Deliverance

God has delivered us safely once again to Oklahoma! Our journey through the night was great-the weather could not have been better, especially for going through the state of Iowa during January. I, of course, had to stay alive on organic energy drinks again since we drove through the night. The kids would sleep for an hour or two, stay awake for an hour or two, and so on the whole 12 hours. We stopped at about midnight so Pete and I could sleep for about 2 hours, but that never seems to do much! (That's where the energy drinks come in!) Here's the Uhaul next to the snow banks in Minnesota the night we left:

(Yes, I know-it's about time we buy stock in the Uhaul company or request some sort of frequent renter miles, right!?!)

The days before we left, we made sure to take advantage of the snow as much as possible. Of course, it was difficult with the extreme subzero temps, but the day we got above 32 degrees was very much appreciated. We made lots of snowmen; and we made competing snow forts. The girls' team (Faith & Mommy) made one facing the boys' team's fort (Daddy & Dylan-Vince was at a friend's house that day). After completion, we launched snowballs from behind our forts. The funniest part was when Gabie left the girls' team and went behind the boys' team fort and started launching snowballs at the boys from behind! It was so much fun.

Here's Faith rolling up a snowman bottom all by herself for the first time!
Dylan, already a seasoned pro. . .

And Gabie experiencing his first "real" snow day. The previous years, Gabie never really got into it and last year we weren't in Minnesota long enough to play in the snow. This time, he cried when it was time to go inside!

For our Christmas activities, we made sugar cookies with maple cream cheese frosting and chocolate frosting. Gabie mostly just taste-tested!
Vince joined in the fun once his Wii game was finished! (Look carefully in the background of this picture.) (Home in these pics courtesy of our dear brothers and sisters in Christ the Swanson family.)
The morning we arrived in Oklahoma, it was about 50 degrees at 8 am. The following day, the temp hit almost 80! We made sure to get outside and play in our new backyard. The kids decided to learn how to do headstands. Dylan:

and Faith (with Daddy's help):

Gabie loves the way the edge of our backyard goes up into a hill, because he gets bored with "flat." He looks for anything to jump down from or off of.

We were also blessed to already meet some new neighbors who have helped us find a new church family close to our new house. Once again, we want to thank everyone in Minnesota for their prayers, encouragement, financial support, and hospitality. What a blessing it was to experience such an outpouring from God's people!