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so thankful and blessed #951- 980

Written by Joy
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so thankful and blessed #951- 980

It has been three weeks since I last wrote about what I am so thankful for.  God has blessed us in so many ways.  It is truly amazing all He has blessed us with.  Since the last post, we have been in Colorado a little over two weeks. The trip out here was quite an adventure and I have told about it in parts one and two, with part three coming on Friday.  We have been settling in, meeting new friends and trying to get better.  We have all been fighting really bad colds.  However, I do see an end in sight with the sickness.  Thank you to those who have been praying for us while we are on this journey.  God has brought us to Colorado for a reason and I am going to do my best to glorify Him in all I do, while I am here.  With saying that, I am picking back up with my thankful list.

951. For those who helped us finish packing up from our house.

952. For neighbors that fixed a leaky pipe so we could get on the road.

953. For neighbors to mow our yard until we can sale our house.

954. a van with a/c on those hot days while driving.

955. a safe trip to Indiana to our first stop.

956. friends who lifted my daughters up in prayer while they were sick.

957. a short visit for my daughter and her best friend in Kentucky, as we passed through.

958. a dog who loves to ride in the van.

959. a hotel with soft beds and pillows.

960. being able to see The Arch in St. Louis.

961. a hotel with a pool for the kids to play in.

962. hotels where we can bring our dog with us.

963. our oldest being able to see a baseball game in St. Loius, MO.

964. a husband who can near bout fix anything.

965. a parts store that had just the right radiator for our van.

966. a rest stop area that had covered picnic tables and vending machines.

967. friends who will stop what they are doing and lift you up in prayer.

968. a safe trip to Colorado.

969. a hotel for 3 nights, until we could get in the vacation rental.

970. the vacation rental for a month, that allows pets.

971. the beautiful view of the mountains and the city from the rental.

972. a job that my husband is going to enjoy.

973. a new homeschool group that my children like.

974. new friends.

975. my husband being healed from the poison ivy.

976. celebrating our youngest son’s 8th birthday.

977. field trips with the new homeschool group.

978. new friends in the homeschool group inviting us to church.

979. friends who continue to lift us up in prayer and encourage us on our new journey.

980. a mighty God who loves us unconditionally.

 

I would love for you to join me and the others linking up at A Holy Experience. We would love to see how God has blessed you and your family.

2012, multitude Mondays, , , ,

trip to Colorado {part 2}

Written by Joy
trip to Colorado {part 2}

I told about the first part of our trip on Monday. You can read part one here.

I had mentioned earlier that my husband had come in contact with poison ivy, as he was attempting to fix our water before we left.  Most people would be able to wash off and be okay after a brief contact with a poison ivy plant.  Not my husband.  He is highly allergic to that plant.  So much, that he normally needs to go to a doctor to get a steroid and antibiotic for it.  This would be a problem since we were moving cross country and needed to get on the road.  By the first night, his one arm was covered.  It was pretty nasty looking and caused him great discomfort.  By the next day, he was absolutely miserable.  We were putting over the counter itch medicine and several other ointments on it.  It didn’t get any better, just kept spreading and getting worse.

As this point, we were entering St. Louis, MO.  We had already traveled through parts of Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana and Illinois.  It was nearing lunch time as we passed The Arch of St. Louis.  We stopped at a wonderful BBQ joint that had been on The Food Network.  Since we had 2 sick kids and my husband was not feeling well, we decided to head on to get as many miles as we could, towards our destination.  When you are traveling with 2 sick kids (in my van) and a husband/dad (in my son’s vehicle), it makes for a very long drive.

We finally made it to our destination for that evening in Independence, MO.  We were all tired and worn out from the drive.  We did take the kids to the pool to swim for about an hour, but then it was back to the room, baths and a little t.v. before bedtime.  Other than those who were sick, this was actually our less adventuress day.  I was very thankful for that.  We were able to eat breakfast at the hotel and then get on the road knowing that we would be leaving MO and entering Kansas.  We were leaving the city and was heading to the open road.

Things were going pretty well as we were driving along through the farm fields of Kansas.  We had just left a stop where we got gas and some goodies for the road trip.  We had to make a slight detour to an auto parts store for a gas cap.  My son’s was lost at the previous stop.  About 30 minutes or so had passed and a couple of my kids had to take a potty break.  Thankfully, there was a rest stop just ahead.  I had gotten out to take the two younger kids to the bathroom when my oldest daughter came running over.  Apparently the van had lost all of the water from its radiator.  Just when we thought things couldn’t get any worse.  Then it happens.  A fan on our van broke and in the process poked a hole in the radiator.  So we are sitting at a rest area in the middle of Kansas with it 90+ degrees, 2 sick kids, a hubby covered in poison ivy with a vehicle that won’t work.   Yeah, just when I think things couldn’t get any worse.  I sent out another prayer request plea to some friends and immediately pray myself and this is what comes to my mind:

Deuteronomy 31:6

6  Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”

God knew what was going to happen and had everything under control.  You see, my husband can fix near about anything.  He has always worked on all of our vehicles.  In fact, he had replaced that radiator a couple of months ago.  We had also just left a town where there was an auto parts store, that just happened to of had a radiator to fit our van.  We were also at a rest area that had snack/drink machines and we had bottled water and snacks in the van.  This rest area also had picnic tables with covered shelters, underneath trees.  God had even blessed us with a nice breeze.

While the kids, our dog and I waited at one of the covered picnic tables, my husband and oldest son headed back to the auto parts store.  Which meant they had to go to the next exit, turn around and head back.  This took about an hour to do.  They finally made it back and within just a few minutes, had the new radiator on and we were once again on our way to Colorado.  With all the excitement that we had, we decided to find a hotel in Russell, KS and just get some rest.  It had been a long day, we still had sick kids and my husband was still not feeling well with the poison ivy spreading.

Thankfully we were 2/3 of the way to Colorado and there was an end in sight.  God was with us the whole way.  Stop by on Friday and see the ending of our cross country move.

 

2012, family, , , ,

the trip to Colorado (part 1)

Written by Joy
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the trip to Colorado (part 1)

We had one adventurous trip to Colorado.  I thought I would share it with you, so you will see how God was with us the whole way.  This story is kind of long, so I will be splitting it up into several posts. 

 

Jeremiah 29:11

11  For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

We have been in Colorado for 2 weeks now and I can tell you that it is only by the grace of God and many prayers that were lifted on our behalf, that we are here.  Our goal was to leave our  home in North Carolina was August 1st.  My husband didn’t have to be at work until August 6th, so that gave us plenty of time to even do a little site seeing on our way west.

August 1st approaches and we find ourselves a little behind schedule.  We still had to take the beds apart, pack a couple of dressers in the PODs, as well as the kitchen.  We had window a/c units and had taken them out.  It was 90+ degrees that day.  My husband, oldest daughter and myself missed breakfast because we were trying to get everything packed.  We figured we could pack quickly and get something to eat in the road.  By the time we got everything packed, it was around 1:00pm.  We were all hot, hungry and a little cranky.    So the first problem was being behind schedule and leaving about 5-6 hours later than we had planned.

Then the second problem happened.  As my husband was turning off the water at the main valve outside the house, the handle broke off in his hand.  Water started pouring out of the ground.  We went to our neighbor to see if we could find the other cut off valve, that was just up the hill.  My husband found it.  Along with a poison ivy plant. (more on that in a few).  My husband got the water cut off and our very gracious neighbor said he would fix the broke valve so we could get on the road.

As were were loading everyone up in the van, we had a dead battery.  Yes, someone {ahem, me} left the ignition on with the lights as we were trying to get the water fixed. So then we had to dig for the jumper cables in the bottom of the loaded van.  Remember, it is 90+ degrees, we have no air (van had dead battery and wouldn’t crank), and the vehicle is loaded down.  We finally (meaning husband and son), get the van cranked and we go to load up again, only for my husband to get extremely sick.  Why?  He got over heated trying to finish up last minute details.  It didn’t help that we hadn’t had breakfast or lunch yet.  He gets very sick.  He finally gets to where he is feeling better and we are able to get on the road.  It is already 2:00pm, by this time.  While everyone was a little discourage, I knew we would be okay.  This move was planned by God and He would continue to take care of us.

Not only did all of that happen, we were also dealing with two sick children.  Both of our daughters were sick with colds.  Our oldest was the worse of the two.  Her cough was horrible.  Our first destination for the evening was a hotel in Indiana, just across the border of Kentucky, where her best friend moved last year.  Our oldest daughter had plans of spending the night with her.   While she enjoyed the very short visit with her friend, she ended up throwing up most of the night.  So our plans of taking it easy the next day and visiting with the family, we decided to hit the road.  After I got some gatorade in her, she fell asleep very quickly.  It was at that time I sent out a prayer request to many friends.  By the many prayers being lifted for her and the grace of God, she woke up about an hour later feeling better.

Yes, we were off to a rough start, but God was with us.  He was watching out for us every step of the way.  He would continue to prove this over the next several days.

 

Join me on Wednesday for part 2.

2012, family, , , , ,

over at The Homeschool Village today…

Written by Joy
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over at The Homeschool Village today…

 

I do not know how I managed to be at The Homeschool Village twice this month, but I am over there again today sharing with you all.   Today, I am sharing with you tips on traveling with your children.  These are tips that I actually have used in the past and have recently just used in our cross country trip to our new home in Colorado.  I hope you enjoy the post and will share your favorite traveling tips on The Homeschool Village website today!

I hope you will not only stop and visit with me today at The Homeschool Village, but will stop by every day to see what all the other homeschool moms are sharing.

2012, homeschooling, The Homeschool Village, ,

over at The Homeschool Village today..

Written by Joy
over at The Homeschool Village today..

 

I love being a part of The Homeschool Village.  I have been writing for them for a little over a year now and I enjoy it so much.  I am over at The Homeschool Village today and will be sharing about Praying For The New School Year.

I hope you will not only stop and visit with me today at The Homeschool Village, but will stop by every day to see what all the other homeschool moms are sharing.

2012, homeschooling, The Homeschool Village, ,