We're Off!

Well, kind of. Our trip has not begun as auspiciously as we could have hoped, but we are definitely on our way. First, the great news is that we found a house/dogsitter at the very last minute. So that worked out, and our puppies will be well cared for for the next 5 months. whew

I, however, was not quite as successful at getting the house emptied and cleaned so the housesitter could move in and feel at home without 1001 little girl toys, photographs, etc everywhere. And all 8 suitcases packed, and everything packed for the drive to Chicago and our few days there. And all the paperwork/bills/mail completed and rerouted. And a final project for FPL finished. And some final doctor visits. And everything loaded into the car (including the flat screen TV and a few other wishlist items for Ryan.) Nope, didn't happen. So we did not leave on Monday morning as expected, but rather Monday afternoon. We stopped in Orlando (House of Mouse, of course) for the night, just to make the drive to Atlanta a little easier on Tuesday. Of course this also involved phone calls to our friends in Atlanta, my brother and two aunts in Nashville, friends in Chicago and to Ryan to let everyone know we were a day behind schedule. whew

Tuesday was a beautiful, cool day. Our drive was pretty quick and uneventful. We pulled into the Mortons' house around 4:30. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner of dumplings and pizza (the pizza was for me since I am not a dumpling fan; the girls LOVE dumplings!), and a fun visit with Carina and Bruce and their daughter, Jayme, also adopted from China. The girls all hit it off great, and the antics of their puppy, Gigi, helped lessen Marissa's great sadness at leaving her dog, Lucky, behind.

Wednesday, we packed the car to head to Nashville. There was frost on the ground and on the car, which the girls found fascinating. As we left the Mortons' driveway I noticed that the car seemed to be having a hard time changing gears. Everytime the engine shifted, it was very rough and the car shook. Seems not so good. I hoped that it might be an effect of the cold, so ventured on. It took us about 30 minutes to get to I-75, and we stopped for gas on the way. (Maybe turning off the engine and a full tank, would help?) As we got close to I-75 I knew that the problem was not getting better, and our hardest driving, through the mountains into Chattanoga, was ahead. I prayed that God would send us a transmission shop...and there it was, just about a block before the entrance to the interstate. So I took that as a sign, pulled in and...well, that's all I know for now. Our minivan is now in the capable hands of Speedy Transmission. It is a 2-3 day job to tear down and rebuild the transmission, which they are going to do in one day and have ready no later than first thing tomorrow morning. I am sorry that we hit this snag in our plans, but am thankful that this shop was there, that they really *got it* and will work to get it done for us today, and that we were still near our friends' house. Carina came and picked us up, and we are now back at their lovely house enjoying their hospitality for another day. :) Of course, I also made calls to my aunts, my brother, friends in Chicago and Ryan, to let them know that we are once again delayed. So we *should* arrive in Chicago on Friday, and still enjoy a fun weekend before getting on the plane on Monday. whew

Thanks for everyone's prayers -- obviously we need them!!