*Typed Sunday, March 14, 2010
We apologize for the delay in updating everyone on our progress. Our first week in Missouri has been quite busy. It has been a week of firsts in a lot of areas. Among them were our first overnighter on the property, first tick sighting of the season (a month early), first tornado warning (not for where we were though), first storm, first illnesses, etc.
So, where did we leave off? Sunday, March 7 we met with the fellowship here for a meeting and had a wonderful time. It was a good time of teaching and singing, followed by a potluck (which included stewed opossum) and some entertainment. Several of the families play instruments, so we were blessed to listen to a little concert. Later we all listened to a demonstration by one of the older brothers of a sea shell collection from Guam. It was interesting to see some of the variety the Creator has placed on the ocean floor.
After the meeting, we all trekked out to the property for our family’s first glimpse at the 5 acres we intend to call home. Then it was back to Jefferson City for a couple days to rest and regroup. Sunday night I came down with the stomach flu, but it proved to be a 24 hour bug and I quickly recovered.
With our health restored, we all returned to the property on Tuesday for an overnighter to try and get some work done. Mostly, we realized there is much more work to do than we anticipated and we spent the majority of our time getting the truck out of the mud. Oh, yes! We were blessed to find that the ticks are out already without anyone actually getting bit. So, with plans to make better plans and return soon, we escaped back to the city.
Wednesday evening we had dinner at the home of the self proclaimed Hillbillies that we met at the fellowship meeting. They claim the title of Hillbillies because not only do they raise chickens, bees and goats, but they do their own butchering, to include the opossum that we all enjoyed at the fellowship meeting. Opossum is not a regular part of their diet, it was bothering the chickens and one of their sons decided it would be a fun home experiment to try to cook it. Dinner was wonderful and came with a great light show. During the meal a storm had kicked up outside and there was quite a bit of lightning. The Weatherbugs (the Hillbillies children) were thrilled when the weather radio sounded a tornado warning for surrounding areas. We will be getting one of these radios. Even when they are off if there is a storm warning for your area, they come on and notify you.
Thursday we went to our first auction and came away nearly empty handed. It seems that auctions that happen too frequently are more of an excuse for the locals to socialize than anything else. We then spent the afternoon at the library doing some online searching for things we wished we had found at the auction.
Friday was spent catching up on our mountain of dirty laundry and organizing things on the homefront a bit.
Saturday was a pretty restful day. We went to Lowe’s to try and find chicken coop materials to build a little home for the three chickens our Hillbilly Friends so graciously offered us. As soon as we can we will be taking one rooster and two hens down to the property to deal with our creepy crawly problems (there are a few more spiders and ticks than I care to think about).
And today we are hanging out around the house recovering from a round of head colds. After nearly a week of temperatures in the 60’s and 70’s, it turned quite chilly here, with clouds and misty rain to boot.
Well, that about does it folks. We’re headed down to Laurie tomorrow to take care of a few things.
Until next time, may the Lord bless you!
My Family
(Wife Speaking)
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Thursday, March 11, 2010
MISSION MISSOURI: DAY SEVEN
From Van Buren, Arkansas to Laurie, Missouri – 333.82 miles
Surprise, Surprise
We realized Wednesday, with the help of one of Arkansas’ finest, that we had no running lights on the truck. This morning we discovered the problem – a blown fuse that we missed in our first round of searching. We replaced it with the 4WD fuse in the truck that we don’t need since we don’t have a four wheel drive truck. Praise the Lord this fixed the problem and we were street legal again!
Our second surprise was the most awful, foul stench in the cab of the truck when we opened it this morning. It turns out that if you leave a thermos full of poor man’s mocha (coffee mixed with hot chocolate) in a truck for a few days, enough pressure will build up from the rancid liquid to blow the top off of the thermos and spew the contents all over the inside of the vehicle. Pretty gross!!!
Weather Watch
We found it fairly ironic that the only wintery weather we have seen was in the desert right when we left. All throughout Oklahoma, Arkansas and Missouri we have had nothing but blue skies and 60+ degree weather. What a blessing! We know we will not be strangers to cold, snowy weather, but it has been tremendous to have good weather for driving.
Home, Sweet Home
Well, almost. We are in a motel in Laurie, MO for the night. In the morning we will meet up with our PS133 friends in Versailles for a meeting of the church and then we will go on to actually see the property. Before we could get that far today the sun went down and we were forced to wait for tomorrow. We are very excited to be here and eagerly await what lies ahead.
***Note - This post is a little late in getting up and way out of date as far as what we are up to. More information will be coming as soon as we get a breather enough to type it all up for you. But, rest assured, we are safe and doing well and we miss all those who are not here with us.***
My Family
(Wife Speaking)
Surprise, Surprise
We realized Wednesday, with the help of one of Arkansas’ finest, that we had no running lights on the truck. This morning we discovered the problem – a blown fuse that we missed in our first round of searching. We replaced it with the 4WD fuse in the truck that we don’t need since we don’t have a four wheel drive truck. Praise the Lord this fixed the problem and we were street legal again!
Our second surprise was the most awful, foul stench in the cab of the truck when we opened it this morning. It turns out that if you leave a thermos full of poor man’s mocha (coffee mixed with hot chocolate) in a truck for a few days, enough pressure will build up from the rancid liquid to blow the top off of the thermos and spew the contents all over the inside of the vehicle. Pretty gross!!!
Weather Watch
We found it fairly ironic that the only wintery weather we have seen was in the desert right when we left. All throughout Oklahoma, Arkansas and Missouri we have had nothing but blue skies and 60+ degree weather. What a blessing! We know we will not be strangers to cold, snowy weather, but it has been tremendous to have good weather for driving.
Home, Sweet Home
Well, almost. We are in a motel in Laurie, MO for the night. In the morning we will meet up with our PS133 friends in Versailles for a meeting of the church and then we will go on to actually see the property. Before we could get that far today the sun went down and we were forced to wait for tomorrow. We are very excited to be here and eagerly await what lies ahead.
***Note - This post is a little late in getting up and way out of date as far as what we are up to. More information will be coming as soon as we get a breather enough to type it all up for you. But, rest assured, we are safe and doing well and we miss all those who are not here with us.***
My Family
(Wife Speaking)
Friday, March 5, 2010
MISSIONMISSOURI: DAYS THREE - SIX
From Clinton, Oklahoma to Van Buren, Arkansas - 289.70 miles
Weather Watch
Blue skies, smilin' at me! That's what we saw most of the day Tuesday. It was absolutely gorgeous driving weather and we were thrilled to have the shortest leg yet of our journey. We pulled into Husband's sister's house in the early afternoon, just in time to attend Niece's choir performance.
Entertainment Encounters
The choir performance was interesting to say the least. Niece's group was missing half their members and this was their first performance as such a small group. Needless to say, their harmonies were lacking a bit. After a v ery brief concert, we were headed to dinner. (Note - If you are ever hungry for Mexican food in Van Buren, Arkansas, think again.)
Thursday evening Husband's family surprised us all with a birthday party for Husband's 25th birthday. We had a nice time, fellowshipping over cake and ice cream and playing one of the new games he received for a gift. It's called Times Seven and seems to be a neat Scripture memorization game (for the seven verses used in the game anyway).
So, we are still here in Van Buren, thinking about leaving in the next day or two, after spending a little time with Niece and Nephew (who have had to go to school, do homework and go to bed early since we arrived on Tuesday). We will update y'all later.
My Family
(Wife Speaking)
Weather Watch
Blue skies, smilin' at me! That's what we saw most of the day Tuesday. It was absolutely gorgeous driving weather and we were thrilled to have the shortest leg yet of our journey. We pulled into Husband's sister's house in the early afternoon, just in time to attend Niece's choir performance.
Entertainment Encounters
The choir performance was interesting to say the least. Niece's group was missing half their members and this was their first performance as such a small group. Needless to say, their harmonies were lacking a bit. After a v ery brief concert, we were headed to dinner. (Note - If you are ever hungry for Mexican food in Van Buren, Arkansas, think again.)
Thursday evening Husband's family surprised us all with a birthday party for Husband's 25th birthday. We had a nice time, fellowshipping over cake and ice cream and playing one of the new games he received for a gift. It's called Times Seven and seems to be a neat Scripture memorization game (for the seven verses used in the game anyway).
So, we are still here in Van Buren, thinking about leaving in the next day or two, after spending a little time with Niece and Nephew (who have had to go to school, do homework and go to bed early since we arrived on Tuesday). We will update y'all later.
My Family
(Wife Speaking)
Monday, March 1, 2010
MISSION MISSOURI: DAY TWO
From Albequerque, New Mexico to Clinton, Oklahoma – 448.44 miles.
Weather Watch
Once again, we have seen all kinds of weather today. We added fog to the list first thing this morning as we were leaving Albequerque. We saw the smallest hail I have ever seen. It looked to be the size of snowflakes, but hit the windshield with enough force to tink and bounce off. Among things we saw yesterday but neglected to note were dust storms across the wide open plains of New Mexico and Texas.
Sweet Nothings
Basically, nothing of consequence happened today, other than mileage covered. There were no mishaps, no casualties, and for that we praise the Lord. As we were reminded in the Psalms that we read today (4-6 if you’re keeping track) our sustenance regardless of source comes only from Him. So, now that we’ve had our nothings, we’ll be getting to our sweets with a cup of hot chocolate. See you tomorrow.
My Family
Parents Speaking
We were bored…
Kids Speaking
Weather Watch
Once again, we have seen all kinds of weather today. We added fog to the list first thing this morning as we were leaving Albequerque. We saw the smallest hail I have ever seen. It looked to be the size of snowflakes, but hit the windshield with enough force to tink and bounce off. Among things we saw yesterday but neglected to note were dust storms across the wide open plains of New Mexico and Texas.
Sweet Nothings
Basically, nothing of consequence happened today, other than mileage covered. There were no mishaps, no casualties, and for that we praise the Lord. As we were reminded in the Psalms that we read today (4-6 if you’re keeping track) our sustenance regardless of source comes only from Him. So, now that we’ve had our nothings, we’ll be getting to our sweets with a cup of hot chocolate. See you tomorrow.
My Family
Parents Speaking
We were bored…
Kids Speaking
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