have you fallen off the face of the earth?

This is the question I've been getting. And the answer is no. Sort of. We got home last week from our major road trip and we began our homeschool year on Monday. So, while I'm here, I definitely have been very busy trying to get things straightened out and children schooled and straightened out.

Our trip was great. It was fast and felt like forever all at the same time. There were wonderful moments- like the whole family playing UNO, and Buddy beating us fair and square! And not so wonderful moments like being stuck without electricity and a broken slide-out in inner city Pittsburgh. At night.

We met some wonderful people and heard their wonderful stories. I was humbled by the sweet hearted family planting a church in the middle of the city and by the hard life of a woman I met in the bathroom at an Arkansas truck stop. These stories open you up, revealing the hurt and beauty of humanity. And how we are all the same in our hurts, but all so very different at the same time.

We gave away lots of boards and t-shirts and magazines. All that 'stuff' opened up some pretty great doors for conversation.

We saw the beauty of the earth over and over. Just when I thought I was in the most beautiful place ever, we would turn the corner and be delighted by even more beauty.

The kids were road warriors. I was impressed by their flexibility and patience.

And by Moonpie's eagerness to share who we are and what we were doing with everyone. I'll never forget the look on the waitress's face in Little Italy Baltimore when Moonpie told her that we were there to share God's love with her. And that "God loves you very much". She was very quiet for a second and then softly told Moonpie, "well, that's just beautiful".

And it was.

O.H.I.O-hio

All you Buck-eyes out there- are you constantly singing OHIO by The Pretenders? Because I have been for the past day since we landed here. It's on a loop in my head. That is my gift to my family- keeping it in my head!

Yesterday we woke up in Franklin, TN in the parking lot of the Gracepointe Church. It was by far the prettiest church parking lot I have ever seen. We were surrounded by green rolling hills and a creek. The night we rolled in we were delighted to see fireflies all around. We don't get those in our part of Texas. It was hard to convince the children to come in for rest! On the path over the creek, back to the camper we spotted a bat flying overhead. Moonpie was quite positive that she felt less mosquitoes biting her once we saw that bat.
While in Franklin we got to hang out with some teenagers after their Bible study and give some gear away (skateboard, t-shirts and stickers). Much to my delight we were able to host our old friends the Eckebergers in our camper. Before leaving for this tour I had visions of friends sitting in our camper visiting with us. So yes- it was a dream come true. And yes- I am a nerd.

We blew through Louisville, KY yesterday afternoon and stopped at this giant public park. It was amazing. They had a full-pipe, which made John very happy. Unfortunately it was way too hot to spend much time there. It was about 105' in the park itself. All that concrete. I was praying that no one would hit the ground. I'm pretty sure half their face would have stuck there. We met an old guy skater- like John. They were able to talk a bit, but it was too hot to have a real session (that's what cool skaters call skating together- kind of like a play date. Haha- don't tell John I called it that!).

Now we are in the world's most perfect little town in central Ohio. It is about the size of our town, but surrounded by state parks and a small liberal arts school. The town is heavily influenced by the artists that live here, and healthy food is easy to come by. The kids had a whole wheat crust pizza with spinach and bananas for lunch. They tried to convince me that it was delicious. I have my doubts. And the salad bar- would it bore you too much if I went on and on about the beauty of the salad bar?

***crickets***

Our wifi has been awfully sketchy. I forgot the chord to my camera back in the camper- sorry about this picture-less post. Hopefully I can load some and post them tomorrow. You have to see the lovely hike we took this morning. I am convinced that I could live in a forest with craggy rocks covered in pillowy moss.

GASP!

The sun has come out after a brief but heavy noon shower. We are off to the skate park and to discover a little more of this lovely town.

life on the road: day 1

Once upon a time there was a family that had this crazy idea to spend 3 weeks on the road sharing and learning about the love of Jesus with the people they met along the way. They set out on a Sunday afternoon driving a big pick-up and pulling a 5th wheel behind them. After about 7 hours of travel they stopped for dinner, knowing the first over night stop was only 2 hours away. The end was in sight and they were thrilled!

Right after dinner the kids were settled in to finally watch a movie on the truck's DVD player (their parents had strange rules about no movies until dark!) when all of a dither they heard a loud pop. The concerned mama looked out the extra long side mirror to see fiber glass waving in the wind and a tire spewing out rubber. A blow out. The daddy quickly pulled over and ushered the family out of the car. To the parent's delight the blow out occurred right outside of a state welcome center equipped with a playground, air conditioned bathrooms, and walking trails (not to mention a lovely pink sunset). So while the daddy sweat and strained to put the spare on, the rest of the family discovered what happens to reeds when you shred them up. They were back on the road in no time and discussed the goodness of God in this situation. Sure, they would have preferred not to have a blown tire, but really, the placement and the timing was ideal if it had to happen.

Fast forward about 45 minutes. It was now dark, and the nearest town was unknown. The family was cruising through forest and there were no lights anywhere. The kids were once again enjoying their movie when the family heard another pop. The spare had blown. This time the situation was a bit more dire. It was pitch black, there was no spare, and barely a shoulder to park on. The family chose to push on, going 20 in a 70, watching the sparks fly from the rim of the tire. They found a nice hotel about 10 miles up the road in a town that had a tire store. The family was exhausted. The RV had seen better days.

This blown tire did not happen in the ideal place, nor at the ideal time. But the family chose to discuss the goodness of God anyway. Because God is not a god of circumstance. Whether things go the way we want them to or not, God is still God, and God is good. He can't be anything but.

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Travel tip:
I cannot declare my love for Wikki Stix loud enough! They are the perfect activity while on the road. My tip here is to buy Wikki Stix by the pallet for long road trips!