Glimpse of the Road - Blue Eye, MO; Old Hwy 86 Campground

Most people are curious about how we plan on living life on the road - how we're going to make money, cook, where we fit everything for 3 people in a 21 ft space, how we don't kill each other in that 21 ft space... I'm going to film a comprehensive video walk-through soon of how we have everything set up in our camper (for those fellow RV'ers who are interested), and I'll post pictures as well. But in the meantime, I will post "glimpses" of each place we are and how we live life on the road day to day. 

This was our first "trial" trip before our big trip to the West next month - a chance to live out of the RV and make lists of what we don't have and still need. This was a very spontaneous trip (spontaneous as in Brannon said, "Hey, wanna go camping...tonight?") to Old Highway 86 Campground in Blue Eye, MO. Old 86 is one of our favorite local-ish (only an hour away) spots - it's a skinny peninsula on Table Rock Lake. No added amenities besides electric/water on sites and shower houses (which that's all we really need anyway), but it is usually very clean and well-kept (a Corps of Engineers campground). They also have a few first-come first-serve spots for those last minute kind of people, which is nice. :) We also choose a waterfront spot if it's available, but because it's surrounded by water on all sides, there's pretty much not a bad site in the campground. As per usual during the school season, there were mostly just retirees there, along with a few families for Mother's Day weekend. (We are SOOOOO blessed to be able to work from the road! Dream. Come. True.)

I love cooking outside. If I have to be cooking, it may as well be outside. There's something just so wonderful about being outside in the morning. (Plus, you don't smell up the camper with the smell of sausage.)

This girl. Totally made for this. She LOVES being outside. Anytime she's in a bad mood, we go for a walk or just go sit outside and she loves it. She even likes napping outside. She gets all that from her momma. ;)

Good morning!

Since it was Mother's Day weekend, and the lake is my mom's favorite place, we invited my family to come down for a Sunday morning breakfast. My brothers and their fiancés even came down and camped the night before. (Everyone was able to make it to breakfast except for my dad, who was leading worship at church.) It was a gorgeous day, perfect for an outside family breakfast. 

We went for a little family walk after breakfast, too. (Ollie on the pavement and Ember in the stroller not pictured.) Thankful for a family that likes to be spontaneous, too. :)

This was my first Mother's Day, and I got to humbly reflect on how amazingly blessed I am to be a mother. Being parents wasn't something that was given to us right away, and I know that my mindset is different because of that. When there's a possibility that you may never have the chance to be a parent and you know what that feels like, when it actually happens, you're a different person. I hope that I never take being a mother for granted (I don't know how I could!). Being a mother has caused me to view life through different eyes. I'm so grateful that I get to Ember's mom. She brings us so much joy - I can't even imagine our life without her now. (It makes being just a couple seem so boring! Haha.) We loved the years of just the two of us - those years were so special, and I wouldn't trade them for anything. They molded us and shaped us into who we are now, and determine to an extent how we parent. Ember came at just the right time - God totally knew what He was doing, even though we couldn't understand it. Our minds and hearts were in just the right place when she came along. And we are so grateful.