Hiking with Bon-Papa and Bonne-Maman

Well, we definitely started the New Year with a bang. And by "bang", I mean drama. 

January 1, 2016. We decided to go on a hike in our backyard with Bon-Papa and Bonne-Maman. Everything was going great; the kids were happy, we were happy. On the way back down, William, Bonne-Maman, and the kids were ahead of Bon-Papa and myself. When I got to the bottom, William asked me if Logan and Kendall were with me. At first I thought he was playing a really bad joke on me. Of course they were not with me. Last time I had checked, they were with him! As it turned out, Logan and Kendall were racing down the mountain. When Bonne-Maman asked them to slow down and wait for them, they continued running. Once they got to the bottom of the mountain, Logan and Kendall were nowhere to be found. After the account of what had happened, the first thought that came to our minds was that they had been taken away. So William called the police and started searching the parking lot. Bon-Papa and Bonne-Maman went back up the mountain to see if maybe they had taken a wrong turn. And I ran back home. Our community is gated, so the only way in would have been to slide under the gate or climb over it. I opened the gate and ran to our house. I unlocked the front door, heard running feet, and dropped to my knees. I was overwhelmed with emotions flooding through my entire body. I was relieved. I was thankful. Logan and Kendall had come in through the back door, which we had forgotten to lock when we left the house. When they saw me, on my knees and in tears, I saw confusion in their eyes, then realization in Logan's (still confusion in Kendall's). I hugged them, kissed them, and then explained how worried we had all been. This reminded me that I needed to let everyone else know they were okay, so I called my cell phone from the house phone. The police had shown up in less than 2 minutes to search the area and question hikers. I walked outside to the backyard and could hear people calling Logan's name and Kendall's name. Complete strangers helping us find our children. We let the police and all the nice strangers know that Logan and Kendall was safe and sound, answered some questions from the police, and went back inside the house. 

I will never forget this experience. I had never lost the children until that day. It was scary. I was terrifying. And when we found them, I was filled with gratitude and relief. I feel so blessed that Heavenly Father kept Logan and Kendall safe. And I feel blessed that He answered our silent prayers- mine, William, and my parents'. I also feel thankful for the police who showed up so quickly to help us when we needed them. And I feel thankful for the people who helped us look for our children, genuine, caring, strangers. 

And for the record, we haven't hiked that mountain since this incident.