Lessons from the road.

Today I woke up at 3:45 am (CST) and drove 988 miles from Savannah, GA to Houston,TX. As my husband is with the Youth on a mission trip in Tulsa, OK, it was just me and the kids. Special thanks to our family in Georgia who fed and housed us this past week so we could enjoy my brother-in-law's wedding, and a nice visit afterwards. (Jeff and Sharon, I love you both, and if you don't know it now, then you never will!) Also, thanks to everyone who prayed for our safe travel along the way. I thought I'd share some wisdom I've gained. Enjoy.

1. Being able to answer one's cellphone by pushing a button on the steering wheel is not only awesome, it is essential.

2. A reasonable amount of bribery is necessary to maintain sanity. (Note: Bribery is appropriate for yourself, your husband, or your children. Ice cream anyone?!)

3. Two small suitcases are better than one large suitcase if one will be loading/unloading the car frequently. (Mom, thanks for the Vicodin.)

4. Self-medicating with a Grande Vanilla Latte with an extra shot, while effective, is not advisable when one hasn't tasted coffee since November 2008. (I haven't blinked since Baton Rouge, and I may not sleep till tomorrow night. But hey, at least my kids weren't in danger of Mommy falling asleep at the wheel.)

5. Showing up at Cracker Barrel with two road-weary children and no husband equals really fast service. (I don't know if it was sympathy, or if they were very politely throwing me out.)

6. Dogs never forget who they really belong to, and are always excited when their people come home.

Father, please.

Tonight, here in Georgia, Evey and Dash had a nice dinner with our extended family. They've both had baths and been tucked into beds. Evey is sound asleep and Dash is fussing in his daddy's arms. Tim is singing "Jesus Loves Me" to settle him down.

But it's almost 6am in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and Baby Wheeless no.3 will be waking up soon. He doesn't even know that we're to be his family. (I say "he" in the old-fashioned way of being grammatically correct. We could adopt a boy or a girl.) In fact, the circumstances that bring him to the orphanage may not have even played out yet. He may be hungry. He may be sick. He may be in danger. He may be lonely or afraid.

I cannot feed him, or put a cool washcloth on his head, or tell him he is safe and loved. But I pray to a sovereign God who sees all things, and I ask him to protect this little one who's path He has set. And I pray that He will keep the time until our meeting short, that I will hold baby no. 3 soon.