Hurry Up & Wait

Natural theme for the day: Lines, lines, and more lines!

We got up at 4:30 am and out the door by 5. The poor girls were all super tired because we stayed up late last night. We took cereal and yogurt to eat on our drive to the airport. We got a weather alert last night, so knew we needed to give ourselves enough time to get to the airport. It was windy, but no new snow on the ground, so I thought we were good. We got about 20 min. away (airport was 45 min. drive) and google said there was a 7 minute slowdown. Turned out to be a 3 hour stop! They had closed the road (which we found out about 2 hours into the wait) because the winds were treacherous and blowing the dry snow from this weekend everywhere (just further up where we couldn't see). There was a search and rescue van blocking the road and when we made it up there (they were diverting cars to a parking lot or turning them around) he said the airport crews were stuck with us and confirmed this was the only road to the airport. So that gave us a lot of peace knowing we were all in it together. When we finally got a snow plow escort through to the airport, we could tell why they had closed the road - there were white-out areas where you couldn't see a blessed thing, lots of cars stuck and ones that had slid off. The winds were only headed in one direction- sidewards; and they raged over us like a turbulent sea. Then Emma said she had to throw up. Our warm safe haven turned into a trap. Thankfully beyond thanks she didn't. We made it safely to the airport (10 am) and once there we threw the luggage out and got blown into the airport; then picked a line and stood in it (no lines were labeled). Miraculously we picked

the one line that an hour later would be our airline line! They canceled all flights at the airport today. They advised us to get a hotel and they would send an email when they got us on another flight. There was nothing more to do. We had talked to several fellow travelers and heard that all the hotels were full around the airport. And they had closed the road again to Reykjavik. So Peter started calling hotels, and I went on bathroom runs and decided we'd better find lunch before all the food was gone in the airport. The girls and I stood in line for pizza/hot dogs (the only place other than a bar available) for over an hour. The pizza was gone, but there were still hot dogs. They handed me the receipt and pointed to another line to stand in to receive the food. My patience was running thin, because the energy coming from the girls could have powered the whole airport - and being confined for so long was difficult for all of us (and I hadn't gotten the masks on us, and there was a boy right in front of us who was coughing up a lung). But I knew we needed to eat, so we carried on.

We got our hot dogs and Bugles and made our way to the other side of the airport to Peter and all the luggage. He had called all the hotels with no luck. We heard talks of them opening an emergency shelter somewhere in a nearby city, but they didn't know how to transport people there. The weather was still full of fury and one worker said when they closed the roads, it makes it illegal to drive. Even if we made it to the emergency shelter I wouldn't be able to sleep, just wanting to make sure the kids were safe. So it was beyond the biggest blessing of the trip that Peter found an apartment we could rent for the night only 10 minutes away!!! The next obstacle was finding a way there. There was a long line in the airport that wound from one end to the other that two people told me was for a taxi. We stood in that line for at least 45 minutes with it barely moving a few feet. Then Peter went to check things out and found that it was for rental cars. The taxi drivers were currently on strike. So we would get nowhere in that line. We were quite relieved to get out of that line, but that left us with no options. We called around with no luck. Peter called the apartment owner back and asked if they had a shuttle service. It turns out it's just a husband and wife that own one house (with two apartments), so no shuttle. But she called back and said her husband was willing to come get us! What?!? Talk about amazing!!! So he came and picked us up just a couple minutes later (3 pm) and the girls were tickled to get to ride in a Tesla (after how much Ayden and Eli talked about them, they had a lot of fun with that). We all squished and almost got in an accident during a white-out, but angels abounded today! He showed us his town proudly (Reykjanesbaer) and took us one street over so we could see the ocean- it is RIGHT there! SO close to the buildings! The water was splashing up over the city wall. It was beautiful. And I was so thankful we weren't out on that stormy stormy sea. He also said that Hollywood just filmed here on their main street 2 weeks ago and they had to make their own snow! :D He also said that winds on this scale usually only happen once or twice a year! And we were here to witness it! We were all so grateful to sit/lay down after standing in the airport for hours and hours! The apartment is beautiful. The husband said they have been renovating it - it's quite lovely! Just enough beds for all of us! And two bathrooms- we are feeling like we hit the lottery after this past week of sharing one. Peter braved the weather and walked to the supermarket that they pointed out to us, and got dinner for tonight and breakfast for the morning. Such a sweetheart!

We are hoping and praying we can fly to Greece tomorrow! But tonight we are filled to overflowing with gratitude. God knows us and cares about us. His Love is the most comforting thing in the world!

Miracles:
-Having a safe warm place to spend tonight!!!
-Safety in our travels!!!
-Meeting such kind people that showed us God's love and went above and beyond to help us!!!
-The roads are still closed all around, so if we could catch a flight tomorrow we are feeling very grateful to be close!