Expectations Building....

I am sitting in the Heathrow Airport in London waiting on a connecting flight to Rome, Italy with my husband. I am. I really am.

We began dreaming of this trip earlier this year when Wade was invited to speak at an international conference on Cerebral Palsy in Pisa next week. And I started planning, dreaming, anticipating. But if you've read my recent posts, you know the last month has been rough at our house. And all the worries,   fears and medical crises culminated this last week. I had quit planning. Oh, I carried the guidebooks around with me but had not opened one in two weeks.

I just wasn't sure we should go.  Ok...to be quite honest, I wasn't sure we BOTH should go, so I was perfectly willing to speak at the conference FOR WADE and leave him home with our boy....yea, I know that would not have worked.

Mason's doc seemed a little apprehensive too, until after the scopes on Tuesday....after the scopes he assured us that the medicines would keep things under control for Mason for this week and we could start unraveling the perfect plan for what to do long term next week. He told us to go.

Mason begged us to go.

Claire pleaded with us to go.

Benjamin and Cate said they didn't want us to go....but I think they were kidding. I think...Little Red does like her Mama where she is.

So last night, we boarded a plane to London and will connect to Rome later this afternoon.

Neither Wade nor I switch gears very easily though. We were quiet on the flight as we both thought through the trials of the week and wondered about the health of our kiddo. Then we fell into a this-week-has-wiped-us-out-sleep.

Right now, I am a bit travel-worn, but have FaceTimed with my crew and they all look and sound fantastic and my great support team are meeting needs I didn't even know we had! (They will be spoiled by the time we return!) So, I'll pull out the guidebooks and begin to plan our days.

I can not help but focus on seeing the prison cell where Paul wrote so many of our beloved texts in the New Testament. I keep ruminating on Philippians and his mandate to be content no matter what state we are in....he wrote that from a prison cell in Rome. I feel emotional just thinking about being there!

If you will humor me, I will keep you updated as wi-fi allows and post pictures as I can -- I feel blessed already to be here and intend to savor each moment!

Blessings, my friends, from across the pond!