I am now home from my trip to Iowa and while it got off to a rather rocky start, it was a good trip.

I was delayed an hour out of New Orleans and once I got to Atlanta I found out my flight had been pushed back to 1 a.m. About 11:30 p.m. it was moved up to 12:32 and things were starting to look up. But at 12:40 they canceled the flight altogether. They told us because of the weather and all the other cancellations out of Atlanta, that the hotels that accepted vouchers were all full. So, I decided that the $100 or so I'd spend on a room for 3 hours of sleep wasn't worth it and I claimed my spot on a row of chairs.


This was the first time ever that I didn't pack any overnight anything in my carry-ons because I figured, it's May, what could go wrong?! I didn't get much sleep as it was freezing and there was a loud homeland security warning every 20 minutes. By 4 a.m. my stomach was loudly protesting and I was physically shivering. 6 a.m. and the opening of the gift shop couldn't come soon enough! We finally managed to get on the plane around 7:30 a.m. and the flight went almost as planned. We were almost to Moline, landing gear down, on approach and all of a sudden the pilot yanks up on the stick and we take off again. He tells us it's really foggy and we're going to try again but if we can't land that we'll have to fly to St. Louis for more fuel. I'm pretty sure I prayed that plane onto the ground!


The weekend then started off busy with lunch and dinner with friends Saturday. Sunday I headed to Des Moines to watch the series finale of LOST with friends. It was so good to see the end of the show with the same people I'd watched it with in the beginning. I can't say that I'm thrilled about the ending, but that's another blog post entirely.


Monday it was back to Cedar Rapids for a few days and more time with friends and supporters. It was so good to catch up with so many people and also be able to spend time with family. Thursday I headed to Des Moines for my friend's pre-wedding activities and more time with friends and supporters. The rehearsal went well and I was much more calm on Saturday than the last time I photographed a wedding!



Jen and Brent were a joy to photograph and it was hard not to laugh when they both got to giggling! I had to remember to keep my composure so as not to shake the camera! The wedding was beautiful and I am so blessed to have been able to spend the day celebrating with them.


Sunday I headed back to Cedar Rapids for a final brief time with family. We didn't do a ton, but it was fun to spend time together just hanging out. Several times my brothers and I showed our dependence on technology while playing Scrabble via Facebook all while on different computers in the same room. With John being at Iowa State most of the year and me being in New Orleans, the times like that are much fewer and far between, and it was so great to be there together!


The weather is considerably warmer here and summer is definitely upon us. I'm excited to get back into the swing of things and start VBS next week. Summer is always one of my favorite times here. I am also working with Kentrell each morning to get him through Economics and on to graduation.


I am also still raising support as I go. Because of some commitments made during this trip, I am now supported at 54% monthly, but I am still quite a way off from my goal. Please continue to pray for additional monthly and generous one-time supporters!