I'M HOME!

It looks like Brent did a pretty good job summarizing the start of our trip. It even made me laugh looking back at those first days of our trip. I only wish I could say that once we FINALLY got on the boat things changed. LOL We sure have lots of memories from this trip!

Lunch in Mobile, at an Oyster restaurant.

We finally were able to board the boat at 3pm (only 3 hours behind schedule) but our rooms were not ready so we hung out on the main deck. We were to ship out at 5pm, but we didn't, then we were to go out at 9pm, then 10pm, then they quit telling us when. Misty and I took in some concerts and the buffet, we headed back to our room at 12:30 only to find we were still in port. As we got ready for bed I said "I have a feeling we will be in Mobile when we wake up" It's a good thing we could laugh about the whole thing. But just minutes later at around 1am the boat started to leave port. And it wasn't until they had us in the middle of the gulf that they explained they were experiencing "mechanical difficulties". Not something that gives you warm feelings but we were on a boat of Christian women, I am sure many prayers were going up for our safe arrival to and from Mexico! I know I was many times! LOL

It was great to get to know Misty better and we were able to share so much about our faith, family and cancer experiences. We attended many of the christian speakers and concerts. These were the most amazing part of the experience. The speakers spoke direct to my heart and the worship times were AMAZING. I spent many a worship time in tears over the awesomeness of God. We got to see Phil Joel, Shane and Shane, Bethany Dillion, Jamie Jamgochian, Carried Away and Big Daddy Weave, the speakers included Karen Kingsbury, Candace Cameron Bure, Angela Thomas, Lisa Terkurst, Shannon Ethridge and many others. We were blessed by many women speaking and it was so refreshing.

The weather was not what we were prepared for. When you think Mexico you think sun and warm. We had clouds and wind. The highest temp was 70 but the winds never let up so it was cool most of the trip. We never wore our swimsuits, or even shorts. But along with the chill the winds brought, it also brought a ROCKY boat. Man was it rocky and rumor had it our stabilizer broke during the night. That night neither of us slept, we were rocking right out of our bed. Misty woke up not feeling well at all. We were on the 6th floor and there was salt on our windows from the waves the night before. We even heard one of the performers got sick during their performance, the boat was a little mellow that day, we were all just trying to keep our balance and stomachs in check.

Because of our delays we did not get to go to Cozumel as planned, we went to a little spot called Progresso. Instead of having all day we only had 5 hours in port. It was fine for us, we went inland and got some shopping, good authentic Mexican food and walked along the beach. It was everything we wanted to do.

While nothing seemed to go as planned or expected, I am so thankful for the trip and the time away. It was refreshing, relaxing and inspirational. We were able to share our story with quite a few on the boat and that was amazing to do. Just sharing how God works sends shivers through me each time. Isn't He AWESOME?!!

Oh, and I don't know if you remember that Candace Cameron (DJ from Full House) and the editor of CWO were the ones who chose our entry as the winning one. As part of winning the package we were able to have lunch with Candace and her sister Bridget. I didn't know what to expect from that lunch but it was such a special moment. They both sat and listened as we each our children's story's and they shed tears with us. It was a genuine time of sharing and marveling it God's amazing grace. And I am thankful for the time we had with them.

We did make it safely back to land and our flights home went without problems. I spent the night in Dallas with the Avery's. Thank you guys for welcoming me in! I was so ready to be home and see my kids BUT I felt home when I walked into the Avery house. It made me smile all night. Mimi and William took me back to the airport and William started crying, it broke my heart. Oh, how I love the Avery's and it was so great to see them, even if just overnight!

William was so tired, love this little guy!

I made it home yesterday afternoon and I was so ready to hug Brent and the kids. I missed them so much and probably the hardest thing for me was to not be able to communicate with them most of the trip. I missed them so much and they were never far from my thoughts. But the vacation was just what I needed, even if it wasn't "perfect" it was a break from bills, medicine, children and the daily responsibilities. I was able to leave it all behind and my prayer is that because of it I am a better wife, mother, sister, daughter and friend. I feel refreshed, rejuvenated and ready to join the real world again. Although I do wonder when I will quit feeling the boat move! LOL

Thank you for praying for Misty and I as we travelled. God was working in my heart the entire week and I am thankful for the time I had to refresh my mind and spirit and the time to spend with my friend Misty.

Brent hasn't update about Dance Marathon, believe me I haven't stopped asking him questions since I got home. I was thinking about it the entire time, I would think "now they would be announcing the families" "now they are on the radio" "now they are speaking on stage" etc. My heart was aching for the events of DM and it sounds like it was just AMAZING! I will try and get Brent to do an update soon. We don't have many pictures so if ANYONE has pictures to share with me I would LOVE them! I have been scouring Carepages and Facebook for any glimpse of DM I can get. So please email me at cvanwey@gmail.com if you have anything to share with me! I have heard so much about Manish, Brian, Katie, Cassondra and Morgan. So many others too, the kids have been talking non stop about it and my family was pretty amazed with the organization as well, since they were helping with Flashes of Hope. Oh and speaking of that it sounds like that went GREAT too. I really need Brent to update you about it. It sounds like it was ALL amazing.

Thanks for following us through the journey. Thanks for praying, I know God was with us ALL this past week.

Christie