Colorado weather

We are continuing our journey west tomorrow. We have really had a great time here in Colorado and hanging out with Jeff's parents. Just so you have an idea about how quickly the weather here can change, here are two shots of pikes peak. I took both of them on Sunday, one on the way to church around 10am, and one on the way home, just after noon. Later in the day we could even see that snow had fallen on top of the mountain, which as a Southern girl I still find a little mind boggling.

Today we had even more unusual weather - after a fairly sunny morning, it has basically been storming and rainy all afternoon. (Afternoon thunderstorms are common, but not this much afternoon rain.) I actually wanted a sweatshirt this afternoon while we took Judah to play on a playground. But we are thankful for the cooler wet weather as it has really helped with the fire, which at last count was 75% contained. We are hoping Bill and Sue will at least be able to see their house in the next day or two to have an idea about if they had any damage and how long they might be evacuated.

We are just doing a fairly short leg tomorrow and staying in Grand Junction, CO tomorrow night. Then we get to Utah and hopefully spend some time in a national park or two.

Road Trip Update.

We have entered what I'll call "part b" of the road trip. After leaving Nashville, we stopped for a long lunch with a dear friend who used to live in Greenwood, then overnight at St. Louis with my campus minister from RUF who now lives there. It was great to catch up with him and see all his kids. Then it was just a short drive to Lawrence, KS to stay with Dave, Hannah, Jack and Ashlyn. We loved our cousin time. I have lots more photos, but on my regular camera that isn't downloaded yet. Jack and Ashlyn were especially sweet with Naomi. It was adorable.

We left Lawrence for the long drive across the amber waves of grain that span Kansas. I actually loved this leg because I got to drive by myself in my Mother-in-law's car while she road shotgun with Jeff. I answered nary a single question about tractors, road signs, or windmills the whole way. It was delightful.

About halfway to Colorado, we got word that Jeff's parent's house was being evacuated due to a forest fire that was very close to their house. We could see the huge plume of smoke a long way away. This was taken about 40 miles away.

Sadly, the news so far is not very promising, though we don't know anything for certain about their house yet. We spent the night with some family friends but were then evacuated from there when the fire changed direction. Having been born and raised in the South, I really have no category for understanding the craziness that is a forest fire.

We actually went to Focus on the family headquarters this morning so Judah could play in their play area for a while today just to get away from the 24-hr news cycle going on. He had a blast, but we could see the wind shift and push the blase closer to where we stayed. We went to the house of another church family Bill and Sue know. They are on vacation and have given us the run of the place with some church members actually bringing us meals. Pretty amazing to see the church take care of us and Jeff's parents.

Not exactly how we envisioned this leg of the trip going, but we love getting to see Jeff's parents and watching them trust the Lord through this very difficult time is encouraging.

A few trip highlights.

1. Our very first stop was for lunch at our favorite pizza place in Flat Rock, NC. I love goat cheese pizza.

2. I hate I-40 between Asheville and Knoxville. This time I discovered it's even worse in the pouring, blinding rain.

3. Judah loves tractors. Both big and small.

4. Swimming pool = lots of fun for a three year old.

5. The St. Louis Arch gives St. Louis one of the most distinctive skylines out there. I was glad we could see it again today.

Giggles

The best, loudest laugh I have ever heard from Naomi came when she watched Judah howl. I love how much she loves him.

 

Some things.

1. Yesterday, on Judah's last day of preschool, I had to do what I call the "preschool walk of shame": I was so late taking him that I couldn't go in the normal door to enter, but actually had to ring the bell at a different entrance and have someone come and let me in.

2. On a related note: Naomi has slept all night the last 3 nights! Which is why we were late. She is normally my alarm clock but she gave me some extra hours of sleep, so I'll take the preschool walk of shame for an uninterrupted night's sleep any day.

3. Greenwood has its own version of craig's list on facebook since we are not a big enough city to warrant our own Craig's list page. I have tried Craig's list before with no success here, but this facebook page is something else. We posted Jeff's desk and had 4 offers within about 20 minutes. Score for making a big of extra cash for our road trip.

4. Today has been a real winner of a day. We had a house showing at 9:30, and had to get some furniture moved out before then so my dad could take it back to his house. (Envision frantic vacuuming and throwing clothes on a five month old and three year old) Then we tried to go to the local train museum only discover they are still closed for renovation. (Even though the website says the grand reopening was in May) We came back home to discover we were locked out of the house by the showing realtor and had to find somewhere to entertain the kids for a while until our realtor could come let us in.

5. In spite of the craziness, we had a great time with my brother, SIL, and nephews. We are going to miss them a ton.

Last days.

This is my last week working at my hospital.

I had my last clinic last wednesday, a clinic full of patients I have known for many years now. My favorite married couple patients came to see me. The husband prayed for me at the end of our visit and I cried. Another patient who I have seen through two pregnancies came to me with a brand new pregnancy. I got to show her the tiny little bean flickering away inside her and rejoice. I was touched she wanted to have one more visit with me before I left.

I am feeling wistful as I say goodbye to so many colleagues - the nurses, techs, therapists, cashiers, and technologists I have gotten to know over these last 6 years. I really am going to miss them. I have been incredibly blessed working at such a great hospital. Greenwood is not a big town, but we have a big town kind of hospital.

Lots of people have asked me what I'll do when we move. I do want to work, although I don't have a job yet. I didn't really want to look a lot until we knew where we'd live since LA is such a big place and I don't want a horrible commute. I'm also trying to get my California medical license straightened out ahead of time as well. I am already praying for a job that I'll enjoy and where I can use the gifts I've been given in a way that glorifies God.

It's hard to imagine finding a hospital as great as this one, but I am excited to see what God has in store!

Beach!

We took a quick weekend trip to Charleston so we could see my brother and visit that fun city before our big move. We also took a short trip to the beach, something I was hoping we'd be able to fit in. I wanted to see the Atlantic one last time before moving to the West coast. As you can see, we had a great time. Naomi makes a rather adorable beach bum.