On Wednesday night, I got a call from my mother letting me know that my brother had food poisoning and was taken to the hospital. She was calling me during the layover she and Daddy were having en route to see him. I decided to take off today to drive down to see him (and them) and made arrangements yesterday at work to do so.

I'd been back to L-burg just before Christmas to pick up my brother but hadn't made a substantial trip since we took him there for school last summer. It was a relatively short drive and although my brother was no longer in the hospital, because he was weak, tired and not feeling well so I only saw him once.

I did have the opportunity however to see my parents and catch up with my cousin, Renny and my friend Heather. I also made some connections with one of my old professor's and my mentor during my senior year. Things have changed a lot since I was last there and I found out later that my old professor had her first child!

I stayed at my old youth leader's house with her family and was so thankful that my Father has orchestrated events and circumstances to bring them back to the US and that she is so hospitable that I could spend the night at her place at a moment's notice.

The plan was to leave Sunday morning so that I could be back in time to serve in childcare that evening. I was on my way to my parents' hotel after spending some time with my friend Heather and Baby Allie at her cute new house when I heard on the radio that they were calling for freezing rain there and snow at home that night into the next. I was disappointed because my brother had just felt strong and interested enough to go out and get some real food for dinner with us that evening. However, I decided it would be wise to take off right away in order to beat all the yucky weather conditions. My Father was faithful in keeping me alert and safe on the roads and once again, the timing was good and trip shorter than it could have been. I'm very thankful and happy that my brother was out of the hospital by the time