Dear Friends and Family,
Just wanted to let you know that we have safely arrived in our wonderful new home.
We had the sweet opportunity for Val and Ben to say some YFC farewells as we were leaving town. Our staff and board were gathered for a potluck and prayer time, so we stopped by and were able to hug some necks (as Andy says!)
The trip was eventful/uneventful... As we were traveling we ended up watching 2 separate police chases - one right next to us in Miami as we left town heading for Orlando on Sunday and the other in Georgia headed the opposite way on the highway... Due to extreme exhaustion on my part, we only made it to Valdosta on Monday. This meant that we did a very long day on Tuesday getting in to Franklin around 10:30 p.m. We made one stop in McDonough, Georgia (just south of Atlanta) to see one of our staff girls, Jennifer Hartley and her fiance, Trey. It was GREAT to see them and we got a tour of the chapel where Andy will be performing their wedding next May.
I was thankful to my friend Lisa who talked with me Tuesday night, through a stretch of mountain road in Tennessee keeping me alert! We left Franklin again the next morning for another 12 hour trip, ending up arriving at our new home around 9 pm last night (Wednesday). So our plans for a day off the road with our friends in Tennessee, turned out to be a 6 hour overnight break we spent sleeping. Even though we didn't get to stop for the day, they were gracious, as always, and sent us on our way with yummy muffins and lots of love and prayers!
Last night it was a joy to come around the last corner to see our front porch all lit up and welcoming us home. We were greeted by our girls, my parents, and a team of guys ready to help Andy and Ben unload our U-Haul. My initial tour left me feeling like I was the contestant on Extreme Makeover Home Ediition. I toured our beautiful new home, and all my things were there waiting for me. It was overwhelming and awesome!
The guys and our girls unloaded the truck while I helped settle in our pets. Both our dog and our cat weathered the trip amazingly well - I think better than me! Ben also did a GREAT job keeping Andy and I alert and on the right roads!!! We were thankful. Our girls and my Mom had worked very hard to settle in the house ahead of our early arrival. They did an amazing job. We have a fully functional kitchen, all our beds are set up and made (it was GREAT to sleep in our own beds last night for the first time in 6 months!), our living room is comfy, the garage, laundry room and bathrooms are all set up too!
Andy and I had our coffee/tea on the porch this morning and it was chilly - 52 degrees! The sunshine was beautiful and our trees (mainly oaks and maples) haven't started to change color yet - so we are looking forward to seeing autumn from beginning to end this year! We did see touches of fall color as we were driving through the hills in Tennessee and Kentucky and we saw a pumpkin patch FULL of pumpkins as we approached Grand Rapids.
We had to say our first farewell to Andy already today, but we made our plans for his next trip (this time via the friendly skies of Delta!) We are already counting the days! He called tonight to let us know he had safely arrived back in south Florida, so he will be back at the office in the morning.
Andy will be welcoming home Martha on September 25 (she is the sweet woman from our church who had us house sit for her the past 6 months.) After that he will be moving to live with our friends, Mark and Ines, who offered a room for Andy in their lovely home. We are thankful for such a great transitional home for him til he is able to join is permanently next spring.
We thank each of you for your help, your prayers, and your encouragement. As we have some settling in and recovery to do, it may be a bit before we are ready for too much company or spending much time visiting on the phone, but we wanted to give you an update.
Love from Hudsonville and Miami,
Andy, Valerie, Elizabeth, Sarah, and Ben
