Our journey in life.

     I used to think it a little strange when people referred to life as a journey. Now that I'm older I understand it better and often view our life as a river. 

     Like a river, we encounter obstacles and challenges. The river overcomes these obstacles by wearing them down or finding a path around or through them. We do the same with our difficulties. Like a river, we must go on. Notice that the flow never stops. It continues until the ocean is reached. The river never passes the same place twice and is only at that certain point for the precise moment it is there. It flows immediately to the next point in its journey. We only have the moment God has given us and cannot pause our life. At times there are massive floods, huge waterfalls, and raging rapids. Then there are the periods of smooth and peaceful flow. The river will at times change direction because of obstacles encountered, but will continue the journey to its goal. When one path is blocked it seeks another path.

     In some ways it feels as though the last year has had the greatest change we've ever had. Maybe not so much with physical changes but there has been a shift in our minds and a definite change in how we handle life.

     Looking back, Eldon and I both admit now that for several years we had been feeling a little unsettled and that just maybe Arkansas wasn't where we would live forever. We dealt with it by putting down deeper roots and throwing ourselves into the church and community like never before. There are no regrets about that, because you only get from life what you put into it. 

     By last spring/summer there was no denying that God had change in mind for us. However, there was no clear direction on where to go next. We were rather stubborn and doubtful and proceeded on with life, praying and hoping for direction. Several times we "layed out a fleece" and waited for an answer. After God answered not one, but several of those specific prayers in very specific ways, we knew the next step. But we had no plan beyond that, and it simply doesn't make sense to step forward blindly if you have no plans. The logical thing to do was wait until God opened the door number two, right?

     Wrong. Eventually God won and we took that first step. It's still mind-blowing to us how immediately things began to click into place. We had always said that if we moved we would like to be near family. Hillsboro, Texas, where my parents are, was the most sensible place. But we were not sold on any place. At all. Within 2 days of that first step of obedience my little sisters had a free ride up and the opportunity to stay with us for 3 weeks. We were given the chance to host their friends who brought them for the night. These people just happened to be the Pastor of the church that my parents attend. 

     By the time my parents came up 3 weeks later to pick the girls up we were sure that we were moving and were exploring options. They asked us to come down for a week in October and take care of the girls and their chicken barn while they go on a cruise. We jumped for that opportunity to explore the area and church a little more.

     Meanwhile, we had began to look at property in Texas as well as selling our home. We quickly realized that until our house sold we were not in any position to buy another property. Uggg. This led to exploring other options and living in a camper for a while came up. I was still reeling over the thought of living in Texas and adding a camper to the idea really stretched my imagination. But, it was the practical thing to do and I'm a very practical person so I stretched my mind a bit more.

     In the process of the next few months God confirmed our decision several times over. We found a beautiful camper at a great price. Already, we had been on a minimalist kick but thankfully God intensified that desire and made it SO much easier to sell a lot of our belongings. Other items got packed for storage. Our week in Texas in October was wonderful. We loved it. We loved the church. We built a storage shed on dad's property for our stuff that wouldn't be in the camper. We put our house on the market and made plans to move to Texas before Christmas, whether our house sold or not.

     At this point Eldon was still unsure of what he would do for a job. Finally he was ok with checking into travel nursing short term, since the pay is good and he wouldn't be committed to a hospital long term. We had no idea how long before our house would sell or where our new property would be and that could make a difference where he looked for a job.

     For over a month we parked at my parents. It was bliss. Living in moms backyard. The children could see Grandpa's every day. Eldon could fulfill his farmer's itch by helping my dad. The church was so welcoming and we felt spiritually filled and over flowing. We made new friends and the children loved having 60 other children to romp around with instead of 6.

     

     And then Eldon started looking for a job. Would you believe that the only one that came up and worked out was in Brownwood, Texas? Three long hours from dads and church. I was beyond upset and could not understand what God was trying to teach us. It was super hard at first but now I see that it was an important step for me in that I learned to be happy and content and that people is really all that matters. I'm still not sure what the purpose of it all was but we did really enjoy our time there. Spending hours in God's beautiful outdoors cultivated our desire to see and explore even more of it.

     During this time we came to realize why so many families love living the full-time life. I want to say that we realize this is not for everyone but we began to thrive in our relationship with God, each other, and our children. Being forced to focus on each other instead of yard work and house work was really good for us.  We began to realize more fully what God's purpose for our life was. In addition to closer relationships as a family, we also have much more contact with random people on a daily basis.

     In more recent months we have come to fully embrace and enjoy this lifestyle more then ever. I personally have come to the point where I am thrilled instead of embarrassed to say that we live in our camper. We have no idea how long God wants us to continue doing this but we are open to his will. We've met a lot of amazing and also a few just plain weird people along the way :).  Eldon and I have both found such peace in accepting this and being ok with not living the American dream.

     Our house is still for sale. So far it's had three contracts on it and two have fallen through. Each offer has been a little higher so we're good with that! By the way, if anyone needs a fantastic realtor in the Harrison area, we've got one for you. He may not have sold our place yet but he sure has worked hard! We are so excited to get it sold and be out of debt but in the meantime we have wonderful renters and it gives a teeny bit of security to know we have property somewhere! However, this does limit what we can do since we are tied to that mortgage payment.

     This post was written mostly because we've had several people questioning us about our long term plan lately. It really got us to thinking about how our minds have been changed so many times over the last year and how evident it is that God is behind it all. So really? We don't know. We simply take one day (or 13 week contract) at a time and know that He will show when he wants us to change our course. Thank-you for being involved in our journey and we would love your prayers!

Sand Canyon in Canyons of the Ancients

     Thursday found us hiking in Canyons of the Ancients. Sand Canyon, to be more exact. We chose a 3 mile trail and it was very nice. Easyish but it did get really hot and long for certain people. 

Castle Rock is the name of this formation.

The Collared Lizard. This is only the second one we have seen so it was pretty neat to get such a good picture of this amazing creature.

Indian ruins! Of course we couldn't go up to them for several reasons. #1, we aren't allowed and #2, you would need a ladder. It's so neat to see how they picked the places for homes and how safe they were! All they had to do in order to fight off enemies is pull their ladders up and shoot arrows or throw rocks down!

This whole area has lots of evidence that it used to be a lake. You can somewhat see the lines on the rocks in this picture that were water levels. All proof that the flood is not a myth! Even more then U.S. history, I love things like this and we have many great conversations and speculations about what could have happened after the flood.

These rocks are very flaky. And very red. So pretty though!

 

Any places that water has ran was solid rock. This particular place had several pools where water could collect after a rain.

More ruins. Note the blackened cave wall from smoke.

We thought this looked like a lemur. 

This is another "creek bed". There is 6-12" of topsoil along side it. We wonder if most of the area isn't solid rock a foot or two down since it was so obvious where water has ran and the trees are fairly small.

If you choose to hike in this area please plan for it! There is limited cell phone service, no bathrooms, water, or benches. Other then an obvious trail and signs at the crossroads it's very deserted. But believe me, it's well worth it and the canyon is gorgeous!

McPhee Resevoir and Anasazi Heritage Center

Wednesday morning found us exploring another new area - the McPhee Recreation Area. The lake is gorgeous and there is also a very nice campground. Sadly though, it obviously doesn't get used much and many buildings have been shut down and weeds have taken over many places. In it's prime it had to be amazing. 

The biggest logging town in Colorado is under that lake. After a fire, it never recovered and most buildings were moved before the dam was built.

We drove around and checked the whole place out and found a 1/2 mile hiking trail. It was rated as difficult but they were wrong :). It was easy, even for Emily, and that's saying something! It was a lovely day to be out, the sky was it's normal huge blue self, the birds were singing joyously, and the sagebrushes smelled sweeter then ever. We met a couple on the trail who is celebrating 25 years of marriage. After chatting with them for a while he shared this with us : When we hike, we can know what is at the end of the trail. Praying is like that too, we can know that we will find Jesus when we pray. Great analogy!

The next destination was the Anasazi Heritage Center. They do honor National Park Passes so we got in free. The outside in itself was stunning!

The bricks were so neat!

The flowerbeds were filled with native flowers, all carefully labeled.

This place had so many artifacts! Pottery, baskets, bone tools, stone arrowheads and tools, and lots more! It's also geared for kids and they have a place where they can weave on a loom, grind corn, look through microscopes, and computers where they can watch videos about many activity's that the Anasazi did. They also have Jr. Ranger books so we took those home to complete and bring back at another time.

Weaving on the loom.

Grinding corn!

In the basement they had a pithouse set up for us to see. Included in this museum was a ton of history about the area as well as exhibits explaining how they sort and date the artifacts they find. Outside is a 1/2 mile paved nature trail. We did not do it yet but plan to when we go back to get the children's Jr. Ranger badges.

Durango, Colorado and turning 30

     This past Monday was a major milestone for me. I am now three decades old. It's most popular to dread birthdays when you get past twenty or so but for some strange reason I was ridiculously excited this year. I'm not sure why, but there are several things that attributed to it. Number one was that Eldon was off work. It seems as though he often ends up working on our birthdays and anniversary but in all fairness, I'm sure I remember those more then the ones he has off because I tend to sulk be sad :). I have also been pondering the blessing of growing older. It means that I have been blessed with health and life. In the last year I have know of at least three friends of friends who have passed on, mothers and wives just like me, and all of them younger then me. My brother had a heart attack when he was thirty. So yes, getting old is a blessing! I'm thankful for each day that I have with my family.

     Durango is an hour from our RV Park in Towaoc and we decided this was the perfect day to go exploring in a new town. The drive was gorgeous and we listened to The Adventures of Buster Bear by Thornton W. Burgess on Librivox so it didn't seem like it took an hour. Our first stop was at the Train Depot because they had a penny press machine and we wanted to be sure we got our souvenirs. We looked around the gift shop a bit then saw a sign for the Roundhouse Museum. Eldon thought we should go check it out and that was the best idea ever! 

     First off, it was free. I dearly love free things. I also dearly love museums but most are boring for the children. Not this one! There was tons of stuff not to touch but it was all set up in very interesting displays. It ended up being a highlight of the day, even for the children.

 This was Durango's first motorized firetruck.

One of several engines in the building.

We could also walk outside and see the roundhouse, where they switch the cars and engines.

The museum held all sorts of antiques. 

There was three train displays that fascinated us all. It seemed as though no matter how long you looked there was still something you hadn't seen before!

If I remember correctly, this was one that took eight years to build. The gentleman that did it used almost all items that he had on hand. Including wisps of his wife's hair for smoke! The details were amazing.

Pictured is a small part of the huge train display. There was actually a train that ran on these tracks so the children loved it!

For a history lover like me, the Veteran display was my favorite. Non of my pictures turned out but on the shelves to the left was hundreds of miniature scenes from war. It seemed as though they had at least one scene from every war but I'm not sure. I could have looked for hours! There was also exact replicates of the gun that killed Lincoln, the pocketknife in his pocket when he died, the gun that fired 'the shot heard round the world' and much more! 

So if you ever have a chance, definitely check this place out!

In front of the Train Depot.

 By this time the children were s.t.a.r.v.i.n.g. so we headed to one of Durango's many parks. It was a super small one so we were the only ones there. The children played while we sat in the shade. It was lovely not having a schedule and rushing off.

The reviews for the Durango Fish Hatchery were really good, plus it was free so we headed there next. You'll want quarters to feed the fish though!

They also had a wildlife museum that was chock-full of mounts and information about the animals. The children loved feeling furs and listening to different animal sounds. The gentleman that worked there made it fun and interesting too.

Durango is full of beautiful walking trails so that was the next thing we had planned. But.....Ethan had not slept at all and the rest of us were feeling hot and tired too so after a short walk to this bridge that spans the Animas River we headed home.

After resting for a while and swimming we headed back into town for supper. We went to Jimmer's Back Country BBQ and got the feast for 6. Our eyes were definitely bigger then our stomachs but the leftovers were delicious the next two days!

So good!

And of course, there was presents! Roses from Eldon, speaker cords from Makayla (to make it easier to listen to audio books from Librivox), a ratchet strap from Michael (to hang the chair swing my sister Michelle gave me) and Dove chocolates from Emily and Ethan. Yes, I am blessed indeed!