I have much to write about, but it will probably have to come in several different parts! I left Arizona on Monday to come home, but it was quite a journey! First, my sister overslept and we left Arizona a bit late to drive to the airport in LasVegas. It wasn't a problem, we just didn't get to shop any and that was fine, considering the weight limitations on my baggage! We did get to meet my nephew, Matt for lunch before heading to the airport. When we arrived at the airport, I made Donna go in with me in case my baggage was over, so she could take whatever didn't fit. Good plan. I was over and she had to take some stuff! My flight out of Vegas was delayed, and so I knew up front that I might not make my flight out of Atlanta. Because it was weather related, they wouldn't do anything to help and I just had to decide if I should try it or stay over in Vegas till Tuesday. I opted to try. So, we left Vegas and it was looking like I possibly might make the flight from Atlanta. However, about an hour out, a lady had a medical emergency on the plane. I'm not sure what happened, other than I saw her fall straight back and land on the floor. I was sitting on the aisle, but behind first class, where she fell. My mother taught me to be a people watcher, and I have to say that I enjoyed taking it all in. I don't know the man's name, but we will call him Servant Sam to make it easier for you to follow. Sam jumped up and over the seat to come to her aid, as fast as she hit the ground. He knelt down by her head and held her head in his lap. The attendant was calling for medical help-a young nurse was all that was on the flight. Sam did anything the nurse told him to. The lady was cold and he jumped up and started opening all the overhead bins and grabbing anything he could find, putting the coats and sweaters on her and tucking them in around her. Well, I was just amazed at the whole thing unfolding in front of me. I thought what a nice man he was and how helpful and in control. However, if I had been in his shoes I would have calmly been asking those around if they had anything they would loan her! Not Sam. He just DID it! Sam never left her. He held the oxygen tank until they started an IV, then he held the IV and assigned someone else to the oxygen. He told another man to come help him lift her into a seat when the nurse decided it was alright to move her. They got her into a seat, where she HAD to be before we could land. Another lady had given up her seat for the lady and she was looking for an empty place to sit. This was all in the last few moments of the flight, right before we landed. The attendants are yelling for this lady to get in a seat, and she had found one, there was just a small problem. The seat was in the middle and the man on the end was getting up to let her take the middle seat instead of just scooting over to the middle. The attendants are yelling...we can see the ground, just MOMENTS from landing, and the man yells to the attendants that he HAD to sit on the aisle because he HAS to get off the plane and catch his flight! It was at this point I was pretty sure I had seen it all! ONLY because I am a rule follower did I not stand up in my seat, put my hands on my hips, and YELL at him "ARE YOU SERIOUS???" I COULD NOT believe my ears. Well, he let her in and sat back down and got his seat belt on before we hit ground and everyone was safe. We did not do the normal taxi to the gate. We sped rather quickly to the gate where the ambulance was waiting. And then, they asked us all to stay seated until they had her off the plane. We all did, but I am sure it was very difficult for one person! All I can say is that if I ever have a medical emergency on a plane, I do hope that Servant Sam is sitting near by, and there is someone medically knowledgeable that can help! I can't even imagine being on the other side of the pilot's door and knowing there was a huge crisis depending on me to get to help! They all did great and the attendants were wonderful, and MOST of the people cared more about the poor lady than their own agenda. Well, I missed my flight to Ft Myers, but because it ended up being because of the medical emergency instead of the weather, we were put up in a hotel and given money for meals. I'm not adventuresome. I like security. I called Cary to tell him I wasn't coming home and that I didn't want to venture out of the airport, into the unknown and the dark, and that I had spent nights in airports before and I believed I'd just stay right there. He told me to get out there and find the shuttle to the hotel and get a FEW hours sleep before I had to come back. I wasn't real happy about it, but I did. It was dark, and cold, and I had never done anything like it before. I found the place to wait for the shuttle and made it to the hotel very easily...not as difficult as I thought!
I even figured out how to set the alarm on my cell phone so I could get up and venture back into the dark to the airport. Now, all I'm dreaming of is getting to the Starbucks and spending Airtran's money on my favorite things! I went through security, made it to my gate. I asked some employees where the Starbucks was. They said "Would you believe that concourse C is the only one without a Starbucks?" 
Actually, at that moment I had no problem believing it. I settled for Seattle's Best, and I spent all but 4 cents of what I had been given. And, I made it home! Stay tuned for more tales!
The Santa was given to me by my grandmother just after I turned 6. It plays music and still works, and I am VERY careful with it! It even has the original box! I just love old things, and family things! These are now packed up for another year, the house is clean, and Cary and Carissa are on their way home from Guatemala. I did a lot of reading, watching movies, and relaxing while they were gone. I also had time to spend with friends over lunches and dinners. In just a few days Kaylee and I will leave for Arizona to see my siblings there. Kaylee will stay a few days, and I'll stay on a little longer.
Claire took over Mr. Cary's chair, keeping it warm for his return. The other's watched the show that Owen and Tucker put on! Tucker LOVES Mr. Mitch! The girls also brought some gifts for the boys...to fight over! 