We're Here!

I apologize that many of you have been waiting a few days to hear from us about our mass exodus to Oklahoma. As you all know, me, Robbie, Zaylee, Peyton, and the kitties all loaded up in Columbus, MS on Friday the 31^st and got on the road around 11:00 am on Saturday morning. Me and Zaylee rode in the new SUV along with the kitties caged in the back. Peyton rode with Robbie in the cab of the truck which held all our earthly belongings and had our car connected via hitch on the back. It was quite a caravan! Things went very smoothly Saturday morning – Zaylee fell asleep in the car shortly after we left, Peyton settled down for a nap, and traffic was minimal. We made it to Tennessee, about 7 miles from Memphis before we had to stop for a break. At the Flying J, Robbie took Peyton for a walk, we gassed up both vehicles, I fed Zaylee and checked on the kitties, and Robbie and I ate lunch at the little restaurant connected to the truck stop. Overall, it was the perfect place to get everything done that needed to get done. In about an hour’s time, we were on the road again ready to reach our destination – the Holiday Inn Express in Lonoke, AR. We didn’t quite make it there all the way before Peyton (and Robbie) had to stop for a potty break. After a short stop at a gas station off I-40, we hit the road again and pulled into the Holiday Inn at about 5:20 pm. We got checked in and unloaded (which was quite a feat with a baby, two cats, and a dog, all of which had a lot of pent-up energy from being in the car all day!). That night we had just enough time to eat pizza, go swimming in the indoor pool (SO cute seeing Zaylee in the pool for the first time!), give Zaylee a bath, and go to bed. One day down, one to go.

The next morning, we were all a little sluggish to get going, but after a nice continental breakfast, we began the challenge of reloading all our stuff (and animals) back into their respective vehicles. We were ready to go by 10:00 am. Around 10:45 we stopped to gas up the vehicles and feed Zaylee her mid-morning meal. I got some coffee to go and we were off, zooming toward the AR-OK border. Our next stop around 1:25 pm was at the Oklahoma Welcome Center about 16 miles into Oklahoma on I-40. Here, we took Peyton for a walk, ate leftover pizza from the night before for lunch, fed and changed Zaylee, checked on the kitties again, and enjoyed some fresh air. It was a beautiful day, sunny and in the low 60’s! After our nice break, we were determined to reach our final destination at Tinker AFB before having to stop again.

The drive from the border to the middle of OK was long and bumpy, but by 5:00 pm, the base was in site. Getting onto base with such a large caravan was another story. We had to go to one particular gate in order to get our U-haul through and that took at least another 20 minutes. By this time, Zaylee was crying to eat (she usually eats around 5 pm). They had to search our moving truck before allowing us onto base, and then we had quite a bit of trouble figuring out were we needed to go to find our TLF (temporary lodging facility). Finally, at around 5:40 pm, we were in our TLF – or should I say, our very small hotel room with a stove. Robbie and I were both under the impression that the TLF would be about the size of a 3-bedroom house on base because at Columbus AFB, that’s what they are. Boy, were we surprised when we walked in and saw that the entire place was smaller than our hotel room at the Holiday Inn Express the night before! Working out the logistics of where to move furniture, where to put Zaylee’s bed, where to put Peyton’s crate, and how to keep the kitties from disturbing sleeping people at night was quite a challenge, that at first, seemed too exhausting to deal with. It was a hard night, but by 11:15 pm, we were going to bed in our new, thankfully temporary, home.

Robbie and I are hoping to find a house within the next week, and with all the financing and paperwork, we should only have to stay here about a month. Moving from here to our new house – well, that will be another story entirely.

I did want to say before I finish this blog entry how very thankful I am for the people we had surrounding us with prayer the last few days. It made a real difference for us. And I also can’t say enough thanks to all our friends who helped us pack up, load the truck, entertain baby Zaylee, take care of Peyton, and clean our house for final inspection during our entire moving process, and the entire month of January while Robbie was gone for that matter. We truly couldn’t have done it without you all. We can only hope and pray that our time in OK will grant us many more wonderful friends like the ones we had back in Columbus. We love all so very much and will miss you!

P.S. Pictures are coming soon!