Traveling the World...

...well, at least a good part of the United States that is. By the time Liam was 6 weeks old, he had already traveled over 3,500 miles.

Over the past month, we flew (successfully, I might add- but only by the grace of God and many wonderfully, helpful people in the airport) to Knoxville, TN where Joel and his brother, Nate picked me up to take us to Gatlinburg, where we met up with the rest of the Virkler family at a huge 4-story cabin up in the smoky mountains. It was a fun week in which we all went to the aquarium, and bonded together through evening devotions, meals, and time spent together. Some of us (Joel) went whitewater rafting, biking in a cove, and extreme hiking, while others (Amber) stayed and nursed the baby, while hanging out with Natalie at the cabin (we were trying to make sure she wouldn't go into labor early). It was still eventful for us though, as we learned all about the friendly black bears in the area, as well as the New Year's festivities- all courtesy of the jacuzzi repair man. I also got to spend a wonderful afternoon shopping at the outlet mall with my sisters-in-law: Miranda, Rachel and Natalie, where I learned how to correctly operate a stroller; later on that evening, we met up with Nick and Sandra Waibel for dinner- they also have a new baby boy named Liam!
Gatlinburg wasn't what I expected at all. For some reason I had pictured a little quaint German town in the mountains. Although the cabin met this expectation, the town itself turned out to be a big, cheaply expensive tourist trap. Much to my chagrin and disappointment, it was littered with Ripley's museums, candy shops, knick-knack boutiques, hollywood and horror galleries, rides galore and more pancake houses (I counted about 15 within a few miles just on the main strip in Pigeon Forge), icecream shops (we walked past 3 BRs alone our night in town) and mini golf courses (some were right next to each other, but I must admit, they were a lot more creative then any others I've ever been to) then one can imagine.
I found it all rather appalling, but then realized that they wouldn't exist without constant business (I don't see a problem with a little outing every once in a while, but not a whole vacation devoted to it). It made me wonder if this is what America has come to- we seek quick, cheap, hedonistic entertainment, rather then marvellling at the beauty of God's creation and focusing the attention inward, upon strengthening the family, rather then outward. Isn't this also true sometimes with our relationship with God? Would those 5minute devotionals exist if people didn't think that giving anything more then .3% of their day to dig into the Scripture and spend time meditating upon their Creator was too much? Being critical, I must first admit that I can point the finger at myself for this, as I also wonder whether I will fall into the same routine with our growing family.

Portia loved "baby Wee-yum" and if we were unsure where she was, we only usually needed to know where he was to find them both!

Anyhow, Joel wouldn't be himself if he didn't try to be efficiently productive no matter where we were... therefore, on our way back to Remington, we made a slight detour to the Creation Museum in northern Kentucky (it was his first time and mine for the completed version- I recommend it!) and then a stopover in Indy where we spent a lovely evening with Clint and Alesa. The next two weeks were spent hanging out and introducing Liam to many of Joel's relatives and friends, as well as closing on our first house :) and then heading to Peoria, IL for Morgan's wedding!

Morgan & Kyra's wedding

Four generations of Virkler boys... :)

I cannot believe we survived the past few weeks, and I am so grateful and feel so blessed that God gave me such a wonderful, easy-going baby that enjoys to sleep at night! Now I just pray it continues as we move in and unpack!!