Trusting in God

Tuesday, February 21:
Today was a whirlwind. We spent pretty much the whole day on the phone trying not to have our identities stolen and to track down proof that we owned the truck, since all our paperwork was in it. Sean made calls while working with patients, while on breaks, and at every possible free moment. I made calls while my children homeschooled themselves and while trying to keep them happy and occupied and not stressed.

Then our first miracle came... A man named Steven Johnson called Sean. He said that on his way home from work, he drove by a field next to the highway and saw tons of papers littering the area, so he decided to pick them up. He noticed that the papers were personal information and they all had our name on them. He knew they were important. He picked his son up from school, and they went back to pick up every paper they could find!!! When we got to his house that evening, he had a file box and another bag full of our papers! What a blessing! What an angel of a man!

THEN... about 2 minutes after we walked in the door, the Dallas Police called. The truck was found!!! The thieves abandoned it in a neighborhood about 40 miles from us, in south Dallas. AND... The 5th wheel hitch is still there!!! AND... The engine is still in tact!!! Those were the two most important items on the truck. However, the inside has been completely gutted, and the tailgate is gone. Seats, speakers, door panels, consoles, etc... It's an empty box on the interior. In fact, that's what was in there-- an empty box. That's what the thieves sat on to drive it to the neighborhood to dump it!

We are feeling very blessed though... The interior is replaceable, and the most important things to us have been recovered. God has surely taken care of us! He is worth trusting!!!

Passport to Adventure--With a Whole New Twist

Monday, February 20:
Today was mostly great, at least 3/4 of the day. After we finished our school work, we headed to the library for a special program they have called Passport to Adventure. Each month, they teach the kids all about a country. This month we learned about all things Australia. The kids had a great time! Then we continued our search for awesome parks, and found a unique and fun one! This was actually an outdoor play area at an outdoor mall. It had a maze (in the shape of Texas, of course!), 4 mini buildings making up a play town, and a real train caboose with activities and seats inside. If it weren't so blasted windy in this place, we would've stayed much longer! :)

Good thing we didn't stay though, because as soon as we got home, we got a text message from Sean: "My truck is stolen. Calling police now." WHAT?!?!

Sadly, it was not a joke. Sean had stopped at Lowe's for some supplies, and came out to find his truck gone. I quickly sent out a request for prayers and went to pick up Sean and meet the police. We began to recount all the things that were in the truck... 5th wheel hitch...a few empty boxes we had wanted...some random candy (including Sean's beloved chocolate covered coffee beans he brought back from Hawaii)...Sean's keepsake box...Sean's suits that he had planned to take to the cleaners... OH!!! And our file bin! With ALL of our personal information-- birth certificates, social security cards, vehicle titles, tax paperwork, sales documents from large purchases...everything. Great...

This evening has been very sober. We are trying to figure out what the next step is, and all the steps after that. We are asking everyone who is willing to pray-- for the truck, for the hitch (it's very expensive), and especially for the threat of identity theft! However, my heart was touched at Aile's prayer: "Dear Jesus, please help the thief to learn about You and how much You love him, and to turn away from his sin."

Time to file a fraud alert with the credit reporting companies and try to get some sleep...

So what IS a natatorium?

Sunday, February 19:

Family fun day again! Yay!

Today we went to the Rodenbaugh Natatorium. Is was completely awesome. :) A natatorium, as it was described on the website, is basically an indoor swimming pool. But this was way more than that! I wish I could have taken my camera in there, but I was afraid it would get ruined...

Anyway, this place had two huge swimming pools. One had several lanes for lap swimming, and a large diving board area. The other half of the building was taken up by another large swimming pool, a kiddie pool area with a huge play structure/slide thing that had squirty things and fountains all over and around it, a lazy river, and a huge twisty water slide! We all had a blast! Oh, and in the middle of all that fun stuff was the largest hot tub I have ever seen--very relaxing! :) That was a great way to just relax and have some plain old good fun with the kids!

Milestones and Hot Air Balloons

February 16:

Well, today was a wonderful day! First off, BRENNER READ HIS FIRST BOOK! His little face was so full of excitement and joy as he sounded out words and realized he could do it! YAY, BRENNER! He has been wanting this for a long time, and I am so happy for him! I'll try to post pics of him reading soon... :)

Next, we went exploring. We found a place called Erwin Park--a huge place full of open fields and hiking/biking trails and creeks and ponds, tons of picnic and bonfire options, and a few swing sets scattered around for good measure. As we were hiking around and searching for the perfect walking sticks, the kids saw a truck drive by with a hot air balloon basket in the back. They all ran down the trail to see where it would go, and we got to watch the whole process! Fun! We had just read a story about hot air balloons, so their interest was already piqued. Here are some pics from our experience there:

Can you spot the hot air balloon way off in the distance in that last photo? :)

Our First TX Lesson

Just a side note...

In all the adventure so far, the first thing we have learned about Texas is that Texas REALLY likes Texas! It's everywhere! My kids learned to recognize the state flag the first day we were here, and other reminders of this great state are literally everywhere you go. Sort-of amusing at times, actually... :)

Family Fun Day

Sunday, February 12:

We have decided to declare Sundays as Family Fun and Exploration Days while we're traveling! There are many sights to see, and the kids and I will experience some things during the week, such as playgrounds and the library and such. But we want Daddy to be able to see the best sight with us!

Our first Sunday was actually not that exciting since we had to do laundry and figure out water leaks and heating issues in the RV, but we did go out to breakfast AND dinner, which is a rarity, so that was fun. :) For breakfast we headed to Spoons Cafe in the historic downtown district of McKinney. It was good times and a unique atmosphere. For dinner, we all wanted Thai food. I'm really very excited that all members of our family love Thai food! That is truly great! :) After our day of eating out, we finally made it to Super Target to get some groceries so we wouldn't go broke on food!

We have so far enjoyed our cozy family worships in the evenings, and are having fun on our new adventure! Looking forward to continuing to organize and adjust to the RV, and exploring our new town! :)

On the road pics...

This picture was supposed to be a picture of the RV driving past the Welcome to Texas sign, but I think I snapped the pic a second too soon. Oh well. :)