Update on the trailer

The unloved trailer is almost home. All of the rooms have been painted except for the master bathroom and they are almost all decorated. The guest room and the storage room still need a little arranging, but things are well on their way. Things are feeling like home and we were able to entertain our friends from NY last week and plan to have some other neighbors over tomorrow and then some church attenders on Sunday. As Dorothy says, "there's no place like home."

Residents of NC

Well, after a busy day in town, we are now official NC residents. Yes, we received our driver's licenses and registered and inspected the car. It was quite an ordeal and we are still getting used to the laid back methods of the south.

We arrived early at DMV knowing that it is sometimes a place to be feared. When we arrived with our stacks of ID and paperwork, the lady sent us home because we did not have our birth certificates. Despite the fact that the paperwork asked for one form of ID with a birth date (we had WA licences and passports), we could not convince her to let us through. So we went home and got the birth certificates. The second time through everything went well and we left with new licenses.

The journey was not over. Next we went to register the car. As of 11/1 they changed their rules and now an inspection needed to be completed first before registration rather than in 10 days after registration! ARGH! SOOO, we went and had it inspected and then registered the car.

So the simple acts of the morning filled the morning and a little of the afternoon.

Since I had been home for about 2 weeks straight, we went to Hickory, NC for a little "city" life. We went for some weights, a cross stitch kit, and a meal at Olive Garden. It was a nice little getaway and the end of leaf peeping season here in NC.

So now I reckon I should be fixin' to get to my exercise before facing this purdy day before me. Y'all come back and read now, ya hear!

How about being a dairy farmer?

Well, on Wednesday night at midnight, Chris said good bye to military life. He has been so relaxed since finishing up. His life was always clouded by the fear and dread of what would await on the ship, or when they would fast cruise (stay on the ship, tied to the pier for days on end), or when the next deployment would be. It is so nice to have that freedom again.

So now was the time to turn anxious, right? No, there has been such a peace in this process, that we still rested on God. There is a lot of talk about the poor economy and lack of jobs (which is true), but God had a plan in bringing us here. Chris had applications into Chick-fil-A (the southern fast food), a hardware store, Sears, and a manufacturing plant, when our neighbor came over with another option ... the dairy farm where he works. Chris pursued it and was hired on the spot. So 3 days after leaving the Navy, he was employed again.

So what is the lactose intolerant, hay fever prone man doing on the farm? :) Well, he was primarily hired to fix the diesel machinery, repair stalls and fences, and drive truck as necessary ... but everyone does a little of everything, so he also chases cows and scrapes manure.

We are so excited about this job. Chris is an outdoorsman - and this definitely fits the bill. He is on the go all the time so the days do not seem long at all. He can work 40 - 60 hours until school starts as he wants. He can cut back to 20 hours when the school year begins. He is active which cuts down the time he needs to exercise after work and will balance the time that he sits in classes.

So ... 3 cheers for milk!

A whirlwind trip to the Northeast

As if the trip across the country was not enough, we decided to take a whirlwind trip up to NY to see family and friends before work and school began. So after fixing up the major rooms in the trailer, we headed the nearly 600 miles to western NY to see the Hadley folks. It was the peak of leaf peeping as we headed through WV. Chris exclaimed on every turn, "Isn't that beautiful." We had a good visit with mom and dad. We celebrated dad's birthday, met their new pastor, visited a museum in Jamestown, and enjoyed roaming through the remainder of the fall colors on the property. I enjoyed playing a real piano and Chris enjoyed shooting his muzzleloader for the first time in about 8 months.

After the trip to Cherry Creek, we headed to Vestal to see my brother Jeff and his family. Their youngest referred to us as the people on the refrigerator so we needed to fix that. We had a nice visit with all of them. They too let us get out for some much needed walks - to see their new church and a nature walk at the local park. We did puzzles, played legos, and sampled the local Pat Mitchells ice cream (it was REALLY good).

Next we were on to Cobleskill for church with our friends from Albany - Matt and Kelly. Their little church was going to meet in their home because they lacked a furnace at the church, but they braved 55 degree temps in the sanctuary so that I could play for the service (they are pretty tough). That night we did meet in their home and Chris preached. We had a good time catching up with them and being encouraged at God's faithfulness despite our lack of faith. We also enjoyed meeting their children and their church family.

Our last stop was Elizabethtown, PA to visit our friends from WA. On our way, we stopped in Clarks Summit, PA for some Friendly's. I had a tremendous grilled chicken salad and amazingly left the Vienna mocha fudge in the freezer. We arrived to see our friend in PA and had an awesome visit. We met their newest member, Josiah and Chris was able to visit Hershey, PA for the first time. Our friends took us on a tour trolley that stuffed us full of all kinds of Hershey products - YUM! We also enjoyed meeting all their church family that we had heard so much about in WA and seeing their new home.

We enjoyed our visit, but it sure was nice to get home and back into things again. Time to finish the trailer!

One week in NC!

We have been in NC for one week. We arrived to a slightly "unloved" trailer and eagerly set to work unlocking the potential in our new home. We were without water for 3 days which made life a little interesting. We did tote water from the neighbors house so that we could clean the carpets and did a little scrubbing in the house.

The place needs a lot of cleaning, but most of that is done now. We still have some mini blinds to clean and the guest bath, but the rest of the cleaning is done. Two rooms are already painted with many more to go. The kitchen is unpacked and the master bedroom is almost settled. This at least allows us some place to unwind and of course a place to prepare meals. Chris is redoing a closet right now so that we can unpack our hanging clothes.

We visited 2 churches on Sunday. What a blessing to visit 2 churches in one week that were not offensive on the outside. We will probably visit 2 more on Sunday. What a change to be able to be a little "choosy."

With all the repair and unpacking, we have not done a lot of exploring, but that will come. It is nice to be together and working on the place as a team. The last time we moved, Chris left with things still in boxes and I settled the place on my own. I like the team effort!

Sorry for the lack of pictures so far. I will add some when we are a little more settled and I can find things.

4 ways you can tell you are not in the west anymore

1. Autumn has more than the two colors of yellow and green!

2. Sage brush can only be seen on old Western movies, not in your back yard.

3. You no longer have to take your own toilet paper, soap, and paper towels into the rest area facilities.

4. You can watch the news as it is reported, not 3 hours later.

One Morning Away!

Well, tonight we are in our new home state. I am really enjoying the accent! I told Chris that if I could learn the accent it might help me as a pastor's wife. It seems that a woman with a southern accent can say ANYTHING and it sounds sweet :)

We are in Asheville, NC tonight. We had a beautiful drive through the Smokey Mountains today. The leaves are just starting to turn. The mountains remind us much of the Adirondacks were we spent so much of our dating days.

Tomorrow we will make the last 70 miles of our journey and unload at our new trailer. We are excited to see what God has provided and to begin setting up a new home. We are prepared if necessary to paint and change / clean carpets before unpacking in a big way if necessary.

God is so good to us. We had a good visit with the family in IN. It will be nice to not be aunt and uncle from quite such a long distance. 500 miles is a lot closer than 3000 miles. We had not really met the youngest, so that was fun and we can now be more than just a voice on the phone.

It's An Awfully Big Country

Well, we have managed to spend the night in each state that we have passed through (except OR). The states in the west are quite large when driving from side to side. Tonight we are in Urbana, IL and are done with I-80. We are nearly through with the long trip. We spent Sunday night in Sidney, NE the home of Cabela's. For those not trained in "outdoors" - that is a hunting, fishing, camping, outdoors-y type store that is a lot of fun to roam through. It is full of "Stuffed" animals and often has an aquarium in it. We did spend a little time roaming before hitting the road for the day. We also mananged to pass the mother store of JC Penney in Kemmerer WY while looking for lodging one night. Last night we stopped right on the NE - Iowa border in Council Bluffs. I wanted to make it to a new state for the night and we were still able to stop early enough for a workout and a nice meal and still got to bed in order to get a good jump on the day and make it to IL tonight.

We crossed the Mississippi today and both looked at each other and said "We're home!" We both have such a love of the east coast. We stopped at a rest area with a play ground which I just had to play on and as we returned to the truck Chris asked if we could just lay in the grass for a minute. Yes, the west has grass - but it is just not the same.

Tonight I am doing laundry and we can have a little later start in the morning because we are only going into IN tomorrow to stop and see Donald and his family for church and then for the day on Thursday.

We are eager to get to our new home. We will probably stop just shy of "home" on Friday and then get into Shelby before noon on Saturday and be able to unload the truck.

The trip is going well. We have managed to make fairly wise choices for eating and have taken a walk each night along with some workouts in the hotels. We are trying to avoid the weight gain that we had when going from east to west four years ago. Tomorrow morning we can use the hotels fitness center. The truck rides well (better than a compact car) and is doing fairly well towing the car. The high winds of the plain states have made things interesting sometimes but we have had no incidents.

We are reading the autobiography of John Bunyan as we travel "Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners" It is a profitable reminder of our weaknesses and God's amazing grace on our behalf.

We are almost there and ready to start new things. I am ready to be settled again.

Until IN, KY, TN, or NC ... TTFN (Ta Ta For Now)

Proverbs 21:31 The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the LORD.

On Our Way!

Well, today I blog from Rock Springs, WY along the I-80 corridor. We have many miles on 80 to go. We got an earlier start than we planned - we were just too excited. We picked up the truck on the morning of September 24. The loading started around 9:30 and by 2:30 the truck was loaded. I still had a lot of cleaning, but by about 6 pm we were on the road. We got to Ellensberg, WA on the first night cutting about 100 miles off the 3000 mile trip.

On the 25th, we started to the Boise, ID area. We arrived at 5:30 to stay with Chris' sister and brother-in-law for a few days. We were also able to visit with his oldest brother on our last afternoon and morning there.

Yesterday was a long day with about 530 miles. We planned to stop earlier, but there just were not real great accomodations along the way and the exits are few and far between.

Now on through WY and Nebraska the next few days. We are planning to be "home" in Shelby, NC on Friday night or Saturday morning. We do have a trailer waiting for us in a park owned and managed by Ambassador staff. It is nice to know we can unload when we get there.

Got to get ready to get on the road again. Just wanted to update those following us and praying.

Psalm 126:3 The Lord hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad.

Columbia River Gorge and a Shy Volcano

Our last trip from the Seattle area was a trip that I had planned each year for four years - a trip to the Columbia River Gorge. I finally got to use those plans.

We headed out for Mt St Helens first which is in the Southern portion of Washington state. It is a little drive from the highway, but both Chris and I had longed to see it. We drove to the lookout point, but the fog at the top of the mountain was so thick, we could not even see each other when we got out of the car. So we left sad, but promised to hit the mountain again on the way home.

Next stop - Columbia River Gorge - the border of Washington and Oregon and home of many, many waterfalls. We followed the Historic Columbia River Highway which is a quaint two lane road through a rain forest and the road is lined with white picket fences and stone work. It was a gorgeous drive. Then we hiked to 5 or 6 waterfalls. Chris was enjoying the opportunity to use our "fancy" camera including "stitching" pictures together to make panoramic shots of the falls. I had planned the trip for the fall hoping for a little "leaf peeping," but it was still a little too early. It was beautiful weather though. Even though it was raining, we hiked without getting soaked because the forest was so thick. There really is nothing like an "old growth" forest. Absolutely breathtaking.

After 2 days in the gorge it was time to head back to Mukilteo. We planned to arrive at St Helens around 3:30 hoping all of the fog would be burned off. Alas, the mountain proved shy again. Our drive was clear, but a cloud sat just on the top of the volcano. We did see the base of the mountain and the powerful destruction that is still evident almost 30 years later. The power of 1000's of atomic bombs displayed by our awesome God. It is amazing to me that anyway living through that could deny a powerful God.

It was a wonderful end to our stay in the west. We were both sad to miss the volcano, but glad that it did not "make any noise" while we were there either.

Psalm 115:3 Our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.