When you have asked for God's protection....

After heading out of Arizona we turned south toward New Mexico and Texas to spend some time with yet more family.

God has been gracious as we have traveled these hundreds of miles; to give us safe travels although there have been opportunities to pause for thanksgiving.

 As we were traveling in New Mexico, the traffic slowed.  Several moments later we passed a pick up in the meridian turned on it's roof with  personal belongings leaving a trail for several miles. After a prayer for the driver we continued on.
Later in Texas we pulled into a rest area for lunch and a little walk.  After an hour or so we buckled up and were ready to go again. It was evident immediately that our plans were to be delayed. The next 3 hours we spent reading the engine manual and attempting to 'fire it up." It was  Good Friday and Easter weekend so the hope of finding help was not very promising.  As a last resort Jim pulled out a safety chip and replaced it again. The roar of a running engine never sounded better!!
In the midst of frustration, we were reminded of something we had read several years ago. The author had challenged.."When you have prayed and ask for God's traveling mercies...don't question when you find yourself delayed.  Instead be thankful for His protection even though you may never know what was in your path!" We decided this was a perfect time to put that into action. Amazing how that changes the perspective!! He loves us THAT much!! (When we stopped for the night an impressive storm had passed through the area ahead of us)

Our travels continued and we arrived safely in Duncanville, TX to the welcoming hugs of our nephew, his wife, and later our niece and family.
In our 50 years of marriage, many of those years have been spent living a far distance from family. Separation is often difficult and family visits become a treasure. This certainly proved to be true as we spent hours these past few days sharing old memories and making new ones.

Easter was spent together,celebrating the ressurrection of our Savior and the blessing of family!

Today found us back on the road excited for the adventures to come.

Finding Happiness in Whatever STATE I'm In

The past 6 months have taken us across the country and back,

with many adventures and family time added to our memory book. We have resided for a time in Montana, Oregon, Washington, Florida, Utah and now Nevada. Some for months, some for weeks and some for just a day or two. This vagabond thing isn't so bad!! New friends and 'favorite places' every day.

Life in the motor home as HOME has truly begun. These Vagabonds have gathered their belongings {a portion anyway) tucked them in to their new spaces and are ON THE ROAD but taking HOME along.
We returned to Montana from Florida...took note of the snow, ice and cold and headed West leaving our the motor home in the throes of winter. We spent a couple weeks visiting family, soaking up love and hugs. Playing on the beach and waiting for dry roads and a little warmer weather to make its' way north. Our wish was finally  made reality. We hooked the car behind the motor home and pulled away from Tim's home in Stevensville. We drove to Butte and  after spending the night with Tom's family we headed South looking for sunshine.
Several hours of travel later we found ourselves in Utah having found the sunshine and warmth. We shed the sweatshirts and long pants for t shirts and shorts found some fresh water for the tanks and we could now begin to make this place home!
After another day on the road we pulled in to Kings Row RV in Las Vegas for the night. Not before a bit of adventure though. I had programed Vegas into the GPS so it had every intention of helping us get a true tour of the town. I quickly changed the city of desired destination but not before getting a taste of the traffic that comes with the city.  Upon waking the next morning that one night turned into a decision to set roots for a WEEK! There was cleaning and organizing to be done!!
So the past couple days have found me inside sorting winter and summer clothes, combining all the doubles into one,doing a bit of shopping and cleaning, cleaning, cleaning.
Jim had outside repairs and chores to do. He quickly met all the neighbors and got the lay of the land.  Men with tools made themselves and their tools quickly available.
The repairs are done the tools returned {with a jar of homemade jam as a THANKS } and today he hung the family pictures, It is taking on the feel and appearance of home.
With the clutter gone and peace restored we are hoping to take the car on a few side trips and explore the state of Nevada then maybe doing a little jaunt into AZ with Pennsylvania on the horizan!!


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