Hi! Following is the picture and letter that we sent by snail mail to many of our family and friends who don't have Facebook. It's a good re-cap of our year so you may or may not enjoy it :).
Merry Christmas!
2017 started with Eldon signing a 13 week contract at a hospital in San Angelo, TX. San Angelo is the biggest city we've worked in yet (over 90,000) but easily the most friendly town we've ever been to! We were able to stay at a state park a couple miles out of town the entire time. We saw many different birds, javalinas, deer, porcupines, skunks, foxes, and even a rattlesnake during our time there.The 13 weeks stretched all the way to the end of September somehow! The hospital needed help so Eldon kept signing back on and it worked out great!
San Angelo is extremely family friendly and we quickly found many things to do. Visting the library once a week (or more) to play and check out 25+ books was a favorite of the children. They also enjoyed walking along the river walk and feeding the ducks, biking on the glow in the dark trail, and going to the Art Museum once a month for family day where we were able to visit different booths and create crafts. We explored Fort Concho on several occasions and learned more about how the city started and its frontier days.
In April we took a weekend trip several hours west to Monohans State Park for Ethan and Makayla's birthday. Parking our camper right in the sand dunes was amazing! The children were able to sled down the dunes and build sand castles to their heart's content.
Eldon requested 3 weeks off in June so that we could do my parents chicken chores while they went on a cruise to Alaska. The children were so excited to attend VBS at their church over that time too. We had our eyes open for another camper for a long while and it just so happened that one near mom and dad's was the perfect fit for us, plus below our budget! We managed to purchase the 40 foot Raptor 5th wheel, move in, and sell our 31 foot travel trailer while we were staying at dad's. Along with doing the chores, it made for some long hard days but we love our new home so much.
July was extremely warm but we did manage to survive. On my birthday I ended up in the ER due to severe abdominal pain. To our shock, they informed us I was pregnant and took me into surgery to remove a tubal pregnancy but to their surprise, the pregnancy appeared to fine and my appendix was rupturing. The next few weeks I had a rather slow recovery from surgery and miscarried as well. It's so hard to understand but we trust that God knows why he took us down this road!
Our 2 weeks in Arkansas the first part of August was a high point of our summer. We attended my cousin's wedding and were able to hang out with several of my aunt's and uncle's. Since it was in the area we used to live, we spent a week there and had a fabulous time visiting with friends and former co-workers. The children thought it was the best thing ever that we went swimming in a river or pool every day but 1!
Right before our Arkansas trip we took the 4 hour trip east to my parents to order a new Dodge Ram from the local dealer. They had the exact one we wanted in IL so on our way to AR we simply swung by there again and picked it up. 2017 Dodge Ram 3500. I'm told it tows like a dream and I enjoy driving it too (just not while towing!). Eldon is definitely less stressed while driving and the children have more room in the backseat.
We had never taken a trip in July for Michael and my birthday but in September we went 2 hours south to Junction, TX. Our destination was the South Llano River State Park where we floated the river on tubes. Eldon, Makayla and Michael did the 2 hour trip twice! The weather was perfect for it and we also enjoyed doing some hiking at the park.
Eldon's last day at the San Angelo hospital was September 29 and we had plans to slowly make our way to Albuquerque. However, we received news that my Grandpa Byler passed on to glory so we quickly rearranged our plans and headed straight to Montrose, CO. I drove to Colorado Springs and flew to VA for the funeral with my big sister and little brother, which was a pleasure. Eldon and the children had a lot of fun at Brian's while we were gone -I'm fairly certain that the children didn't even miss their moms! By the time we arrived back at Brian and Michelle's, Eldon had the camper all hooked up so we headed to south to Albuquerque, NM within the hour!
I think it's safe to say that the highest point of our year was the Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque. We had reservations to stay for the entire 2 weeks and it was so worth it! We were "dry camping" with no water or electric hook-ups so that was a fun experience! We were with a group of 22 other families and by pooling our resources we were easily able to string hoses together and fill our tanks from the water hydrants at the premium ( $70 a night!) sites. The guys figured out how to put several portable waste tanks on one truck and made multiple trips to the dump station 6 miles away. It was highly enjoyable getting to know our neighbors and make new friends. There was over 60 children in our group and ours had the time of their life. One of our friends even had a home birth to their third child during the Fiesta so that was super exciting!
The weather was chilly but awesome for flying balloons and they were able to go up every day except 1. Just imagine over 500 hot air balloons filling the gorgeous blue sky with mountains in the background! Eldon helped crew most mornings and was blessed with the chance to go up with our pilot one morning. Each balloon has a trading card so when they began to land in and near the campground the children went crazy running around and collecting them. Michael and Makayla were thrilled to help pull one down and pack it up once the crew arrived. It's an incredible sight and I think everyone should go at least once!
Once the Fiesta was over we spent 1 night with friends in Cortez, CO (after visiting the laundromat!) then headed to Montrose again. We were able to help my brother Evan fix his sewer line and split a bunch of wood. Another fun day was when we went salmon snagging. Brian was the only one who got any but it was still a great time! Campfires and picnics were enjoyed as well as being there when my nephew Logan shot a huge buck.
Our next stop was Bottom Lakes in Rosewell, NM. The lakes are actually sinkholes and the water is incredibly clear and a beautiful shade of green/blue. One of our friends who was also there arranged for us to meet Mine That Bird, winner of the 135th Kentucky Derby. When we weren't hiding inside from flies or mosquitoes we enjoyed swimming, campfires, and chasing raccoons away.
It felt good to come "home" to my parents for a few weeks. Eldon likes to help dad clean out the chicken barn and get ready for a new flock. Our storage shed is also on their property so it's nice to swap out clothes and other items as needed. We did a number of small projects on the camper too and it feels good to be clean and re-organized again!
Spending time with Eldon's sister and family in TN is something we all look forward to. Our younger children are close in age so they play themselves silly. As it turns out, last fall we were there to help clean out their chicken barns and now we get to do the same thing again!
The plan is to be in PA for Christmas and New Year's then start a job in January. We don't know where and it's exciting to have the future wide open! Our most asked question is "How long do you plan to do this?" Well, Eldon and I discussed saying "5 years for now" just to satisfy your curiosity but in the end it came back to us trusting God 100% and let him tell us our future. We have no other plans except full-timing at this point. God has been so faithful and making it very obvious in even our small decisions that we know he'll tell us when he has something else in mind for us.
It's been such a pleasure getting to visit more of our family and friends with this lifestyle and we hope to keep adding new places to our list! We love each one of you and hope you have a blessed year!
-Monica & Eldon, Makayla, Michael, Emily, and Ethan
