Little Camper On The Prairie

Tomorrow we leave for De Smet, South Dakota!!  Do you know what is there?  The Ingalls homestead on the prairie!  I have always dreamed of seeing this!  I am a huge fan and I have always remembered watching it!  What are ya'll's favorite episodes?  Mine is "Days Of Sunshine, Days Of Shadow."

Can't wait!

~ Faith ~

Wow! Oregon!

Wow! I have seen a new state!!  It is Oregon and I love it!  The shore here is gorgeous, as we go north along Highway 101 along the Pacific Northwest Coast.

          We have been traveling along the coast for a week now.  To all of my friends back in Florida, the beach here is a totally different story compared to yours.  The shoreline is very rugged with rocks jutting out all over the place!  The sand is small rocks, not powder like we are used to.  Try walking on that barefoot for an hour straight after FL sand!!  Oh, and the water is extremely cold!!!  When you are a kid who is barefoot on the beach, what are you immediately attracted to?  The water.  And when you go running in the COLD water what happens?  It splashes up on your back.  And what happens when COLD water splashes on your back?  You become a COLD crying,sopping wet sandy mess whose feet hurt from walking in that sand for so long.  And you know what the worst part was?  Mom and dad told us that the water was COLD and that we would be soaking before too long.

You know, that kinda reminds me of a story from Genesis.  God told Adam and Eve that they would be given consequences for eating of that fruit in the garden.  I exaggerated a little bit in my story I guess, we were fine, although COLD and had found some sea glass and shells.  But, that rabbit trail did lead to a good point.  Has anyone else had a beach experience like that one?  If so, please tell me because I don't want to be a loner on this one!!

             Another beach difference is that there are SURF-ABLE waves here!  Every few waves we say, "Hey mom, could someone surf that one?"  The answer here is ALWAYS yes.  We have learned a whole lot about sneaker waves here.  There ain't no sneaker waves in Florida and that is for sure!  They just keep coming out of nowhere! Check out You-Tube to see what sneaker waves are!

           It is very cool to see the contrast between these two beautiful beaches and I can't wait to tell you more in person in June!

~God Bless~

Faith

A New Look!

Okay guys, I got a new look and I absolutely LOVE it!  Here are some step by step pictures of one really fun day! 

Here is my before shot!

Here is an in progress shot of the back.

Here is another in progress shot of my new profile.  Look... bangs and layers!

And finally, this is a happy me on March 2nd 2012!!

The way I felt when I was done with my makeover, reminded me of the "makeover" that Christians receive  after they accept Christ.  It feels so good!!

~Loves~

Faith

Snow Day!!!!!!

On March 1st we went to the snow in Scotts Flat, California!

We spent two hours playing in fresh, foot deep snow!!!  We made snow angels, a snowman, and had a great to the death snowball fight!  And it wasn't the snow that made it fun, it was the fact that we were playing in it together.  I now have a new favorite thing for this trip, and a memory that will last a lifetime.

Here are a few pictures of us playing in the snow!!

Wow mom!  We are driving in a winter wonderland!!!

It took me a long time to get the hang of throwing snowballs,  but dad sure was a pro!

Dad was rippin' and roarin' just as fast as us kids were even though he did not have proper snow shoes and his feet were
soaking wet!

By the end of the day we were pros at this! It was so much fun!

Everybody, meet Charlie, Charlie, meet Everybody!!  

There was a lake there too and it was just beautiful!!!

"Hey look kids, a snow covered pier!  Don't fall in!!"

Mom enjoyed kicking snow off of the pier into the water as much as us kids did!

Snow Wrestling,  a fun sport as long as the snow is deep enough!

Our very first snow angels, soooooooo much fun!!

In the end Team Monty really enjoyed our snow day!!  We left with a bang by doing a doughnut on the snow covered parking lot that we had played in the whole time.

I didn't know that the truck could do that!

  ~God Bless~

                                                                                  

                                                                               

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tomorrow is my Daddy's birthday!

We have a 49er now in CA!!  My daddy is such an awesome daddy and I appreciate everything that he has done for me.  If I were to write a list of the blessings that he has given me it would be very extensive.  I love him so much and I am honored to be his daughter.  

As a birthday gift to him, will you send him an e~mail with your birthday greetings?  I know that  it would mean a lot to him if ya'll would send your words of wisdom!  Send e~mails to: tmexpeditionAT gmailDOTcom.

~Loves~

Faith  

Chasing The Chickens

O.K. guys, I'm sorry that I am sooooooo behind in the What Is It Wednesday!

For the What Is It Wednesday post the answer is... a parachute!!!  A man cared so much for his dog that he had a customized parachute made for him!  That is so sweet!

Right now we are in Auburn, CA with my Grandparents.  Grandpa has put me to work doing the 7'o'clock in the morning chores. :)  I really enjoy cleaning the chicken coop every morning. (I was being sarcastic, it is DISGUSTING!)  This morning I made a very big mistake.  I accidentally left the door open to their coop and they got out!  I spent about half an hour chasing them all around the yard to get them back inside!

That proved a good point in our devotions this morning, we are as chickens and Jesus is our shepherd.  He spends hours, sometimes years, getting us to go back to where He wants us.  A place where we are safe and cared for.  It was a struggle for me to get the chickens in today.  I'm glad that Jesus sticks with us when we're running around everywhere and make it hard for Him!  So, we need to make sure to follow Jesus in all of His plans for us.  Don't make Him chase us everywhere for years!  Be sure to read Psalm:23 to see more about how Jesus is our shepherd!

Team Monty sends their love from Cali!!!

Loves and God bless!
*Faith*

Happy New Year!!!

I just wanted to wish you all a Happy New Year!! This year is clean and new and full of awesome blessings from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  I cannot wait to grow closer to Him in this coming year. 2012 will be full of adventures for Team Monty and I can't wait to see what they are!  May God bless you and keep you all in the year 2012!

Here is a challenge for the year:  Commit to doing something for God Every day of this year, it could be telling someone about Jesus or it could be doing daily Bible reading and prayer.  Pray tonight about what you think God would have you to do.

Another thing you might want to think about trying:  I will be keeping a daily journal of my walk with God and the things that we do every day.  So find that extra notebook lying around the house and write a journal to God starting tomorrow.  It will be very rewarding to go back and read as an adult what God showed you as a younger person.  Trust me, it is worth it!

Loves and a Happy New Year,
Faith

WIIW- 12/28/11

Here is the next What Is It Wednesday :


                                                                           

                                                                                   

Good Luck!!

Loves~
Faith

Ohio: Part I

Okay everybody!!!  Prepare yourselves for a post full of pictures!!!!  Here is the first few things that we did in Ohio:

                                                                           

 This is the sign for Wright-Patterson fam-camp!!

Me and Jolie on Bass Lake the night of our arrival.

We got better at this towards the very end of the game!! :)

The camp was very pretty and all of the people that we met were very nice and helpful!

Now to the National Air Force Museum on Wright-Patterson Air Force Base!!!

There was SO much to see in this museum it would take weeks to see it all!  It is built in gigantic plane hangars and is crammed full of planes and information about the Air Force.  This is the branch of U.S. Military that my parents served in so I was very eager to see it all.  

This creed made ME want to join the air-force!!

See all of the missiles on the side?  That is how many bombing missions this plane flew!

Our Grandfather was positioned in that bubble over Daddy's head on a B26G Marauder during WWII!

I was so happy that this plane turned out to be the kind of plane my Grandfather flew in!!!

This was my favorite name!!!

This is my kind of ambulance!!  It is a model "T"!!

I loved seeing all of the cool paintings from the planes!!

"Alright Momma, I'm buckled in and all ready to fly!"

I'm just a tad nervous because Jolie is in the front seat! (HEE,HEE,HEE)

Okay kids, here is your lunch!

This is one of the presidential planes!  It is NOT a mock up! 

This is Daddy pretending to be President Nixon from Nixon's presidential plane! 

This is a picture of my lollipop after we got flu shots:( on base.  Is it just me or is there an "R" on there? 

OH MY GOODNESS!!!  There is a "V" on the other side!  What does that say?  R.V.!!!!!!!!!

It was wonderful to see all of these things with my family.  Just think how much fun it will be on the Peterson farm!

I would like to give a big round of applause for all of the military workers around the world!!

Loves,
Faith

Happy December!!!!!!

Good morning everybody!

It is December 1st and I am VERY excited!  There are many things going on this month including my THIRTEENTH birthday!!!!  Did ya'll hear me?  THIRTEEN!!!!!

But let me remind ya'll while you are bustling to find gifts for Christmas (and my birthday :))  why you are doing it.  Remember the reason while you are shopping and hurrying around to find "the perfect gift"... that Jesus is the perfect gift that God gave to us.  Literally perfect.  And we take for granted that God gave us this gift and after a while we stop thanking Him for it.  Don't forget this Christmas season that Jesus is the reason for this season. For this Christmas season I will thank God for something He has given me every day up to Christmas Day.  Don't say the same thing twice because it would not count!!

May God bless you all this Christmas season!!!

~Faith~

A Quick Hello!!

Well, it has been a whole month since I have last written.  It has not been because I don't want to, I haven't had time!!!  We have been so busy!!  There are also 5 of us trying to use 1 laptop!

We are moving tomorrow!  I hope to make some posts from my journey for the last month, soon.

OK... the last What Is It Wednesday, was a trail marker.... for the Appalachian Trail! :)

Can't wait to write more!!

~Faith~

What IS it Wednesday??? 11-02-11

You all were right last week!  It was a cigarette canister found in WWII bunk houses.  The bunk houses were completely made of wood and therefore, very flammable!  But, they still smoked inside buildings :)
Here is a full picture:

See the quarters on the beds?  People were seeing if they were made correctly!

The BUTTS ONLY cans were on the posts at the foot of the bed...on the left side of the picture.

Here is this week's "What IS it Wednesday?"  Specifically, the white spot on the tree.

Smoky Mountain Rain

It rained all day yesterday and as I watched it fall, I wrote this poem:

SMOKY MOUNTAIN RAIN

The rain falls,

The horses whinnied in their stalls,

The rain is peaceful and they love it.

The rain falls,

The eagle cries his majestic calls,

The rain is wild and he loves it.

The rain falls,

The trees stretch out their leaves that are in fall,

The rain feels good and they love it.

The rain falls,

The deer step out into it,

The rain cleans their coats and they love it.

The rain falls,

The bears see it and they pause,

The rain is refreshing and they love it.

The rain falls,

I look out my window as it does,

The rain is God's gift and I love it.

What IS it Wednesday??? 10-26-11

I will be posting a "What IS it Wednesday" weekly.  I will take all the pictures that you see.  Some pictures may be easy to figure out, while others you may need to think awhile.  Please leave your guess in the comment section.  I will reveal the answer the following week when I make my next "WIIW."

Here is the FIRST "WIIW".  Good luck!

I Guess I'll Start At The Beginning

It all started about a year ago last month…

We were on our way to church and on our way there we normally passed an RV dealer.  Dad was driving and looked over and said to momma, “Could you picture us in that?“  That is what started it all.

  Since then, we have sold a house (as soon as we put it on the market), loved on some adorable children in Costa Rica, and learned to trust God more than I ever had before.  He has been so faithful and I have learned to love Him with my entire heart.  

Our RV trip began at Tyndall Fam Camp.  We stayed there for two weeks to get used to the camper and finish moving out of the house and move into “The Cottage.“  We took a long time to finish packing and cleaning, but we finally finished on Jo’s birthday.  We were so happy to be done that we went out for my favorite “out to eat dessert,“ a vanilla frosty at Wendy’s.  :)  

Next, we headed off to Uchee Creek on Fort Benning on the AL/GA line.  During our stay there we got to go to The National Infantry Museum.  It was so amazing and I will never look at war the same way again.  My grandfather fought in WWII and I loved learning about how he lived during his service.  I also learned about K.P. (Kitchen Police) and later daddy told me that grandpa complained about it sometimes.  

These deer really liked our Uchee Creek campsite, this was taken from our picnic table!

Me and Jolie outside our camper!

This is the infantryman that greeted us at The National Infantry Museum!

This is a camp similar to the one my grandfather lived in during the war.

This is the mess hall like my grandfather had to clean up as K.P.

 Me, Jo, and DT saluting for our country in our uniforms.

After Uchee Creek, we went to Monte Sano State Park in AL.  After a few hikes, a couple of campfires, plus a visit to The US Space and Rocket Center, we were back on the road.  

Campfire #1!

ROCKETS!!!!!!!!

This is the Pathfinder.  Parts of this have actually been in space!

We found a camera that we could control and watched daddy acting silly!

Now here we are in Pigeon Forge, TN.  We have been blessed with free tickets to Dollywood from friendly neighbors, a beautiful campsite, and a place relatively close to The Smoky Mountain National Park.  We have seen half a dozen bears, visited with close friends, and hiked Chimney Tops Trail.

It's fall in Dollywood!!

Found a mouse on Chimney Tops Trail!!  So cute!

View at the top of the world!! (well, the Chimney Tops)

Messing around in the car on Cades Cove Loop!

I didn't even have to zoom in for this one!!

Since dad’s famous words, I’ve had very mixed emotions.  I’ve laughed and I’ve cried and had some feelings in between.  I’ve left so much to hopefully, gain much more.  I’ve left a house I had lived in for as long as I can remember and some of the greatest friends in the whole entire world.  But God has blessed our family with so much, saying thank you is not nearly enough.