arriving home

Leaving Bozeman, MT

God is so merciful, isn't He? After all the "adventures" of the first part of our trip, we were blessed with a very smooth journey from Bozeman to our final destination in McMinnville, Oregon. We left Bozeman for our next stop in Missoula, Montana where Danny's dad and brother David live. We stayed the night and left again early the next morning. It was our last day of driving; we would arrive in McMinnville that evening. We would arrive on November 2nd, and even after our set-backs we made it only a day after our goal of getting there by November 1st.

Driving through Washington

It was strange leaving Missoula. The trip up until then just felt like, well, a "trip." You know, like a vacation. We had driven to Missoula a few times before to visit family, so on the drive there it was easy to forget that we were actually moving. Not coming back, not for a long time anyways. After passing Missoula, we were traveling down a road Danny & I had never been on together.

The road to our new home.

Mt. Hood (I think) way off in the distance--can you see it?

It's funny to me that we (or Someone Else?) chose Oregon. The trip earlier in the month that Danny took to Oregon was almost instead a flight to Montana. Danny had seriously looked into schools there since he knew Montana really well and we would be near his immediate family. It really would have made more sense to move there, I suppose. Yet when it came down to buying the airline tickets and planning the trip, Oregon won out. Danny just knew that that was the place.

And it is.

Though we are far away from friends and family here, it's exciting for our marriage because we get to explore our new surroundings together. We have to totally depend on God and each other now.  We get to start our new life from scratch and adjust and learn and grow together. I mean, every adventurer needs a faithful side-kick, a partner, right?  When I said "I Do" to Danny, I became his companion on the exciting journey of life. Yes, it's an exciting thing, indeed.

Our house

We were greeted by some groceries left by Allison Trimble from Jerry Trimble Helicopters. So sweet!

It was a bittersweet mix of emotions arriving to our house. It was starting to hit me how I had left my family, friends, & all I had known for my entire life. This whole move has seriously been one of the craziest, biggest changes I have ever experienced in. my. whole. life. And yet, as I stood in that not-for-long empty house I couldn't help but feel joyful anticipation rise up in me. Though everything was new and unfamiliar, it was still our home. I don't just mean a different house, but a new town, way of life, everything. It was unchartered territory. A blank page just waiting to be filled up with new stories, lessons to learn, people, challenges, experiences, blessings.

My heart is in Ohio, it's such a part of who I am, how can it not be? Yet right now, in this season of life, this is my home.

And I like it. I really like it.