Friday, November 25, 2016

Breaking the Silence and the $1.99 Gas Story

I told you I would just post this without reading it, but I lied.  However I'm not going to edit it, some of this is a repeat of the post I just published.... And I think that is funny.  So here ya go:


I have been counseling myself lately, trying to figure out why I don't just write.  It's not hard for me, necessarily, and though I have struggled with computer issues, I can "type" on a phone just fine... So that's a lame excuse.  I think I have figured it out.  I am kind of afraid of writing about future "plans" because our plans get changed so often, and I don't want to look silly.  I don't want unbelievers to read this and think I'm just (more) crazy because I follow God by "hearing" him and seeing signs that only really make sense to us.

I need to stop worrying what other people think.  I'm not in elementary school anymore, and I have forgiven the people who hurt me during my school years.  God wants to use our story, our experiences, good and bad, our crazy.


All that being said, I guess I need to start right in the middle, because I'm not sure where it began.

Before we started this on the road adventure on July 30th, Joey had a talk with God.  He remembered a story in the bible about when a man wanted signs from God, so with that in mind, Joey came upon the idea of gas prices.  He felt like God was saying that when gas is $1.99, that is our sign to "hit the road".  The week before we started our trip, gas got down to $1.89, almost like God was showing off a bit.  We visited NC for a week and moved on to Kansas.  We have been in Kansas for 2 full months now, and very soon after we got here, gas prices started going up. They have stayed above $2.09 for the last two months.  Then in the last 2 weeks, gas dropped down again, to $1.99.  First at Sam's Club in Overland Park, and the gas station in Pomona where we are parked.  God made it very clear to us that it is time to move again.  We have decided to head to Las Vegas.  We have talked about living there since the beginning of our relationship, and it's a good place for Joey to make money...  Oh, and the weather isn't so bad for the winter either.

I am pretty nervous about being so far from home, and for the first time since we started living in an RV, we will be staying at a camp ground, instead of friend's houses, which means laundromat's and not having an extra house to spend time in.  But. I'm also very excited to explore the area like we have in Kansas.  Going to all the parks, libraries, museums and such in a new city again will be a lot of fun.  I think that the area surrounding Vegas is so beautiful, and it doesn't rain almost at all, so blue and beautiful skies everyday will be nice for the winter.

I have already found a homeschool group there, thanks to Facebook, and I will be looking for a MOPS group as soon as I can.  I am really missing all my sisters in Christ who are living the dream like I am.
Somethings I will never understand in life. I haven't ever really experienced writers block and I don't usually care what other people think, but there for a while I really struggled to sit down and write. I know that I have five good reasons not to sit down ever, but Joey will be happy to tell you that I sit down a lot.

But now, I break the silence for real. I have a few different post in my drafts folder that are just waiting to be posted, but I'm going to start right here, on Thanksgiving night, in Las Vegas.

 We got to Vegas on October 30, we came from the Grand Canyon, but I ended up with quite severe altitude sickness, and the trip here was absolutely awful for me. I don't even want to talk about it now. Let's just say I haven't been that sick since I was a kid! On Halloween, the kids dressed up and we drove up a random street until we saw people out walking.  We turned down a side street, parked on the street, and went trick-or-treating as a family. It was a fun night, A good night to remember that when it comes down to it, we will always be a family first. That no matter where we are we can have a great time, and enjoy what we are experiencing it, since we are together.

I am skipping so much, including a very important story about gas prices... But today was Thanksgiving.   Joey had the opportunity to take a big window tint job in Florida, but this week is when it needed to be done, so he's in Florida, having Thanksgiving dinner with my mom, while we are in Las Vegas, at a campground, just me and the kids. I did have a few moments of sadness today, but I'm in a beautiful place, with some very sweet new friends, right where God wants me at this moment. I took a walk with my kids, rather a leisurely stroll… Because that's what the speed is when you're walking with a three-year-old… we made a new dessert, it was so rich and delicious, had shrimp, pasta, and veggies in a garlic sauce for dinner, and watch movies together. It was nothing like what we are used to, and I'm glad we didn't try and make it that way. I think it would've been more sad and we would've been more homesick if we had cooked a traditional dinner.

 I will post the gas prices story to make this make more sense, but when we got to Vegas, gas was $2.36 a gallon. The day before Joey left, he filled up the van for $2.06. I was very much OK with staying in Vegas for a while, I mean, it's warm enough… We really like the church we found, and homeschool group we met seems fun and helpful, things are going pretty good here. But, the thought of gas prices amazingly hitting $1.99 again, and signaling that it is time for us to "pull up the anchor" and hit the road home is pretty exciting too!  I would sure love to be at home celebrating Jesus's birthday with our family and friends!

I think if I'm honest with myself, sometimes the reason I don't write is because I don't want to "get it wrong" when we are following God's prompts. But every time we follow him, we have all that we need, and we see his glory in front of us. So I need to share the stories with you.

 That reminds me, Joey being gone and leaving us "behind" in a strange town at a campground… Sounds a little crazy, a little scary, but that is all God too. When Joey and his buddy put a bid on the job, we were about to leave Kansas. Joey was sure that he was going to have to go straight to Florida we landed in Las Vegas, leaving us immediately. Instead, the company had to go through it tubes in order to get the job set up, so we were able to settle in here.  We were able to see that it is a nice quiet neighborhood, a friendly staff, and we met a super couple that is a few spots down from us. They're also believers and God definitely put them here to give me comfort while Joey is gone.   As I got to know them, I was able to ask them for to be back up support, should there be an emergency or something.  They have also been a much needed sorce for adult conversation, and they have spoiled us with chocolate cake and pumpkin pie.

Well, I am pretty sure that last paragraph was somewhat of a tangent, but the baby is up crying now, and I am getting pretty tired.  Thanks for reading, I will post the gas price post right after this one, I apologize if it is poor writing, I am not going to re-read it, just posting blindly.  ðŸ˜€