ANOTHER GOODBYE

Back in 1984, right before I met Dave, he bought a brand new 1984 Dodge Conversion Van, mainly for the long fishing trips to Canada that he took every June. After we married, it became an ideal family vacation vehicle and we made many a long trips with the kids, in comfort. Traveling to the Black Hills of South Dakota, National Parks such as Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, Zion, Arches, Bryce Canyon, Capital Reef, Mesa Verde and all over Colorado, there were a lot of family memories that were made during those 17 years.

Back in the day with it's swivel Captain's chairs and tables it was pretty stylish but over time, age and the elements began to take its toll and it was affectionately named, "The War Wagon". In 1985, Dave's Dad fell asleep behind the wheel on one of their long haul fishing trips to Canada and took out a highway exit sign. Besides ripping off the passenger side view mirror and doing major damage to the body and ruining a canoe, they were fortunate that it wasn't much worse. Afterwards, the van could never hold the paint job and it would flake off and rust. The War Wagon did more than just go on family vacations, it hauled kids to Awana meetings, Wednesday night Youth Group and Youth trips back when Dave and I were Youth leaders. There came a day however when we traded it in and bought a brand new FORD Conversion Van to carry on where the War Wagon had left off. (Unfortunately any War Wagon pictures I have are already in Montana).

The new FORD van was pretty cool with its built in TV and VHS player, "party lights" in the roof and the bench seat which folded down into a bed; it was even more comfortable than the War Wagon. It immediately assumed the same role and before long was nicknamed, "The Mothership" by Charlie because of all the kids I was always transporting. The Mothership had a good run for a few years but as our children grew up, began driving, the van got used less and less. Still, there were a lot of great memories as well. Banff, Jasper, Grand Canyon and the Southwest, Colorado and Sioux Narrows, Ontario vacations, family camp outs with our best friends, all fun times.

Campout with the Roseland Family outside of Austin,2001

A Colorado family vacation! 2001

Yellowstone 2004

Laura's Graduation trip to the Southwest in 2006

One of the most memorable moments ever was on our 2007 trip of Yellowstone, Glacier, Banff and Jasper when Dave took a drink of chocolate milk that had soured and spewed it out the window, covering the side of the van! Charlie and I laughed ourselves silly!

Aly and Ashley's first trip to the Motlong's cabin in Sioux Narrows, Ontario.

Jacey used to call it the "Gigi Van". Here she is tuckered out on the 2009 Yellowstone vacation.

After the 2009 Yellowstone vacation, we stopped in Cody, WY where we took possession of our custom made coffee table made by our friend Rich Holstein from reclaimed wood out of the Old Faithful Inn.

Since buying the Mountainview Hideaway in 2012 and all of the kids are now grown, "The Mothership" has been relegated to April trips to Montana where I have loaded it to overflowing bringing up some of our stuff.

We also let Charlie drive it up to the Mountainview Hideaway with friends over their Spring Break.

All of this is leading up to today. One last look...

Dave and I believe that we are called to be good stewards of the blessings God has generously given us; whether it is our finances, our abilities, our time or our possessions, they all come from Him. We made the decision a couple of months ago that we would donate "The Mothership" for someone else to use. Our church, Cross Timbers Community Church is in partnership with different ministries which made it easier for us to decide, whom to consider. My prayer is that The Mothership continue to be used as a tool to further the Kingdom just as it did all those years ago when it was the official youth group taxi. We've had a good run and now it's time to pay it forward...

ANOTHER U HAUL MOVE

I can hardly believe it but we have survived the last U Haul move and we still like each other! Seriously, moving across the country is very stressful in and of itself but throw in purging and down-sizing thirty years of marriage and it gets a little crazy! Dave once again created a loading diagram for the truck and realized that unlike our April trip, we needed to upgrade from a 20 foot truck to a 26 foot one. Midst all of the packing and protecting furniture, I condensed down my every day household items into three categories: Take to Montana, Donate and Trash. Whatever is left and is going to Montana HAS to fit in the car when we make the final drive in November.

Dismantling the log bed and emptying out our bedroom!

Taking apart the roll top computer desk and setting up the computer on a card table, our decorating style is beginning to resemble "Poor college student"!

Dave quickly determined that, while there were some differences in the way the two different sized trucks handled, it wasn't that much more difficult driving the larger truck. The truck held everything we had planned to take and with room left over, we were able to fit in those items we had been uncertain about.

We left at 3:50 AM on Saturday September 3rd. Dave wanted to make it to Buffalo, Wyoming that first day. To say I was less than thrilled to be on the road for 22 hours would be the understatement of all time, especially when we lost our air conditioning coming through Texas and the floorboard on the passenger side got so hot that it melted my deodorant in my overnight bag! I was miserable! There was also the stress of mountain passes to navigate. As we descended Raton Pass crossing over from New Mexico to Colorado, we pulled over to check the load and discovered that the brakes were smoking! I wondered what that burning smell was!!?

We checked into our room and were in bed by 1 AM and slept for a few hours and were back on the road at 6 AM, bound for Montana! The outside temperatures were much more pleasant and even though we had rain off and on, the second day was better than the first. I convinced Dave to stop at the state line for a picture.

About an hour south of Billings we had an idiot light come on in the dashboard panel. With no manual in the glove box to determine what it meant, I began looking up U Haul businesses in Billings hoping we would make it there. Of course worst case scenarios start playing our in your head thinking of ALL the stuff we had loaded up in the truck and what a nightmare it would be to transload everything into another truck! I managed to view the digital manual on my smart phone and determined that the light was an indicator that it needed an oil change. Dodged a bullet!

The Mission Mountains north of Missoula welcoming us home...

After a brief stop in Polson for some groceries, we pulled into the Mountainview Hideaway before dark, thankful to be out of that truck. Unloading would commence at day break!

WEEKEND WORK

This was our last weekend to wrap up some of the prep work before we pick up the truck Thursday morning. I helped Dave take apart the computer desk on Saturday which took a lot longer than we thought it would. This is the very reason for doing the prep work so that we aren't slowed down loading the truck! We've had the computer desk for maybe ten years now and with all of it's pigeon holes, I've been able to cram a lot of junk in there!

I have used the top to display family photos and at Christmas, it's a great place to set up my Nativity pieces.

A few weeks ago, I sorted and purged through everything, getting rid of pens that didn't work, outdated paperwork, etc. To my surprise, Dave started going through the desk pitching stuff (some of it mine!) His plan was for the drawers to be virtually empty but I didn't know that; yes, I was fishing through the trash and squirreling stuff away!! I guess we had a "failure to communicate" but knowing that he's feeling stressed, it was just easier to rescue my supplies and save my warrior attitude for more important things! For the record, as much as we are anticipating retirement and living in Montana, this whole down-sizing your cr*p and moving across the country is very stressful!

As you can see, we have spared no expense in our computer set up, we like the card table and crate look. This will have to make do until November and then once we get my creative studio over the garage finished, I will use this computer for my Genealogy project and we will upgrade our family computer

I am looking forward to actually having a home office rather than using our "former dining room" like we've been doing all these years. We plan to use the small room off the master bedroom (where the stained glass moose hangs in the window) and keep everything all contained and set up the tall filing cabinets.

This time next week Lord willing, we should be unloading the truck!

NEWS

I thought I would share a piece of news. It is no secret that Dave and I feel that God has orchestrated everything regarding the house in Montana. From my contacting our Realtor Bill (who wasn't involved in any sort of way with the first house we looked at 4 years ago) to the foreclosure price, to Randy as our contractor, etc. it's all been God's Divine hand guiding and providing. Realizing that, we made the decision that the Mountainview Hideaway was a blessing to be shared with others and have plans to offer it as a "retreat" for ministry. We can be as involved with guests as they like, playing tour guide, etc or as uninvolved as they like, basically being a place for them to crash at night. We want to be able to share what God has provided for us and in the most beautiful setting imaginable.

Needless to say, over time, Dave and I have talked about the practical logistics of our retirement move. As they say, "timing is everything" so there were the questions of, "When do we put our house on the market?" "Will we have to move into an apartment between the closing and his last day of work?" "Maybe the Mobile Home Park would buy it from us and we can stay until we move out?" (We know that we would get less money from them because they want to make a profit but that might be a wash for us if we had to rent an apartment, stay in a hotel, etc.) "How will this play out?" and so on and on it has gone. I have said from the get go, that God has orchestrated everything so far and that I had total peace that He would work that out as well and that I wouldn't stress about it.

Right after Christmas, we had new neighbors move in next door to us. They are a nice couple with 3 young children. He is from El Paso and she is from San Antonio; right after they moved in, he was out in the yard and introduced himself to Dave as he was coming home from work. A couple of weeks ago, I was at Lowes picking up more paint and supplies when he approached me and introduced himself, 'I believe I'm your new neighbor", he said. We began chatting and at the time, he apologized for the extra car parked on the street in front of their house and said that he hoped they hadn't been too noisy. (We look like a used car lot so I told him, if anything, I should apologize!) He said his wife's parents were visiting from San Antonio and that they liked our mobile home park so much, that they had driven around looking at empty lots because they want to sell their house in San Antonio and move up here. I said in passing that I was there buying paint supplies because we are selling our house later later this year and moving. We just looked at each other and said, "hmmm...." During the course of this conversation I learned that they are Christians as well; part of his concern about the noise was that they were having an evening of praise and worship.

I shared with Dave about our exchange at Lowes but hadn't thought about it since. Last week our new neighbors knocked on our door and asked if we had given any thought to an asking price for our home? I invited them in even though we look like a disaster area with boxes and stuff strung out all over the place. I gave them a limited tour of the house and we began talking. In a nutshell, they are serious about us selling the house to their family! We talked about our situation of hoping the park would buy it so we could stay until the move. He does home remodeling for a living and said that we could work out a deal where Dave and I don't do any more home repairs or painting, etc. reflecting that in the price and we could stay until we needed to move. A win/win situation for everyone!

This is an answer to prayer!! Dave and I have began to pray over the selling price, we typically pray individually over big decisions and then come together to see what we feel the Holy Spirit's leading is; nearly every single time, it is identical! So, this is the beginning stage, laying the possible groundwork for what happens in just nine months. I am excited, amazed and thankful over how God works out even the smallest details in our lives. He alone is worthy...

"For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly." Psalms 84:11

PURGING AND ANTIQUES

I have been helping my best friend pack up household items since they are putting their house on the market next month. In helping her, I have been energized to begin purging once again. I have already went through some of my Christmas and Fall decor, my dresser drawers, bathroom vanity and I will begin working on my closet this weekend. I try to stay on top of things but now, I find myself with a more discerning eye when I look at our stuff. Dave's parents were (in my opinion) borderline hoarders and he has the same gene flowing through his DNA. My Mom practiced retail therapy at an "EXPERT" level, so I myself, can get somewhat fixated on collecting things. When we got together, the potential for clutter has always been lurking, awaiting an opportune moment to rear its ugly head! I think about my Mom and her parents and how they lost everything during World War 2; leaving the Czech Republic with only what they could carry and I am ashamed and embarrassed about our excess! A post for another time...

I have a really nice collection of pink glass depression-ware and I've already been giving thought as to which pieces, I will pass down to my daughters. It's tempting to go ahead and transport the Curio Cabinet up to the house but I am concerned about how well it will travel in the van since the majority of it is comprised of glass; It's probably best to wait for the U-Haul truck next year.

I had been on the prowl for an antique secretary and came across this one a few years ago while I was back home in St. Charles on a visit. It was another awesome find at an amazing price! I have a few pieces of pink glassware displayed in here as well but I also have our Wedding & 25th Anniversary keepsakes. along with a few pieces from Dave's side of the family stored in the upper portion. The bottom drawers hold cards, writing journals and other stationary supplies. Another piece of furniture that will wait for the final move.

I'm thinking about taking up the antique sewing machine but then I don't know where I'll keep all of my old photos in the meantime. They give me great pleasure so if I can't figure out a spot, it will just stay put for now.

On my last trip back to visit my dad in St Charles, he gave me the old cuckoo clock that my Mom brought to America with her shortly before I was born. It was a wedding gift from her parents and I remember the clock always gracing our home. Sadly after the devastating flood in 1993 that ravaged the Midwest and specifically their home, it's in horrific shape. I have researched its repair and I have possibly found someone in the Metroplex that specializes in cuckoo clocks. I plan to contact them in the coming week and set up an appointment to meet with them. I'm hoping it's not too far gone or that the cost to repair it, doesn't cost us an arm or a leg. If I could get it repaired and looking beautiful once again, it will make my heart so happy! I'll keep you posted!