I am sitting in my hotel room in Burley, Idaho trying to remember the whirlwind of traveling I have experienced since Monday morning. Our long journey began in Marion, Virginia after a wonderful going away party given by Jim's parents. My sister and brother-in-law stayed with me to see me off Monday morning after beating us in Scrabble. I love spending time with these two.

Monday morning was emotional. We had a breakfast with our families and then immediately said good-bye and went to get my little car on a trailer. Looking back, it is amazing how clean my car looks. Both vehicles were completely packed to the brim with the items we deemed most important and necessary for the move. It is a miracle in itself that we were able to fit (most of) what we wanted and needed in the cars. It was so cold in Virginia when we left and the wind was so strong traveling on the 77 turnpike. That was probably the most challenging part of our long drive. 

Our first night was spent in Indiana and 5 inches of powder fell on our nice clean cars. The weather luckily did not delay our travel and we got on the road the next morning. 

I know not all of you reading have traveled to Iowa, but for me it was old news. My father grew up in a small town called Ackley, Iowa. Most of his family is still in Iowa. My Grandma still is in Ankeny, Iowa. Ever since I can remember, I have made relatively frequent trips to the midwest to visit family and we generally traveled by car. One thing that is still exciting to see between Virginia and Iowa is the Great Mississippi River. The cold weather had turned the surface of the river to ice, but it was still beautiful. Pictures just do not do it justice. 

Once we arrived in Ackley, Iowa, we spent two nights and visited my Grandma Hazel. She is an amazing woman and role model. I love learning from her and hearing her stories. Jim and I were put in our place in cribbage. She beat us both with every game we played. We also enjoyed going with Grandma to her exercise classes, bingo, and sharing our meals with her. 

All the land I saw west of Ankeny, Iowa was new territory to me. So far, we have had unbelievably perfect weather and easy travel days. Seeing everything beyond my previous exposure was so humbling. I was literally left speechless by the beauty and vastness of the western part of our country. So far, new territory to me has been Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, and Idaho. I took more pictures that I would dare try to put up on my blog. With every turn and new view I felt the need to try to capture the beauty unfolding before me. I quickly realized that it is impossible to represent God's beautiful creations on a 2D space, but the following pictures were my best attempts. 

My weekly "God thing": 

My theme and underlying thoughts this week have all revolved around "new territory". My most obvious new territory is geographic. I have seen more of our country in the past week than I have in my entire life. I also have covered new territory emotionally by leaving everything I have ever known about having a home. I also have found new territory spiritually by getting a better understanding of the vastness and beauty of God's creation. We, as humans, are so small and our world is so big. This sounds like a simple idea; however, I have been challenged to realize how little I know and have experienced in comparison to just how big His plans can be for us.  It is incomprehensible and I love it.