Our second day of traveling seemed a little longer than the first, naturally. It seemed like it took forever to get through Arkansas. Somewhere along the way we ended up in bumper to bumper stuff, going from a dead stop to 5mph to a dead stop... When we finally caught up to the problem we discovered it was one of those semi's that has a car carrier on the back (the kind that has 10 or 12 cars on a trailer) and it had caught on fire right in the middle of the cars. The trailer was burned in two and all of the cars nearest the middle were completely burned up, nothing but a black, charred frame left. Weird.

After that experience we decided we were done with the Interstate. So in Memphis, right after our first Steak & Shake stop (James always promises me at least two stops there when we come back east!), we got onto Highway 72 that cuts across the northern tip of Mississippi and Alabama. It actually wasn't that bad of a route (speed limit was 65 most of the way, even 70 for a little while), but it had it's own delays. Like the funeral procession we were behind for a little while and a flash storm that turned into that POUNDING rain (the kind you can't see through) in a matter of seconds. We stopped somewhere in Alabama to grab some dinner and remembered that there were a few necessary items that we needed for the Assembly and hadn't been able to get before we left home. So the Wal-Mart stop added some more time to our trip.

We finally made it to Mom & Dad's house at about 10:00, I think. A lot later than I would have liked, but it's just the way things went. The kids were WIRED and so excited to be here, so we let them play for a while. At 11:00 we put the kids and the Granddad to bed, and James and Mom and I stayed up and talked until sometime after 1:00.

Yesterday we got up and headed off to Zion Hill for church. We had a good service there and the Lord really blessed. It sounds like the kids enjoyed their services, too. We sent them off for Sunday School and never saw them again for the rest of the service! Apparently the go straight from Sunday School class into Children's Church. Of course, Sam goes to none of the above, so he was at my side throughout the service. It's probably best that way!

After service we loaded up and went out to a Mexican restaurant that must've sounded good to everybody else, too, because it was PACKED. So we drove across the parking lot and ate at a Chinese buffet instead. It actually wasn't too bad. If you stay away from the truly weird things, I'm discovering that Chinese food is really just chicken, cooked about 18 different ways or with different sauces. I can handle most of them okay and even enjoy a few of them. And they had those really, really fantastic fried doughnuts that are rolled in sugar. YUM. I think I ate two and a half. :-)

We came home to take a nap, but by the time we got here Dad had all the kids out fishing. (Mom and I had to make another Wal-Mart stop before coming home.) So I went out and helped the kids fish for a little while and James took Katie for a ride in the paddle boat. Dad's got some HUGE fish in that pond! You can see them swimming near the surface and some of them are just monsters! It was fun, but it was a Sunday afternoon and it was HOT, mugily and miserably HOT. About the time we decided to quit I realized that I had seen the dog outside when we first got home. Somebody had let him out but didn't chain him and I had glanced at him, went back to the fishing, and promptly forgot about him. ~sigh~ I went inside to change out of my dress clothes and headed out to search for him. I had NO IDEA where to look, so I just kept wandering around the house and hollering for him. I yelled and yelled and after a few minutes Hershey came rushing down the driveway to me! Wa-Hoo!!! I have no idea where he'd gone or how far away he was, but he CAME BACK!!! This is a first! I've always had to go FIND him before, he's never COME BACK. But he did!!! Wa-Hoo! This trip's Hershey Adventure (at least the first one!) turned out much less traumatic than usual. :-)

We came in and crashed for about an hour. We got up and were visiting when Mom & Dad suddenly realized they had a Band Meeting at 5:00. They rushed out the door and the rest of us took our time getting ready for church at 6:00.

We had another good service. Brother Carter preached on the wind of God and how we need to let Him blow on us and affect us in this Assembly. There were some good thoughts--and my brain built some additional ones along the way--and I felt the better for it. :-) I'm SOOOOO looking forward to the Assembly!

After service we went out to Denny's with Mom & Dad and the Hawkins and the Werkheisers. That was fun, of course. Mom & Dad and the Hawkins left after a while, but we stayed and talked with the Werkheisers while longer. We finally made our way outside and a guy came and started asking where we go to church--actually asked if Brother Kevin went to "that Zion Hill church up there." He was from a Primitive Holiness Church of God, or something like that. We had a good visit and invited him to the Assembly. We finally left the Werkheisers still talking to him at about 10:15, I think!

Dad was fast asleep when we got home, of course, but we put the kids down and visited with Mom until about midnight. Dad was gone when we woke up this morning, naturally. James had Presbytery Meeting at 10:00, so he left a little while ago. Mom's taking a bath and the kids are playing outside, so I figured it was a good chance to blog. :-) I'm going to TRY to keep up with my blog on this trip, especially during the Assembly. That's when it's hardest to do it, but I always think of the people who aren't able to go (EMILEE!!!) and how much I would enjoy updates if I was one of them.

Mom & I will be going to the luncheon in a little while. Ashley Werkheiser will be coming to the house to watch the kids for us while we're gone. It blows my mind. The girl is 12 years old... and I'm more comfortable leaving my children with her than I would be most adults that I know! Ha! She is just such a good kid. And all of my kids--even Sam--are really looking forward to having a "babysitter." Sam usually cries over such things, but Ashley played with him a lot yesterday, so now he thinks she's okay. I told her ahead of time what to watch out for with the three of them. (1) Remember that you're the boss, not Katie--and remind her of it, too. You don't have to do what she says; you get to make the decisions and she will do what you say. (2) Joe will probably try to show off for you, so he'll just act dumb and maybe have some attitude issues. Don't let him get away with it. (3) Sam is the one who might burn down the house--DON'T LET HIM OUT OF YOUR SIGHT! She giggled a nervous giggle, but she still insists she's looking forward to do it. We'll see if she's still excited when it's all said and done.

Check this post later--I'll try to add a few pictures to it when I get a chance. :-)