Off to College!

So our oldest has flown the nest.

I've had a few good cries about it, but overall I think we all felt like this was a good time for him to go and spread those wings -- the ones he's been flapping since he was about 3.  We've taught him as much as we could, prayed like crazy, loaded up his car with all kinds of new and shiny items, and.... said goodbye.

He spent the previous 2 weeks in Colorado at Summit Ministries Conference, so we had a little warm-up to get used to him being gone.  He flew home on the red-eye on the morning of the 18th, slept for a few hours, and then got packed up to leave.  Since he wasn't going to arrive at Campbell until dinner time, we opted to not take the whole family for such a long time in the car.  Plus, his friends Sidney and Isaac were going along, so with Pete driving the van, he had plenty of helpers.

I didn't get any good pictures of the big event because, A) It was pouring when they arrived, so the move-in process was a little hectic and hard; B.) Strider was stressed out because he realized he forgot his wallet, his student ID, and his pillow; and C.) He was wearing that silly Coors t-shirt which I wasn't dying to have in all his big "First Day of College" pictures. 

Nevertheless, he got settled in.  His roommate never showed up, so he ended up with a single room for at least a few weeks -- he wasn't complaining.

Now he is off and running, navigating college life with his typical flair and independence. And we continue to pray like crazy.