On the Road Again

This morning we left for our next round of deputation meetings – six months of travel without going home.  We are heading all the way to the west coast – from San Francisco all the way to Vancouver and many stops in between.  When this trip is over, we will have traveled through all of the lower 48 states with the exception of Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and Louisiana. 

We have spent most of this month searching for a home in the Bronx.  I am so weary of packing a lunch and spending all day in the car to drive 58 miles south to the Bronx and view several homes, fighting traffic on both ends of the trip.  We had one house almost under contract (Ben was tying his shoes to go meet with the lawyer when the inspection report turned up a problem that could not be settled).  We have submitted offers on two others but nothing has become “ours.”  I am disappointed, and I have cried many tears knowing that when we return after Thanksgiving it will not be to our own home in the Bronx.

Since finishing school we have enjoyed bike riding outside, a couple of mountain hikes, multiple species of wild life outside our windows, farm fresh eggs, the kids’ first experience with s’mores, a small town Memorial Day parade, Elaine lost her first two teeth, I filed my last homeschool report and packed up the books for the year, and Henry can stand without assistance. We also attended our sending church for the last time probably until December when Ben gets ordained.  I feel like I’ve been running full steam ahead, but I have very few pictures to show for all that we have done!

In between all of this, Nolan had a rough weekend.  He slept a lot and had a low grade fever.  After a busy week, I thought he was just exhausted.  But on Monday morning his fever spiked and we discovered a bullseye on his back.  He must have gotten a tick bite while fishing, though we did not remove a tick from that spot.  He was diagnosed as likely having Lyme disease, and is being treated for it.  He will have a blood test in a couple of weeks to confirm Lyme’s and determine if further treatment is necessary.  He is feeling much better now.  I am grateful to have caught it so early, and that he had the bullseye to aid in diagnosis.  I’m also glad to be leaving the North East!

 
Hat over his heart out of respect for the flag.  Henry tried to eat his flag!

  

 
S’mores!  We discovered that, like gingerbread houses, we attempted this too early! 

  
Fishing with Daddy.  They caught some… little ones!  This is Elaine’s first fish.

 
Liberty climbed in Ben’s lap during morning devotions.  I have a similar picture of these two when she was just a couple months old!  I loved watched my three men all dressed up and walked down the city streets.

These two came Father’s Day shopping with me and got their first taste of S’mores Frappuccino (decaf of course).

 

This one changes and grows each day!  He loves to laugh, and got to wear his first little suit to church.  He’s not yet 10 months, but he’s been in 12 month clothing for a few weeks.

 
Nehemiah eats his tacos and his ice cream cones backwards!  Nolan is feeling better after a week on meds…

Liberty is really into being just like Elaine.  She has been tagging behind her constantly, and mimicking her every move.

Storm King Mountain hike.  It was hot!

My kids love Gabriel Hyden at church!

Henry & Lydia – just 9 days apart in age!  I couldn’t get them to both pay attention at the same time!

Lydia is already trying to keep the boys in line!

And so we are off!   We left this house which has been our home since last September, and we added a bike rack to the back of our we-are-a-big-spectacle-going-down-the-road vehicle to make people really look at us as we drive by!

The kids were all in Yankees gear so I grabbed a picture at the first rest area.

Please pray for us as we travel.  Pray for safety, and for health.  Pray for us to reach 100% support.  Pray for God to provide a house in September.  After some meetings in UT, ID, and WY the kids and I will spend four weeks with my parents in Colorado while Ben has some meetings in CA on his own.  (We weren’t able to find housing for all seven of us).  Then all of us will finish some meetings in CA and head up to WA, OR, and back to Indianapolis.  Hopefully Ben will get some studying done and the rest of us will enjoy some “stability” (not to mention beautiful Colorado and time with family).