Just wanted to share a few more pics from our journey...

Uncle Lewis playing with Collin & Max

Mom going for a walk down the street with her PT and Isaac- you have no idea how exciting this is for us!

Max, my brother Lewis, Weston the horse, and my Dad- just hanging out...

Daddy left his sweatshirt when he left after Christmas- so Isaac decided to try it on!

The Siskiyous

Driving through the Siskiyous Mountains- Northern California into Oregon- took us over 4 hours- on a normal day it would take an hour. That line across the center of the picture is traffic. When I took this picture we were sitting still for so long we had time to put it in park, dig the bottle of water out of the back of the truck, pop the hood and add it to the windshield washer reservoir- without pulling off to the shoulder. The roads were completely clear by the way "bare & wet" as they say... people were chaining up anyway not knowing what we were heading into- so they had to drive slow. It stunk.

HOME

That's about all I can say. Seriously. As I was driving into Lynden on Monday I just felt this wave wash over me of peace. This is it. I am finally home! Can I just say: I LOVE WASHINGTON!!! I have seen lots of other cities now and some of them are truly beautiful and I am sure they are nice to visit. But this is home (well Western Washington is- Lynden is just where we are parked right now ;o)

To my MOPS mamas: Thank you all for your warm welcome back at MOPS. I truly felt loved and missed and I AM SO HAPPY to be HOME! I'll see you at SPA day- if I don't see you at scrapbooking first!

I have had no internet since I got home- something to iron out with Comcast on Monday... so I'll be back on the blogging hook then.

HOME!!! (Almost)

We are safely in Renton for the night at Matt's parent's house. We finally got here at 12:30 am. It took us over 4 hours just to drive 200 miles with all of the closures and chain on- chain off areas and roadwork etc... Oddly enough after all that- we never needed chains. The pass was quite clear, still slow moving however as some people chose to put chains on anyway and then could only drive 35 mph. Anyway, long story short we are back in our favorite state and reunited with out favorite puppy dog! Zoee is just beside herself to have her boys home! I'll continue on to Lynden tomorrow morning. Thanks for all of your prayers- they worked!

Road- OPENED!

We are heading north today after all- I-5 is open again, but still chains required and slow speed limit. Pray for a safe passage!

ROAD CLOSED

We arrived safely in Redding, CA just before 7 pm- it is incredible what a difference travelling with 2 adults can make! We were so efficient! We were out the door for breakfast at 7 and on the road at 8:12! Matt drove 600 miles today- by himself - I took care of kids and napped and read a magazine. It was great!

Good thing we already had a hotel reservation for Redding- because just before we arrived we passed a sign that said "I-5 closed 10 miles north of Redding". So the good news is we have a warm dry place to sleep- the bad news is that we may be sleeping here for 2 nights instead of 1! The pass on I-5 is snowed in- and they are expecting a lot more snow between 8 and midnight. Apparently the DOT doesn't like to close I-5 so they will get to work clearing it ASAP. Which is good- but that still puts us behind schedule- which is REALLY bad. Matt will miss work and I will miss MOPS- again.

In case you were wondering- we will be as safe as we can be. We all have sufficient winter gear and emergency supplies and my truck is a 4 wheel-drive with brand new tires on it, the rear end is extremely full of stuff and we have chains.

This hotel is packed and noisy so sleeping might be tricky for me- however I should try- we might actually be doing some travelling tomorrow- we shall see!

Oh man that was fun!!!!

We have never been on a family vacation and it just seemed silly to miss this opportunity- after all we were already here and we already had accomodations- so just had to pay park admission. We had a BLAST! Everything was perfect for both Isaac and Max- there were only a few rides that Max couldn't go on- but there were lots of things for him to play with nearby while big brother had his fun. There were several family rides and activities and so many things made out of LEGOS it was unreal!!!

Cutie pie!

Isaac's dream come true!

Deep in conversation with his new friend!

Hi Mom!Cheesy!!! (Yep- I made him do it!)

Our sweet little family-kickin' it with BobWho lives in a pineapple under the sea? (Isaac trying to smile like spongebob)

Yes this full size SUV is really made entirely of LEGOS! (Except the tires and base it sits on)

All Lego'd out!

Left Flagstaff...in Temecula

Hi there! I didn't forget...ok so I did. We have been busy! Back at the Wouters house in Temecula, CA. Did I mention Matt joined us? I picked him up in San Diego last night and he will travel the rest of the way home with us (YAY!!!!!)

Today we are gonna go have some So. Cal. fun! I'll post pictures tonight! Then we'll be back on the road tomorrow...

Going home: Day 2

We travelled a lot farther today- about 500 miles total. We got an earlier start than usual but we fell behind when I had to stop in Albuquerque at a Honda dealership to get new wheel locks. When I got new tires in Bellingham before I left they didn't give me back the key to my wheel locks. I realized it when I was still in Oklahoma. Basically what that means is if I get a flat out on the highway somewhere I have no way to remove my tires. I was finally able to get that taken care of today (thankfully).

We are stopped for the night in Flagstaff. It was an uneventful journey today. The boys were better today than yesterday. Tomorrow will be the true test as we will have really long stretches of absolutely NO CIVILIZATION and NOTHING to look at.

Safe and sound and going to sleep early tonight.

God grant me the serenity

to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference. This has been my mantra over the last 9 weeks- (yes it has actually been 9 whole weeks here). We accomplished so much together, my mom and I. My dad helped out where he could and my brother and his wife showed up occasionally as well. It was a lot of exhausting work sorting through everything from porcelain dolls to bottled up emotions. We had a succesful garage sale- in spite of the cold. We cleaned and organized almost everything. My parents got one room completely redecorated- which they love by the way- it is a room for them to share their free time together.

I learned alot about my family that I did not know. I learned a little more about myself and what I am capable (or not capable) of. I reconnected with my hometown and my parents. I got to know my nephew a little better. I saw my sister and her family for the first time in 13 years. I inherited some things. I claimed a few things as well (my baby book, some old photos, etc...)
I became more familiar with the dynamic in my parents' household- why things are the way they are- and I tried to share some ideas that might make things function better.

Then there are the things that I cannot change- like clashing personalities, my parents' financial situation, the structural state of their home and all the damage that has been done by unfinished projects and neglect, and what I struggled with most is that I cannot change all the negativity and resentment that gets fed into that house on a daily basis. Toward the end I would cringe every time the phone rang or the door opened. I only pray my mom has the strength now to continue working through it without me by her side. I will continue to call and check in- but I have to get back to my own life now. Please pray with me that God's light will shine down on the intersection of 21st and Birch in Duncan, Oklahoma and fill some hearts with healing and hope. He knows they need it- maybe we can help lift them up on His to-do list.

Leaving Oklahoma with a heavy heart today and staying the night in Tucumcari, New Mexico. Looking forward to getting back to my own life with a lot more appreciation for what I have. I am grateful to all of my friends back in Washington who kept tabs and checked in and left comments. You have been greatly missed and I can't wait to see all of your smiling faces again!

Happy New year!

It's still the first...right? I have been sick since New Year's Eve- it started as a minor cold and in the last 5 days or so I have been completely miserable. Finally yesterday my mom demanded that I take a nap while Max napped- I didn't argue, I was so groggy and out of it from the cold medicine- so 4 hours later Max woke me up (yes he slept that long too!) Then last night for the first time since I arrived here I went to bed before 2 am (the only time mom and I get anything done is when the boys are sleeping so we rarely get to bed before 3- sometimes 5). I slept hard. I really needed it because I apparently slept off the sick. I woke up this morning ready and raring to go! It is about time. It sucks to be sick when you are the only one around to take care of 2 kids and one recovering adult. Mom did really great though taking care of the boys. I have come into the room more than once and she is holding Max- which means she picked him up by herself. She really is getting better. She has been taking baby steps every day. However yesterday she ironed a whole bunch of clothes and today her back was in excruciating pain all day. No reasonable amount of pain killers did much to help. She definitely overdid it- I don't think I'd mentioned that she has 2 fractured discs in her back- and nothing will help her but time. Sooooo... no more ironing for her! As for the house- I can't even get over her- every day she seems to have an epiphany about what things weren't working for her in her life before and what she can do to fix it. She has been steadily talking herself out of the "stuff" that she has been surrounding herself with. She is reading some self-help books and opening up to the ideas within more easily. We are looking for activities that will get her out of the house and keep her busy (so she doesn't fall back into the deep depression).
The boys are doing really well. Isaac has been struggling with behavior issues since we got here. Grandma has some sort of old-fashioned ideas as to how kids should act so it took a while for Isaac to be okay with her- it was a learning process for both of them- but I think we got it. His other issues has been due to a basic lack of playmates. Isaac is used to 2 or 3 playdates with kids his age every week. He is also used to attending preschool twice a week and MOPS every other week- the fact that there are no real playmates for him here has been tough on him. I had no idea how tough exactly until I managed to plan a play date with some old friends and their little boys. The 3 of us and all 6 boys (between us) met at the park on a nice afternoon and they ran around the playground, played tag, then found a huge area of leaves and just attacked each other in a big leaf war. Even the mommies had leaves in places we didn't realize we had when all was over! Afterward Isaac was his old wonderful self. Cheerful, helpful, polite, even my mom noticed a difference. I didn't realize it would be such a challenge to find Isaac someone to play with here! We are good now I think - they played so well together! We are looking forward to a dinner date at Mcdonald's now!
Max is great! His new word is "foot-ball!" Daddy and Grandpa are SO PROUD! We are working on "rock on!" he is almost there, he makes this snarly face and sticks up his index finger when we say it! Tonight he woke up crying like crazy so while I tried to figure out where the syringe for the tylenol was (it was that kind of cry) I gave him to Grandpa and Grandma. When I brought him the dose he was completely enthralled by grandpa's clock that projects on the ceiling. So I left him. I went back 30 minutes later and all 3 of them were fast asleep. If I thought I could've gotten away with it I would have taken a picture- it was so sweet!

That's it for now. Best wishes to all in the new year! I miss you and I'll see you soon!