A Long Trip

In some ways the weeks feel like they're flying by. In other ways, mostly when we are in the van, time feels like it's standing still. I've learned that some interstates have a hamster wheel feel to them....we drive and drive and drive, but never feel like we are going anywhere. The kids travel really well. We rarely hear from Hudson and Olivia in the back seat. Griffin will talk to himself all day if necessary, and Ella is fine.... as long as we schedule trips around her desired nap times (she has a way of making us try to do that).

This past Sunday we were in Hardy, AR. Pastors Stan and DeAnna Jones are long time family friends. It was so good to see them and their church. Hardy is way up there in the northeast corner of Arkansas. The scenery is beautiful. There's a river that runs through town that comes from a natural spring, so the water is always 58 degrees. Stan and DeAnna, and their son and daugther in law, Jason and Sarah showed us around town a bit Saturday. It was so hot! It was so humid! The kind of heat and humidity that makes a person feel crazy. Well, it makes me feel crazy anyway. By the time we got to the river I was reaching levels of heat insanity. I don't know if it's an actual disease, but I am quite certain I suffered from it. I couldn't get to that river fast enough. It felt wonderful. Ella cried to put her in, and Griffin and Olivia "fell" in. I'm quite certain it was on purpose. It was so good to hang out with all of them. We love the Jones family dearly. Being with them is like being with family. We enjoyed their church, and they took such good care of us there. We are honored to call them friends.

Because this trip was a little longer than normal, my mind often wondered to the times when I was growing up and my family traveled as evangelists. Traveling to new churches and hotels, or staying in our travel trailer for weeks on end. How my parents made it I will never know. As a kid I can remember hanging a coat over my head in the pick up just for some alone time. There were times during this trip I wanted a coat...obviously the day at the river was not one of them.

For those of you who care about Griffin's potty progress, read on. For those of you who don't...this is your out. :)

Griffin did excellent on the trip! You will notice that he has a sucker in his mouth in almost every picture. :) Turns out, he was a potty genius. Probably the easiest of all my kiddos to train. Go figure....