Well, 30 days, 5,172 miles and 17 states later, we are back in Atlanta (we actually arrived back here on Tuesday). We had a great trip, got to see so many people along the way, and had some fun family and relaxing time as well as debrief time. Our 2 longest journeys (Little Rock to Steamboat, and then Colorado Springs to Chicago) were a little taxing at times, but the kids did really well, and after all those miles we can say that a Honda Odyssey is the way to go!  Our container is set to arrive tomorrow (Sat) at 9 am, and as long as the driver can get that truck up our steep driveway, we’ll be good to go! We have tons of things to do to get organized and settled, and we don’t have internet set up at the new house yet, so it may be a little while before we get another post up. But we will eventually put up a picture gallery from our road trip, as well as what is next for Gavin - we will be making the final decision in the next few days. So, this is all for now!

Our container should be arriving to our place in Dunwoody sometime early next week (23rd, plus or minus a few days), and we are looking for anyone who would be available to help unload, especially if it arrives on a weekday (which it probably will). We will know about 3 days out when it will arrive, but probably not until even that day what time. So if you would be available to help unload, could you just add a comment to this post, and we’ll get in touch with you? Thanks!!!

I love technology. I especially like technological gadgets that I never realized I needed until I laid eyes on it the first time. I think that’s probably why we went with Verizon at first when we arrived back in the Sates. All of their phones have that handy little GPS system in them for a nominal fee of $10 a month in addition to the data fee. I never actually got a chance to use it because A) I never spent the money and B) we switched to AT&T… but I’m not here to comment on the pros and cons of different cell phone providers; I’d rather talk about cell phone users at this point. My guess is that you’re one of them.

If you’ve ever worked closely with me, you probably know that I really appreciate people who actually answer their cell phones. Slovaks, for the most part, were pretty good at it. It might be because incoming calls were always free and they didn’t want to have the pressure of calling you back and then having to pay for it, but in either case, communication was relatively easy and quick. I did have an American teammate who never picked up her phone, we’ll call her Strana to protect her identity, and it never impacted the quality of our relationship, we have a great relationship and I love her dearly, but the topic came up often between us. She helped me realize how much this is a value of mine. I’ve thought often about putting together a class called “Cell Phone Use - 101″. It would include topics such as “how to turn on your ringer/cancel silent-mode”, “how to remember to take it with you when you leave the house”, and “if you can’t talk at that moment, how to pick it up and tell the person that you’ll call them back.”

Don’t get me wrong, I can appreciate it when somebody turns their phone off or doesn’t answer the incessant ringing in an effort to keep their life organized and/or to simply maintain boundaries in life. We all need to do that every now and then. Personally, I don’t do it enough. Actually, come to think of it, I’m not sure I’ve ever done it intentionally. It only happens when the battery runs out, when I then have a moment of panic that I’m out of contact, and then realize how nice it is that it’s off. Then I quickly recharge it. But in either case, I don’t think many other people turn their phones off either… which is why I can’t figure out why some people are so hard to get a hold of. I guess I should just ask next time somebody frustrates me why they’re so hard to get a hold of. Maybe e-mail has just become the preferred means of communication here.

Am I experiencing reverse culture shock? Austrians love to make you drive in one-way circles to find the exit of a parking lot in an effort to maintain an organized flow of traffic. Slovaks make you pay your bills at the post office, where the post office lady is never very excited to see you. They also like to make sure that you can’t leave a store without buying something. I’ve been trapped in a store on multiple occasions because there aren’t any “exits”; the ways out are checkout lanes packed with people. Those things irked me about being in Europe, I guess I just accepted them after a while. Irk is a good word, by the way. It just feels like there are a whole lot of Stranas in the States not answering their phones. Am I alone with this feeling? After writing all this, I’ll probably miss your call the next time you call me.

By the way, I know a lot of satisfied Verizon customers. I just wasn’t one of them. And, yes, I do miss having GPS on my phone.

When we were in Steamboat Springs, we went about 40 minutes out of town to Steamboat Lake, where there was a little beach we could swim at. Morgan really had not slept much, so we put her on a blanket under a picnic table in the shade, hoping she would take a nap. She spent about an hour laying on her back, flailing her limbs all over the place, and giggling at who knows what. But in between cute noises, she would pull her feet up to her mouth and suck on her toes! It was so funny, and I tried so hard to get a good picture of her, but every time she brought her feet up to her mouth, she would roll away from me cause she was on a very slight incline. So the best I could do was a side view. So here she is, with her toes in her mouth:

And here is another shot that actually includes her face :

Today marks the half-way point of our journey around the country; if not by counting the actual number of days that we’ll spend on the road, but that we arrived today at our second of two stops in Colorado before heading back East. These last few days we’ve in Steamboat Springs for our vacation portion of the trip, and now we’re in Colorado Springs at Mission Training International for our debrief.

Driving out to Steamboat, we weren’t really sure what our days there would be like. We weren’t sure what there was to do there, or if we would spend much time with the people we know there; we just wanted it to be a time to relax, enjoy not being in the car, and spend time with family. It turned out to be an amazing few days and an absolute blessing that we had the chance to make it out there. Steamboat Springs to us felt so much like home. It looks a lot like the hills of Slovakia that we’ve lived in for the last 4.5 years, it’s a small town, which is so comfortable to us… a far cry from Atlanta that, to us, feels so foreign after living in Zilina for so long, tons of young families live there and there are nice parks and playgrounds for the kids, and there are places to hike everywhere with beautiful views, streams, and waterfalls. And the skiing would be a nice bonus but, of course, we couldn’t do much of that in July. We were only there for a couple days, but if a good job there were to come up… I’d consider it. Seriously. On top of that, we met some great new friends and spent some incredible time with family.

As for our debrief course, we’re not really sure what to expect of this either. In all honesty, driving to the training center today, I realized how much I’m not looking forward to it. I hadn’t given it much thought up to that point, but I just feel like I’ve talked too much already about how I’m feeling about being back, and I’m not all that excited about doing more of it with people I don’t know. Does that sound cynical? I’m sure it comes across that way, but I really don’t mean for it to. The Lord gave me clarity to return to the States, but has chosen to withhold the passion and excitement for the future that often comes with clarity. So I guess it’s the pride in me that really doesn’t want somebody else to help me process through my apathy. Maybe it’s that I feel like I’m still in process of accepting that I moved away from home, so when I see the course name of “Debriefing and Renewal”, “debrief” sounds a bit premature and “renewal” just sounds a bit churchy. So it’s first impression to me just sounded a little inappropriate for where I’m at. But that’s just where I’m at.

Debriefing and Renewal, DAR. Ironically, the word “dar” in Slovak means “gift.” After my bout of cynicism in the car, I walked into the orientation session this evening and that word “DAR” written on the notebooks hit me pretty hard. Deep down I desperately want this week to be a gift. Coming back, and now being back, has been pretty hard. Painful at times. But the Lord knows how to give great gifts. I received countless gifts over the past few years, many of them I’m having a hard time letting go of. But I know the same God that has given those gifts in the past, is able to continue providing in the future.

The first time I had to drive across a state line on this trip back was in our newly purchased vehicle at about 2:00am from TN into GA. My parents had mediated the purchase for us and my relationship with the car was only about 4 hours old, so I wasn’t completely comfortable with driving it yet, nor was I completely familiar with what registration documents were in the car. So as I approached the state line, I had this jolt of fear that I didn’t have a highway vignette for GA yet, and where was I going to get one at that hour of the night…?

Yes, this is a random post, but those who have spent any time driving in Europe just might find it amusing.

Our 2nd stop on our trip was at Gavin’s parents house in Jackson, TN. It was nice and hot, so Jackson got to have his first frolic in a sprinkler. He was pretty tentative at first, but then his inhibitions disappeared and he had a great time in the water:

He also got some fun time with his Memere outside:

And 4 generations of women:

The Desnoyers family:

Our road trip has begun! On Tuesday the 26th we loaded ourselves and a lot of stuff into our newly purchased van - a Honda Odyssey (which we LOVE, by the way), and set off for our first stop in Birmingham, AL. We decided to get a DVD hookup for the car to make it a little more manageable for all of us since we’ll be spending a lot of time in the car over the next few weeks, and considering our kids (especially Jackson) tend to be miserable in the car, making the rest of us miserable in the process. It seems to have worked ok so far! Here are some pics of us in our new ride (not sure how come we’re so serious in the first picture)

Here’s Jackson enjoying his video in the backseat (and Morgan too!):

Entering State #2:

Since then, we’ve also crossed through Mississippi and into TN. Today we head out to Arkansas, then the long 2-day drive out to Colorado!