There Is No Place Like Home/My Husband Rocks Friday

I love the cold weather! I love wearing layers, smelling the fireplace, snuggling on the couch with Steve under our favorite flannel blanket! I have always said that I would love to live a little farther North so it would snow!!

So..... when Steve was told at work that he was going to have to make a trip up to Northwest Missouri to pick up some materials for his job at LeTourneau, I was all in to go with him. Not only would we be alone for 2 whole days but we would be driving up to a colder climate and maybe get to experience some "winter weather". Neither Steve or I had ever been to Missouri, so we also that we could check off that state on our list {we really would like to visit all 50 before we die :)}.

We set off last Sunday around 7:30 am for the 9.5 hour drive to St. Joseph, MO. When we left Gladewater the temperature was 76 degrees. I have to explain that I normally am a over-packer. I do not like to be left under prepared for anything. I usually pack lots of extra clothes, socks, unders and always bring a small medicine cabinet "just in case". For some reason, however, this trip did not seem to warrant all of that over thinking. We were just driving up Sunday, picking up the materials Monday morning and would be home Monday night. Besides the weather was unseasonably warm! Very easy and uneventful, right ?!?

I am going to sum this up quickly so that you actually get through this post! Anyway.... like I said, we left TX and the temp was 76. We drove up through Oklahoma and stopped at a gas station in nowhere Kansas. We were happily talking in the truck, not at all paying attention to the temperature gauge on the truck. When we stepped out to pump the gas, we were hit with this bone chilling wind!! I looked back at the truck temp and it said 29 degrees. Most of you may not know b/c I don't think anyone is actually from Kansas ( I know you lived in Kansas, Laura, so technically you aren't FROM there, right?) that there are no trees to block the wind. It hits you full force and without apology. Needless to say we were shocked and unprepared for the climate change. As we got back in the truck and started Northward we noticed the temperature steadily dropping. By the time we actually got to MO it was down in the teens! BRRRRR!! We checked into our hotel and prepared ourselves for a nice warm dinner and relaxing evening! As we were having dinner, the waitress told us in her unenthusiastic tone "It's snowing". To which I replied, " Really, I love snow. We are from Texas and don't get to see it much". To which she replied "Snow sucks!!!". Her bad attitude did not hinder me at all. I quickly jumped out of my seat and ran outside to stand in the snow!! And yes, I was the only idiot who did this. No one else but Steve and me cared!! It was so beautiful. Silently falling and actually sticking to the ground. It hit my face and didn't immediately melt. I was like a kid but Steve began to worry about the driving conditions for the next day. I told me him everything would be fine, not to worry, it's just snow. Famous last words.....

The next morning we woke up early and turned on the weather channel. Of course, all of the news was talking about our area. The temperatures were the coldest in the country. The actually temp was zero but the wind chill was -17 F. {COLD}. I am such a southerner and had no idea of how cold that really was. We quickly packed and loaded up. We just wanted to pick up the materials and get out as quickly as possible. I loved the snow but not the temp and wind that went along with it. We found the steel company fairly easily. It was conveniently located behind the slaughter house and the sewage treatment plant. It smelled AWFUL in negative temperatures, we could only imagine the smell in the summer. The steel was loaded on the trailer and we happily headed out!! We headed out of St. Joseph anxiously ready to head home!! About 10 minutes out of town however the truck and trailer started shaking very badly and before we knew it, we were doing a 180 on the interstate with 4000 pounds of steel on the back of the truck. We finally stopped facing the wrong way on the interstate and very shaken. God was with us because no one was around and we were able to turn around with out much incident. Our trailer however did not fare so well. After some assessment, Steve discovered that the the steel was loaded properly and the axle had come off. So there we were, stranded on the side of the interstate, broken trailer, 10 miles out of any town in subzero temperatures. So we started calling information to locate a tow service and a trailer repair shop. Once again God was with us and provided us with both with little effort. So...3 hours later the tow truck had towed the trailer to a shop and Steve and I set out to have some "breakfast" while the mechanic assessed the damage. We found a little cafe downtown and tried to relax a little. We received a call after our meal that the axle was completely broken and it had to be ordered from Kansas City about 60 miles away. The mechanic was a very nice guy and said it should be ready that evening. After this news, we realized that we would be spending another night in the beautiful city of St. Joseph. We asked about the nearest Wal-Mart to buy some warm clothes. We desperately needed hats, gloves, wool socks and maybe another sweatshirt!! Much to our delight, we found a Target and a Starbucks. After our Grande White Chocolate Mocha's and some browsing time, we decided that this was a blessing b/c Steve and I were able to spend some uninterrupted alone time. No kids, no jobs, just hanging out. We headed back to our hotel, had another great dinner and went upstairs to watch a movie in our room. We got the call around 8:30 pm that the trailer was fixed and was only $500. What a blessing!! Now for Tuesday.....

We had heard the night before while waiting in line at Target that there was a "snow storm" coming. We had no way of really comprehending what that meant. We woke up to about 6" of snow on the ground and snow still steadily falling. We could barely see about 20 yards in front of us. We turned on the news to constant warnings of dangerous roads and school closings. Needless to say we were worried. How in the world would we be able to drive and pull and trailer with 4000 lbs of steel through ice and snow for 600 miles. We called Steve's boss and his suggestion was to pick up the trailer and put it in storage until someone else could pick it up the next week. That sounded good to us but we realized that the trip we had just made was completely useless!! We slowly drove over to the mechanics in an attempt to pick up the trailer and somehow find a storage unit in the driving snow. Once again, God was with us b/c the mechanic told us that he and his buddy were coming down to Dallas next week to pick up a couple of 4-wheelers and if Steve's company would pay for fuel, they would haul the load down for us. It was such a blessing! Of all of the mechanics in this town, this one was willing to work late to fix our trailer, charge us an honest price and also be willing to help us in a dire situation. We agreed to this and decided we really wanted to head home that day. We slowly set out. The snow was amazing. It was beautiful and scary at the same time. We were only able to travel about 45 mph but after about 9 hours we reached Fayettville, AR. We spent another night and after another slow travel day, reached our house about 2:30 on Wednesday!!

WHEW! If you got through this far in the post...you know how we felt when we finally got home!! In spite of unforeseen circumstances, Steve and I enjoyed our time together, the kids were spoiled at my moms and we have fun story to share. We also felt God with us the whole time. Not only b/c he kept us safe but also b/c of the people that he put in our path. God is so good!! Thanks to all of you that prayed us home!! We felt the prayers! My husband rocked through this whole trip. He handled stress well and made a trip that could have been miserable...fun!!

Of course, I took lots of pictures and wanted to share with you.