Caleb's 3rd Birthday!

Thursday was the day we we hoped to get home.  We headed to Williston on Wednesday, but the weather and the roads made the going hard. We didn't make a reservation in Williston, N. Dakota because we really weren't sure whether we'd be able to make it all the way there.  We persevered and arrived around 8 only to find that there were no rooms to be found.  NONE.  I was reminded about how there was no room in the inn when Joseph and Mary needed one, but knew that we couldn't exactly stay in the car overnight with 4 little ones.  The temp outside was -10 and falling.  We could keep the engine on all night, but knew that we shouldn't give up so easily. I just kept praying that we would find something.  I tried calling the Baptist Church in town, but no one answered.  Scott decided that we should drive over there after checking with the police and fire station for help.  They had nothing to offer.  Scott was able to get the Pastor's phone number and they kindly allowed us to stay in the church nursery.  It turned out to be the kids favorite "motel".  We were able to fellowship with the pastor and his wife the next day and drove away thanking the Lord for providing for us and giving us new friends.  It was a testimony to the kids of how the Lord looks out for us, even when we can't see how.  We were informed that Williston is in a constant "no vacancy" state.  At least we know for next time...  I have a couple pics, but I'll just save them for another time when I need some pics:).  We crossed the border into Canada with no trouble.  We drove through quite a lot of icy roads and persevered all the way to Kindersley.  We stopped for milk and headed over to get gas before driving home. I heard a funny sound, but we figured it was ice build up.  Scott went to knock it off only to discover that we had a flat tire!  That was very unexpected.  A man from our church came over and helped him finish putting on the donut. He also took the tire, since we had very little room to put it in the van.  We drove the rest of the way home. It was very dangerous and we were thankful that we didn't discover the flat tire on that road home.  There were drifts on the road several feet high.  We've NEVER seen the roads this bad, but we're thankful for the Lord's protection.  We're home, most of the car is unpacked. Mrs. Hawkins had warm stew, bread and dessert waiting for us and the kids are settling back in just fine.  We've heard that the weather is supposed to remain cold and blustery over the next month, so only time will tell whether we get a spring or not.  Scott's parents and brother were supposed to be coming next week.  Hopefully the weather will get nicer and that will be possible.  Looking forward to seeing our church family again very soon and celebrating our church's 2nd anniversary this Sunday.  Thank you Lord for a wonderful vacation and for allowing us to make the trip home safely!