crazy times

Well, this weekend has proven to be a crazy one.

As we were leaving the cities on Friday and heading for Rochester, I found out that my dad had been admitted to the hospital. For the past few months, he has been having trouble catching his breath and generally "not feeling well." So my mom pretty much made him go to the ER when he got home from work on Friday. So there I was, in the back seat of a car with two boys (who don't have a clue what to do with a crying girl...in fact...I am pretty sure they were terrified), with my mom telling me that my dad is having heart troubles. We found out that night that he has some congestive heart failure and something (I don't know the technical term) where his heart doesn't beat regularly, it pretty much just vibrates. It looked like his hospital stay would be "more than a couple of days." We pulled up to Nate's family's home (whom I had never met) and I was an emotional wreck. I felt kinda bad introducing myself with a blotchy face and mascara everywhere, but they knew what was going on and they understood. His family actually came to be somewhat of a comfort during this time, as they offered support and many prayers.

We headed for Appleton on Saturday. I can't say the four hour road trip was a pleasant one. Once we finally got to the town, I settled in my motel room and tried to relax a bit.

Sunday, we got up and had the first preview service of what could be a new church. We had 11 people, which was pleasing. I didn't have to do childcare, since all the parents opted to keep the kids with them.

The four hour road trip back to Rochester was rough too. I haven't slept well the past two nights, worrying about my dad and such, so I'll admit, I was cranky. Plus, I got a phone call from my mom saying that my dad would be having a "procedure" on Monday morning to check for clogged arteries. If found, they would go ahead and fix them then. His heart is pretty weak, so there's a small chance he may have to be on a respirator afterwards.

And there I was, in the middle of butt-crack Minnesota, wanting so badly to go home right then, but with no way of that happening.

After a lot of talking with my mom, a lot of praying, and a lot of tears, my parents insisted that there was no need for me to come home now. "Everything is going to fine," they continued to insist. It's still hard though.. I want to be home, with my daddy and my family.

We finally made it back to the cities at 12:15. Good thing I didn't NEED to fly out tonight...wouldn't have happened.