Time Away

We loaded the van yesterday and headed north for the Thanksgiving holiday. If you know us really well, you know that we travel like gypsies. We I am the classic "I will grab this one-last-thing just-in-case" packer! Early in our marriage this baffled Thom. I packed as if we were either never going to return or be stranded in a corn field in Ohio. Now, 15 years later, he quietly packs the van with the skill of a professional mover.  (Thanks, sweetheart!)

Yesterday, he came in the door laughing and called me out to the van. Already packed (without my '"last minute" bags), he reminded me this is without the child(ren) we are waiting for! At this point, we have one row per child. It makes us smile and try to imagine the future God has planned for our family.

On the road, we enjoyed family time. Admittedly, adoption paperwork and thinking about fundraising has taken a lot of time and focus lately. Katie let me join her on the back row and we played games on her ITouch and then the old-fashioned "ABC" travel game. Because we were stopping half-way for the night, we stopped and ate in a restaurant (vs. the quick kid friendly meals). When we got to the hotel, we quickly changed and went swimming. This is one of our kids' favorite travel treats!

Today we drive the rest of the way to Grandma's house. We are looking forward to a few days of being with Thom's family!  Special treats are seeing cousins and aunts the kids haven't seen in over a year.  The kids are disappointed snow is not in the forecast this year. Of course, we packed our snow gear-- just in case!