Road Trip!

We headed out of Kirkland, WA  on the Fourth of July after  a wonderful brunch at Hectors with our family. It was the hardest thing I think I have ever had to do…saying goodbyes to the people I love most. We packed our U-Haul to the brim and toed our jeep on the trailer behind...this thing was huge and challenging to drive. Fortunately Jerad is a natural at driving and got the hang of it pretty quick. The drive over the cascades was beautiful and across eastern Washington was bitter sweet as I thought of home and goodbyes. We sang along to country music and were encouraged to know we would be seeing some family for the night. We stopped in at Uncle Matt and Aunt Dayna Jennings for some fourth of July BBQ dinner and got to see our cousins and Grandma! We surprised her as we walked in, so great!

We hit the road after our short visit to get to Spokane for the night. We pulled in around 9:30 and stayed with my second cousins, The Isley’s  and their two girls. It was so nice to visit with and end our first successful day with family! We felt so blessed!

We headed out and our goal for the day was Billings MT. We had no idea the challenge that laid ahead. Now driving a car would be no big deal, but driving this big truck through the continental divide was just crazy! With 6% grade and crowded lanes, it was scary and tricky to get through it, but we did and from there on out we did great! Montana was gorgeous and so refreshing to see. I had never drove through it…we both enjoyed taking in the beautiful land God created. Our third day was a lot more flat driving as we approached North Dakota. Lots of layered land along the highway that was so cool looking. At times the road got boring and we entertained ourselves with car games and more country music. We stopped in Jamestown for dinner and we told by many to take some time and check out the largest buffalo. We found it and took a stroll down old Jamestown to the end and found the largest buffalo, it was so neat! The walk was nice since we had just been driving for two days straight with minimal stops. I must say we were so impressed with the nicest rest stops we have ever seen, haha!

Fargo, ND was where we ended our third night. Orland Hills Illinois was the goal for our fourth and hopefully final day. We woke up to more sunshine and hit the road! At this point we just wanted to be at our new home. Since it was late Saturday that we crossed into Illinois we knew we wouldn’t get out apartment keys.. We were amazed by the weather that evening. Lots of thunderstorms and the coolest looking clouds! As we drove past the city all we could see was corn, corn and more corn fields! Wow I have never seen so much corn in my life! We took a side road to get into Orland Park and we were on this little road for almost two hours driving past many corn fields and family farms. We were both exhausted once we pulled in and were able to see the outside of our apartment. After scoping it out we found one last hotel to stay the night.

Jerad always made sure everything was secure!

 

 

 

 












We were excited for the next day since we were going to drive a couple hours south to see our cousin Kymber! It was worth the drive for some good times, good food and seeing family again!

After our stay there we headed back and were able to get our keys. It was such a hot day!  With the help of three young men from my Uncle’s Cousin Rita’s church we were all moved in a few hours. Such a blessing they were! We had a great day of hard work and finished it off with pizza and getting to know our new friends.

As we reflect on our move out here, we see how God has provided for us every step of the way. We are so grateful it was a safe trip! Jerad and I are settling in well here and anxious to connect with our community. We have been visiting churches in our area. We are seeing how God leads and what we will call our home church.  We know God wants us here in Illinois, and we are excited as our adventure continues!