Finding Our Bearings in Florida

I haven’t updated in a while and it’s been a monkey on my back so today serves as a catchup of sorts.

We pulled our camper out of Hart Ranch in South Dakota and began our trek down to Florida.  We’re all settled in and ready to catch you all up.

In summary, in the past 3 weeks we’ve:

1. Said goodbye and shed tears with some of the best friends we’ve ever had.
2. Driven 1,834 across the country with 4 children, a dog, our 96 Winnebago, and our minivan.
3. Enjoyed eating Chik-fil-A 3 times.
4. Chased down our master escapee dog 5 different times, once near a busy street.
5. Had the brakes fixed on the Winnie unexpectedly in Birmingham.
6. Met a dear online friend in Birmingham.
7. Pulled the RV through Nashville during heavy traffic for a stop at Trader Joe’s. INSANE!!
8. Enjoyed the white sand beaches of the Emerald Coast.
9. Got sunburned at the campground pool.

So now we are trying to find our bearings and settle into some sort of normalcy.

Mark started work just a few days after we got here and the kids and I have been plugging away at school. The campground we are at has a nice pool that’s been luring us out on warm days.

But there are 2 issues that have been especially hard.

Issue #1

The lack of friends for the kids. . .

I love how my kids make friends easily. However, In this campground, there are very few kids. The kids that have come by, leave after 3 days it seems.  So I’ve been busier trying to help them wade through this time.

I think this would come with any move but maybe the camper situation makes me even more sensitive to the absence of friends. They are adjusting.

Correction – we are adjusting.

This brings me to our 2nd issue.

Issue #2

We lack a 2nd vehicle.

This of course limits us to do much outside the campground.

By moving here, we were able to reconnect with friends from San Antonio and Germany. The friends we’ve met up with from Germany are letting us borrow their vehicle this week.  Oh, it’s been so nice!!

Some may say, “Just buy a vehicle.”  Yes, we could do that.  But financially, it is not as easy as it would seem. We are nearly debt-free and not about to add more debt or payments to our plan.

Overall as a family, we are striving to be content. Striving to be in a place of joyfulness and embrace where we are at this stage of our lives.  Never have we been less burdened with debt or commitments.  We are in a place where God can move us or tell us to set down roots.  We’re open and listening.

I realize more and more that my life is full of an attitude of discontentment.  It’s always been something with me.  For once I just want to rest and be content.

So my goals are to:

• Grumble less.
• Unplug from the Internet more.
• Play with and enjoy my kids.
• Pray often.

Simple goals really, but I’m a simple gal who needs simple goals.