UPDATE

Not sure if anyone is even still reading this blog, but if you are, I thought I'd update you all on what is going with our adventure.  Well..............the short version is that our house has not sold.  We moved in May to our local state park.  We are serving as camper hosts for the summer.  It's been alot of fun.  We are required to work 20 volunteer hours per week.   The hours consist of working in the camp office, taking care of cabins, cleaning campsites, and customer service.  The holiday weekends are our busiest times.  During the week, it is fairly quiet.  We haven't stayed at home even one night.  We love being here.  I have detached myself from our house.  When I do go home, it doesn't feel like home, anymore. 

We've been re-evaluating and thinking about our options since the house has not sold.  We are thinking we will be home this winter.   We do plan to take a 3-4 week adventure during the winter months.  (hopefully out west--maybe south)

We've had alot of family issues recently, as well.  Most of you know that my brother committed suicide in Feb. after having suffering a long battle with schizophrenia.  He always asked about our trip and was very excited for us.  I am the only "child" left in Ohio, and not sure it's the best time to take myself and my children away from my parents.  Also, Stan's dad's health is not great.  He has emphasema and it has progressed in the past year.  Stan is also feeling like we need to be in Ohio right now, so he can spend as much time as possible with his dad.

All that said, we still have the "dream".  We still have the travel bug.  We will be staying at the state park until Oct. 31st, living in our small space, enjoying the "simplicity" of not having all of our stuff.  We are getting to serve.  We are enjoying "camp church" on Sundays. 

We have greatly diminished our stuff.  Living with less has been such a blessing. 

AreYou Kidding Me?!

I've been asked that question many times, lately. With the question comes funny faces. ( :



Why the question? Well, our family is leaving home. Literally! We are selling everything we own and moving into an RV.



Why? Well, why not? We plannned to do this someday when we retire. Why not do it now with the kids? We homeschool. Why not get out there and truly experience things hands on. We had the opportunity while on vacation over the summer to go to a Civil War battlefield. We stood where people lost their lives for freedom. It was amazing, surreal. To know that someone gave their life for another's freedom. To see the site of a mass grave of soldiers that were not even identified. Just quickly buried so the battle could continue. This is how I want our children to experience history.



Hubbie can work on the road. We can school on the road. We can visit places that we've only read about in books. We can get upclose and personal with God's amazing creation. We can touch the lives of others while we are out there. Our oldest already has a list of things that can be put in homeless packets. So, if and when we see people holding signs that they are hungry, we can be the hands of Jesus, and give them something tangible that will help sustain them another day. Serving while travelling is one of our goals. Looking for places that we can plug in and teach the kids the blessing of serving others.



Family unity. Our summer was filled with camping and making memories. We were truly engaged with one another. Then, we come home. Home to sports schedules, work, appointments, etc, etc, etc. It's a daily task just getting through everyone's schedule. Are these activities good things? Most of them, yes. But..............we are all going different directions. We are only eating dinner together a few times a week. We are all exhausted. We are rarely engaged with one another on an intimate level. The simple life..........that's where we are headed and I can't wait!



So, no I'm not kidding you. We really are going to do this!

Preparation

We are busily preparing the house for the market.  Pulling things from every nook and cranny.  Feels like the stuff keeps multiplying.  Hopefully, it will make things easier when it's time to move.  I keep packing things away to be stored.  Trying really hard to evaluate the things I'm storing.  So far we have a couple of totes of school books and a box of "memories" for each of the kids.    It's amazing how much can be accumulated in 19 years of marriage.  Homeschooling definately has added to the accumulation.  I can't believe how many books we own.  I have been taking boxes of books to our weekly co-op, so they are slowly diminishing, but we still have way too many.

Stan has been working on all the little things that need to be repaired to put the house on the market.  Feels like the list is never ending.  I keep telling myself that "slow and steady" wins the race.  We'll get there!  Our goal is to list late Feb./early March.  Trying to get on the market before the tax credit expires.

Also, preparing our hearts for the trip.  Talking to the kids about their concerns.  Talking about how we'll serve on the road.  Dreaming about warm weather and sunshine!  Getting excited!

Christmas letter by Libby

Christmas Night 2009

Merry Christmas!

This has been one of the best Christmas I have ever been a part of. I got everything I wanted and more. This was the last Christmas in a house that is made of bricks and mortar, possibly for a long time. For probably many years to come, we will be spending our Christmas' in a house on wheels. It was a very special day for me, as I love to treasure moments that I spend with my family, since I will be heading off to college, in a little over two years. As we all open our presents, the true meaning of Christmas slips away with the excitement of our new gifts. Yes, they are wonderful and we are blessed to live in a country where we have money that we can spend to bless our loved ones, but through all of the preparations for Christmas we get caught up in all of the holiday chaos and need to be reminded of the true meaning of Christmas.



Some might ask, "what is the true meaning of Christmas? Isn't it about the presents, food, and spending time with our families?" The sad thing is, we are so spoiled by all of the material items we obtain during the holiday season, many forget the true meaning. We don't even stop to think about this very important day in history; the day our precious Savior was born. For the last, at least, ten years of our Christmas mornings, we celebrate the birth of our Savior by singing happy birthday to Jesus and eating cake, or for instance, this year, a blueberry coffee cake = ). We make it a point to celebrate Christ's birth before we are allowed to open our presents because we find ourselves, throughout the day, getting caught up in playing with our new toys and gadgets and totally blowing off the true meaning of Christmas.



Families celebrate Christmas in different ways. For my family, we start the day by celebrating Christ's birth through singing and cake, then we move on to opening our three presents, each one resembles the three presents Jesus was given. After that, we then move on to our oversized stockings. Eventually, my mom and I cook dinner. Before we eat, someone in our family, brings a plate to our elderly neighbor, who is in need of some neighborly love, then we eat our dinner and finish the day by playing with our gifts and spending time with one another. Hmmm....what happens here? We start our day out right by celebrating the true meaning of Christmas but then throughout the day, it becomes more about our material "gods" and we forget to celebrate His birth.



I am SO excited about the presents I got this Christmas. (actually, I am using one right now to write this little Christmas story = ).) But the reason I brought this up is because I was thinking this afternoon, that there are so many kids, or even some adults, who may not have had a gift to open this Christmas. It made me feel so selfish because I got so much this year. I thought I needed a laptop, a new Ipod, cell phone and camera so I could keep in touch with friends, or should I say, to keep in touch with the world. Its not a bad thing to be blessed and I am totally, without a doubt, enjoying my gifts, but I'm also sad for the kids who might not have had a visit from the notorious Santa Claus this year = ). But then I am reminded of these people whom the world would say have so little but actually, in most instances, these people are the ones who are truly blessed. Why do I say this? Because these wonderful souls are not poisoned by what the world would consider blessings, such as: computers, phones, mounds of clothing, more than one pair of shoes, amounts of food that would feed hundreds and lots of other unnecessary items. They may have the love of Jesus in their hearts which exceedingly amounts to way more than what the world thinks we need. Their Christmas's aren't about the toys....There about Jesus!



You see, these people are the ones whom have the advantages to further the kingdom of heaven. We are the ones who are going to have to work harder to serve our King because we have so much that may get in our way. So after this realization, I can happily say, even as a teen, that I am totally excited to be downsizing and moving into a house on wheels. We don't need all of this stuff and I can't wait to leave!


Love,

Libby