My Brother

A while back, I decided that I was going to fly out west to visit my brother, Justin.  He used to live in Edmonton but moved to Calgary a few years ago and I haven't been out to visit him since.  So I decided to do something totally out of character for me and randomly book a flight and go.  Then I looked up the prices and became my practical self again:)  I told a friend about it and she told another one of my friends, who works for my dad.  She then told my dad and ta-da!  I had an offer of a ticket!

I was sitting at the table homeschooling the kids around 10:30 on Thursday morning.  My phone rang and it was Krista telling me that she had to go out there for work on Saturday and if I wanted to go with her, Dad would pay for my ticket.  I pretty much had a heart attack.  I just don't do things like that.  What mom with three kids decides to jump on a plane in less than 48 hours and go away for the weekend?  After talking to my husband, we didn't see any reason not to!  So I booked my flight, worked like crazy to get ready, and set my alarm for 4:40 on Saturday morning!

I had the best time!  Here was a rare opportunity to visit my brother and have quite a bit of alone time with him.  Usually when he's back home he has a lot of people to visit!  Not to mention my kids hog him terribly:)  We went up to the mountains Saturday right from the airport.  Long talks about music and the kids and catching up on life were followed by gorgeous views as we drove to Banff.  We saw a beautiful old hotel, a waterfall that was amazingly mostly frozen over, and then went out for lunch.  I understand a little of why he'll never move back to Ontario.  Something about constantly being able to see the mountains is so peaceful.  Although I think the cold would do me in:)

I also got to meet and go out to a play with his girlfriend.  We had such a wonderful time together.  I love people who make you feel like you're totally comfortable right away.  And like you've known them forever.  She's so sweet.  I'm looking forward to more fun times together in the future.

On Sunday night, Justin and I stayed up way too late just talking about the serious things of life.  I felt like that night we had a bit of a role reversal!  I'm the oldest and so generally feel like the wisest:)  But that night I learned so much from my brother.  His depth and wisdom are astounding.  I'm so grateful for the time we spent together.

Those were the highlights from this weekend.  What a precious gift family is!  The coolest part of this was, everything happened so fast on the Thursday that it took me a while to remember that I had prayed for a way to go and visit Justin.  I had prayed specifically that I would receive money designated for that purpose.  If I just got random money, I knew I should use it on something more practical!  But I got a ticket that could be used for nothing else.  How amazing is that??  God is good to me.