To the arctic north and back

Ronnie and I were in Rochester, MN this past weekend. He went up for work and I was flown in by some people that love me. Don't ask me who because I won't tell you. And if you by chance know who, please don't leave a comment letting everyone else know.

We got up at 3:00 a.m. on Friday to make it to Wilmington, NC in time for our 7:00 am flight. The flight was a little bumpy, but the one from Philly to Minn was ok since we both got our own row of seats. Ronnie slept the whole time and I took a short nap. We got into Rochester and made our first stop at Caribou. Then I asked our Chauffeur, Don, to drive us by the church. So many things have changed (wall color, furniture, office arrangements, coffee shop being built, etc.) that I couldn't wait until Sunday to see it all. It was great seeing most of the staff and getting lots of hugs.

After seeing the church we asked our driver, Don, to take us to Becky's house. After we dismissed Don for the day we hung out with Becky for a while just visiting and catching up. Then around 4:00 Sarah C. came to pick us up to take us to their house. We stayed the weekend at Sarah and John C. house. They have a beautiful house with a bedroom and bath in the basement which is where we hibernated. (Just to let you all know Don is one of Ronnie's new bosses at the church. I like giving him a hard time.)

After John C. came home from work we headed to the CCC staff Christmas party. What a good time it was. While standing in line to get my buffet dinner I was looking out the window and saw that it had started to snow. I had really hoped it would snow while we were there! It was beautiful. Ronnie and I were on one of the teams for the Family Feud game. We didn't win, but we were on the winning team for the music trivia game. Of course we did good with Ronnie on our team. Then we had a good laugh during the white elephant game. I sat beside our Senior Pastor who got the best gift of the night. It was a pair of FTL men's briefs with a wooden handle attached to the top. Then written on the front were the words "brief case." We had the best time with that all night. After the party a group of us headed to Chipotle for chips and dip and fellowship. By this time I was getting cross-eyed from being so tired.

Saturday morning Ronnie slept in and I went out for breakfast with my friend, Lisa M. I ate way too much but boy was it good. Lisa, Heather and I use to get together once a week to pray. When she prayed for our breakfast I got teary-eyed. Listening to her pray was a sweet sweet sound.

After breakfast we met with Pastor Steve and his wife Lori for coffee (hot chocolate for me) and snacks. Our visit went way too fast and before we knew it Ronnie needed to be taken to the church for worship practice. Pastor Steve and Lori dropped me back off at Sarah and John's house. I got ready for church and then it was off to the races again. After church I went out to eat with Missy E. We had so much fun laughing and gabbing. We came pretty close to closing the restaurant. I think we were one of two or three tables when we finally left. I got home and crashed! Ronnie had been out to eat with Don (our driver), Becky and Sarah C. so he also had a good evening.

Sunday morning it was off to church. I loved seeing all the children that I worked with. They have all grown so much. And there were some new ones that had been born since I left. It was a great feeling to have most of the children remember who I was and come running to give me a hug. They all call me Miss Ebby.

Sunday after church we headed over to the Jensen's house. The Ganz were over, too, and we had a great time eating lunch, visiting, catching up and just laughing all afternoon. Jennifer, Heidi and I went to the movies and saw "Juno". As sarcastic as all three of us can be this was the perfect movie for us. We laughed through the whole thing (I don't normally laugh in movies). The best part of our movie time was Heidi running into the wall. That had Jennifer and I laughing for a good 5 minutes. When we left for the movie Ronnie left to go back to church for worship practice again. He led the worship team and spoke to the singles group on Sunday night.

After we returned from the movie it was time to watch some football and.....eat. That seemed to be the theme for the weekend....food and eating while visiting. We also were entertained by the children who were having a good time wrestling with Wayne J. My cheeks hurt by the time it was time to leave. Heidi G. took me back to John and Sarah's house and we of course sat in the driveway getting in a few more minutes of visiting.

We left Monday morning at 7:00 am to get to the cities for our 10:00 am flight. The flight back was good. We both slept. Coming home was great even though I came home sick. Sarah C. tried to help me with my sore throat, but I still got sick after returning home. My mom said that the kids were good while we were gone. I am not sure that I believe her. I try to trick her into letting it slip that they did something wrong, but so far she hasn't fallen for it. Maybe they were good!?

We had a great time in Rochester. It was wonderful to catch up with everyone. I got to see and hug so many people. I got to eat and gain 5 pounds, but it was well worth it. There is nothing like visiting with a friend or friends while eating. It seems comfortable when you put the two together. Sorry no pictures. All you would have seen anyway was me shoving food into my mouth.

Thank you everyone in Rochester for a great trip and to my mom for watching the kids. I had a great time! John and Sarah were wonderful hosts. Don was a good driver.

Every time Ronnie would return from Rochester I would hear about how he was spoiled by everyone. This time he was busy with so many different things and I was the one spoiled.