Back in the RV & Morning Walk

We're officially at our new location and slept back in our RV for the first time in exactly 2 months. We arrived as the sun was setting, got hooked up and spent time hanging out, listening to music and talking together, us and the kids, then all went to bed.

We're excited to be back in our small RV space. Tiny living isn't for everyone but for us the benefits outweigh any space issues...and for us between the tiny cabin and the RV it is plenty. PLUS if inside ever feels cramped....there is a whole world OUTSIDE! 

For us: Small space = increased family bond. Less cleaning = move living. Less stuff = being more intentional. Small house = no debt. Living small = bigger gratitude. These are just SOME of the benefits we've noticed and there's so many more.

In the morning Ernie dog and I went out for our usual morning walk but this time to explore our new area. Our landlords cows were out behind us grazing. We walked along the country road lined with white fencing and trees. Tons of trees then open pastures full of more grazing cattle. Peaceful and quiet. I love our quiet mornings together. Its such a beautiful way to start the day. Alone in the quiet just me and him, in nature with time to ponder, time to pray, time to reflect. Starting my day with such gratitude for the smallest things that I notice but also for the big life changing things that we've gone through lately. All the ups as well as the downs have led us here and I am so thankful and blessed.

Living life fully in this moment, in this space, in this season of our lives where God has planted us. Opening ourselves up to all the possibilities he has in store for us here. Trusting in his plan and path for us and leaning into faith.

Tiny Cabin

 We're thrilled to be moving this coming weekend. We couldn't be happier with our choice to not only live back in our RV instead of a traditional house but to also provide extra space for the kids and our family with this Tiny Cabin. Its going to be a long slow process to build the inside out but yet another fun project we can all do together.

The cabin got moved last week. We're moving the RV end of this week. Blessed to have connected with Doug- our new landlord. He owns this farm of 40 acres and has 3 spaces on his property for manufactured homes, RV, tiny house, whatever you want - with hook ups to electric/power/and sewer. His parents owned this property and had these rental spaces here for a very long time. We're thankful for low rent, out in the beautiful country but only 2 minutes from town and the grocery store. We're thankful for him to allow us our animals here and he's welcomed us to stay as long as we want. Enormous excited feelings for this opportunity and what this means for our future.

Tiny cabin moving....

The view from our space - so many gorgeous trees lining the road here. Lots of deer, birds and wildlife seen already just on our trips over. Can't wait to live here full time.

All set up on its blocks. Sitting on this porch with this view in the mornings is going to be amazing. Having our pig girls just in the pen behind us is such a blessing.

 

We're Home. Home is where we are all together as a family. Home is in nature surrounded by beauty with trees and animals. Home is community of welcoming neighbors. 

 

Home is now Texas for us.

We're MOVING to Texas!!

 Or more accurately....We've MOVED to Texas, or we're STAYING in Texas.

What a whirlwind. What an experience. 

We’ve had enormous ups and downs, highs and lows, challenges, and ENORMOUS blessings. The things we’ve learned, the bonds of family and marriage we’ve strengthened, the spiritual guidance, our faith grown – we wouldn’t change this experience for anything. If I wrote to tell you all the amazing blessings we’ve witnessed, miracles we’ve experienced, kind people we’ve met and all the amazing things that challenged us yet grew our faith I’d be writing a book. In a short time that’s how much has happened to our family.

Right before we moved to the month-to-month rental house.....We lived in a Tow Yard / Car Junk Yard.

It was the biggest blessing. We just had the brush off from the RV repair shop, we had been staying at a hotel already for 4 nights - they essentially told us they weren't going to/couldn't get us fixed and that we needed to tow our rig out of their lot NOW. We arranged the tow and met the tow guy at the shop. The tow company owner who was towing us asked where we were going - we said to an empty lot- but we didn't know what we were going to do, really where to go from there.

 

The tow guy offered us HELP. He was part owner of the company and also lived on site at the tow yard. He offered to tow us to his lot and said we could live there in our rig so we didn't have to pay any more hotel nights, so we'd be in our own 'home' while we figured things out. He offered us FREE stay, water, restroom and even offered us his mechanic to help Ken with some items and to take a look at things.

His kindness bought us time. Time to pray, time to figure out where to go, what to do.

Not only did he do all of these things for us - - but then when we found our month-to-month rental home - he gave us a HUGE discount on the tow and towed us 90 miles to our new home.

I still get teared up thinking about the compassion this kind man and his company had for us when we didn't know what do to or where to go.

 

Our entire RV travels - God has been working miracles in such BIG enormous ways.

It has challenged us to increase our faith when things felt hopeless, but by increasing our faith ten fold it has increased our blessings ten fold with it.

 

We have had some AMAZING experiences these last few months that maybe on the surface don't seem amazing (living in a tow yard)- but are complete miracles to us. God is SO good.

 

When nothing came out of fixing the RV our prayers led us to rent this house. Month-to-month lease – we thought not permanent, it will buy us time to fix the RV. 

 

Once in this town, settling in, meeting people, going to church – we felt like we were HOME. We KNEW. But it’s hard sometimes when its not ‘your’ plan to not only hear God but follow his guidance in what you are supposed to do. How can we be ‘home’ when we haven’t finished our travels yet – we haven’t seen everything we were supposed to, visited the other states on our list - - how can this be it? That wasn’t ‘our’ plan. I went through being upset the RV wasn’t fixed initially then questioning what we were doing. But once letting go of what ‘our’ plan was and leaning into faith and Gods plan for us, everything has come together in every way and there is a calm and peace in ourselves, and our family. God has bigger, better plans for you than you can ever ‘plan’ out. He knows your path and wants you to have faith in his guidance. 

 

So NOW, we’re in the process of moving out of our month-to-month because no pigs / pigeons allowed – and we’re leasing land on a farm on the other side of town that we can have our animals at. We’ve bought a tiny-house cabin (360sf) to build out to have additional space other than just our 33ft RV, as we’ve really enjoyed living small-and minimally while we pray and pursue our forever land to purchase here. 

 

Our new land / our new space for our RV - looking towards the back of the property to the barn and pen area where our pig girls will be housed.

Looking out towards the road at the front from our space.

Our tiny home / cabin. We'll take our time, go slow and build out the inside to provide some additional space so that everyone can have room to have some privacy between using the RV/and this space as well.

 

Our plans for this tiny cabin down the road is for  it to have a bathroom so we can have a tub (since the RV has the tiniest of little showers), to have a small kitchen area just with a small mini-fridge and sink and a bit of counter space and to be able to have a studio-type guest space for guests when they come over (specifically my family) to have a space to stay overnight and be comfortable and not have to be in a hotel. And there's even a cute little porch where I can see my parents sipping their morning coffee from! 

My sweet husband is already wanting to put up a little railing flower box in the front for me.

The future feels amazing. The minute we said YES to Texas and really said yes in our hearts and opened ourselves up to the possibilities the more each and every day being here solidifies this is HOME. 

 

We have always prayed and asked for guidance in our life. God has guided us for various reasons to different places these past years...a 6 month stint in Idaho, 5 beautiful years in Prescott Arizona and now here to Texas. At times we thought we knew the reason at the start of our journey but really we didn't SEE the reason until looking back. Isn't that how it goes sometimes? You know God is working daily in your life and he sees the big picture but you don't always see it until you look back on it. And how glorious and miraculous it is to look back and see his hand in everything, every detail - my how he loves us so much.

Weekend FUN: Market Days - Hallettsville & Shiner / Garden Company

We had a weekend FULL of fun last month - Market days in Hallettsville happens 4 times per year. They don't have a weekly farmer's market so market days people come and sell anything and everything - there's farms there with veggies and plants, canned salsa's and goodies, garden nurseries selling plants and flowers (I bought a hanging basket of flowers!), clothing boutiques, wood working shops, mom and pop small businesses, food vendors, and MORE!

Afterwards the town of Shiner was having their farmers market so we took the short 20 minute drive over there to check it out as well. Momma got a Texas t-shirt, we looked around at the booths then we picked up a brisket sandwich and nachos and took it over to the town park we'd never been to before for a picnic. The city park has a little lake  you can fish at, playground, sports fields and tons of walking paths and a lot of shady large oak trees. 

I have to say- ALL the towns surrounding us and the town we're in all have the best city parks. I mean completely beautiful spaces for families and town people to gather together.

And the best part of the Shiner market....a pot belly pig I got to say hello to! Made me miss my girls terribly but fun to see the pot belly, rabbits, ducks, chickens and a few goats too!

 We also ventured to The Garden Company in Shulenburg, 15 minutes or so away. They had a beautiful little nursery with a lot of neat plants. We got to pet the garden store kitty. They also have a little restaurant we'll have to try sometime down the road that has rave reviews.

https://www.thegardencoandcafe.com/

The Texas Zoo

 Last month we visited the ZOO!

We've had the best of the best growing up with the San Diego Zoo then we moved to Arizona. We had a smaller zoo yet still an amazing small-town zoo (Heritage Park Zoo in Prescott, AZ). We even ventured to Phoenix several times to the World Wildlife Zoo and Aquarium with homeschool friends. In Texas there are many zoos all over the state but the closest is The Texas Zoo. Even tinier than our Prescott zoo yet they did such a great job. They truly maximized their small space, animal enclosures are clean, well thought out with enough space and things to do for the animals and they have a variety of animal species in the park as well. Probably half the size of Prescotts small town zoo yet just as enjoyable to visit. 

Some of the animals at the park include: Reptile house with snakes and bearded dragon lizards. Bird aviary with ducks, a pelican and a spoon bill. Jaguars female and male. Monkey enclosure. Lemur enclosure. Two bad eagles, turkey vultures, additional birds of prey. Wolf. Petting/feeding zoo of sorts with rabbits. Peacocks running around. Alligators. A racoon. Otters. A zebra. And an enclosure of goats, pigs, ostrich and deer. I'm sure I'm missing a few but that about sums it up! Just enough for enjoyable family time.

The Texas Zoo - http://www.texaszoo.org/