Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Christmas In Carolina - We Made It!
We rolled in on Christmas Eve at about 9:30. Home For Christmas - Proof that God's cares about the desires of our heart. Now it's Christmas Day and we are enjoying a wonderful family reunion. It feels good to be home.
I'll post pictures soon but meanwhile I give you a brief summary of our trip.
Day 1 - After an emotional time of saying goodbye to our friends, our home and Southern California we were on the road at about 11:00 am. It was quite for the first while as we gave the tear flow time to stop. Soon we had recovered. We made it to Flagstaff the first night. It was 11 degrees with snow on the ground. We were ready for a good night's rest.
Day 2 - We were up early. After breakfast we packed the car. We cranked the car to warm it up. Don't ask me how it happened but while we were having a few Kodak moments we managed to lock the keys in the car. The car was still running and all three dogs were inside. Not to fear. A quick call to AAA only to find that it would be up to an hour before they could come.
We want to thank the Flagstaff Fire Department. They really do rescue animals. After a phone call they were there in just a few moments. They chuckled, unlocked the doors, loved on the dogs, accepted our thanks and were off to their next emergency. We were on our way with no other incident throughout the day other than the fact that in my tiredness in the later evening I pulled over into the slow lane and almost collided with another car. The angels were with us protecting us. We made it to about an hour outside of Oklahoma City and stopped for the night. It's a good thing we stopped when we did. We were all getting a little stir crazy in the car.
Day 3 - We were on the road by about 9:30. It was an enjoyable and fairly uneventful day. The dogs continued to travel well and enjoy the journey. We made it to Memphis and stopped for the night in hopes that we might have an Elvis sighting. No Elvis but we did have a good night's rest at a decent hotel.
Day 4 - We awakened with anticipation. It was Christmas Eve and we knew that this was our final day of travel. We had a lot of road to cover but we were determined. Zach did a great deal of the driving this day. I was thankful for his skillfulness on the road over the journey. It gave Dad a great opportunity to rest along the way. Cammie drove some throughout the trip. Let me just say that Zach and I were occasionally reminded a bit of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride when she was behind the wheel. We did our best to let her rest and not feel the burden to share the driving load. Zach particularly enjoyed the mountain driving between Knoxville and Asheville. Not long after we left Asheville Dad took the wheel and drove us to our new home. It was truly a Christmas Eve to remember as we pulled up in front of Bonnie's home. (Cammie's sister) We were home and we were thankful.
Tomorrow we are off and running as we get ready to possess our home here in North Carolina. We close on the 27th. The painters come in on Wednesday and moving truck arrives on January 2nd. We'll keep everyone posted.
I'll post pictures soon but meanwhile I give you a brief summary of our trip.
Day 1 - After an emotional time of saying goodbye to our friends, our home and Southern California we were on the road at about 11:00 am. It was quite for the first while as we gave the tear flow time to stop. Soon we had recovered. We made it to Flagstaff the first night. It was 11 degrees with snow on the ground. We were ready for a good night's rest.
Day 2 - We were up early. After breakfast we packed the car. We cranked the car to warm it up. Don't ask me how it happened but while we were having a few Kodak moments we managed to lock the keys in the car. The car was still running and all three dogs were inside. Not to fear. A quick call to AAA only to find that it would be up to an hour before they could come.
We want to thank the Flagstaff Fire Department. They really do rescue animals. After a phone call they were there in just a few moments. They chuckled, unlocked the doors, loved on the dogs, accepted our thanks and were off to their next emergency. We were on our way with no other incident throughout the day other than the fact that in my tiredness in the later evening I pulled over into the slow lane and almost collided with another car. The angels were with us protecting us. We made it to about an hour outside of Oklahoma City and stopped for the night. It's a good thing we stopped when we did. We were all getting a little stir crazy in the car.
Day 3 - We were on the road by about 9:30. It was an enjoyable and fairly uneventful day. The dogs continued to travel well and enjoy the journey. We made it to Memphis and stopped for the night in hopes that we might have an Elvis sighting. No Elvis but we did have a good night's rest at a decent hotel.
Day 4 - We awakened with anticipation. It was Christmas Eve and we knew that this was our final day of travel. We had a lot of road to cover but we were determined. Zach did a great deal of the driving this day. I was thankful for his skillfulness on the road over the journey. It gave Dad a great opportunity to rest along the way. Cammie drove some throughout the trip. Let me just say that Zach and I were occasionally reminded a bit of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride when she was behind the wheel. We did our best to let her rest and not feel the burden to share the driving load. Zach particularly enjoyed the mountain driving between Knoxville and Asheville. Not long after we left Asheville Dad took the wheel and drove us to our new home. It was truly a Christmas Eve to remember as we pulled up in front of Bonnie's home. (Cammie's sister) We were home and we were thankful.
Tomorrow we are off and running as we get ready to possess our home here in North Carolina. We close on the 27th. The painters come in on Wednesday and moving truck arrives on January 2nd. We'll keep everyone posted.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
My Traveling Song
Cammie and I have always been a fan of the Sounds of James Taylor. His music always puts me in a good place of comfort and rest . His "Carolina On My Mind" has been our theme song for the past few months. Last week Cammie purchased a new James Taylor CD. There were two great songs in the mix. One of them was just plain old good advice. The premise of the song is that the secret of life is to enjoy the passage of time. That's what Cammie and I are doing these days. We are enjoying the journey that is all a part of this passage of our life. I'd just like to say that we're having a blast.
Another great song in the collection was entitled, "My Traveling Song." Every time I listen I'm brought to tears. It's not so much the story the song tells that brings the emotion. Instead, each time I listen, I am able to identify my traveling song. You see, on Friday morning, Cammie and Zach and I and our three dogs (Abby, Pearl & Lucy) will load up the car and start our four days of travel as we start our journey of going home. (We'll be home for Christmas. Another song.) I know that my traveling song will be filled with expressions of Thanksgiving to our faithful God. He cares about every detail of our life. The big and the small. It's all important to Him. That's my traveling song.
This will be a Christmas to remember. Better than anything Hallmark could write.
Another great song in the collection was entitled, "My Traveling Song." Every time I listen I'm brought to tears. It's not so much the story the song tells that brings the emotion. Instead, each time I listen, I am able to identify my traveling song. You see, on Friday morning, Cammie and Zach and I and our three dogs (Abby, Pearl & Lucy) will load up the car and start our four days of travel as we start our journey of going home. (We'll be home for Christmas. Another song.) I know that my traveling song will be filled with expressions of Thanksgiving to our faithful God. He cares about every detail of our life. The big and the small. It's all important to Him. That's my traveling song.
This will be a Christmas to remember. Better than anything Hallmark could write.
It's Moving Day!
What an incredible day this has been. We were up early this morning in anticipation of the big day. The movers were scheduled to arrive at around 9:00 am and we still had some odd and ends that needed to be packed. After getting ready for the movers to come I am totally convinced that we are all too materialistic and have far too much stuff. It seemed as if all of our belongings had turned into rabbits and just kept multiplying.
Promptly at 9:00 am we heard the sound of diesel outside and instantly knew that the Allied truck was here. After taking them on a brief tour of the home and getting them established I moved out to the car to help Zach. He was putting on the new Thule system of crossbars on the car for our new luggage carrier.
In the midst of helping him I heard laughter from the front yard and realized that Teri, our realtor, was here. I came over to greet her and realized that the laughter was laced with tears. It was obvious on both of their faces. We've truly thought of Teri as much more than a realtor. Through this process she has truly become a friend. We all exchanged moving day sentiments as we waited on Amy to arrive. Amy is with the Ventura County Star. She was coming to conduct an interview with us. To make a really long story short, she had been made aware of our blog and its emphasis on prayer and asked if they could do a story on our praying our home through to the sell. Cammie and I, along with Teri spent a good amount of time sharing our story. Look for it in this Sunday's Star Homes Section of the Star. If you don't live in Ventura County it will be posted on line about a week after it runs. All of this to say that it has been an exciting day. Right now, as I type, I'm stretched out on the floor. The house is almost empty and very soon it will be completely empty.
I confess that this has been an emotional day for me. While I've been going to Carolina in My Mind I've been reminiscing over the past 21 years here in Southern California. I can truly say that we wouldn't trade the experiences and opportunities for anything. And as great as they have been I have to confess that they were only part of what made our time here outstanding. The real reason we have loved it here for the past 21 years is because of the friendships we have shared and the love we have been able to give and receive.
It was here in Southern California that we grew up. Thank you!
Promptly at 9:00 am we heard the sound of diesel outside and instantly knew that the Allied truck was here. After taking them on a brief tour of the home and getting them established I moved out to the car to help Zach. He was putting on the new Thule system of crossbars on the car for our new luggage carrier.
In the midst of helping him I heard laughter from the front yard and realized that Teri, our realtor, was here. I came over to greet her and realized that the laughter was laced with tears. It was obvious on both of their faces. We've truly thought of Teri as much more than a realtor. Through this process she has truly become a friend. We all exchanged moving day sentiments as we waited on Amy to arrive. Amy is with the Ventura County Star. She was coming to conduct an interview with us. To make a really long story short, she had been made aware of our blog and its emphasis on prayer and asked if they could do a story on our praying our home through to the sell. Cammie and I, along with Teri spent a good amount of time sharing our story. Look for it in this Sunday's Star Homes Section of the Star. If you don't live in Ventura County it will be posted on line about a week after it runs. All of this to say that it has been an exciting day. Right now, as I type, I'm stretched out on the floor. The house is almost empty and very soon it will be completely empty.
I confess that this has been an emotional day for me. While I've been going to Carolina in My Mind I've been reminiscing over the past 21 years here in Southern California. I can truly say that we wouldn't trade the experiences and opportunities for anything. And as great as they have been I have to confess that they were only part of what made our time here outstanding. The real reason we have loved it here for the past 21 years is because of the friendships we have shared and the love we have been able to give and receive.
It was here in Southern California that we grew up. Thank you!
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
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