Of Florida, Family, Flights, and Faith

So, i have not seen my family in Florida for 7 months. That's about 220 days without seeing my mother, father, sister, uncle, aunts, cousins, nieces and nephews. I miss them terribly. So, when i found out we would be getting more than a sufficient amount of money back from our taxes this year, I decided that i would take a few days off from my busy, tired lifestyle and go fly to Florida. How exciting. So, i called my sister to tell her and we got so excited, we decided right there and then to book a flight on the internet while we were on the phone together. My sister said she would put it on her credit card because i had not yet gotten our taxes, and i would pay her back when i got there. It took almost an hour to find the perfect flight that matched up with the times that Steve could take me to and from the airport, but my type A sissy got it done :). I was so excited when i hung up the phone! I was going to see everybody in two weeks! Then i looked over at my precious youngest child. Tears were welling up in her big brown eyes.....in my excitement i had overlooked how hard it would be for my newly homeschooled daughter to go for 5 days without me with her. Steve works so much that right now he is not available to the children. What would Rachel do for the 3 weekdays that i would be gone? I had jumped without thinking. Now my sweet girl was crying so hard her face was all wet and her body was shaking. Oh my, what had i done?
I called my mom to tell her that i was coming and i told her how Rachel was taking it. She agreed with me that i should have thought about what to do with her before i jumped into buying my ticket. By now i felt so guilty and sad for my child, all i wanted to do was buy another ticket for her and have her come along. But that was not as simple as it sounds. First of all, my eldest had already told me that she would be very unhappy if i took Rachel to Florida and not her. Second, my ticket was bought with my sisters Card and i didn't know how to add Rachel even if it was on my Card. So, back and forth it went. I talked at length with Erin and she finally said she understood why Rachel should go this time and not her. I feel so bad for Erin because Rachel is getting the mom that Erin wanted when she was Rachel's age. But, i can not change the past. And Erin and I both agree that Rachel should not suffer just because Erin did at that age. Oh man, i have so much to make up for concerning my older two and especially my oldest. But i digress.
My mom tried to add Rachel on to my flight but the airline wouldn't let her because Rachel is a minor. I could not cancel my flight and book it over again with Rachel added because it would cost 150 dollars to cancel the ticket. I was devastated. Rachel was devastated. My mother was sad for Rachel, my sister was sad for Rachel. What could we do? I went into my room and knelt in prayer while Rachel was in her room crying. I asked the Lord to intervene if He thought it best for Rachel to come. There was nothing i could do but place it in the hands of the Lord. So i did.......and then the phone rang. It was my mom in tears telling me that SOMEHOW my sister had gotten the airline to add Rachel on to my flight for no extra fee. Oh, joy. Thank you Lord. I could not wait to tell Rachel. I went in her room and asked her "Did you ask God to help?" and she said "I did, i asked him a long time ago when you first told me you were going to Florida" So i said "well, He said yes" she looked at me for a minute and than burst out crying again, this time in overwhelming joy. I told her it was a gift from God, because it was not supposed to happen that way, and that God knew her heart and desires and He loves her so much, He knows what she needs. It was a great answer to a prayer and a great way to show my daughter how much her Father loves her. And me!