Travel Times

Two weeks ago we came into Georgia from California. Now here we are, settled (to a certain degree) in the beautiful town of Kennesaw. Trees, trees and more trees. A few disgusting bugs. Mild May temperature. Long lazy roads. In short, I LOVE it!

We left Los Angeles on May 7th, with Keith driving our packed out moving truck followed by me driving the family van. We quickly fell into a travel routine that worked well for a large family that has never been on the road for longer than a half hour at a time! We would get up and get dressed when we all woke up -- We would get adjoining rooms at whatever hotel or motel looked good off of the freeway. Then, at about noon, we'd go to Denny's for breakfast, drive for about three or four hours, have lunch at a Wendy's or Dairy Queen (where we could also have ice cream!) and then drive for anothel three or four hours. Then, we'd crash at another motel off of the freeway. And that was our routine for five days of driving across the country.

Desert, high desert, cold desert, hot desert, painted dessert, canyons, flood washes, then we started to see trees that looked like God had pounded them into the ground. These short trees followed us for quite some time through the middle of the country. Then, there plains, ranches, lava rock, more trees; then the trees got taller and the weather got windier. I'll never forget how windy it was driving through Oklahoma, or the lady at Dairy Queen with her Texas accent, the thousands of trucks that passed us as we drove along Highway 40, the miles and miles of unpopulated land.

I said to the kids on more than one occasion that over population is such a HUGE problem in the United States. We all laughed. I also told them my bug joke, "What's the last thing that goes through a bug's mind when it hits the car windshield?" Answer: "Its rear end."

We were all in good spirits until the last day, when we were getting pretty tired. Keva was starting to launch things. The little kids were starting to squabble. And I was running out of patience. Still, we made it at last!

Jim meets the kids

We had a lovely time in Newnan today. It takes a good hour and 20 minutes to get there from Kennesaw, but the road is so pretty -- even the freeways! We can't believe we're actually here!

Our house's frame is up, windows in, roof being put on! It's very exciting to see all of that progress. Jim, our realtor, warned us, though, that it will seem very slow from now on because all of the little things, wiring, plumbing and such will take a lot more time.

The realtor hadn't yet met the kids, but when the kids came running into the model home in front of me, he knew exactly who we were because Kristofer looked so much like Keith. (And maybe seven kids was a bit of a give-away, too!)Then, I took the kids to see one of the nearly finished houses just like ours. This was the first time they got see what our house will look like. They were thrilled, and all were in agreement as to where their rooms should be. Kristofer, though, was already wanting his own room in the basement rather than share with the younger ones. That will come in time, though. The space that we'll have is amazing! I think we may just wander around bumping into air for awhile.

We then went to Dairy Queen. I had to remind them that every time we go to Newnan, we are NOT going to Dairy Queen. It's a lot of money to pay for eight ice creams! Keva gets pretty excited about her own ice cream, too. Her mother's daughter.Dinner is nearly ready. It looks like we'll be eating at 9:00 pm again. We have the hardest time getting into Georgia time. I'm not being too stringent, yet, not until we go back to California next weekend. We all sleep in until about 9:30 or 10:00 -- I'm getting used to this easy going lifestyle. Of course, then there's all of the boxes that have yet to be unpacked! Yikes!

Kathleen admitted to me today that she was crying at the end of our moving day in Los Angeles. She would go into her room and cry for awhile then leave to go help move more boxes. She was a moving machine that day. While she was telling me this, she started wiping her face again. Kylie was telling me that she missed her old house, too. Change is always hard. Please continue to pray for good friends for them.