It’s Day 51 of our journey 🙂

We are on the road west again. We are slowly making our way to Big Bend National Park (will get there March 1) which we are so excited about!

It really feels like we were in San Antonio so much longer than 2 weeks because we experienced sooo much. We really loved this area and the RV park (Texas 281) was so cute, friendly, clean and we had a perfect spot again planned by the Lord 🙂

Here are some pics from around the park. It’s a mix of stationary mobile homes and RVs. The people here are so friendly! It’s a great location right outside city limits and near grocery stores. We love the trees:

And all the hang out spots at 3 different clubhouses:

There are many traces around the park that there’s lots of Jesus lovers here:

Even the laundry room is entertaining. We will miss the stone walls all around San Antonio:

They even had a little nature trail you could walk or ride on to visit some cows:

Angie & Sean Shanks recommended this park as well as Wickham in FL & Bayou Segnette in NOLA – we are so grateful they paved the way for us years ago. (Lelanders you probably remember them! They used to live in Stoney Creek and converted a bus and drove all around the country together for 3 years!)

Back to the recap….

After our FULL 4 day weekend at The Missions, Riverwalk, Alamo, LBJ Ranch, and Pedernales Falls…. we had a quieter week as the weather got cooler and skies got grey.

On Tuesday the kids & I had the joy of visiting Headquarters of Bible Study Fellowship!!!

I couldn’t believe it was SO close to where we’ve been staying! Anybody who knows me knows how much I love BSF. I can’t even guess the numbers of ladies I’ve invited into this class with me over the years. This is our 9th year. They had an online class option this year so I’ve been able to continue while I’m on the road. Such a blessing. They have lessons for children at their age level that parallel what the adults are studying.

It’s another one of those amazing organizations that started in the 50s and The Lord has used so much in our lives! It was really beautiful to reflect back on my life during each study and thank God for what a constant His Word has been in my life. I have specific lessons from each book of the Bible I carry with me. So grateful for this study spurring me on. I even got the call to homeschool on a BSF Leaders retreat in Florida.

I loved hearing the story again of the missionary and amazing Bible teacher Audrey Wetherell Johnson who started this study in California after a Billy Graham crusade. She always felt she would return to China where she was a missionary. But in China in WWII she was forced into an internment camp and then forced to leave – and the Lord had other plans. There was a need for a follow up / discipleship class after Billy Graham’s crusade and Mrs J was asked to lead that which has now turned into an international organization that has impacted countless women men and children. I encourage you to look up what class there is near you or join the online one!

In BSF, we study the Bible expository and in depth for a school calendar year. I’ve done Isaiah – Acts – Genesis – Matthew – Moses – Revelation – John – Romans and now People of the Promised Land . RR’s fave and most impactful study was Revelation. The Lord got ahold of him big time that year and he asked to be baptized.

The kids enjoyed seeing where and how the lesson notes & questions are printed with those famous hole punches and tear off on the side!

On Wednesday we took Daddy to the Guadalupe River Park! Apparently this park is where you go after a down day. Well in my case we call those days breakdown but for Daddy B’s cool and even personality it’s just a blugh day.

B was just downright done by Wednesday. Done done done. So we took him to the river and threw him in. Just kidding. 🙂 We plopped him and left him the heck alone.

Thank God he isn’t like me! He just gets blugh instead of whiny, emotional and loud. As always we are opposite. I’m learning I need to keep my mouth shut when I’m in a breakdown and go to the Lord. B is learning he needs to communicate more and not clam up!

It was bound to happen. He finally reached his max capacity of family life 12+ hours a day for 48 days straight with no chances to go to a remote room and shut the door. I personally now think all dads should be required to go on a trip like this for a minimum of 48 days :).

Work has been going great for him and we leave him alone when he has calls. He’s pumping it out and thriving as always – but he can’t really pretend to be on a call anymore to get some extra time by himself :). And I don’t think either of us realized why he was feeling blugh until the next day. I didn’t realize what was going on because I didn’t feel like our daily life routine has changed that much! He’s been working from home for 4 years.

But now I see that the kids and I have been around a lot more since we aren’t running to many activities or friends houses. And like I said, he can’t pretend he is on a phone call because we can hear him haha. Also we are intentionally working harder on discipline and obedience in one of our children and it’s just exhausting.

As a mom I’m used to being always with the kids. I’ve just gotten used to feeling mildly insane / overstimulated / nonstop mind going all the time. But we forgot B really isn’t used to that and it’s new!!!

The Lord is using it all for good!!!   We all love each other so much.  And we are learning how to express that more each day.  We are learning new habits and new ways of communicating. And we have great places to run to during our downs. So now when Daddy B needs time he can communicate what’s going on and we can either leave him in Woody for awhile or find the nearest park, lay him by the river and skedaddle!

[B — thanks for being such an amazing husband, Daddy, and hardworker.  We love you so much and are so thankful for you!]

At Guadalupe – the kids and I just studied the amazing art work of tree roots. RR skipped rocks. I tried to capture how amazingly beautiful Gods handiwork is in our kiddos! And nature.

We just love all the rivers around here and how beautiful the color is! I am thinking it’s algae? Whatever causes it, it’s one of my fave colors!

On Thursday Angie’s good friend Liz took us to a beautiful prayer / sculpture garden. The artwork was truly captivating. The coming King! Wow ! He is coming back – are you ready for Him !?

He is King of Kings! Yeshua. The Messiah! Jehovah. Gentle Shepherd. Father. Creator. Lion of Judah! All who call on His name will be saved.

Sculptures by Max Greiner. At Coming King Sculpture Prayer Garden.

This was so beautiful. Sculpture by Beverly Paddleford. A picture of hope and comfort for grieving mothers:

The Church grafted in. See the cross in the nails on the left:

Go:

This was E’s fave. She sat there for some time studying it and asked me to write down the scriptures so she could read about Jesus washing Peter’s feet in her Bible later:

Very powerful. I love when artists use their gifts for His glory!

Last night (Friday) we hung out with Liz & Jimmie again! Brought dinner to them and played cards. They gave us a box of the.best.cookies.ever!

They are called Tiffs Treats and they are a cookie delivery business. My goodness. Between the fresh tortillas and those cookies I think it’s a good thing we’re outta here!

Goodbye San Antonio – we loved you! Goodbye beautiful rivers. Goodbye beautiful stone work. Goodbye fresh tortillas and Tiffs treats. A piece of you both definitely comes with us… in mommy’s hips.

And one last gem for us before we left:

By the way our cowboy hat count is only at 30! Step it up, Texas!