Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Day 1: Beginning of a life changing road trip.



Ethan Says:

I was woken up at 4:00am this morning. Shortly after finishing packing my stuff, I helped my dad load stuff on the trailer and in the car. As 4:30 came along, my mom woke up one girl at a time and helped them get in the car. Finally after checking our luggage one last time, we departed on a trip that will change all our lives one way or another; especially Alina’s. Dad, Mom, and I; being the representative for the children of the back seats, made the decision to travel only two days in the van instead of three. My sisters awoke in the van after a good two to three hour nap. To keep themselves busy, they looked at books and watched “Clifford the Big Red Dog” over and over again. 

Every three hours we would take a break, pull over to a rest stop, and have everyone use the bathroom, stretch our legs and eat some snacks. Every now and then my mom would point out crosses that were put up by an unknown person on their land by the highway. Swapping seats every time we stop, Phoebe and Leanore would take turns sitting next to Trudy and sitting in the jumper/seat. Also switching seats, Dad and Mom took turns driving through heavy rains and up ’n’ down steep mountains. An hour before arriving at our hotel, Trudy started to get really cranky. After unloading everyone into the hotel, dad ran next door and ordered some pizza. Eating our food I turned on the TV and flipped through every channel we to find out there was only one kid friendly show on. When “The Return of Nanny McPhee” ended, the family split up into our separated rooms and fell asleep.


Tom Says:

Packing actually started over the weekend as Mary and I got items together piece by piece and started jig sawing the whole thing together.  After staying up too late getting the van packed I awoke to my beautiful bride showing me a whole nother pile of stuff to get into the van.  I love her dearly but how much stuff do the kids need for six weeks?  That and we’re bringing the motorcycle to my sister; she loves to ride and is looking forward to that challenge of getting it to run again. Needless to say, the trailer and van are packed to the gills and I love my wife.

We intended to start the day with a family prayer; getting an early start it didn’t happen that way.  The kids were out of it from the get go and we were just trying to get on the road before rush hour hit.  So, with a quick “Lord, don’t let us crash” we were off. Even though it rained most of the day, it was light and didn’t slow us down much.  And here we are, not crashed yet, the Lord suffers the fools and the innocents, not sure which, but I’m grateful for all His love.  Before bed, Mary did a quick lesson from Sophie’s kindergarten book, from Creation on God creating Man’s helpmate, and that she is, I love her dearly and can’t wait to see what the next 13 years bring...

Tomorrow we don’t go as far, pray for a safe arrival at my sister’s.

p.s. some pictures to follow soon

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