It was so great having the entire family out for Thanksgiving this year. Rob’s mom and my parents came to celebrate with us. We roasted a turkey and made lots of food to go with it. We ate a lot, played games and watched movies. It was so nice to have seating for everyone and to spend the time together. The weather was also just right for spending some time outdoors.
It was definitely a holiday that I will hold dear to my heart and cherish for many years to come. I feel so very blessed!
After 19 months in our 24’ travel trailer, we decided it was time for a bit more room, so we upgraded to a 42’ 5th wheel!
We’re really excited about this. We get to host all of the grandparents for Thanksgiving this year. Both Rob’s mom and my parents will be here and I can’t wait! Rob’s mom will stay with us, but my parents are bringing their own camper and will camp next to us.
We can now get rid of our storage unit. We’ll go through it and either it comes with us in the 5th wheel, or it needs to go!
Emily will have her own room because this camper is a mid-bunk style which means it has a 2nd bedroom. It came with a sofa and a tiny bunk above that, but neither were comfortable, so we took those out and Rob built her a twin size day bed. She can pile up the pillows and use it as a sofa, or as a bed. He also made room for lots of storage under her bed in addition to what comes in her room.
The living room has a sofa that turns into a full size bed, plus 2 recliners! So we have seating for everyone at once.
The kitchen island will be wonderful for cooking and preparing meals while also having lots of room to walk around.
We aren’t buying a bigger truck at this point. We can’t travel full-time due to Rob’s job anyway, so we might as well save money on the truck. We’ll get one later if we need it.
Looking forward to making lots of great memories in our new home!
Ever feel like you are wandering through a desert in life? Maybe you are waiting for orders to go to the next duty station. Maybe you are in between jobs and wondering what is coming next. Where will you go? When will you go?
Let me encourage you this morning. God knows. He has a plan for you and if you trust him, he will reveal that plan to you in his perfect timing. Just trust him and obey him a step at a time as he reveals it to you. You likely won’t see the whole plan at once. You probably won’t even see the full “5 year plan”, but he’ll give you just enough light for the step you are on if you are willing to take it a step at a time and trust him. By the way, Stormie OMartian wrote a book called “Just Enough Light for the Step I’m On”, and I highly recommend it!
I’m a planner myself and I do like to know what the schedule is. Each week, I look at the week ahead and make plans. I plan meals, school, field trips, laundry days, family time – trying to balance it all. I often write things on my calendar a month or even months in advance but honestly, a week at a time is about all I can really schedule. More like a day at a time. Life happens. Things come up. Someone gets sick. People need help. So we have to be flexible.
Jesus wants me to be flexible in my schedule so that I can do things for him. If I’m so tied to my schedule that I don’t have time to help a neighbor then I’m too busy. If I’m rushing so much that I don’t have my quiet time with the Lord each morning reading his word, praying to him, and listening to him – then I’m too busy.
There is a comfort in knowing that God is really in control of my schedule, and if I will allow him to lead then I know I will get where I need to be, when I need to be there.
This morning I was reading my Bible in the book of Numbers, chapter 9, – during the time that the Israelites were wandering in the desert. As they were traveling along, they didn’t stay at hotels, or pop in to a friend’s house to sleep on the sofa. Instead, they had to pack up their entire camp and take it with them to the next location. Their “camp” would have been approximately 12 acres in size with all the people & animals that were with them. That’s a lot of tents to take down and set up! Not to mention the entire tabernacle that had to be taken apart and carried to the new location and then set up again. It wasn’t a small pop up tent either. The tabernacle itself was about 45 feet x 15 feet, with the outer court area measuring about 150 feet by 75 feet. It required 3 different tribes of people to carry all the parts of the tabernacle to its new location.
How did they know where to go, and when to travel? God showed them! He revealed himself as a pillar of fire over the tabernacle during the night, and a cloud over the tabernacle during the day. When the cloud moved on, the Israelites knew it was time to move too. Sometimes, at his command, they would stay somewhere for only a few days. Other times, they would stay for a month or a year. Whatever the time, they obeyed God’s command and encamped at the place he chose for them.
God didn’t just randomly send them out to a strange place. God always went ahead of them to lead the way and he always remained with them. Just as today, he never asks us to go somewhere that he hasn’t already been.
We stayed at one duty station for almost 5 years. Another one we were at for only 9 months. So far we’ve been at our current one for 8 months. We assume we’ll be here for 3 years or so, but the reality is – only God knows. Not even the Army is in charge of where we will go – God is. When it is time, he will direct our path and lead us to the place that he wants us to go next.
In the meantime, we are to live for him HERE. So often, we are so busy looking ahead to what is coming next that we miss the blessings of where we are NOW. Whether we are here for a few days, or a few years, I believe God has a plan and a purpose in our location and in everyone he puts in our path. Sometimes we meet someone that affects our lives in just a few moments. Sometimes we never see them again, and other times they remain in our lives for years.
As a military spouse, it’s easy to get to a new duty station and avoid getting involved in the local community because we know that we will move again one day. It’s hard to make friends knowing that you will have to leave them again. But if we avoid getting involved and meeting people, we miss out on SO MUCH. We miss out on blessings that the Lord has for us, and we miss out on the opportunity to bless others.
Living in our RV, we meet new people constantly. Some come and stay a long time at the campground, and others are only here for a night or a weekend. Either way, we love meeting these new people – hearing their stories, learning about their lives. God’s timing is perfect, and he often places people together in the same place at the same time for a purpose. We need to be open to seeing what he has planned for us each day right where we are. How can we love the people that are around us right now? What can we do for Christ today, right where we are?
What if there wasn’t a “next” to wonder about? What if right here, right now was the last place I’d be before Christ comes back? We don’t know what the future will hold, so let’s make the best of each day that we are given right where we are. If and when it is time to move on to another place, he will let us know – and we will follow him.
One year ago last week, we purged & sold 90% of our belongings and moved into our 30’ camper (187 square feet) fulltime. It’s funny because a couple years ago, living in an RV was something we only dreamed about for retirement “one day”, but now it’s our every day reality – and we LOVE it!
I really meant to update a lot more during our first year, but life got in the way of my blogging. I’ll work on that and try to do better this year. I can hear Yoda now saying “Do…or do not. There is no try.”
Let’s recap the past year, shall we? We moved out of our house and into our camper on March 30. For the next 5 months, we enjoyed life at a campground in Maryland near Rob’s work. It was a great “first home”. We woke up each morning to a beautiful view of the water, made some amazing friends, celebrated all 3 of our birthdays there, dealt with a couple storms with no issues, cooked and ate lots of meals outside, went swimming often, & fed lots and lots of ducks.
Memories from Bar Harbor RV Park in Maryland
Then, before we knew it, it was time to move down south to Georgia. The Army said it was time to go, so we went. That’s how it works. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – it was the easiest PCS move ever!! We took a 2 week vacation to get down here, camping and sight-seeing along the way. Then, we settled in at a campground in far eastern GA right near the coast. Or so we thought. It turns out we weren’t settled after all and that God had other plans for where he wanted us to live because then the hurricane happened.
We’ve now been at our current campground – Beaver Run RV Park – for 6 months and we couldn’t be happier. The campground, the people, the friends, the community….they all truly make this a HOME.
A really great playground where the kids feel right at home
A beautiful spring fed lake perfect for swimming, kayaks or paddle boating
So, how has it been for 3 people and a cat living in 187 square feet?
Absolutely wonderful! Does that make us crazy? Probably, but we’ve learned to embrace that title. There are definitely bigger families than ours in tiny spaces, though.
Seriously, this has changed our lives for the better. Pretty frequently, Rob and I check in with each other to see if we still like this way of living. Every time we both answer a definitive “YES!”. In fact, we often say we can’t believe we are getting to live like this daily. We’ve always loved camping and getting to do it every day makes me feel spoiled. Life is just more simple.
We spend so much less time cleaning. Our weekends are now filled with family time instead of cleaning house, yard work and chores. In fact, we’ve had to get really creative finding jobs for Emily to do to earn money. She does a lot of chores just for being part of the family, but we also pay her a salary for certain jobs as a way of teaching her how to handle money wisely because that takes practice. However, with this lifestyle there are a lot less household jobs to be done! The entire camper can be cleaned in under 30 minutes, and there is no yard work to do.
We buy less stuff & spend less money. There is no room for a bunch of randomness, so we think twice about every purchase. It has to have a true purpose and a place to go once it’s inside the camper. No shopping sprees at the thrift store on a whim, or buying random things at a yard sale just because. If something comes in, something else probably has to go out so better make it worth it. I also spend more wisely at the grocery store because there is only so much room in the fridge or pantry to put things. We are forced to use up what we have before buying more. We make great use of our Amazon Prime for shopping though because we can buy our vitamins, cat food, cat litter, and even clothes without going to the store and being tempted to buy more than we planned.
Our daughter THRIVES in this environment! She gets so much outside play time! She practically lives outside, which is truly her element. She rides her bike, plays at the playground or just in the nature with other kids, participates in an art class here at the campground, and is enjoying meeting new people too.
Even the cat is happier. She has several choices of prime seating right in front of a window where she can watch the birds & squirrels play. Unlike most cats, she is a “pack” animal and loves her pack of people. She used to follow us around from room to room in the house so she could lay down near us. Now, she can just pick a spot and her people are always nearby.
We have so much more family time! This happens naturally because we are all in the same space instead of off in separate rooms doing our own things. We play more games, cook more meals together, chat more about all the little things and just enjoy being together. We aren’t fools – we know time is limited before our daughter will be off on her own doing grown up things, so we are cherishing every bit of time we can. It’s also great for our marriage. I fall more in love with my husband every day, and it’s nice to be able to be together in the same space doing our own things instead of being in opposite sides of a house.
Oh, the people you’ll meet! One of our favorite parts of this lifestyle is meeting new people! Living in a house it always seems people come home, go in through their garage, close the door and never come out. At a campground, people are always out taking walks, cooking on the grill, or sitting by a fire. New people are coming and going all of the time – some just passing through and others staying a while. We’ve met so many interesting people with some incredible life stories. Getting to know people at potluck dinners, game nights, Bible studies, or just stopping to chat while on a walk is a great part of the experience. We’ve made some great friends over the past year, and many I think will be friends for life now.
We don’t miss the STUFF. We haven’t missed all the stuff we purged before moving into our tiny space. Not at all. Ok, I take that back – there was one thing. Hangers. We accidentally got rid of too many hangers and had to go buy more because we hang most of our shirts to dry. That’s it. We do still have a storage unit for now to hold some off-season items, Rob’s tools, our memory boxes, and a few extra craft items for me or toys for Emily that get traded out from time to time. Once we upgrade to a 5th wheel, we will get rid of the storage unit because we’ll have more storage built in. But all the boxes and boxes and boxes of stuff that we sold/donated/gave away/trashed?? We haven’t looked back. I haven’t even missed all the coffee mugs or craft supplies I let go. Emily hasn’t wanted 90% of the toys she thought she would. It’s been so freeing.
Any bad parts? Honestly, the only downside is that we can’t travel as much as we want due to Rob’s job. Retirement will come one day though, and we’ll do more then. At the same time, we really enjoy staying put and being a part of this community here at the campground and in the local city.
Lessons we’ve learned:
* Propane tanks are way cheaper to refill at Tractor Supply than to trade out the tanks elsewhere.
* Space heaters are really nice in the winter and make a huge difference in comfort.
* Dehumidifiers are a MUST! We started out with a couple tiny ones, but ended up with a 30 pint model. It might be in the way from time to time, but it is worth it for the amount of moisture it pulls out of the air! You don’t want mold growing because it’s too humid.
* Emptying the gray/black tanks are really not a big deal at all.
* Pinecones landing on the roof of a camper during a hurricane can sound like bricks falling from the sky.
* The night sky always looks better from a campground.
* Campfires never get old.
* Doing laundry at the campground laundry room is not only not a big deal, but I also like it. Unlike in the house, now I wash, dry AND put away all our laundry in ONE day!
* My husband was right – we didn’t need to bring the ice cream scoop because a spoon really will do the job. I did however, reclaim my lemon squeezer from storage.
* You don’t need a dishwasher when you have a 12 year old. I’m now understanding how my parents went so long with a broken dishwasher when I was in high school.
* Folding step stools are extremely helpful when you are only 5’3”!
Where do we go from here? Will we ever live in a house again? We’ll take it a step at a time. We don’t know what the future holds, where the Army will send us, or what we might decide to do. One day at a time!
This past September we moved from Maryland to Georgia due to Army orders. We took a fun 2 week family vacation on the way here, and then settled (so we thought) in a little town called Townsend near the coast of Georgia. It was a cute little town, but evidently it was not meant to be our home.
Before the storm
Just a couple weeks after moving here, Hurricane Matthew headed this way. I know there are a lot of people that are quite familiar with hurricanes, but we’d never been this close to one before. In Texas, we had tornadoes. In Maryland, we went through a record-setting blizzard. In North Carolina, we lived far enough inland that all we ever had was lots of rain during a hurricane. But this time, we were only about 10 miles from the coast of Georgia. Right where the hurricane was headed.
As it got closer, I just kept feeling like we should move further inland. After all, we live in a camper. It’s portable. Why stick around if we can move out of the danger zone? I truly believe that the Holy Spirit was urging me with this. I love how God communicates with us when we are trying to listen to him. I had this feeling in my gut that was so strong I had no doubts about it. So, I started looking for campgrounds further west. We couldn’t go too far because I knew the Army would still want Rob to show up for work, but I found a place that was much further inland and looked like a good location. I called to make reservations for a couple days later, and it was God’s perfect timing that I did so when I did.
The next day, mandatory evacuations started for places on the coast, and campgrounds started to fill up as people either moved their RV homes, or left their “sticks & bricks” home and traveled in their RVs. We were 1 mile away from the mandatory evacuation line, but then a couple days later even our area became mandatory. By then, all the campgrounds were FULL. I was so thankful I listened to the urging when I did.
It turns out, it was a GREAT move for us. I can only give God the glory for using the storm to bring us here. We arrived at Beaver Run RV Park on Wednesday, October 5. We had a couple days to get settled before the storm was to arrive. The community at the park came together for a potluck dinner, and prayers about the upcoming storm. What I didn’t realize when we made the reservation was that the park is owned by a Christian family. I loved that we all came together to meet our neighbors and pray together before the storm hit.
During the storm
That Friday, October 7, Matthew was scheduled to arrive. We had done all we could do to prepare. Our fresh water tank was FULL. Our propane tanks were FULL. We had plenty of food on hand, and coffee of course! Rob was off work that day, so we sat around playing games and watching the weather channel all day.
Rob and I made a pot of coffee and planned to stay up all night watching it just in case we needed to make a run for it. Our area was forecasted to get tropical storm winds and some flooding. We prepared ourselves and our stuff in case we needed to make a quick run for the truck to get out of dodge. If that had happened, we’d have left the camper behind. Thankfully we never had to leave here. Saturday morning at 1:00 AM, we lost power, and we had to listen to pine cones and some smaller branches falling on our camper all night, but all in all, it wasn’t too bad. Once we lost power, we decided to lay down and sleep if we could. Emily had already been asleep for a long time and was peacefully unaware. Thankfully, the weather wasn’t too hot, so we opened some windows for some fresh air.
All night long, I prayed. Not as much for us to be protected, but that I wouldn’t be fearful. God controls the storms, and I knew that no matter what, he was with us. A verse that really stuck out to me during this time was:
“I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.
Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.
This poor man called, and the Lord heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles.
The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.
Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.”
Psalm 34:4-8
After the storm
Saturday, we surveyed the damage, and we were all ok. Rob’s truck got a small dent from a branch falling on it, but it’s so old it doesn’t matter. Only 1 camper here got damaged, and NO ONE got hurt. I felt so much better once I saw that even a pop-up camper was still standing the next day. God is good, all the time!
We spent that next day helping to clean up around the campground – picking up branches, moving tree parts, etc. We had clean water, plenty of food and gas to cook with, so we were totally fine even though we had no power for 43 hours. Can’t complain – we weren’t hurt and didn’t have to suffer. The temps even cooled down at night so it got cold with the windows down. Glad it wasn’t crazy hot for all those without power. A great thing about the camper is that the stove & oven run on gas and the fridge can be electric or gas. So even without power, we could use our fridge, keep the food cold, and cook like normal.
Eating breakfast outside after the storm
Getting creative making coffee. No power, and no french press so we boiled water on the gas stove and poured it though the coffee maker.
After the storm passed, we decided not to return to our previous campground. We discussed it as a family and even gave Emily the final choice. We’ve moved her around so much that we wanted her to have a say in this. We’d already started looking for churches and activities in the first place, so it would mean starting all over. It would mean Rob had to commute an additional 10 minutes to work (we were now on the opposite side of post, and a little further away), but he was willing to do it.
She wanted to stay. We all agreed that it felt like we were HOME. The co-owners (who own the place with her parents) have a couple kids that are homeschooled. Emily was having a blast playing with them. The camp has a cool playground here and it’s just a super friendly environment. They do regular potlucks and other events and it feels like a community. Many of the people here are regulars, so they really are like a family. The grounds are absolutely beautiful with lots of trees and a very woodsy feel to the sites. The individual sites are huge so we have lots of room, and there is a pond for swimming.
Our new home at Beaver Run RV Park – I think we’re going to love it here!
I’ve already told you how this recent PCS was the easiest one ever, but now I want to share some of the fun we had along the way. We had some incredible family time enjoying God’s creation in many different ways.
Our First Stop was Luray, VA
We chose Luray because we wanted to see the caverns the area is famous for, and we were not disappointed! Absolutely beautiful. We stayed at Outlanders River Camp, right on the Shenandoah River. What a breathtaking view we had! Sunrises & sunsets were magnificent from this spot. I’m not sure I’d want to be there much in the middle of summer with no trees for shade, but I guess with the river nearby you could just spend all day in the water and it wouldn’t be an issue!
The view from our campsite
Our camper at sunset
A panoramic view
While we were there, we spent some time hiking on the Appalachian Trail. We plan to through-hike the entire trail one day after Rob retires, so we just really enjoy any chance we get to set foot on any part of it. We also spent a few hours driving and exploring the views along Skyline Drive – a 105-mile road that runs the entire length of the National Park Service’s Shenandoah National Park in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, generally along the ridge of the mountains. I highly recommend visiting this area! By the way, we drove on Skyline Drive in just our truck….not pulling our camper.
Along Skyline Drive
And of course, a visit to the Shenandoah River is not complete unless you play in it – so we did!
Our second stop was in Fancy Gap, VA for just a quick overnight stop before heading to our third stop in Chapel Hill, NC. We stayed at Spring Hill RV Park and we chose this campground because it was close to our destination – Carolina Tiger Rescue. Our daughter’s favorite animal is a tiger and she loves all cats, so we couldn’t resist stopping to see some big wild cats up close. We were all very glad we stopped here. We went on a tour and saw lions, tigers, ocelots, servals, and many more. This is a great organization that really cares about its animals. They rescue and take care of animals that have been mistreated or surrendered by owners that finally realized they had no business trying to keep one of these wild animals as a pet.
Our campsite at Spring Hill RV Park
Carolina Tiger Rescue
Our fourth stop landed us in Charleston, SC. We had a great campsite at James Island County Park. We didn’t get to stay long, but there is a LOT to do in this area. We were there long enough for a fun Water Taxi boat tour, and to eat at the Early Bird Diner. The diner was featured on Food Network’s “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives” with Guy Fieri and it definitely lived up to the hype! We at there for dinner one night and liked it so much we went back the next day. For a family that rarely eats out, that’s saying something! I recommend it as a “must do” if you are ever in Charleston.
The Water Taxi ride – very relaxing!
The Early Bird Diner
Our last stop (or so we thought) brought us to Townsend, GA where we settled in at Lake Harmony RV Park. This is a nice little campground in a super small town set on a beautiful spring fed lake that is good for swimming. I recommend it if you are passing through or if you want to be settled in a small town away from it all.
It was a really great vacation in the middle of our Best PCS Ever, and I’m so thankful for all the amazing family time we had together.
We thought we were going to stay there in Townsend, but a couple weeks later – The Hurricane Happened. Go read that post to see where we ended up.
We recently completed our first Army PCS since moving full-time into our RV 6 months ago! PCS stands for Permanent Change of Station, but it’s never permanent. In fact, we were at our last duty station in Maryland for just 9 months before the Army decided to move my husband’s unit away from that post, resulting in his orders assigning us to Fort Stewart, Georgia. This was our 3rd PCS as a family and by far, this one was the easiest!! We are definitely loving our decision to simplify. Leaving MD wasn’t easy on the heart because of all the wonderful friends we had made there, but the move itself was quite painless.
Prepping to Move
Since we’d been living in our RV for almost 6 months, everything we needed for daily life was already in our RV, one of our trucks, or in our storage unit (off-season clothes, extra tools, books and things we aren’t yet ready to part with). About a week before the move, the Army movers loaded up all the boxes and belongings we had in storage into their big truck and drove them to GA for us. The Army gives us up to 90 days of free storage, so they held on to all our items until we arrived in GA and secured a storage unit in the area. Once we arrived in GA and got settled, we just called them to give them the address of our new storage unit, scheduled a day to meet them there, and sat back while they unloaded all of our belongings for us.
A few days before the big move, Hubby drove his truck down to GA and caught a flight back home so that we could all travel together in one vehicle on moving day. We were planning to take a couple weeks of vacation and do some sight seeing on our way to GA, and wanted to travel together in one vehicle.
Oh, and we did NOT do a DITY (Do it Yourself) move, or even a partial one. Some people say when they move with an RV, they unload it, get it weighed, reload it, and weigh it again. The Army will technically pay you for whatever they would have moved, if they had done it all. They won’t pay to move your RV, but they would have paid to move all the stuff inside it. Therefore, if you get the weight of your belongings inside the RV, they will pay you whatever it would have cost them to move those things. Honestly, with the little amount of weight we have inside our camper, it wasn’t worth the hassle to pull it all out and get the weight of it. We just let the Army move what we had in storage, while we moved the RV and the belongings inside and we called it a day. The Army already pays us a Per Diem to help with food, lodging and gas along the way so that was good enough for us.
Getting the Kitty Cat Ready
We also had to prepare our kitty, Angel, for the move, especially since we were going to be on the road for 2 whole weeks. A couple weeks prior to the move, we started taking her for practice rides in the truck. Just short little ones around the campground or down the street and back. We used to travel with her in a crate, but the crate stresses her out so much (it’s bad!), that we decided to try something new. We simply carried her out to the truck and gently placed her in the backseat with her favorite girl – our daughter. We had a harness and leash on her just in case she tried to make a run for it, but she never did. She’s not really the type to bolt anywhere (she is 11 years old, after all), and she has never acted like a “crazy cat” so we weren’t too concerned about her running all over the truck or getting in our way. She’s typically very mellow and laid back. Unless, you try to put her in a crate and then she makes sounds worse than nails on a chalkboard.
She did GREAT with the rides, so that’s how we handled the big trip – just lose in the backseat with no crate. We put her litter box in the back floorboard, just in case she needed it. We never traveled for more than 4-5 hours in a day so we didn’t feed/water her during travel time. When we put her inside the truck, I always placed her into her litter box because sometimes she pees when she’s nervous and I wanted to make sure it went where it should. After the 2nd day, I don’t even think she was doing that anymore. Most days, she just calmly walked around a little, looked out the windows and mostly curled up right next to her girl, or on top of the book she was trying to read. She’d meow at us every so often to tell us she really disliked moving, but then she’d calm down again. We also gave her regular dosages of Rescue Remedy for Pets (all natural) to help her anxiety. At the end of each travel day, we’d put her back inside her home (the RV) again and she’d curl up in a favorite spot and take a nap.
Moving Day & Beyond
When the big day arrived, all we did was hitch up the camper to the truck and pull out of the campground. Here we go! We spent a couple weeks on the road, exploring and having some amazing family time. It was so nice to spend each night in our own home, in our own beds without having to live out of suitcases or in and out of hotels. We didn’t have to worry about finding pet-friendly places to stay, because we took our home with us, which also caused way less stress on our sweet kitty since she got to go back to the same place each time rather than a new place every few days. We kept our fridge and freezer stocked with food, so we were able to cook real meals each day rather than eating out, which saved a ton of money. Eating out can be fun on occasion, but it’s so expensive and we much prefer our own home cooking most of the time. Except for one diner in South Carolina called Early Bird Diner– it was so good, we ate there TWICE!
One of our favorite parts was bringing our own bathroom with us!! It was so handy because anytime we needed a potty break on the road, we could just exit and pull over to use our own bathroom. We didn’t have to find nice, clean gas stations or wait for a certain exit. Just pull over and go!
Every few days, we woke up in a new place, ready to explore and have some fun. We toured caverns, explored a big cat rescue, played in a river, and did some hiking. We played hard, and slept well – each day we woke up together as a family after a good night of rest in our own beds.
Definitely the Best PCS Ever!
Do you need more peace in your life? I always feel peaceful when I am surrounded by nature. I love being by the water watching it move with the wind or being surrounded by trees and listening to all the birds chirping – away from all the noises of daily life. Unfortunately, the reality is that we can’t escape every day life all the time and we do have to face some difficult circumstances and challenging situations. How then, do we hang on to that PEACE all the time?
The truth is – there is only one way to true, lasting peace – JESUS. It’s not automatic, but everyone has the same opportunity to experience it. It’s not just a matter of believing in God – most people do. It’s not even just believing that Jesus was a man who really existed. The way to that deep down, in your gut, everlasting, constant peace is by choosing to believe that Jesus is God’s son, he lived a perfect, sinless life and then chose to die on the cross to take the punishment for all our sins – every one. For you. For me. Why? Because he loves you that much and wants to spend eternity with you. He could have called on 10,000 angels to save him from the cross, but he chose to sacrifice himself for each of us. And that’s not even the best part – the best part is that he rose from the dead 3 days later and He LIVES today!
2 main things separate Christianity (followers of CHRIST) from other “religions”. One is that we worship a LIVING Lord! Every other religion worships someone who is dead or a statue that was never alive in the first place. The second thing is that most religions say you have to work for your salvation. They say you have to earn it. Make sure your good deeds outnumber your bad ones. Some even say you have to hate or hurt people. That’s NOT right!! There is nothing you can do to earn salvation – an eternal perfect life in Heaven – because it’s a free gift being offered to you. All you have to do is choose to believe, on faith, and accept it.
“Faith is being sure of what we hope for, and certain of what we do not see.” (Hebrews 11:1)
You believe that wind exists right? Yet, you don’t see it – you simply see the effects of it on other things. Well, without any doubt in my mind, I see evidence of Jesus and God every single day.
Accepting these truths, will bring you PEACE. Not a perfect or painless life, but a peaceful one. My life hasn’t been perfect or painless – in fact, there have been many, many heartaches, physical sufferings, trials and hard times. But through it all – I’ve found peace, because I trust in the One who is in control. The one who created the universe, knows the number of hairs on your head, controls the sea, gave the birds their songs, made the bumblebee able to fly, makes a tiny acorn grow into a magnificent oak tree – He is in control and he loves you!
“Therefore, since we have been justified through FAITH, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:1)
We are justified (saved from eternal damnation in Hell) by our FAITH – not our works. That is what bring us an everlasting peace. You don’t have to have all the facts to have faith. You don’t have to have all your questions answered to have faith. Thank goodness, because we never will! I don’t have to understand everything about how something works to believe it’s true. Take the step of faith, and open your heart to letting Jesus into your life. It’s so worth it! YOU are worth it!
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)
We are now 2 weeks into full-time RV living, and we absolutely love it! Waking up to the view of the water, the birds chirping, & the ducks waddling is fantastic! Living the simple life with less stuff surrounding us is so relaxing. So far we haven’t even felt crowded – in fact, we are really enjoying our smaller space and the closeness it brings. We are also getting our own alone time when we need it. Emily loves to hang out in her bunk reading with the curtain closed. After Rob gets home from work in the afternoon, we get lots of time to sit and chat while she’s outside playing with friends. It’s like we are getting date time! Then we all come together for dinner and family time – board games, a Bible study or a movie. Once Emily goes to bed, Rob and I get time in our bunk at night where we read or watch a show on Netflix together with headphones so as not to disturb Emily.
Now all we need is for Rob to retire so we can be together and travel all the time! Still have a while to wait on that, though.
I want to share some of the changes that we’ve made to our RV to make it fit us better. I already shared how we made our fridge magnetic, so today I’ll share another one of my very favorite changes that was made possible thanks to my handy Hubby!
Our camper came with a booth style dinette and under each seat is some available storage. The downside was that in order to access the storage, you had to lift up the seat cushion and lift up a piece of wood – which means if someone was sitting at the table, they had to move first.
(Don’t mind the mattress hanging over the cushion….we also replaced that “bunk” style mattress with a super comfy memory foam one!)
My clever and very handsome Hubby had a solution to this storage problem – DRAWERS!
He cut out the hole for the drawers
Then he installed the drawer tracks (purchased from Home Depot) and also secured them with some extra pieces of wood for stability and proper sizing. Our drawers only go about half of the length of the dinette because the water heater is on one side and the water pump is on the other. If your pump and heater are elsewhere, you could make these drawers even longer.
He built the drawers from scratch
He even built the drawer fronts, routed the edges, and stained them to make them match our other cabinet doors. The angle of this picture makes it look like the drawer fronts are 2 different colors, but they are the same!
I absolutely LOVE these drawers!!! Not only are they beautiful – they are so handy! At first, I thought I was going to put our homeschool supplies or some kitchen appliances in them but those plans changed. I ended up putting our homeschool supplies in the “pantry” because the size of the shelf just worked better for our binders. The appliances all fit under the kitchen sink & stove, so that opened up these drawers for our pantry storage! I have all our canned goods in one and our bread/tortillas/chips in the other. It’s perfect!! I can grab things from the drawers even if someone is sitting at the table, and Emily loves being able to reach down and grab her snacks while she’s doing schoolwork at the table.
Live simply, love abundantly!
We’ve now been living the RV lifestyle for one full week, and things are going great! We are staying at a local RV campground located right on a bay and I am loving waking up to a view of the water. We had no trouble getting set up & hooked up on our campsite, and there is plenty of room to park both of our vehicles. We have a concrete area right outside our door and a picnic table that I look forward to using as the temperatures warm up.
One of the things I was a little concerned about was how we would sleep with Hubby getting up for work each day. He gets up at 4:45 each morning and that is just way too early for Emily and I to be up. It turns out, I had no reason for concern. Even though the bathroom and front door are right near Emily’s bunk, she hasn’t woken up once with him getting up, getting dressed, shaving, getting his coffee & lunch, and getting out the door. I only wake up to his alarm, but then I go right back to sleep just like I did before. Even once I get up, Emily is still sound asleep in her “cave” (her bunk area). She absolutely loves it in there. She’s always loved spaces where she can get in and hideaway, so she loves getting in her space and closing the curtain to have some privacy.
The first 2 days, the coffee maker woke me up with all its sputtering and noise making, but after that I have slept right through it. Guess military life has taught us to adapt pretty easily after all! In fact, I am sleeping much better now than I was in the house. I’m sure the main reason is the mattress that we upgraded to in the RV – it is memory foam and super comfy! We ordered it on Amazon and got it delivered in 2 days with free shipping (love Amazon Prime!) I also think the peaceful camping atmosphere helps a lot. I absolutely love getting out in nature and life just feels calmer and less stressful here.
We’ve done a little more organizing and rearranging a little since we moved in. I’ve got a great cabinet that I’m using for our homeschool curriculum, and we have plenty of room for our food. Emily has a great shelf by her bed for her stuffed animals, books, art supplies & clock. I’m sure there will be more organizing to come as we figure out what works best in this space, but so far we’re happy with our choices.
So far, I’d say our pre-move purge was a huge success! Our only real “oops” so far was getting rid of all our clothes hangers! We got rid of a huge box of them when we moved out of the house because we have all our clothes stored in cabinets and boxes here in the camper so we didn’t need them – or so we thought. Then laundry day came and we remembered we hang most of our clothes to dry and we hadn’t kept hangers to do that! Oops!! So we had to buy a set of hangers. Thankfully that was an inexpensive purchase. We ended up choosing some extra thin hangers that take up less space so it ended up being a win!
I’ll post more pictures soon and share some of the other modifications we’ve made to make this place a home, but for now I’ll leave you with a picture of our daughter’s favorite daily activity – feeding the local ducks!
The camp store here sells bags of duck food for 50 cents and she loves getting to go spend her money on food for her new friends! They love her already and come running when they see her. These ducks are going to get spoiled quickly.
Loving the abundant life!