Time to head back to Dallas... ha! Or so we thought...

So we get up and have coffee with Chrissy after Josh and the kids are off to school/work. Tristan is tugging on his ear so I decide it would be good to take him to get checked out. Then, I go online to check-in and our flight has been moved up FORTY FIVE minutes AND we weren't sitting together.......... UH OH... kill me now.

I yell at Holt and we pack and get in the car SO fast. We are out of gas... lovely. But we JUST make it. Off to the Emerga-Care place. Thankfully they got us in quickly and had a great doc. He saw Tristan and as suspected, ear infection. Wonderful. At this point we had exactly ONE HOUR to get to the airport, return the rental car and get on our flight. If we stopped and got T's prescription filled, we would miss our flight. The doc said give him Tylenol and he'll be fine. I felt like a horrid mom but we trusted him and off we went.

We got to the airport with 30 SECONDS (and I am NOT exaggerating) to check-in. I was SPRINTING with Tristan in the stroller and Holt was returning the car. He just made it and BAM... in! $300 saved. WHEW!

We get on the plane and off we go. Ugh oh...captain says BAD weather in Atlanta.

We land and find out it's a 3 hour layover. Now due to weather, it's a FOUR hour layover. 8 month old sick little guy that is cutting 4 teeth. Lovely. So, we wait. We have lunch, Tristan eats and we plop down on the floor to let him crawl around. I watched the news and things looked GRIM so I called my Ya-Ya Lisa to see if she and her hubby were ok. She said as far as she knew.... all was ok. So I told her I loved her and hung up.

The more Holt and I talked and looked out the window...the lightening the thunder... we KNEW we weren't going anywhere. So, I called Lisa and asked if we could spend the night. We turned in our tickets and headed for the MARTA (train system) to go meet Lisa. She called me back and ALL ROADS are flooded. Lovely. We get on the train. We wait. After about 20 minutes, the dude comes on the system and tells us that the tunnels are flooded. We aren't going anywhere. Well, we can go north BUT have to get off and take a bus for the rest of the stops. Lovely. So, we wait. Lisa calls and tells us her area is FLOODED, everything is under water, she can't even drive her car to her house. So, she will get us when she can. The dude comes back on and tells us that FINALLY, the water has receded and we can ride the train up. At this point, Tristan is wailing...and all of the riders are clapping and smiling trying to get him to be happy. It was kind of cute - and surprising for Atlanta.

We FINALLY get to the stop and get off and Lisa isn't far. We jump in her car and off to CVS..maybe 2 miles away. AN HOUR LATER........we get there. Holt goes up and give the pharmacy T's prescription and they tell him 30 minutes. In my nicest tone, I walk up and tell them that i am about to miss my flight and that I desperately NEED them to fill my prescription. Tristan has been traveling for almost 10 hours now... my little white lie won't kill anyone. He fills it. God bless that man! Off we go to Lisa's.

We get there and this is what we found:

This is her golf course.......... with a man kayaking on it......




looks more like a swimming pool......



this is the street....... they PUSHED the car out of the way - it was INSANE!

Sooooooooo, Thad comes home and he and Holt scope out the area. Impassable. So, we drive up on top of the hill and cut through neighbors yards to get to their house. The dogs are shaken up a little but ok... we get in. Home... at last!

Tristan gets a bottle and a bath and then I lay on the bed with him until he falls asleep. I then put him on his makeshift bed on the floor and he sleeps. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah. Time for a drink. Uh oh........... lights O-U-T! Power..............GONE! ugh

Thankfully Lisa got creative in the kitchen and fed us because I was starving. We hit the hay and then got up VERY early to make it back to the MARTA and then back to Dallas. Yesterday was uneventful. Holt had to work and I had to stay home with Tristan due to his fever. Thankfully it's just teeth and his ears. The Swine Flu is going around my office and I'm a little freaked by it...trying not to over react..but it's scary.

Well, that about sums up our trip. It was great to see Lisa and Thad (sad I didn't take pictures but the camera died right after those above) so that was all she wrote.

A beautiful city, some relatives, two ya-ya's and family and a whole bunch of great friends! We missed a few people but I have a feeling we'll be back to Charleston soon to see YOU too!

Pray for us...... lots to decide! Thank you to everyone who was so generous to my family - it made the trip even that much more fantastic. I miss you all!!! Jul