While in TX we were less than two hours away from Waco, so visiting Magnolia was a no brainer.  An added bonus was that a dear friend of mine just so happened to be in a town just a few hours away for her Master's Degree graduation and meeting up at Magnolia was the perfect spot!  
Magnolia is a neat place.  The silos are really cool and they have it set up as a place to gather, fellowship, and of course shop!  ​

The Silos are in the old downtown area.  It is a very busy place and parking near by was a bit crazy.  We found a spot a few blocks away.  The walk wasn't bad at all.
I am so glad my girlfriend and her family were able to meet us there.  ​Her and her husband have three kiddos, their son is close in age to our oldest, and they all had a fun time playing together.  In the courtyard of Magnolia, they have an astroturf lawn with bean bag chairs and corn hole.  The dads watched the kiddos while my friend and I went inside to have some undivided time to catch up on life and browse.

They have food trucks along the back corner of the property, which is a great idea!  It was mid afternoon when we arrived, so we got a sweet treat from the Silos food truck.  Cute Airstream!  I had the lemon-lavender cupcake and rose elderflower sparkling lemonade.  Delish!

I asked someone to take a photo of us all together.  I sure did pick the right guy...he actually laid down on the ground to get the shot with the Silos in the background!  Special thanks to him.

We spend several hours enjoying time together.  They have a cute garden area we walked around and caught up on life.

Friendships are so important and I am thankful I stay in touch with this sweet friend.  We have known each other since 5th grade! 
Who are your long-term friends?  Have you connected with them lately?  If not, I encourage you to reach out. 

​Blessings to you!  

There were so many beautiful flowers and plants at the East Arboretum & Botanical Gardens.  Such a diverse display of God's amazing creativity!  Vibrant colors and fragrant aromas delighted our senses.

There is a historic farmhouse, the Wofford House, (shown above) on the property.  It was not open for us to tour inside, but we really didn't need to, you can see everything through the large windows.  They have the home furnished for the appropriate time period and the relics and antiques are really neat.  The home has three sections with a large covered breeze way in the middle with wide steps in the front leading to the main entrance.  I love these style homes.  Seeing the past firsthand is so much fun!

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The Arboretum & Botanical Gardens have done a wonderful job creating a playful and colorful environment for children too.  Check out this adorable Children's Playhouse and yard.  There is also a small castle prop type play area at a different section of the park. 

While playing in the Children's Playhouse we noticed it could use a little attention.  Many of the corners and window sills had spider webs and dead bugs left over from the winter and early spring months.  The boys also discovered some loose chairs legs and loose door handles of the kitchen play set.  I decided this would be a perfect opportunity for us to serve.  

Talking about the importance of serving and being a blessing wherever we go is a common conversation.  Jesus came to Earth to serve, not to be served; He is our model.  The next week the boys and I gathered our work gloves, small hand tools and headed back to the Arboretum.  
Getting our hands dirty and giving our time is the best way to learn to serve.  The boys worked so hard cleaning and "fixing up" the playhouse.  They swept, cleaned windows, wiped surfaces, and tighten loose screws and bolts.  I know how crucial it is to model what we preach and it is so fun working along side of them.  After everything was cleaned and fixed, they wanted to rearrange the furniture, lol! 

Life on the road has certainly been busier and more tiring than I had anticipated, and unfortunately, writing here has been non-existent for the last 5 weeks.  I really want to share all that we have been doing, so I am going to try and get caught up with several short posts, starting with this one.

We spent three weeks in a town called Athens, TX.  It is a cute, small town about an hour and a half southeast of the DFW metroplex.  The National RV Training Academy is located just on the outskirts of Athens and is where my hubby attended his certification courses.  He enjoyed the courses very much and has made some new friendships in his classmates and instructors.

There is an RV Park on the same property as the Training Academy, so hubby could walk to class.  Most of the RV Park staff are "work camping" and are either taking courses at the Academy, or are spouses of Academy students.  Everyone there were so welcoming to us and treated us like family.  The boys and I made many new friends too.

As many of you know, I love to meet new people and make new friends.  The boys and I ventured out on our own several times.  I am learning quick how to maneuver the big dually truck pretty well, only one curb check so far.  Lol!

There is a super cute little mail shop in town called Ship Shop.  The ladies and one gentleman we worked with there were super friendly and helpful.  They also have tons of gift and souvenir items, which the boys had fun looking at while I took care of business.
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One of the first days in Athens, I took the boys to the East Texas Arboretum and Botanical Gardens.  It is a beautiful place and has several different areas to enjoy.  The park is on one hundred acres and has hiking trails, beautiful gardens and water features, a 115 ft suspension bridge, a replica of an old schoolhouse, a historic home which was moved on-site, a Veterans Memorial, and a Children's playhouse and yard.

Hello Friends & Family! 

​Well after six months of planning and praying, packing and repacking, organizing and storing, we were finally able to hook up the trailer, put the truck in drive and set off on our new adventure of Roadschooling across America! 

​As many of you know, it has been quite a busy and crazy six months for us, but we couldn't have done it without so many of you.  We are so grateful for all the love, help, and support we have received. 

Some of you helped us get our home in Colorado ready to sell; demolition-ing, remodeling, painting, packing, cleaning, and loading a ton of stuff into trailers for us to head West.  One special friend helped us sell our home...thanks Uncle Lee!  Many of you have also been praying and you continue to pray for us...thank you.   A few super-awesome friends and family members even hauled trailers down to Arizona for us!  Thank you Papa Myers, Uncle Brett, Mr. Nick and Eric...what a blessing you all are to us!  
 
A very, very BIG thanks to both sets of parents for supporting us in this 'out-of-the-box' idea and being so generous to put us up for awhile during our final preparations.  Also a very, very BIG thanks to Justin's brother, Eric for all his generosity and support and trailer hauling.  You are awesome, Eric!

One of the best things about planning for this adventure has been the forced downsizing of our possessions and determining what really are the "Essentials".  Every ounce of weight = fuel cost, so we really, really have to need it or want it in order to take it.  It has given all of us a new perspective on material things; we have to stop and really think if something is truly necessary or important.

I didn't realize how much we relied on material things and how consuming our things had become.  We have gained a huge sense of freedom living with much less.  It also reminds us to be grateful for what we have and not to focus on what we don't. 

​We actually began living in our RV right after Christmas.  This allowed us to get our feet wet to RVing full time.  We were able to have four months to move in and get settled prior to departure.  Meal planning has also become an even greater necessity!  If any of you have some yummy, easy meal recipes please send them our way!
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I am excited to share this adventure with you all!  Until next time, blessings to you.

It is no cliché, time really does seem to speed up the older you get.  This year has been our fastest year yet.  May arrived...we literally blinked...and summer is gone.  The air is getting crisper and cooler most days and the leaves are beginning to change to their beautiful autumn foliage.
 
Fall is my 2nd favorite season (used to be my #1 favorite, but a few years ago, Spring took that title..maybe I will share that transition sometime.)  I usually look forward to fall, but this year is different.  I have been grasping tightly to summer and really don't want to let go just yet.

At the beginning of summer this year, hubby and I felt a strong leading from the Lord that it was time to prepare our family to move to Arizona.  I met hubby at college in Arizona and 13 years ago we decided to put roots down in Colorado.  It has been a wonderful journey and the Lord has blessed us immensely here.  However, our two young boys are growing up fast and we do not get to spend as much time with the grand folks as we would like.  Both sets of grand folks (our parents)  and one sibling (my  brother-in-law) live in Arizona.  We also have numerous other extended family members and some close friends that still live in Arizona.

As followers of Christ, we are called to 'trust and obey'...so that is what we are doing.  All summer long we have spent working on completing unfinished projects, renovating our home, and started packing our belongings.  The construction is almost complete and the home is looking amazing.  Every time we finish a project, hubby and I say 'We should have done this years ago'.
 
It is so crazy how life gets so stinkin' busy and many of us wait until we go to sell our home to finish the projects we have talked and dreamed about.  But as my hubby says, "It is what it is."  We push through, leaning on the Lord for strength and guidance, the finish line is near.
 
The trek to Arizona is going to be a BIG one and preparing has been a bit overwhelming.  Packing for this move has given me another chance to assess our belongings and contemplate what all we really should keep and take with us.  It is a chance to downsize our possessions.  

A few years ago, God put on my heart to live a simpler life.  Again, in obedience, I am working toward this goal.   What does that simpler life look like?  For us, it is a life not consumed by material things and controlled by an "out-of-control" schedule.  

This move, for us, is just another step toward this simpler life.

I am excited about the adventure ahead of us and I am excited about the new family who will be blessed by this amazing home.  Many days I pray that the Lord would be putting all things in proper timing, preparing our hearts for the change, preparing the hearts of the new friends He will put in our path, and for the new church He wants us to be a part of.

I believe change can be hard for most of us.  This change would be extremely hard for us if we didn't have faith in Our Lord Jesus Christ.  A faith that is built on the rock of His promises will stand firm and never fall.  Jesus spoke of this in Matthew 7:24-27.  I encourage you to look this passage up for yourselves.

As I write this post, I am also reminded of Proverbs 16:9, which says,
In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps. (NIV)  

If God is asking you to make a change in your life and you feel resistant, you need not be discouraged or worried, God is faithful to those who trust and obey Him.  Lean on Him.  Pray continually and take life one day at time.

What is going on in your life?  Are you in the midst of change right now?  What are you learning from it?  Or do you perhaps see a pending change in your life, but you are being resistant to it?  Please share in the comments below.   

 I love a good cup of coffee, but it can get quite expensive.  A thrifty thing I am doing now is blending our coffee grounds.  I buy an inexpensive brand of coffee in bulk and I buy a more expensive coffee.  When I put the coffee grounds in the filter, I use about 60-70% of the inexpensive and about 30-40% of the more expensive coffee.  It makes a good tasting cup of coffee at a cheaper cost.  

I also used to love a big serving of a flavored creamer in my coffee, but I am reducing the amount of sugar in my diet, so I have stopped buying flavored coffee creamers.  I now use half and half or the non-dairy options when they are on sale.  These have less sugar and are generally less expensive.

I have noticed a difference in our budget since I have been blending the coffee grounds.  I was buying a small, expensive bag of coffee about every 6 days.  It was getting so stinkin' expensive.   Now the coffee lasts a lot longer and still satisfies my taste buds.

I mentioned earlier that I buy the inexpensive stuff in bulk.  We don't buy a super huge bag though.  We are Costco members and we used to buy coffee there, but with just two coffee drinkers in the home, we couldn't drink it fast enough before it went stale.  

Buying the inexpensive coffee in bulk at Walmart or a grocery store when its on sale works great for us.  

Here's to good coffee that won't blow your budget!  I hope this helps you be a little "thrifter" today.

​Happy Sipping.