Three Years!

     Yesterday marked 3 years since we left our home in Arkansas for the last time. We were terrified because it is crazy to not have a solid place to live and a reliable source of income. We were trustful because God had very clearly answered the multiple fleeces our doubtful selves had laid out the past few months.We were sad to be leaving Arkansas and our many friends and church that had been our family for the 7 years we were married. We were excited too, because there was a huge sense of adventure in simply not knowing how your next year would play out.

     I'll keep it brief, but our "plan" was to park at my parents place and Eldon would hopefully be able to pick up a short-term nursing job in the area until our house sold. Once our house sold, we would look for a more permanent job, then a house in that area (my parents live between Dallas and Waco so there is lots of options but we didn't want to buy land until he had a secure job).

Lake Brownwood State Park, Spring 2016

     Despite our fervent prayers, our only job option seemed to be with travel nursing and 3 hours from dads was the best we could find. Since we still had house payments, we didn't have much choice and stayed at a state park with frequent trips back to dad's. To our surprise, we realized that living in a small space with 4 little children was actually doable and enjoyable. We began spending more time outside soaking up nature and playing with the children instead of working 2 jobs, doing home improvements (Eldon), and spending hours on the upkeep of a big house and all our stuff (Monica). 

     Our house still hadn't sold and my family was all going to spend a week in Colorado summer 2016 so Eldon landed a travel job in Cortez, Colorado. Slowly we began to realize that it was ok to like this "different" life. Our children loved playing with cousins that they didn't get to spend much time with before. The simplicity of it all and the exploring new areas was intriguing and exciting to Eldon and I. During this time we also met other families who had lived on the road for 1,2, and even 5 years!

Cousins in Ouray, Colorado. It's amazing how they've grown since 2016!

     After our Colorado job we again began to pray earnestly for a job in the Dallas/Waco area if we were to settle there. Nothing came up. We finally fully acknowledged that we loved our life and wanted to keep right on traveling until God clearly showed us otherwise. The peace and excitement was amazing!

Our children get so much grandparent time! December 2016

Monahans sand dunes, May 2017

     Most of 2017 was spent in San Angelo, Texas. We did multiple jaunts here and there but Eldon had a job from January to September at the hospital.

Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta, October 2017

     In October we attended the balloon fiesta and met a lot of other families. It's so fun to have friends traveling all over the country - you just never know when you will have the chance to meet up with someone!

Playdough with cousins in Tennessee, November 2017

     One of the biggest advantages for us it the opportunity to see family more often. We have parents and siblings in Texas, Pennsylvania, Colorado, and Tennessee. Arkansas, Kansas, and North Carolina also have have friends/family high on our priority list. Right now it feels like we bounce between Texas and the West, with a  Pennsylvania trip once a year but eventually we'll get it figured out and hit all the in between places!

As the single aunt, Aunt Judith is the favorite, hands down! December 2017

Playing games at Grandpa Kings. December 2017

Branding calves in Montana, September 2018

     Another highlight for us is the hands on experiences we get. Thanks to the Standards for being so gracious and letting us help them this summer, Ethan and Michael notice the brands on every cow we see! They've "helped" milk cows on a dairy farm in PA, and very actively been involved at my dad's (and sister's) chicken house with catching and unloading chickens, picking up floor eggs, and packing eggs. Riding horses, picking up hay, building projects, and canning are a few other things they've been involved with. Then there is all the bits of history and science they pick up at state and national parks. Admittedly, I probably enjoy the learning part more then they do! 

Wagon Circle at Lone Rock Beach, November 2018

     We've been surprised at how we enjoy meeting new people. Growing up Mennonite, the first thing to do is figure out if you have a mutual acquaintance of your new friend and there nearly always is. I feel like I've had to re-learn how to strike up a conversation with someone I don't know 😂. We often talk about how diverse (and huge) our circle of friends has grown and we definitely feel like it's a good thing. I mean, there's Mennonites, Baptists, Lutherans, Catholics, Mormons, Quakers, atheist, Democrats, Republicans, Anti-government people, homeschoolers, public schoolers, un-schoolers, doctors, anti-vaxxers, nurses, computer techs, mechanics, pilots, salesmen, teachers, farmers, pastors, ranchers, and well, you get the point! The conversation is certainly more interesting with lots of different backgrounds and views!

North Rim of the Grand Canyon, November 2018

      There are days when we travel through gorgeous country and the children keep their eyes glued to a book or tablet (or worse, fighting and arguing) and I really want to smack them and tell them to enjoy the view. Then there are times when they are literally speechless (for a few seconds) at what they see. The Grand Canyon did that, as well as Yellowstone. Or sometimes one of them will say, "Wow, just look at that sunset (or bird, plant, ect)" and I think, "Yes! Maybe they are catching on!" It is definitely a thrill to us as parents when they thoroughly enjoy something.

     Since hindsight is always better than foresight, there is things we would do different if we could go back.

1.Move into our camper a month before leaving the house. We thought it would be easier to live in the big house every day possible but it would have been so much better to have a month to settle in. We re-arranged and purged so much stuff the first month and I often wished I could haul it back into the house and donate or pack it into the proper box right away. Instead, we had boxes floating around for a long time until everything had a place!

2. More is less. Really, it is. I'm amazed at how much I thought we couldn't live without. I've since learned that if I have to dig under the couch for a second bowl, I'm just going to wash the dirty one instead. I am looking forward to getting back to our storage shed and going through the whole rig again cause I know we have all kinds of extra jazz we don't need!

3. Get rid of more right away. This goes with #2, but we have so often wished we had sold/donated more before we ever did our initial move to Texas. We've learned the hard way that most things don't store well. Every time we go back to our shed we aim to get rid of at least 4 boxes. I like to use thrift stores as our storage shed. Most things can be replaced used for a very reasonable price, if we ever decide we need them!

     We're often asked how long we're planning to do this and our answer is still, "No idea!". Our long-term dream would be to save and buy property in several states and rent RV sites at each one that we aren't currently at. But the longer we travel, the more places we find and love! This dream will probably be on the shelf for a while yet 😉.

     We currently have plans for most of next year- which is both comforting and annoying! Our contract in Page, AZ is up January 19 then we head for Texas. Likely we'll be there until the middle of February and help my dad get his new flock of chickens settled in. Then we'll head  to Pennsylvania but we're not sure yet how much time we'll have and how direct of a route we'll take. Our contract in Baker, Montana starts April 1 and is until September 22. Needless to say, we're all super excited about that! After that, the plan is to beeline back to Texas and take care of dad's chickens while they go to Israel. And after that? God only knows!

     Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

Toadstools in Utah, Nover 2018