The End of Road Trip 2014

This road trip has been tougher than I expected.  And it's weird, because when Harvey first mentioned this crazy idea of five summers of road trips, this was the trip I was looking forward to the most!  We have been blessed with overall great weather on all of our trips.  This year was no exception, as there was really only one day of very hard rain which made driving difficult.

Harvey got his first speeding ticket (on a road trip ;).  It was a little scary, but thankfully the van was not impounded, he was not jailed, and the officer was nice under the circumstances. 

We had two days of stomach sickness (poor Rebekah was really a trooper).  Thankfully, we were in the nicest hotel our family has ever been in with the most gorgeous view we have ever had.  It was a blessing when Rebekah and I had to stay in the room for half of a day together to be able to sit and look out the windows.  That night, when most of us felt badly, there was a large jacuzzi tub we each could use to ease some aches and pains.

(Trying to shine their shoes :)

Jonathan injured his knee.  Thankfully, he is tough and brave.  We have an appointment with a good doctor when we get home who can see him and hopefully figure out what is wrong.  We all had to learn lessons in patience and kindness through the experience.  I had moments of seeing compassion in each child at different times, granted we all had our share of bad moments also, but I am thankfully for the good ones.

(Trey carrying Jonathan one night to a swingset so he could swing. What a smile on that boy's face when he was able to :).

Parking was tough on this trip.  Weird, and we did not even have a trailer, but did have a taller van. But I am thankful we did not have to pull a trailer and never had to pay for double parking.  I also got to see some of Harvey's amazing parallel parking skills :).

(A really good motto, I think ;)

Even when we were tired, hot, and hungry, even when there were ugly moments, even when I lost my patience and set a horrible example, I saw glimmers of God's grace in my children.  Even when we were crammed in a small hotel room, the next night there would be a bigger room that we could appreciate more because of it. 

(One of our "cozier" hotel rooms :)

Even though it was tough living out of suitcases, I am thankful that Harvey and I could keep our suitcases and boxes (at least somewhat) organized.  I am thankful that Harvey can plan these trips and plan out the money so that our hotels are already booked and paid for before our trips begin.

(Yep, he is the ultimate road tripper :)

(The morning "switch out" from boxes to suitcase to get ready for the next night in a hotel)

(Blowing up air mattresses at night)

Even when we got a tough phone call on Day Two of our trip, God gave us hours to talk and pray
while traveling for an urgent situation.  Had we been home, I am not sure I could have prayed the
same and as fervently due to distractions.  Here on the road, prayer was all I could do.  It was difficult to be away, but I trust God's sovereignty in this matter, and for some reason, He had me away.  I feel that my job through it all was to pray.  And that is what I have done.

The verse we had the kids memorize on this trip was 1 Thessalonians 5:11 "Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing."  We picked it as a reminder that our job as a family was to encourage each other.  Did we always do it?  No.  Did we all fail miserably at times?  You'd better believe it.  But, still we are called to keep pressing on.  To keep encouraging one another. 

(We are always up for some crazy :)

I pray that these posts have been an encouragement to those who have been reading...

Maybe an encouragement to get as far away from our crazy as possible :) Ha!
Maybe an encouragement to make some family memories and travel far or near with your people
Maybe an encouragement to pray for us as we journey through life.
Maybe an encouragement to ask Jesus to be your Lord and Savior if you never have (the best decision you will ever make).
Maybe an encouragement to fully trust in Him in all things.

Thank you for reading!

Carried by His Grace,