Oh O'hare....

This will be the first of a 3 part post about our Christmas trip to the Middle East. I would have never thought i would write a post solely on our time in the airport but after all we went through in Chicago O'hare, i think you will enjoy a full post. Looking back we can laugh about this crazy experience and people love hearing the story, but in the moment it was literally hell on earth. I'm sorry i just said hell. Maybe you will forgive me after reading....

We left Charlotte on Friday December, 18th. If you dont remember this day, it was the day that the weather called for a "wintery-mix" in Charlotte. This really didn't have me too worried since any other time the weatherman calls for snow in Charlotte, it NEVER snows.... But this time it did. Of course it did. This was when i started documenting our journey on my facebook statuses. I am not one to always have a status, but this proved to be a very good outlet for me since i am what some call a verbal processor. :)

Angela Elrod please no snow....

December 17, 2009 at 3:33pm · Comment ·
It all started with this and 'no snow' obviously didn't happen.

Angela Elrod flight is canceled:( pray that we get to beirut by tomorrow.

December 18, 2009 at 5:54pm via Mobile Web · Comment ·

So American Airline cancelled us for "weather" but then put us on a US Airways flight 2 hrs later. hmmm... At this point we had to decided if we wanted our bags on the Istanbul flight which was our connection that we were only going to have about 15 min. to make. We went for it and checked them all the way there... As i made call after call to try to get in touch with Turkish Airlines in Chicago (instead i called Turkey), this happens:

Angela Elrod are u kidding me? Christmas carolers arrive just as we find out we r going to be delayed st least 24 hrs most likely. I literally feel like i'm in a movie right now and this is the part where we gain all perspective. Real life is not like the movies.

December 18, 2009 at 8:16pm via Mobile Web · Comment ·

This is a picture i took on my phone of the carolers. Not the best quality but one of the few that we have from this whole experience. Not one of my greatest moments either, i will be the first to admit that. At this point we have not reached Turkish Airline but it doesn't matter anymore b/c or US Airways flight was delayed... who knew where the bags were going to end up.

Angela Elrod

we r n chicago now. Just got booked on a flight to jfk then to London then to Beirut. We arrive there at 9.45pm Sunday. Please pray for no more delays b.c if we miss another flight all this starts over.

December 19, 2009 at 6:58am ·

Now getting to this point was an adventure. We arrived in Chicago at midnight friday night having obviously missed out flight to Istanbul. There was NO ONE in the airport, i mean no one to talk to to figure this whole thing out. We were not inside the actual airport but at the ticket counter b/c we had to leave the US Airways terminal to get to American. So we got on the phone and after MUCH time talking to multiple people at AA, we got this flight. I have to give this one to Matt, he got it done:) Then we tried to find a place to sleep with lots of noise, doors opening and closing and COLD concrete floors. We didnt get much sleep to say the least...

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Angela Elrod needs real sleep. The airport concrete floors are no longer my friend.

December 19, 2009 at 12:26pm via Mobile Web · Comment ·

The ticket desk opened about 4am, they issued us our tickets and we got in. At least there was carpet!!:) we found another place to sleep and laid down for a couple hours. I KNOW we looked like crazy b/c people would stare at us as they walked by. I didnt care though. It is amazing what you are willing to give up with a lack of sleep... looking sane was one of the first to go!

Angela Elrod

we slept on the floor last night bc no one was here when we got here. We got rebooked this morn but now that flight is cancelled. Now trying to get rebooked again. This is the most exhausting thing I have ever been through

December 19, 2009 at 1:27pm ·

This was definitely my breaking point. The lady that was trying to rebook us over the phone literally said there was nothing for us. there was a flight going directly to London and we could still make our connection but she said it was booked and there was no option of stand-by. So she told us to go BACK to the ticket counter and see what they could do. So we went... The most frustrating thing for Matt was that he knew he was going to take his shoes off again. He did not like that part.

Angela Elrod

New news!!! We r on a flight from Chicago to London at 5pm today!:) we will still be able to make our flight to Beirut that arrives at 9.45. This is so the Lord bc this flight has been booked up until now. Love you guys thanks for all the support.

December 19, 2009 at 1:55pm · delete

So as we were standing in line, Matt decided to try to the rebooking phone again. He was across the airport from me but i could see him motioning a thumbs up sign, then a maybe sign. What is going on!?! is what i am thinking. So he called me on his cell, me in one ear and the AA lady in the other. He explained that we were actually already on the London flight that we so desperately needed to be on! I firmly believe God was in every aspect of this situation, good and bad, but in this moment i experienced His grace and it was amazing.

Heather Causby Hollander Wishing I could make Angela Elrod's flight drama disappear! I hate all this for you friend!

December 19, 2009 at 1:50pm · View Post · Remove Tag

This was a tag by one of my best friends. it was such a blessing:) the comments and support we got in this whole adventure were so encouraging!

Angela Elrod finally on a flight to London. Pray that ours bags make it with us! Thanks for the love friends:)

December 19, 2009 at 5:14pm via Mobile Web · Comment ·

At this point we had been in the airport close to 24hrs. FINALLY being on a plane was such a good feeling! or so we thought...

Angela Elrod Back off the plane- couldn't take that one bc of maintanence probs so now we r waiting on another one. If u have been following our journey u should be laughing now bc this is comical. We have a pretty long layover in London but with the way things r going please pray that we make that connection.

December 19, 2009 at 7:53pm via Mobile Web · Comment ·

That's right folks, back off the plane!!! At this point we were wondering if this trip was even meant to happen at all.... but 3 hrs later we got another plane and headed for London. 24hrs in the airport, at least we set a record for ourselves. THANKFULLY our layover was long in London so we had no worries about our connection!

Angela Elrod FINALLY in london and itching to get to Beirut!

December 20, 2009 at 7:02am via Mobile Web · Comment ·

WE MADE IT! To London that is. the story gets a little boring from here b/c onces we got of out the oh so wonderful, O'hare things were ay-okay. We would spend only a day and a half in Beirut on the front end but it was a day and a half that i was SOO thankful for!

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Angela Elrod in beirut. love this place:)

December 20, 2009 at 7:19pm · Comment ·
WE MADE IT! To Beirut this time. With no bags but who cared at the point?! Thought we would never make it but we did and now the trip is long over. it was so amazing though:) Hope you enjoyed our little adventure in Chicago. If you have any fun airpot stories i would love you hear them!

Stay tuned for part 2- our time in Beirut!:)

we're back... update later, Trent Family Shoot NOW:)

so we are back from the Middle East! it was an amazing trip and i can't wait to update about it soon. for now, here is a preview of the beautiful Trent family:) i wanted to post this before we left but you know how that goes. Bethany is one of my closest friends from college so when she asked me to do a Christmas shoot for her family, i was so excited! we went out to the near-by Frank Liske Park and Matt, Bethany and Jake braved the cold like champs. Matt was a super champ considering he was smiling after his beloved Pittsburgh Steelers suffered a tragic loss that day. you can see how cold it was by Jake's cute little red nose- what a cutie! It was such a good time you guys. can't wait to do it again:)

trying to get away- love it.

cute shoes, beth!

i love daddy/son love.

can you tell what happened in this shot?? ;)

someone is getting a little tired of this...

bye-bye baby boy... we're done.

Merry Christmas from the middle east!

The cutest little elf in the world wants to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!!

Matt and i are having an amazing time visiting friends here in the middle east. Roman has definitely been the highlight of my mornings, as i have been helping Blair so she can get a little sleep. We had an amazing time in Lebanon and an unbelievable experience in the Chicago airport for 24hrs. I will definitely blog about that later. For now, we want to wish everyone a very merry christmas! we miss all of our family & friends in america but are so thankful to be able to celebrate with such special friends:) i'll try to update the blog as much a possible.

Love to all!

thanksgiving shoot with amy and brian

since i have gotten more and more involved in the photography world, everywhere i go i am looking for places with photo-shoot potential. i love my grandmothers house for all the memories we have there but i have just now taken an interest in all the rustic scenery in the back yard. i only had a few minutes get some shots of amy and brian back there so expect more eventually... but until then, here are a few of my favorites. :)

The Middle East in a week!

one WEEK from today Matt and I leave for the Middle East!! We are going so see J&B and some of my closest friends in Lebanon. i am beyond excited! i am not really ready in that i have not packed one bit or even finished my christmas shopping for the trip, but i can't wait to be there. Our first stop will be in Beirut- my former home- oh, to be surrounded the fashion and people. the busy city streets. i might even be excited about the traffic. i get the joy of staying with my oh so hilarious friend & former roommate.... all i really want to do is spend time with these friends that i have missed SO much since i left. and they get the meet matt! i hope they approve since the wedding is just over 3 months away.... yay!

then we are headed to the home of some of our closest friends in the world. thinking about seeing them when we get off the plane makes my eyes tear up a little. that might have something to do with the fact that since i last saw them, their family has increased by a precious one:) Roman to be exact. Cannot wait to meet that sweet baby. the last time i was there all we did was talk- i can imagine this trip will be much the same and i can't wait. love them so much:)

but until we leave i have LOTS to do. i have a long list of wedding tasks that i would love to get finished before we leave, Christmas shopping and wrapping, celebrating early Christmas with all our fam, packing our stuff, packing all the packages sent.... etc etc etc. whew. we can do it. Thus, the reason i have not been able to update the blog (i am literally making myself update now).

And b/c every post has to have a few pictures: here is a few from thanksgiving. turned out to be such a great day:) i did get a pretty nasty burn on my wrist but i call it my battle scar from making my first turkey. oh yeah.

1 cent thanksgiving

i have never been a huge fan of the Thanksgiving holiday. i think mainly b/c there are no presents and i never loved the food like most do. i know i know... i'm just being honest here. But, in my age and wisdom i have come to like this holiday more a more. I am now a big fan of the food and the lack of pressure from having to give presents is kinda nice too. I think my time away has made me really appreciate these special times with family and friends and taking a day just to be thankful.... aww. And I believe this year will be the year that i officially start loving Thanksgiving!

Although Matt's house (my future house) is not nearly made-over the way we would like, we decided to invite both of our families over for Thanksgiving lunch. Everyone is bringing a traditional Thanksgiving dish (green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, banana pudding... etc.) and I am taking the great task on of making the turkey. i am actually pretty excited about it! So this weekend Matt and i headed to Food Lion to get all the ingredients for the dishes we are making. We bought a Turkey and ingredients for 4 different dishes, and only spent $60. I thought that was pretty good. that was until i saw this lady....

even though this shopping trip was not for thanksgiving specifically, i am confident this woman got by with a free or nearly free Thanksgiving. maybe i will be her one day....

Happy Thanksgiving friends! we all have MUCH to be thankful for. Let me know how you are celebrating your Turkey Day:)

PANTHERS WIN!!:)

every year matt and i try to go to at least one panthers game. one day i would LOVE to have season tickets but for now, we really look forward to our one special game. this year matt bought tickets to the Panthers vs. Falcons game... I was so excited at first b/c i think many would consider the Falcons to be our greatest rival b/c they are close by, then i was not so excited when the Falcons were doing really well and the Panthers couldn't seem to win a game early in the season, BUT THEN i was excited again b/c the Panthers started doing better and the Falcons started doing worse. beautiful. and how do you like that run-on sentence? We also thought that our Nov. 15th game would be nice and cold but no way, it was HOT. It was a beautiful day to be outside but when the sun is beating down on the same side of your body it is pretty bad- plus i dont want just one half me to be tan for my bridal portraits! haha.... So we moved to a shady spot after the first quarter. enjoy some pics from the game:)

here we are in our 1st very sunny spot

I love Charlotte:)

in our MUCH better shady spot

Here is matt doing a MJ pose with his new hat- he bought it b/c about our sunny spot but then we moved. haha, i love the hat though:)

that's right. check out that score!:)