Too Much Stuff!

We had a great winter in Arizona and NM. It just semed like we accumulated so much stuff. Now, there are 8 of us in our camper, so that is easy to do. It is my husband and I and six kids. Some days I don't know how we do it and other days I can't imagine not doing this.


But, things have gotten to a new level of crammed. I know I could not shove another thing in another hole anywhere in here. I really got to be quite stressful as we constantly cleaned and picked up things before sweet baby would shove them in his beautiful mouth. He is one year old on Thursday and every bit of curious. So, I know I have to baby proof the best I can. Also, my five and eight year old have grown so much that they have to hunch over in the back room, where we have bunk beds that come out of the ceiling. I don't want my children to be hunchbacks, so I knew I had to change things in here, A LOT!

So, we decided to skip southern NM and TX (boo hoo) and head back to MO to get out as much stuff as possible.

That is where I am now. I am parked in my mom's yard with our big, ugly storage trailer up and out of our old neighbor's cow pasture and sitting in it's future location, my mom's woods. It has been hard to do a lot outside since it has rained so much, but I have managed to get a ton done. Today I actually finished our bedroom/bathroom/office and almost finished the living room/kitchen/school area/foyer/pantry/loft bed area. Tomorrow I was going to run errands but instead I may have to finish the back room. I'm not sure what I will do.

It sure is hard work. I have been at it for two weeks now and am still not done. I know it takes me longer because I have so many little ones to tend to. My older three sure help a lot, but they take a lot of time also.

We haven't visited with hardly any friends. A close lady friend of mine and her two daughters that are my kids dear friends came over the other night. We had dinner, which ended up being a total disaster. I don't know why I try to cook for others in this camper. It is a long story, so I will not share all the details, but I will tell you the night ended with my 5 yr old walking around farting on my leg, then his two sister's legs! Now, I know we live in a camper, but do we have to act like wild animals!!!! Who taught him to do that anyways??? I won't blame anyone, but you can probably guess who. And it IS NOT me.

I have had such a wonderful time with my mother. She has been great. This has been or best visit with her ever. Her fiance, Tom, is just great, too.

All the kiddos are in bed and sweet husband is snoring loudly. I am enjoying a few minutes to myself before I climb in bed in my newly organized bedroom.

Please think of us as you accumulate junk. I know how it feels. I read Tom Smythe's blog entry about it a couple weeks ago. It made me feel a lot better knowing that everyone accumulates too much stuff and we just need to go home and unload what we want to keep and give away the rest.

Sweet dreams,

sheri

Followers

I just want to thank my "Followers" for becoming Followers.  I appreciate your interest in my life, my family, and our trip.  I hope that we can cheer up your day with our wild stories and maybe help you learn about our unique and crazy life style.  I encourage you to leave comments on our blog and ask any questions.

Have a great day.

Sheri

Out of the Desert

I have learned that I am not a desert girl.  I think it is beautiful, but have I missed trees! 

Trees
Sparkling rivers
Green grass
No mountain lions
Few poisoness snakes
Humidity

I have missed these things.  Well, maybe not the humidity.  My kids were screaming today as they saw trees and green grass. 

Naomi said, "Is it real? Or is it that fake stuff?"

I can't wait to feel the grass between my toes tomorrow....

Why don't you go barefoot for a while, too?

Changes on a Daily Basis

We have gotten used to changes in our life.  Weather dictates where we go a lot, so sometimes we think we may be leaving an area and then have to stay.  We only planned on staying in Glendale, AZ for a month and a half but stayed there for four months. We stayed at Shae's grandparents for 8 weeks last year but had only planned on staying a few weeks.  We were thankful we did, his grandfather passed away a couple of months after we left.

Sometimes the changes are easier and sometimes harder.  Today was one of those days. 

We have planned on being to Missouri by May for a long time.  We have paperwork to do, drivers licenses, vehicle tags, take some stuff out, etc.  It just seems like we have been moving like molasses.  Which, honestly, has been nice.  I think we need to slow down on our trip.  It gets too hard when we go go go go.  We have been planning on going to Texas for a couple of months, but it has gotten so late in the year, that we just can't do it.  We feel we need to get back to Missouri and get our stuff done.  Once it is done, we will enjoy our trip more.  The bad part is that we might miss seeing Shae's grandmother and mother.  They are going to be in Texas, and I don't think we will be back down there in time before they head home.

It was a tough decision.  Shae and I prayed about it a lot.  We talked about it a lot.  I know deep in my heart that going back to Missouri is the right thing.  Yet, I have looked forward to going to Texas for a long time.  I am hoping to find some land there to buy as a home base.  We are going to look in KY, MO, KS, OK, and TX.  We just want somewhere to go back to, not our permanent home.

I have learned to be flexible.  We never know from day to day where we will go or how we will get there.  Today I only knew that we had to head towards I-40 and then east.  I had no idea how far we would get or where we would stay.

I like it that way, though.  It gives us freedom to stop or go, linger or run, explore or nap.  There are so many options it can be difficult but a blessing.