Day Four: Our Texas Friends

Dina was my best friend growing up. We lived bike riding distance apart and spent as much time together as possible. In fact she taught me how to ride a bike (I was tired of sitting on the back of her banana seat or should I say scared). So it was a must to stop and visit her and her family in Texas. We actually each have three kids and they are each only months apart. Jason was so excited to hear he would get to play with her oldest, Casen - a five year old boy and their names rhymed! Then there's baby Beth (Dina's working on not calling her that anymore, it's been a few years since we've all been together) and Kylee - both independent girls possibly too smart for their own good. And finally Adam and Camden - two cutie pies that will one day be married if we can get the papers in order :) I used to think Beth and Casen should get married but they may be too much alike, could be trouble! Anyway, we arrived at their place around 9pm and found Casen waiting up for us. They played until way too late but guess who was up bouncing on the trampoline at 6:45!!! Casen & Jason...that is super early for Jason with the two hour time change (he napped for hours in the car that afternoon). They also had fun in the kiddie pool, catching toads, playing on the swings, and just chasing each other around and around and around. It's exactly the kind of visit they needed 2/3 of the way through a drive cross country. Now there's only two more days, 12 more hours (according to the GPS, that won't prove totally true for us...) and one more hotel stay until we walk into our new home! From Texas we drove into Louisiana. There was a horrible accident right at the border that rerouted us off the freeway and along the frontage road. An hour later we were one freeway exit down getting back on. Although barely moving in a long line of semis while the sun set slowly behind us was not ideal, we did get this picture :) And we were able to stop at the border of Louisiana and make a big deal about going into this state because mommy has never been to this state. It's her 42nd state (and tonight as we cross into Mississippi, I'll be at 43!) We gave the kids maps of the United States to color as we drove into each state. I still have my map that I started back in college, and it was fun starting this tradition with them on this trip. Jason happily colored in North Carolina on the first day because he knows he's been there. Imagine his surprise when daddy told him he's also been to Wisconsin, Illinios, Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania (when he was 10 months old for Thanksgiving and a wedding). I'd like to be shocked at Jason's love of geography but then as I said before, I still have my map that I've been coloring in state by state since college. Hmmmm....

Here's daddy coloring his own map :)

Day Three - Visiting my dad

Driving cross country gave me the chance to finally introduce my family to my dad and his wife, Leslie. I haven't seen them in 8 years, about a year before I even met Andrew. It's amazing how life can take over and the years can fly by. Anyway, we had a nice visit. The kids got to meet Harry, the goat (the biggest goat I've ever seen), and we had some nice quality time just sharing breakfast and relaxing at their place. It would've been nice to see the sights (the Carlsbad Caverns is still on my list of places to go!) but alas, bed rest would not allow for such hiking around so again we exchanged hugs and were off...Texas here we come!

Day Two - off to New Mexico

After a morning of playing just a little bit more with our cousins, we headed south to Tucson. We were blessed with the opportunity to see some friends that had relocated from the OC to Tucson a little over a year ago. They were part of our home group with a daughter only 2 weeks older than Beth, very special people, and we hated to say goodbye when they moved away. Funny how a year later we did the same thing. Anyway, we were glad to see them and their growing girls. They fed us, talked with us, and sent us on our way after too short a visit, but 9 hours of driving to Carlsbad, NM lay ahead. The drive was long but as I did the evening drive while Andrew slept (to prepare for the late night shift) I actually found myself enjoying the quiet. There were almost no cars on the road. It was seriously desolate except for the rare truck that would come my way. The only sign of civilization I saw for hours after leaving the El Paso area were the men at border patrol (we passed the questioning and were allowed to continue on :) But rather than being disturbing being in the middle of nowhere, or so it seemed, it was peaceful, and I felt like I could drive for hours (actually I did :) I've always enjoyed driving like that in the quiet open road. It helps that I have great night vision and lots of experience driving alone at night back and forth from college. We drove though Guadalupe National Park. It would have been nice to see it during the daylight but the full moon gave me a good sense of the sight - Texas' highest elevation point. I would have taken pictures to share but they'd just be all black so you'll have to use your imagination or do some googling. Road trips can be really fun if you have the right attitude. We made it at 3am (new time zone so really it was only 2!) and quickly crashed into our beautiful little KOA kabin.

Day One (part 2) - Visiting our Arizona Cousins

We made it to our cousins Monday afternoon and were excited to just run around, swim and play. It was a good break for the kids. They laughed and ran circles around the house all day. We didn't stay long enough needing to keep moving on our journey east but were thankful for the day we did get to enjoy together. It was extra special as this was the first time we got to meet our newest cousins from Ethiopia. They were sooooo sweet and friendly. I really enjoyed my time with them. I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking of our time there...The girls...And the boys...

Day One - The Grand Canyon

After a late night drive complete with a sudden stop for deer in the road, we enjoyed a restful night's sleep at a hotel right outside the park entrance so first thing in the morning (ok, we didn't get up and moving until almost 10am) we were driving into the national park. We stopped at two lookout sites. The views were spectacular (we were a little worried about clouds and rain after the night of driving through thunderstorm after thunderstorm but it was clear and gorgeous albeit a bit muggy). Jason commented that it was bestest than he thought it would be. Beth probably enjoyed the one lizard she spotted more than the grand canyon views although she happily took it all in, and Adam just wanted to go back to bed. We'll go back years from now when we can spend time camping and really appreciating God's awesome creation.

Now off to see our Arizona cousins...

Goodbye, California

We're officially on our way from California to Georgia. It was hard to say goodbye but knowing the move is inevitable, I'm eager to get there and just get started on the readjustment. Driving away from our church building this morning was heartbreaking and hugging friends and family over the last few days was surreal. And then our home group had a going away lunch after church complete with surprise gifts, great food, and tears that won't be forgotten. Thank you to all who were a part of that. Sorry there were no tears on this end. I cried at church but then had nothing later, my head hurt from fighting the tears but really, it was overwhelming to even think about saying goodbye and somehow expressing to all these people what they have meant to our family over the last 9 years.

We drove away that afternoon not sure what the next days, weeks and months would hold but trusting in God for all he has planned for our little family. And wouldn't you know it, not two hours into our drive we stopped for dinner in the rain and saw a rainbow. God's promise to his people on larger than life display for us to see and absorb. The picture doesn't do it justice. It was a full half circle touching down on both ends, amazingly awesome. Thank you God for loving us and being the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow in California and Georgia.
We now have six days of driving and 5 nights of staying in hotels and with family and friends. Should be quite an adventure...stories and pictures to come!