Saturday, January 16, 2010

Departure from Buda!

We did it!  We got all our stuff moved out of the house and into storage. It is amazing to open a storage unit 1/2 the size of our garage and realize most of what we own fits (tightly). In addition, we had packed 15 suitcases for our 4 months stay in Israel. Since Sat, Jan. 9th, we have lived out of our carry-on bags—yes, 2 outfits for each of us.

 

The packing crew! We certainly could not have done it without the help of others—Trey, Laura, Rick, Brittany, Nate, Eric, Chase, Rocky, Daniel, Ed, Sally and Dave. Also, for the last couple of weeks we just had to hunker down, stay focused on our tasks and just get it done. But when it came down to leaving on Tue. morning, we managed to get out of the house, put our mattresses in our storage unit and be on the road only 2 hours behind schedule. : )  It wasn't ideal but looking at the big picture, we were pretty excited it happened at all. Before pulling out on Tue. morning, our sweet neighbors, Maurin and Riley, came over at 6:45am to hug us goodbye. There were many tears.  However, they did receive a box of refrigerator goods out of it. I’m sure they are the envy of everyone. Leland with my girls When we returned the rental truck,Leland, the gentleman that checked us in, told us many great stories of when he toured

with the Stamps Quartet. For those who don’t know, the Stamps were a Southern Gospel quartet who sang back-up for Elvis Presley. JD Sumner  was the bass singer and a favorite of mine and Eric’s. More importantly, after Elvis’ death, JD was part of the Gaither Homecoming until his death a couple of years ago. Leland said JD was like a dad to him.

Colleen with Susannah After leaving Buda, we made it to McGregor, TX, to visit my good friend, Susannah and her family. It was wonderful seeing her and meeting the new additions to her family, Andrew and Julia, andSalman and Robishaw girls watching our kids play. Susannah has a real love for Israel and her excitement about our trip was a great encouragement.

We arrived at my mom’s in Collinsville, OK around 11pm, Tue. We all got a good nights sleep. The following day I realized how tired I was and was relieved we weren’t  driving that day. Eric worked on more trip details and got some work done,  and the girls played in the snow.  Celine with her snowman.We enjoyed visiting with Aunt Cindy and cousins; William, George, Emma, Allen and Jasper.  Mom reminded us to have fun but above all, “Be safe.”

Nanny and the cousinsColleen with DebraWed., we drove out of OK heading west for Rogers, AR to spend a couple of hours with my dear friend Debra, known to others as Debbie. We have been friends since we were 2 years old. With my girls leaving their friends in Texas, I hope they are  encouraged to know that it is possible to stay in touch if you want. Bill and Carole in Little Rock

From Rogers, we drove south to spend the night in North Little  Rock where Eric’s parents live. They recently relocated there and are living in an adorable bungalow right in the middle of town. It seems to be a great fit for them. We had brunch this morning at their home and are now (as I write this) on our way to Knoxville, TN, the half-way stop to my sister Kathleen in Maryland. We took a small detour in Memphis to see Graceland.

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We have been so blessed as each stop we have enjoyed a hot meal with our friends and family and had a good night’s sleep.

We will be at Kathleen’s home Saturday night. She and I will sing Sunday morning at her church then it is off to Langhorne, PA to regroup before flying out! Love to all!

2 comments:

tina said...

I am commenting because I can. It was good to finally get on the blog. How awesome! I can't wait to read your postings as you go about this incredible journey. Hey, I hope you got to see the fb pictures of the boys' projects. Adios (that means goodbye).
Tina

Angela said...

I need to know something, how in the world to you get your pics to post like that through blogger?!?!?! Please share the secret! :)