Dennis, flying and Mima

Alright, I'm back from Houston and ready to write!
Here's the story on how we ended up as parents of an 18 year old German boy named Dennis:
About a year ago I became an International Exchange Coordinator with an organization called EF Foundation for Foreign Study. I first heard of EF when I was 13: I went on a school-sponsored EF trip to Italy and Greece, and we had the best time! Anyways, I was looking for a volunteer opportunity and this one sounded perfect for me: you help locate families in your community that might be willing to host an exchange student for a year (which involves interviewing them, checking references, etc.), then you enroll the student at the local high school, coordinate their arrival to the US, conduct an orientation for them and their new host family, and keep in constant contact with them while they're here. That last part was what appealed to me most: getting to know some kids from all over the world and learning more about their home countries. It didn't hurt that a lot of the students are from Germany... and I've already mentioned how much I love practicing my German! So, about 2 weeks ago I received a call from EF and they said that they had an emergency situation: a German boy was living with a family in Cape Coral, Florida who was about to move to Missouri. The high school in Missouri wasn't willing to accept a transfer exchange student (this is not uncommon), and there was no where else for him to go. So I said that I would drive down to pick him up and he could stay with us until we found him a permanent home. They gave me a lead on a potential host family, but when I went to interview the guy, I decided it just wasn't a good match. The family smoked in the house, which may not be a deal-breaker for some students, but for Dennis it was. The other problem was finding a school that would accept a transfer exchange student. I was a little worried about this, but I called our local high school just to check. I figured that if he got in there, I could try to find him a family in our neighborhood. Well, the registrar was very wary over the phone but she said I could come in and meet with her. At our meeting she looked over Dennis' grades and paperwork, and said that it probably wouldn't happen but she would ask the district office and call me back. Imagine my surprise when she called less than 30 minutes later and told me to come fill out his registration papers!! I was so happy, and so was Dennis! He asked me if he could please stay at our house because he was really tired of changing host families (he had already been with 3 so far for various reasons). Eric and I felt sorry for him and since he had already made himself at home in our house and we got along just fine, we decided to let him stay until June! He really is a good kid and he's already made lots of friends in our neighborhood! I'll try to post a picture sometime soon.

Okay, now to my trip to Texas. Remember how I said I was "never flying again"? Well. I wish that I didn't have to, but there was no getting around a flight to and from Houston this week. When my mom called to tell me the news about Mima, all I wanted was to be with my family. It wouldn't have felt right to be anywhere other than her funeral on Wednesday. So on Monday morning Chase and I went to the Tampa airport. We were supposed to catch a flight on US Airways to Charlotte, meet my dad and sister Jessica there, and then fly to Houston together. Chase and I grabbed an early lunch at the airport and then headed over to our gate. I decided to stand in the small line at the counter as soon as we got there so that I could get the tag I needed to gate-check the stroller. While I was in line, I heard a few people whispering about how someone had died on the plane that just came in... the one we were supposed to get on. They were discussing whether or not the flight would be late. About 5 minutes later, the airline staff at the desk made an announcement and what-do-ya-know, the flight was going to be an hour late! They didn't really give any details, but I overheard them saying that a guy had a heart attack, so they had to call the coroner, etc. I absolutely could not be upset at this point because I could only think about how devasted his family would be. However, I was so, so glad that I happened to be in line already because when they made the announcement, everyone rushed to get in line to check on their connection! The lady at the desk said yes, I would definitely miss my flight in Charlotte. At first she said that she would put me on the next flight from Charlotte to Houston, and it would leave at 7:30pm! I was supposed to arrive in Charlotte at 2:30pm, so that would give us a 5 HOUR layover; not to mention it would put us into Houston after 9:30pm... way after my toddler's bedtime! I was near tears... begging and pleading for any other solution! And thank the Lord, she came up with one! She got us onto a Continental flight direct from Tampa to Houston, arriving at 4:30... the exact same time that my dad and Jessica would be arriving!!! I was so happy! The only problem was that we had wait another 3 hours for our flight and go back through the security, but at that point, I didn't care. Tampa has some awesome playground areas for kids and an outdoor observation deck where you can watch the planes come and go, so we ended up having a great time!

On the plane... he was so good! He's flown so much that he knows how to buckle the seat belt and he claps when he hears the "ding" that lets you know you can unbuckle and move about the cabin!
BUT once we got to Houston, guess what happened? Our suitcase and the car seat weren't there!! I can't say I'm surprised, since I changed flights (even though they did reassure me that my bags would be re-routed). So I filed a report, took the loaner car seat, and went to meet my sister and dad. That was Monday night. I didn't end up getting my bag until Wednesday!! And then I left Thursday morning. So the whole time I was there, I had to borrow clothes from my aunt and sisters. At least they are about the same size as me, and my sister brought Joey, who is about the same size as Chase. It ended up being just fine, but it was comical... I mean, really. How could I lose my bags 2 trips in a row like that?

I loved, loved, loved the time with my family. We were together a lot since we had to make a 2 hour drive to and from Lufkin, Texas, where Mima was from. It was just like old times in our rental mini van... dancing to disco songs and making fun of each other.

The funeral was... ugh. Terrible. It was really way too soon to be at a funeral with my family again. We were still thinking about the last one, just 2 months ago. We're not ready to say goodbye to our grandparents. I was glad to have my sisters there with me... there is no one else that I would want next to me as we all cried our hearts out for Mima. We all loved her so much. One small ray of light on that day was the wonderful lady who came in to keep Chase and Joey for us at the funeral home during the service. The night before, there was a visitation and Jessica and I had the worst time... chasing the kids up and down the aisles while everyone else was paying their respects. I felt like I couldn't focus, even for a minute, on what I was there for. So the next day, my mom... my awesome mom who loves to fix things... called the funeral home director and asked him if he knew of a babysitter we could call. He asked a family friend of his to come in and she very graciously sat with our kids in another room so that Jessica and I could go to the service! I was overwhelmed by her kindness!

A few months ago, when I first heard that Mima wasn't doing so well, I wrote a few things in my journal about her:
I miss Mima. Also known as "Cool Mima." We called her Cool Mima because she was unlike any other grandmother we knew. She wore jean shorts and t-shirts with puff paint (back when they were cool). She took us to the mall and McDonalds. She came to our roller skating birthday parties and actually strapped on skates and circled the rink with our friends. She worked at Target, and drove a light blue mini van. My favorite thing about Mima was how she made friends everywhere she went. In the grocery store line, in the drive thru, outside the mall with the security guards. She loved to meet new people and could strike up a conversation faster than anyone. I've always wished I could be more like that. She treated everyone like a best friend. Mima's biscuits and gravy were worth waking up early on the weekend for. We loved her chicken spaghetti. And she must have put some special ingredients in her scrambled eggs becuase no one else could make them as good. She loved yard sales. She made us laugh by taking out her dentures. She had a garden in her backyard full of berries and beans that she sent to us to keep in the freezer and eat all year round. She could cuss up a storm, and we loved that. She was so much fun.