School Days on the Road

Life always gets a little more complicated once school begins each year.  This year may well be our most challenging yet, with four munchkins in the magic school bus RV.  Junior high, fourth, second, and kindergarten are on the menu.  I am already overwhelmed, and we have just started!

I guess the two biggest obstacles are space in the trailer (we have the nicest school room back in MS, but we aren’t there much), and time.  Right now, we are doing a lot of traveling, and the travel days are broken up into smaller drives so that we can get all of our school work done each day.  Consequently, it takes us longer to get from point A to point B during the school year, and the pressure on the kids is lot more - “Hurry up, we have to drive 350 miles this afternoon, and we cannot leave until you finish your homework!”

Paul is helping teach this year, taking Josiah’s education in hand.  That way, I can focus on the very important foundational teaching for Daniel, Esther, and Abigail.   I am relieved to not have the burden of the upper grades on me this year.  This is preparation for college, you know!  Papers, pop quizzes, reports…

So this is what my entryway looks like now.  Three crates of school books, and more in a drawer behind the stacked pink crates.  I’ve already whacked my bare toes on the edge of the blue crate while walking through the living room.  Ouch!!!   I guess I will have to walk more circumspectly!   :)

I know we will learn a lot of things this year, and I look forward to having a good academic year.

Shed a Little Light…

It was some time ago that the lamp in the trailer bedroom fell and was squished in the slide-out.  The lamp itself was unharmed, but the lampshade was, well, let’s say, it had definitely seen better days. But, it was one of those things that I never really thought about unless I was turning on the lamp, or putting it in a safe place for travel (this lesson was quickly learned).  Never once in all my pre-shopping list-making did I think to put “lampshade”  on my lists.  For months, it was a live and let live situation.  As long as the shade was not in danger of catching fire, I let it be, cringing at it’s misshapen ugliness whenever I really looked at it.

The metal spokes of the frame had actually come apart, and poked out through the fabric in several places.  The day came when I finally decided to get a new shade.  I was tired of trying to make this one look presentable.

Off to my favorite store – Hobby Lobby – with  a 40% coupon in hand.  It was lampshade hunting day.

I was somewhat disappointed in the selection of shades.  If  you wanted a whole lamp, they had some gorgeous options, but my lamp was fine – I just wanted a shade.  I finally (to my husband’s great relief) decided on a design-your-own shade that could be covered with fabric.  I paid less than $5 for it, and I knew I had some fabric back home in the trailer.  So I came home and dug through my stash, finding a bright, cheery fabric scrap leftover from one of my favorite aprons. 

The shade was wrapped in a wax paper template, so cutting it out was quite simple.

I didn’t have my hot glue gun with me, so I had to make do with Elmer’s school glue.  Even then, it was really easy – no burnt fingers from boiling glue!  Yay!  :)  It went together quickly, and I was pleased with the speed of the project.

Ta-dah!  The new sassy lamp shade!  I could add some fringe-y stiff, but I didn’t have any in my stash.  Perhaps I will do that later.  I actually kind of like it just as it is. 

New vs. Old

The finished product – yes, it makes me smile.  :)

Rainy Day Fun

The weather last week was up and down, and we didn’t know what would happen from one day to the next.  Some days were beautiful and sunny, and the kids ran a played outdoors all day until I made them come in to get ready for the evening services. Other days, though, the rain drummed continually on the roof, forcing us all to stay indoors (six people living in an RV can really get crowded quickly under those circumstances)! 

The kids decided to get out the play-dough but found that the vast majority of the dough was rock-hard.  Great.  That meant that the remaining container had the equivalent size and value of the Hope Diamond, and whoever possessed the dough was, in effect, the reigning monarch – more like the not-so-benevolent dictator.  After many distressed cries and much whining, I decided that one blob of play-dough was not enough for all of my munchkins.  In fact, it was going to be a serious detriment to their well-being if they continued to fight over it.

So, I did the great American mom thing, and began looking for play-dough recipes online.  I have made play-dough before, in a pot on the stove, and while the end result was great, the whole process was messy and not so fun.  I ran across this recipe for Fruity Play-dough by my good friend, Laine. You can find the whole process here.

Fruity Play Dough

1 cup plus 1 tbsp.  all-purpose flour
1 package Kool-Aid (any flavor)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/4 cup salt
2/3-3/4  cup boiling water
Mix all dry ingredients in bowl and add oil. Pour boiling water into flour mixture and mix thoroughly. (You may need to add a few more spoonfuls of flour to get it to the right consistency.) After it has cooled a little, knead it with your hands until smooth. Store in an air tight container and keep in the refrigerator. (The play dough should last a few months.)

Let me say here, that this is an awesome recipe!  It smells so yummy because of the secret ingredient (Kool-aid) which also colors the dough, eliminating the need for messy food coloring experiments.  It takes less than five minutes to whip up a batch ( I think I made eight batches in about thirty minutes).  I also like that it does not make a batch of dough the approximate size of an elephant.  It is much smaller, more manageable batches.  Love that!  I made the first batch, and realized that it was too large to fit in the play-dough containers that we already had.  So, I halved the next batch, all but the Kool-aid packet, and it was perfect.  It fit perfectly in the play-dough containers, and I was one happy mama!  This also made the colors more vibrant, since it was effectively twice the coloring.

The kids were so excited – they kept sniffing the dough and laughing and exclaiming over the different scents.  And… I got the awesome mama award.  Hugs all around, and lots of smiles.  And a play-dough pizza.

I think that may be anchovies, but I am not sure…

What a great way to spend a rainy day!

God’s Provision

We have been very busy in meetings the last few weeks, and we are so grateful for all that God has done in those meetings.

Last Saturday, on our way to Virginia, we had another major blowout, which disabled our trailer’s electrical system, and severed the gas line to our stove and refrigerator.  In short, it was looking like it would be a very costly repair.  We changed a tire, another long story, since Paul was still unable to lift more than ten pounds, due to his recent surgery.  God sent a man to help us on the side of the road.  That man had a broken arm that was not in a cast (go figure), so he could only use one arm.  Between the three of us, we managed to jack up the trailer and change the tire.  We also got an opportunity to witness to Matthew, our Good Samaritan. I am sure it was quite a sight to anyone driving past us!

We made it safely to Hampton, VA, but we were not able to stay in the trailer, so we had to pack to stay in a motel.  This was further complicated by the fact that due to the electrical issues, we could not open the slides in the trailer.  I ended up climbing through the back window into the kids room to access their clothes.  It was exciting, to say the least.  The church was so good to us during that time, and the Lord put us in touch with people who were able to work on the trailer and have it fixed in less than two days!  That truly is a miracle!  Even better, several people were moved to help us pay for the repair, and with the love gifts that were given to us, we had the cash in hand to pay for the whole repair and a new tire!  It was such a blessing!  We are constantly amazed at the generosity of God’s people!

We know that God has kept us safe through our travels, and we covet your prayers for our family as we are on the road.  

I would also like to announce that  a new piano arrangement is now available on our website.  You can check it out here.  

Once again, thank you for your prayers, and praise God for answering them!

Week in Review

This past week has been total craziness!  Here is just a brief overview of what went on around our house.

Sunday :  Easter morning, sunrise service at church (as a non-morning person, you can imagine what this means).  Kids are dressed and ready, sporting their new garments (made with tender loving care by yours truly). The girls had new dresses, and the boys had spiffy new bow ties. 

Monday:  Paul had an outpatient surgical procedure.  Of course, the surgery was delayed nearly four hours, so we were at the hospital all day... instead of just half a day.  He is recovering well, thankfully.  Here he is suffering the effects of anesthesia.  Note the blissful smile.  :)  I thought the hat was kind of cute, too.

While at the hospital, I also saw this sign in the bathroom.  I really wonder how they figured this out.

Tuesday was pretty normal, if you don’t count all the extra work I had to do taking care of my recovering hubby.  I also hung the new shelf he made for me.  I wanted to hang it on one wall in our sunroom, but since we were unable to find a stud to which we could attach our screws/nails, it was an unqualified disaster.  My wall looked like Swiss cheese, from all the holes I made.  It was  bad!  I finally opted for another wall, and got out the joint compound to fill in the holes I made in the first wall.  Guess I’ll be painting that when we get back.  The shelf was another of my Ana White creations.  Love it! 

Wednesday was pretty normal for us, and Paul was able to get around a little better.  The kids and I had colds that we picked up somewhere, and were snuffing around the house, constantly looking for the Kleenex boxes.  Lovely.

Thursday and Friday we spent packing the trailer, doing laundry, cleaning, and preparing to leave on an extended round of evangelistic meetings.   That is a task that seems overwhelming at times, since there are so many things to accomplish before leaving for several weeks.  I always end up forgetting something, despite my extensive lists.  :)

Saturday: Bid our house farewell for a while, and hit the road. Paul was feeling good enough to drive (or at least he didn’t feel bad enough to let me drive the trailer).  Stopped mid-trip for a meal and saw something I had never encountered before – a complimentary mouthwash dispenser in the bathroom.  It was totally random.

So, that was our week.  This week we are in meetings, so pray for all of us as we minister to this church.  I will try to get back on my normal blog schedule, but I am not making any promises at this point!  By the way, we are all doing much better – colds, post-op. etc.  God is good!

Happy Anniversary!

This weekend, my husband and I will celebrate our 12th wedding anniversary—separately!  No, we aren’t fighting, and we don’t need marriage counseling (at least I don’t).  It just happened to work out that way this year.  So while I am sweating it out with the four children in Mississippi, Paul will be sweating it out in El Paso! :)

So many things have happened in these twelve years, and most of them good.  I will recount some of these for you here.

• 12 years of wedded bliss (the honeymoon doesn’t have to end)!
• 4 sweet children that live with us
• 1 precious baby who lives with Jesus
• 2 RVs
• 4 states of residence—WV, NC, IN, MS
• 1 mission house
• 1 rented mobile home
• 1 cute little house (which, by the way, we are hoping to finish the paperwork and complete the closing next week, HOORAY! That means we can purchase a house in the area where we now live!)
• 1 Dodge Ram 3500
• 2 years of part-time evangelism (while teaching at ABC)
• 10 years of full-time evangelism
• 300,000+ miles traveled in meetings
• 16,000+ pictures
• Hundreds of sermons—I don’t think I can even figure out how many! :)
• Hundreds of friends all over the world
• 2 mission trips
• Dozens of adventures
• Countless everyday blessings
• 1 thoughtful and funny husband
• 1 extremely happy wife

Like I said, just a sample of the good things…  I thank the Lord for the husband he has given me, and for the wonderful life we have had together so far.  I am looking forward to the next 68 years!  :)

Happy anniversary, Sweetheart!  I love you and I am so glad to be your wife!

A Bad Thing

From time to time, my life is not all roses and chocolate.  Sometimes bad things happen to me.  Things that make me angry, things that make me sad, and even things that discourage me.  Last week, a bad thing happened.  For those of you that have a weak stomach, you might want to stop reading now.  I have forewarned you.

 

Last Thursday started off rather well.  Everyone in our household was ecstatic because it was the last day of school—no more teachers, no more books—you know the routine!  The kids finished their last papers and tests of the year, and we put away our pencils with a huge smile and a sigh of relief.  Summer vacation has arrived!

I spent a good part of the day baking and decorating Abigail’s birthday cake, while the kids rode bikes and played out in the oppressive heat.

 

I must mention that living in an RV has its share of challenges.  One of those is the need for dumping our sewage regularly.  Our trailer has two bathroom areas, although only one shower, so there is a sink and toilet in the kids’ bathroom as well as in the main bathroom of the trailer.  This is wonderful because it means that I can finally take a shower without someone pounding on the door as soon as I turn on the water.  However, it also means we have twice as much trouble to dump, since there are two “black water” tanks to empty.  Also, the children have not yet deciphered the meaning of , “Don’t use that toilet—it’s full!”  On more than one occasion now, they have “forgotten” and caused a major problem by  overfilling the black water tank.  I never understood how they did this until last Thursday night.

 

The tank was full, and they had been good about going in the church bathroom, since they were forbidden to use their own.  I walked into their room in the afternoon, and it really smelled terrible.  I opened the toilet lid, and saw, to my great dismay, things that I will not mention here.  Then the inquisition began.  Who had violated the rule?  One guilty party spoke up, but there was more than one person involved, I was sure, just because of the volume of black water visible in the bowl.

 

I informed my husband that he would need to try out his new macerator pump that evening.  This pump was given rave reviews on all the camping websites because of its ability to chop the sewage into tiny pieces and shoot the offending substance through a garden hose into a sewer cleanout.  This was an ideal solution for our current situation, since moving our trailer closer to the sewer cleanout at the church was an impossibility, due to the fact that another RV was parked between us and the cleanout.  No problem, we thought.  My husband hooked up the pump and turned it on, and we blissfully in the kitchen talking, when all of a sudden, he shoved me aside, ran into the back bathroom, and then headed for the door like a shot.  I hurried into the bathroom to see what was wrong, and to my absolute horror, I saw that the black water had not only backed up into the toilet and was overflowing, it had also backed up into the sink, and was now pouring over the edge like a dark version of Niagara Falls!  I screamed and started searching for old towels to sop up the mess and keep it from seeping into the carpet in the kids’ room.  I cried, and gagged at the stench, while my husband frantically worked to disconnect the pump that was filling the tank even more.  It was a bad thing… a terrible thing… probably the worst thing that has ever happened inside the walls of our trailer.  But we survived.

 

Several hours later, we went to bed.  We had the inestimable  blessing of having some friends who were able and willing to help us.  Those are true friends indeed.  The bathroom was clean, the towels were in the trash, the ventilation fans were running, and the kids were asleep in the living room.  We figured out that the kids’ sink drains into the black water tank, not into the gray water tank like ours does.  (For the uninitiated, gray water is water that drains from the shower, sinks, and washing machine.  Black water is sewage.)  That is the reason the tank was so full.  The kids had been washing their hands and brushing their teeth, further filling the tank.  We are not yet sure why the pump filled the tank more instead of emptying it, but when we tried it on the front black water tank, it worked just fine.  We still sat and watched the toilet, just to be sure. 

 

Yes, bad things happen.  Things go wrong, sometimes at an alarming rate, but we can survive.  So, just relax and remember that  you are not alone!

Cleaned Out

I have been a little under the weather this week, and therefore, decided that I could exert my limited energies to doing some long-delayed chores in the trailer.  One of these was getting rid of the sock box.  You may wonder what a sock box is, but I know you have one, too, although it may not be called a sock box.  When we transferred our belongings from our previous trailer to the new trailer, there was significantly less storage space.  Due to this, my sock collection (which is not really that impressive – maybe a dozen pair) did not fit in the drawer with all my other unmentionables, which will continue to be unmentioned…  I decided I would just stick the socks in the top half of an apple box until I could find a place to put them.

Fast forward seven months.  The sock box was still there, sitting in front of the dresser, and impeding not only our access to the drawers, but also blocking the narrow walkway at the foot of the bed.  Although it was still called the sock box, it had grown in usefulness, and now held not just socks, but hosiery, jewelry, pens, papers, photos, picture frames, important papers, excess folded laundry, and a few sweaters.  Suffice it to say, the sock box had become a major pain in the foot, probably due to the number of times I kicked it while trying to squeeze past to the other side of the bed.  It had to go.

In reality, sorting through the box was not nearly as bad as I had dreamed.  It took about thirty minutes to clean out the clutter and I was on to a much more formidable task—the kid’s toy box!



I am a nice mom, and so the toys all survived the purge.  However, the great majority of them will be put in storage until we have space for the kids to play with them.  The children are still amazed at how nice their room looks without toys strewn from one end to the other.  They still have plenty of toys to spread around, but the ones they rarely play with have gone on vacation for a while.  Maybe permanently! Mwahahahahaha!  Here are the toys I decided to send on an all-expense paid vacation to the storage unit!  Impressive, huh?

What task do you dread more than any other?  Take the challenge today and tackle it—you can get rid of your “sock box,” too!  :)

Trailer Life

Sometimes, I find myself questioned by curious people, “What is it like to live in a big trailer?”  This is a loaded question.  In most people’s minds, our 36’ fifth wheel is huge, and normally speaking, they would be right.  However, if you put six people and all their belongings in a 325 square foot space for an extended period of time, it can get mighty small, mighty quick, as they say.  On a normal day, I spend a great deal of time just picking up after everyone – over and over again.  My kids should be the world’s greatest toy-picker-uppers, since I tell them to do it at least five times a day, and usually closer to ten. :)  It just seems like the job never ends.

Embarrassingly enough, this is what my trailer looks like most of the time.



What’s happening in this picture?

Abigail is finishing her homework.  The large pink crates (and the blue one beneath them that you cannot see) are filled with school books.  These are used every day, and keep a semblance of order to our school supplies.  Under the pink crate on the far left are two sterilite three-drawer organizers that hold shoes and our stash of 3,ooo+ crayons and their accompanying coloring books.

The sink is full of clean dishes that still need to be put away, but hey – at least they are clean!  On top of the stove is a bag of special allergy-free cookies for Josiah sitting next to my new Keurig.  How I love that thing!  A cup of dark hot chocolate or peppermint tea in the mornings just really gets my day going.  By the way, I got that free, along with a year’s supply of K-cups.  How awesome is that!?

On top of the counter is my old laptop (not quite done getting all those pictures transferred), two boxes of crackers that I need to put back on the tippy-top shelf (I have to stand on a chair to reach it, so t usually gets delayed until I have several things to put away up there), a rather nasty-looking oven mitt that will not fit in any of my drawers, and a few school papers that were attacked by a three-year-old with a pair of scissors.

Esther and Daniel are playing on the floor with matchbox cars, and the car mats have apparently been discarded since they are lying on the floor in the corner next to the vacuum.  The vacuum is supporting a denim skirt that has to hang dry.  My new computer is sitting open on the table, waiting for me to finish my school plans, blog posts, and other important documents.  Josiah, having finished his homework is sprinkling Legos all over the dinette, but at least he tends to pick up after himself.

And the kid’s room… Well, let’s just not go there today.  So now you know my deep, dark secret: my trailer is not always spotless.  In fact, it rarely is.  Do I like that? Not really, but that is life in my corner of the world.  Now you know. :)

To Be, or Not to Be???

Thanksgiving has come and gone, and I have broken with tradition.  I always drag out the Christmas decorations the Saturday after Thanksgiving and start beautifying our home.  I love Christmas decorations – there is something about the red and green that just makes me feel festive.  The tree comes a little later, but the rest of it goes up almost as soon as we close the door after our relatives! :)  This year however, I have a dilemma.  We are moving in three weeks ( give or take).  I want to put up just a few things, but I am thinking it might be more trouble than it is worth.  What do you think?  If you were me, what would you do?  Nothing at all until after the move, or just a touch of color here and there (they take possession on Dec. 20th – not much time to decorate after the move)?  I know what my hubby would say… but I will not ask him.  :) 



This picture is from last Christmas.  I love the tree and the white lights and the touches of red.  I will definitely miss having a real tree this year.  The little one in the corner will be our main tree again this year.  It has been our “trailer tree” for about eight years now.  It will be fun to decorate the trailer again.  When do you start decorating your home for Christmas?

A New Experience

Eagle Point Resort, Beaver, UT

It has been several days since I have last given an update, and those days have been quite full of adventure!  We left San Diego on Monday, headed for Richfield, UT.  We ended up stopping in Las Vegas for the night.  A church there allowed us to park the trailer on our way through. (We did not "invest" our love offering while there!)  Paul and I were looking for the trailer hookups in the dark, and could not find any.  I did find an unlocked door, though, and looked in the building.  When the door shut, an alarm went off!  Yikes!  Within 10 minutes, the security man was there.  We explained what we were doing, but he said that our statement had to be verified with someone from the church.  He couldn't get in touch with anyone ( they were probably all out on dates since it was Valentine's Day), so we had to pack up and leave.  As we were headed out of town, the assistant called us, and told us we could come back - it had all been cleared.  This was a tremendous blessing, especially since our children were sick and needed to go to bed.

The next day, we headed out again toward Richfield.  It was a drive of about 3-4 hours form Las Vegas.  We were about 60 miles north of the city when a car passed us, honking furiously.  We knew something was wrong, so we pulled over to the side of the road.  One of our trailer bearings had seized, and the wheel was locked up.  There was smoke everywhere, and we could not drive any further.  The wheel was on the driver's side, and Paul attempted to remove the wheel, but in order to do so, he had to lie down in the oncoming 70 mph traffic.  I told him I would rather not cash in on the life insurance policy just yet, and we began calling for help.  AAA told us they couldn't find anyone with a truck big enough to tow our trailer.  We called several service places, but the numbers were no longer in service.  I called a friend and got the number for the NV highway patrol, and after 30 minutes, they showed up.  They shifted traffic so that Paul could work on the wheel, but he could not remove the wheel.  We did some more calling, and finally found a mobile service that could help us.  We ended up having to chain up the  axle and drive to the next town to the repair shop.  By this time, we had been sitting on the roadside for several hours, and we were quite glad to be going anywhere.  The parts had to be ordered and shipped, so we had to stay in a nearby hotel while the trailer was repaired.  In the meantime, all the kids and Paul became sick with cough and high fevers.  Four of the six bearings on the trailer had to be replaced, but the shop did a tremendous job and completed it the day the parts arrived (that in itself is amazing)!

We headed out to Richfield once again, and I prayed fervently that we would make it all the way this time!  We pulled into town under one of the most beautiful moonrises I have ever seen.  The sky was a pale amythest and the moon looked like a giant, luminescent pearl hovering over the snow-covered peaks of the mountains.  It was such a tribute to the Creator!

Friday we went skiing with the pastor and his wife.  Neither Paul nor I had ever been skiing, nor had the pastor, although his wife had been once before.  I was quite nervous, but excited as well.  We headed onto the slopes with an instructor and great trepidation.  The first ten minutes were pretty good, but once we headed onto the beginner slope, things went downhill fast - literally!  It was amazing how uncoordinated we all were, wiping out all over the hill.  I spent more time on the ground than on my feet, I think!  Paul wasn't feeling well at all, and although he cut some pretty smooth moves, he was frustrated over his lack of control.  We agreed that it would have been more fun if we had spent more time skiing and less time falling.  Maybe next time we will do better!  I considered it a successful trip in that we all came home in one piece.  I have been quite sore for the last couple days - evidence of my inexperience on skis.

The meeting in Richfield started yesterday, and we had several visitors throughout the day.  Please pray that the Lord would open the hearts of the hearers, and that we would see some people saved this week.