The Long Journey Home

When you least expect it, God sends events our way to teach us something about it Him. I suppose you could say that about every moment if you abide in Christ, but you have to admit, sometimes the circumstances are exceptional. This was the case for me (Jayna) on my journey to Oregon. This is one for our family history, so I couldn't help but share my story here.

Wednesday, June 27
11:30 am-With smiles on our faces and joy in our hearts, Jeannie Hagopian picked us up and off we went! On our way to BWI aiport, I realized that I didn't have the bottle for Jack I was going to prepare. But never fear! I had four more bottles in a suitcase, and 3 servings of formula measured in my dispenser. Jeannie even had warm bottled water, so we were set!

12:00 pm-We arrive to the airport, I make Jack's bottle, and we head inside to get our boarding passes and check in luggage. There was NO line, so you can imagine my pleasure. Jeannie fed Jack while we checked in, and that was that.

12:15 pm-We have plenty of time, so we set up shop in the little food court for lunch. Oddly, though, Madeline wasn't into her chicken nuggets and only ate one, but Jack was his happy self and ate just fine. I hate buying those happy meals, only to discard the food but keep the toy!

12:20 pm- Uh Oh! I discover that I must have left the formula dispenser in the back of Jeannie's car! I only have the rest of the bottle that Jackson didn't finish when Jeannie fed him during check out. But not to worry, he only has one feeding left to eat on our trip, so I'll just give him milk to tide him over until we get to Grammy and Papa's house.

12:45 pm-We breeze through security with our travel ship. The kids were in the Lawrence's double stroller, I had the back pack on, and rested the diaper bag on top of the stroller.

2:15 pm-We board our plane and get to sit in first class. What a treat! We are settled, pull away from the gate, head towards the runway. Suddenly, we stop and are stuck on the tarmac for an hour and a half! Thankfully, I had lots of things for Madeline to do, and she hung in there without any fits!

Along the way, Jackson spits up some (the stinky kind). Time to change outfits and stow away his smelly blanket. I had given him some 2 percent milk to tide him over, so I thought that might have been the culprit. Who knows....

5:40 pm-After a four hour plane ride, we land in Denver. I have missed my connecting flight, but Dad was able to rebook me on the next flight out, scheduled to depart at 8:07. They were going to put me on standby, but Dad held to his guns. I'm so glad that he did. If I didn't get on this flight, the next available flight left Thursday NIGHT. The only glitch was that our seats were separated, but in the same row.

I was in communication with Kurt and my parents, and they started calling others to pray, knowing I was in a predicament. I have to admit that at one point, I was tempted to wish that people would stop praying since the trip only seemed to get worse.

5:50 pm-I check-in to get my boarding passes for the next flight, but they can't change our seats at this point. We are also not in first class, anymore. To my dismay, the flight is delayed to 10:45. To my continued dismay, it was again delayed to 12:45 am. Again to my dismay, it was delayed to 1:20 am. At this point, I'm exhausted and emotional. I would love to make it through a journey like this without any public tears, for once!

We hunkered down and got some dinner from McDonalds, though I didn't eat any of it, and neither did Maddie. My nerves were riding high. So, we paid $10 for a Happy Meal Toy (again)
We were sitting against a wall of windows at an empty gate, and I spotted a pile of blankets, the kind they give on the airplane. I rummaged through them and took the one that smelled the best since Jackson needed one to sleep.

We walked a lot through the airport to get the wiggles out. Finally around 9:30 pm, Jackson dozed off. I took Madeline to a quiet place for our bedtime routine. I read her the stories in her bag, and sang "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing". It was time for quiet rest, and I laid her back down in the stroller. She was pretty tired and went willingly.

10:00 pm-We went back to our gate where many people were trying to kill time or sleep. The airline provided some blankets and pillows for weary travelers stuck at the airport, and I helped myself. I found a dim place, draped a blanket over the stroller for extra peace and quiet for the kids. I laid down, with my back against the stroller, my bags sitting close to my other side for a bit of privacy. I couldn't sleep but dozed a bit and prayed much. We needed our seats next to each other, and the kids were so dependant on me. I had no food for Jackson, and we hadn't been eating well, anyway. I felt like a homeless refugee. It was quite strange feeling.

11:15 pm-A United worker opens up the desk and I'm there to get our seats worked out. At first she says there's nothing she can do, but makes a notation on her roster. And I pray again...

11:30 pm- I came back to the kids where they were stirring. Madeline gets out of the stroller and promptly throws up. Just great! Thankfully, I was able to stay clean, though Maddie did need to change her clothes. It could have been a lot worse, but I felt so badly for her with everyone watching and all. But God provided kind people to hold Jack while I got Madeline cleaned up. In fact this particular family helped me through the rest of our time up to boarding. While inthe restroom with Maddie, I met a young mom on our flight. I asked, and she had formula! I was able to give some to Jack to tide him over.

12:00 am, Thursday-I was called to the desk, and the United lady worked our seats out. Wonderful!!! I thanked the Lord fervently for that one.

12:45 am-We board the plane and take off. Madeline throws up again, but I was prepared with a bag this time. I was able to keep her clean, which was good because I had no more clothes for her. Just as the kids conk out, the TVs turn on for inflight programs, casting an obnoxious glare in the dim plane. I felt like I was stuck in a nightmare.

2:51 am (PST)-We land in Portland, Oregon. Mom and Dad were able to get a special pass to meet us at the gate. What a relief!!!! We hugged and I shed a few more tears. We had been traveling for 18 hours.

5:00 am-We arrived to Salem and snuggled into bed for some kind of sleep, whatever we could get.

Despite the circumstances, I must say that the kids did great. For those of you who know about Madeline and her issues, you know this was nothing short of a miracle. We made it through the journey without any public fits!

It was a trying experience, to say the least, but the Lord went ahead of us and provided what we needed at just the right time. I was reminded that being a Christian and trusting in Christ doesn't mean life will be with out difficulty. But difficulty is a way for God to bring glory to himself, and I praise him for the way he worked out things for our good and His glory.