A Watched Pot and a Free Ticket

Ah, I remember the "watched pot" days--when I was overdue to give birth, and friends and relations were calling to check, day by day. Now we are checking on Liz, who says-"we will call you if anything happens!"

Baby was due last Friday but she (we have been told she is a she!) is not in a hurry. Liz and John are anxious to hold her and check every tiny finger and every little toe. Will her hair be curly? Red? Will she have her mommy's nose? I think--Yes to all three questions!

Cincinnati is too far away. That is a decided fact. The weather out there is cold and snowy, while out here we have planted our tomatoes already and we are juicing our oranges. But we will head to Ohio and trust God for safety and good schedules, as well as provision for funds. This is our grandchild and we are thrilled!

Julia, Ben, Daniel and I have tickets on Southwest Airlines for Tuesday, March 3 through Wednesday, March 11. We plan to fly out of Oakland and arrive in Indianapolis, where John's parents Drew and Teri and their family live. Teri told us that Southwest Airlines is having some great fares and since they live near the Indianapolis airport where Southwest flies, they have offered to pick us up. They live one and a half hours away from Liz, John and Baby!

Tim can't come see Baby quite yet, but soon John and Lizzie plan to bring Baby out here. Then grandpa Tim can hold and cuddle her to his heart's content!

Getting airline tickets in advance of a baby's birth can be a bit tricky, as babies don't always come as scheduled! We trusted God for the right travel dates, and it looks like baby should arrive before we get there. Although I would LOVE to be there at the hospital for the moment when the doors are flung open and the family meets Baby for the very first time, we opted towards "later" to try to make sure we could actually be there to see the baby (sorry Liz and John--we would love to sit and stare at you two as you wait for Baby, but the star of the show is you-know-who!)

Anna also wanted to go see Baby, but her schedule is trickiest of all, as she is in college 5 days a week. She, however, was also the possessor of a Free Flight Voucher which she earned last summer when she courageously volunteered to be bumped from a flight home from a Beth Moore conference. When Liz and John's midwife gave the final "we will induce this Thursday if Baby has not arrived by then", that was the signal that Anna was waiting for. She got on the phone and spent many hours patiently persuading the airline personnel that the Free Flight Voucher should indeed mean what it says, and that she should receive a Free Flight instead of just $200 towards a $700 ticket. Anna is as unwavering as her mother is in these cases, so with much patience and perseverance, Anna is now the grateful holder of a ticket to fly directly from Fresno to Cincinnati, tomorrow, for free. If Baby has not arrived by this Thursday, Liz has a 7 AM appointment to have her labor induced. Her midwife is pleased with her and says she is ready. Liz more than agrees with that opinion. Anna gets to stay until next Monday and I really am in awe of how beautifully the Lord has planned this for our girls to be together at this time. They are best friends and although I am longing to be there as soon as possible, this is GOOD for the sisters to share this time of joy and newness of life.

New development-- Daniel thinks he may not be able to come with us on March 3rd but he can use his ticket later. Ah, well. We know God is in control of our comings and our goings.

This was lengthy--guess it is evident that we are just so excited and are chomping at the bit!

Here we are, just sitting around in our front yard on a nice February day!