Roadtrips and Wetlands

Wow, so the past couple of weeks have been sooo insane. The last weekend in July, with my parents, I helped move my sister into her new place in Virginia Beach for law school. My parents were in one vehicle, and I was in my sister's car. The road trip was 12 hours long one way, but I think we had a lot of fun! We were listening to all kinds of music and singing, and it reminded me of the time they all helped me move out to New Jersey. I took pictures along the way that I put out on facebook, but attached some here too.

Driving through the mountains of West Virginia

Getting closer to her new place...lovely view

Jen's excited to be almost there!

We essentially took the trip through Chillicothe in southeastern Ohio through West Virginia, and then to Virginia. There was a lot of mountain driving that was very lovely! My mom even played "I Spy" with us via text (since she was in the other car). It was pretty funny! But nothing surpassed the moment, when we saw signs for Virginia Beach or passed all of the exits for historic places. Jen was soo excited. So much to do there, and it is incredibly lovely there too! I love the colonial look on so many of the buildings.

Gorgeous view at our hotel

This was our view from our hotel room!

When we got there, we went straight to her little house she is renting with another first year law student. It is sooo cute! So small, but so cute! She is already making it into a place that really shows her personality too. So we stayed for two nights in a very nice hotel in Nofolk, and it overlooked the water and a beautiful skyline (see pics). Jen and I had one room together, and it was great! I think the last time we stayed in a hotel room together was 2007 (when we went to France). So it was just fun to have that sister time and talk and just be like old times too!

Jen's new place!

Regent University - her new campus!

Robertson Hall - Jen's law building

Virginia Beach - lots of umbrellas!

We also got her all set up with everything she would need in her new place as well. We saw her new campus, and boy is it gorgeous! Her library is gorgeous...her law building is gorgeous! I just loved the campus! And we also took a littel bit of a break to see Virginia Beach (since I never had seen it). I have been to many beaches, but I have never seen sooooooo many people on one beach. It was insane! But I loved seeing all of the umbrellas.

Saying goodbye was pretty darn hard on everyone. I hate seeing my family cry, and so it was rough. I didn't cry unti I came back home honestly. I think it was because it hadn't really hit me that she was 12 hours away and that the next time I might see her would be Thanksgiving (maybe), and then Christmas! So that's pretty tough, but that's what Skype is for! Plus, you know, I know she can do this. I know that Jen can do whatever she wants with God's help. I know she was nervous, but I think Jen is already starting to enjoy herself out there. She had some classes and is really liking them so far. And it was hard for me in New Jersey at first as well, but God took care of me out there as well. I grew the most when I lived out there. I hated New Jersey (still do) with a passion, but I learned to like me and to love me (which I always struggled with), and also depend on God. And I also learned how to be street smart and drive pretty darn well (Philly, New York, New Jersey - will do that to you!). But the same goes for Jen - God will take care of her, and He is the One that gave her this calling in the first place. Whether she goes after being a Supreme Court Judge (which I think she will), or God calls her in some other way, doesn't matter to me. She will be great! I am proud of her and nothing can take away that pride. I love you, Jennifer! You have your entire family and friends back here in the mid-west rooting for you every step of the way.

So after I got back, I had to head up to Pennsylvania for a long work job - 12 days straight! I can't give away any client information, but essentially, I was working in the wetlands (royally sucked!) grabbing samples. The first few days were just soo terrible. Everyone knows my fear of snakes, and so I was praying a lot (and had others praying) that I wouldn't see any. And thanks be to God, I didn't! But the terrain was terrible. I have never had to sample in conditions like this before. I was working in wetlands with cattails at least 5 ft taller than me and very tight together. The mucky mud was terrible, and I fell NUMEROUS times. There is this grass called "saw grass" that looks just like very tall grass until you rub up against it. It cuts you like knives! In one day, I counted 22 cuts on my arms just because I rubbed up against this saw grass. I did end up getting poison ivy (on my stomach of all places), but it wasn't as bad as it could have been. So yeah conditions were not fun, especially for an engineer that isn't used to this stuff. It's one thing if you do this stuff for a living and are used to it, its another when you were just helping out a team because they needed people and you didn't have anything on plan for two weeks.

So anyways, by the 4th day, my field team leader saw me struggle (and I didn't complain during this time, I just fell a lot and people noted I wasn't used to it), and she asked me if I wanted to go home and they could get a replacement, or if I wanted to do something else. Now as much as my body and my mind both were saying "YES - I want out of here!" - I know it isn't the right thing. I told her I just wanted a little break from the wetlands sampling and I could do sample prep and other things back at the campsite just for a day. Well, they got me trained on that stuff, and the guy who was originally doing the sample prep at the campsite, went in my place. He actually loved being the wetland and wanted to do it. So Day 5 through 12, I didn't have to go back in the wetlands (except once). Talk about a "praise God" moment for me. We all have our gifts I have decided...we all have things we are good at. This wetland sampling wasn't it for me. And that's okay. I accept that I have other gifts. But if there is anything I wanted people to see was that I am stubborn and I don't quit on a team, even when it sucks. I wasn't expecting to work the rest of the time back at the campsite doing the sample prep, but God made it all work. And I know even if I had to work in the wetland the whole time, He still would have made it work. But since He came through for me, I really tried to put forth my best with the sample preps and do a thorough job with that.

I think this whole thing taught me that when things get tough, God sees it and is there. He cares about the little things (I was in places where snakes were, but I didn't see one). He gives me strength when I need it the most. And He made the way for me to work at the campsite the rest of the time in the field, and I can't thank Him enough for that. God is good. I really saw how much He cares about the things I care about. He also gave me some amazing Skype and phone calls with family/friends while I was out there...thank you to those people who were my cheerleaders through this! Thank you to my family and friends who prayed for me...it worked!

And so driving home, I made a pit stop in Punxsutawney. I got to see Punxsutawney Phil (see pics). It's a very little town, but it was cool to see nonetheless. Plus, I really love the movie Groundhog Day. It wasn't quite like I expected, but that's okay.

Phil's Burrow

That little ball of fur is Phil. He was sleeping.

Where all the festivities happen!

They had lots of groundhog statues around town. I posed with one!

And so, I am home now, and I am really really happy to be home now with my husband!!! God knows I missed him so much!! God answered other prayers on that trip, as well, for some big dreams we have as a family. I am trusting and having faith in Him through those things as well. But all in all, God is God and was with me every step of the way. And He will be there every step of Jennifer's path too! So as exciting as the roadtrip was with Jennifer, and as horrible as the wetlands were, I think God really taught me a ton during those two weeks of highs and lows. He taught me that He is God and I really needn't worry about my life or my sister's life when He holds us in His Hands. He taught me that He cares about the little things and big things of life. He really showed me His love over these past two weeks, and I can't help but praise Him!

So now...time for church and a date night with my husband! So happy to be home!