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we’ve grown accustomed to good-byes

July 9, 2011 by 14 Comments

We meet wonderful people everywhere – state by state.

The girls find friends to dress-up with, to play rough-and-tumble with, and to scream extra loud with.

fairy wings weve grown accustomed to good byes ariel and alice weve grown accustomed to good byes

Tim & I meet people to play Catch Phrase with after the kids are in bed, to go running with, to have crazy adventures in NYC with, and to pray with around campfires.

stephanie and colleen weve grown accustomed to good byes sunglasses at valley forge park weve grown accustomed to good byes

And then, in a blink – we’re waving again.

* Big shout-out to Mike & Colleen, Mick & Eileen, Jay & Kristen, Jay & Sara, Dirk & Valerie, Roger & Janette, Troy & Suze, Dave & Carol, and so many others we’ve had to wave good-bye to on this grand adventure. Miss you.

Filed Under: Our Year On-The-Road
  • http://www.ourordinarylife.com kristin

    Oh how cute are they!

  • http://www.lindseyvanniekerk.blogspot.com Lindsey van Niekerk

    Oh, how I know that painful yet beautifully-amazing feeling, having been a member of that club for years….but I have found that literally THE BEST people are in this group!

    Thinking of you along your travels….and your hellos….and your goodbyes!!

  • http://blog.suchthespot.com/ darcie-such the spot

    Goodbyes can be hard. But how wonderful it is that you guys are meeting so many people and living so fully in spite of having so little. How have the girls been handling your goodbyes?

    • Stephanie

      Agreed. Moving constantly is a blessing and a curse. We’re getting to see and spend time with so many people that we ordinarily would never have been able to make memories with. But…we also have to eventually say good-bye.

      The good-byes are definitely getting harder for the girls. K was all-out sobbing when we left our friends last week. It broke my heart.

      I look forward to the day when we can settle down and have “community” again.

  • Nell

    Love that shirt – wear mine often. :)

    • Stephanie

      You know – I think of you often when I wear that shirt. How fun that we’re wearing the exact same one in different locations! (You look so good in yours).

  • http://www.workingmomjournal.com Blessing

    Awww, they look adorable :) I hate saying goodbyes, especially since I say it so often to my loved ones back in Nigeria :D

    • Stephanie

      I can imagine that those kind of good-byes are even harder since Nigeria is so very far away.

  • Valerie

    Steph, we think and pray for you often. I looked for you on facebook but could not find you. We will be back in the NW in the next few weeks. I really hope we can meet up with you there. Love, Valerie

    • Stephanie

      Val – I finally found you on Facebook (yay!) and sent a friend request to you tonight.

      We’ll likely be in Washington State in mid-August…and then in Oregon in September or October. I do sincerely hope that we meet again.

  • http://crazydogslife.blogspot.com Jenn

    That was the part of my childhood and all the moving around we did that I disliked the most – always saying good-bye, getting to high school and not having any friends that I’d known since grade school, being an adult and not having any life-long friends that I’m not related to, it just feels like something really special is missing – especially since my parents and my husband both have those life-long friends and I see how special those relationships are to them.

    On the other hand I had the privilege of living in several different parts of the country – picking up regional lifestyle treasures for my memory banks. And I have some awesome relatives who are my life long friends.

    It’s a give and a take – you gain things and loose things when you don’t settle somewhere and stay there for the long haul. I’m working to figure out a way to give both things to my children – the experiences of traveling across the nation and the stability of having a long-haul home.

    • Stephanie

      That’s a tough one, isn’t it? We definitely know that we want to settle down again somewhere after our year is up. Although we are having the adventure of a lifetime…we long for community, for friends, for spontaneous dinners, for rhythms, and for continuity.

  • Dirk

    Ah, the life of a traveling family… we, too, long to see familiar faces on a more consistent basis. After six months on the road, I’ve cataloged three different ways to be forever mobile, happily: (1) Love bein’ a hermit, (2) have one or two home bases where you spend most of your year, or (3) travel with your people group. We’ve met folks from all three groups. The hermit route doesn’t seem especially healthy. The other two options seem pretty great, of which I prefer the travel group… more adventurous. It will be interesting to see where our roads lead in the months to come…

    • Stephanie

      I think my preference would be #2. I love traveling, but I also would like to have a place to call home (preferably not in a campground). ;)