The week before July 4th, 2011 we continued our adventure called life by packing up our little family of four (plus Professor the dog, and Pia the cat) and moving from Valley Mills, Texas to Omaha, Nebraska.
We made our plan, and executed it the best we could.
Everyone worked hard,
and kept their sense of humor throughout the process.
Most importantly, though...
we did it ourselves. Together.
And every time things got hard, got crazy, or got stressy...all Shawn and I had to do was look at these two little guys and remember how worth it this all was going to be. Worth it to build our family. Worth it to start fresh. Worth it to show these two boys that anything is possible. Worth it to go on the greatest adventure we have had as a foursome so far. Worth it to uncover what we are truly made of and what is most important to us.
We left this little place. It was a bittersweet goodbye. We began calling this place home when Roanin was 8 months old. He had his first Christmas here. He took his first steps in the backyard. We buried two beloved animals here. We watched Roanin learn to talk and fill all the rooms of this house with his infectious laughter. We became pregnant with twins and let the confines of these walls comfort us when we lost them to miscarriage. We watched Rexy grow in my belly in this house and brought him here when he was 2 days old to call this place home. We let the love between two brothers grow and completely amaze us in this little place out in the country. We watched them play here. We watched them swing and chase and just be.
But the time came for us to say goodbye, and we did just that. The morning we drove away, the four of us stood in the yard in a little circle, and did a group-family-hug. And Shawn and I prayed for our trip through our tears and felt so grateful for this place that had given us the family we have today.
So we packed up all that we own in this world in a u-haul truck, trailer and two vehicles and hit the open road. Shawn drove the u-haul truck pulling the Durango on a trailer with Professor and Pia. Meahwhile, I drove our truck with the two kids pulling the u-haul trailer.
Everyone had to exercise patience.
Everyone got a little cramped.
But we took plenty of cookie breaks,
and stopped to take naps in the grass along the way.
And we made it. Together.
