Yeehaw! We made it. Thank you for all of your prayers. We pulled into College Station at about 1:30 this afternoon. Last night, we decided to leave El Paso at 2:00am, so that the majority of the drive would occur while the girls slept. It worked. They didn't stir until we reached Fredericksburg (the peach capital of Texas, even though I didn't see a single peach tree!) at about 10:30. We stopped at a little coffee shop that served breakfast, and switched so that I could drive and Tanner could relax. We finished the rest of the trip in less than 3 1/2 hours. Hehehe...
Perhaps you're wondering how Tanner managed to drive for so long without falling asleep? We discovered the beauty of RockStar energy drink. :-)
So, we decided to go straight to our house. We wanted to know exactly what we were dealing with. The maps all say that the house is located on the corner of Texas Ave, and as we pulled onto the street our hearts skipped a few beats. There was this dilapidated, white house on the corner. We could see it leaning. We could see THROUGH it. Wait, I thought, the house is blue. It's blue. Whew! Aaahh...there it is. We pulled into the little drive and peered through the windows as we waited for the realtor. Kate started to cry, "Mommy, I DON'T like this house. It's icky." But then, once we were inside the house, she was immediately reconciled to it because the front door has a chain lock on it.
What she didn't know was that we met two neighbors inside our house. A dead one and a live one: cockaroaches. Uugghh. We have to go buy toothbrush covers. We are happy to think of Terminix coming tomorrow.
We measured the windows and doors, the outside of the house and the opening in the fence. We figured out where to put the refrigerator, and discovered that there are no washer/dryer hookups. We think we have to replace the water heater, the roof and all of the siding on the house. We're not sure about the heater yet. Then we checked into our hotel and took a little break so that we could come up with a game plan. Then we went to Home Depot and bought paint, a plaster repair kit, a tub repair kit, caulking, and ordered the carpet, the new windows and figured out what exterior doors to buy.
According to the guy at Home Depot, it's not a smart thing to buy solid core, wood doors in Texas. He said that the wood would expand and contract because of all of the humidity, plus it would tend to rot out at the bottom during the wet season. He suggested either a steel or fiberglass door. Interesting, huh?
It looks like we'll need to stay in this hotel for at least a week, and we need to buy a truck. We also need to sleep. G'night.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Our little adventure 45 miles from El Paso
Well, the drive from Tucson, Az to El Paso, Tx was very exhausting. Mainly because this drive came hard on the heels of late nights and early mornings in Disneyland and then a VERY early morning drive to Tucson followed by ANOTHER early morning drive to El Paso. I usually try to stay awake until the sun comes up, so that Tanner has someone to talk to, and then I take a short nap and then I drive for a couple of hours so that Tanner can rest.
Hehehe...that didn't happen on this leg of the trip. I did stay awake by listening to The Horse and His Boy, but somewhere between Shasta meeting Aravis and the long journey to Mt. Pire, I fell asleep. I'm pretty sure a slept through at least 1 1/2 disks before I suddenly jerked awake because Tanner said, "Um...Noelle, I, um...forgot to get gas..." Yup, you've all felt that heart thudding, sticking moment, but when I felt it, and looked around us, there was absolutely nothing. We were in the middle of nowhere. It was just ranch land, and it was empty ranch land at that. It was more empty than the Warm Springs Indian reservation on the way to Bend. Let's just put it this way, the next McDonalds was in El Paso! Tanner had planned to stop for gas as we passed through Las Cruces, New Mexico, but since he was tired, and I was sleeping, he forgot. We checked Garmin. Next gas 20 miles ahead. Las Cruces...20 miles behind. Our gas tank?? Maybe, it had 10 miles left in it. Yeah, it was more than empty.
And, of course that's the time when a person should start to pray, so I did. I kept asking God for some crazy miracle, like a brand new gas station that Garmin didn't have on its system. I knew we'd be okay if we ran out of gas. The morning was cool, and we had water in the car, but I REALLY didn't want to be stranded on the side of the road either waiting or walking with the kids. And then, our little miracle happened. A huge billboard loomed up in front of us proclaiming gas at the next exit just a mile ahead. We were so happy, we pulled off the freeway, and came to the end of the ramp. No gas station. So, we headed over the freeway and came to an intersection, guessed to take a right and ran into a very gaudily painted gas station. Yes, it was open at 5:30am, so we got gas, and decided that I'd better drive the rest of the way, so that Tanner could rest. We headed back for the freeway. Now, this is where the story gets interesting. There was no on ramp for the freeway, instead the signs told us to go AWAY from the freeway in order to get to the freeway. Talk about spooky. We're in the middle of nowhere, traveling along the U.S/Mexican border, imagining banditos hijacking our car as we're moving toward the Mexican border with a promise of running into an AMERICAN freeway, with 3 kids in the back of the car.
Sorry, Mom. I know you've got to be just a little freaked out about this, but the road did indeed lead us back to the freeway, albeit a little circuitously, and we did make it to El Paso, a Burger King and a Starbucks. Whew!
This drive is beautiful. I've been trying to thing of how to describe it, and figured the landscape best resembled a serving platter with jagged edges. It's weird how the mountains seem to surround us on all sides, but we never seem to cross any of them. But, as Tanner says, enough beauty, we want the drive to be done, so I'm staying up late tonight, letting the kids play while Tanner tries to sleep. We'll head out of here at around 2:00am, and we're hoping to go straight through to our final destination instead of stopping again. We'll see how far we get by sunrise and then make the decision from there.
And after that, we have to figure out how to buy a truck, dressers, beds and at least a tiny couch of some sort, since we had to leave all of that stuff behind in good ol' PDX.
As a last little note, today, the History Channel did a documentary on underground dens and speakeasys in the U.S. And guess what city they featured? Portland, OR. It kind of made me homesick to see the downtown streets and Waterfront Park, but then I remembered that today, when Reagan was throwing a tinsy, tiny temper tantrum, I was able to nip it in the bud because it's completely legal to give your kid a swat in Texas, so the tantrum didn't turn into a full blown, kicking and screaming, two year old, I want my own way scene. She started to pucker up and got the shock of her life. Mommy gave her a swat in a public place. Sigh. I miss Portland, but I love being free in Texas. Like I heard in a comedy routine, "America. Texas. Home."
Hehehe...that didn't happen on this leg of the trip. I did stay awake by listening to The Horse and His Boy, but somewhere between Shasta meeting Aravis and the long journey to Mt. Pire, I fell asleep. I'm pretty sure a slept through at least 1 1/2 disks before I suddenly jerked awake because Tanner said, "Um...Noelle, I, um...forgot to get gas..." Yup, you've all felt that heart thudding, sticking moment, but when I felt it, and looked around us, there was absolutely nothing. We were in the middle of nowhere. It was just ranch land, and it was empty ranch land at that. It was more empty than the Warm Springs Indian reservation on the way to Bend. Let's just put it this way, the next McDonalds was in El Paso! Tanner had planned to stop for gas as we passed through Las Cruces, New Mexico, but since he was tired, and I was sleeping, he forgot. We checked Garmin. Next gas 20 miles ahead. Las Cruces...20 miles behind. Our gas tank?? Maybe, it had 10 miles left in it. Yeah, it was more than empty.
And, of course that's the time when a person should start to pray, so I did. I kept asking God for some crazy miracle, like a brand new gas station that Garmin didn't have on its system. I knew we'd be okay if we ran out of gas. The morning was cool, and we had water in the car, but I REALLY didn't want to be stranded on the side of the road either waiting or walking with the kids. And then, our little miracle happened. A huge billboard loomed up in front of us proclaiming gas at the next exit just a mile ahead. We were so happy, we pulled off the freeway, and came to the end of the ramp. No gas station. So, we headed over the freeway and came to an intersection, guessed to take a right and ran into a very gaudily painted gas station. Yes, it was open at 5:30am, so we got gas, and decided that I'd better drive the rest of the way, so that Tanner could rest. We headed back for the freeway. Now, this is where the story gets interesting. There was no on ramp for the freeway, instead the signs told us to go AWAY from the freeway in order to get to the freeway. Talk about spooky. We're in the middle of nowhere, traveling along the U.S/Mexican border, imagining banditos hijacking our car as we're moving toward the Mexican border with a promise of running into an AMERICAN freeway, with 3 kids in the back of the car.
Sorry, Mom. I know you've got to be just a little freaked out about this, but the road did indeed lead us back to the freeway, albeit a little circuitously, and we did make it to El Paso, a Burger King and a Starbucks. Whew!
This drive is beautiful. I've been trying to thing of how to describe it, and figured the landscape best resembled a serving platter with jagged edges. It's weird how the mountains seem to surround us on all sides, but we never seem to cross any of them. But, as Tanner says, enough beauty, we want the drive to be done, so I'm staying up late tonight, letting the kids play while Tanner tries to sleep. We'll head out of here at around 2:00am, and we're hoping to go straight through to our final destination instead of stopping again. We'll see how far we get by sunrise and then make the decision from there.
And after that, we have to figure out how to buy a truck, dressers, beds and at least a tiny couch of some sort, since we had to leave all of that stuff behind in good ol' PDX.
As a last little note, today, the History Channel did a documentary on underground dens and speakeasys in the U.S. And guess what city they featured? Portland, OR. It kind of made me homesick to see the downtown streets and Waterfront Park, but then I remembered that today, when Reagan was throwing a tinsy, tiny temper tantrum, I was able to nip it in the bud because it's completely legal to give your kid a swat in Texas, so the tantrum didn't turn into a full blown, kicking and screaming, two year old, I want my own way scene. She started to pucker up and got the shock of her life. Mommy gave her a swat in a public place. Sigh. I miss Portland, but I love being free in Texas. Like I heard in a comedy routine, "America. Texas. Home."
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
El Paso, Texas
Well, we made it to Texas. The trip so far has been a lot of fun, but very exhausting. We've been up by 4:30 every morning just so that we can get as much distance behind us before the kids wake up. Unfortunately, the kids aren't use to the bright sun, so it doesn't matter how late we keep them up, they wake up at about 8:00. And, once they are up, everyone knows that it's bathroom breaks every few hours.
I'm so glad that Joanelle told me to separate their toys. They have a bag for the car and a bag for the hotel room, and that has made a really big difference. They aren't bored with their toys by the time we get to our destination, so Tanner and I are able to rest instead of entertain them. Yesterday, our hotel had a pool, so the girls spent a couple of hours playing in the water. I also got a chance to do our laundry.
Sorry that there aren't any pics to post. My memory card broke, so I don't even have photos of Disneyland. :-( We had a lot of fun with Caleb and Gen and their kids. Thanks for the spending money for the girls. Kate waited until the last day and then decided that she wanted a Cinderella doll that came with a blue pony, and Reagan decided on a squishy princess doll and her very own copy of Meet the Robinsons (her favorite movie).
I had fun going on all of the rides that are Kate's favorites. She laughs her way through all of the roller coasters. She says that her favorite is Splash Mountain, Grizzly River Rapids and Rocky Mountain Railroad. Reagan begged for Dumbo, Dumbo, Dumbo.
Today is a sleep day. It's 1:00 and Tanner is already asleep. We're letting the girls watch cartoons for a while, and then I plan to take them to a play place a little bit later. Kate is being reconciled to the idea of living in Texas. She was so happy to see a Target as we drove to the hotel, and she got to play in a huge playstructure at Burger King this morning. She still wishes that Emma would move here, too, and she's concerned about having to make new friends. I pray for her at night and it has been good to see her adjusting.
I'm so glad that Joanelle told me to separate their toys. They have a bag for the car and a bag for the hotel room, and that has made a really big difference. They aren't bored with their toys by the time we get to our destination, so Tanner and I are able to rest instead of entertain them. Yesterday, our hotel had a pool, so the girls spent a couple of hours playing in the water. I also got a chance to do our laundry.
Sorry that there aren't any pics to post. My memory card broke, so I don't even have photos of Disneyland. :-( We had a lot of fun with Caleb and Gen and their kids. Thanks for the spending money for the girls. Kate waited until the last day and then decided that she wanted a Cinderella doll that came with a blue pony, and Reagan decided on a squishy princess doll and her very own copy of Meet the Robinsons (her favorite movie).
I had fun going on all of the rides that are Kate's favorites. She laughs her way through all of the roller coasters. She says that her favorite is Splash Mountain, Grizzly River Rapids and Rocky Mountain Railroad. Reagan begged for Dumbo, Dumbo, Dumbo.
Today is a sleep day. It's 1:00 and Tanner is already asleep. We're letting the girls watch cartoons for a while, and then I plan to take them to a play place a little bit later. Kate is being reconciled to the idea of living in Texas. She was so happy to see a Target as we drove to the hotel, and she got to play in a huge playstructure at Burger King this morning. She still wishes that Emma would move here, too, and she's concerned about having to make new friends. I pray for her at night and it has been good to see her adjusting.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Taking it easy tonight
Even though Disneyland is open until 11:00 tonight, we've decided to take it easy. It's been so windy in Anaheim that it's been difficult to keep Georgie comfortable, and tonight as we were looking at her face we realized that she had wind burn. Luckily, Caleb and Gen had run into a pediatrician at the hotel and had asked about wind burn (Luke had it, too). Eucerin was the answer. Off we went to Le Target and we found a small bottle of Eucerin. The wind burn explains Georgianna's fussiness and her sudden dislike of sleeping on her tummy. The Eucerin seems to have soothed her and she is now sleeping peacefully.
Reagan got to pick out a toy to take home today. It was funny watching her wander through the Disney store. Lo, and behold, she let out a little squeak of delight when she saw an entire wall filled with Minnie Mouse. All sorts of Minnies: pink, red, fuzzy, silky, ballerina, pajama'd, huge, large, medium and small. She chose a small Minnie Mouse dressed in a pink princess dress with a pink princess cone hat. I showed her the big version, but she wanted the small one. I showed her the medium ballerina Minnie, the huge polka dot Minnie and the soft, fuzzy Minnie, but Reggie wanted the small Minnie.
Yesterday, Katie got to pick out the toy. She chose a pocket sized Tinker Bell with interchangeable outfits. I think I'm going to have to find a doll house for her.
Reagan got to pick out a toy to take home today. It was funny watching her wander through the Disney store. Lo, and behold, she let out a little squeak of delight when she saw an entire wall filled with Minnie Mouse. All sorts of Minnies: pink, red, fuzzy, silky, ballerina, pajama'd, huge, large, medium and small. She chose a small Minnie Mouse dressed in a pink princess dress with a pink princess cone hat. I showed her the big version, but she wanted the small one. I showed her the medium ballerina Minnie, the huge polka dot Minnie and the soft, fuzzy Minnie, but Reggie wanted the small Minnie.
Yesterday, Katie got to pick out the toy. She chose a pocket sized Tinker Bell with interchangeable outfits. I think I'm going to have to find a doll house for her.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Our trip so far...
So far, so good. Emotions have been running high, so the trip can't help but be a little stressful. The first leg of the trip was the hardest: Portland to Sacramento. We made it to Medford without much ado, but reality set in just as we were entering the city limits. We've decided that the Lord is using this trip to teach us to pray for His joy, His love, and His peace.
The passes were completely clear, so we pulled into Redding just a little after 12:30 -- just in time for lunch. We decided that fast food and a park would be the best thing for the kids, so we headed for Wendy's and the Sundial Bridge. We let the kids play until 3:30, and then we piled back into the car and started the last leg of the trip. They all fell asleep, and everything was peaceful until 6:53, and then Georgie woke up. She was definitely done with the car, the car seat and the dark, but there was no place to stop. We managed to make it to a restaurant about 25 minutes shy of our final destination. We layed her on the floor (I know, I know THE FLOOR), so that she could stretch out and exercise her back muscles. It proved to be the very thing for her, and when we finished dinner she settled into her car seat without too much resistance and we made it to Caleb and Gen's by 7:45.
We let the kids out of the car and Reagan ran up to the front of the house and peered into the window. Without a single moments hesitation she cried, "ZEKE!" Wow, can you believe that? I didn't expect Reggie to remember him. The kids stayed up REALLY late, and we all tumbled into bed, completely exhausted at 2:00. The next day we spent just lazing around the place, letting the kids play and forget about the last bit of the trip.
This morning we loaded up again, and took a quick visit to Livermore, and had a very excellent lunch with Aunt Caroline, Uncle Norm and Debbie. The kids had so much fun in the tree house, and cried when we had to go. Then, on to Disneyland. That part of the trip convinced us that 5:00am is the ideal time to travel with children. So, we've arrived, safe and sound, and very content with the Lord's provision.
The passes were completely clear, so we pulled into Redding just a little after 12:30 -- just in time for lunch. We decided that fast food and a park would be the best thing for the kids, so we headed for Wendy's and the Sundial Bridge. We let the kids play until 3:30, and then we piled back into the car and started the last leg of the trip. They all fell asleep, and everything was peaceful until 6:53, and then Georgie woke up. She was definitely done with the car, the car seat and the dark, but there was no place to stop. We managed to make it to a restaurant about 25 minutes shy of our final destination. We layed her on the floor (I know, I know THE FLOOR), so that she could stretch out and exercise her back muscles. It proved to be the very thing for her, and when we finished dinner she settled into her car seat without too much resistance and we made it to Caleb and Gen's by 7:45.
We let the kids out of the car and Reagan ran up to the front of the house and peered into the window. Without a single moments hesitation she cried, "ZEKE!" Wow, can you believe that? I didn't expect Reggie to remember him. The kids stayed up REALLY late, and we all tumbled into bed, completely exhausted at 2:00. The next day we spent just lazing around the place, letting the kids play and forget about the last bit of the trip.
This morning we loaded up again, and took a quick visit to Livermore, and had a very excellent lunch with Aunt Caroline, Uncle Norm and Debbie. The kids had so much fun in the tree house, and cried when we had to go. Then, on to Disneyland. That part of the trip convinced us that 5:00am is the ideal time to travel with children. So, we've arrived, safe and sound, and very content with the Lord's provision.
I won't be blogging every day, and I'm not posting our future plans, but I do appreciate all of the prayers and the support from everyone in good ol' PDX. Tanner and I have been splitting the driving, but Tanner is getting the brunt of it because I don't drive well in the dark, so he gets the beginning and the tale parts of the journey. We thank God that Starbucks is now scattered across the USA and hope that there are more along the rest of the route.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Four, Three!
We finished packing up the house last night, and celebrated by going to a Japanese restaurant per Katie's request. Kate loves Sumo wrestling, and the only place to watch it is at this restaurant we found on 82nd. So, we treated ourselves and my parents to a yummy dinner complete with miso soup and tempura ice cream.
Today, we're packing the pods. They arrived yesterday, so today is the day we load everything. Josh and my dad came to help.
It's amazing. We just moved about 6 months ago, and we already have enough stuff that we can gift to the Salvation Army...people say the economy is slowing down. Maybe we need to learn to not accumulate so many useless things. It's funny because, Tanner and I consider ourselves to be pretty streamlined. We don't even possess couches, and we still managed to fill two 6x6x8 pods. Wow...kind of makes you think. Of course, we realize we're moving 5 people, but it really, do we need all of this stuff? Guess so. We packed it in boxes instead of throwing it away.
Kate is getting to play with her cousins this morning, and then she spends the night with her auntie and cousins tonight. We're glad she's getting to spend so much time with them. We're constantly amazed at God's attention to all the little things in our life. The last few days have been very hectic, and I've been concerned that Georgie might have to be left in her crib to amuse herself. Instead, she's been sleeping for long stretches during the day and during the night, and she wakes up during the periods of time when we're not doing anything. The girls, also, have been playing well together.
Today, we're packing the pods. They arrived yesterday, so today is the day we load everything. Josh and my dad came to help.
It's amazing. We just moved about 6 months ago, and we already have enough stuff that we can gift to the Salvation Army...people say the economy is slowing down. Maybe we need to learn to not accumulate so many useless things. It's funny because, Tanner and I consider ourselves to be pretty streamlined. We don't even possess couches, and we still managed to fill two 6x6x8 pods. Wow...kind of makes you think. Of course, we realize we're moving 5 people, but it really, do we need all of this stuff? Guess so. We packed it in boxes instead of throwing it away.
Kate is getting to play with her cousins this morning, and then she spends the night with her auntie and cousins tonight. We're glad she's getting to spend so much time with them. We're constantly amazed at God's attention to all the little things in our life. The last few days have been very hectic, and I've been concerned that Georgie might have to be left in her crib to amuse herself. Instead, she's been sleeping for long stretches during the day and during the night, and she wakes up during the periods of time when we're not doing anything. The girls, also, have been playing well together.
Friday, January 2, 2009
Six, Five!
We're almost all packed. Tanner is sorting out the garage while I finish up all the laundry. Then we have to go to the store I buy a few more vacuum sealing bags and that's it until tomorrow morning. Hopefully the moving units will arrive tonight and then we'll be able to pack everything up on Saturday. Our goal is to be done with everything on Saturday, so that we can spend Sunday and Monday with family and friends.
Kate is excited because we signed her up for swimming lessons in C.S., and in the summer time, Reagan and George will start lessons as well. My violin student count is up to 6, so I hope we can get the office in decent shape so that I can start teaching lessons as soon as possible. I think it is so neat how God is providing students for me. I didn't think that I would get any response to my ad, and look at what He has done. I'm so thankful that He is going before us and providing for us. I couldn't help calculate that if I had 20 students, we would have all of our monthly expenses covered. That means only 10 hours of work a week. My last hurdle is to find an accompaniest and a recital hall, but I'm not worried at all. I've seen God's hand at work during this time and have no hesitation in trusting Him for everything that I need.
Kate is excited because we signed her up for swimming lessons in C.S., and in the summer time, Reagan and George will start lessons as well. My violin student count is up to 6, so I hope we can get the office in decent shape so that I can start teaching lessons as soon as possible. I think it is so neat how God is providing students for me. I didn't think that I would get any response to my ad, and look at what He has done. I'm so thankful that He is going before us and providing for us. I couldn't help calculate that if I had 20 students, we would have all of our monthly expenses covered. That means only 10 hours of work a week. My last hurdle is to find an accompaniest and a recital hall, but I'm not worried at all. I've seen God's hand at work during this time and have no hesitation in trusting Him for everything that I need.
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