Christmas Clean-Up Should Not Be This Much Fun!

As I was searching through my 80,000+ pictures of our trip today, I came across these fantastic photos of the great fun we had during our first Christmas on the road in

South Florida.

Our Uncle is wild about decorating his home for the holidays and everyone in the entire area benefits.

After he won the community decorating competition he had to take all of the thousands of lights and enormous Christmas balls down.  To wash the balls, he threw them in his pool.  Then, all the kids jumped in and swam among them.

Where else can you do that!

Thanks Uncle Jeremy - You Rock!

Twas the Night Before Christmas in our RV poem

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the RV.....

Check out this adaptation of The Night Before Christmas poem - re-written by my daughter, Hanna.

Carolers in the Mountains of Utah

Enjoying our Advent traditions all over the country.

Traveling during the holidays brings endless choices and opportunities.  There are new Christmas programs, lights, and sights in every new town.  Last night carolers from the local Baptist church were so much fun to hear.  They drove by all bundled up on a flat bed trailer pulled by a tractor.  A car led the way and another car filled with children and a driver followed behind.

We knew they might be coming.  Another lady in the town had called us early that morning asking if we wanted to join them.  With a house full of kids with colds and a really bad flu bug, I knew we could not join in the festivities.  It was very disappointing for us all to not get to join them but then again, when we saw them pull up - half frozen - I didn't feel as bad.

They sang a couple of songs and yelled, "Merry Christmas".  Hanna made out with the cookie bowl just in time to give each caroler a cookie, even the tractor driver enjoyed one.  I heard people saying, "The cookies are still warm!"

Two little Christmas trees for fun.

Then they were on their way, through the town, to bring a smile to other neighbors and friends.

It will be interesting to see how people in the mountains of Utah celebrate the holidays.  Most of the residents are Mormon, and sad to say, I don't really know what their Christmas beliefs are.  So, we will learn about other religions this season along with celebrating the birth of our Savior.

Advent on the Road - our favorite holiday tradition

One of our favorite holiday traditions is Advent.

"What is Advent?"

Advent means coming.  It is a time to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas which, sorry to say, is not Santa, presents, or spritz cookies.  (my husband loves spritz cookies during the Christmas season)

Christmas is about the birth of Christ.  For about a month before December 25th, people all over the world celebrate Advent with many different traditions.  Do a search on the word Advent and you will get tons of information on it.  

I want to share how our family celebrates Advent and I want to invite you to join us.
(for my daughter's article on this subject go to our website)

Most people start celebrating Advent four Sundays before Christmas.  Many churches do a special ceremony on Sunday to help people focus what it was like before the messiah came.  It is a time of reflection and preparation for each individual as we remember the amazing gift sent to earth for us.  Some years we start it on time, other years we are very late.  This year we had family coming to visit so we decided to start about two weeks early.  That way, if we miss nights we can still finish Christmas Eve or Day.

Our family starts the night with Christmas carols.  We usually only sing the first verse of the songs and sing them over and over again so the young children can learn them faster.  The little ones tend to get discouraged if they don't know any of the songs or only a few.  So, night after night we sing a few of the exact same songs and then add a few others to it.  As the children get older we add more songs and a few verses.  We even sing the songs through out the year so the younger children can learn them by Advent.

After the songs, our oldest son read the scripture verse that goes with that particular night.  Focus on the Family has a great schedule for this.  

We found a great booklet on their website this year.  It is called Knowing Him By Name.  It is a great addition to our Advent tradition.  We just downloaded it and printed it up.  It has activities included along with the scripture reading from the New Testament.  We don't do all the activities, only the ones we have time for.

At this point we try to remember to light the candles.  If we light them too early they burn out way before Christmas.  One year our Advent Log even started on fire!  So, they only burn for part of the evening's festivities.

Daddy then gets the Advent book and reads a chapter.  This year we are reading Jotham's Journey: A Storybook for Advent .  It is a story about a boy that deceives his family and ends up on a terrible and exciting adventure that eventually ends well even though there is drama, blood, a few scary parts, and swords - the end is amazing and wonderful.

This book is part of a series that we cycle through.  Each year we read one in the set.  There are links below where you can purchase the books and other resources we use.

While Daddy reads, the kids get one Christmas cookie, usually Spritz, to enjoy during the wild and suspenseful chapter of the night.  Check out our website for the recipe.

Kids of all ages, which we have, sit on the edge of their seats to hear what is going to happen each night.  

After the chapter is done, we try to remember to blow out the candles and then we pass around the prayer card bucket.  We have cards with the names of friends and loved ones to pray for.  When we have a house, we put in the Christmas cards we received and prayed for those people.  My grandma always said she sent her card in November so she could get lots of prayer.  This year we put pictures on the index cards along with the name of the person.  Then I laminated them to help them last.  Our kids love seeing the names and faces of who they are praying for.  We don't get many Christmas cards since we went on the road.  I guess we are hard to track down!

This prayer time is so special.  We pick around three cards each.  We do a talk/prayer time.  What I mean is that we talk to the kids about the person they chose to pray for.  We tell them their needs and problems that they might pray for them.  This helps the kids learn more about our loved ones as well as how to pray effectively for each other.  My five year old is quite a prayer warrior.  She has been praying for each of us this Advent season.  We like to say, "She reads our mail."  She will pray for us in such a sweet pure way and also isn't embarrassed to mention our sins and shortcomings.  She prayed the other night for Daddy to not be so crazy - he does drive pretty wild on his ATV!

One of my other children is more shy during prayer time.  We do not scold or correct during this time.  Any prayer offered is acceptable as long as it is said with love and respect.  No matter how short and sweet the prayer is, it is perfect.

Lastly, we take turns who gets to blow out the candles.  It is either boys or girls.  If it is boys night, one son gets to light them and the others get to blow them out.  Same thing on girls night.

Advent is our favorite holiday tradition all year.  We all look forward to and can hardly wait to start and are sad when it ends.

Please join us this year and every year and make your holiday season more special and memorable for the entire family.

Even though Advent started last week, jump in and start now.  Just double up a few nights and you will be caught up, or go a week over and take your time.  One year we didn't finish until the end of January because we had so many good distractions!

There are no set rules - just make it your own.

Christmas in a Camper

This is a decoration made by our then 5 yr old.
It hung on our steps handle into the
camper. Decorations get unique
on the road.

Christmas in a camper is so much different than in a house. Despite the fact there is much less room for decorations and presents, every year we seem to find room for a tree, garland, and lights.

Sometimes our decorations continue outside the camper to the patio area where we have put small decorated trees and lights.

Some years we have had to move our camper to another campground after setting up all of our decorations. Now, that is challenging!  My husband says our camper goes through an earthquake every time we go down the road - so this means our tree and decorations do also.  That is why you will not find a glass ball on any limb of our tree.

With the weight of contents in the camper being such an issue, the presents are chosen for not only their cost and uniqueness, but also their weight and size.  Is this a present we will have to pack up when we get back to Missouri or is it small and light enough to keep in for a while?

Legos, small dolls, plastic men, Squinkies, die cast cars, and color books make great presents for the young ones.

camper decorated 

My tween likes books, which is a problem.  We don't have a Kindle and she doesn't want one anyways. So, we buy her books and then trade them out with others when we get back to Missouri.  With three kids younger than her, we don't resell the books, we just save them for the next child to get old enough to read them and then unpack.




We do have Kindle on our laptops, which is nice, but not a stand alone device.  We will probably get one this year, though.

the camper decorated in central Florida

Teens and twenty's seem to like cameras and adventure items.  So, they are easy to buy for.  Whether it be backpacks, flashlights, purifying water bottles, camera lenses, SD cards, or hiking boots - these two are easy to please, just a little expensive if I'm not careful.

Our rule is - if you can fit it in your bed you can bring it.  But, we have had to modify that rule sometimes as we found out it is quite astonishing how much stuff they can cram in tight spaces.  With two beds up high in the camper, we have to be careful of weight on the top - not good for traveling.

WEIGHT WEIGHT WEIGHT 

too much in the camper

too much up top

too much in the back,

too much on me

I'm sick of dealing with weight!

The presents under the tree will be few this year, but very special.  

Holidays on the road are always full of adventure, new experiences, and surprises.  

Who knows what this one will hold?

We make a Jesse Tree every year

We enjoyed our nutcrackers but now they are packed up

It was fun to be at an aunt and uncle's house for Christmas.
He always wins the town lights competition

Budgeting on the Road During the Holidays

With the holidays looming we can't help but look at our finances.  We have normal travel expenses - camp fees which range from $350 - $600 a month.  Sometimes those fees include utilities and sometimes they don't.  If the camp fee doesn't include utilities we usually pay around $100 a month for electric.

Usually we have dental appointments at the end of the year and hope there are no cavities.  With eight of us there usually is and our insurance only covers so much.

Since we are from Missouri, we have personal property tax due December 31st.  What a terrible time of the year to have to pay taxes!  We get taxed every year on what vehicles we own and our ATVs, UTV, and camper.  This year it is about $700 for us.  Then we have Missouri State Tax due in April.

With six kids, the cost of presents can get high, fast. There is not a lot of room in the camper so we have to buy less than when we had a house.  For every toy brought in one is brought out.  I have found a way to pack a lot of their toys in the back room but there is not enough room for all of them. When we go back to Missouri we trade out toys with some that are packed in a storage trailer.

The most asked question about our trip is -

"How can you afford it?"

Shae is an engineer for a telecommunications company.  We are so thankful for a job during this economy and then also for a job that he can do from home.  His company doesn't care where he is as long as he has cell phone signal and internet.

Cody and Hanna, my two oldest children, are doing bible school on line as well as working on our blog and website.  We try to make money from our internet businesses.

Travel isn't cheap.  We knew we wouldn't be saving any money by going on the road full time.  Many people that travel stay free in national forests or boon dock elsewhere.  For us, it is hard to boon dock anywhere.  Usually where we boon dock there is no cell signal.  So, we stay at campgrounds.  Not only that. by the time we pay for the gas to run the generator, with gas prices as high as they are and have been, it is cost effective to stay at a campground for a month that might average $12 a night.  We have to do a load of laundry a day so that would cost us at least $1.75 a day for laundry.  If we don't have full hook-ups I have to go to a laundromat and pay.  We have a washer/dryer in our camper and it has already paid for itself.

We are in one area for the next few months so gas expenses will be lower.  The only problem is we have family coming to visit.  The trips we will have to make to pick them up and drop them off at the airport along with the trips to Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon National Park so they can sight see will be financially difficult for us.  With only a handful of weeks until Christmas, it is hard to find the money for everything coming up!  But, we will make due.  To see them will be wonderful.  It is a reminder though to allow for the unexpected financial expenses in our budget.

Food is definitely more expensive for us on the road.  I do not buy bulk food like I did before.  When we are camped near a Sam's Club I will stock up on some items.  Where we are now it is over two hours to the closest grocery outlet.  By the time I pay for gas my saving on bulk groceries is gone.  Also, unless we are staying somewhere for a long time, I cannot haul heavy grocery items down the road.  Weight in a camper is an extremely serious issue.  A camper cannot go over the recommended weight set by the manufacturer   So, bulk food is not an option if we are going to be moving to another campground soon.

Hand-me-down clothes are not as easy to pass down as when we had a house.  So, I have to buy more than before.  Of course I buy a lot at used stores and sale items.

Camper maintenance can be less expensive one year and break the bank the next year.  This year has been a break the bank year.  We traveled in extremely hot weather from Missouri to Colorado in June.  The temps reached over 108 degrees so there is no telling what the temp of the black asphalt was.  It bubbled and warped our times. Then the winds picked up and blew our camper sideways.  That made the tires wear funny and eventually blew out two of them while traveling through the desert of Utah.

This terrible story will be in another post....soon.

With little room in the camper and a tight budget this Christmas season we will teach our kids how to enjoy the family time and tradition of the holidays.  We celebrate Advent and Jesse Tree.  We sing songs, play games, and craft.  Cookies are giving to anyone in the neighborhood that will eat them and snow angels are made in the smallest amount of the beautiful white powder.

For more on budgeting while traveling - visit our online magazine at 

The Lemonade Digest - squeezing every drop out of life!

Getting Ready For the Holidays - Inside and Out

With snow falling in the mountains all around us I couldn't help but focus on art for our school today.  We enjoyed making three batches of cinnamon ornaments.  Each child got to make numerous shapes and sizes of  random shapes to eventually hang on our tree.





While on the road we have spent Christmas in Florida, Arizona, Wisconsin, Missouri, and now Utah.  Each place has had different terrain, climate, family, friends, customs, and fun.



This year is different and special in its own way.  Instead of visiting family or trying to cram a small turkey in a crock pot in the camper, we are renting a cabin for a few months.  I've always wanted to rent a cabin in the mountains for the winter.  And now we get to stay in it for the holidays.









Of course, with all plans and dreams, things try to destroy them, change them, or take away the hopes you had.  

Sometimes we have to fight to keep our joy, hopes, and plans.

We've already begun celebrating the holidays.  We started Advent early and began to make ornaments for our little tree.  Now that we have a big oven in the cabin, not like the tiny one in the camper, we can make home made bread, three turkeys already, and lots of cookies.

I try to focus on my husband and kids this holiday season.  I am so blessed and I refuse to let other distractions come in and ruin my holidays.  Every moment I have to chose to enjoy the day I have been given or to join in the wide range of emotions that try to pull me from the inner joy and contentment I should have.

Whether in a cabin or a camper, 
north, south, east, or west,  
happiness and joy is a condition of the heart - not a circumstance.

Christmas in a Camper - Arizona

We have a very large 5th wheel, 42 feet to be exact. It is one of the largest that is made. My husband and I have a king size bed, huge closet, and dresser. There is one twin loft bed and two extra long queen size bunk beds. The kids have a 8 1/2 x 12 foot room in the back to sleep and play. It really is roomy, yet extremely squished! You know what I mean! So, to this big camper that is ridiculous packed with all of our stuff, we add a Christmas tree, garland, ornaments, lights, and presents. We have to squeeze down the two stairs that come from our bedroom. The presents piled high, there are 8 of us, so there can be a lot of presents fast, especially when you add to that pile the ones mailed in by loved ones.

The kids were so excited. We celebrate Advent, so reading our Barthalomew's Passage book, singing carols, eating cookies, and prayer is how we spent almost every night from Thanksgiving to Christmas. Well, this year we didn't get the whole book read by Christmas, so we will continue it until we get it done.

This year we stayed the night at my Aunt and Uncle's home. It was a lot of fun. They are so good with the kids. It is hard to find people that can truly handle six kids with two of them being young and very active. They really love our children and show it constantly. Of course, I can't complain. I am getting spoiled, too. Growing up I spent a lot of time at my Aunt and Uncle's house. My cousin Karen and I are the same age, so we had a blast giggling the night away when we were young. My Aunt has cooked hundreds of meals for me and tucked me into bed at least that many times. Now, she is taking the opportunity to tend to me again, and boy does it feel great. She won't let me hardly help in the kitchen. She doesn't want me to help clean up after. She loves to serve my kids and husband. She even cut my meat for me tonight, again. I brought her all of my mending and she not only sewed that, but also made skirts and doll clothes for my girls. She made quilts for my boys and Josie. She just keeps on loving us in such wonderful ways. The best gift they have given me is complete acceptance of our family and life style. I don't worry about Gabriel getting too wild at their house. I do try to train him, I don't just let him be a monkey! They just understand what a 5 yr old boy is like. When Josie fussed loudly at 11pm Christmas Eve, neither of them even said a word. I can see the pride in their eyes as they introduce us to others. They love us and are proud of us. I lost my father 5 yrs ago and I feel like my Uncle is a father to me and a grandfather to my children.

We had our nutcrackers on display.

Christmas was good, because we were with good people that we love and that love us. Sure, we got some great presents, too. It was nice to see the joy on my kids faces as they opened them all. Gabriel set a new record on how fast a child can open them all. Josie opened hers for two days she did it so slow. We enjoyed a wonderful brunch at my cousins as her and her new boyfriend entertained us with good food and big smiles.

The kids loved getting the most amazing barn, castle, and doll furniture made by their Uncle. The craftsmanship is so incredible. To have those made so perfectly and lovingly was such a blessing. He sure went above and beyond the call of duty as an Uncle!

It was a great day, crazy with all the kids, but that good kind of crazy.

Merry Christmas, thank you Jesus for blessing us on your birthday.

Gabriel sure enjoyed getting his huge barn made with love by Uncle Hogie.

Naomi was in shock by her table and chairs, hutch, and doll bed made by Uncle Hogie.  Aunt Sandy also made a table cloth and clothes for the dolls and for the girls.  She worked hours on Josephine's doll's hat.  It was so beautiful.

The castle he made is awesome.  It can fold up and be put away, too!

We got Shae a recorder for Christmas.  He could never play any instrument in school, except the recorder.  We have heard the stories numerous times.  He only learned to play Mary had a Little Lamb, and he does it wrong.  It was a great laugh.  He is so funny.