If you don't want to read the whole blog post, the following are the highlights:
1) We had a little trouble leaving Page, but the Lord showed Himself strong.
2) We visited my sister, Jenn, in a Rapid City, South Dakota.
3) We arrived in Wisconsin on Friday evening.
4) Roger and I left for Maine on Sunday afternoon.
5) You are missing details by not reading the rest of it but those are the highlights. :)
Okay, so a little review and catch-up on our week! We had a fabulous last Sunday with our church family in Page. They had a cake for us after Sunday night church and blessed our family with a love offering. One sweet lady, Sheila, made me some beaded jewelry, and I was blessed by her kindness. It was such a privilege and a blessing to play the piano for the services, and I will miss doing that on a weekly basis.
We spent Sunday afternoon packing, cleaning, packing, organizing and pulling more weeds! We had originally thought we'd leave Tuesday morning. However, the packing was going so well that we thought that we could leave on Monday afternoon instead.
Monday, November 2,
Roger and I worked on cleaning up the last few things in the house and packing stuff up. I'd bring something out to be packed, and Emma would haul stuff back in the house! It wasn't going as well as we had hoped, but then Pastor Ken and his wife, Debbie, offered to take the three youngest children so we could finish up. We picked up a lot of speed on packing once they were off to the Pastors house! We managed to get the last of the sheets washed, the oil in the car changed, and everything else loaded up. We then went to the airport to find the assistant chief pilot as he was supposed to come check on the trailer to make sure everything was tidy before we left. And that's when our smooth sailing abruptly halted!
First we had to wait around for him because he was no where to be found. Then when he arrived, I could not believe how picky he was about the trailer! It looked over 100 times better than when we arrived, and six different pilots had lived in the trailer before we came along. Basically, the assistant chief pilot said that when the company rented the trailer the yard was clean of brush and weeds. It was FULL of brush and weeds when we arrived! We cleaned up the front yard so that the kids would have a place to play, and when we received the unpleasant note from the landlord, we raked the brush into piles. However, we had no way of getting rid of the piles of brush. The assistant chief pilot had a trailer he said we could borrow; but he never brought it over to fill, and then they abruptly let everyone go. The assistant chief pilot hinted strongly that he felt that we should stay and clean up the brush and stuff, but I felt that since he's still getting a paycheck and we aren't...he can do it!! There's a bit more to that story here, but suffice it to say that when the inspection was over, it was made clear that we were dismissed. We had thought about just bringing in blankets to sleep on the floor on Monday night since it was already the afternoon. But when the inspection was over, we didn't feel like that was an option.
It was now almost five o'clock on Monday afternoon, we were already tired, and we had a long ways to go. We will forever be thankful that Pastor Ken and Debbie saw our need, reached out to us, fed us supper, and housed our family on Monday night. God knew that we needed that little bit of Christian fellowship after a long day, and our spirits were revived and encouraged. The Norris family loved our kids, and Wyatt cried when we left Page because he was going to miss Justin (the pastors sixteen year old son).
Tuesday, November 3,
After breakfast, we gathered up our family and headed out of Page, Arizona. I drove Roger's car, and he drove the suburban with the trailer. I will always be thankful that my dad insisted that we learn to drive stick-shift vehicles! Our first stop was the gas station, where we discovered that our bank cards were not working! Thankfully we had a back-up plan, but it's always disconcerting when something does not work! Since we were both driving, I was unable to call the bank and figure out the problem. When we stopped for lunch, I called the bank. They said that our account was overdrawn! Say, what?! We discovered that I had forgotten to move money from one account to another during the last few crazy days. We had two overdraft charges at $35.00 each! I talked with the bank manager, and I asked if there was any way that they could waive the fees. Since we have never done anything like this before in our history of banking with them, they graciously waived the overdraft fees. Praise the Lord!
We traveled 557 miles on Tuesday with three kids, two vehicles, one trailer and a partridge in a pear tree...okay, scratch the last one! We made it to Rock Springs, Wyoming. By the time we arrived at 7:30 pm., we were all cold from the temperature change!
Wednesday , November 4
We were on the road by seven am. The roads were covered with snow, and it was cold! The kids were looking for blankets and coats, and the roads were wet but safe. We thought that we would arrive in Rapid City, South Dakota, fairly late because of all the snow and weather conditions. However, God blessed with good, safe travels and we arrived by four pm. We had some children that were very, very happy to be out of the vehicle as well as one very happy mama! They did great traveling, but we were all thankful to stay with my sister, Jenn, for a day. My sister plays on a city volleyball league team, so we went to watch her play. Well, actually Roger and I watched the game, Wyatt played on Aunt Jenn's phone, and Travis and Emma climbed all over the bleachers. Travis did find twenty dollars under the bleachers though, so he was very happy!
On Thursday we spent the day with my sister. She has an apartment at the school, and Emma discovered her classroom...every single class hour! Emma would drop in to way and smile, and the boys played in the apartment and in the gym. It was a fun and relaxing day for us.
Friday, November 6
We drove and drove and drove! We left at four am, and we drove 332 miles without stopping! The kids traveled great for most of the day, and they knew that they would only get to Nana and Papa's house by driving. It was a long day, but it was nice to get home. I've missed my big boys greatly!
Sunday, November 8
So...you're wondering what happens now? Well, we are too! However, we do have a few options. Roger and I left this afternoon to drive out to Maine. Yes, Maine! Roger has a job interview this week for a job out there. This looks like a job that will possibly be for a few years, so we feel it would be best if I came along also. My parents are graciously watching our children...I mean, who wouldn't want to travel another 20 hours after traveling for 27 hours?! I I wish we were flying, but driving is a lot cheaper. This will give Roger and I the opportunity to spend some uninterrupted time alone which is something we haven't had since Feburary. So, in that regards, I am happy to be going. Also, my sister, Hannah, and her husband live in Maine, and we will get to visit them! Yay!!
Please pray for safe travels, wisdom, direction, and patience for my parents as they watch our children. Our children are so very precious to us, and we desire to make decisions that will be the best for all of us and in Gods perfect will. We are desiring that God's will be made clear and plain to us in the matter of this job pursuit. God promises in Psalm 16:11 "Thou wilt shew me the path of life; in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore."
We saw this rainbow about an hour after leaving Page. Both Roger and I were reminded of God's many promises to us. I certainly don't know what the future holds, and I'm not a fan of uncertainty but God is faithful!
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