The Ice Storm, The Interview, and the Cow-Moving to Texas

So...here we are! :) We arrived on the 2nd of February. We literally slid into town during a record breaking ice storm! It was quite the trip. Chase and our dear friend Dan, left driving the U-Haul and Dan's suv all loaded down. A few hours later, my wife (her nickname) Jen and I left with our passel of 6 kids, ages 6 and under.
Yeah. We are crazy. But it was so wonderful of these amazing friends to help us move to our new home. And I really enjoyed being able to have a looooong visit with one of my dearest friends. Plus, trial and error has taught us that two moms and six kids are actually easier than one mom and three kids. Ask the people who work at Ikea. Long story.
Anyhow...it was snowing when we drove away from our home and was storming on the east side of Albuquerque.When we stopped there for gas, I was interviewed by a news reporter about how it was, traveling in the storm. The second he turned on the camera I completely lost my mind, and Jen had to whisper to me all the answers to everything he asked, including, "What is your last name? Can you spell that?" So whether or not my clip actually made it on the air I don't know, but I doubt it. ;) But we did share with him that we had seen lots of vehicles slide off the freeway and that the blowing snow was a serious menace.
We got back on the road and several hours later, we made it to the Texas, NM border!!! :) Our drive took considerably longer than the men, because we took an excruciating amount of potty breaks. The next day, we wised up and put all the kids in diapers-yup we did. All six. And the drive went considerably faster. ;)
It was a pretty scary drive. The roads were insanely slippery and it was SO cold!!! The temp was in the negatives the whole time. At one point I couldn't see to drive because of all the mud caked onto my windshield. So I pulled over and Jen dumped a cold bottle of water onto the windshield and before I could wipe it off, it froze. At least it was clear though, so we got back on the road.

In Wichita Falls, we stopped for some lunch and to see my Aunt Debbie and cousin, Jason. It had been years since I had seen them and they had never met my kids. We slid into the parking lot, slid into McDonalds and let the kids play for a bit while I got to visit! ;) It was so nice seeing them again, they are a couple of the sweetest folks ever! I just love them! And it is so nice that they are only a few hours away and we get to see each other every now and then. :)

We got back on the road and caught up with Dan who had had car trouble. We ended up following him all the way to our new home town. It was terrifying. He drove a bit faster than I was comfortable with and really pushed me to just get there. But I was glad he did. ;) We had a couple of close calls, the one I remember the most was when a semi came into our lane and tried to push us off the freeway...scary. But God took SUCH good care of us. We got to the Day's house safe and sound...and exhausted.

This may be one of those you-just-had-to-be-there things, but I have to tell you about something Harmony said. Keep in mind that we had been driving through Texas aka Cattle Country for EVER. We saw cattle EVERYWHERE! Even the day before in New Mexico...lots of cows. Lots. For hours all we saw were cattle and fields. On the evening of the second day we were driving the car and all six kids were quiet. I think the boys were all sleeping. (Which explains the quiet.;) Jen and I are chatting it up when all of the sudden from the back of the suburban, Harmony exclaimed, "LOOK!!!! A COW!!!!!" We died laughing. We were wondering where she had been that whole drive and how she missed all the cattle. I still have no idea...

I was nervous about staying with the Day's. They so graciously provided several rooms and a bathroom and the whole house basically at our disposal! But I had never met them and wasn't sure how it was going to work. Especially with my three little ones and Jen's three little ones...all of which had been on lock-down in a car for two days. But the kids were great and the Day's were AMAZING!!! Mr. and Mrs. Day are some of the most fabulous people ever and are now some dear friends. After Dan and Jen left (which I don't want to talk about... :( ) We stayed on with the Day's for a month until we moved into a rental right across the street. I told you, they are awesome! I am not sure anyone else could have handled us for all that time. Thank you Dan and Jen! And thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Day!!! We love you all so much! Thank you for all you have each done for our family. We have been so blessed by each of you. :)

And we are loving Texas (except the tornados we are currently dodging...) the people and our church and the area....we just LOVE it here!!!