With just having done so much, our family assumed we would begin a slow period of life when we got home from China. (LOL-"slow" not really meaning slow, but rather meaning a time of internal busy within our family by helping our new daughter adjust to life in the USA and our family, teaching her English and working on our Mandarin, keeping up with Dr. & therapy appointments on top of our normal homeschooling and working our small family farm verses external busy of life. :) Instead, God surprised us by asking us to make an unexpected cross-country trip--84+ hours in just a little over seven days! It was a whirlwind, but very much surprise blessing. At the time of our trip, our family had only been home from China for exactly two weeks. We packed pillows & blankets so the girls could sleep in the car, since we were planning to drive straight through. I made some snacks & tossed those along with yogurt (an essential for life in the eyes of our new daughter!) into the cooler, threw our school stuff in a backpack, tossed it into the car, a friend volunteered to take care of our nearly 40 animals & off we went. I was able to share a lot of the scenery, smiles and fun memories on Facebook while on our road trip. It was a good time of further bonding for all of us--tons of singing together! (I'm pretty sure we sang every song I've ever heard!) At the same time, God used it as an opportunity to give Jim and I a nudge that He was about to do something else big with our family.
On the return drive of our cross country trip, as we neared Oregon, the girls needed a break from the car & Jim and I were exhausted, so we decided to call Crystal Peaks Youth Ranch on the rare chance that they happened to have any available sessions that day. This ranch is actually what God used to lead us out to Oregon nine years ago, so it holds a special place in our hearts. Sessions are usually booked solid well in advance, but God arranged it so that there were two sessions open, one for each of our girls! What a precious surprise blessing! The girls both had a chance to ride a horse & loved their visit! As if that weren't enough, God also allowed us stop to enjoy dinner with three beloved friends who were also a huge part of our story here in Oregon from the very beginning. We were able to spent a little time with these dear friends & had the opportunity to introduce our newest addition of the Reese family. It was a precious, precious blessing that God allowed us these visits. It brought our time here in Oregon full circle. 
One week after our crazy cross-country trip, Jim received a phone call offering him a job in Tennessee. Our feeling that God was planning something big for our family was definitely true! Jim and I had been praying about new employment for him for a long time. While we were far enough away from traveling to China that we would still have time to update our home study without compromising her adoption, we'd felt so burdened to change employers that he'd even applied to several of the opportunities he'd found were hiring. He didn't hear back from a single one though--actually he even saw the same positions re-posted at later times. God knew it wasn't the right time then. This offer however came from one of the businesses Jim had applied for way back then (one of the ones he's seen re-post the open position multiple times). He'd had no contact since then, but unlike before, God is making it clear that now IS the time.
Jim accepted the offer, so the Reese family will be saying "until later" to Oregon & heading east this coming Sunday morning (Oct. 29th) to Tennessee. Jim will now be working as manager at Cook Out Restaurant and after years of missing family, we will now only be 5.5 hours away from most of our family. So many of the things he and I had prayed about will be immediately answered by this new position. We will miss all the dear friends we've made in Oregon, but trust God's leading & look forward to coming back for visits.
Nine years ago, we crossed into Oregon broken hearted, but Sunday we will cross the border again, this time full of joy, peace and excited anticipation as we head east for the next stop in this great adventure God is leading us on, called life.
Because it is such a quick & unanticipated move we unfortunately will not have a chance to see everyone we wish we could before we leave. We are planning to meet in the parking lot of Green Community Church at 9:30 for a time of prayer on our way out of town this Sunday though & we'd love to see anyone who would like to join us.
We are so thankful for every single person God has allowed us to share our lives with during our time in Oregon and look forward to sharing blog posts and photos of our continue adventures as a Reese family of four!
