Homecoming Weekend

(Note: Part of this is taken from Andrea's blog)

My Facebook Status: Surprise trip! Jill and I flew to Utah last night to see my parents' mission report in church. I've had the ticket for two months. My mom cried--now all her kids are here. She had no idea we were coming.

My sister Annette (from Arkansas) flew out too, but she came a day earlier. After she arrived my mom got on the phone to beg me to find a flight out. Little did she know I was already coming. My flight out of Sacramento was delayed all day and then further delayed three times, late enough that it would miss my connecting flight in Vegas. I repacked my bag into a smaller carry-on (so I wouldn't lose a bag in a quick transfer) and then when the time had been altered to even later I figured we have to reschedule completely and I wouldn't arrive until mid-day on Saturday. But then a miracle happened...  we made comments on Facebook...

Ross Tucker We're just glad she made it on the plane. She had a 6:30 pm flight they kept delaying throughout the day, eventually rescheduling it for 9 pm. Then Andrea gets a text at 5:26 pm saying the new departure time was 6:35 pm...and Andrea was still at home.

Andrea Schmidt Tucker Umm, yeah. Miracle. I had to get five kids in the car and load my stuff. We live 30 minutes from the airport and I was driving in rush hour to a place I've only been once. And to keep my Capri Sun (my emergency juice for my diabetes) I had to agree to an additional pat-down in security. Total miracle we made the flight.

Our trip was wonderful. It was so nice to spend time with just Jill. It was nice to see everyone together again (last time was their farewell 18 months ago), it was nice to be there to help and visit. My two sisters were also staying at my parents house so all the bedrooms were taken. I figured we'd squeeze in somewhere and be fine. They added a pack n' play to the sewing room for Jill and a roll-away to my parent's walk-in closet for me--worked out great. I loved being a in little tucked-away spot and that bed in comfy!!

Amy picked me up at the airport. She said that mom was still up making cookies for the weekend. When we got there Annette and Jake and my parents were all still awake--each quiet in their rooms. My dad waved me in (he knew I was coming) and I said, "Hi Mom!" with the car sear in my hand. She was shocked. She didn't say anything. Just cried. She had wanted me to come so bad, so all her kids were there together. Later she said that Amy and Jake had gone to Denny's for a "snack" and she had secretly hoped they were going to the airport to get me. When they got back and talked about the food they had, she was bummed and figured that was it. There was no way I was coming. Amy slipped away to the airport a few hours later.

We stayed up too late talking and sharing stories. Baby Grace was sick with the flu and so Amy and Jake were changing sheets and doing laundry through the night. We were all tired.

Saturday morning I heard a soccer game going on. I helped do projects -- switch family pictures in frames, sort jewelry and shells, and cut celery. We met Brent and his family at the Comfort Inn pool to swim and then had dinner that evening. We arranged furniture and put food on platters. My mom felt sick that night and went up to bed earlier. The rest of us stepped up and had it all ready by morning. We had fun with music on as we cooked and prepped for the event. Dad was up past midnight with us three girls helping too.

Sunday was special. I accompanied the grandkids singing "We'll Bring the World His Truth" (aka "Armies of Helaman) as a prelude musical number. I loved hearing my parents share their testimonies and their experiences. They grew a lot while they were gone. They shared many miracles I had not heard before, and even stories I was familiar with came with a different Spirit being in that meeting as they shared it with the ward. It was incredible. The feeling I had was worth everything it took to get there. Makes me want to go on a mission with Ross someday even more. A few elders they worked with in the office came and sang a musical number with my parents and Brent and Judith--about four hymns (first verse only) in Spanish. It was cool. My mom even shared a little bit of her testimony in Spanish and my dad slipped called a washing machine its Spanish word because he couldn't think of what you call it in English.

We went home and ate and visited. Near the end we took a family picture, minus two spouses and five grandkids. My dad got to meet three new grand-babies. Amy's due in a few weeks so another one with join the family.

***

Persuasion to come out... little did Susan know that Andrea already had a ticket purchased two months ago. Here is some email exchange from Thursday, March 13th--

Mom: Hi, I tried to call. Did you look into the tickets? Any chance a quick trip up here? Do they have cheap last minute--price line tickets?

Andrea: Oh! You have internet? I didn't know if you did or not. Sorry we missed your call. We were having dinner. I'll think about it. Did you go to the pioneer meeting?

Mom: No, Annette came as a surprise, so fun!! Then I cried because you weren't here! I've tried a few times.  Love you so much!!  Mom