a cross country adventure

soooo....it has taken me over a month to finish writing this post.  ridiculous, i know!  

we've been in spokane for 51 days, and there has been a lot of emotional ups and downs dealing with the ohio house...and the waiting.  oh, the waiting!  aaron has already started work in seattle and he has been coming back to spokane during the weekends.  it's definitely not the ideal situation for our family, but just like any other challenge that's come our way, we have been able to deal and make things work.  we know that looking back a year or two from now, this will all seem like a piece of cake!  right?

*****

if you follow me on instagram, then you already know that we've made our cross country move.  it took us 6 nights to get from ohio to washington.  it was an interesting experience traveling with four kids crammed into a little MPV, but we all survived and had fun.

the movers came the day before we left to pack everything up.  that was when reality really hit me.  our move was really happening.  our home was a forest of cardboard boxes.  it felt full and empty all at the same time.

we spent that evening out with family and friends...saying our last good-byes.

photo credit: jenna 

photo credit: jenna

the next day we watched the movers load up all our stuff into the moving truck, and said good-bye to more friends and family.

by the end of the day, all the rooms were empty, the trunk of our car was packed to the brim, and our hearts were full from all the love and encouragement we received from everyone.

it was a little surreal when we finally pulled out of our driveway and said good-bye to our house.  there were lots of memories made there.  we brought home all our babies in that house.  we celebrated birthdays there, had cook-outs, enjoyed the company of friends and family, filled it with laughter, and shed tears of sadness and joy.

but we were ready.  ready for a new adventure.  ready for a new chapter.

here's the day by day experience...

DAY 1:

the original plan was to do a short 2 hour drive on the first day so that we can have some family time to reconnect with each other.  but since the movers didn't finish loading up until 5 p.m., we didn't even leave until 7.  SO...we decided drive all night.  talk about a LONG drive.  it was a little INSANE, but it ended up working out.

we rolled into minneapolis at 9 in the morning and bummed around a bit before checking into our hotel.  we found a nature center and the kids had a chance to check out some animals inside and then run around like wild things outside (they needed it!).  and then we had this crazy idea to check out mall of america.  wow.  that's all i will say about that.

the hotel was fantastic.  i think everyone loved the fact that they didn't have to spend the night sleeping in a car.  those beds were heaven!

DAY 2:

after our trek from cleveland to minneapolis, the 4 hour drive to fargo was a piece of cake.

my cousin nick and his wife heather were kind enough to take us in for the night on their farm.

we did take a little detour before we got to their house, which involved purchasing 3 bags of freddy's lefse at the grocery store.

it was great to visit with family that we haven't seen in a long, long time.  the kids have never met their uncle dan and aunt kay, some of their cousins or their great aunt kathy (except emma and gibson, but it was so long ago that i don't really count that).  what a treat to be able to get together with everyone.

DAY 3:

we spent another short day driving (4.5 hours), which was nice because we got to spend a little bit of time in the morning hanging out with heather and aunt kathy and didn't have to feel rushed about getting back on the road.

our final destination was the western end of north dakota in dickinson. oil country.  it's weird to see random oil pumps scattered across fields of (probably what used to be) farm land.  it's like a gold rush, except with oil.

i'm a little skeptical with this whole fracking thing...from what i've read it doesn't look like the long-term environmental impacts from fracking are great.  not to mention the community impact.  our hotel in dickinson was about $50 more than our hotel in minneapolis, plus it was smaller (studio suite in dickinson versus a 2 bedroom suite in minneapolis).  the front desk lady at the hotel we stayed said that rent here was ridiculous and just as expensive as living in seattle.  except...you're not in seattle.

but i digress.  we had plenty of time after we got in for a little dip in the pool.  it was a great way for the kids to burn some energy and get their appetites ready for dinner.

DAY 4:

after two short driving days in a row, the 7 hour drive to bozeman seemed long.  and after driving over halfway across the state, we realized that it's a pretty big state.  it seemed to go on forever.

but montana was the first state that we had mountain sightings.  that was an exciting sight, and emma and gibson were fascinated by the sight of REAL mountains (with snow caps and all).  i forgot how much i missed the mountain view until i actually saw it again.

we made a quick lunch stop about halfway through our trip at a teeny-tiny town which pretty much only offered a dairy queen as their prime restaurant hot spot, unless you want to grab lunch at a gas station. i think in hindsight, we should have just grabbed snacks at one of the gas stations, and stretched our legs in the parking lot.

we made it into bozeman close to dinner time.  we stayed at one of my most favorite houses ever: my uncle wayne and aunt lou's house.  thank you, thank you uncle wayne for taking us in!

the kids LOVED the fact that they were going to stay up on a "mountain."  the minute they got out of the car they wanted to climb "the mountain" behind my aunt and uncle's house.

we had a great dinner with more family, and the kids got to meet more cousins that they haven't meet/seen in a long time.  but dinner was when the fun ended, because aaron, emma and i spent the rest of the night leaned over the toilet seat or the garbage can (now you understand why i said we should have just grabbed the snacks at the gas station instead of eating at DQ). ugh.

DAY 5:

getting food poising/mystery stomach bug was definitely rough, and even gibson did not get away unscathed.  except his timing was not great.  we were already on the road and ended up having to make a clean-up stop to change his clothes and wipe down his car seat (picking up what i'm laying down?).  i'm just glad cash and lani didn't have any issues.  THAT would have been very bad.

did i already mention that montana is a very big state?  even on our last day of driving, we still had to drive through montana!  the overall trip from bozeman to spokane was uneventful.  everyone was still recovering from the day before so all we cared about was getting to our destination.

rolling into spokane felt a little weird.  it was strange to be back to the place where i spent the remaining years of my childhood (do you really count high school as childhood years?).  when i left it was just me.  and now i'm back with a whole crew.  but i know the kids will totally dig being in the house where mommy "grew up," and going to some of the places where mommy went to when she was a kid.

being in spokane means new beginnings are on the horizon.  this will be our stopping point until we get our house in ohio taken care of.  yes, it means it's another transition process, but with all the transitions we've been through the past 1-1.5 years what's another one to throw in?

we are anxious to see how God is going to work everything out.  i admit that it will definitely be another test on my patience (and i definitely need to work on that), but He has seen us through from the beginning of this whole moving process.  so i know that everything is already in place up to the very end...we just have to have faith and wait and see how He moves.

16/4

my dear gibson,

4 years ago today, i met you for the very first time.  you were so precious and sweet, with that baby soft skin and newborn baby smell. i fell in love immediately.

and now...you are mr. big boy off doing your own thing, and getting into stuff like my very own curious george.

how can it be that you're now 4 years old?

you are a helpful, kind-hearted and loving boy with a sensitive nature. but you balance those qualities with a little bit of rough and tumble and a crazy-climbing-all-over-the-furniture character.

you like being part of work that the grown ups are doing, whether it's baking or raking.  and hey, i'm not going to say no to free help.

it's important to keep your mind engaged, because when you're bored your curious george quality takes over.  and usually that means something ends up needing to be fixed or thrown away (you should ask me about the torn library book pages sometime, or the time when you put caulk on the bathroom wall).

you've taken more of an interest this year in doing "school," asking for your own work to do when emma does her table work.  and when you do your table work, you really don't need me around to help you, because you already know what you're doing.

when you aren't moving and running and jumping all over the place, you like to enjoy some quiet reading time like your big sister.  i'm sure that once you know how to read, i will probably find you lost in a book at least once a day much like your sister.

 
i love watching you be you.

remember that mommy and daddy love you so very much!  may God do great things through you my little agent gibs.

happy birthday!

wordless wednesday :: when boys play dress up

little mexican wrestlers and firefighters take over...

more wordless wednesday here, here and here.

wordless wednesday :: a little boy and his train

cash loves trains.  and by love i mean LOVE.

going on his first train ride made his day.  it didn't matter that it only went 5 miles an hour around a park.  it was a train. and he was on it.  and he did not want to get off.  ever.

more wordless wednesday here, here and here.

love overflows

our trip cross-country will be happening soon.  i feel like the month of march has been long and short all at the same time.  long because it seems like we are always working on the house to get it ready for sale.  short because there doesn't seem to be enough time to say good-bye and do all the things we want to do before we leave.

i didn't think that i would feel uprooted when the time came for us to move again.  but i do.  in the 8 years that we've lived here, there are roots that have formed and begun to grow deep into the earth.  relationships, places, community...there has been growth here for us.  transplanting will be a little hard (though i don't doubt that we will be just fine in our new environment).

since our decision to move, i've learned two things: 1. God is faithful. 2. God loves his children.

okay, i know those things already, but it's something else to really experience it. He has been so faithful in providing for us the things we need in regards to the move. all in His perfect timing, we have financially been able to take care of the important repairs needed for our house before we leave.

He has provided us with people to help us with our move in different ways.  our church family has stepped up and helped clean our home, fix a window, loaned us their car until we move (right now we only have one and having two allows for more flexibility), painted our upstairs...it reminded me of these verses.  it's like a family.  we share with each other, and help one another out. whatever is needed that need is met so that no one is in need of anything.  it's encouraging to see that lived out amidst our friends and church family.

we see God's love overflowing in our lives (not that it hasn't before), and i am humbled and amazed.  He has loved on us through pecan pie, get-togethers, words of love and encouragement through friends, prayer, tears and hugs.  it has been an overwhelming feeling, and has been a great reminder of God's character, His promises and His will for us.

emma's memory verse last week was from joshua 21:45: not one word of all the good promises that the LORD had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to.  talk about a timely verse for us.  God came through on his promises for the Israelites, and He will come through on His promises for us.  all we need to do is walk by faith.

wordless wednesday::bunny love

our church has hosted an egg hunt every year for the past 3 years.  and my husband (not our kids) looks forward to a photo with the bunny every year...rockin' the same look.

2011

2012

2013

more wordless wednesday here, here and here.

the track

i told my husband a while back that something big was going to happen to us.  i didn't know what, i didn't know when, and i didn't know how.  but i knew there was something...i just had this feeling.

i wrote about our crazy roller coaster ride of a year in july.  there have been lots of changes crammed into the past 18 months from aaron's new job location (resulting in an hour commute), ty relocating to seattle this past summer, having a baby, and knocking down our debt list to two more items (sans the house) to name a few.  things were happening, and i've been having this feeling lately that God was preparing something for us...something big.

and now folks, that something big has arrived.  we are moving.  moving back west.  back to where aaron and i first met.  back to when we began our journey together as husband and wife.  back to our beginning.  back to rain city.  full circle.

out of the 4 job opportunities within aaron's company that he interviewed for since we've been in cleveland, THIS seattle one is the one he got.  i don't think it's a coincidence that he got the job.  things have been falling into place for this very moment years before.  i can see that now.  it's like puzzle pieces coming together.  it was kind of like when we moved out here to cleveland.  things fell into place years before the move.  God is so good that way.

i find that God works change, at least for me, when i'm finally at peace with where i'm at, because that's when my heart is truly ready to follow his lead.  a friend told me that despite the ups and downs of a roller coaster, it always stays on the track.  i love that imagery, and one that i've not thought of before with roller coasters.  the ride itself is exciting, unpredictable, and exhilarating.  but it's always on a track.  even when we can't see what's ahead of us, God already has a plan in place.

it will be hard to leave.  i cried that first sunday at church after we found out we were moving.  it's so funny that after all these years of wanting to be back in seattle, it's harder than i thought to go back.  while i won't miss the winters here, i will miss the people.  beautiful, friendly, down-to-earth people.  cleveland is full of them.

there have been little pockets in my day, where i would just burst into tears thinking about leaving behind all the people we care about, or the moments that we'll miss that i thought we would be here for.  we will be leaving friends.  we will be leaving family.  we will be leaving friends that are like family.  that last good-bye is going to suck, big time. but the new adventure that lies before us is exciting. there will be more opportunities before us to do God's work.  there will be new friends.  there will be old friends and family re-united again.

and now, a new chapter unfolds...one that is familiar and new all at the same time.

forever young

my sweet man had a birthday last saturday.  we had a bit of a crazy week, so the usual birthday plans had to be condensed into 3-4 days.  no matter.  we just went with it, and still had a great time.

a new pair of shoes and a new tattoo was his birthday gift from him to him.  i think that was a good start to the week's celebration.

we made our usual run to the market for crepes and beef smokies.

there was a stop at the zoo's rain forest, and to say a little hello to the elephants.

then we spent an afternoon bumming around downtown, with a required stop at CLE clothing company.

and to finish the week, an awesome friend surprised him with a birthday gift of sausage links and bacon!  he knows my husband well.

happy birthday my sweet man!