What I've Learned on the Road - Guest Post by my Daughter Emily

Today's post is my first Guest Post.  My 17-year-old daughter Emily journaled some of her thoughts about our four months on the road and it's just too good not to share with the world! 

From My Emily:

I haven’t written much about our trip.

Mostly because I’ve been living, in a richer and scarier way than ever before.

Not knowing where I’m going to be living next week is scary. Not knowing what might happen in the next three days is scary. Not knowing my surroundings is scary. Not knowing if my cell phone and wifi will work at my next temporary home is scary. Knowing I won’t hug my best friends for at least six months is scary. Knowing I won’t have a house when I enter the Lone Star State is scary.

I’ve traded those securities for a life full of things I will probably never get a chance to do or see again.

I have jumped in the current of a lake carved by lava thousands of years ago in Firehole Canyon, Wyoming.  I have climbed a mountain (albeit it was a small one, but still!!). I have stood by with huge eyes as a buffalo walked five feet in front of me in Montana.

I have seen purple lightning strike right next to a vivid rainbow in Wyoming's blood-red sky. I have laughed until I cried under the stars of Tennessee with my brother. I have seen an arm of the Milky Way in Wisconsin. I have seen the sun rise over Lake Michigan and swam in its freezing embrace. I have seen mud bubbling out of the earth’s belly and Old Faithful bursting out in astonishing glory in Yellowstone Park. Zip-lined through the Indiana woods, six feet off the ground as branches whipped my legs. 

I have walked through the Creation Museum’s startlingly lifelike version of Eden, a place I have longed for and wondered about my entire life. Hiked through the wooded hills of Indiana. Watched the Nolichucky river rapids sweep over boulders like a crashing, mad stampede. Seen glaciers for the very first time in Montana. Slept under shooting stars in Washington. Bogged for crawdads in Montana. Ate at the original KFC. Stepped into Texan dinosaur footprints that dwarfed my size-10 foot. Seen moonlight shining through Arkansas’ fog. Eaten sweet wild mulberries right off a tree in both Indiana and Tennesee. 
Walked over ground that Laura Ingalls Wilder, one of my heroes, regularly treaded on in De Smet, South Dakota. Screamed on roller coasters I was dragged on at the Mall of America. Ridden a horse (without assistance!) through a Tennessee wood. Driven just feet from the edge of a cliff in Glacier Park. Sat stone-still in the van as huge bighorn sheep rushed past us in the parking lot.

I’ve learned:

·         that you never drink out of still water. Pick clear, quickly-moving water.

·         that purification and lavender oil smell really good combined

·         I don’t *need* Starbucks every week (now it’s much more of a treat than it ever was!)

·         what reasonable propane costs are

·         how to assemble a campground in less than a half hour

that apples and avocados ripen each other very quickly

·         fig bars go amazingly well with coffee

·         hot showers are a luxury and not a necessity

     how to elevate a camper

·         how to set up five beds in ten minutes

·         you don’t have to have a silent environment to write or work

          you don’t NEED to download the new Skillet album the DAY it comes out

·         baking soda and lavender draw out infection

·         how to wash a full dishload by hand in 20 minutes (paper plates are my best friend!)

·          and many, many other little tips and tricks I never would have had to learn outside of my current lifestyle.

·      

      

 Not to mention the household things I’ve learned. I’ve been using a lot of essential oils, which are now my go-to medicines: mint really helps headaches and girl cramps and PanAway helps with stressed or strained muscles and knots! I’ve learned how to cook large meals on a foot-wide stove or over a fire. When Mom was gone in China for a week, I got a taste of what she goes through every day of her life. 

I think the most difficult things for me to master have all been internal. I never thought of myself as selfish, materialistic, or vain, but when we moved into my moving home, my supposed good virtues got a prompt smack in the face. Learning to get along with ten other people in limited space has required a lot of dying to self, patience, and biting my tongue till it hurts, even if I’m 99% sure I’m right. Letting go of most of my earthly possessions was harder than I thought, but four months later, I’m starting to forget I actually have more stuff in storage (most of which will probably be given away!) Having just a few feet to primp and preen has been embarrassingly rough, actually. I used to spend an excessive amount of time on how I looked, curling or straightening my hair or painting eyeliner wings. Getting over having noisy bunk mates is still being mastered, but I’ve found wearing a smile and staying quiet is in the best interest for everyone.
  

Being cautious and careful with money is a new thing for me. Sure, I might have watched my account back home, but I also had three jobs that ensured I would always be comfortably topped off. Now, most of my money is either for things I actually NEED or an occasional treat. Imagine that!!

I feel as if I was in a comfortable, safe dream, and then was whisked away to a foreign and frightening world that was all the same beautiful and breathtaking, a world that very suddenly ripped off dross and revealed gorgeous gold beneath, however painful it was.

I’m still in the refiner’s fire and am still learning every day, like my brother learning how to walk. My legs are shaky and nervous, but I want to see what else is out there, and walk into the rest of God’s world I haven’t yet laid eyes on. 

Emily, I'm so proud of you.  I'm proud of the way you think of others. I'm proud of the way you have embraced change.  I'm proud of the way you have chosen to see things through new eyes when you could have just chosen to bide your time until we got home.  I'm proud of the growth and maturity I see in you.  Phil 1:6 makes me think of you, "He who began a good work in you will be faithful to carry it on to completion in Christ Jesus."

Moving On to Wisconsin

"Many hands make light work," is a phrase we use often at our house.  And we saw it in action last night. Everyone pitched in to pack up and in about one hour the entire campsite and trailer were packed and ready to go!  Today we are moving back into Central time, to south eastern Wisconsin, about 60 miles north of Chicago. Some of the us like moving frequently and some like staying put longer.  

I saw this beautiful pillow in a shop in Nashville, IN (which was very much like Old Town Spring). This store had artwork that was simply inspiring! I loved it.  I took lots of pics, but the butterfly "Embrace Change" pillow was my favorite.  I almost bought it.  Seriously.  



In New Carlisle we did end up enjoying the second half of our week at this campsite a little more than we first expected.  The first few days we had a creepy neighbor that really made us uncomfortable after he left, we seemed to relax and enjoy "Mini Mountain" for what it is. This was our first experience of feeling that red flag and caution about someone we met on the road.  For the most part we have had such a great time meeting sweet families and making new friends. 

The parks up north here have limited hook ups with electricity being the only thing available on most campsites.  So we use our on board water for necessities, buy drinking water, and use the campground showers and sinks.  It's not most convenient, but it works for a week at a time.  We will be at our next site until Friday when a high school friend who lives near Chicago will take me to the airport where I will fly a world away for nine days. 

God is going to do a good work in us all  while I am gone, I am certain.  I am praying for spiritual renewal, new vision, perspective, and his will to be accomplished.  Please pray for my family as they endure and grow, and for goodness sake, even have some fun while I am gone!  And pray for me that I may spread the good news, hug some tiny souls, and hear clearly what God has in store. 

Have a blessed Sunday, enjoy fellowshipping with the saints, and LOVE those people God outs in your path today!

Learning Curve

We went to Walmart this afternoon and met the nicest family, we nicknamed them "the Blondies" because they all had blonde hair.  With five children, older teens down to babies, we saw them first at Chick fil A then at Walmart, I told them we were stalking them ;-).  They were vacationing at the State Park which made me wish we would have stayed there.

Part of the learning curve of living on the road is finding our style, what we like, what we don't; what we can afford, what we can't and figuring out what makes one place feel like home and another feel like yeah-lets-get-outta-here-asap!  Since we scheduled a mailing here we have to stay, but I think we are going to leave as soon as it arrives.  The state parks have bigger spaces, more families, and a fun feel to them and the current park feels like we are living in someone else's yard.

In other news, I bought a couple of the important things I need for my trip. 

And...

So now that my priorities are straight I can go :-)

Thank you all so much for your prayers.  I truly have felt a release of the fear and have begun to try to focus on the heart on why I'm going.  

God needs to sell our house and provide us a new one so we can fill it up with whoever he has for us.  

I think I'm going on a fact finding mission.  

Arkansas, Lake Catherine State Park

I am playing catch up a little bit today as I realized I never posted a thing about our stay in Arkansas.  Maybe  because it was sandwiched between utter exhaustion and violent illness.  I'm not sure.  However, it was the BEAUTY in the middle of our CHAOS.  After our short stay in Glen Rose, TX we camped for several days at Lake Catherine State Park in Arkansas.  We found the people in Arkansas to be very friendly and the state to be much more beautiful than we expected and kind of wish we would have stayed longer.  

In retrospect I would stay at Crater of Diamonds State Park, which we visited to dig for diamonds because of the unique features of that park.  It has a VERY COOL water park which opens Memorial Day weekend (we missed it by a week) and of course, the diamond fields.  

While driving to the Crater of Diamonds State Park where we were going to dig for diamonds, we saw a poor turtle stranded in the middle of the road.  Concerned for his safety, we sent Abigail, our turtle rescue ambassador, out after him.  Once in the car, we decided he needed a name.  After batting around several ideas we decided to call him FLASH! 

 
The turtle stayed closed in his shell until we stopped at a Sonic and put him down on the concrete.  And then he took off, living up to his name, he was pretty speedy for a turtle. 

He went with us to the diamond fields digging in the dirt and swimming in the mud.  We smuggled him in and out of the gift shop and generally enjoyed watching him.  Just before we left in the morning, we set Flash free to enjoy the State Park as much as we did.  Pleasantly surprised by the friendly people and beautiful scenery, we would definitely go back to Arkansas.

Day 2 - Dino Pics! WOW!

After a slow morning on Day 2 we took the kids down to the river to locate some dinosaur prints in the riverbed.  And boy did we find them! It was amazing to think that we were standing where Dinosaurs roamed.  Inclined to believe that they ran through this area trying to escape the rising floodwaters of Noah's day, history doesn't seem so far away when  standing with one's foot dwarfed by a dinosaur footprint.

About half of us slipped on the rocks and ended up wet.  My cellphone was in my back left pocket, fortunately I fell to the right and crisis was averted.  (Note to self: Don't take your cellphone in the river).  We saw a water moccasin swimming along the bank opposite of where we were in the water.  He stayed a good distance away and I'm sure he was alone. 

We enjoyed exploring and hanging out.  Caleb ate some mud and found a stick to play with.  Lily Anne enjoyed sitting on a big rock.  Travis struck out ahead and found the "Mother Lode" of dino tracks. 

The date on the camera was set wrong so I cropped it out of most of the pics, I couldn't crop it out of all of them.  It really was 05/14/2013.

Doug worked all day except when he was at the river with us, taking several conference calls, emails, and projects.  It was a productive day for him. I still need to unpack, clean and organize in the RV, but that will come. 

Our evening was spent in sweet fellowship over a delicious dinner on a family farm with our friends The Millers who have left the suburbs and gone country!  What a wonderful way to begin our Great Adventure!

Keeping Close to my Lily Anne

Travis with the Mother Lode!

Kid's Exploring (Em falling!)

Abbie's Hand

How cool is this?!

Wow... Just Wow.