Settling in

Wow, well it's been about a month since I wrote last!  Lots has happened! 
Well the last couple days in Riverside were pretty much one big blur what with all the random errands, the last minute visits, and my mind going a mile a minute.  The biggest task was just figuring out everything we needed to set aside for South Carolina before the movers came.  I basically looked like a crazy person randomly running to the table and writing something down I needed to remember.  The hard part was that my first instinct was just to bring everything just in case, but we couldn't because we have to fly everything from South Carolina to Italy.  So rather than bring our case of important papers, we had to sort through anything we needed to file taxes and in-process.  All that to say, my brain was complete mush by the time we actually got in the car to leave. 
The movers came a little later than we expected, and since we had everything out and unplugged we were pretty bored!  They finally came at about one in the afternoon.  At that point we were thinking that it could be a long night since they had to pack and move all of our stuff!  But the next 3 1/2 hours was filled with us in awe as they were this ridiculous whirlwind of paper, boxes, and tape.  It was crazy!  We then faced our empty first apartment, and it finally became real that we were leaving.
But you know what?! God was really faithful in reminding me to focus on my attitude.  So in that adventurous spirit that consumed me that week, here is a picture of our unexpected and entertaining campout the night before we handed in the keys!

After that we spent a couple of days at Micah's parent's house.  Those couple of days were filled with soccer games of the niece and nephew, endless games of Settler's of Catan with my brothers and sisters-in law, Laker games, and card games.  It was awesome to be able to spend some time with family before we headed out.  Of course the goodbyes were hard, especially with the kids.
We started driving on Monday January 31st, 2011.  We were packed down real good, but we figured out how to leave access to the snacks ;) That first day was a pretty boring drive due to the flat ugly desert view.  Our first stop was in Flagstaff, Arizona which was about an 8 hour drive.  I think I probobaly would've been a little bummed that night, but we got to hang out with Micah's longtime friend Brian and his girlfriend. 
We had an awesome breakfast the next morning at Cracker Barrel, and when we checked the weather channel learned that the whole country was experiencing blizzard conditions and craziness. We took off not really knowing how far we would get in our 2 wheel drive car, but with God's protection made it to Tucumcari, New Mexico.  We drove into some of the snow, and had a little difficulty when we stopped off the interstate, but all in all were able to keep a decent pace.  That night was our first introduction to ridiculous temperatures on our trip as we walked across the street for dinner in reported -38 degrees with windchill.  Our third day was long for me because Micah was really sick so I was the sole driver that day and because we were pretty worried what we would encounter as we got into Texas and Oklahoma.  But again God really blessed us with a clear drive through Oklahoma City.  The trouble came when we got to the other side of the city.  Most of it was ice with snow on top of it, which made it navigable, but we were only moving at about 20 mph.  I was thankful that I grew up with snow and I know how to drive in it, but being around people who were spinning out, getting stuck in medians, and crashing into others was pretty un-nerving.  This was the first night that we stopped short of our goal of getting into Arkansas, but we were just thankful to be safe in a warm hotel for the night in Shawnee, Oklahoma!
We took our time the next morning hoping that it would warm up a little bit and the plows would have more opportunity to come through because outside Oklahoma City looked like it hadn't been helped at all.  The roads were still pretty bad when we left, and just getting back onto the interstate was quite a triumph, but we were able to go about 40 or 50 mph which made us very happy!  Once we got into Arkansas we had a pretty clear road and eventually stopped in West Memphis, Arkansas. 
The next day was really fun for us because we stopped for lunch in Nashville at the Hard Rock Cafe.  My awesome hubby even looked to get Opry tickets.  There wasn't anything going on, but it was a really sweet thought!  We walked around for awhile, and enjoyed the atmosphere, but were soon reminded by some dark clouds coming in that freezing rain was expected to meet us as we started driving again until we stopped for the night in Knoxville, Tennessee.
I have to admit that I was a little sad the next day that we only had a couple hundred miles to go.  I was excited because my back hurt crazy bad and we were both sick, but I kind of liked our drive.  The craziness of the weather made our time really feel like an adventure, and the fun of just talking and singing together made me kind of treasure the time in the car.