for the last time. I don't know what I ever would have done without her the first year we lived there.
Yesterday's trip home went very smoothly. Another passenger complained about the airline and their reputation. He normally tries to avoid it. I have no complaints though. We only had 45 minutes between arrival in Amman and departure for Chicago. They divided up the passengers according to connecting flights and escorted us to the proper gate and got us through security quickly. We got on the plane and took off on time. With less time to transfer the bags than they had in Paris, they managed to get both of mine to Chicago with me.
There were two men near me who were very nice and good company. The man across the aisle to my right works for a private security company in Iraq. He was headed home for vacation. I was in a row of 4 seats and only one other person was seated there with me. A very nice Jordanian man on his way home to Texas. While people who are traveling are allowed not to fast, he had decided he would anyway. He would be going 22 hours. I hope he made it with no ill effects. I felt bad for him being surrounded by food but he slept most of the time and wasn't bothered by it.
There was also the woman who decided that she would really enjoy the free alcohol. And enjoy it she did. Unfortunately the other passengers didn't particularly enjoy her enjoyment. Twice she tried to sit next to my Jordanian friend. The second time he looked at me like, "What the hell?!" I don't know what he said but he managed to get her to move without offending her. She did manage to get into a shouting match with some passengers and her language wasn't particularly lovely. My security friend slept through it (I wish I could have). I told him about it later and he said if she headed toward the cockpit to wake him up and he'd tackle her. I told him I doubted she could have found the cockpit.
That leg of the journey was over 13 hours and I nodded off sometime during the last hour or so. I was just wide awake so I read a book (the whole book) and watched a couple of movies.
After the typical long wait at customs I got my luggage and headed to my last flight. It was nice to have such a short flight. Mom and Dad picked me up and I went home to watch a movie with the kids and head to bed. I'm tired now, but since it's a holiday tomorrow we can sleep in. Today was church and it was nice to be home. We're being lazy and playing. Tomorrow will be work. And less laundry than there was this summer. Yeah!
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