tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-69583372427182759972024-03-13T13:00:00.433-07:00AughinblogA journey into the life of adventure, with a family of 6!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606321056894480122noreply@blogger.comBlogger38125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958337242718275997.post-73886970013200269712015-02-10T20:30:00.000-08:002015-02-10T20:30:34.918-08:00San Diego- 1st time Rv'ing in the Golden State<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">SAN DIEGO</span></div>
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After leaving Flagstaff and overnighting in Phoenix, we headed out through the desert to our next stop, San Diego! I love San Diego. I have been there many times in the past for work stuff but never had the chance to do some RV'ing there. We started out California adventures here and planned 5 nights to do some family activities and see some old friends. </div>
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We visited La Jolla cove the following day. After eating at a pretty crafty buger joint called "Burger Lounge" we took a walk and did the typical tourist thing. The cove was just gorgeous and it was a really pleasant day with the weather. We allowed the kids to play in the sand and gave them instructions not to get wet. Guess what happened? Yep they got wet. Here is a video of the cove if you have never seen it. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C27aU4Tyfv4" style="text-align: center;" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C27aU4Tyfv4</a></div>
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We visited some old friends with our time there as well. I got to see an old friend John Cressler. John and I have been friends for around 10 years and met at a sushi joint in Wilmington. He now lives out in San Diego and is married to a wonderful woman Odette and has a beautiful baby girl named Sienna. It was a blessing to have them see the kids since John only never met Owen or Sophia. We spent time together at our RV and it was a joy.</div>
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Rory got to see an old friend as well. Trista Montero. Trista has lived out here quite a while as well and is married to Brian and they have a little boy named Mattie. Rory and Trista were pretty inseparable back in high school. </div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606321056894480122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958337242718275997.post-5064709211657020952015-02-05T10:19:00.000-08:002015-02-05T10:19:25.376-08:00Flagstaff AZ------ GRAND CANYON!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Panorama of the Grand Canyon, stunning!</td></tr>
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<span style="color: #76a5af; font-size: x-large;">Grand Canyon</span></div>
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There are those times in life when you see something to unique, so beautiful and different that you are left stunned in admiration! The Grand Canyon is one of those places. I could sit and stare at the wonder of the creation of the Grand Canyon for days and never get bored. What an absolute marvel. This is one of those places that you deeply appreciate the creative nature and power of the Lord almighty. This is the second time I have visited here, the last being in 2008. This is the first time for Sophia and the other kids did not remember so it was special for them as well. We took the whole day to drive on the South Rim of the canyon on roads that are normally blocked to public traffic. Every stop was a stop of unique and intense reflection for me. </div>
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If you ever have a chance to see the Grand Canyon, explore or hike in the over 1 mile depth of the place please do! It is an experience that you will never forget and something that you will appreciate forever.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">another panorama of the south rim</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Sedona AZ- Red River Canyon</span></div>
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Here are some photos of us taking a drive through Red River Canyon north of Sedona. What a beautiful place! This was part of our time in Flagstaff AZ. We planned a day to go to a couple of educational places and took this drive going south from Flagstaff and returning home that evening. We visited a Pueblo, old mining town and Montezuma's castle. This was a dwelling built by indians in the side of a cliff!<br />
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<b><i><u><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">Albuquerque NM </span></u></i></b><br />
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On my last post we had just left Amarillo and we were on our way to Albuquerque. That was a little more than two weeks ago so I apologize. While we were in Albuquerque we really had a great time at the science center called, Explora! It was one of those places that you could stay all day and never realize the whole day has gone by. The kids had a blast learning and playing and we had fun with some good down time.<br />
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We also were able to go to an authentic Mexican grocery store that was playing music so loud you really had not choice but to dance! Rory was laughed at for busting a move on isle 5 by the locals but I loved watching her shake it to the authentic music.<br />
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On another note we got gas for the van in Albuquerque and we paid $1.62 a gallon! Diesel was $2.25 a gallon and it was nice to fill the rig up on the cheap. We stayed 2 days in Albuquerque and moved on to Flagstaff AZ.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ethan learning about X and Y axis at Explora!</td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606321056894480122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958337242718275997.post-71551953387172791502015-01-14T18:40:00.000-08:002015-01-14T18:59:45.684-08:00Left Amarillo onward to Albuquerque New Mexico!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Well we made it to Albuquerque New Mexico last night around 5pm. We pulled into our RV park and got settled down for the night and made plans for today. We had a really nice spot in a newer end of the American RV Park right off the highway outside of town. This is a nicer than average park with a pool and spa but we have not had a chance to use either because well it snowed today! No kidding! 2 inches of snow on the ground and it was 30 degrees outside in New Mexico! nutso. The snow melted quickly when the sun came out but heck I am not braving the weather to try to swim. <br />
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The kids had a chance to play and explore at a science museum called Explora! The last time we were in Albuquerque back in 2008 we did the Natural Science museum and this was right next door. Needless to say it was AMAZING! I mean the kids played right through lunch because they were having so much fun. The only one complaining about not getting food was Rory. We actually left around 1pm went and had pizza and came back for another hour of playtime. I thought it was a great time because the kids learned about electricity, wind, magnetism, water separation and such. It was quite educational and beat any other science exploration place we have ever been before. When we got home Rory put them through a few hours of schooling and that was our day.<br />
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Tomorrow we are heading out to Flagstaff AZ. I hear that it is around 60 there. Thank you Jesus! We are hoping to warm up sooner than later. You know this global warming is doing wonders these days!<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cs073Z6NlwI/VLcoCzPefoI/AAAAAAAANEc/FIeX0wGdGS0/s1600/IMG_20150113_113035.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cs073Z6NlwI/VLcoCzPefoI/AAAAAAAANEc/FIeX0wGdGS0/s1600/IMG_20150113_113035.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ir_iARwJ5zs/VLcoPLVW34I/AAAAAAAANEs/9cn3-8Yw0qU/s1600/IMG_20150113_113514.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ir_iARwJ5zs/VLcoPLVW34I/AAAAAAAANEs/9cn3-8Yw0qU/s1600/IMG_20150113_113514.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606321056894480122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958337242718275997.post-67064268923869649062015-01-12T15:44:00.000-08:002015-01-12T15:44:18.967-08:00Amarillo by morning.................<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">panorama of the Palo Duro Canyone<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">
This was our beautiful sight for the day. This is Palo Duro Canyon, 20 miles south of Amarillo TX. What an absolutely beautiful place to visit! If you ever have a chance to see the "mini Grand Canyon", I implore you to go! We drove all the way through the public access roads in the canyon and had fun hiking and climbing the beautiful rocks. The kids did the Junior Ranger program and each recieved a badge when their work was accomplished. This is something that I and they as well want to do at every park during our trip. </div>
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Last night Rory and I went to dinner at the Big Texan. It was good to get a little time to ourselves and we got to enjoy a great steak together! No we did not do the challenge of eating a 72 OZ steak Kyle Nagy!</div>
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We are currently staying at the Amarillo RV Ranch. It's OK, we have stayed at much better. They do have an indoor swimming pool that the kids are going to try out after dinner. Tomorrow we are heading out to the Cadillac Ranch to tag our names on the cars then off to Albuquerque! Below are some more of the pics today of the canyon. I love being a Daddy to these beautiful faces and a husband to my beloved wife! They will always remember how much we have given to them of ourselves and there is nothing greater than I want for them than to grow in the Lord. Pray this trip is a gigantic leap forward in their faith to the Lord and we lead them in wisdom. We are loving the trip so far!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606321056894480122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958337242718275997.post-56824569643577558902015-01-10T08:55:00.000-08:002015-01-10T08:55:03.376-08:00A new adventure!Well it has almost been one year since my last blog post. Around this time last year we were leaving the Florida Keys and heading back to Missouri to start renovating a beautiful home outside Kansas City. Since then we lived through a 7 month renovation, in our motor-home, moved into our new (old) home, got chickens, planted an orchard, built a garden, had lots of fun and planned another RV adventure! Two days ago we left for our first destination, Dallas TX! Now, we have been to Dallas before and the main reason for the trip was to spend some time with some old friends, however it has been nice to get out of the -10 degrees to slightly warmer 40 degrees.<br />
Our adventure this time will last for 10 weeks, 2 1/2 months, and will take us from MO to San Diego zig zagging our way through California on our way to Seattle WA. Once in Seattle we will take a week drive and return back to Kansas City. Our main focus of our trip we be exploring California. I have many great stops planned along the way and hopefully we will get the "chill" out of our bones before we return to MO to start spring planting!<br />
Right now we will be in Dallas until tomorrow morning, then off to Amarillo. Last night we ate at the Rooster's Roadhouse. Pretty cool! Here is a pic of us. It was great food if you ever get the chance. Please continue to follow the blog for more of our adventures!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First family dining at this great place!</td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606321056894480122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958337242718275997.post-16070187770064515192014-01-27T16:53:00.001-08:002014-01-27T16:53:59.209-08:00Animal Kingdom, Disney!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So here is a snapshot of our trip to Animal Kingdom today. This is the first park of four that we will be doing while we are here until the 6th of February. We are also going to be going to Epcot, Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. We are going to have an awesome week!<br />
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Animal Kingdom is by far one of the best "themed" parks we have visited. I always enjoy the safari ride! We had fun today on the Everest Expedition coaster. This was Owen's first ever try at a coaster and well, he went back three times! I was really proud of him. He showed no fear whatsoever. The kids loved it and I have to admit I would have went more if we had more time. The park is always no nicely kept, well staffed and very entertaining. We capped our night off with the Nemo show and sadly had to leave.......... tomorrow off to a new adventure!<br />
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I will be doing a blog on last week really soon. We were on a cruise and have look through pictures and video! Thanks for reading.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606321056894480122noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958337242718275997.post-79053384819540995882014-01-19T08:56:00.001-08:002014-01-19T09:00:17.311-08:00Having a great time in Naples Florida!<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Naples Signature RV Resort</td></tr>
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So we are staying in Naples Florida and have been here for a few days now. We pulled in on Thursday and will be leaving tomorrow morning to head to Miami and get onto the Carnival Victory for a one weeks cruise! Now, this place we are staying at is one of the nicest RV parks we have ever stayed at. We have stayed at some nice places but this is probably the second nicest place we have ever stayed at. We were blessed to be able to get a spot here as the resort has 3 pools, each with a jacuzzi for Ro and I as well as a beach for the kids to play at. The sights are nice and level and the kids have been having a good time riding their bikes and playing outside. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Big Cyprus National Park</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8vXxaWZyRsY/UtwBLJT_veI/AAAAAAAAHJE/L6p5ok5u8xA/s1600/20140118_134646.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8vXxaWZyRsY/UtwBLJT_veI/AAAAAAAAHJE/L6p5ok5u8xA/s1600/20140118_134646.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Really cool mangrove tree!</td></tr>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5jJbaA5vSBE/UtwBLOaJsDI/AAAAAAAAHJE/0tv3Hma_5Tw/s1600/20140118_134125.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5jJbaA5vSBE/UtwBLOaJsDI/AAAAAAAAHJE/0tv3Hma_5Tw/s1600/20140118_134125.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a>While we were here, we took the opportunity to visit Big Cyprus National Park in the Everglades. We saw this on the drive up from the Keys and it looked pretty cool so we took a short drive and visited yesterday. We had the opportunity to see alligators, herrings, cool mangrove trees, Cyprus trees and other wildlife. Below is some pictures of the kids at the welcome center. As always, we tried to teach them the best we could about the habitat and the animals living here. We also tried to teach them about the Indians that lived here and how they survived on the land. <br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-v-SmR_rgM9I/UtwBLFzAUUI/AAAAAAAAHJE/ottnR5Zn9w8/s1600/20140118_134040.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-v-SmR_rgM9I/UtwBLFzAUUI/AAAAAAAAHJE/ottnR5Zn9w8/s1600/20140118_134040.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a>On the way home we stopped at the Big Bend state park and took a little walk into the everglades. They have a trail there that goes a few miles into the actual Everglades that you can walk through. They really were not into that but we had fun none the less, telling jokes and looking for lizards!<br />
Tomorrow we head on at on the cruise so I will write another blog when we get back! Thanks for reading.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alligators hatching!</td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606321056894480122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958337242718275997.post-44856269993532654562014-01-15T16:40:00.001-08:002014-01-15T16:40:44.691-08:00I have a TESTIMONY!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This is a testimony to all of you, of the great and generous Father in Heaven we serve!<br />
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As many of you know, Rory and I and our family are currently under contract for a house right near Long view Lake. I wanted to tell you the story to testify to God's lavish love for us, how He hears our desires and sets in motion to answer when our motives are to glorify Him. Its a long testimony but worth it!<br />
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I had to fly back to KC because we were closing on one property and finishing another for our company Upper Room Properties. We also had another property that I had put a bid on so I wanted to go back and see the inside of that duplex. While home, like I always do, I drove by all of our rentals to do a check on them and make sure that everything was OK. I was finishing the last one on Sunday when I was leaving the Holy Spirit spoke to me to go for a drive down a specific road. So knowing that voice, I simply obeyed wondering where God was going to take me. The Holy Spirit said to me go down this road because I have a gift for you. I drove down the road and thinking and feeling I had gone to far I thought briefly I must be going nuts! Then the Holy Spirit said, turn around you missed it! (I am not kidding this is for real!) So I turned around on this road and went about 1/2 mile down the road. That is when I looked to my left and saw a for sale sign right off the road and up on the hill I could make out the outline of a house that I have never ever seen before even though I had literally driven down this road hundreds of times before.<br />
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That morning it had snowed in MO so I needed to park along the road with my flashers on. I got out of my truck, walked up the driveway and was overcome with a peace and joy that only God could give me. The Lord spoke to me and said, "Timothy, if you so desire this house from me then you would be able to purchase this house for $225,000 It is your choice and is an option." Kind of weird right? So I walked around the house and it was oozing with so much charm, character and love I could feel it so tangibly. I started to get really excited and really happy! I felt so deeply that this place was in the past a place of refuge, of love, of family, of nurturing children. Many memories were no doubt made in this home. I stayed there for about 20 minutes and then went back to my truck. I called my wife, Rory Aughinbaugh, and told her how this all went down! Like my wife usually does, she listened and said I trust you to lead this family. I quickly made arrangements to see the house the next morning before flying out to go meet up with my family again in Georgia. I saw the house the next day and fell deeply in love with it. It sits up on a hill (I have since learned its the second highest elevation of Jackson County), come with a little over 6 acres, back up to 600 acres of park land on the south and east corners and is surrounded by a horse facility on the west. The house has 4 beds, 4 baths and just enough space for our family. <br />
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I flew home encouraged that we were going to make an offer but we needed to discuss it as a family first. I made it home that night and we discussed the house. I talked at length with the family about it and what we could do in that home with the house and the land and how we can be a benefit to the community there using these two tools to help. They were completely in!<br />
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We submitted an offer that was higher than what we wanted to do and also higher than what God had told me. I resisted to trust the Lord and just felt I should "pay up" for the home. This was the disobedience part! I repented to God then my wife and said if you truly desire to bless us with this home than I will not take the Glory from you and when we do receive it then the children will know that you are God, that you care deeply for us and you hear our desires. We prayed for several days as a family about the home and Rory was in the middle of a 10 day fast as well. After a few days we learned they took our offer after rebuffing another cash offer. <br />
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We were so excited as a family we packed up our van (from GA) and left and drove through the night to get to Kansas City. We arrived the next day and had 6 inspectors at the house crawling all over so that I could get a good assessment of what I needed to do to renovate this home. We recieved a pretty dismal report, lots of things we know we would repair but some I was not counting on. Rory and I felt strongly that we should ask for a price correction so knowing that they were now 3 people interested in this home, 2 that were serious I really did not think this would end well. After much prayer, we put in a revised offer, much lower than our original offer. I also submitted with it a letter from our family saying how much we loved the home, how we would care for it, how we would use it for others benefit, how we wished to preserve and use it for the Kingdom of God. The mother who owned the house then against her sons wishes, decided to sell us the home and as she put it, "she wanted that nice family to bring the house back to life!"<br />
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Here is what we plan on doing in this home:<br />
1. Rory and I are going to sign up for Safe Families with the Orphan Justice Center. We will be a safe place for children to come in and be loved on and this family will house all these kids we have yet to know! Eventually we will adopt some siblings and enlarge our family.<br />
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2. We will have a small farm with chickens, cows and maybe a few horses that will serve the community with food. Part of this will also be a 2 acre garden where we will give the community around us free veggies!<br />
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3. We are going to start a marriage ministry where we will guide, counsel and encourage young newly married couples into what God wants and has designed for them in marriage. We will fill a critical gap in the lives of newlyweds and offer the wisdom God has given us over the years to help them move closer to one another in their union of marriage.<br />
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4. We will use the home for small group meetings, to pray for people and to show them the love of the Father. Rory and I will most likely counsel doing this through Men's and Women's groups.<br />
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5. We will set up self sufficient practices such as water conservation and reuse, independence from the electrical grid, and living off the land.<br />
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Below is a link to the house. Obviously the house oozes with character and charm. We will be renovating it when our trip ends but we will be keeping much of the charm in the house. All the original doors, knobs, floors, and such will be kept intact.<br />
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Thank you for praying for us and with us through this process. We are very grateful to call you our friends and we look forward to the years of memories to come in this home.<br />
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<a href="http://www.kansascityhomes.com/Kansas-City/9109-Highgrove-Rd-Kansas-City-MO_64149/1860267.aspx">http://www.kansascityhomes.com/Kansas-City/9109-Highgrove-Rd-Kansas-City-MO_64149/1860267.aspx</a><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606321056894480122noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958337242718275997.post-83374269825003409822014-01-15T08:09:00.000-08:002014-01-15T08:09:48.530-08:00Key West Florida<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We have recently spent the last week here in Key West, well actually Marathon Key. We are not too far away from the legendary 7 Mile Bridge. Our first impression of the Keys are, "we drove all the way down here for this." Don't get me wrong, we are grateful to be able to enjoy the warm weather for a few days and it surely does beat sitting in 20 degrees in many parts of our country, however it truly is not what we expected. We have been to some really nice places over the years and I would say other than the weather, Key West is a little rundown and needs some sprucing up! We are having fun though and we have done some really cool educational things while we were here. Tomorrow we are moving out to Naples for a few days before we head out on our cruise next Monday. Here are few things that we have done here at the keys. <br />
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We visited Mel Fisher's Treasure museum. This guy is pretty famous around these parts. Not only is he famous here but around the world. Mel and his team have found some of the richest shipwrecks in the history of shipwreck recovery. I remember years ago seeing a History Channel documentary on him and always wanting to visit his museum. Well, we had a chance and some of the things on display are really cool and really valuable! I can not believe that some of those treasures are just sitting there. A few years ago, I read that they were broken into and some gold bars were stolen! YIKES! that would ruin your day. Anyway, it was fun and I always enjoy seeing the kids faces when they are learning cool stuff like this. <br />
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Next, we visited Mallory Square. This was pretty neat to see with a whole lot of street performers out when we arrived. There was also a Royal Caribbean cruise ship that had docked so there were many people standing around and watching the performers. There were also many homeless, young vagabond travelers as well as weird, just plain weird, things going on. It definitely is not a place that I would go back to. <br />
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After that we took the kids for some ice cream, saw the southern most point of the continental US and headed back to the campground. <br />
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The following day we went to the Key West Botanical Gardens. As a family, we always try to visit a botanical garden everywhere we go. I, being a gardener and plant lover, just love to visit these places and see the hand of God in all his Glory. There are so many plants that we see that we are just awestruck at God's creativity. I mean some of these plants are so neat and cool looking only God can come up with them!<br />
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We also got to go fishing here at the docks at the campground, swam in the water and met some new people! It is always fun just to ride bikes, make new friends, and hang out with the kids. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ice cream anyone?</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cannon at Mel Fisher museum</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Little Sophia cheesin' it up!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Playing outside the RV</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Having dinner!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cool tree at the Botanical Garden</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Relaxing on the beach in Key West</td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606321056894480122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958337242718275997.post-34835067135025091512014-01-11T22:00:00.000-08:002014-01-11T22:00:12.761-08:00For the last six weeks..............Well, we went six weeks and no blog posts. Seriously! The time flies by when you have 4 kids and you are constantly in a state of movement. Sometimes I wonder how time could go by so quick. I remember being a kid and thinking it took forever for an hour to go by while I watched the clock dreaming of being my own "man" and making my own choices. Now I just want five minutes with no child asking for something or having to clean something up. I know you people with kids feel my pain...................<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sFU9qxE99eA/UtIuZsbXSyI/AAAAAAAAG4s/RwnLirMvnWk/s1600/20131224_183448.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sFU9qxE99eA/UtIuZsbXSyI/AAAAAAAAG4s/RwnLirMvnWk/s1600/20131224_183448.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sophia and Ma.</td></tr>
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So it has been six weeks since the last post. Many things have transpired in our lives but as far as the RV travel goes we were solely in one spot! We spent the holidays at my wife's parents house in LaGrange GA. It was a full six weeks of having fun, hanging out, spending time with family and it gave me some time to do some maintenance on the RV.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Gd3LAKj8Jw4/UtIuZl3qTDI/AAAAAAAAG4s/p13OmVaqUP0/s1600/20131207_164713.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Gd3LAKj8Jw4/UtIuZl3qTDI/AAAAAAAAG4s/p13OmVaqUP0/s1600/20131207_164713.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just talking! with some wine</td></tr>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sZxYz7qQOWU/UtIuZjhNrSI/AAAAAAAAG4s/1XyllU_nLoA/s1600/20131207_171518.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sZxYz7qQOWU/UtIuZjhNrSI/AAAAAAAAG4s/1XyllU_nLoA/s1600/20131207_171518.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a>While in LaGrange, Rory surprised me for my birthday weekend and took me on a romantic getaway into the Georgia mountains. We spent the weekend together at an awesome rustic mansion in the woods and we even got a room with no TV! It was really cool to be able to talk without having a conversation interrupted and just hearing the beauty of my wife speak! I love to hear her heart and to listen to her dreams. She is a great encourager with her words and always has a positive word to say to people. Her dad let me drive his new BMW 5 series and it was really cool. It brought back memories of the days when we had our 745 BMW. Wow what a machine those Germans make! Thanks Pops!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rcosdfdEhps/UtIuZlxMTeI/AAAAAAAAG4s/h7HPPZ6L66o/s1600/20131226_124141.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rcosdfdEhps/UtIuZlxMTeI/AAAAAAAAG4s/h7HPPZ6L66o/s1600/20131226_124141.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rental house kitchen</td></tr>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-60l1tsh6OGA/UtIuZvDQNXI/AAAAAAAAG4s/UAqPQeLv2HI/s1600/20131207_171857.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-60l1tsh6OGA/UtIuZvDQNXI/AAAAAAAAG4s/UAqPQeLv2HI/s1600/20131207_171857.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a>Other than spending our time in LaGrange, I had to fly back to KC for some business. I closed on two new properties for Upper Room Properties LLC and had one project finishing up. It was really good to see how my team is progressing with these renovations and I have to give a great big thank you to my friend Glenn, my general contractor and friend, who is really doing a great job while I am on this trip with my family. I am finding that in order to succeed and grow your business sometimes the owner (ME) just needs to get out of the way and put your trust in those around you. We keep expanding our rental portfolio in KC and by this time next year will have 20 income producing properties, all rehabbed and beautiful, and all with awesome tenants! While I was there I found a beautiful home that I knew the family would love to make our home when our trip ends! We put an offer in on it and it was accepted! We are going to be closing on that home in mid February and starting renovations shortly after that. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oAr-lTe3hOc/UtIuZvWIeKI/AAAAAAAAG4s/Q8ZIKxqBJQ8/s1600/20131224_183018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oAr-lTe3hOc/UtIuZvWIeKI/AAAAAAAAG4s/Q8ZIKxqBJQ8/s1600/20131224_183018.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Family Christmas pic</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JyYJVtC9Z5Y/UtIuZrNTN5I/AAAAAAAAG4s/Jm8u_s-FgtQ/s1600/20131208_083041.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JyYJVtC9Z5Y/UtIuZrNTN5I/AAAAAAAAG4s/Jm8u_s-FgtQ/s1600/20131208_083041.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I love this woman!</td></tr>
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Right now we are in the Florida Keys and will be in Florida until Feb 10th. I will be doing some blog posts of our journeys here over the next few weeks and putting up some new videos. Thanks for reading!<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606321056894480122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958337242718275997.post-80570346447476470122013-12-03T13:41:00.000-08:002013-12-03T13:44:12.056-08:00Pigeon Forge TN<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hatfields and McCoys dinner show</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">After we left the country capital of the world Nashville Tennessee, we headed on out to Pigeon Forge Tennessee. We drove through this area many times in the past always wanting to stop but we never did. Now that we actually had a chance to take a few days and check it out we did not want to miss that opportunity. It was only a few hours out of the way from where our final destination was anyway. I booked a campsite for 3 days at a really nice campground in town. It was a new a park, only a few years old, with all the amenities that you can think of. Once we got settled into our new campsite we very quickly went out and started exploring the local area. Pigeon Forge Tennessee is like a grown up Branson Missouri. There are many things to do there for families, for children, or for parents looking to get away for a weekend. The family agreed that one of the main things they wanted to do was a dinner theater show. I was able to secure tickets to a dinner theater show called the Hatfields and McCoys. In addition to those tickets, I was able to pick up tickets for the Smoky Mountain Christmas show. I was pretty excited for some redneck fun! I mean heck, who doesn't wanna see a show like this while you're getting served your dinner. It was one awesome good time. We laughed and we cheered a</span><span style="line-height: 20px;">nd we ate some good ol' Tennessee cooking!</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xd6P_oBiFLY/Up5Ktn3987I/AAAAAAAAGQQ/hbPMywFzEPM/s1600/20131123_124905.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xd6P_oBiFLY/Up5Ktn3987I/AAAAAAAAGQQ/hbPMywFzEPM/s200/20131123_124905.jpg" width="150" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Megan with the family!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4kV-llUlzug/Up5Ktt_CrHI/AAAAAAAAGQQ/ji1GNIk17c8/s1600/20131123_123610.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4kV-llUlzug/Up5Ktt_CrHI/AAAAAAAAGQQ/ji1GNIk17c8/s200/20131123_123610.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">We had a chance to see Santa!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xDDLooeEJqo/Up5Ktjz3b-I/AAAAAAAAGQQ/dsgmFmCXnOk/s1600/20131123_124018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xDDLooeEJqo/Up5Ktjz3b-I/AAAAAAAAGQQ/dsgmFmCXnOk/s200/20131123_124018.jpg" width="150" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">This was funny!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> The following day we headed out to the Smoky Mountain Heritage Center. Not only were the children able to learn really cool things about how people lived up to even 50 years ago but they got to see an old family friend. Megan and my wife used to lead a small group together at Port City Church eight years ago. She is now the Director of Education at the center. It was great to see my wife get a chance to see a friend from years back. It was a really cool place and I encourage you to visit if you have a chance. The drive there from Pigeon Forge went right through the Smoky Mountains and it was very beautiful. Although it was rainy and a little foggy, we enjoyed being out in the middle of the amazing mountains and being together as a family. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZogcXEvuAEA/Up5Ktrw1RJI/AAAAAAAAGQQ/LnzIFs0eK9g/s1600/20131123_124523.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZogcXEvuAEA/Up5Ktrw1RJI/AAAAAAAAGQQ/LnzIFs0eK9g/s200/20131123_124523.jpg" width="150" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Coon skin cap</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent;">After a few days of visiting some other tourist attractions, we packed up and headed south towards Atlanta to meet up at Rory's parents house in La Grange GA for the holidays. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> We had a great visit and will definitely return. I think the next time we go though, it will be in the summer when we can take advantage of more of the outside activities. We had two nights where it got down into the 20's and Penelope London did not like that too much! Overall, this was a successful adventure!</span></div>
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</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606321056894480122noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958337242718275997.post-50709234146558045532013-11-29T07:54:00.000-08:002013-11-29T08:03:41.440-08:00Nashville Tennessee <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rory and I enjoying Centennial Park</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nashville Parthenon</td></tr>
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We visited Nashville when we left Mammoth Cave KY. This has been a place that as a family, we have been wanting to stop at for quite some time. On our travels over the years we have crossed through Nashville dozens of times but never actually took the time to stop and enjoy the city. I found an RV park right outside the city limits which gave us room to settle in but also be out of the of the hustle and bustle. We ended up staying for 4 days experiencing what we could in that small time frame. Of course the Opryland Hotel was on our list to see. We also ate some good ol' Nashville barbecue as well as some great tacos at a hidden gem of a restaurant named Taco Mamacita. We were also able to visit Centennial Park and the Nashville Parthenon. I never would have thought that a complete replica of the Parthenon would be in Tennessee but none the less someone built one! One of my favorite highlights of the trip was visiting the Tennessee State Museum. I always enjoy getting my kids into an environment where they learn and be stimulated by their surroundings in a good way. This museum was full of educational material on the homesteader, family life in the wilderness, and of course the development of Tennessee. We always learn interesting facts when we visit places like this. During our time there we also had to dance! Here are the boys dancing away, this time Sophia jumped in. We will definitely return to Nashville! <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taco Mamacita, notice Owen's face!</td></tr>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606321056894480122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958337242718275997.post-72923942875150086162013-11-27T07:14:00.000-08:002013-11-27T07:14:54.074-08:00Canada! Oh Canada How did I forget you?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Canada, the land of Eh'</div>
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I totally forgot to blog about Canada.......... Those Canadians can never catch a break. We visited the awesome land of Eh' for 3 days while we were in PA. We took the time to make the drive in our van and keep Penelope London at our friends house in the driveway. I was able to get a great deal on a hotel and get the family some space to operate in for a few days. The drive was not bad, only around 4 hours to get there from our PA location. The scenic drive was outstanding. We saw Lake Erie and hundreds of grape vine fields. We also saw Fall coming into the beauty that it is with all the leaves changing color. Thank God that we got a chance to see the beauty of this. Everything worked out well and the kids had a great time. The sheer amount of water coming over those falls is awesome! I summed up our trip in this awesome video! We hope you enjoy!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606321056894480122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958337242718275997.post-2952888467635795152013-11-26T10:19:00.001-08:002013-11-26T10:19:46.001-08:00Mammoth Cave National Park, Mammoth Cave KY <br />
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<i><b><u><span style="font-size: large;">Mammoth Cave National Park</span></u></b></i><br />
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After leaving Big Bone Lick State Park we traveled 4 hours south to Mammoth Cave KY. Now I know most people have seen the inside of a cave but this cave is over 400 miles in length! This is one of the most massive caves ever found and it is still being explored. This was a National Park and it was a guided tour given by a park ranger. It was really cool to have the kids experience this cave tour. They have never seen anything like this before so they were pretty excited to get into the cave and see what it was all about.<br />
The cave was so cool. It apparently was found by a local man who laid claim to it in the early 1920's.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Epic stalactite formation</td></tr>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6vHN5sUZ3U0/UpTjsiyBUQI/AAAAAAAAGLA/N-epjEAnSXo/s1600/DSC_0883.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6vHN5sUZ3U0/UpTjsiyBUQI/AAAAAAAAGLA/N-epjEAnSXo/s200/DSC_0883.JPG" width="200" /></a> He used the cave as a tourist attraction up until the time the Park Service came in and took the land over. Yeah! Thank you government! <br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><i>Interesting fact, the stalactites and stalagmites take 100 years to grow 1 inch!</i> </span><br />
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The most interesting part of the tour was when the park ranger took his flashlight and shined it on the ceiling to reveal hundreds of cave crickets hanging on the ceiling! It looked like something our of horror flick and it really freaked Rory and Alli out. Owen wanted to catch one, Sophia didn't have a clue and Ethan was trying to get away. Apparently since the cave is dark, (completely dark), they respond to sound. Once one responds then they communicate to each other and pretty soon a whole bunch of them are coming at ya! Can you imagine yelling in the cave and having hundreds of voracious cave crickets coming to rip your face off? Yeah me either......(they didn't really attack us but they do use this sense for direction!)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />Cave entrance, pretty ho-hum! </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Frozen Niagara</td></tr>
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The entrance was kind of ho-hum but it soon opened up in a labyrinth of extraordinary stalactites and stalagmites. Some of the areas of the cave were up to 80 feet high and made up really cool experiences to see. One particular area was called frozen Niagara. It resembled Niagara falls frozen. Another area was called the drapery room because well it looked like drapes hanging off the wall. The tour concluded by the Park Ranger turning off all the lights and the group staying quiet. Let me just say, I don't ever want to get lost in a cave with no light. It is literally as dark as dark can get. It kind of made me think of hell because it is without light and boy was this cave not letting light in. We ended our trip riding back in the park service bus that smelled like a cross between burnt tacos and sweaty dog. All in all we had so much fun visiting this really cool park. I would really like to encourage you to visit this cave if you have a chance!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">burnt taco, sweaty dog bus</td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606321056894480122noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958337242718275997.post-86773089673499155772013-11-24T15:41:00.003-08:002013-11-24T15:41:46.282-08:00Travelling south, Big Bone Lick State Park Kentucky Since we left the Pittsburgh area several weeks ago, we have been making out way south to Rory's parents house in Georgia. We have been taking it pretty easy driving only around 4-5 hours a day and then stopping to rest and then travelling again the next day. We stopped off several places the last few weeks to teach and learn and experience new things. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;">Mastodon skull!</span></td></tr>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BDSPx2QD5TA/UpKMMxPAr2I/AAAAAAAAGJM/mRVxoVecIPg/s1600/20131119_103909.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BDSPx2QD5TA/UpKMMxPAr2I/AAAAAAAAGJM/mRVxoVecIPg/s200/20131119_103909.jpg" width="150" /></a> When we left Pittsburgh our first stop was in a place called Big Bone Lick State Park. I know the name is funny but the word lick actually means pond. It was a place where people first discovered Mastodon and Woolly Mammoth bones and other animals. Apparently the animals used to travel to the area to lick the salt that was streaming out of the ground. The area is actually a large sulfur spring that smells like rotten eggs. This stuff is supposed to be pretty tasty to animals and actually needed for humans. The animals would travel in packs to this area and then while enjoying the goodness of the salt licks they would start to sink in the boggy terrain and became vulture bait. All of sudden you basically have a killing ground for anything that has weight enough to sink in the bog, to die an early death. Humans soon found the springs and for a certain period of time the salt was harvested by indians then later by those moving west to establish their new homes. The springs are not very active anymore but evidence of all this previous activity is still being found in the archaeological digs that are going on today. Apparently this park and area has supplied most of the museums of the world with their Woolly Mammoth and Mastodon tusks and bones. It is also widely known of in Europe. Who would of thought some podunk park in KY would be world famous! Here are some pics of our time in Big Bone Lick State Park, KY.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stuck but their bellies are full!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These guys were pretty massive!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Owen loving his sister.</td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606321056894480122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958337242718275997.post-32597878805448935652013-11-14T19:52:00.001-08:002013-11-14T19:52:24.403-08:00Travelling in PAFor the last several weeks we have been in PA visiting family, taking in the sights and learning along the way. We made our way up to Butler PA to visit with some great friends of ours, Cory and Jayme Steighner and their family. We always enjoy spending time with them and it never seems to be dull when our kids and theirs get together and we get to spend time together. This also is the first time in our trip that we had a cold spell hit our RV. I was really anxious to see how it would perform. Our other RV, the BBT, as we affectionately call her, was very hard to manage in anything below freezing. Our new RV, Penelope London, has held up quite well. I have been using the diesel firing burner to keep it warm while parked at our friends driveway. Normally I would use the 3 heat pumps but without a proper 50AMP plug I was kind of stuck to burn the diesel to keep it from freezing and to keep us warm while we slept. It seems to be working and I am quite certain that we won't have the problems we had with the other one.<br />
I also had the chance to go to Ikea in Pittsburgh. I really love that store. I only know a few people who don't enjoy a shopping trip to Ikea, my wife being one of them. I was on the lookout for any new design style I can put into my renovations that I do on my investment houses as well as any new kitchen designs I can incorporate. I took the kids with me when I went. Thank you Ikea for the kids play area! That one hour of peace was awesome! I met a woman there by the name of Kate who was also putting her kids into the play area. We got to talking and she had asked why my kids were not in school and it moved into what we were doing and such for the next year. She was so excited because her husband and her wanted to do something like that with their kids. So Kate, if you read this, it was great talking to you!<br />
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We took a little detour into Ontario Canada for the last couple days. Another blog will follow on that. Thanks for keeping up with us and our journey. I will be posting a map soon of our travels so far as well as what is going on for the next several months.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606321056894480122noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958337242718275997.post-4099743054846797452013-11-01T20:10:00.002-07:002013-11-01T20:10:18.366-07:00New York CityIn my previous occupation as a stock and options trader, I would occasionally have to take a flight and visit New York City. Because of the nature of the financial heartbeat of the world being centered upon this city, it was necessary for me to have to conduct business in a personal nature. I never really liked going there. I was never really a fan of leaving my family and getting on a plane to go to a place where most of the people are so busy pursuing things that have no life. I say this tongue and cheek as obviously there are fine people in NYC, but for the most part I never enjoyed the millions living in the city who most of the time could not care about the one next to them. I know it's kind of harsh but it was my perspective from visiting there on business for over 12 years.<br />
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I am happy to say now that I thoroughly enjoyed my time with my family in New York City this past weekend. We had a great stay and a wonderful time. <br />
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Our accommodations were right on the times square madhouse and my kids thought that was just awesome. We were on a corner of the Millennium Building and it was a nice room. It served as our HQ while we were there and we were positioned nicely to do the things and see the sights we wanted to. Some of our great sights that we saw were the Empire State Building. We bought the really expensive tickets and took the whole family up to the observation deck! It was so worth every penny! Next we went on a boat cruise which was very informative. The captain definitely loved being a New Yorker and was very entertaining. We finished the cruise by staring at Lady Liberty for a few minutes while the captain discussed our freedoms that we have as being Americans. It was really cool. The big highlight of the trip was being able to see some of our family. My wife had an opportunity to see her Aunts and Uncles and her Grandmother. We got to spend the afternoon our in Long Island talking and visiting. It was really a blast.<br />
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The trip was short and of course it went by quick but none the less it was worth the time, energy, traffic and driving. We left our motorhome parked in front of my sisters house for the weekend and drove the minivan to the city. I think it was a pretty good idea. <br />
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Here is a video, courtesy of Magisto, that I made of NYC. Also some pics of our adventures over the weekend! Thanks for keeping up with us! We have had almost 5000 unique visitors now who have read our blog! pretty sweet.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606321056894480122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958337242718275997.post-64861495927284466692013-10-24T19:38:00.001-07:002013-10-24T19:38:00.951-07:00Dancing!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
When you feel like dancing.........you just have to DANCE!</div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606321056894480122noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958337242718275997.post-7073391936055898932013-10-24T19:28:00.001-07:002013-10-24T19:28:47.716-07:00Time goes by quick!OK I admit. I have been lazy!I know it has been almost three weeks since my last blog post. We have been having such a good time that I just have not made time to blog about our adventures. Since my last post, we left Williamsburg after spending a week there learning about the American Revolution, the first settlement in America, and about the battle of Yorktown. We returned to Wilmington to finish up the eviction of a non paying tenant. After spending almost two months in Wilmington, the family was certainly ready to leave and go about our way on our journey. We had a great time while we there and our hearts<br />
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were filled. God has been so good to allow us to have such a soaking time in Wilmington visiting old friends and preparing us for the journey to come. Strangely while we were in Wilmington, we started to miss Kansas City! This has been a foreign concept to us because we have known for several years that God has called us to live there but it always felt like a temporary place to be. Recently however we have been missing our home and talking about what it is going to be like when we return. These are all good things for our hearts and for my kids. I want them to know that where God calls us to be is home. I want them to have faith in the Lord to know that He desires what is best for us.<br />
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A quick rundown of what we have been doing:<br />
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We went to Williamsburg and visited Yorktown, Jamestow and colonial Williamsburg<br />
We went to Richmond and visited our great friend Marni!<br />
We went to Hampton Air and Space Museum and learned a lot of cool and interesting facts.<br />
We visited the United States Marine Corps Museum, and lost our cat Izze :(<br />
We went to Washington DC and had a fun day learning about our American history.<br />
We visited Baltimore and went to the Maryland Science Center then visited with family.<br />
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Here are some pics of our adventures:<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606321056894480122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958337242718275997.post-14500435682033350762013-10-02T14:59:00.000-07:002013-10-02T14:59:17.475-07:00Jamestown, America's first permanent English ColonyToday we went to Jamestown VA. WOW! It was so much fun. There was so much to see and to interact with. I really think the kids were on sensory overload. Not only did we get to learn about the history of Jamestown but we also got to go onto replica ships from the period. The Susan Constant was the biggest ship of all. It was hard to believe but over 100 people lived on the ship for 5 months while making the journey to America. It totaled in size of sq. footage only a little bigger than our RV! We had a great time learning and listening and asking questions, and boy, did they have a lot of questions. Which reminds me, does anyone know where I can find the off button to a 3 year old? Mine seemed to not have one when she was born and is a verbal machine with no end. Questions beget questions and most of the time getting an answer is not on her priority list. My dad used to say I talked because I liked to hear myself! I think that I passed the trait on to her. Amazing how things come back full circle.<br />
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Tomorrow were off to Yorktown and then Colonial Williamsburg. I am really looking forward though most of all to the all you can eat seafood buffet at Captain Georges, YUM!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606321056894480122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958337242718275997.post-88519245984873243132013-09-29T17:40:00.001-07:002013-09-29T17:40:29.852-07:00Our awesome weekend!This weekend Rory and I had an opportunity to go to Ocracoke Island and attend a wedding with (wait for it.....................) NO KIDS! Here is a video that I made of our weekend trip. Props to the app Magisto, which took 20 minutes of video and cut it into a 2 minute movie. Great app! <br />
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The kids all stayed with friends and had sleepovers. I really think they were blessed just as much as Rory and I were. We had such a great time and I know they did as well. <br />
In other news:<br />
1. School starts back up tomorrow <br />
2. We are heading to Williamsburg VA on Tuesday to teach the kids about Jamestown, Williamsburg and Yorktown <br />
3. We negotiated the purchase of another investment property in Kansas City<br />
4. Rory and I still have all the dance moves we had back in the day! We proved it at the wedding! <br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606321056894480122noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958337242718275997.post-26846201142326812492013-09-24T05:38:00.003-07:002013-09-24T05:38:58.880-07:00WE'RE FINISHED!<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Well, it finally came to pass. The last box went into the storage unit and it was sealed. Nothing will disturb it for at least a year if not longer. All of our possessions, keepsakes, clothes, household fit into a 10 x 40 storage locker. It was packed floor to ceiling and it was only by the hand of God that it all fit! You never realize how much "stuff" you have until you have to move it. I am fully determined when we get home from our odyssey to downsize from all our stuff and keep life simple with simple stuff. I think I am going to enact a law into family legislation saying if you bring something into the house then something must also go out. We will call it the BJITJO law. BJITJO stands for "Bring junk in, take junk out!" Below is a pic of how crammed the unit was! One also of the before.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8w7XS8MfWxI/UkGHeo93A2I/AAAAAAAADnU/kNrgshGhjuk/s1600/20130917_153129.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8w7XS8MfWxI/UkGHeo93A2I/AAAAAAAADnU/kNrgshGhjuk/s200/20130917_153129.jpg" width="150" /></a>We had several people come and help us pack and move. It is always really cool to share the love of packing with others! I mean, really we wanted to keep all that goodness to ourselves but in the end we just felt like sharing it with others who were BEGGING to help! In all reality though, we were honored by those that helped us. Our friend Heather Bryant, who has been such an honor to have as a friend was there for several days helping my wife. She is an amazing woman of God and has a powerful testimony behind her of being trafficked and redeemed by God. We love her and her hubby Joel so much. Kari Smithson our KC pal came over and helped Rory pack as well. Our friends Roger and Sara also helped. Sara did most of the work, (sorry Roger :) ). We also had some IHOP guys that came that I paid to help do some of the heavy lifting. Lorejas who has worked on my houses before brought his friend Yanik. We also had Adam Castro, a guy who has always been eager to work for me and he is so zealous for the Lord. In the end we got the job finished and the house was cleaned and ready to go for the new home owners. We did our best to make it right for them fixing some small issues in the end to have it be a place they can immediately feel welcomes with no issues.<br />
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So this morning we are leaving MO one last time and getting back to our trip. Our trip will take us back to Wilmington NC for a few more weeks until the eviction proceedings are over and we can get our townhouse on the market after that to sell. Rory and I have decided to move our assets out to MO and sell the houses we own in NC over the next year. It will be easier on us to manage. It also means nicer ROI numbers on the business side. Some of you have inquired as to what we do for money. Pretty good question. The answer is, I traded stocks and options as a day trader for 12 years. The Lord anointed me to do so. I was very good at it because the Lord's hand was on me. After 12 years I retired and used the money and am still using the money we had made from that endeavor to purchase real estate. We currently live off the rental incomes of properties we own in NC and MO. We plan on purchasing 12 more properties over the next two years to add to our portfolio after that we are awaiting God's plan! <br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nSnKQAgCtV0/UkGHq871eTI/AAAAAAAADnc/fZRkf4wZnII/s1600/C360_2013-09-10-18-27-25-799.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nSnKQAgCtV0/UkGHq871eTI/AAAAAAAADnc/fZRkf4wZnII/s320/C360_2013-09-10-18-27-25-799.jpg" width="320" /></a>As we travel over the next few days keep our family in your prayers. If you have anything you would like prayer for please comment below. I would love to lead our family in prayers for you. We will arrive back in Wilmington on Thursday. I will try to blog more over the next couple days when God puts stuff on my heart. For now, I am grateful, content and joyful at the prospects of our adventure. I am overjoyed that the Lord has given us this opportunity and respite to fill our hearts and love each other well. Thank you to everyone for your encouraging words to us. We thank you all! Here is a random pic of our family eating one of our fav's MEXICAN!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606321056894480122noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958337242718275997.post-47268187520206172412013-09-12T09:11:00.002-07:002013-09-12T09:11:14.224-07:0029 days in WilmingtonWell after almost a month of being here in Wilmington NC, we are preparing to return to Lee's Summit MO on Sunday. We are sad to leave and we have had such a great time being here. Our trip plans have been interrupted due to the sale of our house. While we are super excited about our primary house selling it has thrown a kink into our travelling plans. So for now we are going back to MO to pack up our house and then sign it over to the new owners. When we return this time next year to MO after our journey we will purchase some land (20-100 acres) and start building our own home with our own designs. We are also eagerly awaiting this!<br />
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We made some new friends here at the campground. Two of those new friends Milo and Felix, are 10 and 8. They love to catch lizards and they are being home schooled as well! The kids have been hanging out with them and spending time riding bikes, playing outside and playing games. It's really good to see them experiencing life like it used to be. I remember being a kid and being gone all day from the house with the only rule being come back before dark. Those days were awesome exploring and learning. I learned so much about life, friends, responsibility without even realizing it. I want my kids to have and do the same. Rory agreed with me to let the kids ride bikes around the park without supervision! That was a huge step forward. I am sure that many more of those decisions are to come.<br />
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Home schooling is going well. We are teaching the kids fun and cool concepts everyday. The other day we did an experiment. In the picture above you can see we made a solar hot air balloon. We took 3 trash bags and taped them into a large cylinder. After that we filled them with air and tied it off on the open end. Then we waited for the air to get hot enough inside to start rising the balloon in the air. It was a great time because we had an opportunity to teach on experiments, hypothesis, and conclusions. The experiment was not fully a success but they learned anyway. We are trying to do field trips and experiments like this weekly to keep the kids learning in so many ways.<br />
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Also while we have been here we had the not so great job of evicting a non-paying tenant :(. This is the first time in 10 years of owning property that I have ever had to do this. It has been the main reason we have been here so long. I really tried and tried to work things out with this tenant but he is just continuing to make foolish, prideful choices. So I resorted to the court system to have him evicted. Please pray for his heart to learn through this experience. I have to say, I have had so much compassion and empathy for him. I truly desire him to prosper and at this point have no other choice than to evict him. Hopefully, at 23, he can learn from this mistake and prosper from hard taught wisdom in the future.<br />
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Thank you all for reading!<br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606321056894480122noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958337242718275997.post-71097386979149671502013-09-04T10:32:00.000-07:002013-09-04T10:32:29.157-07:00Second week of school and lots of fun!This week marked the second week that Rory and I have been home schooling or road schooling the kids. I just want to say that we are having a great time! I love teaching my kids. In every way I just love watching their faces light up when they understand new concepts and ideas. I am so grateful for this opportunity to spend so much time being intentional with them. There is not a day that I do not thank God for this. <br />
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Rory is still searching for a rhythm to all of this. She very much prefers a system or a plan to be done repeatedly not only for herself but also for the expectations of the kids. We will hopefully have a full routine nailed down here pretty soon but for the most part we are changing things a little everyday to find the best routine. Today we introduced the Spanish lessons to Allison and Ethan. This Rosetta Stone is crazy awesome! I turned it on and started it for Alli and within minutes she was up and learning using immersion. For those of you who don't know immersion is being fully enveloped in all aspects of language to learn. By picture, by word, by sound. Just like you learn when you are a child and you are learning in your environment Rosetta Stone does the same thing. Now, while I am only on day one I was really impressed with the technique. I also am doing it with them as to be a better teacher. I do know Spanish from my missionary trips and four years of studying in high school but this immersion refresher is sharpening those already learned skills. <br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EDgJsn3LrdQ/UidrO_BiXmI/AAAAAAAADR8/ZaDRzX6mz3E/s1600/20130903_065848.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EDgJsn3LrdQ/UidrO_BiXmI/AAAAAAAADR8/ZaDRzX6mz3E/s200/20130903_065848.jpg" width="150" /></a>While school is underway we are also using our time in Wilmington to continue to hang out with our friends. It has been great to come back and see great friends who have loved us and been intentional with reaching out to us since we moved. I would have to say that these close friends have been encouraging to us in so many ways. We love spending time with them. Yesterday I went fishing with one of those such friends, Mark Tippet. Mark is one of those guys that would do anything for you at anytime and walk with you while your doing it. I have had the opportunity to see him personally minister to dozens of people and have also had the chance to see his heart shine the light of the Lord to so many. I love being around his family because they understand what it means for their hearts to pour out to others in intentional relationships. Anyway, we went fishing with his oldest son Luke and were able to get on the fish early. We went out around 6:30 and were catching fish within 30 minutes. This is a picture of the big drum I caught!<br />
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This one measured out to 26 1/2 inches and was rather porky. Mark also got a great drum that was slightly bigger soon after. We were using top water bobbers, I think they called them...... After that we went out to the jetty and used some mullet minnows to go after some bigger drum. We did not have much luck with drum but Mark got onto something big and meaty but was unable to land him. I happen to think it was a shark but who knows. <br />
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I love fishing. I love hunting. I guess I am just a plain guy with simple desires. I don't even care if I get anything when I go. I just love being out there in nature, in creation. Things are a lot more clear to me when I am pondering and communing with God out there. That is one of the reasons I love it so much. It just speaks to my heart!<br />
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A night at the Raines.........<br />
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This is my friend David. David is the most likable guy in existence. I met David when I bought a car for someone and told him he needed to deliver it to them to take part in the blessing. He called me a few days later after the deal and asked if I wanted to hang out. Soon after he was coming to my small group and a friendship was born. I love it when God uses one thing, one blessing met for someone else, and blesses you more in the process. David and his wife Anna were two of those great blessings! Below is a video of us stuffing our kids in a trash can full of water. Hey, what do you expect from a bunch of little kids and two dads with kid like hearts! They loved it and had fun. We had a great time at their house hanging out and talking about God stories. They provided dinner for us and it was so awesome! </div>
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David built the greatest backyard awesomeness for kids in the history of backyard awesomeness! He made a monstrous playground built kid tough from large lumber and will provide decades of enjoyment even centuries. When were long gone, that playground will still be getting used because it's not going anywhere. In the second video you can see it in the background. I think it took him three months to build. This man is really devoted to his kids, and he loves to build stuff. <br />
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