Goodbye, Alabama… Hello, Alaska!

We left like a thief in the night.  Really, we did.  At one o'clock in the morning, not having yet slept, we finished loading our suitcases into our little rental car, carefully buckled in the baby seat, and backed away from our peaceful, cookie-cutter townhouse into the dark, still night.  Although I was exhausted and should have used the time to sleep, I couldn't close my eyes as we drove through Enterprise one last time, and then left it behind us.  It has been a place of blessing and growth for us, and it is hard to say good bye.  So many dear friends - people who have become our family away from family, have listened to us, challenged us, served us, and allowed us to serve them.  People who have loved us, until we couldn't help but love them, too.  I am thankful for the year we spent in southern Alabama.

The journey, itself, was fitting, considering the whirlwind this move has been.  My dad told me that there's a fine line between high adventure and disaster, and much of that line's placement is decided by your own attitude.  So, we shall say this was truly high adventure.

Despite several reminders, we forgot to take into account the time change between Enterprise and Atlanta arrived at the airport at approximately the same time our flight left.  Adventure, right? American Airlines allowed us to switch to a later flight, but unfortunately, Alaskan Airlines was not so accommodating.  A bit of a pricey negotiation later, we were re-set to go, catching a flight from Atlanta to Chicago, then to Seattle, and on to Anchorage.  We'd now miss the evening flight to King Salmon, and so stay the night in Anchorage and arrive in our new hometown the next morning.  The first flight wasn't bad. We made it to Chicago without a hitch, and while waiting to check in with Alaska Airlines, met a man from Nigeria who highly approved of Eden.

She was not so sure about him.

          The next leg of our journey was probably the hardest.  We were both going on 36 hours with only brief naps, and it was taking its toll. Several times, we passed Eden back and forth, each afraid of literally falling asleep with her in our arms.  By the time we began our descent into Seattle, Eden was done with flying, done with being held, done with nursing, and screaming fit to be tied as the changes in air pressure hurt her little ears.  We don’t use a pacifier, for several reasons, but there is only so much you can do for little ones in that situation and forcing her to nurse only adds vomit to the wailing.  So we all suffered with her until the plane touched down.  Sorry, folks. 

          However, the “unfortunate” expensive rerouting turned out to be a blessing in disguise.  For the first time ever, we got to fly first class.  That is something I could get used to!  The extra space and careful service allowed us all to wind down from the previous flight and keep our sanity all the way to Alaska.  Our plan was to just spend the night in the airport, but after a few minutes of broadcast announcements and no dark corners, we opted for a hotel.  It was a good choice. 

          And then, finally, the next morning we made it to King Salmon!

          Some wonderful people Nate will be working with have allowed us to stay with them, and they have made us feel so comfortable! Eden adores their 3 year old daughter, who comes running, exclaiming, “I’m coming! I’m coming!” every time she fusses.

So here we are.

Hello, Alaska!