Holiday Thoughts

I keep thinking I am just not in the holiday spirit this year. I just don't have the initiative to search for gifts and shop sales. Don't wanna "overdeck" the halls. I thought I was in a funk. But then it became clear to me. I am completely in the holiday spirit this year....I am so thankful for my life and what I have in it. I am so happy with my family and our health. Times are a little hard for us financially but other than that we are blessed. If only that stinking house would sell. But God has a plan for us, and harm is not part of it. I just know in my heart that we are fine. Better than fine. I have complete faith that everything will work out according to his plan. In the meantime, I thank God for the opportunity to spend the holiday with whoever. If it's just me, Scott and the kids for Thanksgiving, then so be it. It will be the five of us, happy and healthy together in a house. And as for Christmas, all those decorations in the attic in Weatherford can wait til next year. For now we have one tree, which by the way is not the prettiest tree since I let the girls do the decorating. We don't have a tree in every room and stockings hung by the fireplace. We don't have lights outside and tons of gifts under the tree. But we have each other and a family that loves us and more importantly, a God who loves us. So Happy Thanksgiving to all of you...and thanks for being a part of our lives!

For you...Smithwick!

So I didn't think anyone checked this anymore, but apparently you do, and apparently you wanna see our new home. So here it is. BTW, our address is 598 Salado Creek Dr, Salado, TX, 76571. And just so you know, my bed is really right side up...I just forgot to flip the photo! So now you know...come by and visit us sometime!

Out by October

Out by October...that's our goal. We will camp away here at the KOA 'til October 1. Our goal was officially stated today..we want to be in a home Oct. 1. That means either our house has to sell, or we have to have enough cash each month to own and rent two homes. Please pray that this will work.

You Spoke...I Listened

So after receiving numerous words of wisdom, advice, and support after my last post both on my blog and personally, I feel much better. Oddly enough, three people had the same theme in mind...contentment. Two of you lead me to a verse in Phillipians chapter4. And another talked about her personal walk with God and learning to be content. I have read that chapter many times and looked at it with an open heart again this morning and was suprised to see the word CONTENT in there.
"I know what it is to be in need and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation...I can do everything through him who gives me strenth."
Man, those words make living in a camper so trivial, you know? It took my mom to remind me how upside down my world was five years ago...I had a beautiful home, but my health, Payton's health and Marcus' life were a day to day struggle. In retrospect, I am going to remain positive and pray daily until I can really say those verses and mean it!
Thanks a million for all of your support.
Oh, and maybe this is a sign from God...the owners of this place needed some concrete cutting around the pool...they asked Scott to do it (it's a quick and easy job for him) and agreed to barter by giving us free rent for September. So now I am content with staying here through September, knowing it is FREE!!!

Not my best moment

So yesterday was my first official day at my new job. I met some great people who asked me to lunch and then came the question..."So, where do you live?" and then the response, which sounded really lame and white trashy and a tad embarassing. I had just had an AHA moment in church on Sunday and was so content with being in this place for however long it took and then I had to say this to new friends. I shouldn't be ashamed or embarassed, but I kinda was because my whole life I have really been worried if people would like me...never thinking or assuming that they just WOULD. I hated going to that place of insecurity. Why do I care? Is it bad that my family lives in a camper? Does it make sense? I suddenly needed my people to surround me and lift me up. I wish my family had a real home. I really do. I went to bed early last night and threw my frustrations to God and asked for peace and understanding and patience. Apparently our house showed on Sunday and the people did not like it...they said it was outdated. At what point do we have to find an extra $1000 a month to live in a home that isn't even a good one? I just don't know. I wish things would just work out....I had faith that everything would just happen....but they didn't. Perhaps this is God once again showing me that he has his own schedule...and I have to let my own plans go. I dunno. Thoughts anyone? If you are reading this, please respond...I need to hear honest responses and thoughts to help me process all of these feelings.

These are the people in my trailerhood

Sing it with me, Sesame Street Fans..."Oh, these are the people in my trailerhood..." I love people watching...and what better place to do it than in an RV park? First of all, this place is short on women. I wonder what that says about me.
Unless you count the "woman" next to us...she comes and goes and is very quiet...you'd never know she was there until you caught a glimpse of her Wranglers and mullet...yikes. Need I say more? I joke that she is Scott's girlfriend...he jokes that she is more suited for me.
Then on the other side is an older man who is recovering from a hip replacement and has no air conditioning...can you imagine? I don't know if he is shy, grouchy, or just plain doesn't like me cuz he never talks to me. Every day when it starts to get hot, he drives his truck down to the pool and sits under the shade tree with his walker, reading a book and sipping gatorade. Then at dinnertime he drives back home.
Besides our immediate neighbors, we have many more colorful personalities, such as the elderly couple complete with pink flamingoes out front, and the man with the long silver pony tail who does Tai Chi early every morning in tube socks and extremely short silky shorts circa 1985. Again with the yikes!
And for a special treat, since we are right next to the Expo center, we host campers attending conferences. This weekend is especially packed with the huge Jehovah Witness convention going on. Early in the morning, they emerge dressed in their Sunday best and are taken over on golf carts. Around 4:30, they all come home. We hide, and hope they don't come knockin'. They are apparently coming back and forth every weekend for the next month....nice. Personally, I would rather be hosting Sami show campers...they have something to offer me!

And we're living!!!

I feel like my life here has actually started and reality is setting in. I had my first day of work yesterday at Belton ISD....new teacher inservice wasn't even painful! Everyone was so friendly and welcoming. The girls started back at day care, Marcus has a class schedule and today....dinner is in the crockpot! It's like real life...only in a tiny home.
The best part of a tiny home? You can clean up super fast.
The worst part? It gets messy super fast.
The most hilarious part? We have three laptops in one computer...our original one, the new one we bought for the business and my new one from BISD. How crazy is that? We probably have a laptop for every 50 square feet...all wireless!
I have also officially dried my hair twice without blowing a breaker...I am getting better at this!
And as for an Elliott update: NO news on the house, but the business is really thriving. Yeah!

Day 2...So far so good!

Today is a good day...so far! I managed to dry my hair without blowing a fuse. And I finally managed to enter a bunch of invoices for the business that I have been putting off. I am weird like that...I get so overwhelmed with tasks that I just don't do them, and then panic about it. So today I just did it...I entered the invoices and put away the girls' stuff. I feel so relieved now.
Today is my last day of summer...sad. I start my brand new job tomorrow and I am going to be as optimistic as possible. Carsyn is officially registered for second grade, Payton is registered for day care, and dance and gymnastics registration is tonight. By the end of today, we will officially be BUSY!!!
Here's my biggest RV accomplishment so far...I created a ceiling fan! I took a small fan that is supposed to sit on a table and hung it over an overhead cabinet in our room...Voila! We have a ceiling fan! I also learned how to light the stove yesterday. I am getting good at this camping life!
Today's challenge? Cover the windows and skylights...yes, they let beautiful natural light in and make it feel roomier in here...but c'mon....it's over 100 degrees out there! I am thinking some sticky velcro and a trip to Hobby Lobby should do the trick.
Thought for the day??? Why put off for tomorrow what you SHOULD BE DOING today...or should've done TWO WEEKS AGO!!!

Queen of my Trailerhood

That's me....queen of my trailerhood. It's official...my family of five now resides in a trailer...which sounds better when we say camper...or even classier...RV. I know it sounds a little odd, but it's our reality, and I promise to be positive and ok with it. You see, we have a beautiful 3000 square foot home in Weatherford...fenced in back yard, the dog roams freely...but it's 2 hours away from my husband's dream...owning his own business. It's also 2 hours away from friends and family. We decided to throw caution to the wind in a ridiculously slow housing market and go for it. I pray daily that God will send a buyer to my home in Weatherford, but so far nothing. So here we are...all five of us...mom, dad, 16 year old son, 6 year old daughter, and 4 year old daughter, in a travel trailer. Plus a chihuahua named Giselle. We had to leave a man behind....Tito is our pit bull. Even though he is our beloved family pet, there is quite a stigma attached to that breed. We thought we had a plan for him, but that fell through, so now he is spending one more week in our Weatherford backyard by himself while we hopefully come up with a plan.
I thought if I was going to live with my family in an RV two things should happen. FIRST I should make the most of it and see if it will alter our life for the better. SECOND...I decided I should journal my events to be able to look back on it. Maybe it will be so life changing for us that it will also inspire you.
Thought for the day: "Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will wory about itself." I say that every night when I go to sleep and only make a daily to do list...I worry NOT about the next day or next week. For now, we are healthy, sheltered, fed, and together. And TOGETHER is the best place to be!!!

I'm back!!!

Ok, I just made a promise to myself to get back to my blogging, whether you want to read it or not! So, for those of you who think living in a camper is a little odd, check it out...this is NOT the Coleman pop-up camper I had when I was a kid! This isn't really even camping...it's just living in a tiny house on wheels. We bought a 30 ft. Travel trailer with a full kitchen, air conditioning, full bathroom, cable, wireless internet and two bedrooms (with actual doors!)...one with a full sized queen bed and the other with four bunks...one of which converts into another table....the kids actually have their own room! We all stayed there for 5 days together and not once did I feel cramped or confined. We are lovin it!

It's been a while, I know!

I know it's been too long and those of you who are faithful are tired of the same photo. Here's what you've missed. Scott turned 40 and we celebrated at home as a family. I got a new car!! Carsyn lost her first top tooth and thinks she is hot stuff. Marcus lettered in Varsity wrestling and will receive his letterman soon. Enjoy the photos!

A Tale of Two Brendas

I had to scrap a challenge this week about a person who said or did something that impacted my life in a major way. I chose to tell about the crazy decision to move to Texas with the other Brenda, Brenda Skinner, because it not only impacted my life, but also Jill's, since she followed my path about three years later. Brenda and I reconnected on Facebook after losing touch for a long time. She now lives in Ohio and we got to meet each other's families this summer. The page is Orange and Brown for a BGSU tribute.

My favorite ever!!!

For this challenge, I was supposed to use an entire pack of embellishments I've been saving...intead I used this beautiful patterned paper that I was afraid to cut up...I tried to use every last scrap of it. I love how the colors coordinated with their fairy costumes...and these are probably my favorite photos ever of the girls, taken of course by Amy.

This is one of my favorite scrapbook pages ever...it is so fun! It was inspired by the challenge to pick a song that gets you going...so I came up with a high school oldie...It Takes Two...and I had these photos laying around for a while wanting inspiration...and wallah!!!

Scrappin the Day Away!

Here are my latest pages...they are actually from last week but I forgot to post. So I will post these then continue on with my next challenges!

The first one is from the challenge to scrap a funny story...so of course I used Payton. So many stories to share with her, but I chose the Tiny Trumpet Christmas story and used a quote bubble for her own words to be remembered....I am loving my tiny flowers I made with my cricut. Payton also signed her own name on this page. If you click on the photos they will enlarge and you can read the journaling!

The second is my pop culture page...I recreated the page to remember the snuggies...and I tried to make the page look like the Snuggie box.

The third is the NO plain paper page...it was tough!!! This is Carsyn's dance recital last year. Even though I wanted some more words at the bottom, I think it is beautiful!