Road Trip...Part Two...The Blessing of Family

Here it is...the second installment of the Idle Family Road Trip, 2013. These posts are very different from my usual writing, but I thought some of you might enjoy the trip!

 For those of you who know our family you may be wondering what happened to Josh(son-in-law-of my heart). He couldn't get off work. We're hoping that he will be able to make the next family trip. We all missed him, but especially Lyndsay and Judah!  

We flew to Virginia but left on our way to Ohio in this beautiful conversion van. What a blessing!!  

We drove well over 500 miles to Bryan, Ohio
in just one day...passing through Virginia,
Pennsylvania, Indiana, and finally Ohio.  

                         I said, "we drove" didn't I?  Let me clarify that, Rod drove. I did this...

I tried to read, but I kept falling asleep. So...I gave up on that and took a few photos...keep in mind these were all taken through a closed car window! 

Barn...one of many, many seen on the road

Allegheny Tunnel, Pennsylvania Turnpike

Typical scenery in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana

So wish we could have stopped and gotten out to take these pics

Judah thought he would take a turn at the wheel.
Well...we let him at the wheel at all the rest stops.
 It was a welcomed break from the rear facing car
seat where he was usually confined during the trip.

                                                                                                    

Over the river and through the woods to Grandmother's house we go.

Where Judah gets to meet his Great-grandmother Idle...

 We take walks in the neighborhood to enjoy the beautiful fall weather...

 and Judah meets more aunts and uncles and cousins...family is so very important! Don't have room to post all the photos...

 I will say that God has blessed me with a wonderful Mother-In-Law. She has been both a mentor and second Mom to me for over 30 years now. What a blessing to say that there have only been, maybe, two times throughout those years where she and I have had, shall we say, a bit of a communication problem...and that was during a hurricane, literally! Hurricane Charlie in Florida! We were painting rooms in our house and the hurricane was barreling through...needless to say nerves were on edge. We survived the hurricane and mended the small rift. I can honestly say that I love the relationship that I have with 'mom'. We laugh, cook, do puzzles together, laugh some more, go shopping, and talk and talk...and did I mention laugh?  I love you Flo!! 

Mom and Dad Idle have become my second set of parents, especially since my own mom and dad have passed away. I have even found myself calling Dad Idle, daddy at times. They are truly special in our lives!

     

Here is the infamous puzzle...all set up and started when we got there. Brad and Lyndsay helped out...a little. ;-)  They get tired and don't stay at it as long and Mom and I do.  

The men usually take a day or two...or three, to go play golf.    While the 'girls' go shopping!                                                                                                                                                                                                                           I have to say, Bryan is a tiny little town with not much to offer as far as shops go...

I did manage to find these books for Journey's church Library!
5 books for 5 bucks! Great deal!!

We also headed into Defiance to hit Kohl's...one of my favorite stores! I found a new purse for me, sleeper pj's  and a toy for Judah...can't resist shopping for my grandson! :-) 

Speaking of Judah...here are a few more pics from his time at Great Grandmother Idle's...

What a gift from God!! 

Fascinated with the light from the sky light 

Can I help with the table cloth?

So precious...he loved standing and looking out the windows

Mom Idle with Judah and Lyndsay

I am so glad that we were able to make it back to Ohio with the family! Happy to see Judah meet his Great-grandmother and great-grandfather for the first time and feel so fortunate to have spent time with my husbands family...this family that has grafted itself onto my heart.  What a blessed woman I am!!

I hope you have enjoyed this part of the trip.  The final and third part of this road trip series will cover over 3000 miles from Bryan, Ohio to Fernley, Nevada.  How in the world will I get all of those photos in a blog post????  I guess you'll have to check back and see. ;-)

"As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." 
                                                                                         Jeremiah  24:15

Road Trip...Part One...The Blessing of Family and Friends

Sorry for the long lull in posting.  We have been on the road the past two weeks. So...I'm going 'off track' for these next few posts and giving you a glimpse into our lives on the road. Don't worry...I won't use every photo I took! Those of you who know me well know that I take entirely too many photos to make room for those pics...even in a 3 part post. ;-)

Here are some of the things that occurred during the first leg of our trip...

Flying across the country with our family...son, daughter and our 9-month-old grandson, Judah. He was so good even with two flight connections and all the hustle that it takes to get to the gates each time. Not to mention the bumpy ride over the mountains.

At the airport...

Visiting with friends and family in Virginia and Ohio. We are so very blessed to say that our daughter Lyndsay's in-laws are such good friends and are really so much like family to all of us!  We even managed to help out with a baby shower while in Virginia...

Where we had delicious food....

...and I do believe the yummiest cup cakes I have ever eaten...

We played some ridiculously funny games. Don't even ask...

    

and the mommy-to-be opened gifts.

Where Judah got to visit his Mimi and Grandpa Terry...

                                    and just hang out with both sets of grandparents...

We so enjoyed visiting with our friends and family in Virginia...

as well as seeing old friends at Church on Sunday morning! You know they say that the best things in life are family and friends...but I say it's even better when friends are like family and family are like friends! (Tweet this)

God is so good to us!

Monday morning we left bright and early for our second leg of the trip. This time we drove this beautiful conversion van that has been gifted to us.

                                                   Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

This will really come in handy for our Mexico Missions team at Journey!! They drive to Mexico every other month...now this van will be a huge blessing!!   Our  Journey Women's Ministry will be using it for trips as well!!  

Thanks so much for letting me share this leg of our trip with you. I hope that you will join me in the next post, where we will be visiting with family in Ohio. Stay with me through the third and final post and you will get to see some of the great pics I took while driving across this great and beautiful nation!  

But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD's love is with those who fear him, and His righteousness with their children's children...Psalm 103:17