We decided to make day two a rather long one. We got up early - 7:00, had yogurt and donuts in the room (breakfast not included in this fine establishment), and were packed up and ready to roll at 7:30. Oh, scratch that..... Lucy didn’t clean her ears (the piercing) or brush her teeth. Back in the hotel room, rake through her hair, clean her ears (aka: inflict as much pain as possible upon my last-born) while she brushes her teeth (in between fits of wailing due to knots in her hair and hair in her earrings - both her and, especially, Mia, have had a lot of hair caught in their earrings. I’ve had to take the earrings out, remove all of the hair wrapped around the posts, clean them up and replace the earring.) 7:40 and we are off.
We headed into Idaho - can’t you see the sign? I was a little late on the draw....
And from Idaho into Montana - missed that sign all together.
One of the highlights of today’s drive was listening to The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. At first we were rather pleased with the version, until the main and focal character, Aslan, came on the scene. Oh the over-dramatics! Yikes. They could really have taken it down a few notches. At least we now have some more fodder for quoting. Our current favorite: “You had better put your fingers in your ears!” And we may just start yelling “Silence!” (in extreme dramatics) to each other from now on.
The highlight for me, however, is just simply the drive. We drove through my favorite part of North America - at least from what I have seen and experienced. Western Montana - pine covered mountains/hills, crystal clear rippling rivers and creeks with fly-fishermen, rocks and wild grass, Log cabins with their dark green roofs, whole branch triangular fences and little bridges. The piece de resistance (I’d write it in proper French, but I don’t remember how....) was hearing most of the family singing along to “We will bow, we lay our crowns, at the feet of Jesus....” along with the VBS CD playing while driving through this amazing creation.
(above photo contribution from Lucy)
Apparently we were driving too fast for our little instamatic to handle!
Some day I hope to kayak down one of these rivers. We stopped at the Corral Bar/Cafe/Hotel for a bathroom break which is apparently the coolest place ever (I never went inside). Cade suggested that this is where we come and move to after our semester in Steinbach. We were all a little baffled as we were pretty sure we were all on the same page about staying in Steinbach. He claims ignorance to that fact - of which I say “pish posh”.
Yesterday I was commenting about “home”. I’ve realized that I am doing a lot of grieving right now. First it was just over Ecuador, but now I realized that it is also over Fairfield. It really hit this last Sunday at Parkway - our church. While certainly not perfect, it is a blessed place.... incredible, biblical messages, staff that obviously love and are passionate about Christ, friends/family who are passionate - the youth group as well.... it is overwhelming. I completely broken down in church. It was Youth Sunday. It is an annual event when the youth put on the service. I was overwhelmed by how amazing the young people are (and have been) from Parkway. Truly passionate, Christ-seeking people who spur each other on to great things. So first I was lamenting the fact that we were once again leaving this blessing. Then they showed a highlight video from the year which included bits of their trip to Ecuador. I completely lost it at that point. Double grieving. I was sobbing.
Later Maddy and I were talking about it. It is overwhelming being called away from two places where there has been great influence and growth for our family. And I don’t feel strong or equipped enough to do this. But we realized that perhaps God is calling us to be the initiators of some passion (not that Steinbach is passionless....) for Christ and for service. Perhaps that is our new call to action. Not to jump on the bandwagon, but to get the wagon going. That vision could change once we get there and see for ourselves what is happening, but it certainly is food for though. In the meantime, I am allowing myself the time to grieve about our losses. There is much in our past to be thankful for.
After a long drive, we are settled in at the Ramada Inn in Bozeman, Montana. The kids are happily enjoying the 90 ft water slide (somehow Cade managed to remember that they boasted not just a water slide, but a 90 ft water slide from 2 years ago when we stayed here). There isn't much of a pool, but the slide is enough and the fact that no one else is here is a bonus! And they have the best internet of any hotel I've stayed at for a while!
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