We have had quite the adventure in moving out to Norton. Let me tell you of the tale; There and Back again.
We were packed and ready to go. One of the few times that our family was prepared to leave at the time we said we wanted to leave by. Paul gives Mazie (our dog) some calming pills to help her on the long journey, while I got a movie ready for the girls to help them. We hoped into our cars and start our engines, except on problem mine wouldn’t start.
Great, well, so we thought we would be leaving on time…
Paul gets out the jumper cables and tries to jump it, but the cables are not making a connection. I say a little prayer, and sure in enough a friend and neighbor across the street comes to say goodbye and ends up helping us. He got the cables to work. The battery got a jump and the van started. Now we were on our way.
After picking up my mom who was going with us to help with the girls and getting some doughnuts we were finally, really, on our way. We went through the toll and found that someone had paid for however many cars to go through. Mom proclaimed, that was God blessing us on the journey.
Mom and I had a jolly good time. We talked and laughed and truly enjoyed each other. When Haddie got restless and began to have a fit. Nothing would consol her. Not Nana, not threats on her life, not even candy. I was being driven crazy by her fit when the van began to shake wildly. I was on the highway and not knowing what to do I slow down and got over to the slow going lane with my hazards on and called Paul over the walki-talkie to let him know I need to stop. We pull over at the next exit to take a look at the tires and under the hood. Everything seemed fine. We decided to go on to Cracker Barrel a few miles a head to stop and eat.
After we get back into the van we start on the highway again and it continued to shake, just not as bad. I slowed back down and got ready to stop, when the shacking just suddenly stopped.
The rest of the trip to Norton was event free, Haddie finally fell asleep and we had a peaceful trip.
Paul asked Larry if someone could take a look at the van because we needed to take it with us the next day to Canon City to pick up the rest of our stuff.
Thankfully someone did look at it, however he couldn’t find anything wrong and said that it could be something else something serious. So in good wisdom Paul decided to leave the van in Norton. Which meant that all five of us with our luggage and two car seats had to fit into the car. That would be fine and dandy, but the car seats take up much more room then just two little girls or even two adults. I was squished between the two car seats, having to sit sideways so I could fit for 6 hours.
At one point when we were all asleep Paul shouts, “Oh my, that guys dead!” This wakes mom and me with curiosity. While we were sleeping Paul was driving along side a man for some time when he passed Paul and was in the fast lane going probably 90. The driver then begins to drift. Hitting the guard in the road the man looked as if he tried to correct and over corrected sending his car into a flipping frenzy. Paul said he flipped several times before landing in the ditch. We of course stop immediately, but so did several others. After praying for the man, Paul decided to go on seeing as several had stopped and he had a car full with two little ones. Passing the wreck we saw how bad it was, it looked scary. I fearful reminder of how fragile life is. I prayed for us to have a safe arrival.
That shook Paul and he was awake as we drove into Denver. But I needed a break so we stopped at the new IKEA. That stores is amazing! It is huge! I love it. But I could not help but to sing the song from Veggie Tales in Madam Blue Berry, “Stuff Mart”. I really enjoyed going through there, it took us two hours and we made a huge wish list. But we made it out with only spending $10. Most of that was on the snack we had. Yes, their Swedish meat balls really are that good!
We got back in the car and began making our way. We only had 2 more hours until we were into Canon City. Oh, how the ride hurt. No, not just because I was squished between two car seats, but because this was a very familiar drive. One I’d take each time coming from the airport or when we were coming back from Denver having some family fun. It also was the very drive I took with the minister’s wife and youth sponsor when we first moved there just 21 months before. It hurt that we were now taking it to go pack and leave Colorado. A place I dreamed I would live in since I was a little girl and we would travel here for Family vacations. I finally got to live here, but now it was time to leave.
We got into Colorado Springs when I received a text from a friend in Canon City; worried because there had been a real bad wreck on HW 115 the HW we have to take from Springs to Canon City. When we passed it we saw how bad it was. Yet another reminder of how fragile life is. The cars had a front on collision; one of the cars had been crushed so bad that the front was in the backseat of the car. It was fatal we later found out. I again prayed for a safety in getting to Canon.
We did make it into Canon City alive.
I am thankful that my Dad and Paul had decided to go up two weeks before and do some packing. They practically packed up the whole house. There would have been no way we could have got it all done in the time we wanted to if it had not been for them. Basically all we had to do was load up the truck and clean up the house.
That whole week was very hard for me. I also had to say goodbye to my first house. I think it hurt even more because of the circumstances in why we had to move. If we were leaving just go to another ministry it would have been one thing, but we were leaving because they asked us to. That feeling of being unwanted swelled in my throat. But God is always so good, he was right there next to me reminding me that he wants me and that he has great plans for us in Norton.
The next day we began loading and only one guy, a very good friend of ours came to help us at first. This hurt because two others told Paul that they would be there, but one ended up having to work and the other just didn’t show. I had a hard time not being bitter because we had a ton of people who came to help us move in, but now we were left to ourselves to get it done. But in my pity there showed up a mother of one of the sons in the youth group. Her husband couldn’t come, but she could. She did it to say thank you for all that Paul had done for her son. Its amazing how God can pull you out of your self pity if you only trust him and see his many blessings.
Also while we were there we did get to see some good friends and enjoy a good-bye party given by some amazing friends of ours. It was nice, because we also got to see some of the kids in the youth again and hang with them. Haddie was able to see some of her friends that she too missed. It was so cute to see her so excited and running around with her little friends.
One little girl we didn’t get to see though. A girl Haddie loved dearly and I watched her every Tuesday for about a year. But the family was too busy and we were there only for a few days so we did not get to see her. I think I was more hurt then Haddie, even though she still talks about her.
During the night of the party, it got really cold and rainy and foggy. I was sort of spooky. We were all having fun enjoying each other when all of a sudden the lights went out. Ironic don’t you think, that on a foggy, cold, and rainy night that the lights go out. It scared my mother, because she was just about to let Haddie go down the stairs when it went out. My mom frantically grabs Eden and yells out for Haddie grabbing her before she fell down the stairs. The rest of the night was spent by candlelight, romantic huh…
The fog hung around all that next day. We left at about 11:00 to head back to Norton and there was still a fog. It got thicker and thicker as we left Canon, it was crazy because we were still driving in a thick fog at 2:00 in the afternoon. I was scared to death trying to follow Paul. The fog was so thick I could not see him 20 feet in front of me. Afraid I would hit him, I refused to go faster then 65mph. This made for a long trip. Even when we got on to I-70 there was still a thick fog for about another 30 miles. While on I-70 I got separated from Paul. Refusing to go faster then 65 I just stayed behind these group of motorist. But while following them this other moving truck with a trailer and truck attached behind it comes beside me trying to pass. It was going too fast to have a hitch. The truck that was on the back was bouncing back and forth on the road freaking me out. I finally slowed down to let it pass and then stayed a very good distance for fear that the hitch was going to come off from the swaying.
Finally the fog lifted and visibility was clear enough for me to speed up and catch back up with Paul. Luckily there were no more exciting events as we drove into Norton.
That is my tale of “There and Back Again”
I laugh now at the remark my mom made at the beginning of the trip. Although I still believe it, God did bless our trip, it just was an exciting one full of adventure! But what is an adventure with out adversity to overcome.
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