Road Trip Weeks 2 & 3

My mind is not really thinking in cohesive thoughts these days, so I'm going to just jot down some memories from the trip so far that I'd like to hold on to for the future.

1) Let's see...a bird pooped on me while we were at the Houston Zoo. That was memorable!

2) Our longest leg of the journey so far, (supposedly 7 1/2 hrs), turned into 12 hrs! (Houston-Midland) HA...thank you, Googlemaps.

 3) After driving 12hrs, I realized I left all of Lucy's nighttime diapers in the car top carrier. Rather than climbing up there in the freezing cold in pj's, I opted to just put her in a random swimmie diaper I found in the bag. BAD MOVE. I awoke to shreaks at 1:00, as she was swimming in a puddle in her own pack-n-play. That obviously was not one of our better nights so far.

 
4) Olive waking up sometimes multiple times throughout the night and having to give her a bottle so we don't wake up whomever we are staying with (thankfully, I think we've finally worked through this issue...at least until about 5am)

 5) Making peanut butter & honey sandwiches on top of plastic bags on top of tubs in the back of the car.

6) Seeing 8 people (5 adults, 3 kids) get out of a Hyundai Accent 4-seater hatchback during our drive across Texas...I don't know why this is surprising. It will probably be a common site in a few months.

 











7) Several days into our trip I mentioned to D, "I need to cut back on the carbs...I'm starting to look like I'm pregnant again!" He said something nice to make me feel better. However, later that night as we were leaving dinner he piped up, "Wow! I can't believe you ate that much!" seriously, babe? Thankfully, it was a laughable moment. Obviously, it had come out wrong...obviously. 




 

8) Derek told me to leave out a change of clothes I was going to wear in the car for the next 2 days and he would get a head start at putting everything else in the car top carrier. I did as he said; however, I forgot to leave out a change of underwear (yep, I know...) Because it is such a hassle to get in and out of that difficult thing, I opted to just travel wearing a pair of his boxers underneath my gym pants. Yeah, that was not comfortable (to say the least).

9) Still the above-mentioned scenario...when we finally got settled in at the hotel in Las Cruces (after a 7 hr drive), I decided I absolutely had to go out and buy another pair. So, I took Lucy with me, and at 9pm went out shopping. After multiple places that I thought would have what I needed, we finally succumbed to Wal-Mart, stood in a long line, and then humiliated myself with the purchase. Sigh. At least we were just passing through town and there was no chance I would see anyone I knew...

10) At one of our random lunch stops along the way, we saw a restaurant at the top of a hill. Because it was Sunday, the restaurant was closed. But we thought its' awning would be good to sit under in the shade and have a little picnic. After some time, a police officer rolled up to make sure we were not "loitering". After asking where we were coming from and what our business was (I'm sure she got more than she expected in answer to that question!) she actually made a $1 donation to our efforts and gave Lucy a roll of stickers...that was the first time that's happened!

Alright, that's it for now. We've made it to Phoenix and will be here a week. We're having a great visit with Derek's family. Houston and Midland were fabulous and we met lots of people the Lord used to encourage us in our calling to minister in Bundibugyo. Another church in Birmingham has come on to support us monthly...a testament that even while we are juggling life out of tubs and cars and car top carriers, focusing on relationship-building and saying goodbyes, God is still present in our midst and providing for our needs.

every single one of them.