Hit the Road Jack

Sunday afternoon before driving half-way across the country we celebrated Mike’s Grandma’s 90th birthday.

It was a fun open house!



Near the end of the party we changed into our traveling clothes, kissed and hugged everyone in sight and waved goodbye to Mike’s family as we pulled out.





We hit the road at about 3:30pm.



And by 3:44,



Sweet N already started snoozin’ (and she snoozed for a looong time),



H was hard at work on his computer,



and Mike was feeling good in the driver’s seat.



I had purchased some of the road trip essentials for him, including a case of Big K Citrus Drop (nothin’ but the best for him!)



and Sunflower Seeds. I’d even thought ahead to pack a ‘spit cup’.
The trip continued uneventfully through the afternoon and evening. Well, unless you count Sweet N getting mad at me for refusing to take the lid off her water cup and proceeding to remove her shoe and throw it at me in the front seat an ‘event’. Which maybe I do. Who is that little firecracker?

Aaaanyway, night time came and the kiddos didn’t seem to eager to sleep. This glow stick was well worth the 8 cents it cost me. She played with that thing until she repeatedly dropped it and I refused to pick it up and return it to her a fifth time. Oh well.



Right around 9pm our tire started to sound odd. I ignored it for awhile, but then it couldn’t be ignored anymore and we pulled over the side of I-70.



Flat. Boo.



Luckily, my husband wisely added roadside assistance to our car insurance policy and he made some phone calls to get some help on the way.



While help was coming, I needed me a break from that van and those kiddos, who were getting crankier. The weather wasn’t too cold and I paced the side of the freeway for awhile. A little walk on the side of a big scary road always does a Mama good. Ha! N and H stayed strapped in the van.



Help arrived, in the form of middle-aged Kevin and his flat-bed tow truck. We were advised to skip the whole ‘put the donut on the van’ thing, which was good, since we would have had to empty the whole back of the van (which was seriously full) to lower the donut down from under the vehicle. He suggested towing us to his shop and putting a new tire on there.

Only thing was, the tow-truck only had three seats and we were five people (including Kevin), so there was no way we could ride in the cab. I didn’t know what we were going to do! I expressed my concern to Kevin and he assured me it is legal to continue riding in the vehicle WHILE it is being carried on top of the flat-bed.

Seriously?

I mean, REALLY?!!!

Oh my word. He said it and what choice did we have but to believe him! After our approval he proceeded to winch up our mini-van and all it’s contents, including our family of four still buckled in our seats onto the bed and then raise us up and level us out.

Whoa. We were up there. Strange sensations were felt by all as we were chained down and started bumping down the road. Yes, bumping… it’s not a smooth ride way up there! The flashing lights were blinding us and we started flying down the freeway fifteen miles in the opposite direction from Colorado.

It was so odd way up there. Totally freaky.

Can you imagine if you were driving along on the freeway and a flat bed truck is driving next to you?
Okay, that part is not hard to imagine. But then you look over and notice the older maroon mini-van chained down, and THEN you notice that there are two adults in the front seat buckled in and two kids in car-seats in the back just riding along as if all is normal?

Oh my goodness. It was funny.



So, we arrived at this shop after 10pm. Kevin turned on the heat for us and our kids ran around wreaking havoc on the place while Kevin sold us one of these new tires.



It’s all they had in stock and while probably more than we’d usually pay, it sure beat getting a hotel for the night to try to save twenty bucks on a tire the next day. That wouldn’t have made any sense at all.



I sure was thankful for Kevin and his night shift. This cot that I saw in the garage made me think he must just sleep there waiting for calls from stranded folks like us all night long.

God bless ‘im.

I

If you’re ever driving through Effington, Illinois, I recommend these guys! And if you ever want to get a little chuckle, just say the name of this small town outloud. It sure did provide us with some much-needed comic relief…

SO, three hours after the blown tire, we were finally back on the road and feeling good.



Or at least Mike was feeling good after he tried this! Blech. Tasted like cough syrup. He took most of the night shift and I did a couple hour stint in the middle of the night to give him a break.



Once the sun came up we took turns through the remainder of the drive (not this girlie, though) and arrived in the afternoon just about 24 hours after leaving Ohio. Not bad, I’d say, if you take into account the flat tire and the two lil’ kiddos that we had along.

I do believe I'd choose a long car (van) journey over a long airplane journey most any day of the week.

Why Didn’t I Think of That?

I could have been rich. If only I had been the one to invent…

Coffee Coke Candy.

It’s good to eat, you know.

And it’s “Series food for leisure time.”

??

It is, in fact, #1 in the category of coffee coke candy.

Oh, AND it has milk.

So it’s good for you?

Wow. Looks delicious.

Pack. Unpack. Pack. Unpack. Repeat.

Recently I had the thought “The world is my home” as I drove down the road in an unusually empty and quiet vehicle.

Then the biblical worldview buzzer went off.

Friends, this world is not your home, so don't make yourselves cozy in it.

(1 Peter 2:11)

Okay Bible (God). I stand corrected.

I hadn’t really been thinking that I can call anyplace in the world my home or that I love all that this world has to offer, but just that we HAVE - out of necessity - made many places temporary ‘homes’ during this season. You have to work with what you’re given, right?

I was thinking about all the places we’ve laid our heads to sleep in the past eight months of world-wandering while waiting for visas to return to our North African home. I’ve done laundry, cooked meals, read to kiddos and tucked them into all sorts of beds in all sorts of accommodations all around the globe, literally. As “homeless” as I have felt at times, I am so thankful for the grace that God has given us to sojourn for such a long time with wee kiddos. It’s only been his grace that’s gotten me through. He is the biggest rock in my life. My husband is my second biggest rock… he’s been incredible through all of this too.

I have obviously been longing for some security, certainty, life-plans, personal space and routine in our lives for awhile now. But I realize how easily those things make us feel ‘cozy’ here on earth. They aren’t inherently evil, of course, but obviously God hasn’t chosen those things for our family during this season and that’s okay. I’m looking forward to a little stability the next few months… at this point it seems the right thing to do to for my children (and my sanity). I don’t think I would ever choose insecurity, uncertainty, an unknown future, lack of personal space and loss of routine for my family. But looking back I am thankful for all God has taught us through our wanderings.

God’s grace has covered us. God’s grace has covered ME (most of the time, Ha! Just ask my husband about those other times. Or don’t, on second thought.) I am so thankful that all this not-ideal bouncing around is a fairly good reminder that this planet is not my home. But that “Life is just a field trip, heaven is home”, as my friend Laurie says. Our lives these past eight months have literally been a field trip. I have the passport stamps, the worn out luggage, the tiny shoe wardrobe and the muffin top to prove it.

It’s normal for a woman to want to make a cozy place for her family. I’d even say it’s a God-given desire, since God made us the nurturers of our children. I LONG to make a cozy place for our family again, but I am (attempting to) embrace this season for all it has been, for all it continues to be.

And it does continue. The past few days have been spent packing (again). Today we’ll load up our minivan and our two precious munchkins to make the 20+ hour drive to Colorado to unpack and continue waiting from there. We still don’t know when or if we’ll get visas to return to Africa. We shed tears at the thought of having to close that season of our lives and we hope that it’s not the end. But we trust God. We know His plans are far better than ours. So we continue to push on doors. And until the day I find myself in my heavenly home, I’ll do my best to set us up another temporary home in another temporary place and thank God for the grace to continue walking through this season- these temporary homes- with joy.

My First Snow Card

I got my first snow card the other day when Poppi took the kiddos outside to play in the snow. There was a little wandering ‘outside the lines’, but I sure did love it!

Two Short Days

Lookie who is back in our lives! Even if it is only for two (only two?!) days… we are so thrilled to have (Aunty) Leah with us again!

Also, no, I’m not pregnant. One of the kids just picked that book out of an old stack! Just in case you were wondering…

Expectation

Did you know that my sis is going to have a baby girlie, like any day?  Umm, yeah. How’d you miss that? My little niecey isn’t due for several more days… but you never know when she might decide to make her appearance!!! (Soon, I hope!)

I’m a little excited, in case you couldn’t tell. Also, doesn’t she look incredible for nine months pregnant? I’d say!

I don’t know if my sister wants to know this or not (probably not), but a couple weeks ago I had already reached the point where every time she called me I was listening to the tone of her voice and the background sounds to give me the first clues as to whether or not she might be getting ready to tell me that she’s in labor! Ahhh!!!

It’s awful, I know. I know what it’s like to be so uncomfortable and so ready for little baby to show her sweet face and for people to look at you like you’re about to pop (although I’m sure my sis isn’t the size that I was at nine months pregnant… Lord have mercy) And I KNOW that it’s not fun that people look at you  and listen to your voice on the phone like you’re a ticking time bomb. But I can’t help it!! 

I am just SOOOO stinkin’ excited for that phone call!!!

Expectation is fun like that. We know something amazing, something beautiful, something so so special is on the (her) way and that soon I’ll get to lay eyes on her and swaddle her up tight and put little booties on her and kiss her little cheekies and tell her that I’ll love her forever and ever.

I’m so excited.

Did I mention that?!

Also, it’s tradition now, for Auntie Suz to doctor up some burp rags for the offspring of her precious sister and sister-in-law. Here is the third batch, sewed with love! I managed to avoid pink, for my sister’s sake, but it was really REALLY hard for me!

C’mon baby girl! I’m ready for that phone call.  My heart is full of expectation for your arrival!

Throw Some Paper On It

I used to be so creative. I used to show such pride in my work. I used to spend such time. I used to pay attention to such detail.

And now, NOW I just throw some paper on the thing and call it wrapped.

Bah.

My family has had an unofficial non-judged gift-wrapping competition for many years. And I used to have at least one un-official entry in this non-judged contest each year. Usually more. I loved it. I am a creator at heart and this was a fun outlet. I also love giving gifts and giving them in beautiful packages makes it exponentially more fun.

But now, NOW I have children.

And that’s that. End of story.

Let me demonstrate…

Example 1, Pre-Procreation:

Christmas in 2004. Charlotte. I remember this Christmas well.

I remember this tree and this enormous pile of presents clearly. It was the first Christmas that Mikey and I were married. It was Sar and Dave’s second Christmas in their cozy and sweet apartment that they moved into as newlyweds. Good times.

Here’s me, looking young and silly and excited over Audrey Hepburn movies. I do love me an Audrey Hepburn movie. And that haircut is the haircut I had in my first drivers license that I got when we moved to Colorado and I took my love’s name. And those sweat pants were favorites that I wore all through college. I had them in navy blue too. And that wooden etagere in the background used to be my Aunt Gail’s and we used to lay in her bed and watch movies on the TV that sat on it when we were kids. Oh… the memories abound in this photo… who knew?!

This photo and commentary is irrelevant to the topic of this post, but I thought I’d share anyway. In fact, I couldn’t help myself. Also, for many of you, this may be the first time you’ve ever seen me without mascara. Please don’t be alarmed. And now you understand why I always wear mascara.

Aaaaanyway…

This was my best entry that year. The gift was for Dave. I had “DAVE” written on the front using only ribbon taped down at different angles. It’s gift-wrapping creative genius, no? I was so proud.

Example #2 Pre-Procreation:

Whatever year this was, we apparently did hand out actual awards. This is the winner of ‘The Best Ribbon Award’. I don’t know who fashioned this ribboned masterpiece, but I stand amazed.

Example #3 Pre-Procreation:

Another Christmas. (Duh) Not sure what year it was, but it sure looks prehistoric, judging by the photo, Mikey’s hair and my slimmer waistline.

It showcases more artsy ribbon placement. It’s like a gravity defying ribbon explosion. Love it.

And now, if you’re ready, I’ll sheepishly show you some of my ‘work’ this year.

Examples 4-8, Post-Procreation:

Oh my.

The ones I’m showing have ribbons, which most didn’t. This one’s ribbon was so badly sized that just setting it on the floor made it slip off the sides. And instead of even bothering to hide the gift-tag on the bottom, I obviously haphazardly stuck it to the top. Before, I wouldn’t dream of messing up the design of a beautiful package with a silly tag stuck on the front.

Whatever.

Several times when I started wrapping a gift I realized that the paper didn’t quite cover the back. A few years ago I would have chosen a different paper and begun with a new gift wrap design (seriously). But now, I just grab any ol’ scrap and throw it on the back.

No one looks at the back anyway.

This charming little one was crumpled, folded and taped on one end and gathered and tied at the other end with a ribbon. Snowmen paper again. It must have been the roll on top of the pile. And you can thank me, also, for it’s odd shape because I was too lazy to try to find a gift box to fit one of the skirts I made my daughter so I shoved it inside a misshapen roll of paper instead.

This lucky devil got more than just the paper. And more than the occasional curling ribbon. It got extra embellishment! In previous days this tinsel garland could have been carefully and imaginatively applied to achieve an interesting and thoughtful piece.

In previous days.

These days it’s thrown on the top with some GINORMOUS pieces of tape that didn’t even stick because my girlie was crying in the other room and what good are gifts if the receiver cries in solitude while the ‘cheerful giver’ is wrapping and cursing at her lack of time to spend wrapping gifts alone in the other room?

That wouldn’t be good at all.

Soooo the pretty ribbon days are over. The slap-the-paper-on-it-and-call-it-done days are here. I’ve accepted it. I have.

But I do hold out hopes that maybe when my kids are middle school age-ish, that the unofficial non-judged gift-wrapping competition can live once again, someplace outside of my heart and memories.

My hope is that I can one day proudly win back The Best Ribbon Award.