At the beginning of February, my Mom was unexpectedly in the hospital.

My heart was longing to be there immediately.

We were thankfully able to travel to see her several days after she was admitted.

We decided to take Tate and Eliza with us, which was a wonderful choice!

Time with different children in different ways is necessary in a large family!

We left after Blake got off work on a Friday night.

We stopped in Morton, Illinois, and spent the night at a hotel.

We still had several more hours to drive on Saturday morning, but this broke up the trip nicely!

Thankfully the weather was very mild for February, and we even had the windows cracked in the van at one point.

You know you are getting close to Indy when the traffic gets thick and comes to a stand still quite often.

We headed straight to the hospital.

Right before we got there, my brother found out that they were not going to let Tate and Eliza past the front lobby.

THIS DID NOT MAKE US HAPPY, just saying, or maybe I am yelling because of those capital letters there, ha, ha!

I went up first to see my Mom after giving everything but my social security number to a security guy to get a pass to do so.

It was so, so good to see her!

She was doing very well for all that was going on!

My brother went down to see the kids and Blake and then Blake and I switched places for awhile.

My Mom found out that Tate and Eliza were downstairs and all she kept saying was “Bring them to me!”

Sigh.

Before long Mike took us to get some lunch and coffee.

We were starving and it was yummy!!

I was getting messages from back home at this point from the kiddos who were helping with our annual Valentine Banquet at our church.

They were having fun!

In the evening we went to a hotel there in Indy that was close to the hospital.

The next morning I woke up to a text from my brother saying that he was going to figure out a way to get Tate and Eliza to be able to see my Mom.

I can hear my Mom saying “Michael! When there’s a will there’s a way!”

She had not stopped asking for Tate and Eliza all day Saturday.

We got ready quickly and ate a quick breakfast from our cooler.

Then it was back to the hospital with word from my brother to tell security that our children were allowed past that lobby.

We did.

The one security officer questioned the other when he gave Tate and Eliza passes, but he told him they had been cleared!

Praise God!!

They came with us upstairs and made my mom SO HAPPY!!

Unfortunately we needed to head out around lunch time for the long drive back home.

Good byes are HARD.

Being so far away is HARD.

Especially now.

Blake grabbed us all a coffee treat, we had lunch out of our cooler, and we got on the road to go home.

We had another beautiful day for a drive!

So thankful that the weather cooperated for us to be able to see my Mom.

My Mom has since been released from the hospital and is recovering slowly.

We have plans to go there again in April.

I am counting the days!!

Praising the Lord for that unexpected visit, that Tate and Eliza got to hug their Grandma, that the weather was so nice, that we had a reliable van to get us there and back, and most of all that my brother is there with my Mom every single day.

The Lord has been so kind, gracious, and faithful!!