The neverending story...

So much has happened while we have been camp hosts here.  We have many stories of amazing people that we have met.  I mean, we have met amazing people the whole time we have been on this journey but this is different.  We were staying still this time and they were coming and going the whole time.  It was our "job" to make sure that things were clean and that people were happy.  It was our task to make sure that people had what they needed to enjoy their time here.  It seemed to work too!  There were so many people that said that this was one of their best (if not their best) experiences camping.  I realize that it wasn't just us that might have helped that either.  We have worked with a couple here that have been marvelous.  We have found a way to work together that I strived for at every job since I had started working about years ago!  We had great communication and ended up being able to read each other's mannerisms and even each other's "hurts".  We have had a great time working together and have a great deal of trust and respect for each other. 

One of the things that we learned here is that most people have a story that they want to share.  They also love to hear about other's and where they have come from. As I said before, people are intrigued by what we are doing and most of those people see what we are doing as a positive thing; not everyone though.  Some of those even change their tune after they spend a few days with us.  It is such a blessing to share how God has allowed us to be on this journey and meet so many different people from so many walks of life.  We met 3 couples from Oklahoma that fell in love with the kids (they like us too!).  They let Kamryn dogsit and partake of foods around the fire.  Zachary has gotten to go fishing with folks, work on boats, teach, split and load wood, and help others in a number of ways.  Caleb has had the opportunity to be a helper everywhere also and has so taught many people things that range from astronomy to birding.  Kelly and I have had the chance to talk to people about personal issues, give advice on RV'ing, and otherwise help in a number of ways.  We love it!  People love it when others are nice to them.  I hate to say it, but I don't think it is the norm as it should be.  Only once since we have gotten here have we ran into one person who was not happy at life...and that is okay.  It was another teaching opportunity from me to my children and also reminded me that I am human and can become rather bothered pretty quickly.   

I may sound like a broken record but the Lord has given us the opportunity to meet and share with so many people; each for a different reason.  We prayed one morning for a marvelous opportunity to meet someone that we could bless.  This was on the day that we went to the Houston zoo.  As I thought it was going to be at the zoo (and again I am reminded that it is not "my" plan but His) we decided last minute to go out to dinner where the kids ate free that day.  We went to Denny's and Kamryn asked our server it she had anything that we could pray for.  The young lady got chills and told us a story about her baby girl being a preemie and what they had been and were still going through.  Then, Kamryn asked if she would like to pray with us as we prayed for our dinner.  She stayed and prayed with us and we prayed for her and her daughter.  On the way out, each of the kids were able to bless her in a special way and with special words.  It was such a great evening and an absolute answer to our prayers.  On another occasion, we met someone in the campground and their puppy (a LARGE puppy) allowed us to get to know them.  When they were leaving out after a few days, we had a conversation and exchanged blog addresses.  Then, that night, Kelly and I checked their blog out at SallyKTravels and it put tears in our eyes.  It was amazing to hear our story from another perspective.  We also met a young, Christian family who is temporarily traveling around and speaking at different churches/functions on the way to family out west.  We spent some great time worshipping and chatting about blessings.  The kids also had a great time playing and I think we might have put a bug under them for RV'ing!  We were also able to get a visit from some folks from YWAM Virginia!  When we were serving at YWAM Virginia, we worked hard and met a great bunch.  We found out that they were coming to Houston to do some ministry and pray!  They had a day that they were able to come and relax and we hosted them to a day of lunch and downtime in the woods.  They stayed for a few hours, we played, we hiked, and then we said bye to allow them to go and do His Work. One of the other things for this round was the Superbowl.  All of the camp hosts got together at one of the RVs and we all brought food.  We had a great time hanging out and filling our bellies.  When you get people from all over the country together and put them all in RVs, then find a reason to get together, you end up with some yummy foods!   I could go on all night about all of the people that we have met and how we are so blessed with all of the stories but, again, I won't yak that much.    

One of the other things that we were able to accomplish while we here was to fix a few tires that we had problems with and also continue with a few modifications.  We ended up finding our tires for the RV much cheaper that we originally got them for and thought we would have to get them off and take them somewhere to get them mounted.  That wasn't the case though!  We ended up being able to use our road side assistance to get a tire taken off in the campground.  When they showed up, after a little joking, prodding and hinting, they were able to take the tires off the wheels, mount the new ones back on, and remount them on the RV for a "tip" right in our driveway!  This also proved to be a blessing in itself, because the young lady told me that my tires had high chance of blowout and she would not have known that if she would not have changed them here.  Also, that someone else may not have noticed what she did on the inside of the tire.  So, they indeed need replacement and things worked out for the best to keep my family safe before we head out for travel again soon.  A few other things that we have done includes new curtains also in the bedroom (we finished the main living area before), installed a new outlet in a more convenient place (had to crawl under the table ever time we wanted to plug something in), kitchen wall changes, and the largest of the modifications up to now...the couch makeover!  The modifications, although budget conscious and somewhat minor, are making a great home for us. 

Again, because of the lack of wi-fi, all of the pictures are going to be loaded a little silly and all grouped together ...sorry. 

On the 60th floor of the JP Morgan Chase building.  Cool view of Houston.

"Eating out" in Houston.  First time in a garage!  If you haven't noticed yet, we joke about "eating out" often.  This kind fits our budget better. 

Met and talked with some of finest...and...I got bit! 

A beautiful dinner with a beautiful family in our yard. 

Zachary and Kamryn up early making biscuits. 

Entertainment in the woods. 

The YWAM Virginia team came to visit!  Love them!

Having a jam session.  Kamryn invited herself with her wooden recorder. 

Out on a hike with marvelous friends. 

Some other kids saw our kids working and wanted to follow the example.  So proud of all of them. 

Our kiddos were invited to do tie die tshirts with some neighbors.  (Caleb had to get one of my tshirts from home...this is where you find out that your white tshirts aren't white any more when you live in the woods.  )

Daddy is showing a new skill!

Zachary hanging out.

Caleb on his ride with Mr. Zach. 

These were the folks from Oklahoma that fell in love with the kids.  Kamryn loved this ride!

Caleb and a new lizard friend.

Hanging out with some neighbors. 

Zachary split about 3 of these big rounds into small pieces.  The next day he had a whole new definition of "sore". 

We were invited over for some dinner and hanging out. 

Chilling out with a neighbor and his family.

We had someone come in and they couldn't get level. the boys rolled these huge rounds over to them so they could use them for their back jacks.  I am so proud and thankful of their servant's hearts. 

Kamryn on the Harley with Mr. Zach for her a motorcycle ride.  

"Eating out" at the Houston zoo on a free zoo day!

Piranha!

Sad but cool.  This whole exhibit was made form trash that was found on Texas' beaches. 

Our little rodents. 

Kamryn  asked us to stop for a minute so she could check the map for us. 

We got tickets to feed the giraffes!  This made mommy very happy!

A gift from a neighbor.  These were the best 2 dozen eggs we have ever had!

It's like Christmas!  We got a new golf cart!  Well, the US Forest Service did at least. 

The next reno project...sofa sleeper out.  More storage and new fabric!

Zachary's catch made for an amazing dinner!

I was out for the day and Mr. Mike, an amazing neighbor, helped Zachary surprise daddy with a big catch!

Frying up the fish!

Catfish and hush puppies. Thanks for dinner Zachary!

Kamryn helping out with the couch. 

Kamryn and Charley.  This beautiful British Golden Retriever belonged to a great couple!

Kamryn and Caleb asked to help a neighbor get ready to pack up and head out.  They even helped clean!

Superbowl, friends, food, good weather!

Easy change...before

...after.  We added the wall tiles and also a few LED lights below the cabinet. 

Kamryn is putting on a concert!

We made fettuccini from scratch!

Playing the drums in the great outdoors.

Zachary and daddy making dinner.

Homemade ravioli from scratch with venison.

We will be heading out soon, westward ho!  We don't know exactly where we are headed or the exact route but we are praying about it.  We are also looking for somewhere to serve along the way.  We think we are going to sit again for a bit and serve and let the kids, especially Zachary, play baseball.  He is VERY good and we want to allow him to feed that passion that he has.  Kamryn and Caleb also look forward to the opportunity to spend time with other kiddos and play sports. While we have found a church here to attend, and Zachary even got to attend a big youth function tonight with about 400 other youth, we look forward to findig a church body to get to know some folks for a bit and get involved. 

Until next time...

It's official...we're hired!

It has been quite a long time since the last post and I began getting nervous about getting on and completing it because so much has happened since Christmas.  I looked forward to sharing everything but I knew it could be a long one.  Also, we don't have any Wi-Fi, only cell reception so we can't do these large posts through the cell, to much data.  So, I am at the local library and will also warn you that I am going to group the pictures all in the middle of the post for time's sake.  I will try not to show too much of my excitement for this stop with all of the stories.  I have to make sure that I don't ramble and bore everyone with too many tiny details. 

We stayed in Mississippi longer than we had expected.  That is one of the joys of this lifestyle.  We don't have many plans, if any.  We were having a great time and had more people to see, so we stayed.  We had a few friends over to our place for dinner and also visited others at their house for dinner.  We spent great time with so many wonderful people!  We were also greatly excited to be able to visit friends at a couple of local churches that had done mission trips when we were on Vancouver Island.  It was so good to catch up and share what has happened since we had last seen them.  We shared some good meals and we were greatly blessed to be able to be in Mississippi again.  It felt great to go back and see the people that were there at my retirement and were able to see us off to Vancouver Island.  My old boss/friend took us to lunch and we had an awesome time catching up.  We even met another full-time RV family in the campground and we had a good time sharing stories and tips.

Kamryn and Caleb playing with some of the Christmas gifts.

Barbies and Hot Wheels...what more could a daddy ask for?!?!

Caleb loves this electricity kit!

A few friends that are also full-timers.

The girls.

Zachary with one of our friends brand new blessings. 

We left Mississippi after Christmas and did a one day trip to about 50 miles north of Houston.  It was a long day but it went very well and all of the 450 miles and 7 hours of driving were under our belt.  We pulled into our spot after dark but this had to be one the best of all time parking jobs.  It gets quite DARK in the middle of the woods where there are no exterior lights.  But all went very well and we were back where we were about three weeks earlier.  This time was different though, we were hired on as camp hosts!

When we were in Sam Houston National Forest a few weeks ago and David was here, we inquired about a camp host position.  We talked and prayed about taking on this new experience and wondered if this was something that we would enjoy and also something that we felt the Lord leading us to do.  We completed the process and talked with a few necessary people and here we are.  We are experiencing something new, again.  We started off as a camp host family like a rocket!  We started helping with all of tasks that needed to be done and this family amazed me again.  The kids wanted to help change reservation tags.  They wanted to clean out fire pits and pick up trash.  They wanted to blow leaves and pick up sticks.  They even wanted to help clean bathrooms!  We knew this was going to be an amazing experience with the way things went the first few days.  Boy, were we in for a surprise!

We quickly learned what "work" had to be done and how to do it.  It's not difficult but it is organized and very necessary.  Needless to say, people don't expect to see a younger (not well-retired) couple with three young kids and a dog to be sitting in the "Camp Host" spot.  We get quite few looks and many more comments.  For the work part of all of this...my family are such hard workers.  Mommy and the kids never stop when there is something to be done.  I can't even choose a "biggest" accomplishment in the couple of weeks that we have been here so far.  Besides the work that I have mentioned already, the kids and I picked up a bag of trash off of one of our trails.  The other trails continue to be leaf, trash, and stick free.  Also, the Forest Service came in and took down about 6 40-50 feet pine trees and split them into chunks.  One of our fellow camp hosts helped to split and spread some wood.  The kids spread and stacked pieces of wood for about 5 hours a day for days on end at each of our 27 camp spots and even took it to another camp area and unloaded it there.  As if this didn't make me enough of a proud daddy, they did this for the people when the camp ground was empty...they did this work for people who weren't here.  It really touched our hearts to see them so dedicated for folks they hadn't even seen.  Days after, when folks arrived, our team was continually praised for the appearance of the campground and the work that had been done.  I don't say all of this to talk solely about the work, the praise, and the joy that was received.  One thing that this "job" leads to is a ton of people meeting!


We have met some new and amazing people since we have been here.  We are working with some great folks here.  We get along well and work together well.  It is very refreshing to enjoy our daily tasks and the people that we share those tasks with.  I'll admit, it took a few days for them to trust and want to work with the kids but after the kids showed their dedication and respect, everything is good.  We have had so many opportunities to share the story that God has given us and it is amazing to see how interested people are in our family.  We have experienced this on this entire journey but it is new every time.  It is also a bit different now.  Up until now, we were the campers who were coming and going.  Now, we are the mommas and pappas making sure that everyone is happy with their whole experience here.  Many of the people that we meet here are from Texas because this park is a bit out of the way for travelers.  I am finding that Texas folks are pretty amazing people.  God keeps putting people in our path that we can get to know and we continue to be greatly blessed by knowing them.  We have had quite a few memorable experiences here.  Just tonight Zachary and I were approached our family was split up in teams at Wal Mart.  A lady told me that Zachary was a very handsome and polite young man.  Long story short...we talked for a while, the kids helped them shop, and they ended up coming by the campground later to drop something off for the kids and invited us to a Mexican dinner Thursday night.  A few nights ago, we entered Hancock fabric for some supplies for curtains and without all of the details, ended our time with hugs, laughs, and tears with the two wonderful ladies that were working there.  Recently, Kamryn also made a special friend named Cooper.  Cooper is a dachshund who left Kamryn a present on our stairs one day (NO, not that kind of present!).  He left her some macaroni and cheese, her favorite food but I still think his mom and dad did it.  We later ended up meeting Cooper's mom and dad and also invaded their RV for a bit.  We had great conversation and many laughs while the Caleb and Kamryn turned their RV into an amusement park.  On a different day, we were invited to someone's Class A (the big RVs that you drive for those who may not know) and had a football party with some neighbors.  We watched the Chiefs and Texans play and ate some marvelous tailgating foods.  For New Year's Eve, we spent the evening with two couples that we met here a few weeks prior.  We didn't stay up too late but it was nice to also meet their friends and hang out at the fire as families.  The kids have all met other kids that they had the chance to spend time with. Caleb and Kamryn found a runnin' buddy.  Zachary even found a group of kids to pal around with for a few days and really enjoyed hanging out.  I'll stop there with the wonderful people we have met...the list goes on and on and each conversation is one of a kind.

1) School work high atop the truck.

2) School work paused for animal passing under truck

Chores still must be done.

Kamryn rocking out because some friends we met before had showed up. 



Making new friends...

...many new friends.

Art time with new friends.

Walked one of our trails and picked up a bag of trash. 

Check out this grub!

Check him out fishing with the grub!

One of our jobs...emptying a fire pit.

Pause for a wildlife moment.  (We have many of these!)

Giving Mr. Zach, our fellow camp host, birthday cards. 

Getting ready for work...and work they did!

Getting ready for some remodeling. 

Some of the remodel done.

The boys emptied this truck of fire wood in another part of the campground.

Taking a break  and getting a haircut.

Happy to help make a treat for after dinner. 

Flying the kite in the middle of the forest. 

A little Superheroes time!

More flying kites...and loving it!

Dinner and some down time.

Beautiful sunsets here.

This is Kamryn's macaroni and cheese sharing friend, Cooper.

Cooper invited us in and we had some play time...while he layed on the couch bundled up.

Starting the fire like a pro.

 

Zachary chose a King cake for his birthday cake. 

Ready for some King cake!

Visiting with neighbors.

Making a special delivery of wood to a neighbor.

Kamryn went outside in her jammies when it was about 30 degrees to ask some kids in a tent next door if the wanted hot chocolate. 

Taking a ride in the Gator.

Chatting with some new friends.

Getting ready to receive one of his birthday presents.  Mr. Zach took him on a Harley ride for the afternoon.   Looks like a natural!

Heading out...

The happy Harley riders upon their return.

Zachary just chilling out in his space.

An party to watch the football game!

Kamryn and Caleb decided to help with laundry while the adults watched the football game.

A few of the newest things for us...remodel, back pain, metal in tire, and Bigfoot.  Let's start with the metal in the tire.  Simply stated, we have driven about 16,000 miles and I found the first piece of something, in this case a shred of metal, in between our treds on the RV tire.  We are so thankful that the 11,000 pounds of bouncing RV did not blow the tire out in this spot.  New tire to be purchased soon.  Onto the back pain.  Finally, I am able to get some follow up/continuity of care for my back/neck and knee.  Not all good news from the x-rays but the Lord gets me up each day with a reason to push through pain and I am reminded that His ways are not my ways.  Next, Bigfoot season is in full swing in Texas and he/she has not been sighted yet.  Nightly we hear the Bigfoot hunters in the forest with screams, knocks and other calls.  We await a body but haven't received any news on that yet...might there be more to follow?!  Remodel...ah...this is where the new lies!  Not really...it's just that we have come to a point of wanting to make our home a bit more homey and less RV-like so we are doing some changes.  Valances are going and homemade curtains are going up.  Newly placed light switches and receptacles along with some fabric changes.  Functionality over looks is our motto with all of this as we move forward with some new changes!  Exciting!!!

This trip is not always easy and we are continually asked MANY questions about our experience of doing this with a young family.  The words that the Lord continues to give us blesses the socks off of other people (they tell us this, I didn't make it up!).  For us though, the Lord continues to remind us of the gift that He gave us in our children and in this family and the want to serve in whatever way He shows us.  For example, this is not just a camp host job, it is an opportunity to "...work as if we are working for the Lord." This also includes not only hearing people's stories but learning where they have come from in life and where they want to be; where they want to end up.  People also love being loved, we have found that many people want to be loved on first though.  We love taking the opportunity to love on folks and share a Christ-centered family.  For reasons only He knows, the Lord continues to use us to inspire and motivate people of all ages to "do".  Many of the people that we meet are much older than we are and this is a wonderful blessing.  We continue to receive great wisdom from others and share wonderful stories at the same time.  This trip is an amazing experience but when you take the lives of 5 people (6 when David is here) and a dog and put it in 31 feet of an RV full time, things can get a little out of whack for everyone, and this can be often if you allow it to be.  Through this though, we have learned so much in so many different areas.  I would never turn back a moment of this trip and continue to be thankful and look forward to what is ahead.