Sunday, July 27, 2014

The First 2 Months

River Access at Northwest River Park and Campground
Aug. 1 will mark two months since we moved into the RV, and I really cannot believe it! Time has gone fast, but we have had some good times to show for it. We are still finishing up some business with the driving school as well as some doctor visits/checkups before we head out. Right now, we are looking at September 1st as our departure date! We are planning on taking the Northern route to CA, but have no real deadline. Just making an itinerary of all the places we want to visit on the way!

"Camping" has been good for us! I still consider tent camping, true camping, but for purposes here, we'll call it camping:) Either way, we have been truly amazed with how kind and generous our camping neighbors have been. Apparently, we have a huge neon sign above our RV that says NEWBIES. Not that we have minded as many campers have come to our much needed aid. Others have just been very friendly and it has been so refreshing! The grill you'll see below was a gift as well as the bike you'll see N.J. riding. We didn't ask or mention a need, they were just "paying it forward" and they only ask we do the same when the time is right.

The girls and I are also becoming more outgoing. Our shy N.J., gets excited when she sees other kids and asks if she can make them her friends! Kay has always been outgoing and loves meeting new people and hearing their stories. This is right up his alley!

I must say, we all are enjoying this time in more ways than we thought possible. We haven't even begun traveling yet, but just this new adventure of living in an RV has been pretty fun! Plus--my family kinda rocks:)

So here's a few snippets of what we have been up to! N.J. wanted me to share that she is now able to swim underwater! She doesn't go very far or stay under very long, but the girl has great form and is holding as much air as her little lungs will hold! Unfortunately, we do not have photos of it yet, but we will!




Loved this place! We were a little sad we will not be returning as this was our first camping home, but we had some good times and learned a lot! Here's a look at the fun stuff this campground had to offer!

Breakfast on the grill. So much faster than on a stove!



Dinner on the grill! Love burgers grilled over charcoal


The girls are great at gathering firewood!


Both N.J and N.A have learned to ride big girl bikes!



Friends camping with us! Enjoying the water!











King of the Paddle Boat



N.A....Loves the water. Had to keep this girl from jumping in!

N.L and Mama. We're busy taking selfies while Papa is busy paddling!


N.J, N.L, and N.A....little princesses of power! (Yes, Papa took this)

They now ask to go on walks! Love when they hold hands when you haven't asked them to:)

The RV Dream

Our New Home

When we had this vision of living in an RV almost 5 years ago (soon after baby #1) I knew it was something I could do and would most likely enjoy doing. My husband, Kay, thought I was little crazy (nothing new) and would kindly listen to me ramble on and on about this full-time RVing all while nodding and saying things like, "Interesting" and "Is that right?" Yet, at some point something changed and he jumped on board. Even though, he had a few more concerns with the small space, towing, camping, showering, privacy, and a whole list of other "what ifs".

Even before we were married, we had always dreamed of traveling and seeing as much of God's creation as we possibly could. RVing seemed like a comfortable way of doing so, especially when traveling with kids. While researching RV vacations, families who lived in their RVs (full-timed) kept coming up. The more I read, the more it seemed possible and something which we should be so fortunate to do. We read about families that were able to spend time together, precious time together. They were out seeing things we had only seen on TV or online, their kids were being "road schooled," so instead of reading about the Gold Rush in a chapter in a book, they stood on the same ground panning for gold just like the original 49ers. Their priorities seemed different, not necessarily better than others as I do not think this lifestyle is for everyone, but they seemed to align more with our own.

We prayed and prayed asking God for wisdom and guidance about this vision/obsession we now had. We needed to know if this was His calling or if this was just us not being content with that in which He had already blessed us. And blessed we felt! We were running a successful business that we both enjoyed, I was able to work from home and be with the girls, we had just bought a house, were close to family, loved our church, had good friends, and more.

So why was it not enough? Was this not what we were suppose to achieve? Why were we feeling like we were missing something? In all honesty, I still don't quite know. Sure, I could name some reasons that led us to think this was pretty cool, but really to DESIRE so strongly to live in an RV and fore go so much seems beyond a list of reasons. Seems more like a calling.

So, we said let's do what we have to do to make this happen and leave the rest in His hands. Did we know how it would all play out? Not at all! We knew we had to sell the house, we knew we needed to reduce our financial payouts, we knew we would need to buy an RV. Eventually we knew we would love to be back in California (my birthplace).  And that is about all we knew!  We had ideas, but there had to be a timing of things that were well beyond our understanding. We were just going to go for it and do our part and trust He would bless our efforts and give us with something better than we could ever imagine! Pretty cool how He is always doing that. And, of course, He did it again.

The RV dream became a reality. A few weeks after we bought the RV, friends of ours in Northern CA kindly and excitedly suggested we come stay on their farm. Although details are uncertain, it seems we may be able to be a blessing to them as well! Not long after we received the invitation, God also provided an amazing person to work for the driving school. Someone who is also being blessed by this plan. Someone we have known for years and trust completely, but who just never came to mind. All God's timing! It's wonderful how God's plans are always far superior to our own and as we have found in the past, just like now, that when you get out of His way and give Him complete control, you give Him a stage to do what He does best--He pours out His love and brings on the glory!