The Road Home

I grew up in the beautiful surroundings of the Pacific Northwest (PNW). When I was a young girl, having just finished nursing school, I moved to the south. One of the first things someone would ask me, upon meeting me, was how could I have left such a beautiful place. Like anyone who grows up around something day in and day out, I became accustomed to it and often took it for granted. Yes I hiked, camped and spent countless hours outdoors but it wasn't until I left Washington that I grew to truly appreciate the beauty of that area of the country. I believe that anyone can find fault and flaws in places but every place has something amazing to offer. Sometimes you have to look harder than others but if you give a place time and put in the effort you will find a diamond in the rough.

That being said when my husband was interviewing for jobs I was unable to attend because our daughter, as previously mentioned, does not do well traveling and that was a battle I did not want to take on. When he was offered a job in West Virginia I was a little nervous at first with the pictures my mind conjured up about what this place would look like. I, of course, started scouring the internet but am always a little skeptical about what you find on the there. But I love a good adventure and I had faith that he wouldn't take us to a place that did not suit our family. As we pulled out of his parents driveway in Georgia saying our goodbyes I was so excited for the unknown, not really sure what to expect. I had texted my uncle to let him know we were leaving and explaining my curiosity to what I would see along the way and of course quoting "Country Road." He insisted I would be pleasantly surprised and reminded me that there were numerous songs written about that area of the country.

We crossed into eastern Tennessee and the smoky mountain, continuing our drive through the state of Virginia and into West Virginia. To say I was amazed, awestruck or even captivated does not come close to how I felt driving through this area. It was like I was still back home in my beloved PNW. I could not believe the majesty and beauty of this area. When I lived in Memphis I of course always missed my family but I also missed the PNW. Driving through these areas and having lived here now for two weeks I can say I will always miss my family but I still feel like I am home here. John Denver couldn't have described it better than the very first line of his song "Almost Heaven, West Virginia..." I wish I could describe it to someone or a professional photographer so I could capture the pristine landscape of this area. The lush green rolling hills, the misty sunny mornings, even the storms we have encountered are something that makes you feel serene. And let me not forget the magic of the fireflies or lightening bugs that captured the amazement of our son.
I cannot wait for our road trips and exploring this land. I already have quite a few places on my list to visit and it will only continue to grow!

(Just a few pictures on the road to our new home)

Getting Settled

On Thursday the 14th we drove 11 hours from my in-laws' home in Georgia to our new hometown in West Virginia. I have so much to say about our drive and the beauty of this region but I will save that for my next post. We weren't sure how the drive would go, as our daughter is not the best traveler by car or plane, but we were pleasantly surprised. We stopped four times along the way for bathroom breaks and leg stretches and made it safely in to town that evening.
The next day we closed on our very first home (more on that later) and were getting our few possessions that drove up with us settled in. Our stuff from Seattle was scheduled to arrive originally on the the 15th. However, on the 13th the representative from the moving truck company contacted us to notify us it would actually be the 18th. We were fine with that because that would give us time to figure out a few things in the area and clean up around the house before our stuff arrived. On the 15th, two days after the first phone call, the representative notified us that in fact our stuff would actually not arrive until the 26th to the 28th! They informed us that our belongings had actually not even left Seattle yet and was scheduled to depart Tuesday the 19th.
So for the last week and a half we have been camping out in our new home. We are not strangers to doing camp outs with our kids inside the home, as it was actually one of their favorite things to do in our apartment in Seattle however it has been a bit challenging at times. Thank goodness for the kindness of my mother-in-law who cooked us some food and froze it for us before we left Georgia, so that we would only have to warm it in the microwave. After a few days though we realized it would be beneficial to at least buy a pan and cookie sheet so we could make some eggs for breakfast and cook things in the oven.
We purposely sent our stuff two weeks before we were scheduled to arrive here to allow the 7-10 days of travel time as they had told us. We could've really been upset about  the delay but there is no point. We cannot change the circumstances and we are truly blessed to have what we do have. So this is just another part of our new adventure. As I sit here typing this post on the fire place hearth, our only place to sit in the house, I am thankful for these opportunities. It has given us a chance to fully enjoy the things we do have and our new surroundings. Every meal is spent eating outside on our newly purchased plastic outdoor furniture, using our Coleman cooler as a universal table to place our food. Our nights are spent sleeping on the floor in sleeping bags and our food is ate on paper plates with plastic utensils. We hope that our stuff arrives this week as promised but I can't deny that even this little road bump is a fun and memorable part of our adventure.

Our son enjoying his breakfast on a beautiful W. Va sunny morning

Road Trip

On the eve of our road trip to West Virginia I am reminded of the same feeling three years ago when we were packing up to head out west to Washington. We will be driving from Georgia to West Virginia tomorrow and though the mileage is significantly less it will be a fun adventure non the less. In an era where faster is better and the convenience of flying gives us extra time to spend in places, it is also nice to take the time to drive around the country.

When we drove from Memphis to Seattle, we did it in four days. In retrospect, we wish we had the time to spend at more places along the way but we were still able to absorb the beauty of our surroundings. The vast landscapes in Iowa, beautiful mountains in Utah, Wyoming's rock formations and wild horses (to our delight). Water cascading down rocky hillsides and amazing mountain scenery as we drove up the Oregon coast.

This time, our travels will take us through eastern Tennessee and on through the Appalachian mountains to our new home in Morgantown, WV.

I look forward to this trip.

As nice as it is to fly, I will admit I much prefer driving. There is no other way you can appreciate God's beauty in creating this stunning landscape than driving.  

In My Abscence

I'm back. The last month has gone by so quickly and so many things have gone on in the world of my little family. The third week of June my husband was gone to a conference and so I took the opportunity to take our little ones to visit my family for five days. They had a wonderful time and I was glad they were able to have that time with them as we likely won't be back for a visit until next summer. We also drove up to Canada for a day to say goodbye to my husband's Aunt and Uncle and their family in B.C. I will miss them as much as I will miss my own family. I have enjoyed our visits up there over the last few years and watching my kids play with their cousins.

The following week was a whirlwind of sorting and packing so we were ready for the movers to come pick up our stuff to ship to our new home. When we left Memphis for Seattle three years ago we arrived like modern day pioneers.

Everything we owned fit in our Pilot and the U-Haul trailer. Which we drove nearly 2,500 miles in three days. This time around our stuff will be meeting us upon our arrival. Thank goodness!

Our things were picked up on Thursday afternoon and we drove down to my hometown so that Saturday morning my parents could drop us at the airport to fly to Georgia to visit my husbands parents and siblings. We have not been able to make it out to see them in over a year due to his schedule so they were happy to have the time with us.

We have spent the week here enjoying family time and the holiday. My husband and I have spent the week trying to sort out the necessities to transition to our new home shortly and prepare for our drive from Georgia to West Virginia. We thought about flying initially but we do love a good road trip! So that should catch us up briefly in what's been going on in our world presently. Looking forward to writing about our new adventure!

(While we are excited about all of the new things in our life, we are deeply saddened by the horrific week of destruction of human lives and loss of all qualities that characterize our humanity in our country and in the entire world. Like so many others, we pray for peace, tolerance and understanding.)