A Whole New World...

Wow. I don't even know where to start. After a never-ending road trip we arrived in Dease Lake on Saturday evening. We were almost forced to turned back about 60 KMs from Dease because the river had washed out a section of the road, but after driving for four days, and knowing a decent hotel would have been a six-hour drive in the opposite direction of where we wanted to be, David convinced the head road worker to let us go through. The section that was the "danger zone" was literally maybe a foot wider on either side than our car, and after we drove through and were on a safe patch of highway again, David looked at me and said, "that may have been a little stupid". Either way, we'd been in the car for four days with two very patient but overtired kids in the back seat, and we were finally on the home stretch.

As we were driving the stretch of highway between the washout and Dease Lake, I was really struck by the landscape. Instead of there being a forest there were all these really tall trees surrounded by shrubs. Now, listening to that description you would think "duh, Hannah, that's a forest". But it wasn't, and both David and I kept saying over and over "it's weird, because it's not a forest, it's just a bunch of trees". Needless to say, our conversational skills had definitely been dulled by the lack of sleep. Anyway, next time we go through I will actually stop and take some pictures so you all can see what I mean. These tall, green trees stood like sentinels against the backdrop of the mountains and lakes and blue, blue sky. It was also really bright outside and stayed really light until around 11:30 that night, which something else I will have to adjust to.

We finally got into the town of Dease around 9:30 in the evening, and let me tell you, nobody can ever prepare you for that first moment where you realize what life in a small town in Northern BC is really going to be. Oh, they can send you pictures and tell you over and over again that it's really small, there's nothing to do, etc. But, like having your first baby, nothing prepares you for that moment. Are we disappointed? No. It's exactly what everyone said it would be, in fact, some aspects are better than I expected. Do we want to turn and run screaming in the opposite direction? Truthfully, I am so sick of being in my car that it's enough to keep us here...for now:). No, in all seriousness, even though I feel like I'm stumbling around in a dark cave with earplugs and a blindfold on, I know there will come a day when I don't have to think through every single aspect of life. A day where this will be as much of a home to us as anywhere else we've ever laid our heads.

So, tomorrow is our move-in day. I am so excited to get settled in before I come down to Chilliwack and Portland so I know exactly what I need and what I can do without. They just finished the flooring and paint in our new home, which is for the most part rather nice. I can't wait to get our stuff in there and really make it our own for however long we are here. I have to say, though, that if I'm not careful my mind drifts back to our little cabin in the woods, with the sounds of our children and our friends' children laughing and playing, and I find myself wishing for something that is no longer mine. But I also know that because God is so good, and so faithful, and knows the desires of my heart, He will give me that moment again.

So, here we are. It's something like 36 hours before the Packing Fairies come to place all our stuff into nice neat boxes while I figure out where my head is. I had promised myself that by now I would have all my lists checked off, my clothes organized, my bathrooms clean. Considering we have guests, that last one would have been a good idea. But although none of that has been started, let alone finished, I still can't bring myself to do it. Instead, we've watched a movie, played some games, ate some yummy food, and laughed a lot. Because I won't look back on organizing and reorganizing my clothes with any sort of fondness, but I know the memories we're making right now will carry me through the days when I want to be anywhere but where I am. I'll be able to pause in the middle of a remedial task and smile, or laugh, or quite possibly - let's face it - burst into tears.

I was in London Drugs today buying things like laundry detergent and oven cleaner, so I meandered over to the toy aisle where I discovered a Disney Princess book that was all about letters and numbers and came with a CD. I thought "I'll get this for Felicity because she's going to preschool in the fall and...holy crap." Felicity is going to preschool. So, a) this is a big step for her, and b) if we weren't going to Dease Lake I don't know how we would have been able to afford preschool, and she probably wouldn't have been able to go. And suddenly, I was ready to say good-bye because of all this move means for our children. Yes, we're excited and it's an adventure and we're going to make a lot of money, but what an incredible time for our children in the ages they are at right now. And while I may not feel this way consistently for the next three days, I know that underneath all the sadness and the panic I will be able to remind myself of exactly why we are uprooting our lives, and how we will be richer in every way when we are done.

In the beginning...

I'm just going to say first off, for the record, I am terrible at keeping up with these sorts of things. There may be weeks with no postings, but try to stay with me. I also put way to many commas in my sentences. I just noticed that the other day, so I promise to try to keep that in check.

There will be more tomorrow...I think.