Yes, I believe I would.

You asked.  The answer is yes.  I would live in the RV again.  Does that shock you?  It does me a little.  But since you asked, I had to think about it. It is kinda funny to me that my old house is about 20 feet out my front door.  Last weekend I put some boxes inside the RV for storage.  I must admit, if something happened and I had to live in my RV again starting tomorrow, I'd be just fine with it.

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely LOVE the house we are in, and I love the yard and the dishwasher, but...

Eventually I will get around to posting all the reasons why I'd be fine living in an RV.  And I think I'll interview the children and get their opinions too.  That might be fun.

Just to Remind Myself...

This is where we lived for 18 months.  It was good.  

The spaghetti of my mind.

I am typing this with my thumbs. I've been waiting for days for the Internet to be fixed but I am giving up hope. So, I am typing with my thumbs on a phone that thinks it's smart. So smart it types mr when I mean me. And zooming when I mean spinning. Why yes, smart phone, I meant to say Minch instead of meant. Whatever that means. So sorry you might have to guess what I'm talking about... ;-)

It's cold out. So cold that anything touching an outside wall of the trailer is wet. Like my new feather pillow. And a brand new package of now soggy 24 rolls of septic safe (not cheap) toilet paper and whatever is under the couch and in the cupboards that I am pretending don't exist since we are moving soon. Even though we may not be moving for a month and stuff will be Milton- no, oh smart phone, I didn't mean Milton. I meant molding. But I can't see it so I'm pretending it's not happening...

Some dear friends are out of town for Christmas and have so graciously loaned us their house for the rest of the month. I am so excited, never mind we need to feed their goats and chickens that sometimes sneak in the house. There is an oven, a shower, a bed, and Internet. Oh, and a refrigerator that is above 32 degrees and it will make me feel like I am with friends even though they aren't there. We said goodbye to them last night not knowing if we will still be here when they get back or not. That makes for a very anticlimactic farewell to some very close friends. I am sad.

Mr. Pilot has 4 more flights before he gets "soft winged." that is where he is unofficially a pilot and gets to wear wings on his name tag but isn't quite yet a pilot. We are supposed to spray him with the fire hose when he lands that last flight. It's 38 degrees. That would be awfully cold. But, it's tradition, right?
We find out a week from today where we are going. The same day my mother-in-law flies in and my mom and step-dad drive in.
A week from tomorrow my family will get all dressed up to go on stage and pin daddy's wings on him. I will cry. It will be amazing.

Then there will be the after party. Apparently it's being planned by some single guys because it starts at 8:30 pm on Thursday and consists of a band, 3 kegs, $1,800 of booze, and $100 of food. And we have to pay for it. Even though we won't be going. Because it starts at 8:30. And 1800 dollars worth of alcohol. And no food. I see nothing good coming out of that situation. I find it an incredibly tacky way to celebrate something my husband has been waiting for many years to achieve. It's high-schoolish and in my opinion completely infantile and lame. Just sayin.

A week from Sunday is Daddy's birthday. What a busy week!

I have tons of pictures to share with you, if the Internet man ever comes around. I've called the front office three days in a row now, and she assures me they are working on it. She sounds just as annoyed as I am. I hope she's annoyed at the Internet man and not me.

The weather is bad today. So bad we got a serious weather warning. It might snow. And leave a light dusting on metallic objects. That is what the report actually says. 4 years ago the serious warning we got was 5 feet of snow in less than 5 hours and the city shut down. We couldn't open our front door for the snow and had to admit defeat in our challenge of going the whole winter without turning on the furnace. Of course that was Colorado, not Mississippi. Either way, it's bad enough I just got a text from my husband that he was canx. That means canceled. Don't the clouds and dusting of snow know that he must complete those 4 flights or nothing can happen next week?!

Enough rambling like noodles in a bowl of spaghetti for now. If you've kept reading this far, pray for sunshine and warmer days, you know, so my husband can get his wings and my pillows won't get moldy.

Lessons from the Travel Trailer

So I meant to publish a post about lessons we learned during our year in the travel trailer, but we hit a year way back in July and I still haven't found time to tap something out...

In the beginning it was so exciting but I wasn't sure that once the newness wore off I'd be able to survive a year in the trailer.  It has been over a year now and everyday has been an adventure. But there is also lot of drudgery.  Pushing through it all, I would have to say the most valuable lesson I have learned is one on contentment.  Well, I can't really say I have learned it, I should say I will be learning it for the rest of my life.

It doesn't matter how big (or small) my house is, how well it is decorated, how much laundry is piled up, or if I have a dishwasher. It doesn't matter what my grocery budget is- if I am eating healthy food or not, using an oven or a skillet, or even if I have running hot water.  It doesn't matter if I am able to buy every little thing my heart desires or if I am searching the van cup holders for a dime to buy a meal.  It doesn't matter if I have a thousand dollar top rated homeschool curriculum or a library card and a pencil.  Not one bit of any of that matters if I have a crappy attitude.

My mind is full of a nagging little never ending list of wants:
"If I could just learn this, go there, or buy that" or "I really need a...(insert just about anything from a fingernail file and hair dye to a laptop and a kitchen aid.)" If I keep thinking about them, they begin to gnaw on me and before I know it I am grumbling at everyone around me because my "poor me with out my such-n-such" attitude drips out of my mouth.

Contentment in every condition is a great art, a spiritual mystery.  It is to be learned and to be learned as a mystery. And so in verse 12, [Paul] affirms, "I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: everywhere and in all things I am instructed."

The verse Jeremiah Burroughs (1599-1647) is referring to is Philippians 4:12 and it follows "I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content."  Burroughs also states that:

Contentment is a sweet, inward heart thing.  Not only must the tongue hold its peace: the soul must be silent.  It is the quiet of the heart.

Some people may be good at keeping quite on the outside, at wearing a poker face in whatever situation life throws at them, but if there is a waging war in their heart, they are no better off than the person throwing a full blown temper tantrum.

I have only a few short months left in this tiny little abode that is bursting with memories.  It is my prayer that I will learn a great deal about contentment before we move on to a "real house" and I am tempted to fill in the empty spaces with something from my little nagging list of never ending wants.  In fact, I hope to throw out my list all together!  So~ be looking for my new series of posts on Contentment as I dig deeper to find what it truly means.

Raspberries!

Boy found wild raspberry vines all through the woods by our house.  It is so exciting!  It fits in with some of the books we have been reading about taking dominion and exploring the wilderness .

I am just loving how much living in this little travel trailer has been like camping in the woods for us.  We have learned SO much and enjoyed even more!

We Survived...

One of the situations that had crossed my mind as a dreaded thought about living in the travel trailer was the idea of us getting the stomach flu.  Having only one toilet with 7 people is bad enough, but when people are puking (or doing something else that comes with a stomach virus) I just couldn't imagine.

Besides, there are Murphy's Laws of "The Stomach Bug."

Murphy's Law 1~ if one kid gets sick, they all get sick.  And my kids love to share.

Murphy's Law 2 ~ kids will puke in the most inconvenient places (i.e. their car seat when two hours away from home, mom's freshly washed bed spread, in the toy box with the toys still in it, at the dinner table with dinner on it...) 

I really dreaded the thought of it, but I thought we were in the clear since winter is over.  Not so.

It all started late Sunday night after arriving home from a weekend visit with our BFTKC friends in Florida.

It finally stopped yesterday.

I will spare you all most of the details.

Tuesday night I slept less than one hour.  Only by God's grace was I still kind to the children still puking at 5am when daddy left for work.  Several extra loads of laundry isn't really fun to pay for, nor is it fun to carry up to the bath house.  Luckily we had plenty of buckets to go around so there was no fighting over the lone toilet.  I even got pretty good at predicting when the 18 month old was going to blow and I got really good at catching it.  Except when it was in the car seat, two hours from home.  And my freshly washed bed spread was freshly washed 3 times this week.  And all of the toys in the toy bucket were disinfected, a task I had been meaning to do for months.  And I managed to catch the episode at the dinner table before it ruined all of our dinner, without a moment to spare.

Somehow only Guys managed to remain tummy bug free, even dad and I got to enjoy some bug fun.  Guys was such a blessing, she made pancakes from scratch a few times during the week to help out.  She also drank some apple cider vinegar and washed her hands.  A lot.

Now that it is over, I don't have to dread it anymore.
I wouldn't sign up for it, but it wasn't nearly as bad as I had imagined.  But I am glad it's over.

That There is a Bath Tub!

I just found out my youngest son doesn't know what a bathtub is.  My poor deprived child!

We were visiting friends last week and Pops followed me into the bathroom (there goes my wild notion of having alone time when we have a normal bathroom again) and pointed to the tub and grunted.

"Bath" I said.

He looked at me for a few moments and then asked "Bucket?"

Uhm, yeah.  He takes a bath in a bucket.

I said "yes, bucket"

He sang "Happy Day" and did his little dance.  Happy Day started out as a dance and song for cookies and desserts, but now it is for anything he likes.  Pops likes baths.  Even if they are in a bucket.

Alright, I confess!

There is one thing from a house that I miss.

I don't really miss my lovely couch, my wonderful dining room table that actually fits us all (for now anyway,) my big screen tv, my perfect homemade horseshoe homeschool table, a dishwasher, my book shelves, or my washer and dryer.  Ok, maybe I miss my washer and dryer a little bit.

But there is really only one thing that I really can't wait to have back.  Really.

Can you guess what it is?

It's the Bathroom.

As any parent of small children knows, the only place you are ever alone is in the bathroom.  Ever.

We have a tiny little bathroom. The door is about 4 inches off the floor so little hands reach under and steal your socks right off your feet while you are trying to have a "moment alone".  The door doesn't lock so you have to hold it shut while the little hands are stealing your socks.  It is so small you can't turn around in it or get dressed in it.  The toilet is small, weird, and you have to empty the tank yourself.  The shower is about the size of a small port-a-potty and only runs cold water.  Besides, it is full of shelves and laundry anyway.  

And now the door knob is broken.

Completely broken.

You have to hold the door shut, cover the hole where the knob belongs, and hide your socks.

I cannot wait to have a normal bathroom.  With a door knob.  And a shower.  And warm water.

Oh, but this is sure entertaining!

Christmas and a Cold Winter

I want to get these blog posts that have been swimming in my head on here so you could all be filled in on what we have been up to. I finally typed up one big loooooong post, but Dad said it was toooo long so I am going to try to break it up... Here is the first back-post.

We had a nice quiet Christmas at home, it was very simple, partly to go along with the year of simplicity, and partly because I was trying to keep my saltines and ginger-ale from coming back up, but it was a sweet time. We have many traditions that had to be set aside this year, for example we didn't have a tree, but I think we came up with some new ones too. We were supposed to have dinner with friends for Christmas Eve, but they ended up with the flu so we stayed home. Since I hadn't planned on making dinner, we had to throw something together quickly. It was pouring rain and very gray, which also didn't lend a cozy white Christmas feeling, but we made do. We played a very long game of Risk, drank hot chocolate, read the Christmas story in the Bible, and opened our traditional Christmas Eve gift, pajamas.

This winter has been a little rough on us. I know it has been bad everywhere, but I do think we had some special challenges living in a tin can with no heat. Sometime during a heavy wind storm our awning busted off. We had to move our dresser of shoes into the van and now we are constantly tripping over shoes that don't have a place. Without the awning the freezer also filled with rain which promptly froze, so we had to chip our food out. Now it is covered with a tarp. There isn't a closet for the 7 winter jackets the we had to spend 5 hours digging out of the storage unit, so they too, are being constantly tripped over.

When it Rains, it Pours. And Sometimes it Snows...

It snowed the other night. We were at the squadron Christmas Party (I was quite impressed that it was in fact a Christmas Party, not a holiday party) and it started snowing. It was close to midnight when we picked the children up, but they woke up long enough to play in it for a moment. Even though we lived in Colorado and weren't really impressed by the snow like the locals, it supposedly only snows once every 10 years or so here, so I am glad we could be a part of it.

There were even some remains in the morning, so the children enjoyed some snow for breakfast and a little snowball fight.

That was the snow part. You can read about the raining here.

Now for the pouring...

It seems like it has been one thing after another for us here. I must give you a disclaimer right off the bat though, no matter how much it seems to be so, I am NOT complaining. Just keeping it real. I really appreciate transparency. I can't learn anything from someone who always talks about how perfect and easy and wonderful his life is. I have to know he can level with me, empathize with me, and encourage me. It wouldn't be right for me to brag about how wonderful everything is and how easy my life is and only share the good parts. I am blessed, to be sure, and I am so thankful for all I have. This is not a "woe is me" blog, but I am trying to keep it real here.

Living in a travel trailer has truly been wonderful. I wouldn't change it. I wouldn't move to a house even if someone offered me one for the same price we are paying in our RV. I really wouldn't. There are some invaluable lessons we are learning here, and we aren't done yet. But, as usual, part of that learning process is a bit painful. It stretches, tugs, and scrapes. It causes you to reach deeper, complain less, serve more, and is quite humbling.

Over the last couple of weeks we have had some stretching. It is cold in Mississippi. Like, below freezing some nights. For what ever reason (meaning poor planning on my part) all of our winter clothes and jackets are in the back of a storage unit. I am not really sure what I was thinking, most likely I wasn't thinking at all, it was July when we packed up, after all. We each have a hooded sweatshirt (we sort of collect them from places like Yellowstone and Yampa River and San Diego) but that is all we have for 30 degree evenings. It would take several hours if not a couple days to find the winter stuff in the storage unit because the boxes aren't labeled properly (military move, you get what you pay for and it was free). My husband is being double pumped (think a normal day's work x2) all the way until the 23rd. I can't move and open all those boxes by myself and I can't possibly reason to buy stuff to keep us warm when we have stuff already, even if it is buried. I think I'd rather go cold.

Being warm and cozy inside a small space with thin walls and single pane windows takes some effort. And makes some condensation. We discovered it makes a lot of condensation, in fact. We were going through our stuff to see if there was anything we could get rid of (this is now a bi-weekly habit, and I highly recommend it!) and discovered that there was water dripping off the walls in our closets and cupboards. I mean dripping. In the very closets and cupboards that contain our clothes and books. Clothes and books don't mix well with dripping water.

(I may have had a momentary desire to move into a house at this moment, but only momentary) So we spent several hours drying everything in the entire trailer (even the things I had shoved in the cracks and crevices and tried to forget about) and then we spent a few more hours reading about the solution options for the condensation problem.

We ended up buying a dehumidifier. One side effect of a dehumidifier is that it is HUGE. Really, I just needed something else to take up space and I love tripping over things. Another side effect is that it blows out COLD air. Really, it is because we like working really hard to make it warm in here. Thirdly, I can't use anything else while it is on or it will pop the circuit. It is like a circus when I am cooking in here, Hot water on, hot water off, skillet on, wait, need more hot water, skillet off, hot water on, it is getting cold in here, hot water off, heater on, mom I am hungry, skillet back on, pop everything off- forgot to turn the heater back off before I turned the skillet back on, it is my turn to flip this circuit, no it is mine! Just flip the circuit already! Heater off, skillet on, mom the windows are soggy (isn't that funny) soggy windows means condensation, heater off, dehumidifier on, pop everything off, wait!, It wasn't the heater that needed to be shut off, it was the skillet, DOH! Would someone please flip the circuit? Heater and skillet off, dehumidifier on. I am really hungry. Dehumidifier off, skillet back on. Are you getting sick of this yet?

Well, it does stop the water dripping off the walls, so it works, and for that I am thankful.

My skillet died. Funeral is tomorrow. I first noticed a funny smell about a week ago, and it kept getting funnier and funnier. But not in a ha ha sort of way. Then the other day it was only heating up on one side. Today it is dead. Poor thing, it was highly over used. A skillet that is large enough for our family isn't cheap. Since the unexpected cost of the dehumidifier and now the skillet, there goes our stocking suffers. But, I guess we have to eat. I guess.

Since that isn't enough, don't worry, there is more!

Our refrigerator is broken though I don't know if broken is the right word. Frozen is more like it. Frozen solid milk doesn't pour out into cereal very well. It doesn't pour at all actually. And a rock solid tomato can't be sliced for my husband's work lunch. And you shouldn't have to chisel out jalapeños for yummy nachos. I seriously didn't think Louisana hot sauce could freeze. But, it is solid. We read the owner's manual front to back. It only informed us that living in a travel trailer will result in extra wear and tear and a shorter life expectancy. (Of the trailer, not me). Oh, and that winter living will result in water damage from condensation including mold, mildew, and rot, if proper prevention measures aren't taken. Thanks for that, really. Who reads owner's manuals anyway? Turns out the temperature on the refrigerator is factory pre-set and there isn't a way to change it. We even called some RV repair men. There is no solution.

Hey, at least I am not bored!

Frozen Pickles, Thawed!

I decided I didn't want anymore frozen pickles so I put everything from the fridge into a cooler so we could thaw out the ice.

I should have done this a long time ago, stuff was actually stuck in the frozen ice mess!

It was taking too long for my liking so I set the heater to speed up the process.

here is what it is supposed to look like...

guess we have another regular chore to add to the list. Working is good!

Drip, Drip, Drip

We have a leaky roof.
Luckily it is right above the shower.
Hopefully it will stop raining long enough for us to patch it up.

Good times!

Stuff in Storage

I would have to say that was the easiest household goods move we have ever had. It was smooth and painless, everything went right into the storage unit and fit perfectly. I resisted the urge to grab anything I suddenly "missed" or "needed" and only snagged a few items that I had been thinking about since living in the trailer. While I am glad we now have access to our bikes and winter clothes, we also have our work cut out for us because there is definitely tons of stuff that we can get rid of still. I don't like paying for a larger size storage unit than we actually need only because it is filled with junk. I would like to sort out the junk and move the important stuff into a smaller unit. I wish I could pretend like it isn't there and just leave it for a year and go through it when transfer out of here (if we move back into a house) but it is like a splinter in the hand, I will not be able to forget about it. I will have to find the time over the next couple of months and get it all sorted out. It is just work, right?

Two items I grabbed out were a little rid-on-toy and the bouncing zebra for Pops. It was perfect timing for his age, he loves them both! He thinks he's pretty hot stuff though, in just a couple of minutes of figuring out how to climb on the toys, he discovered how much fun it is to stand up on them. I debated on grabbing the camera but decided against it when he let go to clap his hands in excitement at his accomplishment. What a stinker!

Here a Quack, There a Quack...

We often say we hope to live on a farm some day. At least a place we can have a large garden, a pond, some chickens, maybe a goat, and plenty of room to run around.

Yesterday we discovered Sally’s eggs have hatched, and not too far from our front door.

How very exciting!

Someday we may have our own little farm,

but for now, the trailer park will do.

Back and Moving

Back- While I cannot say we were excited to leave for home, we are glad we are back. We had so much fun with our friends, we were pretty sad to leave. If Dad was already home we would be much more excited to be back, but we will still have to wait a couple of days for him. His trip to the boat was delayed and extended which is no big shocker. Seems there is always a delay when the Navy is involved. (i.e. - we still haven't been paid for moving to Meridian.) So we are just moving along with our regular life waiting for Daddy.



Moving- Whatever we didn't sell or give away was put into temporary storage by the Navy and tomorrow I have to meet the movers at a storage unit and take possession of our household goods. Of course we scheduled the delivery before we knew Dad's trip would be extended and of course the movers can't reschedule. Thank God for some wonderful men from our church who are going to meet me and move all of our stuff into the unit. It is only 6,000 lbs but I feel like it is still too much stuff and I can't even remember what it all is. When we moved to Florida we had 13,000 lbs and now we have about 7,000 with the storage and our stuff in the travel trailer all added together. Crazy thing, I can't even tell you what the 6,000 lbs of stuff we got rid of was, and I can't remember much of what is in the shipment we'll receive tomorrow. I remembered thinking when they packed up all our stuff that I would feel like it was Christmas morning when we received our household goods, like opening up presents of long lost treasures. Now that the day is almost here, I wish I could close my eyes and make it all go away. I don't want to sort through anything yet again. I don't want to figure out what I can part with and what I will never miss. I don't even want look at the 50" TV or the really big (and really comfortable) sectional sofa that we bought (for our material world) only a few months before deciding to move into the travel trailer.

Who knows, maybe I will find something really great that I had forgotten about. Maybe it will actually feel like Christmas morning. Or, maybe I will be reminded that it is all just stuff. Stuff that doesn't matter. I am betting on the latter, but I'll let you know.

Get Rid of It

How many clothes does one person need?

Back at the house I'd walk into my girls' room and instantly feel my blood pressure rise because I couldn't even see the floor through all of the clothes when I had just cleaned it two days before. There'd be underwear hanging from a dresser handle and I didn't care to determine if they were clean or dirty. A pile in the bathroom, pants in the hall, and 6 baskets of dirty clothes waiting to be laundered, that's over the top. "That's it! Bring me all of your clothes" I would say for what seemed like the tenth time that month. We would sort out all of the the dirty, fold all of the clean, and get rid of anything that hadn't been worn since the last time we did this routine.

If I wasn't doing 3 loads of laundry a day, it wouldn't take long for me to be sinking in piles of dirty clothes. I tried every different tip I could find. Three houses ago I even had my hubby move all of the dressers into the laundry room (he thought I was crazy, but he is so good to me.) This way, when the children shucked their clothes off at least they were on the laundry room floor, that makes sense, right? Whatever, it didn't work.

So I finally decided to get rid of stuff. I went through each child's clothes and pulled out anything I wasn't emotionally attached to. I had a big yard sale and felt pretty good about it. I only had to do 2 loads of laundry each day. Wait, why did I still have so much laundry, and why do I have an emotional attachment to clothes? I made excuses. Wasn't I being a good steward by sorting and saving my children's clothes to pass down from one to the next? Well, it's a good thought in theory, but we've moved about 9 times in 10 years, our children are different sizes in different seasons and I was just swimming in clothes. A good friend pointed out that I didn't need to hang on to it all. The clothes will always show up, she said, and she pointed out that maybe I wasn't really trusting in God to provide what I needed for each child, lovingly of course. I realized that I do rarely ever buy clothes. Everything we need does just sort of show up, either passed down or gifted. Besides, she has 9 children, 7 of which are girls, so she might know what she is talking about.

Then we decided to move into a travel trailer. We had three more sales and before each one I'd gather more clothes to get rid of. I gave myself a huge pat on the back when I very carefully selected my favorite outfits for each of my children and narrowed it down so each child had only one rubbermaid. Every thing that didn't sell, we donated. I even got rid of the dressers. Surely that would be enough. (I did keep one small rubbermaid of the coming home outfits, the baby clothes that were mine, and the really special stuff, and one rubbermaid of infant clothes for boy and girl)

After 6 weeks in the trailer, I have a huge pile of clothes to donate. One small rubbermaid is still too much. The 3 youngest children now have one small drawer in a little kitchen stand and the two older children have a really small rubbermaid. They don't miss a thing. And I certainly don't miss the laundry. It is awesome, now I only have to do it once a week! ONCE A WEEK. Did you hear me?

I am really trying to weed through everything in our lives. If something is becoming too much work, or if I am up to my eyes in something, I am getting rid of it! Watch out!

An LP detector update. It's a gas thing.

You can read in my earlier post about our trouble with the LP monitor. Well, through various trials which I will not describe, we have determined that the monitor does in fact detect gases other than LP. Like gases from our dog. And our humans. I cannot confirm who besides the dog did the testing, but I assure you, the tests were extensive. Since we aren't hooked up to LP and we really like home-made bean burritos we decided it would be wise to disconnect the detector. At least until we need another good laugh.

I'ma goin fishin on a bright n sunny day...

Our neighbor came back from the store with cane poles for my children the other day. What a sweet woman, and what lucky children. We had a blast fishing!

This was an exciting new experience for most of us. My husband is such a good sport, he is not a fisherman. I grew up fishing, but I must admit, this is the very first time I have gone fishing without my daddy.

Oh wait! There was one time up in the Yampa Rivers on a camping trip with my in-laws. I was sick with child, it had rained the entire weekend, am my smelly dog had just jumped in the river; this is not a good combination. I was already nauseas just thinking about the 5 hour drive down the mountains with my smelly wet dog in the overloaded van. I was soooo done with this trip, but the rain had finally let up and my entire family wanted to go fishing. I sat selfishly in the car attempting to hide my irritation. Didn't anyone care that I hadn't slept a wink for the last two nights and I just wanted to stuff my head in a pillow and fall asleep for a few weeks? While I watched them from the side view mirror my irritated sigh turned into little chuckles watching them casting and reeling in fishless hooks over and over again. I finally decided to suck it up and join my family in their feeble attempt to catch a fish in the cold mountain river. I marched my nauseas self over, cast out my line, and reeled in a fish in about 6 seconds. I think my response was something along the lines of "There. Can we go home now?" I must admit though, I was feeling a little proud. I think "show 'em how it's done" maybe, just maybe crossed my mind. Must have come from the hidden hick-chick with-in. So there you have it, that is the only time I have been fishing without my dad. Oh, and just so you know, I am determined to not be so cranky or nauseas next time I am with child and I am ever grateful for my family who so graciously forgave my morning sickness crankiness.

I got a little side tracked, sorry! Now, back to the post...

Sis cast out her pole and had a fish almost instantly (maybe because she is wearing my shoes?)

you can see in her face that she is not too sure of it, she is a big time girly-girl


Pops didn't want to miss out on anything


brother had to show the sis how to get the fish off the hook
(Mr. Pilot might have been cringing in the background, shhhh)


and they had to inspect it, of course


then boy got his first fish



there's nothing like fishing in your pj's outside of your trailer... hahaha!


and Guys got the biggest catch of the bunch!


Finally, one for Butter too! She was so excited!


that is, until it wiggled. Poor sweet girl! But, she never let go while I fumbled with the camera to take her picture. She is so brave!

and Pops had enough, can you hear his high pitched scream? He was done missing out on all the fun!

We are certainly having a good time, experiencing new things, spending time together. Fun stuff!

10 Reasons You Should Live in an RV

10. It is Cheaper
Our rent, cable, internet, water, sewer, electricity~ all of it added together costs little more than some of our electricity bills in our home. You can't really beat that.

Proverbs 12:9
Better to be lowly and have a servant then to play the great man and lack bread.

9. We Can Take Our Home on Vacation
We can just throw the Rubbermaids that are under the trailer inside, pull the slide in, hook-up to the van, and go. Anywhere. I don't even have to find a pet sitter. There are RV parks everywhere and they cost a fraction of a hotel stay. We don't have to eat out, remember to pack our toothbrushes, or worry about forgetting a te-te (baby blanket) in a hotel bed. We haven't tried this out yet, but as soon as the Navy finally pays us (they still haven't paid us for our move) we plan on giving it a whirl.

8. Refined Appreciation for Daily Tasks
Like the dishes. ~Think back to the good old days when you (your grandma) had to fetch water. Since I am not using gas, we have no hot water. When I do the dishes, I have to first heat water in my little 4 cup coffee pot. I actually have to stand there and wait for 2 or 3 pots to have enough hot water to do the dishes for my 7 member family. This is really hard for me, aren't there a million more important things I could be doing? I have never been fond of dishes. In fact, when we first got married, I made a deal with Mr. Pilot that I'd do the laundry if he'd do the dishes. He has kept up his part until the children were old enough to take over. Since we have been in the trailer I have been doing the dishes and using my Grandmother as my strength. This past Christmas I had the pleasure of watching her do the dishes. I love watching her aged, work-weathered hands plunge into the mucky water swirling with yucky food droppings from several plates of the just finished, hearty, farm cooked meal. For my entire 28 years of life my grandmother has stood at that same sink for countless hours, doing who knows how many dishes for family and friends. I wonder how often many of them~ how I~ took for granted for the sacrifice she has made, standing there, never grumbling or complaining about the time spent when the counter was filled with the dishes and drippings of the 30+ person Thanksgiving meal. As I watched her, my heart flooded with appreciation, and with the conviction. I didn't even cook dinner for my family regularly, let alone do the dishes daily. I won't even mention the without grumbling part... I had a hard time coming up with a few meals a week. As I imagined three home cooked meals AND dishes each day, for 28 years, or 48, or 62, I stood in admiration and wonder... I vowed then and there to learn to cook for my family. And now I am doing the dishes too. Without grumbling.

Colossians 3:17
And whatever you do, in word or deed do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father.

7. Focus on Family, Not Self
There aren't 10 piles of laundry calling my name. There aren't 50 toys piled up on the floor, so many that each child can't even see the other children through his own pile. There is no TV or XBOX. We have to play with each other.

Malachi 4:6
He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers.

Titus 2:4
That they may teach the young women to love their husbands and children.

6. Get Familiar with Regularity
not just the poop- although, we are getting familiar with that too, since we have to dump the tanks and all. We are able to keep a much closer eye on everything that goes on here. An unresolved spat doesn't slip by unnoticed. If someone doesn't put their toy exactly where it goes, everyone knows it. If something is wrong, it doesn't take long to be righted. Everyone's habits, needs, likes, dislikes, desires, talents, weaknesses, all of it, it is all out in the open. This is a good thing.

Proverbs 31:27a
She looks well to the ways of her household.

Proverbs 28:13a
Whoever conceals his sins will not prosper.

1 Timothy 3:4
He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect.

5. No Longer Slaves to Stuff
There aren't 10 piles of laundry calling my name, there aren't 50 toys piled on the floor, there is no 50" TV ~ hmmmm. There isn't room for this stuff. Without it, I don't have to clean it, organize it, and re-organize it. We aren't so wrapped up in our stuff that we can't see what the heck we are doing here. Materialism is raging in America, and in our home. Last night we watched a home-video from Christmas morning 2 years ago. We must have spent several hundred dollars. Maybe even a few thousand. I probably wasted weeks worrying about what we'd give the children, stressing about the perfect gifts for my hubby. Making sure they'd be pleased. Gift after gift we opened. I even opened gifts from myself. As we were watching this typical Christmas video, Mr. Pilot and I looked at each other and gasped. Where is all that stuff? What were we thinking? We don't have a single thing to show for any of it. Rubbish, all of it. I don't think this is particular to our family, I am pretty sure this is common in America.

Matthew 6:24
No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon (money or possessions).

Luke 12:15
Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."

4. Reduce Cleaning Time
Without all the stuff that we are no longer slaves to, it only takes 10 minutes. From top to bottom. Dusted, vacuumed, scrubbed. Nook, cranny, and all. Have you ever said the phrase "time just flies by" or "where did the time go?" Well, my dad told me that it only gets worse each year. I don't want to look back at my life and see that I wasted precious years that I could have been enjoying my children and husband on cleaning, organizing, and re-organizing my stuff. We all have the same 24 hours per day. I will never again shoo away one of my children because I have too much cleaning to do.

John 10:10
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

Ephesians 5:16
make the best use of time, because the days are evil.

3. The Simple Life
Tired of the rat-race whirlwind, running from this sporting even to that meeting, from this errand to that appointment? You are missing out on the sweetness of Life! Always rushing makes people sick, literally! Filled up calendars don't allow for noticing the lizard on the tree or for watching the mama duck make her nest You don’t have time to look up and see the sparkle in your little one's eye. How can you be in love with someone when you don't spend anymore time with them than what it takes to spout off the current days' tasks and the new chore list for tomorrow?

2 Corinthians 11:3
I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.

2. It's Cheaper
My husband thought it was worthy of being mentioned twice. With the extra money we save and the way my husband rocks the budget, we are going to be out of debt completely (not counting our mortgage) in less than a year. Our goal is to live in this RV for a year but, as we drive around Mississippi and admire the amazing farm houses we realize that if we lived in an RV until Mr. Pilot retired, we could pay cash for our dream house. I am not saying that is what we are going to do, so don't start spreading any rumors that I have gone off the deep-end and become a crazy trailer hermit. But I am just saying... I definitely don't want to move back into a house until I have reached the place that I won't go buying stuff to fill in all the empty space I'd have.

Matthew 19:24
“Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”

1. Loving God- and Family
With all of that other stuff out of the way, you are freed up to Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, mind, and soul. When you do that, you automatically fall in line with loving your family. I am not taking about, "yeah, you are my mom, I love you" kind of love. I am talking about, "I enjoy being in your presence, you make me smile, I'll give you the bigger half of the cookie and let it roll off when you hurt my feelings" type of love. Genuine love, not only will I die for you type of love, but I will live for you love.

Matthew 22:37-39
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and all your soul, and all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And the second is like it: you shall love your neighbor as yourself.

We've got some sweet neighbors!

Look what our neighbors brought us. Some "RV" grown tomoatos and homemade jellies. YUM!We have a very nice retired Navy couple that live a few RVs down from us. They have been very helpful with the local info and with some tips for fighting off the ants. They saved me with the blown water pipe and gave the children rides on their golf cart. They have a very nice RV and have a potted garden that they said I could pick from whenever I wanted. Tomatos galore, and fresh herbs too. This is a very nice welcome! I can't think of a single time in the last 10 years when a neighbor introduced themselves and offered to share their garden with me when we moved in a new home. Something tells me this is the way it should be...