Update 4/16/25: Whirlwind

Revelation 21:4 “and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain…”

Wayne and I took a last minute, whirlwind trip to California last week. We flew out to spend some precious time with my cousin. Although the trip was quick, we managed to squeeze a lot in the few days away. 

Wayne and I flew to Chicago and then on to Sacramento. We both enjoyed seeing Chicago from the air. We realized that we visited Chicago the first time about 25 years ago to tour Moody Bible Institute. 

I forgot how huge O’Hare Airport is! Crazy to think that we will be flying out from here in a few weeks. 

While in California, we found Naomi a new to her car. She was able to snag this 2004 beauty for a great price! But that meant we then had a 3 day drive home. 

First stop in California is always In’n’Out. 

We stayed with Wayne’s sister and her family Wednesday night. It was a short, but amazing time with them. Lots of laughter! We miss our CA family.

We couldn’t leave Santa Rosa without seeing a couple people who live near Karen. This amazing friend, Jennifer, has sent me numerous laminated scripture cards to encourage me over the years. She has even stopped by with special gifts as she traveled to West Virginia.  

Rachael has a special place in our heart. Rachael was in my small group years ago when Wayne and I helped out with youth group. She was such an encouragement to us through our cancer journeys. Rachael is also a cancer survivor and loves Jesus. This was a great way to start Thursday. 

Wayne made sure that he ate Tans donuts on our way to Lake County!

California put on a show for us. It had rained and all the foothills were vibrant green. We forget what a beautiful we lived and grew up!

Wayne and I traveled to Kelseyville/Lakeport, where I grew up the first 14 years of my life. It’s crazy that we never ran into each other before we met in college. Wayne had family in Kelseyville that lived close to family friends. All in God’s timing!

 Wayne and I decided to visit the cemetery so I could see my grandparent’s graves as well as Wayne’s grandparents. Small world we live in that both of our grandparents are in the same cemetery!

Wayne’s family section at the cemetery. 

We were able to visit my uncle and aunt for a quick visit since they live near the cemetery. So many fun memories were relived! It’s amazing what comes to mind when you go back to where you lived. So many memories!!

My mom’s brother, Cor. 

Where I grew up. 

This is my cousin Cori! We grew up together and have a special relationship. We would spend hours watching Star Wars and Hulk Hogan, which were two of his favorite things. He attended school up the road from me. I remember that we would walk to get the mail so that I would have an excuse to see Cori at school. Spending the day with him made my year!!

Bonus: my cousin, Heidi, was there for the day too. It was fun to hug them in person and not just visit on FaceTime. I love my family and miss them!!

My cousin is a HUGE 49ers fan. My Opa managed to make all his grandkids lovers of the Niners. He would watch every game and cheer them on. I grew up loving them during the days of Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, and Steve Young. My Opa definitely impacted all of us. 49ers for life!! 

Special bond and a deep love!

My dad use to take us on “dates”. He would go to the lumber store and then would treat us to a candy bar from Fastop. It was fun to see this place that is a core memory!

Friday morning, we started early in the morning our 2400 mile drive home. We were able to complete the drive in 3 days. We passed through California, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Nebraska, Missouri, clipped Kansas and Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, and then home to Kentucky. We see wild horses, prairie dogs, ground hogs, antelope, elk, deer, and a bald eagle. 

Salt flats (we were on the wrong side, but it wasn’t worth going to the other side since we’ve been here before). Below was my co-pilot. Overall, he did a fabulous job keeping me awake and going on the long drive. He did manage to pass out this one time. Crime podcasts kept me alert!

We made this same stop when we moved to Chicago 25 years ago. 

Our friends, Matt and Catherine, drove to Lincoln, NE to meet up with us. We had a wonderful visit with them. These two have been amazing friends over the years and have been such an encouragement to us! 

I insisted on stopping at the Arch to take a picture. We’ve driven by it, but have never stopped. 

Our last night we stayed in Kansas so I could do my “race” and get another state completed. I have 43 states done. Unfortunately, Wayne fell that morning when he was getting breakfast. I was upstairs getting dressed when I heard a knock at the door. They had to come grab me. He shook us all up, but is okay. He did have a headache for a few days. I think he might have had a concussion, but we will never know since he didn’t get examined. 

I kept an eye on him after his fall!

Our last stop Sunday was to visit the Graves. Jeff and Jody were our college leaders when Wayne and I met. We had an amazing time with them and Jody’s parents, who were also leaders when we were in college. Time is a weird thing. 

Prayer Requests:

- Please pray for Wayne as he recovers from his fall and he continues his therapy.

- Please pray for me. I woke up Tuesday morning covered head to toe in a rash. The Doctor believers I had a viral response to antibiotics I had been on. It’s quite miserable. Lots of Benadryl and a steroid shot today. 

- Praise: my CT scan showed everything is stable. Because of my rash, I saw a different doctor and not my pulmonologist. I will follow up with him in two weeks to see what the next step is. 

- Pray for a special person in my life who needs some extra prayers!