Blessings

A few weeks ago I was listening to the talk "Are We Not All Beggars" by Elder Holland. I got to thinking about how I needed to serve people outside of my little family more and so prayed to acknowledge opportunities. Upon walking downstairs after that prayer facebook was up on the computer and I noticed someone from my mission saying they needed a car driven from Chicago to SLC and would pay gas, hotel and return flight. I thought, "Man, that would be awesome, but there's no way we could work that out." So I dismissed it. Then I thought to myself, "Ok, you just prayed for opportunities to serve and then automatically dismiss the first opportunity? Not cool, Lindsea." So I ran it by Travis and he said to go for it. I told my sisters it was a possibility and they said to go for it. My friend was open to it so I said ok. It turns out we had to go to Chicago for Hudson's dentist appointment (4 hours away) the same week he needed the car picked up so I drove the car home and took off to Utah two days later. Beth, Dale, Katharine and Rachel helped out with the kids so Travis could work and finish homework and that was a HUGE help.
It was the first time I spent the night without Kassidy since she was conceived and the first night without Hudson since I gave birth to Kassidy. So it was a little bit of an adjustment to think about being gone for 5 days without my little family. Thankfully Travis held down the fort so I could drive out alone. And I'm glad. It was quite a drive!
The first day I drove 10 hours to North Platte, NE and it was a 10 hour drive. I drove right through a severe thunderstorm and had the radio screeching at me to find shelter so after a few minutes of that I followed all the other cars off the interstate and into a sturdy building. After that excitement I made it to the hotel and it was nice. It was quiet. It was peaceful. I ate pizza. I slept.
Friday I was supposed to drive all the way to Utah but I-80 was closed in Wyoming because of  a blizzard and a massive 70+ car pileup. So I hung out in Sidney, NE that night.
The roads were still closed on Saturday so I made it as far as Cheyenne, WY and spent the night there. The family I drove the car out for caught up to me at that point and treated me to lunch and dinner which was nice. Since I was postponed on the road I switched my flight to Tuesday afternoon instead of Monday. I wanted to see my sisters and brother for more than just one night!
Sunday I made it all the way to Utah, Finally!! Thank you WHit, Ste and Mads for picking me up :) I loved spending time with your awesome family.
 Marissa, 9 months pregnant, made us all spaghetti that was delicious and I got to spend time with the grandparents, meet my niece Madison (oh the sweet cheeks!! I love her!) and KC's girlfriend Heather. It was so wonderful!
Of course I was only going to be in town for 48 hours and I told Max this (Rissa's unborn baby). He was a helpful little guy and Rissa's water broke at 3am that night. It was so special and sweet for me to be able to see my sister go through labor and give birth. She was amazing. She was brave. She became a mommy! It was also nice for me to spend more time with Javier and see how great he is for Marissa. I love seeing them together and his little one line comments kept her laughing and all of us on our toes. I got to hold Max before they took him to the NICU to help his breathing. That was tough to see my little nephew all hooked up to things and especially, to see my little sister having to deal with the fear and loss of expected time with her new baby while he was in the NICU. I was blessed (Thank you Rissa!) to be able to sit up there with him and again, that was so sweet for me. Max has no clue how much he is loved by his Aunt Lindsea (or the rest of the family). Also special to me,  was being able to spend some time with my mom and sister Whitni. I flew out on Tuesday (thank you road closures and switched flight) and reunited with my husband and kids that night.
This week really humbled me. I'm grateful that Heavenly Father cares enough about me to work things out so I could help a friend, see my family in Utah, meet Madison, see Max being born and hold him, and get a little ME time. It worked out so perfectly, I know it wasn't a coincidence. Heavenly Father is aware of his children and is waiting to bless us if we ask and act.