I promise this is the last post about my trip!

When one of my close friends first heard that I'd decided to go to Houston, she wrote me a message.  She said, "I am praying that you go on the trip with great joy and peace.  Remember, even though I know your decisions bounce you back and forth from guilt to guilt, I was thinking how important it is for parents to have their kids come home.  Your responsibilities here will still be waiting when you get back.  Life is a series of moments...that was in a poem I read this week...and the moments you have to focus on your parents and brothers are so few and far between."
Even though it was extremely difficult to leave my guys, they somehow managed to survive without me. Ha.  Eli was not at all amused when I first told him of my plans, and didn't understand why I would go without him.  Somewhere along the way, he must have come to terms with the idea.  When I tried changing my mind at the last minute, he said, "Mom, you told me you needed this...and you do!"  I did receive several tearful phone calls the first couple days.  One time he informed me that he'd "cried for an hour and 31 minutes until he literally ran out of tears".
Jason was very supportive of my plans.  He assured me they would be fine, and that I should enjoy the time with my family.  When I told him my sister would be staying with them, he gestured around our bedroom and said, "As long as she realizes this is my domain, we'll get along just fine." Ha.  On Tuesday morning he was still in bed when my sister told him that she and Eli were leaving to pick me up at the airport, and would be back soon.  The next thing she knew, he was fully dressed and following them out the door.  I was thrilled to see my little family walking towards me at the airport.  I am truly blessed.