Bye bye Australia 😢

At this very moment we are on our way home from Sydney - flying at 33000 feet above the ocean. We have 11 more hours until we get home and hope it's an uneventful flight!!

It took an extra day for us to get on this plane and we are thankful to be coming home. Yesterday we woke up at 5am and rushed to get to the Melbourne airport. It was a painful experience to leave our family and I'm grateful the kids were asleep. I'm not sure I could have endured the long hugs and sadness of waving goodbye and kissing them one last time. Thank you Anna for driving us❤️

When we arrived in Sydney we rushed to our gate but we didn't get there in time to make the connection to our flight! Even with pleading and some whining, they ignored us and promptly booked us on a flight the following morning. We were so surprised and frustrated.  But as we've learned -- every cloud has a silver lining. We booked a room at a lovely hotel litterally across the street. It was around 9:45am and we were so thankful to have a bed and a place to rest. Unfortunately I could not sleep the night before and have developed a bad cold. The bed was much needed. So was the cappachino 😀 We slept and rested most of the day and I tried to 'wish & pray' my cold away. I honestly was feeling pretty punk.

That was yesterday and today is a new day! I am sick and feel crappy and stuffy but excited to get home. I'm very grateful for our 'bed' and hope to sleep on the flight. The food on the flight is actually pretty spectacular and I am praying that my headache and stuffy nose get better as the day progresses. We still have many more hours to go so I will hope for the best and continue to be thankful for this bed I'm about to sleep in😴

Here's my gratitude list from our trip:
For family / the love & affection of toddlers / the amazing love & snuggles of a newborn
For naps and playtime and many hours of Dumbo / the pirate ship / legos / Thomas
For the generous nature of Anna / Matt and Anna's parents
For the food / the honest conversation / the concern you have for my diagnosis
For the extended family David / Paulo / Fernando
For Anna's mom and her love and non stop cooking and cleaning!
For espresso  - any time I needed it!
For the lasagna / meat / wine / french toast and all the other special things you cooked for us
And for all the meaningful conversations we had about life and death and dealing with whatever comes our way
For a wonderful time in Sydney & Melbourne and a safe flight from America!

What I wish for is to see our Australian family very soon - and to do a better job of staying in touch💜 I pray for a safe flight for us and I look forward to my 'fur' babies. Hopefully Monty & Rusty can help me with my sadness of missing our grandchildren and kids who are so far far away 🙏🙏
G'day......