Well, we are in New York! It has been over a week since we closed on our house. Since then we have been to GA, TN & NY and several states between.
Our fist stop was Flowery Branch, GA where we stayed a few days with the Orlando/Leibe family. Tanya Orlando is one of my best friends from high school. We haven't seen each other since her wedding day back in 1988!!! She and her husband Keith homeschool their three boys. The two youngest are 13 and 9, the same ages as Sadie and Daniel. It took the kids a little bit to warm up to each other, but not long. It ended up being difficult to break them apart ; )
Tanya's dad, David Leibe, discovered as an adult that he was Jewish. He now has a ministry to help Christians understand our Hebrew roots. It is quite fascinating. Tanya keeps her dad's office organized and travels with him on his annual trip to Israel where they take groups on a tour of a lifetime.
One night on the road, we were in a restaurant when a lady came up and told us what well behaved children we had and how nice it was to see us hold hands and pray before we ate our meal. I must say they really have been great on this adventure we have been on (although they have had their moments : -)
We took our ever faithful dog, Maya along with us for this extended vacation. The hotel where we are to stay in NY doesn’t allow pets and so my mom arranged for a kennel for those days. Maya has been through so much this past year and I just didn’t feel right leaving her for such a long period of time. This all came up while were still in GA and one morning, Tanya and Keith asked us if we wanted to leave Maya with them. She really seemed to feel comfortable there and so we agreed. What a blessing to know she is being well cared for and loved while we are apart from her. I realize they only offered to keep her as ransom, to guarantee our return :-) That’s okay, we only agreed to guarantee our return :-) We really had a wonderful visit!
Our next stop was five days with my brother, Mike and his wife Ronda in Shelbyville, TN. Mike took a day off and let us all ride their horse, Baby. Ronda blessed Sadie and me with a HUGE load of hand-me-down clothes and also insisted on buying boots for both girls and a new jacket for Daniel. It was hard to break away from there as well, but since Mom called to inform us that the parking garage only has about a seven foot clearance, we had to remove our luggage carrier from the top of our vehicle and leave it behind. That made Ronda quite happy to know that we will be back in a few days. It will be a hit and run stop because we have to get back to GA and get Maya.
Mike and Ronda have two horses and we had a wonderful time riding and grooming them. The kids had a blast and wonder if we can squeeze a horse in the Expedition :-) Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure.
We took our ever faithful dog, Maya along with us for this extended vacation. The hotel where we are to stay in NY doesn’t allow pets and so my mom arranged for a kennel for those days. Maya has been through so much this past year and I just didn’t feel right leaving her for such a long period of time. This all came up while were still in GA and one morning, Tanya and Keith asked us if we wanted to leave Maya with them. She really seemed to feel comfortable there and so we agreed. What a blessing to know she is being well cared for and loved while we are apart from her. I realize they only offered to keep her as ransom, to guarantee our return :-) That’s okay, we only agreed to guarantee our return :-) We really had a wonderful visit!
Our next stop was five days with my brother, Mike and his wife Ronda in Shelbyville, TN. Mike took a day off and let us all ride their horse, Baby. Ronda blessed Sadie and me with a HUGE load of hand-me-down clothes and also insisted on buying boots for both girls and a new jacket for Daniel. It was hard to break away from there as well, but since Mom called to inform us that the parking garage only has about a seven foot clearance, we had to remove our luggage carrier from the top of our vehicle and leave it behind. That made Ronda quite happy to know that we will be back in a few days. It will be a hit and run stop because we have to get back to GA and get Maya.
Mike and Ronda have two horses and we had a wonderful time riding and grooming them. The kids had a blast and wonder if we can squeeze a horse in the Expedition :-) Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure.
Sadie, Daniel & Emilie goofing around on Baby
They even got me up on the horse : o
Aunt Ronda with her horse Baby
If I give you an apple can I have my hat back?
Emilie looking at Flicka
