Our Trip to Virginia

I’ll be honest, I wasn’t exactly looking forward to the 20-hour car ride ahead of us when we left last Friday morning. On the one hand, it was very exciting to finally be leaving for our training, a day we thought would never actually get here. On the other hand, 20 hours in a car with two small children doesn’t paint a calm, relaxing picture in my mind. The kids, however, did amazing! I know the only explanation for that is the many prayers that were prayed on our behalf. Thank you!!!

As I mentioned, we left last Friday (April 22nd) to begin our journey. We loaded up the Pilot, literally filling every bit of space in the back end, and left Flower Mound. We had to make a stop in McKinney for Kamryn’s one-year doctor’s appointment. The only opening they had when we made the appointment was at 10am. We were wanting to get away earlier than that, so we got to the doctor’s office shortly after they opened at 8:30, hoping they might be able to squeeze us in early. They kindly told us they would do the best they could, but couldn’t make any promises. So we waited…and waited…until about 9:50 when they called us back to a room. At least we got in a little early, right? We finally left the doctor’s office around 11am, then decided to pick up lunch before we got going. So we officially headed out of the DFW area around 11:30am. Not ideal, but it ended up being fine.

We crossed the border into Louisiana, then Mississippi, then Alabama. We finally arrived at our hotel in Birmingham around 9:30pm. Again, the kids did exceptionally well during those 10 hours. It took a little while to get things settled and for them to bring us a crib, so it was about 10:30 before the kids got to bed. Fortunately they were so tired, everyone slept great!

We had planned to spend the next day (April 23rd) in Birmingham doing fun stuff for the kids birthday. So we started the day by visiting the Birmingham Zoo and had a great time. Kamryn even enjoyed watching all the animals. Carter got to ride on a camel and we all fed a giraffe. Carter was a little hesitant, but I think that was Kamryn’s favorite part of the day! After the zoo, we had dinner at Chuck E. Cheese’s – a sign of true love for our kids. That place was crazy! Carter had a great time, so that’s the most important thing! Then we wrapped up the birthday day by swimming at the hotel pool. It was a great day, here are some pics from the day.

Carter's Camel Ride:


Kamryn Feeding the Giraffe:


The Birthday Kiddos!


The next day, we went to Easter service at the The Church at Brook Hills. It was a blessing to worship with their congregation and hear from David Platt, he is such a gifted teacher! After church, we got back on the road and headed to our next stop, Natural Bridge, VA. A couple we had met at our appointment service in Dallas lived in Birmingham and mentioned they were stopping there. They had found a great deal at a fun, historic hotel. This was about a 9 hour drive, and we arrived there around 9pm Sunday night. The next morning we visited “The Natural Bridge” and also some caverns nearby with our friends, before beginning our final leg of the journey.

The Natural Bridge:


Natural Bridge Cavern:


We finally arrived at the “International Learning Center” (ILC) outside of Richmond around 3pm on Monday. The following post will attempt to capture our first week here! :)