Day 99 - December 30, 2012

WHAT A DAY!!!

We got some snow during the night and it was 24° F when we woke up.  We had already decided that we would go to 11 o'clock mass in Mountain City, TN.  That is on the short side of the mountain, about 17 minutes away according to google maps.  However, it is also the steep side of the mountain.  The entire time that we have been here, we have planned our trips into town around the snow, never having to venture out after or during snow.  Surprisingly though, there has always been a lot of traffic on those days and we see the snow plow pass several times.  Danny went out to the car early.  He had to defrost the windows and scrape the snow off.  He turned the heater on and got it warmed up.  We were allowing ourselves about 40 minutes to get there...just to be on the safe side.  We got everyone loaded and buckled.  There was a thread hanging out of the glove box so I opened it to see what it was and shove it back in there.  I was a little startled (OK, maybe slightly terrified) to find a nicely laid nest in the glove box.  Seems something had found its way into the car and out of the cold.  I quickly shut to glove box and said something like "oh, that's not good".  Danny agreed with me and all of the kids were now curious.  "What?  What?  What is it?"  Because I knew that we needed to get down the mountain and really didn't think there was much that we could do about it, I tried hard to appear calm, all the while trying to keep my feet off the floor.  (I should tell you, I am TERRIFIED of mice.  Rats even more so.  Logical me knows that there is no reason for this insane fear, but illogical me really doesn't give a crap what logical me has to say.)  Danny knows how afraid of mice I am and stopped the car and told me to get out.  I did...and went very far away.  He proceeded to sort through the glove box.  Whatever was there was gone...or at least not in the glove box anymore.  I loaded back up and we headed off to church.  Our trip down the mountain was uneventful even though the road was obviously frozen over in many spots.

We enjoyed mass at St. Anthony of Padua Church and then headed home.  We didn't make it far up the mountain before Danny started to slip and we realized that we would not be going up the mountain.  Danny started to back down and a truck came up behind us.  The children informed him of the obvious.  "Daddy there's a truck behind us."  Yes, Daddy had already seen the truck.  The ice got the best of us and our front driver's side wheel slipped into the ditch (mountain side...whew).  The gentleman behind us pulled around, stopped and proceeded to pull a chain from his truck.  (I guess everyone on this mountain drives 4X4's and carries pullin' chains.)  Since Danny was pinned in the Suburban, I got out (seemed the proper thing to do)...I slipped and slid and almost fell on my butt.  When I got myself in an upright position, I said, "I was going to say hello and thank you, but I think I should just get back in the truck".  He agreed that that was probably best.  Danny rolled down his window and thanked him for his help.  He hitched his truck to us and tried to pull us out of the ditch.  He was unsuccessful.  He told Danny that he was going to try to pull us out backwards.  My biggest fear was that he would get us out and then we would just slide into him.  As he began pulling us backwards, we actually started moving, but in the wrong direction...our rear wheel was now in the ditch.  He was persistent.  He kept pulling and we kept hearing our truck grind against rock.  Danny tried to signal to him to stop,  but he was  determined.  He got us out.  We were grateful!!!  Danny was able to back down and let the gentleman pass us.  We then turned around to head home the 'long way around the mountain'.

We stopped in Boone and had lunch.  We met a nice man who was a 4th generation native to the area.  He shared many stories with us.  He told us that when he was in high school, they didn't 'hire' bus drivers.  The junior and senior high students drove the buses.  Can you even imagine?  Of course, he said, these were boys who had been driving tractors and such since they were young and he felt that they were much better drivers than the bus drivers of today.

We got home around 3PM.  I felt bad for the kids.  When we left there was a beautiful amount of snow on the hillside, but the sun had pretty much melted it all.  They still headed out to see what fun they could find.  The lake looked pretty much frozen over and there is always the backside of the mountain...loaded with rocks and other treacherous hazards...But they're kids and it's always fun until someone gets hurt or mom puts a stop to it.

I mapped our route for you.  You really must see it to appreciate it.  17 minutes to church...almost 2 hours back.  You'll have to click here to enjoy it.  "E" is both our beginning and ending, "B" is church,  "C" is lunch, and "D" is where we attended mass on Christmas Eve.

I always say, "There's always a rainbow."  Sometimes you just have to look a little harder for it.  There were plenty of rainbows in today's eventful day.  1) God kept us safe heading down the mountain.  I believe that had we slid while heading down, it would have had much worse results.  2) The gentleman in the truck...with a chain.  Who would have guessed? 3) Lunch out with good conversation.  4) Surprisingly little damage to our Suburban, 5) A drive that Danny had already said that he would like to take during the day....beautiful country, amazing sights, HUGE icicles hanging from the rocks...things the kids have never seen.  6) A warm house to arrive home to. And lastly, NO MOUSE in the glove box!!!

God is good.  Life is good.

Day 94 - Christmas Day

It is Christmas Day.  I didn't want this day to pass without making a post.  It has been a beautiful day. We began our celebration last night at St. Francis of Assisi in Jefferson, NC and then today was spent with gifts and family.  Mostly just a quiet day.  The kids are already in bed.  I can hear the boys laughing and giggling.  Something they do almost every night.  I have always loved watching them...listening to them.  They get along brilliantly 97% of the time.  Of course when they don't, it can be ugly.  The girls are a totally different story.  The oldest, born an adolescent, always mature beyond her years and longing to be independent.  The younger, always a little girl, not wanting to grow up, but longing for her sister's love and acceptance.  Rarely do I get a glimpse of shared love...usually what I do see is simple tolerance.  But we are family and this trip has forced us to be closer.  I long for the day when tolerance becomes acceptance and one day, sisterly love.  Until that day, I will pray for understanding.

Day 86 - Dec. 17, 2012

It's Monday.  I didn't realize that until I dated this post.  I don't know how I didn't know what day it was, but I didn't.  We left Red Top Mountain in Georgia around 11AM on Saturday.  According to google maps we had a 6-1/2 hour drive.  We were heading to Creston, NC.  We have rented a home for Christmas.  Gracie still wasn't feeling well.  We had to pull over often for restroom breaks.  We still haven't updated our GPS, so we were traveling according to the map I had printed.  It really wasn't a bad drive.  The kids enjoyed all of the new sites...terrain that we are not used to.  The homeowner (of the house we are renting) had called us around 4PM to see how we were doing.  Danny told her he thought we had another 2 hours, I figured 3.  The route took us from Georgia, to Tennessee, into Virginia, and back into Tennessee.  When we crossed back into Tennessee, it felt like we were getting close and the sun was starting to set.  I swear, the further north we get, the quicker the sun seems to set.  One minute it's dusk and the next minute it's pitch black and you can't see 50 feet in front of you.  I noticed that when we started driving in the mountains at night, Danny started flipping the brights on.  Funny, I can't remember the last time I had to use my brights.  There were a lot of turns...a mile on this road, a mile on another.  Finally, we took a left on the road that was OUR road.  According to the map, we would drive about 2 miles and take a slight turn, then drive another mile.  The road was narrow and there were a LOT of curves.  We were definitely heading UP a mountain.  The suburban was doing its best to pull the trailer and Danny was doing his best to navigate the road.  I don't remember what caused us to come to a stop.  I can't remember if there was an oncoming car or a curve or what, but we stopped.  When Danny tried to get going again, the tires slipped and the truck refused to move forward.  I was a little panicked.  There was nowhere for us to go.  As far as I was concerned, we were stuck.  Danny had me get out of the car and get the lanterns out.  I tried to light up the road behind us so that he could maybe back up and get a better start.  It was impossible.  There was no way of seeing where he was going.  We had the kids get out of the car.  I had Jacob and Hannah both hold a lantern while I tried to yell directions to Danny.  I was nervous... terribly nervous.  I instructed the kids to pray.  On one side of the road was a mountain and on the other side of the road was a cliff.  The road was not wide.  We finally came to the conclusion that we were stuck.  I tried to reach the homeowner.  (Little did I know that she did not have cell service at the house.)  My phone rang.  It was the husband (I have only dealt with the wife).  He was calling to check on us because his wife had sent him an email asking him to call.  I explained that we were stuck and tried to explain where we were...you know, we turned on the road, drove awhile, went around a bunch of curves, passed a couple of houses.  "Oh," he said, "you aren't that far."  "NO!", I said, "we are stuck.  We can't go forward.  We can't go backwards."  Once he realized exactly what I meant by 'stuck', he said that he would get a message to his wife and also call his father-in-law.  I knew from conversations that the in-laws only lived 10 minutes from the house.  About 10 minutes later, a car came from around the corner ahead of us.  It was the homeowner.  I walked up and started talking to her, discussing the situation and within another 5 minutes, another set of lights showed up behind our  trailer.  I could hear that it was probably a diesel and could see their headlights starting to come around the trailer.  Now mind you, there is not a whole lot of room beside the trailer and what is next to the little, tiny bit of room is a cliff.  I guess when you drive these mountains all the time, that cliff just isn't as threatening to you.  The truck makes it around Danny and hollers, "you need a little more power?"  It turns out that the man in the truck is the homeowner's father.  He parks his truck in front of us, asks me if 'the young man' (Jacob) could get in the truck and put his foot on the brake, to which I express that "I would be much more comfortable doing that myself".  He hooks a chain up to our suburban and proceeds to pull us up the mountain.  I'd say that we had a mile to go.  He didn't have to pull us the whole way.  There was a point where we crossed into North Carolina...the road changed.  It became wider and the pavement was much nicer.  We made it.  The homeowner gave us the keys.  Told us to relax and she would get back with us in a few days.  I will tell you, I was shaken!  It took my nerves some time to settle down.

Today, Danny and I had to run out to find a Christmas tree stand.  He decided that we needed to go down the mountain the way that we came up (there is another way to this house...an easier way...through NC...the way we will leave).  I decided today that it was God's grace that it was dark the other night when we drove up that road.  There is no way that I would have been able to make it as far as we did if I could have seen where we were.  That road is scary during the day.  I took pictures today.  They don't do it justice.  But maybe, you will get a glimpse of just what I am talking about.

Looking up the road...

Side of the road (cliff side)

Where we are heading...

Still heading up...

Taken as we were moving...my side.

Just a fun house on the side of the road.  Nice patio furnishings. 

This is the point where we were stuck.

Looking back...(the two houses we had passed)

Day 83 - Dec. 14, 2012

Time passes so quickly.  There is so much that I have not written down.  My head is a buzz constantly with things that I would like to tell you.  Things that I want to remember.  We have done so much since my last post.

Today we will go to Atlanta.  We hope to visit the Capitol Building (capital two off the list) and to see the Georgia Aquarium.  We are currently on top of Red Top Mountain Georgia State Park.  It overlooks Lake Allatoona.  It's a beautiful place, but one that I don't think we will be rushing to come back to.  Getting the trailer parked was C-R-A-Z-Y.  Danny's Facebook status read, "Only a very strong, loving marriage can survive parking a trailer in a difficult spot.  Camping is not for wimps."

The pictures really don't do the site justice.  There were so many obstacles we had to overcome besides the obvious backing over the mountain.  I wish I could have video taped the whole process.  Danny's a very patient man with some unbelievable driving skills.  (Even if occasionally I close my eyes.)

Backing up a little and trying to catch up on the memories...

When we left Suwannee River Florida State Park, we did an amazing job of getting up and getting out.  We were actually out of the park by 9AM.  I was so excited!!  However, that excitement was short lived.  We have come to rely on our GPS and as I was trying to punch in the coordinates of where we were heading...GEORGIA...a state other than Florida.  The GPS would not acknowledge the address, would not acknowledge the zipcode.  Nothing, nada.  I even tried to enter New York, NY.  Nope!  There was nothing outside of Florida.  The world ended at the Florida line.  We spent another 50 minutes trying to get our 'smart' phones to help us out.  We don't have paper maps in our possession; that would be taboo.  Well, I have an iPhone and Danny has the 'other'.  My good friend Siri (whom I adore, mind you) was refusing to listen to me and kept coming up with all sorts of things that I was just NOT saying and Danny was getting frustrated.  He finally pulled up a MAP on his phone, got us turned around and we were at the intersection of I-75.  There was a gas station and a restaurant (much to Hannah's dismay).  We decided to go ahead and fill up the tank, eat some breakfast and regroup.  As it turns out, the food was excellent and quite reasonably priced and, in not time, we were back on the road again!!

We made it to F.D. Roosevelt GA State Park in record time (or at least before the sun went down, which was a nice change), got everything set up and headed out to get some gas and groceries.  We were running on fumes and Danny had asked the park rangers where the closest gas station was, so off we went.  HA!  With no GPS and just some "go this way and take a left, then another and you'll be there" kind of directions, we found ourselves driving around in unknown country again.  Danny finally flagged down a passing vehicle and they directed us 'around the bend' and we finally made it to the gas station.  After filling up we made it to Columbus, GA a HUGE town filled with all sorts of wonders like, restaurants and actual stores.  It was truly a sight for sore eyes.  BUT, getting back up the mountain was a whole other story filled with twists and turns and 'turn arounds' that I will just leave to your imagination.  We did laugh a little.   There's a point where things are just so out of the realm of what you had hoped for that delirium sets in and you find yourself laughing and making jokes just to get through it.

We had pre-purchased tickets to go to Callaway Gardens 'Fantasy of Lights' on Sunday night, so we had all day Saturday and Sunday to explore.  FDR is a beautiful park.  We were right on a lake.  On Saturday the kids spent hours hiking and I spent hours doing laundry.  (Danny has joked about putting a washer and dryer on the back of the trailer.)  Saturday night we went to the vigil mass at Christ the King, a beautiful church.  Rev. Fr. John R. Madden was quite personable.  I am sure that the congregation is very small.  That night there couldn't have been more than 75 parishioners total.  On Sunday morning they were planning on blessing their "Stations of the Cross" that had just been completely refurbished and placed in a new pathway outside the church.  We had noticed it on our way in.  It was beautiful.  A young parishioner had done all of the work as his Eagle Scout project.  We had hoped to make it to the blessing or at least to get by during the day to take some pictures, however, that was not to be.  Maybe on our next trip through Pine Mountain. 

Sunday Danny rented a kayak and we spent time on the lake  and did some more exploring.  It was a great time, filled with the making of great memories.  Sunday night was "Fantasy of Lights".  I had reserved a space on the "Jolly Trolley" to ride through the lights.  If we ever do again, I will ask about riding through in your own vehicle.  The website suggests that you can, but I really thought the "Jolly Trolley" was the way to go.  I couldn't have been more wrong.  It took us 45 minutes to get through the line and since our reservation was for 8PM, it was getting late.  The kids did well.  No real 'crankiness' going on.  Just tired kids.  Poor Jacob actually fell asleep while driving through.  My complaints: they drove too quickly, the road was bumpy (enhanced by the fact that I felt the were hurrying), and I could not get decent pictures.  Most of my pictures were of other peoples heads!  Maybe, just maybe, I would have been more enchanted if we had not just been to the Suwannee Lights.  I will admit, there were a few times that I felt the lights were brighter and more beautiful (definitely more professionally done) than Suwannee, but not worth the wait.  Now, don't get me wrong.  I am not suggesting to anyone reading this that you don't go to Callaway Gardens to see the lights.  I have heard countless numbers of people tell me how beautiful it is.  In fact, the people that we were camping next to said that they got onto the trolley an hour early (their reservations were for 7PM and they got on at 6PM).  However, if you are looking for some fun and amazing lights and you are closer to Suwannee Lights, that would be my choice.

Speaking of the people that we camped next to while at FDR, they were an older couple who were getting ready to celebrate their 53rd wedding anniversary.  They were out by their campfire the evening that we pulled in and again the night we got back from church.  Danny spoke to them more than I did, but when they were packing up and heading out, the man made it a point to come over and shake Danny's hand.  He told us that he and his wife wanted to "thank us" for doing such a great job with our kids.  I found it odd, but very pleasing.  Occasionally you get a chance to realize that what your doing, you must be doing right.

We stayed at FDR a couple more days, actually extending our time there.  I am finding that we really enjoy the parks.  The kids are having so much fun exploring, that we aren't getting a chance to do the historical stuff that we have planned, so the day before we left, Danny and the kids headed out to see FDR's "Little White House" and also Dowdell's Knob (I stayed back to get some much needed cleaning done).  Everyone came back raving about "having a good time".  There was beauty and history and scavenger hunts and they seemed to enjoy it all.

Tuesday night (after all the excitement of exploring history and dinner out), Gracie got sick.  She was up all night and not feeling much better in the morning and it was time to pack up and leave.  :(  Thank goodness we only had a short 2 hour trip to our next destination, which takes us back to the beginning of this post......Red Top Mountain.

I am sure that I have missed a lot.  I have LOTS of pictures to post.  I have been trying to figure out how to link back to picasa so that you can see the whole album.  I will get to it.  Until then, God Bless and I hope you are enjoying this Advent season.  Christmas is right around the corner.

Day 74

Got up yesterday and planned to head out early.  Why is it that that never happens???  No matter how hard we try or how much we pre-plan, we are always leaving the park around 11AM.

I had spoken with Fr. Roland on Sunday evening about stopping in to have the trailer blessed.  We had agreed on 11 o'clock.  Needless to say, that was not going to happen.  He had a few appointments beginning at 11:30 and wouldn't be back at the church until around 1:30.  We still had a few things to do in town before leaving, so that actually worked out well for us.

Fr. Roland did a beautiful job.  I'm pretty sure that he was just 'winging it'.  I don't think there are any 'standard' blessings for travel trailers, but he managed to bring a tear to my eye.

Yes, Gracie is being an absolute poop in the photo.  She and Samuel were having a very difficult time getting along and she had just been yelled at.  Fr. Roland did finally get a smile out of her (just not for the picture).

I think we left town at about 3 o'clock and it is generally a 5 hour drive for us.  We had already had lunch, so that was one less stop that we would have to make.  Danny drove the entire way.  I'm afraid that everyone is terrified to let me drive.   :)  I am really glad that I didn't give it a try.  There were a ton of tractor trailers on the road and they were ruthless.  Danny was riding in the middle lane and one of them sped past us on the left and whipped in front of him.  I could see them lined up behind us on our right and while the one had made his point, there was no getting over.  Two more passed us on the right and then the third proceeded to yell at us and tell us to get over.  We did and made a potty break at the next rest area.  

Back on the road again and it was starting to get dark.  Traffic seemed to slow a little and we finally made it to the park.  It was probably 7:30 before we were completely set-up, but it all went really smooth.  It didn't hurt that we have the handicapped spot which is completely paved and level...a real blessing.

Today was a quiet day.  The main reason we came back to Suwannee was to see the lights and that did not happen until 6PM.  Danny washed the trailer and the truck, both of which were in desperate need of it.  I did laundry (a never ending chore) and Hannah worked on some Christmas crafts.  (She has become a pinterest queen.)  The other kids played and hiked.  It was just a good, lazy day.

After dinner we headed off to the Spirit of the Suwannee.  The first portion of the lights is for 'driving through' and then the 2nd portion you walk through; which leads you to the shops where they have set up more fun, family stuff to do.  All in all, it was a great evening.  The kids got ice cream and Danny bought me some candied pecans.

Tomorrow morning we will head out again and I am hoping for an earlier start.  :)

A New Plan Unfolds...

Day 71

I can't believe that we have been back in Orlando for almost two weeks now.  I have really settled into this life and I am anxious to get back on the road.  I sat and made reservations for our next jaunt last night.  We will head out Wednesday morning.  (I spoke with Fr. Roland last night and we will be stopping by the church first to have the trailer blessed.)  We will head back up to Suwanee and spend two nights there.  While we were at the Spirit of the Suwannee, sitting at the Ice Cream Parlor, the owner told us about Suwannee Lights.  He really talked it up and Danny was convinced that we had to come back (not to mention that it is just a crazy, beautiful place to visit).  They advertise over 5 million lights and displays.  The owner said that all of the shops are open late and everything is really done up nice.  Also, Santa and his elves will be there!!!

After Suwannee, we will head to Pine Mountain, GA.  We will stay in FD Roosevelt State Park.  Our main goal while in Georgia is to see Fantasy of Lights at Callaway Gardens.  I couldn't be more excited to have the freedom to do 'whatever we want' this time of year.  I have NO idea what else we will do while in Pine Mountain.  It appears to be pretty close to Alabama's state capital, so we might very well head over there and mark another capital off of our list.  If anyone has any suggestions, don't hesitate to share.  :)

We have made reservations through VRBO and will stay in a cabin for Christmas.  While I am truly in love with my life and am shocked at how easy the transition to life in the trailer has been, I just could not imagine spending CHRISTmas in a campground somewhere.  Maybe next year.  :)  I am sure that it happens.  There is one camper with a tree set up outside of their RV in the park now.  I am assuming that they will be here through the holidays.  I just wasn't prepared to do it this year.

Look for more updates and pictures as we get back on the road.  May we all feel the hand of God as we enter into this Advent season and prepare for the coming of our Lord.

Just some 'mom' thoughts on a day of THANKS...

Day 60

Thanksgiving Day

Two years ago I didn't know that a few weeks later I would find myself in the hospital in a total relapse of MG.  It's hard to believe that it has only been two years.  So much has happened.  So much has changed.

Tonight, I count my blessings, because I am truly and richly blessed.

I am blessed with a God who loves me unconditionally, despite my many failings.

I am blessed with a faith that gives me strength to move forward every day knowing that my God is in control and that there is nothing that I cannot handle through Him.  With HIM, all things are possible.

I am blessed with a loving, supportive husband.  Without him, my life would be incomplete.

I am blessed with 5 beautiful, healthy children.  Each with their own personalities.  They give my life purpose.

I am blessed with extended family, not only my own, but those that I gained when I married Danny.  They have shown me love and acceptance.

I am blessed with friends.  Some I have known 40+ years, I value the memories that we have built, some I have known for far less a span of time, but their's is a friendship that I value more than time can bring, and then there are those friends whom I have never actually met, they have blessed me with a gift unknown before the advent of social media.  I feel blessed to call so many 'friend'.

I am thankful for the gift of life.  I am thankful for the gift of memory.  Less than two years ago I was unsure what life held for me and I was unsure how much of it I was going to be able to hold on to.

Life is a blessing.  Live it well.

Getting the hang of it...

Day 59

We are back in Orlando.  We left Suwannee River at 11AM; one hour later than intended.  We made it a whole hour before having to pull over for our first restroom break, which actually worked out well; we just went ahead and had some lunch.  I've gotten better at packing the inside of the trailer.  I was able to get to the kitchen and make sandwiches.  I really had not planned on everyone else coming in and eating inside, but that is how it ended up working out.  The dining table is fairly accessible.

We were at Turkey Lake Park and actually set-up by 4 o'clock.  Yes, that means it took us 5 hours to make a 3-1/2 hour drive.  But, I'll take it!!!  I feel good about it.  Everything seemed to go really smooth.

I'm not all that thrilled to be back at Turkey Lake Park.  The last week has really spoiled me.  It has been really great to be out living our adventure.  But we have things to do here in Orlando and then we will head out again.  It will also give us a chance to get by the church and get the trailer blessed.  I had hoped to do it before we headed out the first time, but I just couldn't coordinate our schedule with Fr. Roland's.  I was disappointed when we headed out without having had it done, so this time I will be more conscientious of our time.

I know that I missed a few days posting our activities, so I'm going to zip us back in time.  Are you ready?  OK, rewind...

Day 57 -

We go up and hiked the footpaths at the Suwannee River State Park.  My goodness, it is beautiful!!!  We had to drag Hannah out of bed.  She really thought that I would let her skip out on the adventure. Silly girl, this is a family adventure and there were pictures to be taken!!!  Aunt Kathy had specifically requested them.  So we drug her out of bed and she begrudgingly tagged along.  You can see her animosity in this picture:

I'm pretty sure that is why Samuel is giving her that look.  :)

I think she ended up enjoying herself.  It was a great time.  The kids climbed trees, and on to rocks that hung over the river.  They played at a waterfall that was fed by a spring.  They tasted their first non-bottled spring water.  They threw cedar nuts at each other and made very off-colored jokes about the cedar nuts that we were carrying back to the campsite in our pockets.  We laughed A LOT.

When we got back, we ate some lunch and packed up all of the laundry that had accumulated while we were at The Florida Caverns and headed out to find a laundromat.  The washer and dryer cost $2.00 each at the caverns and I refused to pay it!!  You can never trust that the dryer is going to work in one cycle, so I had to guess that it was going to cost me $6.00 to wash a small load.  I just could not do it.  My sister had told me about 'Find Around Me', an app that I had downloaded, so I searched for Laundry Mats and found one near a WalMart.  Danny dropped Samuel and I off at the laundromat and he and the rest of the kids headed out to do some quick shopping.  Timing was pretty good.  After I was finished folding the last of the laundry, I gave Danny a call and he was already on his way back to get me.  Everything worked out great AND he had picked up a couple of Hungry Howie's pizza for dinner.  A perfect day!

Day 58

With my laundry done, I had planned on spending some time cleaning.  Our home is small and it doesn't take much to make it dirty.  After I had my fair share of coffee and being lazy, I kicked the kids out of the house and cleaned the bathroom and mopped the floors.  Ewww, the dust and dirt accumulates quickly.  I vacuumed, wiped down the counters, put a few things away and WOW, what a difference.  It is so much nicer when you can actually see the dining table and sofa.  The only other thing that I had planned for this day was to go to The Spirit of the Suwannee and see their bat house.  My old neighbor had told me about it, which is actually what led us to the Suwannee in the first place.  (Thanks, Robin.)  It was pretty amazing.  According to their website, it is the largest known bat house in the United States and can hold 1/2 million bats.  Ewww, can you imagine the guano???  Well, just in case you can't, I took a picture of it for you:

Yep, that's it, all piled up under the house.  

I took more pictures than just that one, I promise.  I even took a video and just as soon as I figure out how to post it, I promise that I will.  The video is much better than any of the pictures that I took of the bats leaving the house.  I tried to use the 'low lite' setting on my camera so that I didn't have to use a flash and disturb the bats (really, I was more concerned that the flash might confuse the bats and cause them to fly toward me), so the still shots show a whole lot of nothing.  But with the video, you can see them and hear them.  It was pretty cool.  They just kept coming out...thousands of them.  Then, as if that wasn't enough excitement for one evening, we went to the ice cream parlor there on the campground and had fresh, homemade ice cream.  Hannah got a root beer float, Jacob had vanilla chocolate chip, Samuel had peanut butter cup, and gosh, I don't remember what Gracie had.  But here's the best part...I had strawberry, cheesecake.  It had just been made the day before.  YUMMY!! It actually had chunks of cheesecake IN it.  It was delicious.  And after I finished mine...I got to taste everyone else's.  They were pretty stingy, everyone except Gracie.  She was the first one up offering.  Dang, I sure wish I could remember what flavor she had.

Well, that was it.  That was our flashback in time.  It was a great first week!!

Thanks for flying with us!!

Civil War Reenactment...

...and a battle in the shower.  :)

Day 56

We woke the kids up early.  There was a Civil War Reenactment at The Spirit of the Suwanee Music Park and I didn't want to miss anything.  I had been told that it started at 9AM and we still needed to stop by the Ranger station and check in.  We got there at about 8:45 and the gentleman at the gate looked at his watch and said, "Well, you're a little early...".  I thought, only 15 minutes???  Well, Danny saw a cafe and he was hungry, so we pulled in there first.  They had an "all you can eat" breakfast buffet for $8.00.  We decided you couldn't beat that - I can eat enough bacon to more than make up for that.  So we went in and sat down.  It was a very small cafe and it was pretty much 'serve yourself'.    The hostess was pleasant and brought us drinks.  The buffet was the only choice, so there was no thought involved.  Grab a plate and serve yourself...get to eating.

Some women came in dressed in period clothing and sat at the table next to us.  Danny asked them when everything began.  They informed us that the battle was at 2:00.  So we filled our bellies and went back home.  The kids took a hike and I took a nap.

We got back there at about 1:45 and it was 'cash only'.  Danny and I were the only ones who had to pay and it was just $6 each, but we were only able to scrape up $6 total.  We asked about an ATM and she said that the battle was about to begin and let us in.  We got to the battlefield just in time.

The kids seemed to enjoy it and never seemed to get bored.  Jacob never really complained about the noise either; although he did tell his father that his ears were probably going to hurt later.  We guessed who was going to win and sure enough, we were right.  I'm not going to tell you though, you'll have to read your history books for yourself.  :)

After we got home, I fixed some dinner.  Samuel had dragged a huge branch home earlier from his hike and they broke it up and we had a nice fire to eat dinner by.

The kids all got their showers and while Danny cleaned up the kitchen (thank you, honey), I went down to the bathhouse to get a shower.  I had all of my stuff set up when I noticed a HUGE spider in the stall with me.  I tried to scare him out.  I'm not really afraid of spiders, I just don't want them in the room with me.  I fully believe that they serve a great purpose; like eating the bugs that I am afraid of, but he needed to leave the stall or I would forever wonder where he was...like hiding in my slipper.  Well, once I decided that he wasn't going to leave, I figured my only alternative to stepping on him, was washing him down the drain.  He gave up an amazing fight, but I finally won.  I got him down the drain and I could still see him clinging on underneath.  I gave the drain a good whack and I could not longer see him.  Convinced that he was gone, I went about showering...all the time keeping an eye on the drain.  After several minutes, I relaxed and went about showering without worry.  Just before I was done, I noticed him hovering in the corner behind me.  He was pretty soaked and trying to get his legs to work.  (Ewww!  Shivers just ran up my spine as I typed that.)  I quickly got my stuff out of there and started drying and dressing as quick as I could.  I could see him starting to move...kicking his spider legs out one at a time and I was doing all I could to get out of his way.  Just as I was picking up the last of my stuff, he started heading for me.  I scurried out of there, all the while feeling really bad because I had heard a mom and her little girl come in and get into one of the other shower stalls.  I really felt like I had thrown them to the wolves as I hightailed it out of there.

Swayin' and Swervin'

Day 55 -

We got a late start today and spent most of our day on the road.  We are slow travelers.  No one seems to be on the same cycle.  Fortunately, we are not in a hurry.

I DROVE!!!  Danny was really tired and he is one who will fall asleep at the wheel, which is never a good thing, but especially when you have your entire family and your home with you.  So, it was my turn.  It wasn't too bad.  We were on the interstate and traffic was light.  I had noticed that there was only 49 miles to go, so I volunteered.  Danny pulled over and we switched seats.  He gave a quick lesson on how to apply the trailer breaks if it seemed to get wiggly, then off I went.  I really thought that there would be a little more guidance, but within minute of my being on the road, Danny was snoring.  I thought I did pretty well for the first 10 miles or so.  There were a couple of times that I felt the rear end sway a little and I did as I was instructed.  A couple tractor trailers passed and I handled that well.  I even managed to call the Suwanee Music Park to confirms what time the Civil War Reenactment was going to begin on Sunday.  Danny woke up once, asked if he was snoring and then went back to sleep.  Well, a few miles up the road and I was coming over a slight hill, I felt that I was going a little too fast and applied the brakes and my rear end was all over the place.  (I could hear the kids in the back going, "Weeeeee".)  I was swaying and swerving and cussing and swearing and, needless to say, Danny woke up.  He began again instructing me on how to apply the trailer brakes and not to over-correct.  I made it through it.  It was tense, but everyone survived.  Danny offered to drive "if I wanted him to".  But I opted to continue.  I joked that I figured 'he was awake now'.  We finally took our exit and when I got to the stop sign at the end of the road, I let Danny take over.  I really do want to learn to pull the trailer, but I think I would prefer to stick to the interstate with long stretches of nothing but highway.

Danny got us safely back to Suwannee River State Park.  We don't have the handicap spot this time.  Maneuvering the trailer into the campsite was a little tight, but Danny did an amazing job and set up went pretty doggone well.  While I finished getting the inside of the house back in order, Danny ran up to the 'gas station' to get a few items that we needed for the evening and brought home a pizza.  I did a load of laundry, we enjoyed some time around the fire, everyone got showers and then hit the hay.

So far, I think I'm enjoying this life that we have chosen.

1 Capitol down - 49 to go

Day 54

I woke up around 4AM.  Could have sworn that I could hear the sound of animals barking, fighting, howling???  I don't know.  But whatever it was, it sounded near the trailer.  So, naturally, I woke Danny.  Immediately, the noise stopped.  My theory is that the movement of the trailer from when Danny was jarred awake frightened them away.  Of course, I could have also been dreaming.  The night before I had walked to the bathhouse alone and without a light.  You would be very surprised how dark it gets in these woods at night!  Our lot is only a stone's throw from the bathhouse, but your visibility isn't much more than 2 feet in front of your face.  Danny had told me that the night before when he had walked to the dumpsters that it was pretty scary out there.  He was right.  On my way back, I could see NOTHING!  I would hear a noise and turn around to see what it was and there was nothing but black.  Seriously!  Someone could have been standing right behind me and I wouldn't have been able to see them.  And you don't dare run.  You're really just guessing at your footing.  I couldn't tell where the pavement ended and the campsites began.  Anyway, I did make it back safe and sound only to find out that I had left a bath towel down there.  I wasn't going back.  I didn't care what happened to the towel, it was lost to me.  :)  Danny did 'man up' and go down there.  But he will tell, it's scary in them there woods.

 I never really got much sleep after that and the coffee was set to perk at 6, so as soon as I heard it start, I got up.  After everyone else was up, I made some breakfast, stuck a turkey breast in the crockpot, and we headed out to Tallahassee to take care of seeing our 1st State Capitol.

The kids had spotted an awesome dolphin sculpture while we were looking for parking, so one of the first things they asked to do was get their pictures taken with it.  No problem!  It sounded like a great photo opp!  So, there we are, trying to get as close to the dolphins as possible, I snap a couple of pictures and then we are getting yelled at by a uniformed woman.  "Hey, you all are not supposed to be in there."  OK, no problem...until I realize that we are at THE Capitol Building and she is with the Capitol Police.  No harm, just a little embarrassing.  Especially when she is the one who scans us and lets us in.  I'm sure they kept a close eye on us the whole time we were there.

It was a good day.  It was a long day.  Jacob is the only smart one in the house.  He went to bed around 8.  Of course, before we traveled to the FL Caverns, that would have been 9PM and tomorrow we will head back to Suwannee and lose that hour again.  I will be glad to be back in EST.  It gets dark WAY too early here.

Angels Watching Over Us

Day 53 -

We left two days ago.  We traveled for about 2 hours before having to stop on the side of the road so that Samuel could 'relieve himself'.  About a mile up the road we reached a rest stop.  :)  I had packed sandwiches, so one meal was on the road.  After about 4 hours total, we arrived at Suwannee River FL State Park before the sunset.  Set up went pretty well and then we headed out to get some dinner.  The Ranger that checked us in had told us that the gas station just 1/4 mile up the road had a really great deli with an awesome burger basket, so that was where we headed.  The kids were shocked when we pulled into a gas station and they figured out that that was where we would be having dinner.  Funny, as I type this, I realize that they would have never thought twice if we had pulled into a Wawas for something to eat.  Hannah was practically refusing to go in (the clientele on the outside of the store was looking a little 'woodsy').  When she realized that we were going in without her and her second option was to wait in the car, her attitude changed, but only slightly.  It was really quite a fun experience, especially given the children's reactions to the patrons and the staff.  Only 4 hours from home and you would think that we had entered the 'Twilight Zone'.

When we got back to the campsite we were able to build a fire and hang out outside for awhile.  The kids really seemed to enjoy themselves.  Suwannee River Fl State Park is a great place to camp.  We took advantage of my handicap and managed to get the premo handicap spot.  All paved and sidewalks up to the bathhouse.  AND THE BATHHOUSE!!!  Oh my goodness, I could definitely live there.  An endless supply of hot water!!  WOW!  What luxury.

The next morning Hannah and Danny took a short hike before we headed out.  It was a good first day.  We will be back to Suwannee in a few days, but first we were headed over the the Fl Caverns State Park.

We hit the road a little later than I had anticipated and I had not packed lunch, so we stopped in Tallahassee at Cody's Roadhouse.  The meal was fairly good, but I won't be rushing back there any time soon.  Then, back on the road.  I called ahead, just to make sure of the gate code.  The Ranger felt we had plenty of time.  HA!  He did not realize how new we are to this traveling while pulling several tons of house behind us.  However, we did not realize that we would be crossing over a timezone and gaining an hour.  Thank goodness, or we would have been late.

The extra hour did not, however, stop the sun from setting.  By the time we got to our site, it was dusk and there was a slight drizzle.  The sun set quickly and we were left to unhitch and set up in the dark. The kids just don't quite understand how much is involved is set up.  They are always busy being kids and enjoying their new home location.  Despite our numerous requests for them to settle down so that we could get through the things that we needed to do, they continued to play and be loud.  Danny had the trailer unhitched and on the 'cone type' stand and BAM! it slipped off and the trailer hit the ground, then the jack went a good 6" into the dirt.  It was quite a scary and tense moment.  The kids got a good lecture and we set about trying to figure out how we were going to get out of this situation.  (Well, Danny went about figuring it out and I went about praying.)  God is good and faithful, Danny devised a plan and within 30 minutes we were set up.  Praising God for His mercy and there being no damage to the trailer or injuries to the family.  Needless to say, there was no fire and fun that night.  Sandwiches were had for dinner and early to bed!!

We got up early today (Thursday, Nov. 15) and headed to the Ranger's Station to buy tickets for the Cave Tour - the main reason we had headed to this park.  We got the first tour at 9:30 and went back to the trailer and ate some breakfast, then headed out again.  The cave was pretty awesome.  In fact, Jacob said he "wanted to go again".

The kids and Danny managed to get a quick hike in when we got back to the campsite.  We had some lunch and then we headed out to find wifi.  The kids have been 3 days without the internet and as I type, we are sitting in a Lowe's parking lot while everyone gets their fix.  We had started at a McDonald's where I spent $15 on hot chocolate and coffee, only to find out that their wifi was down. I suggested that we go inside the Lowe's and sit in the lawn and garden center, but the kids chose to sit in the car.  :)

So far, so good.  Danny said that he was sure that there must be angels holding our trailer up.  The tires refused to even connect to the wheel chocks and he set lots of large rocks around them...just in case.  God is definitely with us.  Praise be to God!!!

OH, Don't forget to check out the photos at Wheel Life.

A Few Notable Things

Day 49 - We haven't really traveled yet, but today is the 49th day of living in our humble trailer.  We have planned to leave several times.  First, we were going to head straight up to Shenandoah Valley, VA and see the sights and history of the NE and then work our way back down the Eastern coast. Several days before we were scheduled to leave, Hurricane Sandy hit the NE and we were thanking God that we had not already headed that direction.  Then as we sat back and reevaluated our calendar, we realized that we didn't have time to get too far away from Central Florida.  (Hannah and Jacob have orthodontist appointments the week after Thanksgiving.) So we decided that we would head into the panhandle and see the sights up there.

I am amazed what all Florida has to offer.  You would think that two native Floridians would have done a little more in our own backyards, but I think that we could spend an entire year in Florida and still not see it all.

Some things that I have learned in the past 7 weeks:

1)  "It's my kitchen.  Leave it alone."  - Danny had an chance last weekend to fix himself breakfast.  I had taken a rare opportunity to sleep in.  He made himself some cream of wheat.  I believe that I may have been asleep for 1 hour while he scoured the cabinets looking for everything that he would need to properly make his porridge.  While searching the cabinets and moving things from one space to another, he devised a plan...a plan to make things 'better'.  By the time I got up, he had it all figured out.  He would build a cabinet 'here' and we could move that 'here' and if we just did 'this', it would all be better.  I explained to him that there was NOTHING convenient about living in a travel trailer with limited storage and six people and he should just leave it the way that I already had it.  I had a system that worked pretty well for me.  (OH, and on a side note, I ate his cream of wheat.  It was very good.)

2)  "There is NOTHING easy about living in a travel trailer with 6 people."  Storage is very limited in our home.  The manufacturers have tried to make up for this small detail by giving you additional storage in odd spaces.  For example, both bench seats at the dinette are hollow.  You remove the cushions, lift the top and WAALAA, extra storage.  Same goes for the bed in the 'master suite'.  Of course, you need to plan out very carefully just what you want to store in these areas because getting to them is NOT going to be easy.  One example...Hannah has, I believe, the largest wardrobe in the family.  In order to try to accommodate her need for so many changes of clothes, I gave her two baskets and told her that we could store them under my bed.  It seemed like a great solution, until I realized that every day and every night I would have to go to my bedroom and lift my bed while she decided what to wear.  I soon realized that anything that was going to be stored under the bed needed to be 'excess' and items that we would 'rarely' need.  (Hannah now stores her clothes in the largest of the three closets in my bedroom.  I have told her that if she can fit it in there, she can keep it.  It is much like a can of sardines.  Be very careful opening the door.)

And lastly, (for now, anyway)

3)  "The oddest things, bring me pleasure."  One day I had Danny show me how to empty the 'black water' tank...just in case.  (For those of you who don't know the terminology, we have three tanks:  fresh water, this would be our fresh water storage if we were 'dry docking' and not hooked to a water system (like we are here in the park), grey water, this is the water that is disposed of down your sinks and bathtub, and then black water, this would be the water (and other things) that are disposed of down your toilet.)  I had watched a very detailed youtube video (a link for the truly curious) on dumping your tanks, but I wasn't comfortable with just that, I need to see it and do it for myself.  I know, TMI.  But I've got to tell you, there is something very comforting knowing that your black water tanks are CLEAN.

I am looking forward to Tuesday.  It will be good to actually be on the road.  I told the kids that this week they needed to be studying caverns, the Civil War, and BATS (not sure that I am looking forward to that one).

The Silence is Deafening

Day 27 - The kids don't have school today.  There are only 4 more days of the craziness of getting up and getting the kids off to school.  YAY for me!  I got up this morning and went outside with my cup of coffee.  It was strangely quiet in the woods.  I sat and listened.  There was a white noise in the distance...maybe traffic, but it was steady and indiscernible   There were no birds to be heard...nothing!  I sat and tried to enjoy it.  At first it was so pleasant.  But after a time, it became deafening...the sound of nothing...something you would think that a mother of 5 would enjoy.  But it didn't last long.  Gracie came out and needed help with her cereal and milk and would, of course, be joining me as she ate.  Soon a little boy from a few sites down pulled in on his bike and asked if Samuel could play.  HIS dad said it would be OK.  These are the sounds that I am used to.  Surprisingly, the sounds that bring me pleasure.  But, please, don't tell anyone, especially the kids.

The family has adjusted quite well to trailer life.  The only real complaint that I hear is the fact that they don't have TV.  (Most people in the campground do have TV.  The kids informed me that the boy they met has FIVE.  I am hoping this is an exaggeration.)  But they have spent far more time outside than normal.  They ride their bikes.  They hunt for gopher turtles.  There is an animal farm here that they enjoy visiting.  They have spent far more time 'together' than they have in the past.  This is the part that I enjoy the most.  Family is so important.  I want them to come away from this adventure embracing that.  Knowing that without each other, life would not be as complete.

I feel as if I am finally getting a grip on things.  Organization is key and that is what I have spent most of my free time doing.  Eliminating things that we thought we needed, buying things that are useful and conducive to storage.  I have found that every inch of space is important.  All the way down to storing hair ties on the bathroom door handle.  Funny, yes, but true.

It is going to be good...this adventure that we are on.  We have always trusted in God to provide for our needs and He has always been faithful.  Our needs are becoming so much simpler now.  I am hoping that in that, we can be more faithful with our time given to God.  In all this business of preparing, I feel that I have not given Him all the time that He deserves.  I hope to remedy that soon.

Clean Feet

This is day 14 of fulltime RV living...or trailer life, as I prefer to call it.  We are living at a local Orlando campground.  It has been an adjustment.  I have spent the last two weeks trying to get organized.  For the first week or so, I felt like I just shuffled things from one spot to another, but I am close to having it figured out...almost...sort of...I think.

There are many things that I still have to learn, like which electrical appliances I can run at the same time.  I have been very cautious doing the obvious things.  I shut off the air conditioning when I run my vacuum and one night I used my NuWave oven and decided that the a/c should probably be shut off at that time also.  However, one night while making dinner, I used the microwave to heat up a few things.  I know that I have used it before, but I am guessing that I must have just gotten lucky during those times, because this night I blew a breaker.  Danny was working late and I did everything that I could think of.  I checked the outside connection (we have a surge protector out there), I looked at the breaker box...one of them seemed to be thrown and I messed with it a little.  That didn't work.  I pulled out the manual and read it...that didn't help, so I went back to the breaker/fuse box and stared at it for a time.  Staring didn't seem to help either.  The trailer was really starting to get warm so we opened a few windows and I decided to sit outside and wait for Danny.  I probably spend 20 minutes getting eaten alive by bugs before he finally arrived home, walked in the house, opened the breaker box, tossed a switch and WA-LA, power.  He is amazing like that.  I am blessed beyond words.

We have had several nights of rain.  WOW, can that get loud.  One night we were sitting at the dining table saying grace when it really started coming down.  We couldn't even hear ourselves.  It was sort of comical.  It rained cats and dogs that night.  Our site is quite a bit unlevel.  It has a major backwards slope and outside the front door, we were flooded.  I keep a jug of cold water on the picnic table and Jacob tried to brave the weather but said that it was 'too squishy'.  By morning, our fancy astroturf carpeting that we keep at the front door was covered in mud and our shoes were soaked...mine had actually floated several feet away.  But it was all good...nothing was damaged and we all survived it.  Sleeping was actually enhanced by a slow pitter-patter of rain on the roof.

The kids are still in public school.  It's a 30 minute drive each way, morning and afternoon.  It is time consuming, but I promised them that they could finish out the first 9 weeks.  Honestly, I don't know that I would have accomplished so much around the house if they had been here.

For the first week, we were using the bathhouse for our showers.  We had not gotten the propane tanks filled, so there was no hot water.  I cannot tell you what a blessing it is to have hot water and be able to shower in the trailer.  If you have ever been camping, you know how it is to use the bathhouse.  Now don't get me wrong, when camping in a tent, a bathhouse with HOT water, even cold water, is a blessing.  But we are talking about 'fulltime living' here.  And the bathhouse just wasn't cutting it.  I mean, forget the spiders and torn curtains with total lack of privacy.  And forget the fact that you have to rush in hopes of not running out of hot water before you were done.  The WORSE part for me is having to wear 'shower shoes' and not ever really feeling like you have clean feet.  Even if you manage to scrub them well in the bathhouse, you still have to walk back through  the grass and dirt to get home.  They are NEVER clean.  I cannot believe how great it was the first night that I showered in the trailer.  What a luxury!!!  It is tiny...and you truly feel like a giant while standing in it, but there is nothing like stepping out and being able to go to bed with clean feet.  The next morning while I was still relishing in the pleasure of clean feet, I thought of John 13:1-17, where Jesus washes his deciples' feet, and I thought of Simon Peter saying, "not just my feet, then my hands and head as well".  I know that there isn't a whole lot of connection there, but I thought, "how wonderful it is to have clean feet" and I thanked God for my many blessings.

Thinking of Chewie

Mother's Day, 2006, Danny bought me a dog.  The children were 2, 4, 5, 6 and 15.  I remember thinking, "What kind of man would buy a woman with 5 children a dog?".  I had had a boxer once before and Danny knew how very much I had loved him.  And so Chewbacca (Chewie) had become a part of our family that Mother's Day.

Like most boxers, Chewie was full of energy.   He ran and played and loved on the kids.  He had a hard time realizing that he was not a human.  I think he struggled a little with who was the alpha male in the house, him or Danny and he was very, very protective of the kids.  If we would raise our voice, he was right there sticking his nose in it, making sure there was nothing wrong.  If you were rough housing with Samuel (the youngest) he would become very serious and let you know that he was there.

Chewie was not allowed on the furniture....unless we weren't there.  Then somehow, the rules changed.  I'll never forget the first time I caught him on the couch.  I'm sure I said something like, "What are you doing on there?" and I'm sure he hung his head and got down...quietly...slowly...disappointed that he had been caught.  But that would never happen again.  He was much to sly for that.  Only problem was, he would forget to wipe the cushions down.  There was always hair and paw-prints.

Chewie was never a destructive dog.  We never had any issues with him tearing stuff up...except my shoes.  But that only happened when he was a puppy.  Yes, within a few weeks, he had destroyed several pairs of my shoes.  And ONLY mine.  There were other shoes to choose from, but I believe he had a point to make and somehow that point involved me.  He even went out of his way one time to search my shoes out in my bedroom.  But those days soon passed.

Chewie did not beg.  He did not get scraps from the table.  He was not allowed in the dining room while the family ate and when dinner was through, he would wait patiently while I cleaned everything up.  It was funny how he would just sit watching me.  He generally always had a full bowl of dog food, but he would wait.  And if at some point he decided that he wasn't going to get any left-overs, he would go eat.  But occasionally Chewie would get something.  Which reminds me of why he probably seemed to love Samuel the most.  It could be that he is the youngest and the smallest, but I think that it is because Samuel is the one who would always, ALWAYS, drop food on the floor.  Chewie soon learned that if he followed that youngest one around, there would be something for him in his wake.  Chewie was also a big part of my morning lunch packing routine.  Samuel (the youngest, of course) did not like the crust on his bread.  So, like a good mother should, I would cut his crust off of his sandwich before packing it.  Chewie ALWAYS got the crust.  In fact, just this year, I finally convinced Samuel that his life would not end if he ate the crust and Chewie started getting the bread 'ends' or a piece of stale bread...or sometimes, just a piece of bread.  It just seemed right.  I had to give him a piece of bread when I packed lunches.

Well, let me cut to the chase of this story, because I could probably go on and on about the 'life of Chewie'.  Sunday, a week ago tomorrow, Chewie went to live with a very good friend of Cameron's.  A boy who spent most of Chewie's puppyhood at my home.  A boy whom I consider family.  TJ (that boy) came and picked Chewie up.  Chewie left pretty willingly.  Chewie loves TJ, so I am sure that it didn't seem too off that he was getting in his car and driving away.  But Chewie had known for several weeks that change was in the air.  In fact, that morning, Chewie seemed to follow me around a little more than usual.  He seemed to stare at me just a little harder.  (I have to stop and tell you that I am balling my eyes out right now.  Something that I had not done yet.  Something that I suspected this writing would bring out.  Something that I am not comfortable with and don't have time for.)  But Chewie loaded up and headed off and went to TJ's.  Everything seemed to go very smoothly.  Then Danny and I were in our bedroom, just down the hall from the boy's bedroom, and Danny caught the slightest sound of sobbing.  Dear, sweet Jacob was in his room, hiding behind his iPad, trying not to let the world know that his heart was breaking...something that I had not expected.  So I did my best to comfort him and later that evening Jacob and I drove over to Chewie's house and took him some toys that we had forgotten to send.  Jacob cried some more when we left.  I tried to explain to him how it would be more difficult on Chewie to travel with us.  He would constantly have to be left alone and always having to adjust to a new place.  Jacob seemed to understand.  Jacob has a big heart.  Since then, we have visited Chewie a few more times.  He is always happy to see us, but he seems to have settled in quite well.  There is a big plus to Chewie's new living arrangements, my oldest son is also living there and there is a very familiar couch in the living room.  (I wouldn't doubt if Chewie doesn't climb up on it when no one is home.)

And our house... our house has been different.  There is no barking when the doorbell rings (even when it is just the doorbell on a TV show).  And when I'm packing lunches, I don't know what to do with the ends of the bread.  But I miss him most when I walk in the door.  He isn't there to greet me.  It seems strange, this silent house.  But all of that will change.  Today we move out.  Today is the beginning of a new life.  A different life...one full of constant change and adventure.  And, on the road, we will keep in touch.  We will know how Chewie is doing.  And when we are in town, we will visit.

God in His infinite wisdom...

...or "I told you so"!

No, I feel very sure that God would never actually say, "I told you so", but He certainly does have a way of reminding us of the conversations that we have had and the agreements that we have come to.

You see, for those of you that follow me on Facebook, you have seen that we purchased our future home - a beautiful, brand spanking new, 2012 travel trailer.  Or at least we had signed an agreement to purchase it.  It was going to take some financing - something that we had once agreed that we were not going to do.  But push had come to shove and time was running out...we had a rental lease that was coming to a close and I'm afraid that I may have been doing the pushing and the shoving.  I think that Danny, in an attempt to relieve some of my anxiety, was agreeing to more than he wanted to and I have to admit, I was feeling relieved.  But God, in His infinite wisdom, had a different plan for us...

A few days after signing the purchase agreement, we got 'the call'.  We had been turned down for financing.  I'll have to admit, I'm not surprised.  The fall in the economy had forced us into bankruptcy.  And so we went back to the drawing board (AKA craigslist) and started searching again... and there it was!  We had spent countless days searching craigslist prior to our 'almost purchase' and found a few things that might meet our needs.  We had called on one once...it sold before we even had a chance to see it.  We really had not had much luck.  But NOW, there it was.  The same day we got 'the call'...there it was!!!  The listing didn't have a phone number so I had to send the 'reply email'.  I wasn't holding my breath.  Many times listings like this turn out to be scams.  (Yes, I had contacted one once before that told me to 'just send the check and everything would be taken care of."  WHAT?)  And so I waited.  And then I sent another reply.  And waited...(OK, maybe it was only 24 hours and it was a weekend.  But remember, I was anxious.)  Then the owner called and Danny set up a time to go look at it and guess what????  It was perfect!  One week after we had signed the original purchase papers and for LESS than we had put down, we were pulling our future home back to our dwelling place (OK, our home!  But it seemed redundant and it really doesn't feel like home anymore.)

So WHAT am I doing these days?  Panicking...a little.  But I rest in the assurance that my God is GREAT and he will provide...if we just wait on His perfect timing and trust.  

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.  Proverbs 3:5

I have to admit, I have a huge smile on my face right now.  How many times have I repeated that verse over the last, oh, six months???  "Trust in the Lord..."

So, as I work hard to sell all of our worldly possessions in two weeks, I will trust and I will sing praises to my Lord and Savior.

Conversion

I wish that I could put into words the way today's mass moved my very being.  I would love for you to feel the way the music calmed my soul as we prepared for the procession, how at that moment I knew that we were preparing for something holy.  If you had been there, you would have seen the tear slip down my cheek as I listened to the responsorial psalm being lifted up on voices that sang praises and glory to God.  Father Bill's homily was especially moving as he spoke of conversion.  As I listened, as I sang praises and knelt in prayer and admiration, the Holy Spirit spoke to me...  I am preparing for a conversion.  A conversion of life.  A conversion of family.  A conversion of hopes and dreams.  A conversion of self.  I hope along the way, I bring some of you with me.  This life has gotten heavy and burdensome.  I hope that you will see that it is not our's to bear.

A New Day

I wanted to say 'thank you' to my friends and family who reached out either by Facebook message or private email to comment on my last post.

I felt compelled to explain to you why I would blog about such a personal thing.  When I first started blogging, I promised myself that I would write from my heart and there have been a few times (especially in the beginning) when I was apprehensive about publishing my posts.  Sometimes they feel quite personal.  But that is what I had always intended....for it to be my 'personal' blog.  So on that day, I wrote.  I had all this emotion welling up inside me and it had to get out.  Danny wasn't at home and I wanted so badly to call a friend, but I had no voice (from being sick) and blogging just seemed to be the natural choice.  In that moment I needed someone to hold me...to put their arms around me and tell me that it was alright.  And each of you who reached out and responded did that for me.  As I read your notes, your words of kindness and concern, you were each able to 'touch' me and I cannot thank you enough for that.

I have spoken to both boys about the incident at the beach.  I have always tried to not let my emotional fears or frustrations reflect on my children, so I was cautious with how and when I spoke to them.  I spoke to Samuel first, the night that we had been at the beach.  I felt that he was the youngest and probably the one who had suffered the biggest blow from the experience.  He recalled it in the same manner that he did when we were on the beach.  I still LOVE his words, "I have a new respect for lifeguards"... so Samuel.  I waited to speak with Jacob, not even sure if it was necessary.  One week later Jacob and I were out together for breakfast, just the two of us.  He recalled it much the same way Samuel did.  He said, "the harder we tried to get in, the further it seemed we went out".  He said he made Samuel get on the boogie board and he just kept trying to get them in...then the lifeguard was there.  I am so proud of him, protecting his little brother the way he did.  I find that I am still tearing up over the incident.

The memory is still fresh, but I am happy to say that the boys seem to not be holding onto any fears.  Jacob and I discussed rip currents and how you should try to "ride them out", not exhausting yourself trying to fight them.

Sunday we had an opportunity to go to the beach again.  Danny was with us.  We were visiting Danny's sister and husband who were vacationing at the beach.  We were just a stone's throw from where we had been on my birthday.  I am happy to report (as you will see from the pictures) that the boys did not seem to have any lingering fears. 

Jacob and Samuel are hanging together on the left.  Hannah is out catching waves with Uncle Andy.

Gracie has decided to venture out and catch some waves.  Hannah just isn't giving up!

Jacob hanging with Daddy.

Samuel looking on with Daddy.

Looks like Jacob is heading in...

...to catch some Zzzz's.  :)

Samuel trying to escape the sun on his 'sand couch'.

Gracie

Hannah

It was a perfect day!!!