We moved!!

It’s been a crazy 8 days, and we still don’t have Internet. It’s a long story…welcome to country living where you are limited to one single provider in your area!

In case you missed it, COLORADO just got a wee bit more populated! We left California super early (3am) to let the kids sleep a majority of the trip.

Along the way, we made a few quick stops to let the kids empty their bladders and stretch their legs. Dixie’s Tic Tacs, or as she says “tickets,” didn’t even make it to the Nevada border.

Next up, we stopped at the Great Salt Lake in Utah. Johnny had always wanted to wade in the shallow, salty waters. The stench, the salt, the squish…I can safely say we checked THAT off our bucket list for good. Ummm…I’ve never seen so many dead birds in my life.

Hudson found a rock, one of those things that you take a picture of it, post it, and hide it somewhere else while you wait for the next person to find it. Well, here’s our picture. He wants to hide the rock in our new backyard. I told him no one besides us will find it there. He still doesn’t seem to see the problem.

After feeding the kids a nutritious late lunch of gas station candy, we loaded back up and headed to our overnight stop: Little America, Wyoming. We arrived around 5pm just in time for cheeseburgers and 75¢ ice cream cones…and of course jumping on the beds. A rule in our family: you can and must jump on hotel beds only. This also eased the disappointment of discovering a waterless pool undergoing maintenance.

Johnny and I tried to stay awake for the Warriors game, but failed. Welp, back on the road around 8am to finish the 6 hour trip to home! Crosby was a champion and only fussed about 30 minutes of our 19 hour car ride. Best. Baby.

Then, I saw her in the distance. Colorado, our new home state, in her magnificent beauty. She overwhelmed me, and something happened. The damn broke and the tears started to flow. Up until this point, I’d been so distracted with how much was on my plate, how much was changing that my emotions were…bland. Maybe the salt in Utah did something to me, I dunno.

Johnny turned on “Colorado” by CHAPPY. I’d never heard it before. The lyrics could have come straight out of his own journal. I looked over at him, my strong leader, and saw that he too had tears streaming down his cheeks. We listened to it on repeat until we reached the Wyoming/Colorado border. Two blubbering, sobbing messes, in awe of God’s beauty and favor.

Well I’m off to Colorado
With urgency I go
Seeking the answers to questions untold
Oh Lord guide me surely
And fill my heart with song
Baby up there in the mountains I will find home

So I’m off to Colorado aching in my chest Identity inside of me is shaken at best
Oh Lord what’s my purpose?
What’s my hurting for?
Maybe up there in the mountains I will find more

Cause we’re all stories unfinished
And we die to find fitting words to write
I don’t have better things to say than you or better things to do
Than live and love you all as my own

Holding fast to Colorado
A picture in my head
Steering my thinking before I’ve even left

Oh how can I let go Of what’s inside my mind?
Oh maybe up there in the mountains I will not know pride
Oh we’re all stories unfinished
And we die to find fitting words to write
I don’t have better things to say than you or better things to do
Than live and love you all as my own
We’re all stories unfinished
And we die to find fitting words to write
I don’t have better things to say to you or better things I do
To live and love you all as my own
So I’m here in Colorado
Peace does not run short
Living the freedom that I was made for
Yes I am unfinished
Yes I am not done
Still it’s up here in the mountains
I defined my home
Yes it’s up here in the mountains
I defined my home

I felt God’s presence so strongly as He spoke to my heart. With so much pride He said, “Well done.” Hot tears. We stepped out in faith and obeyed His calling and I cannot wait to see how His plan will unfold. His ways are ALWAYS better than our own.

We are home.

To see my Instagram highlight of the trip, click here!