Upward! Spent Christmas day together on top of a mountain.

Never dreamed in my life that I would be eating a MRE (Meal Ready to Eat) on Christmas day, but that is what we did. I am preparing the "Christmas Dinner" right in the middle of all that view.  It was a wonderful way to spend Christmas Day. The evening before we had other campers that came around as we enjoyed our fire sharing Christmas Carols (they sounded terrible) and apples. Even with as bad as they sounded it put a big smile upon our faces and brought joy to our hearts and we enjoyed the apples baked in our fire later reminding of the kindness some others brought to our lives for the duration of a song. It gave us a good encouragement to know that no matter how bad the delivery, when sent out with love our good deeds are well received. It was a valuable lesson.

Arizona

Our schedule is mostly flexible and unset for where and when we need to be somewhere but we desired to make it to the desert for Thanksgiving to celebrate
with family. We were not disappointed as much love, hugs and smiles were shared with good food and lots of laughs.










Watching great-grandpa interact with our sweet grandson priceless.

 Grandmother and granddaughter putting together a memorable meal, so delicious.

I have been so blessed in my life with my family. They are loving and forgiving and my life has been greatly impacted by having the gift of the beauty they bring to my life. My heart is rich and full after spending time with these lovely people during my very favorite holiday, Thanksgiving.

On the Road

We spent some time camping in Illinois on our way to Arizona and traveled slowly as we nursed Blessing back to health.









 It was difficult for her but she continued to enjoy the different smells along the way as we enjoyed the sights.





Missouri brought a wind storm and we had to pull over and wait it out. My hair after going outside for two minutes in that wind!

Celebrating our son's birthday in our tiny new home, with the help of technology and a little creative thinking was our first official party.

We discovered and enjoyed many new paths to walk. With each footstep we take together our relationship grows and our understanding of our need to take this journey during this season of our lives.

On the Road

We hit the road as soon as the house closed and our dog Blessing was ready to go all bundled up in her coat and blanket.  I think the expression on her face gives way to what she may have been thinking about all this activity of preparing to move out and onward. She was really confused and just kept looking at us like, "What are you people up to? I had a perfectly good routine, a nice fenced yard, and a comfy warm place to rest when the sun shined through the upstairs window.  What is this?"









Soon enough we were on our way enjoying the beautiful sights of the Midwest in late fall on the way to our first official stop in my father's hometown to see dear loved ones before heading farther West.



While there we we able to help with a tree that had been damaged and needed removed.It was our first day of putting our hand to labor and it was a lot of fun to work together and to be outside. 

Unfortunately. during our time there we ended up with a very sick dog because we fed her some prime rib, which we now know is a BIG no-no for them, too much fat. She developed pancreatitis and needed medical attention and medication to get better. Due to that we decided to cut our days shorter and to get on the road to see if she would heal up as we traveled.  She did and is doing just fine now, but that was concerning in the beginning of our trip.

Saying Goodbye

My husband and I decided to embark on this journey of service and that meant we had to say goodbye. It took some time to move from a three bedroom suburban home into a 6 X 13 foot space. It was a challenge to decide what we needed and what we didn't. We also had the best time trying to use household items in a van to save money.

We installed some leftover flooring we had from the house and converted tables into shelves and frames for our bed.

It's pretty cozy, but it does feel like home being able to use items we already used in our house. To say we had to downsize is an understatement. The upside, now the entire house is cleaned in a snap!
It was heartwarming and sad to say goodbye to the good people we had the privilege of getting to know while in Indiana, but we were sent off with a great deal of love and support. After which we headed to our first projects with our family whom we hadn't seen for a while.

The Vision

This tree was hit by lightning in the top the electric shock burned it all the way to the core of the tree.  It was never going to be the same and it needed to be removed as it was unsafe to be left to just fall from the change it experienced.

When I turned 50 something similar happened to me. I had the house with the picket fence, the dog,  and the security, but I was terribly unsatisfied with the status quo.  I would see and hear about the suffering everyday and didn't feel satisfied to just go to work and end the day with my traditional glass of red wine sharing about the same stuff just a new day. Trust me I have nothing against a good glass of wine, in fact I am enjoying some right now, its just drinking out of boredom doesn't seem like the way to spend my life.   I still had vitality, curiosity, and love.

I decided to take a long train trip and started walking everywhere. That trip changed me and saved me from the place I was stuck in emotionally(bored) and physically(diabetic).  My tree was hit by lightning and all of my upper branches were removed, leaving only the important parts, the roots.  My roots screamed for a renewal of adventure, a renewal of hope and a renewal of health.  I had the wonderful opportunity during that trip to reconnect with old friends that I had lost contact with while raising my family. I learned something about myself or perhaps it wasn't something new, more like a reminder of who I have always been.

Returning home this brought a big change in my marriage. My husband of over 20 years really had to do some soul searching with me and decide if he wanted to be with this wife who wanted something different than he had ever realized.  He came into my life mid-stream and helped raise my children after a particularly difficult breakup with my first husband and the father of all of my children.  My needs as a mother of so many little ones were very different than what I wanted and needed now. He had to choose me, the raw and unpolished me or stay with all he has worked for with his sweat blood and tears. He still choose me and he has decided to come on this journey with me to do all the good that we can with all that we are in body and mind.