If we could turn back time...

Here we are in Gettysburg, so many memories here, talking to daughter recalling the fun they had as kids in this place. We're heading South after a great summer with kids and grands even able to snuggle our newest, Sweet Addison Grace who joined her 13 cousins in January. We head first to Williamsburg VA to catch a little tete-a-tete with sister and bro in-law. We had been meeting at Mayberry Days in September in recent years but health issues have prevented that the past two years. Our pact was to meet in Mayberry 2019 but since that was not possible, last minute plans for a few days together in Williamsburg is the plan.
Three weeks in Williamsburg,  three weeks in Chesapeke Bay and three more weeks in Williamsburg is already on the books. This will be the first time we spend nine whole weeks in our favorite state exploring and reminiscing in our favorite town before continuing on to our winter place of rest in Jackson Springs North Carolina. Here in this old town, Williamsburg,  it's hard to not think of days gone by when we would stroll the streets at midnight with the kids and take a moonlight ferry ride across the James on a cool summer night. We still stroll the streets, a bit earlier in the evening, and we continue to take the ferry across the James for old time sake and still reminisce the kids giggles and grumbles. Not all of those days were perfect, I always said, "some days are diamonds and some days are stones" but ALL the memories, good and not so good are precious and way too few... so take buckets of pictures and make copious amounts of memories because one day, before you know it, the kids are grown having and raising kids of there own, living life and mom and dad will have the memories.  sigh... If we could turn back time.

Staying Connected

So, from mid December to mid February we were home in Pennsylvania. Family get togethers, Christmas fun, food and frolic... consolidating and organizing family pictures... welcoming the New Year with a the wedding of our younger son and two significant winter weather events sandwiched between a baby shower for our newest granddaughter and her arrival the end of January.  It was an eventful two months. Lesson learned; don’t be fooled into thinking you have plenty of time to do all the things you’ve planned to do because one bad cold can throw a monkey wrench into the mix and before you know it time is up and your well thought out plans for coffee dates and afternoons of lunch and thrift shopping  are destined to remain on the calendar for future reference.

Now that we have returned to our Winter place of rest, missing the family was inevitable. Especially since we have a brand new baby granddaughter that we totally fell in love with and now are physically too far away to snuggle. We have discovered, via my niece in Indiana, an app called Marco Polo where we can share video chats with the kids and grands and have been doing this on a daily basis, soooo, even though we are not there in body we are there in video chats, sometimes all the grands are there at the same time...4 in Ohio and all the others in different parts of Pennsylvania.  It's not as fun as scooping them up and kissing them all over in person but since we are full timing in another state it's the next best thing.  Great ways to stay connected with loved ones while on the road aside from email, texting and social media are now my favorites...FaceTime, Marco Polo and Skype because we can laugh out loud with each one and see how big they've grown, share birthday celebrations and watch their snow come down and not have to drive in it.  We were actually able to share the wedding of our son in Pennsylvania with family members in Indiana via FaceTime and Skyped a baby shower with family in Ohio. 

Social Media has it's dark side, I know, but for a full time RV'er it's a blessing to have, we'd be lost without it...

Tonight's The Night

Tonight's the night, sounds like a song by Rod Stewart right? Well that would be true but not why I typed those words. We have been home in Pennsylvania for these past two months for several reasons, one especially being the birth of our 14th grandbaby, a girl, due the 2nd of February. Due to the realization that she may come out on that day, see her shadow and crawl back in from whence she came for 6 more weeks her parents decided tonight would be a good day to deliver our new granddaughter. We approve...and are excited to the point of not even caring that there's a snow event happening outside and wind chill tomorrow is forecasted to be 25* below 0... There's  a chill in the air is an understatement.  Updates to follow.

7:23   Leaving for hospital

8:45   We're here

!0:48   Contractions fast and strong, Doula is pleased

12:59  7cm  90%  -1  nearing transition

Were going to have a January 30th Birthday Girlie

1:55    Strong Contractions continue All is well

2:49     9.5 cm

4:06     Addison Grace Sparr arrives  <3
            7pds  15.5 ozs
            21" long

A New Year... A New Life

Been in Pennsylvania since mid December; it's now mid January. We've had a baby shower/gender reveal celebrating our newest grandDAUGHTER due February 2nd...Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and Leftover Day spent with various friends, family members and grandchildren of all ages shapes and sizes. New Years Eve bringing in the New Year with way too many people and not nearly enough house. We shared the wedding of our younger son to his sweetheart via facebook facetime with my sister and brother inlaw in a totally different state...the wonder's of technology. With several family member birthday's behind us we wait with bated breath the birth of our newest family member, a  granddaughter we have affectionately called "Merriweather" for the past 7 months or so... any day now sweet baby girl... we're ready for you! This is the last and final event before we head back to our winter home in our North Carolina Sandhills.  The first major snow event of the new year has turned out to be a dud as the projected 5 to 10 inches of snow ended with only 2 inches of snow and rain. Tonight, however, the wind and cold temps will make it feel like -25* and anything that's wet will fast become ice so under my quilt I go. 

The motorhome is safely stored at our home park in NC. The uncertainty of this past October has become a more confident hope for that bright future we have always looked forward to. We had all the work done on the rolling house that had so upended our dreams for a season and today we are only looking at new tires in the next year or so instead of a  room in a retirement home.  We love our lifestyle of  these last ten years, never regretted a day and never once looked back on mortgage payments, taxes,  electric bills or all the responsibilities that go with sticks and bricks lamenting taking the plunge into living full time in our rolling home. There's so much to see and enjoy in so little time. Of course one day when we're old and gray we will step into our exit plan with anticipation of finishing the race set before us surrounded by our kids and grands, surfing the web... talking to old friends met along the way... holding on to the memories we've made... reminiscing the places we've been blessed to visit... never, EVER forgetting Who made it all possible.

Matthew 19:26

“But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.” 

Cast Down but Unconquered

There are days....this is one of them! Days that prayer is all you have and prayer isn't working. I'm sad, I want to cry, our life is taking a turn we didn't expect it to take. Our plans, our future, our lifestyle... I should be able to find joy in our circumstances but today there's no joy to be found. Maybe tomorrow... 

Cast Down but Unconquered

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed—
2 Corinthians 4:7-9

Slip Slidin' Away...

Here we are 2018! This year is nearly past. Summer  has come and gone, the prognostication of 6 more weeks... and Winter is a memory as Winter approaches again. Birthdays and anniversaries continue to pass as fast as the years since my last entry. It's difficult to fathom how fast life is passing before my eyes. I seem to just wake up in the morning and it's already dinnertime. The sun goes down and the day is over only to do it all over again in the morning. The swiftly passing hours become days, days become weeks, weeks months and months years and before you even realize it you're 50's become your 60's and so the story goes...

On the bright side, in the midst of world turmoil and future uncertainty we as Christ followers are assured that "When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee. When thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. Is. 43:2

Life Goes On...

It's been a year, it's crazy to think that it's October 2014 and my last entry was September 2013... talk about procrastinating :O Well it has been an eventful year, Our daughter and family continue to recover physically and emotionally from the accident of last September. A move to a new state, purchase of their farm in central Ohio, a new job and a new church family after nearly losing their lives in a car accident has been instrumental in their recovery. They have a way to go but God has carried them through to a bright future, their mind is stayed on Him and at this point it's apparent that indeed ALL things are possible...Love them all so much.

Our 9th grandchild was born at home in August, a baby girl so precious and shiny brand new. She entered the world fast and furious into the arms of her daddy...joining her proud big sisters, they're already best friends. Building their new home on the mountainside, moving lock stock and barrel into a log cabin on their property while they watch the construction has been an experience not soon forgotten, an education if you will..."roughing it" in many aspects of the term. They have truly lived out Isaiah 40:31 that states "But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."  Love them and so proud of their accomplishments.

Milestones are always worth the mention, our oldest granddaughter graduated from High School over this time of blogger procrastination. She also celebrated her 18th birthday, getting her first car and earning her drivers license and landing her first job all after a trip to Europe exploring Paris and all that goes along with that sort of travel experience. Love her so much and excited to watch her move on into adulthood. 

Our kids are all experiencing Gods goodness in their lives. Even though as parents we look back and see our mistakes and wish we could do some things over again differently, it's heartwarming to see them in the trials of life lean on God for His wisdom and guidance in these things that otherwise could be life altering without Him. Major decisions about jobs and homes, health and wellness, loves and losses...we as Christians were never promised that life would be free from rough roads and uncertainty, rather God promised to carry us through those times to brighter tomorrows...He has, He is and He will always be faithful as promised.