So- What does it really take?

We have seen it all....

The "picture perfect" life that your high school friends portray.

The "picture perfect" marriage that your best friend shows off.

The "picture perfect" kids that wear the "picture perfect" outfits.

and

The "picture perfect" job that everyone around you talks about.


But what about life?

You know-

REAL.

 LIFE.


The kind of LIFE that we have to endure every day?

The typical LIFE that is messy,

 un-organized

and flat out;

HARD.



What happened to talking about messes, mountains of laundry, dirty sinks,

cluttered floors and uncombed hair?

Since when did it become taboo to share the reality of a real day?


If we are being honest;

I have found myself shying away from showing my "real life",


Believe it or not;

I try my best to polish things up (as best as possible)-

"just to make it look good".


BUT WHY?



Why should I hide behind my day to day,

that adds up to my life?

Why should I feel like I have to "polish things up"?

The conclusion I have come to:

We all think we want something perfect.

We want the success right away.

Thats part of the "instant gratification" society that we live in.

Its scary to show our "real life".

And its scary to show the Process of success.

But;

What if we put ourselves out there?

What if others knew the inside of our story?

What if we would allow ourselves

 to lay down the perfectness of todays

 "highlight real",

and share,

you know-

our REAL LIFE

and the journey of our success.



What if others knew that I homeschool 5 kids out of our living room?

What if others knew that our family of 7 lives a FULL life, in a 1200 square foot home?

What if others knew that the office for my global business,

 is half of an 8 foot folding table,

while the other half,

 is used as our family dining table?





What if others could see that my

REAL LIFE....

is MESSY,

and HARD,

and COMPLICATED-

Just like everyone elses...

Now- don't get me wrong-

I understand that I can't look like a nightmare,

 if I am trying to sell the dream-

but,

On the flip side-

What if others could relate to my "real life"?

What if the parts of my life that I am "covering up",

are the parts of life that would encourage someone else to keep going

 or

Get started?


What if we would finally realize that its truly OKAY.

Its okay to show the failures,

the struggle,

the messes,

the beginning,

and the realness of our day to day.

Its okay to show our REAL LIFE.

You know why?

Because, change is inevitable,


I know that my life won't always look this way,

and I know that yours will be different too.

There won't always be;

 cramped spaces,

messy floors,

full sinks...

Lots of things are going to change,

as we are not all promised tomorrow.

Sure- there will always be chaos, clutter and messy hair.

and there will always be an internal urge to show a "highlight real",

But, what if we did our best to "keep it real",

and told the story of our journey as it unfolded-

not how we portrayed it to be?


~*~


We can choose to tell ourselves that;

we are too broke,

too busy,

not qualified,

too old,

too young,

or

too inadequate, 


OR, on the flip side;

We can decide to make the change.

We can truly decide today, how tomorrow looks.

We can make the time,

find the money,

invest in training,

pursue our dreams,

and

create a life we love.



How do I know this?

Because its been done,

and I am actively in the process of doing it.

I am sure you have all heard the success stories of:

 Oprah Winfrey, Sam Walton and J.K Rowling.

They are all perfect examples of

individuals who completely transformed their hard beginnings into success stories .

How?

They decided to make a change in the direction they were originally headed.

Their lives were:

messy,

complicated,

cramped,

and deprived.



Just like you,

they had their own "real life" story.

But, They didn't let their circumstances

hold them back from creating a life of success.


They chose to be different.


They choose to make their dreams come true and their lives matter.

And you know what?


YOU too have the power to make the change,

and the power to create your own success.


~*~


I understand that success looks different for everyone.

Its not always about:

 the big houses,

7 figure incomes,

and vacation homes.



For some,

 success may be:

 paying for extra curricular activities for their children,

or paying for medical needs,

or being able to give more,

or building a dream home,

or traveling the world,

or retiring early,

or

being at home to raise your children.

We all have our personal hopes and dreams.

and our personal ideas of success.

And do you know what the best part is?


We all have ample time and resources to make them come true.




If you still have blood flowing through your body,

You, my friend,

still have a chance to make an impact on this world.

You still have what it takes to make your life, what you want it to be.

You can decide to hide behind the "highlight real" of social media,

or you can live your life how you truly want to live it,

starting today.


So- WHAT DOES IT REALLY TAKE-

to create a life that you dream of?


COURAGE,

FAITH,

and

ACTION.


Thats all.

It doesn't all have to be polished,

It doesn't have to be perfect,



But it does have to have a beginning.

Stop hiding behind your fears,

and start running after the opportunities that are in front of you.

Be real,

 and

Share your "real life" story along the way.

Commit to making a change,

and in return,

you will make the greatest impact.



Personally-

I'm happy you are reading this in the middle of my success story.

I'd love to say that the "best is yet to come"....

But I believe that the "best" is right here,

right now.

You get a front row seat,

as you watch my life be transformed,

because of the direction I choose to go.


No matter what it may look like today-

within a matter of time,

It will be transformed into a life where I will:

give without limits,

build a dream home for my family,

impact lives around me,

retire my husband early,

pay for all of my kids' college education
(before they graduate high school),

help others live a life of freedom,

travel the world,

and truly live the life I desire.

I am committed to to showing you all the ups and downs,

and all the struggles and failures along the way-

I am committed to "keeping it real".

I hope to inspire you to make a change,

Pursue your idea of success

and keep running after life on YOUR terms.

Remember:

Anything is possible.

Be HONEST.

Be REAL.

Be YOU.



GROW. SERVE. LEAD.

~ Natosha Mae~




* Natosha is a Blessed Mama to 5, Ranch Wife and Business Owner. She enjoys free lance writing and is pursuing her dreams through a global business. Feel free to reach out and ask questions regarding the steps she is taking to transform her life.

We have arrived... And I want to go back

Editors note: I began writing this Blog post over a year ago,
I just finished it up- but it still rings true today...

~*~

I always wondered what it would be like...

The day that I wouldn't be able to fully care for my children on my own.

I never imagined it would come so soon...

~*~

But we have arrived... 

And we can't go back. 

~*~

The day seemed to come out of the foggy haze,

and it came more quickly than I ever imagined.

But, I clearly remember the day that my youngest child qualified for nursing care.

and

It broke my heart.

~*~

I fought it for a long time.

I avoided the paperwork,

I avoided the phone calls that needed to be made...

It was suggested that we should apply for it-

but I resisted. 

I never wanted to be in a place where I simply could not care for

all the medical needs of my child.

But the day came.

~*~ 

We have arrived...

And I want to go back.

~*~ 

I want to go back to the day that it was just me at home with my 5 beautiful children-

Full-filling all their needs.

Sure, it was super crazy-

but it was MY crazy.

I didn't have to worry about scheduling,

I didn't have to worry about having someone else in my home 10 hours a day,
several days a week.

I didn't have to stress about having my house and life in order.

But the day came.

~*~

We have arrived...

And I want to go back.

~*~

We have arrived at a place where I need help-

 As in, help from professional Nursing Care to assist the medical needs of my children.

Yes- Children.

Not too long after my youngest qualified for nursing care,

my oldest qualified too.

That was another heart-wrenching day.

~*~

We have arrived...

And I want to go back.

~*~

But- I CAN'T.

I can't go back.

And if I stop and think about it for more than 3 seconds-

I quickly realize....

~*~

We have arrived...

And I DON'T want to go back.

~*~

I don't want to go back to life before nurses in my home.

Back to life when the nursing schedules are no longer,

Back to the day when the nurses company is not seen-

Why?

Because;

It will mean that life as I know it now,

will no longer be.

~*~

We have arrived...

And I don't want to go back.

~*~

I can never go back to the way it was before.

I can only cherish what I have moving forward.  

We are not able to get the moments and the memories back,

once the precious time has slipped through our fingers-

We can only cherish today for the gift that it has been.

~*~

So-

 I will be grateful for today.

I will choose Joy.

I will be thankful for the schedules.

I will focus on Love.

I will be happy to welcome 2 additional nurses into my small living quarters and life.

I will hold dear the memories that are made.

I will be content with the life as I know it now.

~*~

We have arrived,

And I am Blessed.

I see you Mama....

I see you mama,

and I have seen and heard the looks and questions you get.

You know what I am talking about,

 the look where the inquirers eyes get wide, their forehead crinkles up and
 one eyebrows raises...

that look of question...

The one that has a slight unknowing gesture, with a passive head shake right behind it...

  

You know....  

That unwanted look that comes your way every time you and the kids leave home, or step into the grocery store.

The question that follows the unwanted gaze, is generally-


"How do you do it all?" or "Don't you know what causes that?"

Yes, you usually smile and say- "by the Grace of God.",

but by then, the inquirers eyes have already glazed over... 

  They don't understand. 

 They can't understand.

You don't expect them to understand.

AND:

You truly hope they never HAVE to understand.

~*~

Why?

Because you know: 

The journey of raising 5 kids (who are only 5.5 years apart),
 with 2 of them having complex medical needs-

 is your own journey- and not one to be taken lightly. 

You have a journey,

And they have a journey. 

They are ment to be different.

Thats the way the good Lord made them!

~*~

But- if we are being honest here: 

I know you probably don't always understand their journey either.

From your point of view-

They live a life of freedom,

 with 3 healthy active kids,

grandparents close by,

 have a comfortable home,

in a community that they were raised in.

I mean- how rough can it be, right?

~*~

BUT- as we were saying-

This is just the "outside looking in", a quick snap shot of their life.

Kinda like the quick glance someone gives you at the grocery store.

You know that everyone has their own struggles.

Big,

small,

 hidden,

 or

 out in the open-


Everyone is struggling with something,

and thats just the way this life is.

~*~

So- my advice to you: 

Don't worry about how others see things-

Don't worry about explaining your journey in 3 seconds flat.

Don't worry that they may not understand.

Its not for them to know,

Because-

This is YOUR journey, sweet mama.

This is your life story.

And, by the way-

 you are doing a kick ass job of telling it.

~*~

You are a mom who is marching out the meaning of God's Grace. 

You are the mom- who like others- has an extreme love and devotion for your children. 

You are the mom who has a deep desire to provide for your children, in the ways they need. 

You are a mover and a shaker. 

You have been heavenly programed for this journey that God has entrusted you with. 

He has given you the strength and resilience to face the challenges ahead.

You are a Warrior. 

Who has God's Grace. 

AND

At the end of the day-

We are all the same.

~*~

We all: 

Struggle everyday.

Face our fears.

Cry.

Laugh.

Feel desperate.

Love Jesus.

Drink a lot of coffee.

Love our babies endlessly.

~*~

And hold the title of a:

 MAMA WARRIOR

The "New Normal".

"Normal".... Whats that supposed to mean?

Is it the setting on the washing machine?

Does it mean having 10 fingers and 10 toes?

Does it mean having 2 eyes that see?

How about 2 legs that walk?


 "Normal"- for us is probably not the same "normal" for you...

Everyone has their cage of "normal"- 

Ours just happens to be a bit crazier on the inside. ;)

So when I refer to our "Normal"-

 It was a day where all 5 kids were healthy, 

without attachments. 

A day where I pulled 7 plates out of the cup-board, 

and set 7 around the table.

A night where I tucked my kids into bed- 

without life supporting machines. 

An evening where bath time was safe 

and enjoyed by all. 

A trip to the store 

that only required unloading 1 power-chair. 

A drive to see my sister in Atlanta once a month, 

with the occational trips to specialists or doctors. 

That WAS our normal...


It was glorious- 

and I want it back.

Even though our "normal" was a little tough then... 

I want it back! 

I want the days back where I have 5 children

 that can eat and enjoy food.

I want the days back where "unloading the kids" does 

not take a full 10 minutes to complete. 

I want the days back where SMA had not 

progressed to where it has today. 

I want it back. 

oh my aching heart... 

I want it back so bad.

But- 

Its not mine to have.... 

It was mine to enjoy while it was here. 

And mine to remember and reflect upon in the days ahead. 

Because now we are facing a 

"NEW NORMAL". 

A day where my youngest can't go more than a couple of hours without being attached to a feeding pump and bag. 

A day where 7 plates are no longer needed- 

because my youngest has lost most of her swallow.A night where I tuck 2 of my kids into bed- 

and hook them up to "life supporting" machines, to give their bodies a break. 

An evening where bath time is eliminated- 

because the "special shower chair" takes up 89% of the bath tub- making it safe to now wash my 2 children with special needs, but taking away 'bath time' for my other 3 children. 

A trip to the store- or anywhere outside of the home, 

 now requires unloading 2 power-chairs 

(that are not safe together) inside the family vehicle. 

A drive to see my sister in Atlanta is now 

 multiple trips a month- 

for Doctor appointments, surgeries and more consultations. 

When friends ask "how we are doing?"... 

I simply say, "Adjusting to our 'New Normal'".

Its such a loaded answer-

and 

Its not an easy task. 

But I will cherish it for as long as I can. 

Because- "adjusting" is all we can do. 

So, we will continue to "adjust"- because

There are more storms brewing... 

On May 9th- my Youngest will be admitted to the hospital and on May 10th she will have surgery to place a G-tube. 

We will be in the hospital for 3-5 days- 

depending on how she does.

She needs this surgery so we can best manage her 

feedings and care. 

The "phone call" Today-

 I received information that the girls now need to go see an Orthopedic Doctor- 

Their spines are curving. 

The disease is progressing. 

They both have slight curves in their spine- 

with my youngest being more severe. 

She is only 3. 

My oldest is only 8. 

"Adjusting to the New Normal" for them- 

is just another day to be 

SHINING, 

JOYOUS

and 

LOVING. 

So- no matter where you are- or who you are- 

Embrace your "normal"- and shine your light to others. 

Thats what the Voss girls would tell you to do... ;) 

Be richly BLESSED~

- Natosha -
*~* One BLESSED Mommie ~*~

Ps. If you are looking for a "skin care gal"- I'd love to help with your skin care concerns! Not gonna lie- Rodan and Fields allows me to provide for my family- amongst the "New Normal" adjustments. It has been the "saving grace" these past couple of months- and with more appointments, trips to the doctor, therapy, and extra needs coming up in the near future- it will continue to bless our family and cover the needs that arise.

 The skin results and transformations within 
"my care" have been so rewarding.
Rodan + Fields has blessed our lives and the lives around me- 
and I am excited to see where it is heading!  
If you are curious about the business or products-
 Now would be the opportune time to talk.

Lets get you the best skin of your life! 

You only have one face to wear- so wear it well. ;) 

More TIME Please....

Each of us are given only a moment in time.

For some of us- those moments turn into;

 hours, days, years and decades.

For others- a moment is all that is left.

Memories are like that.

Some have years, upon years of memories- 

while others have a moment with a memory.

Memories are made in the moments... 

When we take out most precious resource of TIME- and use it to its greatest purpose-

it can make the most magical moments and memories.

We are not able to get the moments and the memories back- 

once time has slipped through our fingers. 

I don't want to have life slip through my fingers.

I want TIME.

Sure- Financial Freedom is good and all... 

BUT- 

I have figured out TIME FREEDOM goes above and beyond Financial Freedom. 

My soul longs for it. 

Because really- TIME is really all we have...

I don't need all the money in the world- 

I just need TIME.

I don't need Big, Fancy houses- 

I just need a home and TIME spent in it.

I don't need to travel the world and stay in exotic places- 

I just need TIME to lay in bed with and snuggle with my babies- 

I don't need to be at the Ocean all summer- 

I just need TIME to sit on the front porch swing and sway back and forth- 

I don't need to keep chasing worldly treasures- 

I just need TIME to simply enjoy the countless blessings I have from the Lord.


But HOW?

 HOW do we get TIME freedom?

How do we get freedom when there are bills, and payments,and hungry little mouths?

This was my search. 

This was my quest.

Currently- I have a home sewing business- It makes me money, but robs me of my time. 

I needed something that would allow me more time doing the important things- 

in the moments I have with my children.

I needed something I could do to help with medical bills- 

yet- it needed to bless the lives of others.

I had to have something I could do from home- 

while caring for my daughter and family.

It had to be flexible-

yet sustainable.


Rodan + Fields
was the answer.

R+F is a virtual business. 

R+F is an inheritable / residual business. 

R+F has an amazing compensation plan with lots of perks. 

R+F only needs internet to survive- I can basically work anywhere. 

R+F was created by the Proactiv Doctors- and is the "iPhone" of skin care. 

R+F is there when I am ready to work and will continue to work when I can not. 

R+F is transforming hundreds of lives across America, Canada and soon Australia!

Rodan and Fields changed my own skin-

It Changed My Life- 

And I believe Rodan + Fields- will give me the most precious gift of all:


 Time Freedom. 

What do you want out of this life?

Making excuses for "busy days" is not enough...

Don't settle.

Make up your mind to have the TIME FREEDOM you want-

and Lets get there together! 

 "Make Time" to have an appointment with me.

prairiefaithdesigns@gmail.com

Send me a Message

and

Congrats on Time Well Spent. 

~Blessings~

~*~One BLESSED mommie~*~ 

Natosha
Rodan + Fields Consultant

I Needed to Write...

We have been in Georgia for over 6 months now- 

and I am forever behind in keeping this blog current. 

And Oh- 

the stories I could tell......

But tonight-

 I just needed to write...

I have been longing to sit down and capture the emotions swarming around inside my head and heart- 

but fear has always got the best of me...

I fear that my words will come out with a "pity party". 

I fear my words will hurt someone.

But my greatest fear- is speaking the words out-loud...

My eyes fill up with tears, just thinking about it. 

I feel as when the words are spoken- 

then thats it. 

But- I can't hold them inside any longer...


Here it goes.........

(((  The girls are progressing in their disease.  )))

There- I said it...

 and it hurts.

My heart clenches, my eyes burn and the air leaves my lungs...

This is so,

 so serious. 

They both have had a really rough go this winter- 

and the effects are starting to show. 

At first it was just a slight change.

A drop of a cup.

A sputter at the dinner table.

A, "Mom, please come help with 'such and such'..."

- knowing she was able to do it her-self just a few short weeks ago. 

Change and progressions of weakness... 

I easily find my-self going through the motions every day 

and just "dealing with it".



But, this last week...

 it has been rough......




Just tonight, Denalli was laying in her bed playing around while I was getting all the machines ready for the night.

She would raise her right hand straight in the air and while trying to "write her name" on the ceiling.

It would work for 1/2 a circle, 

then it would crash down beside her.

I sadly watched from a distance. 

She would try and try to make it go a complete round-

 to form the letter D- 

but she couldn't. 

Then the question came...



"Mommie- why does my arm not work any more?? See watch...."

She tried again, with all her might....

"It just falls down and I can't keep it up..."

Oh mercy.... 

Oh Lord.. WHY? 

Once again- 

Eyes burning, heart clenched and a sucker punch to the gut... 

<<(no words)>>

(What am I to say!?!)

"Keep working hard my dear- and just do your best..." 

She smiles and continues to try a few more times...

BUT- 

She knows... 

She knows she won't get it back.

Thankfully- she is strong and determined... 

And she will find a new way and conquer SMA once again. 

And then there is Ryka...

She has struggled the most these past few months-

 

Her body has adapted to SMA so much different than her sister.

She has never: Crawled, Stood, Walked, ect.

She can: Sit, she can sorta "Scoot" and she can slowly Roll. 

Thats it. 

Therefore- 

An illness takes her down- SO much more aggressively. 

The beginning of November she spent 13 days in the 

PICU (Pediatric Intensive Care Unit) for RSV. 

And about 7 days in- she turned Septic...

It was horrible.... 

And it hurt her little body- 

more than we know. 

Since then:

We have seen a "rapid decline" in her functions.


Things she was once able to do- 

are slower, harder or not possible at all...

We have recently fought another major sickness 

since being in the hospital in November.

 

This time we were able to steer clear of the hospital- 

Due to us being able to place a feeding tube here at home.

And again-

due to the toll the sickness has placed on her little body, 

she has weakened to the point that

the NG tube has not been able to be removed.


She has lost a bit of her swallowing function- 

and she is having a hard time eating food and drinking water.   

This. Is. Tremendous.


This... 

this progression here- 

is life altering. 

The ability to swallow and not choke....

Have you thought about that?!? 

How many times do you use the simplest function on a minute by minute basis?


Take that away-

or

Make it weak, so that you are afraid to use it. 

>>>

I have no words.

>>>

When this realization hit me the other night- 

I cried. 

I cried so hard-

My heart cried. 

I couldn't breathe.

My bones hurt.

And my body ached...


I know this situation here will seam tiny as time passes- 

and I know others have it so much worse tonight...


But, right here- 

right now... 

It hurts.....

Today, we set up an "immediate appointment" to talk

 about G-tube placement. 

Again- time has a way of giving us perspective- 

But, 

Right now-

Surgery is Scary.

And it confirms the progression. 

And its more hospital time. 

And its More time the family is apart. 

And its taking away her perfectly soft tummy. 

And its plain Scary with all the junk that she has had-

 and the junk going around. 

And, And, And... 

BUT- 

Not one day passes- 

Not even one minute that goes by- 

that is a surprise for the Lord. 

He knows this!


He knows their pains, their fears, my heartbreaks

 and this journey in life. 

It doesn't necessarily make it "easy". 

We still have to wake up every morning and Face the Day.

We still have to walk through the appointments, therapies, schedules, routines, and day to day life...

But- I know there is a plan and a Greater Purpose.


I don't understand it.


Not one bit....


But it is there. 

And it is here.

Its in all the heartache, its in all the moments of joy,

 its in the way we now and the way we live each day.  

My hope is that you don't take what you were given for granted.


We all have our own stories. 

You are the author of yours. 

Make the best of it.

>>>

Blessings~ One BLESSED mommie

 

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~