Four score and seven years ago...

We landed in Gettysburg at a horse ranch/campground and settled right in.  The kids went straight for the playground and then saw the catch and release pond.  On the way to the pond they caught a glimpse of the horse stables...which led their eyes to the pool.  Needless to say their brains didn't know what to do first but they were excited!  We talked with them about what we were about to embark on when we arrived at YWAM...hard work, long days, meeting new people, serving in any way needed, hot hot humid hot weather...they were receptive and excited to get to doing it...but...they went to the pond!  The fish were waiting to be caught and they must have caught 50 the first day.  The also caught a snapping turtle and a bullfrog that was half as long as Caleb when it was hanging.  Kamryn (aka Princess Tomboy) won the weekend fishing contest with the bass she caught.  She was fishing with someone we met and she caught a little perch.  She wanted to cast the baby perch back in and let it swim and the second it hit the water, WHAM! the bass was caught on a Frozen kid's pole and on it's way to Kamryn's hands.  We kissed it and let it go and she has a story to tell!  We also had a chance to go into "Santa's Workshop" and met a wonderful couple.  They display a house full of Christmas decorations on Saturdays and were great to talk to.

Caleb's first catch.  It was so vibrant! 

Kamryn's first catch. 

This was the small one.  He caught another that was about the size of Zachary's head when the frog was sitting. 

They loved this dock and worked so well together. 

I was the king of fish...until Kamryn caught hers!

The Queen of fish.  It was a healthy bass!

Christmas in July!

This was one of their favorite parts of the house. 

We met a nearly retired couple who had just bought a new fifth wheel and have never been camping before.  We asked for a future tour and it all went from there.  They were a great couple.  We shared a few (a million) tidbits of information about RV'ing and talked for a while.  Over the next 3 days we spent a great deal of time with them (whether they wanted us there or not).  We met their wonderful ex son-in-law, his girlfriend and the grandson and we all hung out. 

We also went into Gettysburg National Park, where we were greatly disappointed that we had to pay to get into most of the things available.  We opted out of paying and ended up doing the free stuff instead.  The kids enlisted into the Union Army and had a blast!  Zachary took Kamryn under his wing and she was SERIOUS about being a soldier in 1861.  She marched, shot straight, and never cracked a smile; it was great.  They all had a blast! The kids did their workbooks and were awarded a badge as a Jr Ranger of the Gettysburg National Park.

Falling in after being sworn in. 

Zachary did such a good job with her out there.  She was the smallest. 

See Caleb to the left in the front and Kamryn in the back with the pink short on by Zachary?  Hilarious!

She's peeking out.

This is when the Confederates were attacking and the Union Army rushed in!  um...Kamryn lost her hat...she stopped to put it back on. 

Ready for battle.

Proud of their badges.  We are proud of the history that they are learning. 

About the spot where the first shot at Gettysburg was fired which ended up being the bloodiest battle of the Civil War.  51,000 troops died here in 3 days. 

This was one of my favorites. 

This was being surrounded by the tree roots.  It was one of the many unknown soldiers. 

On/about the spot where Pres Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address.  In those few words, he said so much about the people that fought and the country that they were fighting for. 

 This was one of Caleb's favorite.

The end to the Battle of Gettysburg. 

We saw something pretty amazing yesterday...in front of our camper, a horse trailer pulled up.  Not to odd for a place that has horses but a young lady told me what was special about these.  She rescued them from being sent to Canada and being slaughtered and consumed for meat.  The horses/mules were so scared but so beautiful.  They came out of the trailer and went to a pen where they perked up and knew they were ok.  Then another 2 came and the largest came off of the trailer.  Immediately off the trailer, he started eating the grass on our site and went straight to the area where they were going to get checked out.  We chatted some more with the "rescuer" (her name is Megan) and learned so much more.  She welcomed us up in the morning and we let her go love on her new babies. 

They finally got the off of the trailer.  Just hours before, these animals could have had such a different outcome. 

The third.  He came right off and started eating.  It was like he knew he could relax for a bit now. 

My girls admiring a beautiful animal. (The guy is Megan's fiancée)

This morning we went up to see Megan before we headed out and she was excited to see us (she loved the kids and ended up liking us too :)   )  We were able to spend some time helping out and getting to know about some of the work that has to be done and about horses in general.  She was great with the kids and just loved all over them.   We stayed for a while and had to say bye but not before Kamryn gave her a card and $3.18.  Kamryn wanted to say thank you with a card and she "wanted to pay her" because there was a Gettysburg tour that could also be bought.  Meg slid us the money twice (Kamryn caught her once) and we took a picture, traded information, hugged and said bye.  We had such a wonderful morning and so glad and thankful that she took her time to love on us for a while. 

Caleb and his new buddy. 

So powerful but so gentle. 

Zachary riding the Clydesdale!

Caleb was being followed. 

Mommy is so happy!

Caleb led Kamryn on a walk. 

Kamryn wanted to share the treats equally. 

The kids with Megan.

After that we thought our day would be "normal" until we pulled into a rest area and saw a coach with Georgia Bulldogs all over it!  This was a family that we met on/about day 20 and talked and prayed with.  They were great and the kids played together and the adults had some great talks about our upcoming journey as they were also taking a full time RV journey for a bit.  Today, we chatted with the kids for a bit and we were on our way. 

That leads us to the campus that we are sitting on now.  Awesome history here in these old homes, the grounds are beautiful, and the people that we have met are awesome.  They welcomed us with curbside assistance, a box of food, and hands on RV parking.  The parking spot was a bit interesting to get in but I am thankful that I have had 80 days to practice parking.  We settled in, got a tour, met some people (including someone from Vancouver Island, BC) and two other families.  We gave a tour of our home and then we were off to play ping pong with the guys while the ladies chatted and the kids played.  We had a great night, we feel overly welcomed, and are totally excited to see what God has in store.  The mission here is to help local youth learn some things about fitness and work through a low obstacle course and a ropes course.  Set up to be done by teams, they help individuals build confidence, learn trust, and is intertwined with the Gospel.  We will find out more about our duties tomorrow but we know that we are ready to do His work. 

Our home.

The rest of the visible campus (aka our yard).

We sat down as a family tonight to talk about our goals while we are here and the kids really amazed me.  I truly believe their hearts are all in this and they are as excited as Kelly and I are.  Please pray for us to be filled with energy and good health and to be able to bless the socks off everyone we meet!

Finally able to catch up...and it keeps getting better!

So...we haven't had cell service or internet for the last couple of weeks in the park that we were staying so we have a bit of catching up to do.  (I loved being disconnected by the way!)  Also, we have to revisit the Hanscom AFB trip because some great things (people) happened there after we posted!

We ended up taking a trip to Cape Cod, Mass.  We toured the Cape Cod potato chip factory and then took a drive.  As we were driving, Zachary yelled, "Hey, that's the lighthouse on the potato chip bag!" We stopped there and took a few pics and then went over to the spot where the most Eastern house stood.  It was beautiful!  Then, we headed to the Cape Cod National Seashore Visitor Center and the kids...you guessed it...earned another JR Ranger Badge!  The kids took a 4 mile roundtrip bike ride(Kelly and I walked) and we sat for lunch when  we got back.  The kids were pooped but the did the whole thing! 

This ride went all the way to the beach and they rode all 4 miles on a trail on Cape Cod!

Taking the Jr Ranger oath at Cape Cod Nat'l Seashore NP.

Matching the bag to real life.  (Then we ate them)

On the site of the most eastern house. 

For Kelly's birthday, our amazing neighbors threw her a lunch party and bought her some cupcakes.  We had such a blast with these folks.  The kids overheard them talking about they needed a step for their RV and the went to another neighbors and asked for some scrap wood.  They proceeded to make Lynn (our neighbor) a little step.  They drew pictures on it and signed it and were so proud.  Lynn said she cried when she came out that next morning and stepped down on it.  We took a visit to Fenway Park also and didn't catch on fire...we were happy about that.  We did get allot of looks and a few comments when we wore our St Louis Cardinals shirts though.  We also met someone who raises and trains Weimeraners.  The kids loved them of course but because they were puppies, the kids had some rules to follow.  She loved their help and they were able to learn about dog training and were also able to be involved and help train them for a bit.  Zachary helped her a few times and really enjoyed it.  I also had an opportunity to speak with her son and now we now have another wonderful person to put on our prayer wall!  One last thing really shined through at this place...Zachary found that many people had an interest in having their RV sewer tanks emptied.  He volunteered to help...and to his surprise...ended up with some spending money in his pocket!  Everyone was very appreciative and it was great to hear about how hard he worked, in the 100 degrees, never complained, and helped when they needed it.  There was a single guy there that just loved spending time with our family and the kids loved playing basketball and riding bikes with him.  We had many late night chats with a few of the guys and they all said the same thing...they hated to see our family go. 

The kids are going to surprise Mrs. Lynn with a new step!

The secret but completed project.

The birthday luncheon for the birthday girl.

 

 

Some happy folks!

Loving on the puppies.

 We left Boston and headed north.  About 12 miles up the highway, kids had to pee already!  I just happened to check the truck and had a leak from the "fix" on the transfer case that we hoped would hold until Virginia.  Anyway, made an unplanned stop at Westover Air Base in Mass.  This proved to be a God thing in numerous ways.  Totally unplanned, we ended up camping with a couple who we first camped with in Charleston, SC and then (unplanned) in Andrews AFB.  Now we saw them in Westover AB!  I also had a chance to talk to guy who 1) needed some help on his transfer case that he couldn't figure out (the same thing that had happened to mine) so I explained what was going on and 2) we had a wonderful conversation about something that happened to him decades before that came forward in his mind when I made a certain comment.  He was great and we enjoyed chatting.  We also had a HUGE empty parking lot next to us and the kids loved riding skateboards and bikes all over the place!  We were able to go to the Springfield Armory National Park where Springfield made their guns for many years.  There was a HUGE museum and a ton of guns and artillery in the old factory...we loved it!  The kids earned their badge and we moved on.  When we had the truck worked on, we were able to meet a young lady who wanted to hear all about our journey and had added us to her prayer list.  We had a chance to chat about some really great things.  This was just a bit of the stories on this "unplanned" stop! 

Helper for the day and putting the flags up. 

Trying to start a fire...and he did it all by himself!

We were all fixed up and headed for Tioga, Penn.  We stayed at a Army Corps of Engineers park and were going to stay about 5 days...we LOVED it and ended up staying for almost 2 weeks.  We had 3 "moving days" (we have coined the day that we have to pack up and move...even if across the same park) while we were there and the kids fished more than they talked I think!  We had to watch for rattlesnakes but they loved pulling the fish out of the water.  The bikes were also ridden and people were to be met!  Kelly and I even had a "night out"...(unlike the one I'll tell you about in a minute!)  We left the kids inside and started a movie for them while we started a fire' made s'mores for she and I  ONLY' and played RUMMIKUB at the picnic table. But, seriously, we met some really great people here too.  While on a walk with daddy one day in the rain, Kamryn asked a lady if she (Kamryn) help her sweep her RV pad.  She obliged and long story short...we ended up leaving with chocolate zucchini cake, plates, and a fishing buddy!  We had also met her and her husband's daughter and we fished with a new friend for days.  They showed us a secret fishing place that we had some early morning fishing sessions.  We learned about the Corning company (I had only known them to make dishes before this trip) from a local couple and we also invaded their space.  We got to see the hot rod they went back to the house and got it and stayed up late a few nights telling stories.  We also visited the Penn Grand Canyon Visitor Center and learned so much from the lady there.  We then hiked the Grand Canyon (of Penn that is) and saw some beautiful country.  Me and the boys laid on the ground one night and counted shooting stars and constellations.  This place was great!  Also while we were there, we met some other great people and had some great conversations...and they are all such different conversations.  It is impossible to talk about how many people God puts in our lives and all of the different conversations that we have...I wish we could...it's amazing. 

The smallest fish ever on a hook!

Kamryn and her new friend. 



My log carier

My "exercise girl".

Zachary is on his daddy's lap driving!

Boys will be boys. 

Looking at the heavens. 

Hiking the Penn Grand Canyon

Beautiful artwork.

She loves to fish as much as her brothers...and kisses every one before she takes it off an lets it go. 

Caleb to the rescue.  He saw a damsel in distress...(she couldn't get her fish off the hook)

She was catching bees in the bug box...

A brotherly game of football.

They loved this thing!  They thought it was even cooler when they got in it!

SHE...WAS...POOPED...

Kamryn moved near us on a blanket while we did some school. 

Another one of my wood gatherers.

An early fishing morning. 

Time for laundry!

Our own water park...cups and a spigot.  Never mind the electrical cords...we had that talk. 

Morning fishing with our new friend Bud.

She makes a rockin' chocolate zucchini cake...and Bud catches some large carp! 

Acquiring a Jr Ranger badge and learning about Springfield arms...loved the guns!

Doing crafts at the armory.

The "Springfield Organ" (A storage rack of muskets with hundreds of muskets.)  Longfellow enjoying seeing this so much that he wrote a poem about it.  The history of Springfield armory and its 200+ years of history was amazing!

We also received and outstanding surprise from someone whom we camped next to the first couple of days that we were there...stick with me...this is going somewhere...

We camped next to couple the first couple of days and we chatted and say bye.  They came back about a week later!  We would have ended up being right next to them again on move 3 but we ended up picking a different spot.  Anyway, we talked with them allot over a few days and they ended up asking if they could have the kids for a bit so Kelly and I could have a date.  I can't explain how all this went down but it was truly amazing!  They watched the kids, took them for dinner, bought them some ice cream and told us to meet them at a restaurant at 5 PM.  We didn't understand but we did it anyway.  We arrived a few minutes late and they handed us a gift card for the restaurant and said, "We will see you and Kelly back at the campground when you get there.  We will have the kids".  We were in awe as we didn't plan on having a date for the next year while on this journey but these folks were special and we knew it.  So, we had dinner and walked around the town and headed back.  This also led to us heading to their home the next day for BBQ, clearing trails, riding the 4 wheeler, and some great conversation.  We are so thankful that we met them and we hope to be able to see them again. 

That leaves us where we are now...the crickets are loud, the horses are quiet, and the moon is full.  Such a blessing to be able to experience His creation.  More on that in a few days...this post has ended up being long enough.  I started this post a couple days ago but with the wifi connection, it has taken 2 days to complete with picture uploads.

This our last stop before we head to Virginia to start our work with YWAM.  We are so excited about being there and the work that we are getting to do.  So for these few days, we are loving on each other, on others, and having some fun...before the Work begins!