Willis, TX

  Hi everyone! We are now in a little town north of Houston called Willis. There are lots of thick woods around here and birds everywhere. It has been lots of fun to watch all of them.

  Dave was finally able to find out why our window was leaking. He had tried several things but they didn't work. It rained again the last couple days and it was still leaking. So Dave got on the roof again and found a three foot cut in the vinyl that covers the roof right where the roof and wall come together. He temporarily fixed it with tape but it will need fixed too.

 The other night I was making quiche for dinner and Matthew came into the living room and said,"Cash!! I don't like cash!!!" Kristine was quick to correct him that it was quiche not cash. He has a few loose teeth and is doing very well with his schooling. Kristine is also doing great. She is an excellent student.

Victoria Texas

   Hi from Texas!! We finally got to out destination on Thursday. It took about a week to get here from California. And we are not very warm here yet. It's been in the 40s and low 50s during the day and dropping down into the 30s at night. So far I really like it here. I always thought of Texas as flat and straight, but we have been in areas of rolling hills and small mountains and trees. It is a nice change from California. Everyone we have met is very nice and people actually notice others when in the stores and parking lots and even on the roads. People seem to really care about others here. Especially in the small towns. It has been raining most of the time we have been here. I told Dave that I guess it rains where ever we go because it rained a lot in Bakersfield and now it has been raining a lot here. We're doing great and are loving this wild adventure that God has us on.

   Adventures of 5th wheel living #2

We normally have a hot cocoa to start our day. So Dave went into the kitchen to make it this morning and stepped into a puddle. Our floor around the stove and under the couch was very wet. We discovered it was leaking from the window. Dave went outside and got on top of the 5th wheel and re-caulked the screws that hold the awning on. We think it might have been running into the wall and then out the window onto the floor. Good thing for us it looks like more rain is on the way! Now we'll be able to see if that fixed the problem.

On the way

On our way out here we stopped early one day to stay in Las Cruces NM. Dave wanted to see the crosses here. We found these ones by the golf course. The information I found said they were put there in 1830 to mark the spot where a group of men had been killed by the Indians.

They had them decorated with Christmas lights. They also are covered in railroad tie nails and old saw blades and other objects from back in the 1830s.

Where are we? (and verdict on the 5th wheel)

 Well, we took our 5th wheel to Fresno on Monday, by Tuesday evening they had found the leak. A small crack in the grey tank. They told us it would take two weeks to get the parts in. So we asked them to temporarily fix it so we could get to Texas. We will hopefully be able to fix it while we are there. By Wednesday afternoon we were on the road. Due to our 5th wheel needing repaired we decided not to go to L.A. to see Azusa Street. We know we will be out there again sometime so hopefully then we will be able to go. Right now we are in Benson, AZ. After three days of driving we needed a brake for the weekend and this seemed like a good spot. It is a small town just south of Tucson. So we don't have to deal with a lot of traffic and noise. It has been nice to not be stuck in the truck all day. The kids enjoyed getting to play outside even though it was a little cold. They didn't seem to notice. We will stay here until Monday then hit the road again. After having to stay in a motel in Fresno we were very glad to have our home back. Our first night back in it Kristine said "This is much better than a motel. I like having our house every where we go." I like it too. It is very nice to be able to pull in somewhere and walk in the door and be home.

catching up

Happy new year!! The rest of 2010 was very busy for us.

Matthew's day

 Matthew had wanted to be baptized when Kristine was, but we asked him to wait and really think about it first. He still wanted to do this so Dave baptized him on the 28th of December.

I turned off the camera thinking he was about to have a big fit. He didn't though.

So I turned it back on and caught what he had to say about the water.

The adventures of 5th wheel living.

On Monday I went out to open the valve for the gray tank (it holds the sink water) and heard the sound of running water. Not a good sound to hear. I looked over toward the sound to see the lot flooded with water. Not a good sight. So I looked under the 5th wheel to discover water was pouring out of the under belly. I went and told Dave he needed to come outside, we had a problem. Yep the gray tank must have a crack in it or something.  So we called the manufacturer and they told us where we could take it in Bakersfield. The only problem with this was the people here said they wouldn't fix it. So we will have to take it to Fresno. About two hours north of Bakersfield. We were going to take it up the next day but......the truck was acting up. It had been having problems off and on but we didn't think too much about it. It decided to really act up then. The thought of trying to get our 5th wheel to Fresno with the truck acting up was not good. We decided to get it fixed before heading up to Fresno. We thought it might be the transmission. The guys at Pep Boys agreed that that was the problem. They called Aamco and had them come tow our truck to their shop and look at it. After a long time they determined that the problem was not the transmission but the spark plugs and coils. So more waiting until they finally got it fixed. It is running much better now.

I try not to brag about my kids to much but they were amazing!!!! We left to get out truck fixed at 9:00 and didn't get done until 5:00. We didn't have anything for them to do with us so they just sat and played quietly with each other all day. The guy at Aamco was amazed as well and even cut the cost of the work on our truck just because our kids were soooo good!! He only charged us for one hour labor when they had been working on it all day. I was very proud of them and told them so over and over. 

Do I look that young? 

Now I know that I look young. People have often questioned me about my age over the years, but this was a first. We went to eat at a Denny's last night and the hostess took us to a booth and then looked at me and asked if I would like a child's menu or an adults menu. Yep that's a first. I thought it rather funny and enjoyed a good laugh. I know she felt bad about it after she realized that I was the wife and mother. I told her it was fine not to worry about it. I have had people think I'm way younger than I am before. I know it won't be the last time this happens either.

The plan now?

We will be heading to Fresno on Monday or Tuesday to get our 5th wheel fixed. They said it should take a few days. After that we will start making our way south toward L.A. then planing to head to Texas. But only God knows for sure where and when and how.