Road Trip: Destination--the Land of Dr. Pepper

I must start this post with : WIFI, oh how I have missed you.  I have spent the evening reacquainting myself with my laptop...I have missed using my own computer.  I am thankful to have had internet acess, but it is nice to be on my own devices again.

Secondly, my family really loves Dr. Pepper.  Last summer, we had a coin jar, and all money was contributed by the entire family.  We had to make a decision how that money would be used.  When this trip to Abilene and Dallas was set up, it was unanimous that we should have a day celebrating Dr. Pepper.  And I must say, it all went as planned, and was a lot of fun.

We woke up bright and early and were on the road by 6 am.  It was rainy and cold.  I was really cold, but the rest of my family was not, so I just bundled up and enjoyed the car ride.  Off to Waco we went.  We had a special treat of ChickFila for breakfast.  So yummy.  Then actually got to the Dr. Pepper museum early.  So waited patiently in the car.

Yes, she does like her photo taken:)

She NEVER gets Dr. Pepper, so this was a real treat...two in one day.  Doesn't she look happy?  Oh, and the hot Dr. Pepper with a lemon slice...I am going to do this at home.  It was delicious.

Our loot...the jelly beans were gone before we left Waco.


Then off a couple more hours to Dublin.  I must say, we actually enjoyed this one more.  It was smaller, more rustic, but the people really took ownership of this place.  It was like it was run by family.  And it was way cheaper...yet, they gave us each a bottle of their DP when we started the tour.

waiting for lunch...erika didn't want any of those "spicy" chips, just ate half the bag while waiting for her sandwich

Dear Dublin, you truly have the best Dr. Pepper in the world...not kidding...

matching tees and matching smiles


So, after a fun day of Dr. Peppering, we came to Abilene.  It is fun driving around, remembering starting our married life here 18 years ago.  We drove by our house...the first home we ever bought.  It doesn't look so good, but it has been a lot of years.  It was a blessing the year we had it.  Tomorrow I am looking forward to seeing the pastor who gave us a chance, a start in ministry.  It was such a special healthy church for us to make a start as a married couple.  We both were in ministry before marriage, but this was different.  This was our first job as a married couple, per se.  So, anyway, I am excited about tomorrow.

For dinner, we enjoyed Taco Bueno.  The original one is here in Abilene, but I don't know where.  The pastor used to always take us there.  It was so good.  I hadn't had it in years.

One hiccup in our trip is our car.  We have been blessed with this car, but it has had its little issues along the way.  We planned to sell it next week, and as we left Dublin, the check engine light came on.  We just had it at the dealership last week...so this was not good.  The blessing is that we took it to an auto zone, and it seems to be okay, and the light should go off in a few days.  But we are on a long road trip and need our car to be reliable, and we cannot sell it with the check engine light on.  So, it once again raises the question if we should just ship it to Belize and drive it until we can purchase a van.  So please pray for wisdom for us, as we would need to make a decision in the next few days.

I am feeling the weight of the move upon us.  This little trip is a nice distraction, but I am having a hard time sleeping, thinking of all the details...there are just so many little things...and it seems we think of new ones each day.  There are so many exact plans to be made, but it just isn't that easy.  It is very weird to think about how dramatically my life is about to change in just 2 1/2 weeks.  Knowing that I am saying my final good-byes to some people this week...well, not final, but see you i am not sure whens....trying to deal with my own emotions, and those around me.  Those who are sad we are leaving and that we are sad to leave.  My children, my husband.  We are filled with excitement about this adventure, and sadness about the things and people we leave behind.  Every day it becomes more real.  Things we may never get time to do...and things we are trying to do while we can.

Tonight, we relax in a hotel room.  We swam in the indoor pool earlier, the kids are bathed and piled into one bed, watching the Disney channel.  Lee is snoozing beside me...the day's driving has caught up to him.  And me, catching up on all my internet fun and about to read a book.  Tomorrow will be a busy day again. 

We have learned how to live out of suitcases.  It has become so natural now.  Even this morning when Lee packed the car, he was like, we are so stremlined now.  Like we have this system down.  We will get home late Wednesday night, do laundry, and head to Katy again on Friday for another day full of errands...and onto our farewell service at Life.  OOOOO...can't go there.  Looking forward but NOT.  It makes me so sad to think of telling everyone see ya later...I love them all so much.  Then the next weekend will be filled with family see ya laters.

Okay, no more dwelling on that.  Time to brush our teeth and settle in for a good night's sleep:)