South Bend Bound

First, I'd like to say a million thank yous to all the people who have shown us how much you all care! We have been surprised and so thankful for all the support and love from our going-away parties. Our first was a family event in Owasso, thanks to Matt's parents. We were able to see many family members another time before the big move. Then our good (and long-term) friends, aka "the girls," threw the party of the year and sent us off well. The beer was aflowin! Our Care Group at church was great to have a celebration in our honor, where we learned many useful facts about Indiana (thanks Bill) and were showered with prayer before our leave. And lastly, my wonderful co-workers at McBride gave us a great get-together at Louie's on the night of our departure. It was so good to see everybody one last time. The parties were awesome! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

So we've made the move! Finally!! We left OKC Friday and arrived in South Bend, Indiana on Saturday night (with a sleep in Owasso first).

The road to SB was long and not without difficulty, but thankfully it was without harm. My parents were gracious to come along for the ride, and my dad pulled our 40' trailer with our home packed inside (for those of you, like me, who aren't all too savvy about trailers, this is as long as a standard semi-truck trailer!). During the supposed to be 12 hour drive, we changed not one, but two busted tires on the trailer, without a jack! Cause my dad knows what he's doin. And between tire changes, we had to stop at multiple Walmarts to purchase replacement spares. Now, as it would be, these stops didn't seem to happen when we were ready for a meal or in need of a bathroom break, or even in need of fuel, so with all the normal stops and not-so-normal stops, and pulling an outrageously heavy trailer the 750+ miles, we finally arrived to SB after 17 hours. Matt, who travelled ahead in case his questionable vehicle had troubles, arrived in SB (with a detour to see the University of Illinois on the way) in the expected 12.5 hours. We were all jealous as we continued to drive, and drive, and drive.... But we made it!

The next day was full of unloading that monstrosity of a trailer into our storage unit. It all fit! And all our stuff to take to the hotel managed to fit into our extended-stay room that is tinier than our bedroom in our house in OKC. It's ok, though. It's a temporary thing. And Pride seems to enjoy it because he's getting to go outside with his people way more often than ever before! Potty time has become quite the adventure for him.