Laughing again.......and a 700 lb Spider on Rollerskates

I CANNOT believe it has been one year since I posted on this blog.  Life has been busy of course, but really?  
The good news is, we are still in Stillwater, OK.  The bad news is, we MOVED again! 
I guess it's not really bad news, but moving is hard! 
Anyway, we were going to move this summer, to a little bit bigger home, since we have 5 kids, 4 of which are still home, but the contract fell through.  So we were good with that, stay where we were, in a smaller home, with all our stuff being stored in 7 different places! Yes, that is correct, 7 different places. But still, trusting, God's timing, not ours.  Well, we started the school year and all that it brings.  We had Jesse's football schedule, Ruth's cross country schedule, Esther's volleyball schedule, and Anna's cross country schedule to work around.  Joshua asked if he could sign up for flag football, and my answer was "Heck No!!"  (His time is coming!) So, packing up the trailer and heading out every weekend to somewhere in Kansas for football, plus throwing a xc meet or VB game in there, sometimes we would be in 3 different cities, 2 different states in a matter of 24 hours!! 

Right in the middle of this, the people who owned the house we had put a contract on over the summer, came back to us and offered us a deal we couldn't refuse, so after praying and signing the paperwork, we had to close in 2 weeks.  All of a sudden, in the midst of an already crazy schedule, we were moving across town!! 

This was exciting and exhausting all at the same time, because you know, the Ray Ford Family does not pay movers!! We do it ourselves. Ha! So we spent the next few weeks, slowly but surely trickling things over to the new home.  But as we got to the end of the month, Ray said he was not paying another month in storage, so we HAD to get the storage stuff over to the new home by Friday.  Well, that was fine, except, we had a XC meet in Arkansas, and a football game in KS, along with 2 volleyball games that week, both an hour drive away!  The boxes were not the difficult part, and we were able to get that over in about 5 trips, but the RV, oh baby, that was a different story!  You see, we have a large separate garage/workshop/RV storage at our new home.  I call it the barn. Anyway, it is great, but the people before us didn't have an RV/5th wheel, so they built a loft type structure, to use as storage.  It was right in the spot were the back half of the 5th wheel needed to go in the barn, so we had to take that out.  Well, Ray wasn't about to waste that great storage, so instead of dismantling it, he wanted to MOVE it.  Now this thing probably weighed 700+ lbs.  It was attached to the side of the wall, but had 4 large beams that supported it, like legs.  Ray decided that we could just cut it away from the wall and move it over on wheels.  After we propped it up on skate boards, furniture dollies and the like, and tried to move it a few feet, we rethought! So the next day, while the kids were at school, Ray and I attempted to move this thing.  He attached casters to the 4 legs and we began to push.  It was sooooo exciting, the thing was moving, we were so proud of ourselves, we were gonna have this thing moved and secured to the other side of the barn in a matter of 30 minutes.  

Well, pride cometh before the fall.......... we ran into a little finagling around the garage door and while Ray was trying to figure out how to manuver it, the thing started to fall!! We could hear wood cracking, and I was supporting one leg, Ray ran over to support the other, and we were huffin' and puffin' like to old fat people, sweat beads pouring from our faces.  We couldn't move, yet, we had to get something under this thing or it was coming down!! About that time we look up and here comes 2 Jehovah Witnesses!! They asked if they could have a few minutes of our time!!! What?! Can you not see we are in dyer need of some assistance?! Ray said "No! We are a little busy at the moment, but you can help us if you want!" They declined, but then asked if they could leave some reading material for us?! You have got to be kidding! No! 

After they left, Ray said, "Ok, I am gonna step away and grab the ladder, and try to prop it up underneath, if it starts to fall on you, just run away!!" Oh my gosh, how do I get myself into these situations with this guy??  Well, he was able to get the ladder under the structure before it fell on top of me, and we stepped away for a moment.  He decided we would use the tractor, and lift the weight up off the legs, while we moved it, then secure it into place before we moved the tractor.  Long story short, 10 hours later, after we started this project, we had the stucture moved and secured into place.  A friend stopped by while we were in the process and gave alot of support and encouragement, but like she said, it looked like a 700 lb spider on roller skates!!

Needless to say, we were exhausted after working ALL DAY on this short quick little job, and we were supposed to get on the road that night and head to Fayetteville, AR for Ruth's XC meet the next day.  Well, I thought we were going in to clean up, when I heard the chain saw roar to life! What now?  The 5th wheel was still at the storage facility, but we had to renew the lease the next day if we didn't get it out of there by the weekend.  We were taking the 5th wheel to AR and then to KS, but when we came back home on Sunday, Ray wanted to be able to put it into the barn, soooo, we had lots of tree limbs that hung across the driveway.  Ray had to clear those so he could bring the 5th wheel in once we returned on Sunday.  So all of us went out and as Ray cut a limb, we dragged it into the front yard.  I wanted to take them all to the back behind the barn, but the sun was going down, we were supposed to get on the road, and we just didn't have time.  I was embarrassed because our neighbors all have very well kept yards, and here we come, just moving in, and trashing the place!!  Well, as we worked into the night, Ray cut, and we dragged!  Finally, after he had cut his last limb, the idea of getting on the road was out of the question!! To say we were tired was an understatement! We decided to crash, and just get up early the next morning and head out.  

The next morning, Ray headed over to get the 5th wheel, then come to pick us up and head out.  He called and said to come outside and load up, but as we walked outside, with overnight bag in hand, we see Ray unloading stuff out of the 5th wheel onto the front lawn.  We had several kayaks in the back of the 5th wheel, and to have room for the kids to sleep in the back, we had to unload them.  At this point, we are cutting it close to make it to Ruth's race, so we just start chunking kayaks and all the gear into the front yard, along with piles of tree limbs! About that time, our new neighbors cautiously walked over and asked if we need any help.  What was your first clue?! Yes we need help, but I think it goes deeper than just unloading our crud out of the trailer!!  We graciously declined, and assured them we were not the Clampets, and we would have this all cleaned up eventually!! Ray hollered for everyone to load up, and we flew out of there, dust and leaves off the tree limbs flying behind us!

Well, several hours later, we were cruising toward Fayetteville, when we realized we had missed our exit! That was fight number one on this trip! We only had to go 30 miles out of the way, because we were on a toll road, and there are no exits!!

After getting back in the right direction, and apologizes and forgiveness were given, we were cruising again.  We made it to the meet, and only had to park 2 miles from the course!! Ha!  Thank goodness they had a bus that shuttled back and forth.  We ran up to the start, saw Ruth run with 600+ other high school girls, it was crazy 22 minute race, then loaded back up to head up through Missouri, and over into central Kansas for Jesse's game.  Whew!

7 miles out from the meet, Ray asks where his phone is!! I don't know!! We have find my friends on our phones, so I can see his phone is on the side of the road, back where we pulled onto the highway from the meet.  Ray wheels the big rig around, and we head back to get it! As we are approaching were it showed it was, it begins to MOVE!! What? Someone has picked it up.  We started calling it, multiple times, but no answer! So, what do we do......... We follow it!! 2 miles down the road, it stops in a Lowe's parking lot.  Ray instructs the kids to stay in the car, while we walk around in the parking lot, my phone in hand, tracking where his phone is.  We look like a couple of creepers, and it's a miracle someone didn't call the police.  We had narrowed it down to 2 cars, so as we were looking through the windows of the cars, and getting lots of stares, a shady looking guy comes out towards Ray and asked if we were looking for an iPhone.  Not sure if he had good intentions initially, since he hadn't answered when we had called, but needless to say, we got the phone back!! Miracle!!

Well, that put us 30 minutes later on the road than we had planned, so we headed out again, 5 hours away from where Jesse was playing.  2.5 hours down the road, Ray and I could NOT keep our eyes open, we were so worn out, not only from the last 24 hours, but the last few weeks of moving and kids' athletic schedules.  We pulled the truck over, gave our phones to Joshua and Anna, and all crawled into the trailer.  We set the timer for 20 minutes, told them to play games, and not wake us up until the alarm went off, and we crawled up in the bed and CRASHED, dead to the world, as soon as our heads hit the pillow.  20 minutes later, we were off and running again!

We arrived at Jesse's game, at the end of the 2nd quarter, after dark, in an unfamiliar stadium.  Fight number 2 happened after I tried to coach Ray on where to park!! Ha! Eventually, we made it into the game, reconciled and exhausted, but thankful we had made it, finally.  

After the game, we camped in the trailer and slept in a little the next morning, before we headed back to Stillwater.  When we pulled in, it was bitter sweet.  We were so thankful to be home, yet looking at the piles of stuff in our driveway and yard, it was a little hard not to get overwhelmed.  Ray announced that no one was released until we got this trailer into the barn.  So we all worked together, cutting the limbs up into small enough pieces, so that we could drag them out of the way.  We cleared all boxes out of the way in the barn, and made sure the path was clear for Ray to back that baby in.  It was the moment of truth, and excitement as we had all worked so hard, the weekend was so exhausting, but this would be balm for the soul, and make it all worth it.  You know what I am about to say..........  The trailer AC unit was TOO TALL!! by about 6 inches!!

That was it, we were done, Ray put that baby in park, and we left it there, all week, half in half out!
Our poor neighbors.

We either had to laugh or cry, so we laughed.  We had already cried a little that weekend.  It's all good, right? This is a first world problem, it's not eternal!

Well, I am happy to say, 3 weeks later, Ray Ford, who is a risk taker, and not afraid to attempt something I would NEVER do, took a chain saw, and cut a notch above the garage door, and got that sucker in there!!   No, it's not that pretty at the moment, but even our neighbors were impressed.  I think it is what makes Ray a good surgeon, he is not afraid to cut something open, fix it, and make it work.

And I am happy to say, we have moved all piles and items out of our front yard and around to the back.  Also, things are calming down, thus, the ability to do this blog entry.  Ruth qualified and ran in the State Championship XC meet this past weekend.  Esther finished up a good season of VB a few weeks ago.  Anna had her last meet 2 weeks ago, and we only have 2 more Sterling Football games.  We finally were back in town for church on Sunday after 6 weeks of missing in action from being on the road for football games.  I think things are calming down!! Now to unpacking boxes! 

Have a wonderful week,
JJ

I Wanna Be FAT!!

As a recap and conclusion from the last post, we finished football season, we ended up with a big win, Jesse playing a great last game, and winning a leadership award for both on and off the field.  He also was named an Oklahoma All-Star for football, as well as All District.  

Last game! The family is painted up and ready for the game.

Football Banquet

We were thankful for the season, even with it's ups and downs.  We are also excited for him as he enters this next season of life, working for Kanakuk this summer after getting to be a kamper one last year, and then heading off to Sterling College to play football at the next level.

Go Warriors!

As January came around, we knew that we would have to start thinking/praying about the decision to move again.  Honestly, I didn't want to.  Things were cruising along pretty well in my world, and I didn't want to have to think about the decision, let alone the move, to Stillwater.  But, with Ray working out of town, and doing what he does, we needed to see if that would be the best thing long term. We had accomplished the goal of staying here to let Jesse finish his senior year, but now needed to reevaluate the situation.

Funny story in the midst of this, during January, as we were beginning to have conversations about this, Ray got stuck 3 extra nights in Stillwater, that he wasn't on call, because he had seen ladies in the clinic that were in labor, and had to put them in the hospital so they could have their babies.  He couldn't leave them after he did that, so he was stuck down there until the baby came. (That's not the funny part!) 

Anyway, it happened to be one of those really cold weeks we have had up here, 16 degree nights.  After the second night of getting stuck, I decided I would go down and just be with him, even if he just slept, I could just sit beside him and read.  Just didn't want him to have to be alone again.  So, I threw a jacket on, some driving gloves, and headed out.  I didn't pack my heavy stuff (bad idea, you should always travel with your winter gear up here!!) but anyway, just put on my light stuff and headed down.  I called him on the way down to give him the heads up that I was coming to just hang out with him.  He said that was fine, but he was so tired, he just wanted to head back to the trailer and sleep.  I had brought a book, so I told him that would be great, I would just sit by him and read, but he won't have to be alone.  

Well, I met him at the trailer, where he was just returning from filling up the tank with more propane. He said when he had returned to the trailer, that the heat was off.  He thought surely it must have just used up all the propane since the temp was so low.  So, after hooking up the newly filled tank, he proceeded to crank the heat on again......nothing, tried again........nothing, made a few adjustments......nothing.  He then asked me to help look up troubleshooting for the rv's furnace.  We googled it, and tried every suggestion in the troubleshooting portion in the manual.......NOTHING!!

By this time, the temp had dropped to a cool 20 degrees outside the trailer, and inside the trailer it wasn't much better. He was so tired from the night before, and was just wanting to sleep, but here we were, he outside in the sub-freezing temps, and me inside, wrapped in a quilt, trying to look up anything that might help.  I finally just suggested that he go get a hotel room, and get some rest so he could be ready to go in whenever the hospital called for the delivery.  He reminded me that the trailer was not winterized, as he had un-winterized it the night before to take a shower.  That is not a problem IF your heat is working!! But with the heat refusing to come on, he said the pipes would freeze and do major damage, with the forecast being 16 degrees that night.

"Ok, what do we do then", I asked.

"We need to winterize it," says Ray.

"Ok, how?"

"We need to run to Walmart and get some antifreeze."

"I'll go."

"No, If I can't get the heat to come on, and I am going to winterize it anyway, I might as well not leave it here in the camping spot, I might as well just hook it up and take it with me to the hospital parking lot, and just pray the call room is open tonight."

So, at 10 o'clock at night, in 18 degree weather, we are hooking the trailer up, hauling it to Walmart, and then after purchasing the antifreeze, winterizing the trailer in the parking lot.  We were both freezing, but I was especially cold, since I hadn't planned on being outside, and had only grabbed my lighter gear.  

I thought the reason I was going down there was to encourage Ray by just being with him on another unexpected call night, but the real reason God had planted this idea in my head, was for me to be there to help him.  (Winterizing goes twice as fast with 2 people!) He needed his helpmeet.

After this miserable week, we felt God was showing us to put the house on the market and get closer to Ray's work.  The worst part was telling the kids before we put the sign out.  They have done really well here in Ponca, and we hate to move them again.  Their response was a trust in God's plan, even more than mine.  Ruth's comment to us after we told her was, "Mom, why are you sad, it's all good, God's got this!"  What a precious girl! The others, though overall supportive, where a little more concerned.

Well, we have had the house on the market for over a month, and only 3 looks.  Ray has also had several good weeks again, of not getting stuck, except for planned call nights.  So, we question, we waver.  I feel like waves of the sea, being driven and tossed back and forth.  

I feel so anemic in my faith.  I told God the other day, I just can't keep doing this, I can't handle this, back and forth, unsure what His perfect will is, sell or not, move or stay.  What is best for the kids, for Ray, for our family as a whole?  

I am lean in my faith, and I want to be FAT!! Fat in my spiritual walk with Him.  Knowing that if I go through difficult times, my fat will sustain me.  I always have said the way God made my physical body, was one that could have survived a famine, always plenty of reserves, but my spiritual body, my faith, the moment things seem to get a little dry, unsure, unstable, I crumble, I faint, I'm weak.  

Lord, help me feed on the fat of your word.  I need You, need it, more than anything.  Like I tell the kids, the army you feed in your mind is the one that will win.  Lord, help me feed the faith in my heart and mind, by knowing, praising, and worshiping Who You are and knowing/meditating on Your Word.

We still have the sign out in the front yard, and the house showed today, but we are praying God's will.  We are not praying for it to sell, or not to sell.  We are just dumb sheep, we don't know, and since we can't see what the future holds, we are asking God to do His will in our lives, trusting, if the house sells, God is moving us, if it doesn't, then He is keeping us here longer, and He will take care of Ray's commute part.  We need our good Shepherd to lead us where He wants us, either by the "Stillwater" or stay put in Ponca.  I have to trust in His character, He doesn't toy with us, teasing us for fun.  His Word says, "if we acknowledge Him in all our ways, He will direct our paths."  (Prov. 3:6) We are acknowledging Him, seeking Him, taking steps of action we believe He has lead us to do, and now waiting, being still.  In this waiting process, I wanna be FAT.  The last thing I want is Psalm 106:15 "He gave them their request; But sent leanness into their soul." I want His way for us, and fullness of soul.  Full of faith, and trusting that God is already knee deep in His plan for us, working behind the scenes, even now, as I type.  He is trustworthy.  I must trust, and rest. 

No diets here,
JJ 

You can pay someone to do this!

A few weeks ago, we had just finished dinner, and were about to settle in, to what I thought, was going to be a quiet evening.  I had some plans in my head to work on a few things on the computer in the recliner, as the kids played outside for a little bit longer, before time to get ready for bed.  All was going as I had planned, until my husband walked in and announced he needed my help.


Being the Godly wife I am :), I quickly hopped up from my chair, and headed down to the barn.


He was on the last step of a project that he had been working on, for literally, months.  He was replacing the awning on the trailer.  You see, when we got this trailer, it was a hand-me-down from his brother.  A great little trailer, but the awning was in great need of repair, better to say, replacement.


We had taken it down to a repair place, here in Cleburne, a few months ago to see what they could do, and as soon as they quoted Ray the price, out we pulled.  No way was Ray going to pay that!!


So, he started looking on line, googling "How to replace your awning on your trailer."


There are youtube videos for EVERYTHING!!  


Anyway, all of these sites that gave instruction on "How to"... all had a warning that said..."This is very dangerous!!! Do not attempt alone, and must have at least 3 to 4 adults helping." The tension that is wound up inside the tube of the awning, is appearantly very strong, and can take a finger or hand off!! 


This is what ALL the websites said.  Yikes!! After reading that, I thought we would surely take it back to the RV place, but NO Way!!! Not Ray Ford.


After we very carefully took the awning off of the trailer, and took it apart, Ray found the part numbers and ordered what he needed to replace. Several weeks went by, and I kinda forgot about it, until he came in to get me the other night.


After briefly instructing me, and reminding me of the danger (He didn't have to do that, I hadn't forgotten!!) , we started the process.  We actually didn't have too much problem getting it threaded onto the tube, and then actually winding the tension.  It was a little nerveracking, thinking that this thing could spin, and take off one of Ray's fingers, but we did it!! The funny thing was, I was so nervous, that I lost count of the turns on the spring a couple of times, so we had to start over 3 different times!!! 


The worst part was yet to come.  After getting the thing wound onto the tube, we then had to pick up this huge tube, with the awning hanging off of it, and thread the other end onto the side of the trailer.  No problem, except the thing weighed a ton, and it was just the 2 of us. Remember the warning, "This is a job for no less than 3 to 4 adults!!"


All I can say is, it was a total disaster!!  Ray was trying to balance one end on his head, while I was holding the majority of it on my shoulders, and then needing to pull the end of the material, so it wouldn't bunch up as Ray was pulling it through the track!! It was windy to boot, so the tarp part was flapping in the wind, and eventually blew us over as well as the ladder we were standing on to reach the side of the trailer where the track was to attach the awning.


We just stopped, looked at each other feeling completely defeated, (I did), but not Ray.  He said, "Hey, let's get Joshua to help us!!!" 


"He is FIVE!" I said.  Not exactly another adult to help us.


"Ok" he said, "we'll wait until the big kids get home from youth."


When the kids got home, my sister,, Joy was with them, she had brought them home.  Oh, thank the Lord for another adult!!


We quickly recruited her and Jesse, our 14 year old son, to be the other 2 adults!!  As I was explaining to her about what we needed her to help us with, I said, "You know you can pay to have someone do this, but......" Joy interrupted, "Hey, another blog post, right!?"

Anyway, after recruiting a few extra abled bodies, things went alot better.  it was still rough, but we did it!!! Yeah, success, or so we thought.

We all waited in anticipation as we watched Ray pull the switch, which should have caused the awning to roll up all by itself, with ease, into a nice tight roll to travel down the highway.  Much to our dismay, nothing happened...well something happened, we heard a whizzing sound inside the tube for a moment, but no movement of the awning rolling up. Nothing. What??? What was wrong?

Much to our dismay, we had wound the tension in the wrong direction!!  So, it was going to roll out like a champ, but rolling back up was a different story!!
I asked, "Can we just leave it, it is sooo late?" No, we couldn't, a storm was coming in that night, so we all had to use our strength, to roll it up, as tight as we could get it, but it was very heard, as we were all rolling against the tension, the super tight tension, that we were warned about on the websites!!


It took all four of us, but we finally get it rolled up enough for it to not catch the wind, but I was done.  The thought of having to take that thing down, and start over was a little too much for me.  Needless to say, I think Ray knew that, and actually he and Jesse were able to reverse the tension and get if fixed, working perfectly, without me at all.  They both felt a huge amount of accomplishment, and what a great feeling to get it done, and save us all that money.


Anyone need any RV repairs, check with Ray first!


Have a blessed week, and remember, He is Risen!
JJ

The Long, Long Trailer

The camping story continues:

When we arrived back at the outfitters, we were so happy to get in the car, and head out to the camp site.  We couldn't wait to get a good night's sleep in the trailer, get dry, get warm, and have a hot cooked meal.  As we started to pull out, the drag was unbelievable, it felt as if we were pulling a load of elephants. We knew the trailer was big, and we were in a muddy field, but this was ridiculous!  All of a sudden, Ray threw the car into park, yelled something, and jumped out.  I looked in the side mirror, and saw a row, about 30 feet long, like a plow had dug a trench.  You could have planted a crop in it! 

 It was the trailer jack!  We had been so excited to get off the river and get to the trailer, that we had not raised the jack up.  It was now bent, and Ray could lift it up only part way!!  The kids were all asking what happened, and I quickly told them to not say a word, when Daddy got back in the car!! 

Ray got in, and stated, "we better not go over any speed bumps the rest of the trip, or the bottom of the jack will hit!!"

So, pulling out, finally, we got out the directions to the camp site.  Being new "trailer" campers, we had googled RV camp sites, instead of State parks.  We were thinking State Parks were more for tent camping, since that is what we had done in the past.

So we pulled into the RV Park about 30 minutes later, only to find that it was, well let's just say, less than beautiful.  The beach that we were supposed to be camping next to, had a large bloated fish, a few pieces of trash, some skeletons, and a "swim at your own risk" sign.  The other camp sites were occupied by people that had obviously been camping there for years, and one lady greeted us by hollering at her kids, who were playing in the mud in front of her rv, "What part of NO don't you understand?!"

We told our kids to divert their eyes, and decided to go ahead and cook our burgers for dinner on our grill, that we were supposed to have at each camp site.  When we inquired at the office, as to where the grill was, she quickly ran into her house, and brought out her's for us to use.  Very nice people, but we were not sure about staying here for three more days.

We decided to go ahead and go to bed, get some rest, then figure it out the next morning.

The next day, we checked our iPhone for State parks. Thank goodness for technology.  There was a State park, not far from where we were, so we decided to go check it out.  It was beautiful, and we found a wonderful place, right on the lake, with lots of green grass for the kids to run and play.  We marked our spot, and headed back over to the RV park to pick up the trailer and move it.  We decided we would dump, (Trailer campers know what I am talking about), since we were all hooked up anyway at our site.  When Ray flipped the switch to dump, it began to overflow out of the ground and ran down the grass into the "Swim at your own Risk" Beach.  No wonder they had the sign up!! GAG!  All I can say is, we were so glad to get out of there.

By the time we reached the State park, it was full, except for the spot we had marked.  As we all piled out of the car, to let the kids check out the beach and the camp site, and to give Ray some quiet as he backed in the trailer, I overheard the neighboring campsite couple talking about what they were about to witness.  The older man next to us said, "Honey, get the chairs, this is going to be a show!! Let's see if this young'en can back this thing in here!"  

No pressure, I told Ray, but the couple next to him had set up with a drink in hand, ready to watch Ray back in the "Long, Long Trailer"!!

I am proud to say, he backed it like a champ, and the old guy even congratulated him on a job well done!! Whew!!

We settled in for a few days of fun and camping.  It was GREAT sleeping in a bed, instead of the ground, and also having a kitchen to cook some of the food for our crew, was also a blessing.  We even had some friends come join us for the last night there.

 

We thought that besides the bent trailer jack, overall, the trip had gone well. A great way to take a big family on an inexpensive trip!!

Sunday morning, we woke early, to head home.  Ray was actually supposed to meet my Dad to go on a fishing trip for a few days.  Ray, being the son-in-law of Mike Janszen, did not want to make him wait, so we packed up in a hurry, trying to get on the road for our 2 1/2 hour drive back to Cleburne.

We thought we had it all packed up, and were ready to go.  Ray had us wait outside the car while he tried to pull out of the skinny camping spot.   Being the new trailer campers that we were, we did not have a "pack-up check list" yet, sooooo, right as he started to pull out, we heard a horrible crunch!! Somehow, we had forgotten to pull out the new blocks, and new jacks we had purchased for the long, long trailer.  Ugh!! ruined!! 

Ok, so, just a few more things that will need repairs after we get home from our inexpensive camping trip in the trailer.

We gathered the crunched items, put them in the car, and headed out, finally.

We were still getting off in plenty of time, and still felt pretty good about our trip.  We noticed, though, that the gas was low in the Excursion.  "No problem", Ray said, "once we get off of the park road, there is a station with diesel, only about 15 miles down the road." The car was showing about 50 miles until empty.

The problem was that the park road was very hilly, and we were pulling the long, long trailer.  The Excursion started drinking the diesel like it was in a desert on a hot day.  Jesse and I began watching the ticker count down how many miles till empty.  It was dropping about a mile per every few seconds.  When we finally reached the main road, we stopped and asked a pick-up truck were the closest diesel station was.  The closest was 10 miles, in the wrong direction!! Now remember, we were on a tight schedule, trying to get home for Ray to meet my dad, and the other guys in the family.   

We had no choice.  The counter said 7 miles till empty, we had 10 miles in the wrong direction, or 15 miles in the right direction.  We had to take the shortest route to the station.  

So right we turned, taking our chances with the 10 miles.  We started praying, that the Lord would multiply our gas, and let it not run out, like the widow and the oil and flour. (scripture reference) That counter started flashing, and might as well have been sounding off and alarm, "0 miles till empty!!" The road sign said we still had 5 miles to go.  We were praying....

Ray said, if we ran out, he would hop on one of the bikes and ride to the station, or take the golf cart we had crammed in the back of the toy hauler, either way, plan B was not looking very good.  

Can I just tell you?....it was a miracle... We made it, literally, glided into the station, and on top of that, one that would fit our long, long trailer!!!

We filled up, and were finally, again, on our way.  We called Dad to explain what had happened and that we were going to be late, and Dad was great.  "No problem," he said. Still, Ray didn't want to dilly-dally, so off we sped to Cleburne.

We made pretty good time, in spite of pulling the trailer, and swerving all over the road on the way home, because we were back heavy.  When we finally were at our last turn, into the driveway of our home, Ray, still not wanting to make Dad wait, didn't want to take the time to let Jesse get out and disengage the gate, to swing it open extra wide, he just decided to shoot on through, thinking he could clear it, and in the process, save lots of time.  Well, we all heard a horrible scraping sound.  After a few seconds, Ray hopped out of the car, and went to see what had happened.  The whole side of the trailer, the side with the canopy, had scraped along the limestone rock entry way leading into our driveway.  I told the kids, again, "Don't say a word!!" As Ray got back in the car, he just pulled on through, gritting his teeth, mumbling something!! When we pulled on up to the house, we got out and realized that the canopy was in shreds, all blowing in the wind like flags.   Yikes!! Just a few more repairs to make from this trip.

Ray ran in, threw his stuff together, and hopped in the other car to meet my Dad.

I walked down to get the mail after he left, and noticed that the limestone pillar, that had scrapped the side of the trailer, had a nasty lean to it, and was about to tumble over.  My heart sank, as I knew Ray must have seen it on his way out to meet Dad.  When I got back to the house, I called his cell, wanting to comfort him, and let him know that it was ok, we would get all the things fixed that we broke on this trip, and not to worry about the entrance, we could get that fixed too.  No worries, and that I just loved him, and thanked him for trying to create great memories for our family.  Little did I know, that he had not noticed the pillar, so when I began to try to make him feel better about everything, I actually made him feel worse, by telling him about something else that had been damaged from this camping trip. So much for "inexpensive" family trips.

So, whatever happened to the long, long trailer?  We had all the repairs done, on our entry way, as well as on the trailer, and prayed for a buyer.  While we were up at Kanakuk, the trailer was at the shop getting fixed, and the Lord brought a buyer!! Hallelujah.  No more long, long trailer for us!! 

Thanks for reading this long, long post!!

Happy New Year,

JJ

Camping, Continued.....

Several years later, and 2 more children later, Ray and I began to get the itch to attempt to camp with a family of 7.  Holding out for my desire to camp in a trailer, we started the hunt.  Wanting to use our money wisely, we searched for a used trailer that would sleep 7.  After looking at every lot within a 50 mile radius, we kept coming back to this super long, bumper pull, trailer for sale in the parking lot of a restaurant in Cleburne.  We just couldn't get over the fact that all the other trailers we looked at were so much smaller, for so much more money, so we thought we would get the best deal, more trailer for less.  We eventually called it the "Long, long trailer". (Like the Lucille Ball movie)

Anyway, We were so excited, but when Ray went to pick it up, he called me on the way home, stating that this was a huge mistake.  This thing was so long, and so back heavy (it was a toy hauler), that even behind our heavy duty diesel expedition, it was swaying back and forth, giving Ray motion sickness on the way home!!! 

We felt, we had better make the best of it, so we planned our first big outing.  A canoe/camping trip, not to Cleburne State Park, that would be too simple, but to the Brazos river, flowing out at the base of Possum Kingdom Lake.

This first part of the trip, Ray was so excited about, because it screamed adventure!! I just wanted to scream.  We were going to take our family of 7, ages 38 to 4, on a two day canoe trip, catch our food from the river, and TENT camp on the bank overnight.

Crud!! Tent camping one more time!

Anyway, the trip was supposed to be 20 miles long, but when the canoe outfitter saw our young family, they encouraged is to take out at the 10 mile point.  Thank the Lord they did!! Anyway, we headed out mid morning, with sleeping bags, tent, and some astronaut food, I had purchased, just in case we couldn't catch anything on the river.  Everything was in water tight containers, in case we flipped, Oh please Lord no!! The first day on the river was pretty good, alot of fun, but we caught only one fish.

Thank goodness for astronaut food and that we didn't have to"eat what we caught on the river!!" 

That night, we found a camping spot, on the rocks, on the bank of the river.  We settled in pretty good, but we were all sleeping in a 6 man tent, and there was seven of us, and if you know tents, six man really means only about 3 to 4 comfortably.  Since we had to pack everything in on 2 canoes, Ray would not let us bring pillows.  We had actually had a dry run through in our barn, all laying down in the tent to see if we could fit.  Long story short, we were like pieces in a puzzle, and if one turned, we all had to turn.  For some reason, Ruth was at my feet, and I had to lay on my side and bend my legs up to fit.  We all made it through the night, most of us sleeping ok, but some of us, mainly me, not sleeping much at all.  When we awoke the next day, the wind was picking up, and a storm was coming in.  We had to get on the river and get off before the storm hit, we had about 7 miles left.  I was aching all over, and thought it was from the miserable night of sleep in the tent, but quickly found out, I had fever. Yuck!

The river was flowing so slowly, and the wind was blowing against us, that we were paddling hard, just to flow down river!! If we stopped paddling, the wind would literally blow us back up river, against the current.  No relaxing floating down river, that is for sure. Ray said, I had the look of misery, but I felt that it was a little like labor.  I needed to keep paddling to get my family off the river before the storm hit, I felt horrible, and we had to keep going or else!!

We finally made it, and I can't tell you how thankful we all were to see the pick up point, where we were to meet our ride.

We all piled in the truck of the outfitter, and were so happy to be heading back to the trailer, where we would get dry, warm, and get a good night of rest!! 

How exciting, we had survived the adventure part, and were now heading for the relaxing part, or so I thought!!

Enough for now, I will continue the story on the next post.

God bless, and Happy New Year,

JJ

Camping.

As our family has grown through the years, from 2 to now 7, we have always enjoyed getting away, and enjoying the outdoors.

My parents gave us a tent on our second Christmas together, and since then, we have enjoyed the adventures of camping.  Throughout Medical school and residency, it was a way we could vacation on a very tight budget.

As our family grew, tent camping had it's own difficulties, like the time we camped at Tyler state park, and we were attacked by bees!! All the kids were stung, and there were so many bees that while I would spread mayo on the sandwiches, trying to make lunch, 2 or 3 would land on the mayo and get stuck!! 

Also on that same camping trip, our 3rd child was under a year old, and chose to try and cut some teeth during the night.  Since we were tent camping, as well as all the other people out at Tyler State park, I felt the need to try and keep her quiet.  Needless to say, she finally fell asleep at midnight, only to wake up again at 4 am.  The only place to sit and rock her was in the cinder-block community bathroom, where, for the next 3 hours, I sat on the toilet seat, rocking and singing to her, with spiders and roaches watching me from the spider webs over head, until the sun came up.

It was also on that camping trip that we realized, that camping with 3 small children, in a tent, all under the age of 5, required so much packing and unpacking.

Needless to say, this burned me for awhile, and I stated that the next time I went camping was going to be in a trailer!!

Once we moved to Cleburne, from Shreveport, we were thrilled to find out that there was a Cleburne State Park.  A wonderful place for us to go visit, close to home, yet still be able to camp.

Again, Ray talked me into trying to tent camp one more time, since Esther was a few years older, and not teething or nursing anymore.

I gave in, and we packed up for another adventure.  Since all of us had grown a little taller, we had outgrown our four man tent, and felt compelled to borrow Ray's brother's 8 man tent.  A huge, very nice tent, but not rain proof!! No forecast for rain, though.

Ray also thought it would be fun to borrow his Dad's boat, just to add to the fun activities that we were going to enjoy with the family.

We packed all our STUFF up, and headed out. Set up the camp, and really had a good time together until bedtime.  What we didn't realize, was that we had set up this huge tent right next to a ragweed bush, several to be exact, on 3 sides of the tent!!  That night, as we fell into bed, exhausted from all the fun, several of the kids began to cough.  This continued all night, and most of us didn't sleep, and we couldn't figure out where these coughs came from, until the sun came up the next morning, and we saw all the ragweed.

The next night, we had it figured out, a dose of benedryl for all the kids was the trick.  This would keep the allergic reactions down, and hopefully help with the coughs.  All went sound asleep that night, and Ray and I were high-fiving as we drifted off, until.......

The wind started picking up, then a thunder in the distance.  Before we knew it, the rain was coming down in buckets.  Now remember, this was not an adventurer's tent, it was not weather proof.  All of a sudden, one of the kids started screaming, we turned on the flashlight, and the whole roof of the tent was sagging down, with gallons of water pressing hard down on it.  The weight was too much, and it began to pour into the tent, right onto the kids.  No matter where we moved them around in the tent, the water was coming.  

With no signs of stopping, Ray looked at me and said, "you know what we have to do!"  Ray ran and started the car, with the heater on, then we methodically began to move our 3 young children into their car seats, covered them in blankets because they were soaked and freezing, and then for the next hour, Ray and I ran back and forth, through the rain, loading up all our STUFF into the back of the car.  The time was sometime after midnight, but still way before morning.  As we finally got the last item loaded, and got into the car, completely soaked to the bone, but happy to know that home was only a 10 minute drive, and we would be safe and warm in our beds very soon, we remembered...... The boat!! Ray did not feel good about leaving the boat on the beach, unprotected, while we were safe at home in our beds, so we hooked up to the trailer, and I stood at the ramp, in the rain, holding a flashlight to try and guide Ray and the boat onto the trailer.  After a few misses, we got it loaded and were finally on our way.

That was it!! This was the very last tent camping I would do.  It is the trailer for me from that point on... or so I thought.
More to come later, this post is long enough as is.
God bless,
JJ