Stumbling onto Inspiration

Sorry this isn't part two yet, but I had to share today's inspiration. Somehow I happened upon a book talk given by Joshua Fields Millburn & Ryan Nicodemus (http://www.theminimalists.com/etr/) tonight. Hubs and I went and it was packed. Their story is a bit like ours: finding out truly what the important things in life are, and pointing their life in that direction. They left good paying jobs for the security of freedom. They shed possessions; they shed relationships that did not benefit their life. They taught me, again, that we are all moving forward, getting better. My oldest son and I had the same idea separately, then happened to share with each other that we felt we should eat light during the day, then with the family, eat a regular meal at night. That seems like a random statement, but it just shows that our inherent nature is to grow, get better, do better. Although our human-ness may fail us, we have each other to keep us accountable!

Another odd but very vivid dream I will share here just to get it off my chest: It was around my birthday, and I was handed a 97 billion dollar check. I know, crazy, right? I was so overjoyed, I immediately called my loved ones mortgage companies. As I was on the phone with none other than Wells Fargo, I heard a representative answer. I hung up, realizing that this check would take weeks to clear. What does that mean to me right now? Well, my impression after waking was that I need to wait for His leading before making big moves, agreeing to things, etc., even if they seem good at the time.

For example, we were just looking into land to buy. We were looking like mad for a couple weeks. We even told some family. It came to a dead stop when we realized our house wasn't worth what we thought. Plus, we really want to give the asset of a paid off house to our children someday, while still somehow paying for land they could use down the road. Our house is quite urban, so there isn't much growth to be had. While all this is shelved for a later date, I learned a valuable lesson. Even if you go full boar into a new direction, keep your mind and spirit open when there are road blocks. Step back, and truly listen to Him. It may not be time. That's okay, there are always three answers: No, yes, and not now.

Texas Trip, Take One!

We just returned from a month long trip to Texas. This trip had dual purpose. You see, our poor wheelchair van that we bought in 2004 is not up for our many trips. She's an awesome girl. Runs great, but at over 200,000 miles, would you be wanting to go cross country? So, back to Texas. We purchased a 2010 van that is, wait for it...blue! I know that means nothing to anyone but me, but I have been dreaming of a blue vehicle my whole life. When you get a wheelchair or adapted vehicle, you tend to keep them a long time--it's a pricey investment! It just so happens all of my vehicles have been red. Anyway, this blue van (we need a name, people!) was purchased by us in it's normal state. That is, it had no way for my wheelchair to enter. When we purchased this beauty February 9th, we never knew that it would be over two months that we'd actually see the finished product!

Working with our great friend Tim at http://www.getvans.com/ (shameless plug!) he set us up with the place that would be adapting our van. It just so happens that the place is in Texas. Drive to Texas in February? Get out of winter? Bummer (snark). Fast forward to February 24th: leaving day. Our intent is to tow the new van down with the motor home. It's so cold in Iowa that day, and my job is to guide the van onto the tow dolly. A few tries later and it is on. Only some front skirting was bent in the process, but we figured the van adaption place would take care of that. Now there was only two stops and 12 hours between now and our destination. Oh, did I mention it is stinking cold in Iowa in February? And that our motor home furnace was not working? Remember my aversion to cold? That first leg of the journey sucked. There is no other word for it.

Our first leg of the journey was to get to Kansas City, MO. Tim and his family happen to live there, serving and learning at the International House of Prayer. Thank God it's only three hours from us. We were able to fellowship and stay a couple nights for a visit. I will have to share about how we met this awesome family in a future blog post. Upon leaving Kansas City, we had to make a sharp turn out of their apartment complex and put a minor scrape on the van in the process. It would be another three hours to get to our next destination, Ozark, MO.

Our long time friends, Jerry and Krista, were the next stop. Two evenings of catching up with them is so refreshing. Krista just opened up her own shop, http://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/KristasBeautyBliss. She takes her true love for others and makes them feel awesome. This is her etsy store, but if you contact her through that, she can give you the address for her storefront shop in Ozark. We have such talented and wonderful friends in these two couples, and I am so thankful they let us crash with them on our way down to Texas.

Tune in for more on this story in my next post...

No Time Like the Present

It seems I've been absent for a while! You may think we are still tooling around in our motor home. Well, that's partly true. After our year long absence, we came back to our house. I will be filling in all those gaps, as I am prompted to write. I love reading inspiring blogs, and I hope this one fills that purpose. I am finding that taking joy in the mundane and the adventures is true life. To enjoy every moment, but then to have a schedule to follow are both okay. And needed. There is a time and season for everything. I hope that you will link your blog so that myself and others can be inspired. Who knows, someone could be reading and need to hear encouraging words or an engaging story that would help them through a tough spot.

So without further adieu, let the writing begin!

Renovation

Where to start? We knew we had to rip out a wall to access the bathroom easier, so that came first. Such a God thing this rig...we found a sturdy metal beam going across the top, so we had no fear of "cave-in". Husband was able to reuse the "pretty" wallboard to cover the bare wood we'd ripped out! He's so good at this stuff! We gotta keep the fake wood looking 80's motif, you know!

After this was accomplished, the big job was to install the flooring. After ripping out the bed in back for wheelchair accessibility, ('cause who needs places to sleep?) in went the this roll out vinyl that a contractor friend introduced to us this summer. It was light, and only need some trim and glue in some parts. We now have more "fake" wood flooring and it looks awesome.

Miraculously, the generator that kind of worked was an answer to prayer. Our mechanic neighbor came over, tinkered with it and started it right up. He gave us some lessons on generators, which was so helpful. Now we know that a generator goes bad from non-use. So use those generators, people!

We have yet to "use the facilities" or water for that matter. We still have to check if the water heater and furnace works. Although if we are in a place that needs a furnace, we are in the wrong place! More next time...

Bureacratic BS

Taking a break from RV related topics to speak my mind this early Thursday morning. I just got some dishwashing time in (my thinking/praying time) and wanted to say I don't want to be a part of any organization. Anymore. Be it Boyscouts, a church denomonation, whatever! I so want to be a part of a real movement of God. Maybe the free spirit in me doesn't want to be tied down to rules anymore. Maybe some of those rules prevent us from loving people like we should. I have been guilty of that. Because I am part of this or that, I can't do this or that. How do we breath life into these clubs, etc. that we find ourselves a part? How do we love people, but not be in charge of everyone's well being? My brain hurts, I become bitter, then "burned out" as churches like to say. Loving shouldn't cause burnout! I've felt like I've lost my love for my community. Maybe our answer is to leave so that we realize what we are missing. But will we miss it? Time will tell. The world is there. And we're gonna explore it. I can have hope that we will find community wherever we go.

General Business and the Retrieval of DV

Right on the heels of the Speak conference my oldest attended church camp. It was a miserable week for all of us, as it just doesn't feel right when we aren't all together. Youngest was extra sensitive with brother being gone, and by the second night had many tears. This same week came the NEW WHEELCHAIR. I will decline to comment on it as, we'll just say, it's not the one I'm using right now. Adjustments are still being made (as in a whole back replacement) and I just hope it is done by the time we leave.

Tangent: I'm listing myself to death (and in my brain) on what to get rid of, what to do before we leave, TENANTS and fall activities coming up.

Ok, back to August. Right after new wheelchair and camp return, we traveled back down to my dad's to get DV. It was bittersweet, knowing I would be driving the minivan back home while husband and children would ride in DV. Oh how I wished we had a car dolly to pull the minivan! But I was just so happy that DV would be home. Dad, as always, did an excellent job on his handywork.

During this visit I got to visit my dad's work. He works for a nursing home as the head of (and only) maintenance. It was nice to see how much alike (once again) my dad and I really were, as I just love elderly people. I got to talk to a resident my age, as my dad thought I could give him some encouragement in his situation. So after a night stay, a few pictures and some instructions on lift usage, we took off back home.

Next up, the renovation...

The Speak Foundation and Hot-lanta

While waiting for the lift project to be completed, we attended a conference. This conference is for people with disabilities such as myself. It is put on by
The Speak Foundation, which was started by a beautiful Christian lady named Kathryn Bryant. She probably never dreamed it would be this big, but oh man it has grown. How exciting to meet up and make lifelong friends with people who know exactly the things you go through from day to day.

It was so much fun traveling around downtown Atlanta, GA, or Hot-lanta as we Speakies like to call it, in our wheelchair posse. Even getting caught in the rain was fun! What's more important is that we now have friends around the country (and Canada) that we will go to visit. How exciting! I can't tell you how invaluable this conference was for me. Good thing 16 hours in a minivan without a/c at the beginning of August didn't stop us! While in the area, we had to visit a Diners, Drive-ins and Dives restaurant, The Silver Skillet. Good old southern fare, complete with grits and lemon pie! This place hasn't been changed since its inception in the 1950's. That goes for accessibility. Since there are stairs in the front, I had to roll (squeeze) through the tiny kitchen, past the fryers and all. What we do for experience!

If that wasn't fun enough, we went to the most awesome restaurant ever with the best sister in the world on the way back: Blueberry Hill in St. Louis. This restaurant seats over 300 people, and we sat in the darts room. Yes, that means real dart boards, for free! The boys were in heaven. I loved the variety of food as well as all the framed pictures of famous people who had passed through the venue. Chuck Barry still also plays there! What a great trip!

I am Janice Joplin

It was July 2011 as Me and Bobby McGee came on the radio. Flying down the road in my (way cool) minivan, bandanna wearing, windows open, praying to God that what I was following would not fall off our rig and kill me. I was following our future: the very RV (henceforth referred to as Da Vinci, or DV) that would be carrying our family into the unknown. I was the watchdog for the 400 lb wheelchair lift that was strapped to DV, being transported down to my dad's, and magically, somehow, installed. It was a 3 hour journey down and within the first hour, tow straps had already broken twice. Was this even worth it. We were irritable. Neither the minivan or DV had a/c. It was 90 some degrees without heat index. What the crap were we thinking?

Faith does wonderful things. I knew if we got it down there, dad would work his magic and get it installed. We made it down safely, got to see the local museum (love small towns) and had a heart to heart with my sister. It was a nice time. We then headed back without DV, as this project was going to be more than a few days.

I think that most people think we are crazy. Good thing my mom taught me not to care what people think. It has served me well. So I'll just keep singing this crazy melody of traveling fulltime. 'Cause it's gonna happen. More to come...

Blog: revived!

Well, it's not going to be all fancy, but I wanted a place to record our travels. That's right, people, we will be traveling full time starting at the beginning of November. We are taking the kids to Disney World before they get too old, and we are very excited. I will be blogging about taking Da Vinci (our RV) down to dad's, getting the lift installed, and about DH's injury at the beginning of the year that threw us head first into this craziness. I'm also going to record some recipes I need, so I'm not travelling with paper/books on the road. Stay tuned...

Fall Update

So, according to my last post I stated that we'd have our debt paid off by mid-October. I WISH! We ran into some unexpected contractor fees at hubby's work, so we had to use $800 of our savings money toward these. That's ok though, as I know we will get that debt paid off again very soon. Although www.Ambleside.com is a great resource, we have been mainly using www.lessonpathways.com. It maps out the whole year for us! Heavenly! Football for oldest was added to our fall schedule, and can I just say thank God that is over? He enjoyed football, but 3 nights a week and Saturday games is a lot to handle. Our only consistent activity, besides scouts and Awana, is youngest's bowling league.

We dived into Halloween full force. For several of my married years, we had not celebrated this event. I feel that was a bit religious of us, but we were only doing what was expected of "good Christians." We do not live under the law, and dressing up and getting candy does not diminish our relationship with Jesus. That is the long and short of it. We do not celebrate the undertones of this holiday because, um, we don't worship satan. I have such great memories of Halloween as a child. I wanted to pass that on to my children and not have them live in fear of this holiday. Why should the devil make us hide away? Let's be a light to the world! Ethan was a clown, and Luke was a spiderman/knight (whatever he felt like at the time).

Well, youngest one is up, so I must head off!

Summer and Stuff

Has my last post really been that long ago? That's ok, no expectations here! Anyway, we have taken 2, count them, 2 trips to Texas this summer. (3 total for the year, counting the new year). We just love that state, but there were events going on in which we were a part: 1) my brother's wedding and Air Force graduation, and 2) my cousin's wedding. It was a crazy ride, literally, we drove both trips. No a/c. Texas in the summer. We went into debt for these excursions, but will have it paid off by mid-October.

We have finally (I hope) found our happy medium for homeschooling this year. I'm pretty excited about www.Ambleside.com, a website dedicated to Charlotte Mason-type teaching. It even has a reading list. I'm so excited to try this this year. I know my limitations, so we are doing a 2 week on, 1 week off schedule, with taking all of December off. We are also using a supervising teacher instead of testing--so much less stress!

Overall, I'm just happy to get to know the boys better this year even more than last. I've felt that our lives have been taken over a bit by electronics, and that will be very limited starting Sept. 13th. Our fave "real" game right now is the Monopoly card game. So fun! Ethan went to 4, one day military camps this summer, as well as a 4 day, 3 night trip to church camp. My little homebody, Luke, and I have spent quite a bit more time together, and it has been a joy. We are a lot alike, being pretty happy with calm activities, where Ethan is more of a rollerskate down the hill type of guy! I love them both. Time is fleeting at the age of 6 (almost 7) and 9.

Moving into the fall will put us heavily involved in Scouts and Awana, so we are looking forward to that. It's nice to pare down to mainly those activities as we move into fall. We still have the Labor Day telethon coming up, so you locals may see us on tv that day!

Things I have learned this summer, more deeply: that church is not necessarily in a building, but made up of the people. Also, that we are not to follow man, but the very voice of God. He guides and directs our steps, and has great plans for us. Thank you, Lord!

When Leaving is the Right Thing to do...

How do I start this post without offending? Hmmm. It's my blog, my "diary", so let's just say screw it. I barely update this anyway! My big guy, his name is Ethan, by the way, got a dose of the real world today. In retrospect, it wasn't a huge deal; I knew that things were escalating, violence, sticks, so many boys playing together without supervision (my fault). Ethan had hurt someone, apologized, and all was fine. The little bro of the person that was hurt retaliated once (in front of me). Understood, good brothers always do! It was after that that the laying into happened. This said little bro started hitting Ethan. Ethan actually cried. If you know E, you know it takes a lot of pain to make him cry. The long and short of it, that's when we left. I am so thankful this happened in my view instead of a random playground at a school somewhere, unwitnessed. All in all, it did open my eyes to how my children act after this regular Thurs meet-up. I ignored it because I was selfish! The moms are great people! But I have to get back to the reason we are doing this (homeschooling): to bring up boys of character, and have a closer relationship with them. If anything gets in the way of that, then it has to go.

It's been an unusually quiet day, but I think my bubbly Ethan is back, at 10pm no less! God granted us boys with sensitive hearts, especially E. And just so this post ends on a positive note, with the nice weather, we've had the neighbors over more. I can tell that we haven't had people over in a while when Luke (my youngest) goes around to the guests and asks if they want drinks, would they like to play legos, wii, outside etc. So funny, we have a little host on our hands!

I Need My Mom

It's one of those days...do you have a moment? My wheelchair has been broken for 10 1/2 days now. I am thankfully borrowing a chair, but it's definitely not the same! Even though my beloved chair does not move forward, I can still sit in it to get comfortable, to lean back, etc. This is the longest I've ever been without it. Praise the Lord that it's getting fixed today, but that means it's not at my house to rescue me; one whole day without the hope of real comfort. It's a little scary. My birthday is tomorrow and I've got so much to do outside the home, it's ridiculous. We haven't had actual groceries for days. Just random food purchased here and there.

Did I mention that my youngest son woke up and promptly threw up all over the floor and couch? Mom, this is a time I need you. These are always the times. Maybe that's selfish, but she always knew how to save the day. I will miss you on my birthday tomorrow. 32 years ago, my 9 lb 9 oz body was taken by cesarean. 'With a due date of January 16th, it's no wonder I got so big! Well, look down on me today and give me strength. Love you.

Teeth!

So I forgot that around the age of 6, they start losing teeth! Youngest son wanted to do something special, so he lost two teeth in two days! Dec. 8th marks the loss of his first front bottom tooth. Dec. 9th was the day for it's neighbor to go. I'd had a headache Dec. 8th, so I couldn't get to sleep. It's a good thing, as I hear a gasp, then "my tooth," then "Mommy!" All but dad got up for the momentous occasion. We immediately started working on the neighboring tooth, as it was just hanging by a thread. Oldest son tried to watch, squirming and covering his eyes. How exciting! So my little bugger earned $2 in two nights sleep.

On another note, Facebook.com kind of sucks up my blogs. It's so much easier and shorter. I'll try to be better, maybe stopping in for an important event. Maybe I'll post my updates here! We'll see. We've been home for three days straight, since the big Dec. 8th blizzard. It was fun at first, but now it's getting old, and we're running out of food. I'm counting the days until our house is paid off and we can leave for the winter. It's not only for me anymore, as hubby has already had pneumonia this winter. Life is too short. We'd like to be warm. So glad I married someone like-minded.

Still Here!

Boy, Facebook really does suck all my good posts! Here are a few things coming up for posts: Atlanta trip, babysitting a sweet girl, starting school, home improvement.

So check back!

Things that make me happy

Maybe it's because he calls me babe, or maybe it's because he delivers our sweet kernels to my van window. I just know that when I see his pickup in the DQ parking lot, and his over 70 smile beams, I am happy. Another thing that make me happy is when my oldest son dances. He's got the moves. We went to the Coolio concert at the State Fair. Thankfully, we couldn't see or hear much, but the beat made him dance.

We just started to participate in Halloween, and this year oldest son wants go as a biker. I just had this feeling that he would be blessed, as whenever he decides something it almost always comes true. Sure enough, we went to the thrift store and found a motorcycle jacket, bracelet and helmet. Amazing. I'll post pics when my camera is up and running.

Fevers are running amok in our house, so a lot of immune system strength is being built. Pray that it is over soon, as we leave for Atlanta in 9 days. AAaaahh! Ordered some curriculum called Growing with Grammar. It was only $30 for the whole year, and this covers the things that I am most concerned about for oldest. On deck for extras this year include: tennis, basketball, music/choir, art, Awanas, chess club, and various co-ops and workshops done locally. It will be an exciting year, as school ages this year are kindergarten and 3rd grade.

Thus ends our update!

2nd Tooth Removal

Since I am apparently unable to sleep, I thought I'd document another tooth escapade. This time it was with the oldest son, and it was his first molar. Apparently, an infection was forming under this tooth (which was capped). He had it removed a week ago and also got sealant on his other molars (Godsend), and everything went well. Might I just add that I have no cavities, and have had only 2 wisdom teeth removed? I don't know what is wrong with my children's teeth. They do brush, and we even use fluoride toothpaste (we're not au naturalle in that area). So, like in one of my previous posts, at least kids' teeth have a second chance!

Cataloging our day

I must start out with the funny conversation between the boys in the back seat:

Youngest: I just love these seeds! (Referring to sunflower seeds).
Oldest: But they do make you thirsty.
Youngest: Will a flower grow in my stomach?
Oldest: No, only when you poop it out. Maybe in the sewer or something.
Youngest: Oh.
Oldest: Wait! I just swallowed one whole. I wonder...

Oh and it just keeps going on and on, folks. The wonderment of children.

We had a full day. We have started with their online schoolwork as of Monday, and have been successful doing a little every day. Lots of laundry done, check. Dishes unloaded and more loaded, check. Husband doing great building our desk, check (more on that later). The boys also played with the neighbor boy, who is moving away. They are very sad about this. He is a very good boy. We also went to a friend's house to play army and legos (the moms sat and chatted), which was such a joy. I love seeing this mom friend of mine, parent. She is a very loving and patient mother from whom I can learn a lot!

We also went to the farmer's market. We spent money on food that we shouldn't, and I was disappointed in the produce there. No small farm, non-chemical produce type stands. So, we just spent money on the already prepared variety.

I wanted to get back to the home improvement side of our life. Hubby is currently making an 8 ft. desk out of pine. It's gonna be so great! We will be able to fit both computers on it, so we can all do our work together. It's going to be installed into the corner of our new addition room, and it matches the knotty pine that will soon be our trim and "crown moulding". The room is coming together, which is one more step to organization. Woo hoo!

Well, there's my update. Hope everyone is having a great summer!

A Very Nice Day

We are locked in to the 9:15 am swim lessons through July 30th, and it has not been swimming weather! When it's in the 60's in the morning, swimming is the last thing on my mind! But, the boys are doing great. Oldest is in level 4, and youngest is in level 2 on a 1-5 scale.

If you know our oldest, you'll know that he has a very social personality. He asked if he could get together with friends more. We knocked around the idea of sending him to school, when we heard of a new Christian school opening this fall. We felt strongly that we should do something for him, and we thought this was the answer. When we visited and found out about their long school day, we decided that it was not the answer. In my hormonal state, I cried out to God to give us the answer. He gave me a verse in 1 Peter to love people. Huh. So Your telling me I should just love my children and things will fall into place? Fancy that! Well, as hubby prayed, he got a pretty obvious answer: we dual enroll. Duh. We already officially do that for the testing, but we haven't actually taken advantage of it, so next step is to check the local schools for gym/music/art classes. Problem solved! God is good!

I'm also taking a spiritual gifts/Holy Spirit class at church. I love the leaders of it, and I'm really excited to see where it goes. I had some practice at prophecy at my last church, so we'll dust off that gift and give it a whirl. That's right, folks. You can practice God's gifts. You don't have to be perfect. Amen to that!

Cooking with WM, part 1

That's right, folks. I'm gonna post a recipe: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Rice--Beans-Haitian-Style/Detail.aspx. This went over pretty well tonight. Comment from the 8 yr old: "Looks gross, but tastes great!" We also had sauteed kale with minced garlic. Not every one's fave, but we were all healthy and full. As I endeavor to go more "raw" or uncooked food, I will try to post what works for us. For breakfast this morning, we had freckle faces. Eyes and mouth were blueberries, half a banana nose, then granola thrown on everywhere . Oh, and I did have a small amount of whipped cream left, from which I made little cheeks. Gotta be balanced, right?