Leaving Colorado Springs and retracing our steps east

You know, it's actually difficult to write these posts sometimes.  I don't want to ramble but I want to share all of the things that we are doing!  So much has happened these last few days so buckle in...it's a fun ride. 

 

We did a few more days at Colorado Springs YWAM and finished strong.   We had only planned on staying 10-14 days but ended up staying for 2 1/2 weeks.  We stayed busy, busy, busy and loved every minute of it!  We chose to head out because the snow was coming the next night and for the next 15 days, night-time temps were only getting up to high 20's.  The night before we left,  we were surprised with a special dinner seating arrangement (which I think might have generated from Kamryn's numerous lunch and dinner dates).  Numerous tables were pulled together so we could all sit as a large group on.  We also got to swim with some of the students and began telling our goodbyes.  Then,  in the morning, we had a full breakfast table as it would be our last this go-around.   Then we said our byes and headed out to finish loading up.  This is when we got to do our final bye with Bruce, our "boss" (aka my fellow gun nut).  He helped us get some final steps completed and we hugged a few times.  He "prayed us out" and we headed on our way...for one last coffee in the coffee shop and we found a few more folks to say bye too.  Malissa "prayed us out" in the coffee shop and we were on our way.  It was wonderful to be sent off in such a spectacular way! 

We did the same thing here as we did in Virginia with the index cards.  We gave cards out to some folks and asked them to 1) write our family a short note and/or 2) write a favorite memory and/or 3) write what they learned from our family.  Then, we read them as a family after we left.  Again, this proved to be such a blessing because it gave the kids a chance to see some of the impact that they had.   It also brought back some of the memories that we had that we may thought were not much to others but really was.   We will keep these cards in separate envelopes to be looked at later.   The Lord really showed us some new things while were in Colorado Springs and allowed us to blessed in great and new ways.  We hope that we were able to give as much as we received from the folks there. 

Kamryn napping after a morning of work.  So cute!

 

We went to a church Fall Festival and had a great time.  Kamryn was a mermaid and Caleb was a happy skeleton.  Zachary didn't get to partake...against his will. 

 

Zachary was invited out to play ultimate frisbee with some of the students.  They enjoyed his company and had great words to say.  He had a great time!

 

A nap after another day of work. 

 

Kamryn received a gift from Miss Lauren.  She loves it! 

 

A night time swim. 

 

Cooking a marshmallow indoors. 

 

Kamryn got to make a birthday cake for "America", her friend that we have never met.  She lives in South America and has the same job that we do. 

 

The cake ended up as cookies but Nathan did great with the kids.  (The cookies were good too...America never got any because we ate them all!)

 

Zachary chillin' for a minute in the kitchen. 

 

Kamryn waiting for her fake sandwich at the coffee bar.  Don't worry, she paid Mr. Ryan with her fake money for the fake sandwich.  She said it's the right thing to do. 

 

Zachary loving on his baby sister. 

 

Caleb and Mr. Matt...one of our friends and working buddies. 

 

Some of the guys from Kamryn's point of view. 

 

Miss Lola and Miss Anastasia were loved by all!

 

This was our last supper together. It was a great time trying to hear everyone over everyone.  Typical for our times together!

 

POOL PARTY!!!

 

The view the day we were heading out. 

 

Everyone is not so happy to go...

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Caleb telling Miss Bethany bye.  He volunteered his time (on his own) to help her fold laundry.  Such a hard worker!

 

This was our breakfast table the morning that we were leaving...what a great sendoff. 

 

Kamryn, Miss Nadine, and Miss Malissa..they had a great time!

 

Zachary and his kitchen buddies.

 

Some of the girls causing trouble!

 

Austin and me...again!  It was so great to see him again.  I think he ran away before we left because I hugged him about 40 times!

 

Our last few minutes in the coffee shop and a few more byes. 

 

Malissa is praying us out.

 

She was so upset...

 

The Clon Clan and Bruce.  We had a great time working together. 

 

Zacahry, Kaylee (Zachary's boss!), and Monica...great kitchen buddies!

 

Caleb told Kaylee how much he appreciated her taking care of him with peanuts.  He looked her in the eyes and explained how much it meant to him.  It was great!

 

We left there and had a plan to drive to Dumas, Tx and stay the night but we decided to drive through the dark and make it to Amarillo, Tx.  We drove for about 7.5 hrs but had about an eleven hour day.  We did make one neat stop at Capulin Volcano NP, though.  We drove up to the top of the volcano and hiked into what  was the vent.  It began raining on us so we went back down to the visitor center and spent some time talking to the Rangers.  Kelly met a lady who worked there that used to live from where Kelly is from and used to work in the same place.  They enjoyed trading stories, the kids earned another Jr Ranger badge, and we headed on our way.  We stayed at the same Texas Information Center on Route 66 that we did on the way out west a few months ago .  This time it was packed and we got the last spot and settled in.  On the way to this place we saw the most amazing lightning storm off in the distance in Oklahoma.  We have never seen such continuous lightning; it lasted for nearly an hour.  There were at least five lightning bolts in the sky at any given time.  It was so beautiful that it made it difficult to drive.  This is also about the time that we were passed on a two lane highway, in the dark, doing about 70 mph with a rig driving in the other lane and we were passed by a rig with a full trailer!  Then, about 300 yards up the road, he slowed down QUICKLY to make a right turn on a farm road...right after running the rig in the opposing lane off of the road.  I only share it because it was so memorable and was a bit nerve-racking.  Anyway, we made it to the Texas Information Center and settled in just in time for the wind to start howling, rain to start falling, and hail to start dropping.  We woke up to a beautiful morning though and headed to Wal Mart to get something fixed that another Wal Mart messed up on the truck. 

 

Watching a movie on the Capulin Volcano.

 

 

Hiking to the vent of the volcano. 

 

Taking the Jr Ranger oath yet again!

We had the truck tires rotated at Wal Mart in Colorado Springs.  They didn't reset the TPMS so I had an error and I wouldn't have known if I was losing air while I was towing.  We went to a different Wal  Mart on the way  but they told us that the machines they needed had just broken (this ended up being a blessing).  We ended up the next day at this Wal Mart in Amarillo and met the manager to get it fixed.  He got us right in and it was quickly fixed and the tires got rotated again.   We ended up doing a bit of shopping while we waited.   While we were putting the groceries away and getting ready to leave, we were approached by a guy that "noticed we had small kids and needed help getting into his camper".  Sid has just bought a camper and truck days before and the lock was messed up on the front door.  His other vehicle keys were left in the camper and he needed Kamryn to slide in between the rear camper door and slide out and try to unlock the front door.  The lock ended up being broken and she was asked to put the read slide-out out.  The amazing thing was that she knew exactly what to do and how to put the slide-out out on his new camper!  I helped them fix their door by taking it apart (twice as it accidently got locked again :) ) and we talked about our story and where he was "in life".  We had a great time sharing information and I overloaded him with RV info after a long while.  When the door got locked a third time "on accident" by his friend,  we traded contact information and we were on our way.  (We didn't leave because it got locked again, the kids were in the truck starting to go into hungry mode and chicken was waiting :) ) 

This is the same placed we stayed (for free!) on the way out west. 

 

Talking with Sid after Kamryn got in and we had fixed the door...the first time!

 

 We showed up at an awesome state park and were quickly greeted by hundreds of yellow jackets who were looking for a place to nest!  It was a bit hairy but we made it inside the building.  We met the Ranger  and she was a great help.  I ended up with a Texas state park pass and the kids ended up with an "adventure pack" that had anything you could imagine that has to do with the outdoors.  It had flower, snakes, spiders, animal tracks, butterfly, etc booklets.  It also had a compass, binoculars, notebook and about 20 other things that Caleb commandeered and had a great time with while there.  Texas state parks also have a Jr Ranger program, kind of like the NPS Jr Ranger program, so the kids got their books to complete.  We settled into our spot and within a few minutes I was next door after seeing someone crawling under their camper.  We ended up working on their lights for a bit and talking.  He was a Port Chaplain in Florida and had a great story.  We really shared allot about how God has worked in both of our lives over the last few years.  The rest of my family ended up invading their space and visiting for a bit.  They left the next day and we went out to say bye.  They gave us an email address so we can come and check out their ministry and visit when we go to Florida.  They also gave us a wonderful gift and shoved off.  Is the Lord leading us to Jacksonville to join in some Work at the ports? Stay tuned!

Back to that evening...I came home for a few minutes after working on the lights and lost Kelly, Kamryn and Caleb.  I found them a few RV spots over after they returned a blowing trash can.  They were visiting with some folks from Texas and loving on their cat in their motorhome.  I headed over, after seeing her through a window.  We all chatted for a bit and then the kids left with a mouthful and a pocketful of candy before we headed home.  The same night,  Kelly and I walked Leo and couldn't believe how dark it was and how many stars we could see.  We could see horizon to horizon and also found out the next day that this place is the second darkest place in Texas as far as being the least polluted by light...which leads me to one of the other folks that we met.  After we went fishing one day (more about that in a second!)  we came back and saw an apparatus in front of someone's camper.  I thought it looked like something for a telescope so Zachary scooted right over to find out what it was.  Sure enough, he had found a new friend with a love of astronomy.  Billy Ray had explained a bit of his interest and how he got into astronomy and Zachary came home with a few stories.  We walked back over later after it was dark and we got to see his whole set up that he has been working on for two years.   We were invited to get up the next morning at 0400'ish to meet him outside to see what we could see and Zachary went to bed excited!  I was excited to see the amazing sky but not excited about getting up so early on the day of a big drive.    Especially when at about 2330, I heard a loud crash outside our door.  I ended up grabbing my friends (Sabre spray and Smith & Wesson) and headed out to find a new couple who were RV'ing for the first time.  They had not chocked their camper and it rolled backwards, ripping off one of their stabilizer jacks.   I went out to help them straighten things up and we agreed that we could do some more in the morning.  Zachary and I woke up at about 0335 and got dressed and  headed out and met Billy Ray at his site.  We learned many new things about telescopes and their technology, his set-up, and some cool websites.  We were also able to look at the moon and Jupiter through the eyepiece and then on the laptop to get some better resolution.    It was cold but very rewarding to be able to feed Zachary's passion of the skies.  We stayed out about two hours and headed in for some rest and heat. 

 

Pulled in our spot and headed over to help a neighbor. 

 

True Artwork.

 

Caleb loves bugs...that's all.  This hour he caught a grasshopper and a walking stick.

 

Telling Calvin and Mrs. Donna bye. 

 

Nothing like having breakfast on the porch!   (or the truckbox...same difference)

 Now, back to the fishing story!  We went fishing and didn't catch anything but while fishing, we looked across the lake and saw about 10 turkeys following the shoreline.  They went off into the woods and we continued fishing.  Then, we saw another  15 turkeys coming from the same direction.  Zachary ran about 200 yards to hide in the bushes where the other ones went in and the turkeys  walked right past him!  Then he followed them and I ran into the woods and found a trail.  I followed some noises that I thought was Zachary until two turkeys popped out in front of me.  I dropped and watch 13 turkeys walk about four feet in front of me.  Then, I saw Zachary.  We continued to follow them for about 1/2 mile up a trail until we just sat and watched them disappear into the woods.  Turkeys are such beautiful animals and we had a great time together as "boys"...we just wished we were able to have one over for dinner!

The call it fishing, not catching.

 

Zachary stalking the turkeys. 

 

There were about 5 different sets of tracks right here and we were exploring.

 

Just hanging out. 

 

Such cuties. 

 

Big man!

 

The Princess Tomboy. 

 

For the first time, Kamryn went to the monkey bars and trucked right across on her own...then she went back and forth and back and forth.

 

Taking the oath for a Texas Jr Ranger badge.

 

Zachary scooting over and getting the lowdown on the telescope. 

 

0400 and he couldn't have been happier. 

 

Taking it all in.

We pulled out of that campground and headed to the Dallas/Fort Worth.  We are stopping to see a friend that we spent a great deal of time with while he was in Victoria, BC.  We are also excited to see some folks that we know from his church.  We can't wait to see what opportunities the Lord gives us while we are here.  We weren't here but two hours and Zachary had met a lady while fishing and Kamryn already has a date to feed some ducks on the beach tomorrow night.  We will stay here for about a week and then head to San Antonio to see some close friends that we were stationed with a few times in the Air Force.  We will also stop in Las Cruces, NM to get a hug and also want to find a cast iron discus (anyone know what I am talking about?  We are told that they are plentiful around Alamogordo, NM) and we also want to go to Carlsbad NP. 

I go back and read through this and it seems like our days are just full of adventure and meeting people.   Well, they are...we are so blessed in that we continue to meet people, and whether we just get to chat with them or are able to help them in some way, we get to share Love and it is amazing.  This isn't even all of the folks that we met and spent time talking to and this whole post took place over only 2.5 days!  We are so thankful that we are able to be doing this.  We are still praying about our next serving opportunity so we don't know what order all of the things will be in after San Antonio.  In the mean time, we will keep on Lovin'!