On the Road

Well folks, it's been awhile. A lot has transpired since my last post. I haven't had much access to the internet. There was a flurry of packing, cleaning, and goodbyes - the most we have ever had to say. It was tough, to say the least, but God provided many blessings along the way.  It was difficult to leave our house with all the people stopping to say goodbye, or farewell, as I prefer to put it. There was even an earthquake while we were visiting with one family. A grand send-off! We had many invitations for meals, which we gratefully accepted, free haircuts from our awesome barbers, a spacious place to stay after our household goods were packed (Thank you Baileys!), and a warm send-off by our wonderful church family at Calvary Baptist Church. There were other little things here and there, such as snacks made for our journey and help fixing some things at the house. We are so thankful for good friends. We will miss everyone so much, but we know we will see each other again. We are looking forward to getting settled in WA and renewing old friendships there.

Cake made by Barbara Goosman - Great Job!

Victoria and Mrs. Owens

Penny and Sasha

Friends at Calvary

Sophia's first friend, Victoria Owens

Amy and Savannah

Tim Owens, Noah, and Elliot Fairhurst

Our trip started off well and we have been blessed with good weather the entire time driving. I found out that semi trucks do not look out for you in West Virginia. I tried to follow Russell around a truck when the lane we were in suddenly ended and I had nowhere else to go. The large truck that was next to me did not slow down and I had to step on the brakes and run over one of the cones to get in behind it. My nerves were shaken, but all was well. We later found out from a local that trucks run people off the road there all the time. Praise the Lord nothing happened. The children are traveling well considering how much time they have to spend buckled up. Sophia is being a great little traveler. We are driving two vehicles, so that means Russell and I do not get a break from being behind the wheel. We took a day off the second day to see the Creation Museum in Kentucky. It was great, very informative, and the botanical gardens were beautiful! There have been some long days, especially the day we drove through Chicago - not fun! That short distance took over two hours and was stop and go and changing traffic patterns the whole time. It is hard to follow another vehicle through that, but the worst thing that happened was we had to stop before we intended to. Not too bad, just a late night in a not so nice motel. It had an ...interesting smell, and the shower left much to be desired. Yesterday was another very long day of driving. We really enjoyed the scenery in Wisconsin and Minnesota, though. We are currently taking another break in Sioux Falls, SD. It is beautiful here and the place we are staying is nice. Today we went and saw the Falls and I had my first good cup of coffee since leaving VA! We also had a great meal at Chevy's. One does get tired of cheeseburgers and chicken tenders after awhile! We are enjoying the down-time and resting a bit. Tomorrow it is on the road again, hopefully ending near Mt. Rushmore. 
I'll try to post more later with some more photos.

A WHIRLWIND

Cooling off at the yard sale

Nathan taking some time out with Sophia

Bethany and Savannah enjoying some music before staying up all night!

Always happy Sophia enjoying carrots

Nathan and his buddy Will, soccer champs

Savannah and Haley before their Young Eagles flight

Three Young Eagles after flying over Stafford

Sister time - fun stuff!

That's life for us right now, a whirlwind, a flurry, a tornado, whatever you want to call it. It's crazy busy, exciting, and overwhelming. Time seems to keep moving faster. There have been yard sales, ruthlessly cleaning out closets, deep cleaning, organizing, yard work, emptying flower pots :(  and cleaning outdoor items, home repairs, phone calls, paperwork, goodbye visits, sleepovers at our house, barbecues, follow up Dr. appointments, meeting with the real estate agent, and just the regular day to day work. Along with all that, we've been battling illness and asthma due to the poor air quality and heat. There have been some fun times mixed in there, but I'll be honest, I am exhausted. I know Russell is too. He is such a hard worker. We are trusting the Lord to give us stamina and carry us through the next few weeks. We know there is a purpose in all this and we are confident that we are following God's plan. I know we will grow stronger through all of this. I really should be making dinner right now, but I needed a short break. It is good to take little breaks throughout the day, no matter how busy. Just a minute ago Victoria, our two year old, was singing "Cast your burdens upon Jesus, He cares for you."  I'm thankful for those little reminders. 


"Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you." 1 Peter 5:7