Michigan

We had a fun, fast paced, short, but not too short trip to Michigan. We were able to go to Enoch's cousin's medical school graduation. He's pictured here with his wife and one of his two sons (also his father-in-law and sister-in-law):
The next day they flew off to India. The previous weekend they moved into their new house. They've been pretty busy, but they were still kind enough to let us stay at their place for an evening. I have been corresponding to Rosie (the wife) for the past several months. The only time I actually met her was at my wedding for less than five minutes, so this was a nice reunion.

During the following days Tabitha and Seth became close friends with Joel, Enoch's other cousin's son. He is like a flea on a hotplate. ALWAYS moving, jumping, running. It was hard for me to get him into a picture, so this one will have to do. He is only a couple months older than Tabitha. Though we met up with them in Michigan, he and his family actually only live a couple of hours from us, so we'll have to get together more often.


The drive to and from was not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. They were spaced out enough that the kids were able to manage. Actual driving time was in the range of 7 to 8 hours. We saw trucks. Lots of trucks. We saw looooong trucks:


And HEAVY trucks. I saw several of these, which is carrying I don't know what, but I do know that it has 42 tires! The front axle has 2 and all the other axles have 4.


This is Tabitha and Seth before stopping for lunch. (Yes, they did eat Doritos beforehand)


In Ohio, ALL of the rest areas look like this. At least all the ones on the turnpike. They're very nice inside and out.


Waiting patiently (but very loudly) for the lunch:


Well fed:


The highlight of our trip was a talk that Enoch's uncle had with us. He pointed out how there are many Christians who live good lives, read their Bibles and pray, because they know that's what they're supposed to do. He encouraged us to rise above that and really PRAY. Set apart a good amount of time each day to pray, individually and together. Often we use fatigue as an excuse, but how many other things do we find ourselves doing when we're tired? Why isn't prayer a priority? Through much prayer, we will see the Lord open doors in our lives to minister for Him. The impact that this simple, very gentle conversation had on both of us made the trip well worth it. It was a word spoken in season.

Travels

Last Thursday we drove to Philadelphia for that boy's funeral. We went up and back in one day. The kids are still kind of recovering. The funeral was not nearly as upsetting as I thought it would be, given the circumstances. Yes, there were tears shed and yes, there was sorrow, but among everyone there was an underlying sense of peace. Even among the parents. I think it was a relief to know that Lucas had made a profession of faith in Christ and his life proved it. It's sad to realize that we won't get to enjoy him on earth, but right now he's with the Lord and that is wonderful.

This coming Tuesday we'll be driving 9 hours to Michigan. Enoch's cousin is graduating from Medical School. We're both a little apprehensive about it. This will be our first big car trip with the three kiddos. I'm taking Tabitha to the doctor's tomorrow to see if she has an ear infection. She's had a fever two nights in a row and was complaining about her ear today. So, it is quite possible that we won't even make it up there. So much for the hand washing habit!