In Washington

The last three days have been kind of a blur and a whirlwind. Tuesday we arrived in Buffalo, Wyoming, to visit Jamie's sister Marty, her husband Harv, and their four kids. We had Elk and Antelope for dinner--really good! The boys had a blast playing with their cousins.

On Wednesday I left Buffalo, WY at 6 AM and drove 1030 miles to our new home in Burlington, WA. Long, long day; but a very beautiful drive. Montana was gorgeous; I've never seen such beautiful country. I took my time and stopped every couple hours to eat or fill the car.

Idaho was really beautiful as well. Eastern Washington reminded me of Kansas, pretty flat and not much to see, but I drove through it at sunset, so the sky was amazing.

It was a long day; I got into Burlington at 1 AM.

It was also a very emotional day. As I began, I reflected on everything we were leaving--our home, my family, friends, the boys' preschool, Ashley's school...and started to think, "What the heck are we doing?!"

The magnitude of the change we are going through fully hit me for the first time, and I was feeling pretty anxious. But after a while I calmed down, and started looking ahead. I thought about new opportunities for relationships, ministry, places to go and new things to do.

My anxiety eased and I began to feel something else--hope.
Hope that God is going to take care of us, even through all the confusion and uncertainty.
Hope that we will all get along well while staying with Grandma Vicki (who has been incredibly generous with her home).
Hope that we will find the right place to live.
Hope that Jamie will get a good working situation (transferring with Starbucks).
Hope that I will like and succeed at my job.
Hope that we will find a church that is right for all of us.
Hope that Ashley will like her new school and make good friends.
Hope that the boys will adjust, and that we'll find a preschool for Cash.
Hope that Brady will enjoy kindergarten.
Hope that we will build deeper relationships with family here.
Hope that we will enjoy a new life in a new place.

Thursday, my brother-in-law Chad and I met the mover and we unloaded the truck at the storage facility. One of the guys that we hired to help unload was a former professional wrestler named Mark Lewin. (For you wrestling fans, here's a video of Lewin wresting Ric Flair in the early 80s.)

I spent much of Thursday and Friday unpacking and putting my stuff away. I spent some time with Chad and Linde and their son Ira; Chad was a huge help these last couple days. Grandma Vicki had us all over for dinner Thursday.

Jamie and the boys got in late Friday night; it was a great reunion. Grandma gave everyone the tour of her house (she has done an incredible amount of work and sacrificed a lot so that we can have comfortable space for all of us).

We're still incomplete--Ashley will arrive from Texas on Wednesday. Then the whole family will begin our new life together in Washington!

One prayer request--we are all struggling with colds (my voice went out; I could hardly speak yesterday). Hoping to feel better when I start my new job Monday!

Day 5--Heat and Great Pie

The temperature as we crossed Kansas was 103. Yesterday we started in Hays, KS; crossed into Colorado; turned right at Denver and headed north. We stopped for the night in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Kansas may have some neat places and things to do and see, but none of them are near I-70. It was pretty flat and plain all the way across--about 400 miles.

I spent most of the day by myself in the Civic, with Jamie and Grandpa Lyle in the van with the boys. We stopped at a McDonald's and let the boys play and run around.

Once we got settled in the hotel in Cheyenne, Grandpa Lyle took us to dinner at the Village Inn, where they serve "The Best Pies in America." (They've even copyrighted the phrase.) It was really nice to get away from fast food and microwaved leftovers and eat a good meal around the table. Thanks, Grandpa!

The boys had a really good day yesterday, and everyone went to sleep pretty quickly.

Today we will drive about 4 hours to Buffalo, Wyoming, and visit Jamie's sister Marty, her husband Harv, and their four children.

Tomorrow (Wednesday) will get interesting. We found out yesterday the movers will be in Burlington Thursday morning. We had planned to arrive Thursday night, but are now altering the plan.

After spending the night in Buffalo, we are going to split up. I'm going to get up early Wednesday and drive straight through to Burlington, arriving there late Wednesday night.

Jamie, Grandpa Lyle, and the boys will take their time, stopping halfway for the night, and arriving in Burlington Thursday evening.

I'll miss everyone else for those two days, but will enjoy the alone time while driving!

So far we've driven 1881 miles. More than halfway!

Day 4--In the middle

We are in Kansas, right in the middle of the country, and about halfway to our new home. Got a slow start today--Cash woke up about 4 AM with a bad cough. We gave him a couple inhalers and we was able to go back to sleep.

We drove through the rest of Missouri and into Kansas. We had planned to go north at Kansas City, but there are some roads out because of flooding, so we are going west instead, all the way across Kansas, into Colorado, and north at Denver.

It was really hot today--almost 100. Kansas is flat, and not really exciting, but parts of it are pretty. A lot of it is still wide open; I thought of Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House on the Prairie, and imagined that parts of what I saw probably looked the same as they did when the Ingalls built their home in the middle of the prairie.

We made it to Hays, KS, before stopping. Grandpa Lyle, the boys and I swam for a while, then we came in, ate, and everyone went to bed.

Everyone is getting a little tired and grumpy from the traveling, and being cooped up in the van and hotel rooms together. Jamie and I take turns driving the Civic--that gives us a little alone time.

I'm hoping tomorrow we can kind of take it easy, and try to make it halfway to Buffalo, Wyoming, where we will visit Jamie's sister Marty and her family, hopefully on Tuesday.

I had a great conversation with Ashley tonight; she is visiting her father's family in Texas. She had a great time at a wedding yesterday, and is now spending some time with her grandmother. We all miss her and can't wait for her to rejoin us in Washington!

Move--Day 3

Fading fast; long day. Got up and had breakfast (Krispy Kremes) with Grandma Dorothy (my grandmother) in Nashville, then hit the road--up through Northwest TN, into Kentucky, Illinois, and Missouri.

It was great seeing Grandma, but hard saying goodbye.

We had lunch at a Steak 'n Shake in Illinois, then found a park to play in for a while. The boys did great.

We were hoping to make it to Kansas City, but didn't. We stopped in Kingdom City, about about 140 miles short. Try to make up some distance tomorrow.

Jamie fixed a great dinner with leftover brisket and chili; we swam a little in the hotel pool, now off to bed.

Enjoying the driving, but I'm tired.

Cross country, day 2

(Reprinted from our family blog)

After a challenging few days, we are finally on the road. I think the last 10% of our stuff took longer to pack than the first 90%. We had help from several friends, and Grandpa Lyle (Jamie's dad) was a huge help. With the help of some friends, we finished up at our house at about 2 AM Thursday morning, went to my parents' house to sleep, and left Northern VA about 2 PM that afternoon.

Saying goodbye to my parents was really hard. As we all began hugging, Cash went up to Grandma Helen and said, "I'm going to miss you so much." Everyone started crying. I am so thankful for Mom and Jerry!

We drove to Wytheville, VA the first day and spent the night at a Comfort Inn. It was a nice drive--I was by myself in the Civic (well, the cat was with me), while Jamie, Grandpa Lyle and the boys were in the van. I got caught up on Mike and Mike and Stuck in the 80's podcasts.

We stopped at a rest area and played baseball; then had a nice dinner at Cracker Barrel.

I saw a beautiful sight while driving around Blacksburg. The sun was going down in the distance, the sky was full of different shades of reds and yellows. Jamie, Lyle and the boys were ahead of me in the van. At one point they were the only vehicle in my sight, driving up a hill with the sunset as background, they drove under a bridge that framed them like a beautiful piece of art.

Today we got up and had breakfast at the hotel, then hit the road. This time I was in the van with Grandpa Lyle and the boys; Jamie drove the Civic. We stopped a few times for gas and food and restrooms, and got to Nashville late in the afternoon.

We had a wonderful dinner with Grandma Dorothy and Aunt Sheila, then came back to the hotel where I took the boys swimming. Everyone is in bed; I'm going to follow soon.

Tomorrow we hope to get to Columbia, MO.

Going west

Bellingham, WA, where I will be working

On July 12 we will head west for Burlington, WA, for our next big adventure. I will be working for Logos Bible Software in ministry development--building relationships with people at conferences, seminaries, churches, denominations, and universities; to discover and share how Logos can help them.

We have been hoping and praying about moving to Washington for years, and now the opportunity has come. Jamie will transfer to a Starbucks out there, and we will live with Jamie's mother until we find our own place.

While it is hard to leave family and friends in Virginia, we are excited about living close to Jamie's family and many old friends. Our plan is to pack over the next three weeks, have the movers pick up everything on July 11, and we will roll out on July 12.

Over the next few days I am going to write about the move--the process, the decision, and our thoughts and feelings about such a big change.