7 weeks on the move

So I've been back in Washington for a little more than 6 weeks, and it has been one of the craziest welcome homes ever.  It has been full of frustrations, boxes, and decisions.  But I could not be more grateful that I've gotten to be home for these intense past few weeks.  

7 weeks ago Tirzah and I set off for home from Greenville, South Carolina.  The weather was just heating up past my comfort zone and the sky was blue with summer.  Thousands of miles separated us from Washington, but the back seat was loaded with food and water so we were well set.  I had actually been thinking through details of this trip home for over a year (since before I even decided to attend BJU!) and spent months praying for safety and provision.  It was finally happening.

I know I've driven across North America too many times when I start feeling like making the trip in four 12-hour days is really not that bad.  Tirzah and I were very thankful for a few friends along the way who welcomed us in and gave us a place to sleep as we crossed state lines, which was much more comfortable and restful than my plan of sleeping in the car.  

We arrived in Arkansas after our first day of traveling and got to catch up with a few friends, including surprising a special friend for her college graduation!  This surprise had also been in the works for over a year, so it was exciting to finally make it happen.

With the remaining 3 days of the trip, we switched off driving and sleeping.  We got to enter some new states that neither of us had been to before--Alabama, Mississippi, and Oklahoma.  (10 more to go before I can check them all off.)  We had decided early on that we couldn't cover the northeastern corner this time (not exactly on the most direct route), but some day we're going for those ones, too.  We got to see a skunk (I can still count it when it's dead, right?), antelope, and armadillo for the first time as well as remind our eyes of the incredible rock formations in Utah.  This trip caused me to come to the conclusion that every part of the United States holds its own unique beauty, but nothing quite compares to the mountains and towering trees of the Pacific Northwest.  They will always be the meaning of home to me.

"Just a few hundred more miles before our next exit."

Someday we'll drive this way again and have time to stop and climb all over these rocks.

Real, snowy mountains in the distance gave us hope of actually getting somewhere.

I'm sure taking a picture of both of us drinking A&W root beer is perfectly safe while driving.

Our goal was to arrive home on May 8, exactly 3 years after our dad had made his final destination Home.  The excitement of driving through tall evergreens and getting within hours of home was mixed with the sobering memory of painful goodbyes.  As the scenery and cities became much more familiar, we recalled together many things that mean "Dad" to us. The list we created was only proof of the lengths Dad went to to make our lives well-rounded and Small.  Our small contribution of remembrance for the day included stopping for Wendy's frosties, which were Dad's special treat with us.

After getting home and taking in all the sights of the place again we took flowers to Dad's grave. I love that this place is surrounded by grass and big trees and eagles flying overhead.

As if our drive home weren't wild enough, we got home to the selling of our own house and the need for an immediate move.  Within a week of our drive, we were gathering boxes and packing up all the memories and dreams of the past 5+ years.  We spent 3 weeks organizing and boxing up our lives and stepping into the next chapter.  Change and moving have never come easily to me, and in some ways moving feels like yet another loss.  But the memories we've created are forever a part of God's writing of a perfect story in my life, and I can rest in the confidence that He has a new adventure awaiting.