Together once again

We had a wonderful time at Carowinds. We spent the morning doing rides, then went back to the van around 1:30 (which was parked in the second space at the beginning of a row very near the rear entrance), had snacks and our fill of drinks, changed into our bathing suits, then headed to the water park. We played in several different pools, did the lazy-river current pool three times, played in two different water playground areas, then found a small waterslide that you go down on floats. We did that several times, then I began to feel guilty about having left Don for hours, so we met back up with him. Don is not a water person, so he kept our clothes, shoes and socks, and towels while the children and I played.

After dropping off Deanna and Daelyn with Don and making plans for a rendezvous when the water park closed at 7 p.m., Dane and I headed to do some of the high tubes. We did two different ones that were about 8 stories high and enclosed on inner tubes (very dark - they did put pinlights in a few areas of the PVC, though, so you could see small sections as you catapulted down the pipe), then moved to a different one that was open and you did it on a raft that helf 4 people at a time.

We hooked back up with Dane and the other kids, put our clothes back on, and had dinner. By then, it was dark, and we ran to some last-minute rides to get our money's worth before Carowinds closed at 10 p.m. At 10:30, we were just pulling out of the parking lot. We had pillows and a couple of blankets for the kids, so we settled them down to sleep. I insisted that Dane and Daelyn put on their pajamas to make it easier to transfer them to their beds when we got home. I dozed on and off. We got home about 1:30 (Don made really good time) and decided to leave the unpacking for Sunday, except for the cooler and pillows. We headed Deanna and Dane inside through the front door, which Don had unlocked. Then I caught Daelyn wandering through the driveway towards the backyard.

"Daelyn, go to the front," I called to him. No response. "The front door, Daelyn. Daelyn, go to the front door. The front door, son, this way. Daelyn!" He continued to wander towards the backyard. I finally managed to get him turned around, then went back to the van for some more pillows.

When I walked in the house, Don met me. "We seem to have lost Daelyn," he said.

"What do you mean, 'lost Daelyn'," I asked.

"He never showed up in the house," Don responded.

I felt panic begin to rise. "You check the back, I'll check the front," I yelled before tearing out the front door. Don and I met in the middle of the driveway. He shook his head. I ran around the front, looking up the sidewalk. As tired as Daelyn was, he could very well have ended up at Grandma's house. I didn't see anyone, so we began furiously searching the house. I found Daelyn on the leather couch in the Den, face down, half his body dangling off the edge.

"Son," I tried to speak softly, "you need to go get in your bed."

"Hmphf," Daelyn mumbled. I gave up, picking him up gently and carrying him to his bed. Dane was already tucked in, snoring. Deanna was heading down the hall from the bathroom to her bedroom. I could hear Don in the kitchen.

We got everyone settled down, then I went in Deanna's room to pray over her. As I perched on the edge of her bed, all the emotions of the previous week, missing my little girl, bubbled up to the surface.

"Thank you, Lord, for bringing my daughter home safely," I breathed softly. Deanna rolled over, her beautiful green eyes looking up at me lazily.

"I'm glad I'm home, too, Mama." She smiled at me.

Ah-h-h-h. All is right in the world. Deanna's home and cuddled in her bed. Daelyn, the lost sheep, is found and bedded down. Dane, the stable one, is snoring softly. I can hear Don moving in our bedroom. My family is once again together and I'm grateful to the Lord for in-law's that love my children enough to keep them for a week and for birthday celebrations at Carowinds. Mostly, though, I'm thankful for three wonderful children and a devoted husband and father to my children. Regardless of how much fun we have, the most fun part is being together.

As we were pulling out of the Carowinds parking lot, I asked Dane, "What was your favorite part of the day?"

"The water tubes," he responded. Then, he quietly added, "But most of all, being with my family."

I second that emotion.