The "Vacation/Find a Place to Live" Story

Hey guys! We made it!
Yes~ we moved our family/ranch/life from the

 "little" (500 people population) town in South Dakota to- the "little" town of: Cedartown, Georgia. (9,800 people population). 

It has been.... a whole bunch of different things!

We are so excited to start anew- and stride out to do our own thing. 

We are sad that our life long friends back home did not fit into our packing boxes...

We are in a place we have never been before- this applies to the territory, the lifestyle (rented house in town), the financial flow... about every aspect of our lives has completely changed. 

What I can say right now is that-

 with the blessings come many struggles. 

I'll add some details soon, but let me catch up a bit, 

and share about, how we got to where we are! 

The end of May we took off on a:

"family vacation/go find summer/ find a new place to live" 

SUPER ADVENTURE. 

Our first stop was in Sioux Falls to see Family, then on into Iowa to see some of our SMA family, then into Atlanta, Georgia to see my sister and brother-in-law. The time spent with family was priceless. We had so much fun in Atlanta and filled each day as full as we could get it! While we were in Atlanta- a real-estate property came on the market, and our realtor (from Alabama) strongly encouraged us to look at it. (We never had Georgia on the "list of places to move to", but we agreed to go ahead and check it out.) So, after spending the weekend and a few days with my sis, "Vacation" was over and "find a place to live" began!  We headed out to visit the property in Georgia, and It was BEAUTIFUL! We loved it, but... we still had Alabama and Texas on our minds. 

So on we went! 

That same day we looked at a place in Alabama. 

It was pretty as well. But, not like the first ranch in Georgia... 

Nevertheless- Texas was still on our minds! 

"On the road again"... We continued down the road and drove across Alabama, down through Mississippi, and on into 

New Orleans, Louisiana. 

(side note here: I VERY STRONGLY DISLIKE BRIDGES AND ESPECIALLY BRIDGES OVER WATER.) 

What do you suppose the entire City of new Orleans consists of?!?

BRIDGES. 

For sure- it was not my happy place. But, the kids loved it, we had some great food, took a trolly down through the city: to the river, walked through an"oyster festival" (I had to giggle, because I doubt they know what "oysters" from our part of the country consist of...ha!), stayed in a not so great hotel, and got back 

"On the road again"... 

Next up- Houston Texas! 

ahhh- we had made it to Texas, and it was BEAUTIFUL!

My heart was happy... 

We got settled into a hotel late on Saturday night, I googled churches to attend, found a good one close to the hotel- (by the way, Houston is HUGE! (roughly 2.2 million) ) and slept well. 

For Sunday breakfast- 

we ate at our first Waffle House, (BIG thing here in the south) 

then headed to church. 

The church was awesome!

 I can now remove, 

"being the only pale skin person in church" from my bucket list! ;) 

After church, we went to a nice dinner provided by fast friends we had made at church, then later went to the park and got to know our new friends a bit more. 

Then... you guess it- "On the Road Again..." 

San Antonio was next! 

We spent a couple days in San Antonio looking at ranches and property, but it was just too dry and prices too high to make things work for a cattle Rancher. We did go and tour the Alamo, and took a ride down the "RiverWalk". It was really neat- and the kids throughly enjoyed seeing all the sights and learning some history!

Now our van was pointing in the Northern direction, and we drove on through Austin and finally parked the van in a town outside of Dallas, called Corsicana. Corsicana was beautiful! Our realtor (from Texas) had several properties lined up for us to see in the Corsicana area- and we were ready to tour them! 

 Oh- my heart was so happy!

The properties we looked at were absolutely beautiful. We narrowed it down to a couple we loved, did the paperwork,

 made the offers- 

and were turned down- time and time again. 

We tried our best- but the "doors were closed" wherever we looked. After a few days- we decided to get back on the road- holding out hope, that something would open up.  Previous to the trip- I had stated it time and time again- that I was going to live 30 minutes from Dallas. And I was just sure it was going to work out!
But on we went- right into Dallas, and decided to check out the 

Texas Motor Speedway.

IT WAS SO FUN!!!

The kids were so excited! That night at the races, they did the world truck serries races. The crowd was small, we were able to get in SUPER cheep, and we had an amazing- memory filled evening. One more night in Dallas- 

then it was back into the Van, and onto Amarillo, Tx. 

The drive got a little long- so a stop in Childress, Tx was the happy place for everyone. That night we played soccer in the wide open hotel parking lot, and soaked in the Texas Summer Night. 

The drive through Texas was everyones favorite. We all loved the wide open skies, the plains, the canyons, and the diversity you could see within an hr of driving. 

The next day, we dove through Amarillo, 

and continued up through the corner of New Mexico, 

and on into Colorado Springs, Colorado. In Colorado, we were able to stay with family, which made everything so much more enjoyable! (Everyone was having "home atmosphere" withdraws from all the cold, lonely hotel rooms we had been through...") 

Time spent with family is always time well spent. 

To say the least- 

we had a fabulous time!!

Casey was able to visit the main campus of his bible college school, there in Colorado Springs, and the mountains were majestic.  While in Co. Springs, we drove back down to the Royal Gorge- and spent the afternoon seeing the sights... 

~Memories- Memories- Memories~ 

One more day in Co. Springs- 

then it was onto Denver/Fort Collins.

 Another night- another hotel. 

The next day we were able to spend a couple hours with a very dear friend of mine in Cheyenne. 

Then- back on the road- with HOME as the destination!

My, oh my- It was so good to see home again! 

We made it back during daylight hours, and the kids were so, so happy to see their dogs/horses/cows/BEDS! 

Through all the traveling, crazy schedules and ~3 weeks of 

"life on the road" 

The Kids did AMAZING! 

We read the "Little House on the Prairie" series, 

played games, sang songs, played car games, slept, and sometimes watched a movie.

(Not gonna lie- at some points in the game, I was ready for a "vacation" myself, but by the time the sun set, and rose again- 

I was ready to take on a new day/adventure!)

We were so very blessed to have been able to take the once in a lifetime trip and gather up all the memories we did.

 Growing up- I always heard how "expensive" a vacation was... 

and I quickly learned- ITS NOT! 

Sure- if you have to do everything to the "tens", then you may want to save for a while. 

BUT- if you don't mind a ham samich here and there- 

I don't see how you can afford NOT to take a family vacation. 

We traveled over 5,500 miles, we were gone for almost 3 weeks, we throughly enjoyed and filled every day as full as we could possibly get it, and kept the total spending under $600/person. 

Maybe thats expensive to you- 

but to us, the memories are PRICELESS. 

I encourage you to make a way to make it happen. Take your family on a Vacation- Plan, Budget, Save- 

Make the Memories! 

You won't regret it... I promise! 

 Well- off my soap box, and off to bed!

Ill catch up soon- and tell the "moving" story. 

Thanks for reading! Thanks for supporting us!

HUGS

~ One BLESSED mommie~ 

~The only thing Permanent is Change~

LOTS of change is on the way... 

~Needless to say~

We are MOVING!!

Yeee!!

The girls need warmer weather, 

and Casey would like to pursue Bible College. 

These things just can't be found in Faith, Sd- 

so away we go!



We have not a clue as to where yet. 

I joking say we have it "narrowed" down to:

Texas

Oklahoma

Alabama

or

Colorado

In a few weeks, we plan to take a

 "Family Vacation"/ "Find a landing place" journey.

We hope to be settled by August. 

Prayers of direction and travel mercies are appreciated... 

This journey in life sure is an exciting one!

Thanks for stickin' along side us for the ride! 

~One BLESSED mommie~ 

-Catching Up-

Hello World! Its been a while since we last visited. As the old saying goes... "No news is good news". 

Life has been good and crazy around here. 

Crazy enough- that I have yet to give you an up-date on the 

El Salvador missions trip- so lets begin there... 

-El Salvador- 

We had an amazing experience with the entire family flying into San Salvador and being immersed into the El Salvadorian culture for almost 2 weeks. Our flights out were delayed by the wonderful South Dakota wintry weather- but once we made it to E Salvador- life was pretty perfect. We went to the church every week day we were there and they prayed over the entire family and loved on us every minute they could. 

Before we left- we asked for money and clothing donations. Our requests were answered in a HUGE way. We were able to purchase 915 gideon bibles, pack them up, haul them down, and distribute them among the El Salvadorian people in the Auchuapan area. We also took 3 suitcases full of used clothing down for the people to use and distribute among their families. (yes- we used every part of every bag we took with us! Thank goodness we took the family- which provided more "free" checked bags!! The weight limit per bag was 50 lbs, and every bag (6 of them) we checked was 50 or 50.5 lbs.... "little" miracles make me smile. :D )  

 I can't even begin to explain the thankfulness among the people for the bibles and the clothing they received. Many of them would take a little bible- look at it and hand it back- thinking it was really nice, but too nice for them to keep. Their faces shone like the sun when we would say "Para ti, Para ti" (for you, for you). It was an experience of a lifetime- and we are so grateful that many of you were a part of it. Thank you for your contributions and prayers along the way! 

Since we returned- the girls and the family have been doing well. Denalli had a check-up in January that showed she had gained strength between the doctor visits. Praise the Lord! Ryka continues to be as healthy as ever. 

~Life now~

In October I purchased an embroidery machine- to start a business that would be self-sustainable for the girls' medical equipment- and the Lord has blessed it. By God's grace- I was able to have a booth at the Black Hills Stock Show in Rapid City. 

Sales were fantastic- and I look forward to going back next year. I also met some amazing people that gave me good connections to more shows down the line. 

Through connections and lots of encouragement- I sent in an application for the Academy of Country Music Awards (50th anniversary) in Arlington, TX. At the last minute they had a cancelation and choose Prairie Faith Designs to come and be a part of their selective show. I invited a friend to go with me- (Dally Up Designs) and we drove down to Arlington, Tx- and had a trip of a lifetime! 

Currently- applications have been filed for more craft shows this summer and possibly a booth at the National Finals Rodeo in LasVegas. 

I'll keep ya posted. ;) 

So- as I said earlier- Prairie Faith Designs was created to help support the financial needs of the girls' medical equipment. (Basically- the girls need medical equipment. And will continue to need medical equipment. But, I don't have the heart to keep fund-raising and begging people for money. So therefore- I am putting my heart, soul and time into creating a business that will grow and be self sustainable for their needs. The only thing I ask of you, is to share my products with your friends. All the products I offer- look like leather, feel like leather, are competitively priced, are Hand made and are MACHINE WASHABLE! ) 

Facebook: Prairie Faith Designs

Web site: www.PrairieFaithDesigns.com 

  Right now, Ryka is in need of a power-chair. 

She is needing the same K405 Permobil- like the one we 

fund-raised for Denalli.

 The price tag on this specialized chair is above $40,000.

We are a quarter of the way there. Once we save 1/2 the money needed- we will look into purchasing the chair and making payments. 

Thanks in advance for your sharing and advertising! :D 

~Up- Next~

We have a BIG summer ahead.

 Full of changes and growth. 

Announcement on the way. 

No- its not a baby announcement...

I'll catch ya soon~ 

One BLESSED mommie