My Missouri Trip

HellooOOOoooOOOooo......

I hope this post finds each of you in good health and spirits! I am doing excellent. Little tired (still trying to catch up on my sleep...it didn't help a severe thunderstorm kept us awake most of the early morning today) but doing awesome, praise Yah \o/

Well my Missouri trip went by too fast. I left April 19th and came home April 23rd. The trip was 8.5 hours but really it wasn't that bad. Since the 19th was a Sunday and I left in the wee hours of the morning, there was no traffic to contend with...just me and the open road.

It took 3 hours to get to the Arkansas border which that's not bad at all. I didn't realize how close we were to that state.

The drive through Arkansas and Missouri is really pretty, if you like the scenic country stuff (farms, land, homesteads).

Tabaitha told me to call her when I got to Newport AR, so that way by the time I got to Pocahontas AR, they would be there to meet me so I wouldn't end up getting lost trying to cross over to the MO border and finding my way to the motel and what not.

I got to Newport 3 hours later and took a much needed break at a small WalMart (yes they still exist and they are the most friendliest, cleanest, dow to earth places compared to the Super Wal-Marts).

After I got the blood flowing in my legs and fueled up the car, I was on my way to Pocahontas.

I really enjoyed the drive to that town, nothing but road and land and beautiful homes.

I finally got to the Wal-Mart we decided to meet at and it was such a blessed moment to meet in person!! :-)

After our hugs, Tabby's hubby (Roger) had to grab a few things in Wal-Mart so I decided to go with as I need to stretch and get a few things myself (which I didn't end up getting as my mind was so scatter brained...hee hee). Tabby waited for us in the car.

I was starving so I grabbed some fries and a cheeseburger from McDonalds next door to Wal-Mart and then we were off to my motel room. Tabby rode with me so we could gab and yak and just be together. :-)

I stayed at the Days Inn in Doniphan MO...never heard of Doniphan? Me neither...till I decided to go on this trip. :-) It's a small quaint town with not much to offer, but I thought it was just fine.

We dropped my stuff off in the room and then we followed her hubby back to their house.

The way to their house is uphill, scenic and curvy, about 20-25 minutes from Doniphan but the scenery more than makes up for it.

I got to meet their 5 children and 9 chihuahuas. :-)

We fellowshipped together, talking about books, the Bible, etc. etc. and her children had fixed us a supper of hmmm I think it was called cheesy chili spaghetti or something to that effect, with a salad. It was good. Very good actually. :-P

I had brought some gifts with me for everyone. For the children I brought them a sack full of snacks (rice krispie treats, Goldfish, granola bars, Pringles, um..I don't even know what else, lol). For Tabby, I gave her some candles, 2 Acapella CD's, and some aloe infused socks. I knew she would like that stuff. What girl refuses candles, music and fuzzy socks? :-)

Now for Roger and Tabaitha I gave them a generous monetary gift as they are moving within the next few weeks and they will need to buy another vehicle, look for a place to live and all that other stuff that goes along with moving and getting settled in a new home.

That took them by surprise but Yah's hand was in it all and I was more than honored to help them in any way I could.

Tabby and I had already planned on her staying the night in the motel with me that evening so she gathered a few things and we were off. I treated her to a Cherry Limeade from Sonic as those are her fave.

Oh it was so much fun talking about Yah, having our own Bible fellowship as we searched Scriptures for answers, and just talked about, well, things. Hee hee. :-) Didn't get to sleep till 1:30 a.m.

So now we are on to April 20th. I awoke before Tabby did and finally figured out how to get the wireless Internet working in the room (obviously I don't use wireless much at all).

After bumming around for an hour, I needed to go to Wal-Mart for some eye drops. Well the nearest Wal-Mart was in Thayer MO about 40 minutes away.

I asked her if she was up for that trip and she was game so we left and went there. And lucky for me, it was another small Wal-Mart. :) I thoroughly enjoyed the warm atmosphere, people actually smiling and were there if we needed help. That's the way a Wal-Mart should be. :-)

We drove back to her house and fellowshipped till supper was finished. Her children had made baked chicken, green beans, and mac & cheese. Very yummy, especially that chicken. :-P

After supper and a bit more fellowshipping I went back to the motel room to rest. Of course I didn't rest like I wanted too...I took a shower and went online while my hair dried before exhaustion hit and I fell asleep.

April 21st after grabbing some breakfast at Sonic I drove up to their house (I learned the area really quick...it's really not hard to learn at all...from my motel to their house is only 2 turns...lol).

I needed to go back to Wal-Mart because the eye drops I had gotten were not doing their job, plus Robert wanted me to see about getting him some Yu-Gi-Oh cards there.

So off we went again. :-)

Got the eyedrops I needed, and also got Sis Tabby some fabric for new dresses. For a small Wal-Mart I thought their selection of fabric was just fine...and for $1.50 or $2.00 per yard, one can't go wrong with that. So I asked Tabby if I could spoil her and get her some fabric I(along with thread, zippers, and elastic). :-) I almost got myself some fabric but remembered I already have dresses coming to me, so I had to nix that idea.

Got Robert a pack of the cards he wanted and also some batteries for me and Tabby's camera's so we can get pictures taken. My camera eats batteries like nothing.

After Wal-Mart Tabby treated us to lunch at Dairy Queen. Mmmmm. I wasn't really hungry for their food, but I can never, ever pass up a cookie dough blizzard from DQ. And guess what?? They actually made it right! Woohooo!!! Texas DQ's don't know how to make blizzards properly. :-(

So we talked and ate and it was a lot of fun. :)

Went back to her house but didn't stay too long as I was tired and needed to rest as the next day was going to be a long day.

April 22nd was the big day...her hubby's surgery. Had to be there at 7 a.m. so they came and knocked on my door at 6 a.m. and I was ready to go. The surgery was at a hospital in Poplar Bluff MO, about 45-50 minutes away (guess it depends on how fast ya drive...hee hee).

While he hubby was getting admitted or whatever it is they call it, prep, uh, I don't know, before surgery, we waited. When we were allowed to go back to be with him we found out his surgery was post poned 4 hours all because he had a piece of gum when he wasn't supposed too. He wasn't too happy about that, but I figured it gave me and Tabby more time together.

So we went ahead to the cafeteria and got some breakfast. I had a slice of breakfast pizza which believe it or not was really good...for hospital food. :) Even Tabby's biscuits & gravy seemed tempting and she said that was just as good too. Kudos to this hospital for decent food!

At 11:30 a.m. Roger went in for surgery.

We had lunch at about 12:40 or a little after. Had a slice of cheese pizza which was good too. Tabby had a salad and slice of cheese pizza.

The neat thing about this hospital is that they call you and give you updates on how the progress is going in the operating room. I thought that was really neat.

All was going well for Roger. Which is good as many folks had been praying for him that day. :)

He was in recovery for about an hour and when we found what room he would be in we went there and waited.

They wheeled him in and got him woke up and talking or at least functioning. For someone coming out of surgery I thought he looked pretty decent. I don't think anyone comes out of surgery looking perfect.

He became more alert as the minutes / hours passed and I know that eased Tabby's mind a great deal.

I stayed till 6:40 p.m. and then said my good-byes as it was getting later and I didn't want to get turned around in the dark. Roger was asleep, so it was just Tabby to say goodbye too. :*-(

Goodbye's are not fun, but they had to be said and I headed back to the motel room.

While I was there I just had this nudging from Yah to bring Tabby a few things from (snacks, ummm other things that I won't mention), and I called her house and asked her son to pack some more clothing, undergarments and what not as I had a feeling she might need them and she wasn't going to leave Roger's side for a day or two.

So I made the trek up the hill to their house (in the dark it seemed to take forever), got the bag, and made the hour drive back to the hospital.

Boy was she surprized to see me..hee hee. By this time it was 10 p.m. I only stayed about 10 minutes though as I had an hour drive back to the motel room.

Said our goodbyes again and that was that.

Long day but it was worth it. :-) And I would do it again if need be.

Thursday, the 23rd, I checked out of the motel and headed on home.

The drive took longer because of traffic and Google Maps got me lost (thanks guys!), but I quickly found my way around.

I stopped a few times for gas, food, to stretch as well.

On one stop I was in Hope Arkansas and they got some mean people there, that's for sure. They need to lay off the road rage.

I don't remember what time I got home, probably after 5:30 p.m. as traffic in Dallas was insane, and I expected to rest when I got home, but hubby left the house a wreck...living room destroyed, dishes everywhere, laundry sitting waiting for me to do...it rather frustrated me as he is a grown man and capable of taking care of these things, right?

Well rather then stew in my juices I just got too work and tried to tackle what I could.

I took the rental car back Saturday morning (didn't want too, I loved that thing).

And Roger got released from the hospital this past Sunday, praise Yah!

He will go in a few weeks to have his staples removed, but still has many weeks of recovering to do. At least he is home, that's all that matters.

So keep him and Tabby in your prayers especially since they are planning a move in between this recovery period.

If you would like to visit Tabaitha on her blog, you can go to:

http://plainsabbathkeeper.blogspot.com

Well, I am still trying to get this house up to par and back the way it was before I left.

Robert's laptop had to be taken into the Geek Squad at Best Buy because it came down what's known as the 'blue screen of death'. Lovely... Hopefully he will get that back this week sometime.

Back to cleaning!

Yah bless you all ~

Dawn