Enjoying the Journey of Life!

Life is funny.

Life brings changes.

For us, change is starting to become come place.......and we are adapting much easier.

Long story short, we have decided to stop traveling full-time.  I know....SHOCKER!

Our decision to travel and explore this wonderful country, has always been a family decision.  We were regularly asking the kids how they liked it, and if they wanted to keep on going.  Every now and then, one of them might have a bad, boring, or lonely kind of day, and want to go home to see their friends or family.  Recently, those feelings started happening more often....even with ME! ;)

I honestly thought I would never have a house again!  I thought I could live in our RV home forever!

But.  As the Lord does, SO many times, HE changed my perspective and gave me new eyes to see.  HE also started working on my kids' desires.

So, we are home. :)  It is a good thing.

We are paying off debt, saving money and seeing friends and family.  We are signing up for camps, sports and home school classes.  We are back in our community and our comfort zone.

We come back home with a fresh perspective, too.

We are blessed.  I mean, really blessed.
We have traveled FULL-TIME, for almost 3 years, as a family, 7 days a week, 24 hours a day.  We have experienced this country first-hand and enjoyed so many "firsts!"

We realize the precious time we have been given, but also realize how precious our family and friends are to us as well.

We will miss our friends on the road,( PLEASE come see us!), and we hope to travel again in the future.

Life is funny.  But, life is so good. :)

Here are just a few of our most favorite times on the road:

Many factory tours....

 National Monuments that take your breath away...

Good Ole' Faithful.....

Driving on the GOLDEN Gate Bridge!

Landscapes and natural wonders.....

Laura Ingalls Wilder's home....

Todd skydiving on his 40th birthday!

Countless sunsets...

Trying to hug a Redwood :) 

Sledding at White Sands....

Rock climbing.....

Totally amazing sights....

Tons of hiking trails- CONQUERED!

We have experienced life in its fullest capacity.  Together.   We are so grateful!!

"Happy Trails to you......Until we meet again....."


Blessings,
Steph

State #29!! Mississippi!

We intended on having a couple of days in Vicksburg, MS., enjoying Vicksburg National Park.  But, as life would have it, as it sometimes happens, we needed to slow down and have some serious family time.

Life lessons.  Hard lessons.  But, lessons we all need to learn at some point......sometimes more than once. ;)

Our recent lessons have been about diligence, laziness, thankfulness and respect.

Sometimes, you just have to put on the breaks of "your plans" and take the time to reevaluate what is right or wrong and FIX it! :)

So, just as any other family in America, whether you live in a house made of sticks and bricks or an rv, we have problems, stresses, issues, and what ever else you want to call them!

Our next adventure took us to a special place, with a special 'call.' ;)

Stay tuned!



Blessings,
Steph

Happy Birthday Parker!

So.

I am freaking out.

My baby is FIVE YEARS OLD!

Thank you to all the family that gave him cards.  He was SOOOO excited!

He knew EXACTLY HOW he wanted to celebrate his day, too.  He wanted all of us to 'surprise' him in the morning, open his gifts and cards, FIRST thing, and then eat and go shopping.  HA!

He also knew that he wanted a movie, a Star Wars action figure and an Iron Man t-shirt.  :)

SO, after all the morning's excitement.....He went SHOPPING!  Yee Haw!

For his menu:

Breakfast - Cinnamon Rolls with orange icing, strawberries and orange juice

Lunch - Grilled cheese sandwiches, Cheese-puffs, strawberries and Rootbeer

Dinner - He wanted a date (with me, of course) to McDonald's :)  (the rest of the family ate a homemade chicken pot-pie)


Happy Birthday Parker!  We all love you very much!

Blessings,
Steph

Hoppin' on Home for Easter!

So, while we were in Pensacola, FL., we decided that we needed to drive 10 hours in one day to get home for Easter.  To say that we were a little homesick is an understatement! HA!
The kids needed to see their friends and family and so did Todd and me. :)

Parker got a head start at the Easter egg hunt....

And then the 'big' kids darted out for their's......

And when I say BIG kids.....

I mean BIG!!

Look at the pure joy in their smiles!  Even Zach and Tanner (who is hiding) couldn't wait to dig in to their chocolate-filled yumminess. :)

It's o.k. Tanner, I won't tell anyone...
hee...hee....

Easter at Grandma's means fun and pretty pictures in our new, fancy, smancy Easter dresses!  Tammy's family looked so beautiful.

It was truly a special day with family.

The next two weeks were FILLED to the BRIM with play dates, sleep overs, dinners, lunches, errands, doctor visits and more play dates, family visits, sleep overs,.....

We had SO much fun seeing everyone we could!  We are looking forward to Christmas time, when we can visit longer and see those sweet friends and family we missed on this quick trip.

The road is calling and we have MUCH to accomplish in the next 9 months!
WHOO HOO!


Blessings,
Steph

Happy Birthday Zach!! & the Blue Angels!

So, Zach went and became a teenager right under my nose!

So, to celebrate, we drove like crazy-people, left Orlando and drove seven hours on Tuesday, so we could watch their first practice of the year on Wednesday. :)

We LOVE the Blue Angels, but Zach REALLY loves them, so it was a MUST to see them ON HIS BIRTHDAY!  How cool is that?

The Naval Air Museum is in Pensacola, which is also Todd's old hometown when he was a little boy, but that is for another post. ;)

The practice was just awesome!  I could sit and watch them for hours.

Only the elite pilots are honored with this prestigious job of flying the Blue Angels.  It is just a wonder, how graceful and smooth they are, while flying at top speeds.

Parker enjoyed the planes, but, all he wanted was a picture next to this John Deere tractor! HA!

 The Air & Space Museum and the Blue Angels practice was also FREE!!  WHOO HOO!

We decided to get tickets to the IMAX show, "The Magic of Flight."  It made you feel like you were flying, but also gave a behind the scenes look at the Blue Angels' pilots.  GREAT documentary.  AND, for being homeschoolers, they gave us a discount!  It was $5 each!  LOVE it!

Guess who we also ran into while we were at the show?!  Only about 3 other full-time families! :)
Talk about sweet company. :)

It was a fun, happy birthday!  Now, I just need to cope with the fact that Zach is thirteen years old!


Blessings,
Steph

Happy Birthday Hannah!!

Hannah is now officially DOUBLE DIGITS!!!

Where has TEN years gone!?!?!

She woke up to pretty decorations, that Emily made. :)

Emily was absolutely giddy for Hannah's big day.  Too sweet.

All she wanted this year was money.  HA!  She did not even want her special 'menu' this year and asked if she could have that money, too?!

She had her eye on something very special...........

She was so excited to buy her first camera!  YEAH!

Thank you to all the Grandparents and family that sent her birthday cards.  It is a wonderful feeling, knowing you're miles away, but people still take the time to mail cards and gifts. :)

She did pick out her chocolate cake, with chocolate icing and white 'gem' sprinkles.  She also baked and decorated it herself.
Happy 3+3+4 Birthday!!

It was a special day for a special BIG girl! :)


Blessings,
Steph

Emily's Exciting Birthday!!

My little, baby girl recently turned 8 years old!  This absolutely depresses me. :(  How has the time flown?  I am with her EVERY SINGLE DAY!

It was so fun and exciting to see how excited she was, so I got over my depressing mood REAL quick.

Thank you to all the Grandparents and family that sent her cards.  She was thrilled. :)

For anyone that knows this little girl, they understand how wonderful this picture is.  She adores to cook and clean.  ( I know....really cool, huh?)

She wanted a Breakfast Supper for one of her meals, and she wanted to cook the meal for everyone.
(scrambled eggs, bacon, hashbrowns, and biscuits)

Instead of the typical cake and ice cream, she chose popsicles. ;)  The Harper's came over to help us eat them all and gave her a cute Minnie Mouse watch.  One of the gifts she bought with her birthday money was the movie, 'Soul Surfer.'  So, they froze their lips off, as they enjoyed movie night! HA!

On another evening, our new friends, Jerry & Ruby and Mike & Janice took us out for pizza and had a small party for Emily.

It is indescribable how sweet it is to meet the most kind, loving and encouraging people on this road of life.  The Lord has given us 'family' and a sense of community while living on the road.  For all of us, it has been overwhelming, but wonderful!

Emily LOVES gymnastics, so for her birthday, I took her and Hannah to Jackson's Gym for their Day Camp.

Happy Girl :)

Have you ever seen how narrow a balance beam is?!  A small foot can barely fit!

She flipped on the uneven bars.

They had smiles on their faces for 3 hours STRAIGHT.  Two tired, little girls, ready to eat lunch.

So, we went to the World's Largest Entertainment McDonald's!

They have the typical McD's menu, BUT, they also have shrimp, chicken alfredo, enchiladas, pizza and more!

We sat in the 'rainforest,' listening to the waterfall.

LOOK at this fancy-smancy bathroom!  Have YOU ever seen this at McDonald's!?

Upstairs, was a huge arcade room filled with the best of the best games.

It was a fun-filled, wonderful birthday for Emily.  YEAH!


Blessings,
Steph