Our Christmas Story

As soon as we came back from our last trip to Shakay in September, we have been anxious to return as a family.  Adam has been able to go up for a day or two on his own, but since Isabell’s birth in October, we haven’t made it up together.  

Finally, after lots of set backs and preparation (getting the boat and motor ready and river worthy) we were going to be able to head up to Shakay with gifts and candy for Christmas. Our plan was to leave on Tuesday (December 17^th) and stay until Sunday (December 22^nd) So we could share about Christmas, visit with all the families and let them meet Isabell for the first time.

We were so happy to finally be getting up there...BUT here is what actually happened…

1. We spent two days packing and preparing (who knew how time consuming it would be to pack food and clothing for a family of 5, lol)

2. The night before we were to leave Adam went to fill up the car and the gas tanks for the boat…the police showed up and apparently they had just passed a new law for carrying gas – its not allowed unless you have a permit – so we were delayed a day

3. Adam spent the afternoon of the first day fixing the boat trailer for the umpteenth time –  he welded new tires onto the trailer and welded more metal to the back of the boat so the motor would be high enough out of the water to not hit as many rocks...(meanwhile I was watching all three kids outside for hours and hours)

4. That night at the cabins I realized that even with two days of packing I had somehow forgot my face wash, tooth brush and deodorant…nice

5. The next morning (Thursday) we loaded the boat with all of our belongings and the boxes of presents

6. Before we could do that though – Adam had to change two flat tires on our car

7. Remarkably enough, we left by 8am, but we forgot our lunch…

8.  Ten minutes into the trip it started to rain

9.  We made it to the port about 10am

10.  Adam ran up to find a guy to go with us and help push the boat in the shallow water – thankfully he found one....

11. The random guy that we picked up however, decided our boat was to slow…. so him and the two ladies he had brought along jumped ship mid river

12. At this point we were halfway there so I told Adam not to worry….I would push the boat…..

13. So, we pushed and pulled and hit rock for the next 3 hours (meanwhile I was getting toasted to a crisp without knowing it… I totally forgot to put on sunscreen)

14. While pushing, Adam’s new shoes fell apart – the whole sole fell off so he was basically pushing in socks…real nice on sharp rocks

15. Realized we didn’t have lunch – ate an apple

16. When we were 30 min away we got stuck in a current – it was too shallow and the motor was hitting rock…. Adam couldn't get the motor deep enough in the water to get us the power we needed to make it up. We started going sideways downriver in the current….the boat almost flipped but miraculously God was able to get us pointed the right way (cause Adam sure doesn't know how that happened) lol.

                            
               17.  We drifted down from the rapids and stopped the boat – realized we had totally demolished the $150 prop

18. We decided to go home

19. Fortunately a boat came by so we were able to send the gifts for the families in Shakay with them

20. We floated back down river and made it back to the cabins at 5:30pm

21. While getting the boat out of the river with our newly fixed trailer the left wheel got stuck on something and twisted sideways…

22. We blew up the boat and motor and said good riddance

23. Just kidding

24. The boat and motor are still in tact – our Christmas miracle is that the kids had a great time and wanted to go again the next day...we are all still alive and happy, happy, happy....so that’s good.

All in all, the trip was very stressful and we were sad that we were so close to Shakay but still weren't able to make it up. We had no idea it would be so difficult just to get upriver….we will have to make some more modifications to the boat and trailer... But we will try again after the New Year and will be praying for those families in Shakay even though we can’t be there in person.

We are home now and we will be celebrating Christmas Eve with our neighbors Edwin and Patty, which is a first, so we are excited about that and then we will have a nice quite family Christmas here at home (hopefully!!). 

Merry Christmas!!!