Lil' Man & The Name Game!

Paul and I have been debating over what to name our Goldwing since Easter and we had finally just gave up trying to call it anything other than "the bike". That was until Lil' Man came along!

I don't know if during his "past life" he knew someone with a Screaming Eagle or what, but he calls every motorcycle "Eagle". So, "the bike" is officially "the eagle" now. Just thought I'd share in case anyone was still wondering what name we had settled on!

Have a beautiful weekend. God bless America!

You, Me and the Baby Makes 3!

Well, dear friends, many have you have read my post over the past year about Paul and I struggling with being unable to get pregnant. We know that God will gives us a baby of our own in His time, but it has still been a very emotional and difficult road. It's always hard when you know that God has a perfect plan, but you really want a hint as to what that plan is, well, our Dear Lord has finally given us a hint!

For the next six months, Paul and I are blessed to have the opportunity to foster an angel whom we shall be refering to as Lil' Man!   Isn't he precious??? He's won't be two until autumn, but he is a big smart boy with

a lot to say.  We know that it will be hard to only have him directly in our lives for such a short time, but every minute with Lil'Man is a joy and a blessing. We know that God will bring us peace when we need it most! Paul and I are just so amazed by the miracle that this small child is.

We found out on the our wedding anniversary that he would be coming to live with us. It was such a gift to receive that news, because we were hoping I might be pregnant at the time and then discovered that I wasn't. In the end, God had given us an anniversary baby! He just came in a different (easier!) way!!!

Every day has been amazingly joyful, fun and exhausting! I love finding trails of Cheerios around the house and hearing my name called early in the morning. I love seeing him reach up out of his crib for either Paul or myself.

Every day I am discovering new ways that I am in awe of my husband and his natural paternal instincts. Ladies, I hate to brag, but I married a baby rockstar!!!! Lil' Man spends part of most days playing with a plastic screwdriver right next to Paul as he fixs all the many things on his Honey-do List. They are the cutest guys I've ever known!

I apologize for the gushing and the exclamation points, but this girl is walking on sunshine and it feels great! I am still walking the walk with my other sisters who haven't been able to get pregnant yet, but I feel more peace knowing that this is all part of God's plan.  I am hopeful God will give us another baby to love when he takes Lil' Man out of our life.  I am still  praying all the time for all the children who are alone and need love, for the parents who are struggling and for all of us who want a baby in our arms! As JPII said, "Be Not Afraid!" and I might add, because God answers all prayers!

I tried and tried, but could not flip this picture! I had to post it anyway.

God bless you, my friends! Thanks for letting me share my joy with you!

Bucket List- ICE CREAM!!!!

Soooooo, we were visiting Paul's best friend in MI last week. Her mother was telling us that her Bucket List included trying all of Baskin Robbins flavors! How fun is that? She has finally decided to check that off her list.

Her goal is to spend time with her grandchildren trying the different flavors. If she took all 9 grandchildren on each trip and bought them each a cone of a flavor per day/week or some such thing, then her husband has decided that they would have to take out a mortgage on the house to buy that many cones. Sounds like a complex word problem for a homeschool student to muddle over, doesn't it? The next problem to solve would be to determine how much excercise would be required to burn off samples of all 31 flavors!

Last I heard, the plan was to share cones. Either way sounds tasty to me!

Hop on over HERE to drool over all the yummy classic flavors!

18 wheels to 2 wheels- A Wild Ride!

Made you think that I'd stopped blogging since we aren't trucking, didn't I??? Well, sorry, but that is sooo not true! :) We have been civilians for all of 10 days, but that has not stopped us from Livin' La Vida Loca! I'll quickly share the bullets version of our last 10 days:

Saturday May 15th- First day home from trucking. 6am Paul and I got up to head to the Springfest conference in Shelbyville, TN. In attendance were the son of St. Gianna Molla, the Papal Nuncio and many others. Not in attendance was ME! I got up to go and I was so sick that I went straight back to bed. Blah! That is where I spent most of the day.

Sunday- Family and friends from far and wide came to celebrate the baptism of my nephew, Lil Dude. It was a beautiful, all-day extravaganza. We had a cook-out at my brother and sister-in-laws. Long, but wonderful day.

Monday- Worked on cleaning up the flood damage in the basement. All. Day. Long!

Tuesday- Still cleaning up the basement and getting new carpeting for the basement.

Wednesday- We got the travel itch already! We spent the day driving down to Atlanta to buy a trailer for our motorcycle. Beautiful day. Baaaad traffic! 

Thursday- Drove back home to Tennessee from Atlanta. Spent 3 hours at home and then left to drive the motorcycle up to Wisconsin. We made it as far as Nashville before getting caught in a downpour. We parked under an overpass and went to see a movie. Praise God, the rain had stopped by the time we came out. Unfortunately, we were so behind schedule that we had to ride until 3 am. Brrrr!

Friday- Spent the day riding in and out of the rain. Made it to Wisconsin Dells in the evening and had a very nice time at a camp up there. I had never really seen Wisconsin before and I enjoyed it.

Saturday- Toured the tourist area and drove out to Devil's Lake State Park which was very beautiful. We bought Slurpies, ice cream and pizza. Took a ferry across a lake. Found a beautiful stone church named St. Joseph's in Baraboo where we visited Jesus :-) We drove down to Indiana and went to Indiana Dunes State Park to camp for the evening. We made S'Mores before bed. It was a nice and relaxing day.

Sunday- Drove out to Michigan for the going away party of our best man who has joined the Marines. It was a lovely cookout and we really enjoyed catching up with our dear friends. We spent the night at my husband's best friend's house and had a Lost party to watch the finale- which we LOVED! Such great times.

Monday- Our Two Year Wedding Anniversary!!!!!! We went out to lunch with friends. Had a cook-out with more friends and then enjoyed some down time at a local park where we watched lots of baby geese and ducklings. Sooo cute! We had some fun news that I will probably share on here soon- keep us in your prayers.

Today- Spending the day being completely lazy!!!! Such bliss.

That, my friends, is the run down of our living a "normal non-trucking life." There will be much more adventure to come, but I wanted to take a quick moment to catch people up on our new life. God bless, friends!

Exciting and Emotional

Paul and I are pulling in to the trucking terminal right now to turn in our truck. We will no longer be trucking and it's a little bit emotional for me. We've lived in a truck ever since we got married- two years next week!

We are excited to start doing the marketing for the books and trading in our 18 wheels for a two wheeled motorcycle. But, being a woman, change is emotional for me. Pray that we follow God's leading, do His will and that God will bless our newest adventures.

I have to go clean the truck- PRAY FOR US, PLEASE!

What the flood dragged in

We usually experience one decent flood per year on our farm. Once the flood waters have disipated there is always something fun and fascinating to see. People are displaced from their homes and so are animals. While home I saw a pink salamander and a large rubbery-looking black salamander. While walking my dogs, I found this cute lil'guy. Surprisingly the dogs didn't eve notice it!

Awww, he's cute!

It looks like a long green noodle!

And then there was this fine fellow, who was walking smack down the middle of our driveway- an entire field (maybe 3 or 4 hundred feet) away from water!

Now that you've seen this guy you have to check out this Crawfish Boil Recipe and Pictures ! I don't think I could eat this guy- he's just too much fun. And sooo fiesty! Like a small yappy dog, he didn't realize he wasn't big. He was ready to pick a fight with anyone he could get close to!

Paul and I drove through Mississippi and Louisiana last week. I had never been in the Deep South before we began trucking, but I have really enjoyed traveling through that area. I always enjoy driving through the swamp on the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge.

 Here's some of what Wikipedia had to say about it, "The Atchafalaya Basin Bridge is actually two parallel bridges in the US state of Louisiana between Baton Rouge and Lafayette , LA which carries Interstate 10 over the Atchafalaya Basin. With a total length of 96,095 feet (29,290 m) or 18.2 miles, it is the tenth longest bridge in the world by total length." and "The Atchafalaya Basin, or Atchafalaya Swamp, is the largest swamp in the United States. Located in south central Louisiana, it is a combination of wetlands and river delta area where the Atchafalaya River and the Gulf of Mexico converge. The Atchafalaya is unique among basins because it has a growing delta system with nearly stable wetlands."

Calling Baton Rouge

In honor of our going off the road, enjoy this youtube video of Garth Brook's Callin Baton Rouge. Its our favorite trucking song!

Splish-splash!!!

I have been scolded for not posting pictures of our farm during the huge flood a week and a half ago, so I figured I had better post them quickly before I get into too much trouble!

When it first began raining we were all enjoying the craziness of it. The water was coming down so heavily that I could ony see a feet away when looking out the windows of the house. The rest of the family wanted to go down to the spring on our property to play in the water, so I stayed with my new nephew, Lil' Dude, while his parents and the rest of the "younger set" went off to play!

Lil' Dude didn't mind the rain coming down outside!

They came home cold and muddy, so they "showered" under the downspout before going in the house and enjoying hot showers.

I know! Scary, right? :-)

That night I was alone at my house when I went to check the basement and discovered a river running through it! I was in such a panic that I didn't even have time to take pictures...can you imagine???  I baled out water with a 5 gallon bucket and managed to clean up the mess. At one point I was running up the basement steps to pour a bucket out on the lawn and I stepped off the concrete into about a foot of water. I hadn't expected it to be so deep! I lost my balance and went sliding through water and mud. I've had finer moments. Like a little kid needing their parent, all I wanted to do was cry for my husband to come save me. I survived on my own and did manage to handle the situation even better than I thought I could.Two of my couches will probably have to be tossed since they had been sitting in the "river," but Praise God, that seems to be the worst of it.

A friend tried to drive up my drive way and had a wall of water splash up over the windshield of her van and flooded the interior. She never did make it. I could have pulled out the kayak and paddled over to my brother's house (NO, I am not exaggerating!),but I was too scared of the basement flooding again to leave the house unattended.

Once the sun came out, the water started going down and there was no longer a moat around my house I wadded over to visit my sister-in-law. I borrowed her camera and took some picture of the fields and trails under more than 10 feet of water in some places! My driveway and the field below it were literally a lake.

 

The horses seemed happy to come down from higher ground so they could say hello! 

Many of our friends (Mary!) have gone horseback riding down this trail and enjoyed a bonfire in the clearing. The water in this clearing is about 12 feet deep!

Welcome to the lake at Andrews Spring Farm!

Lord, I know I prayed that the rains would fall soft upon my fields, but this seems a bit extreme!

The dogs had fun playing fetch in their very own lake in the very own yard.

Well, ladies and gentlemen, this concludes our tour of the lake, ehem, FARM. We hope you enjoyed the tour and learned a lot. Please be sure to stop and visit us next time you are in the area and want to do a little fishing!

Le Petit Dejeuner a la Truck!

Even truckers need to start the day off right with a good breakfast. Paul and I usually start our day off with a bowl of cereal and Classic Almond Breeze milk, a bowl of instant oatmeal, Eggo waffles or bagels and yogurt. 

When we have a little extra time in the morning we try to get creative by having pancakes- I buy small packets of Bisquick and and save single serving packets of syrup from Mickey D's to keep things simple and to save space.  Or we make fried egg sandwiches. YUM!

This is another one of those meals that can get messy in a truck, but is sooo worth it!

We toast onion bagels or english muffins and butter them lightly before adding a little Miracle Whip (we did a taste test and decided that, between Mayo & Miracle Whip, the "Zip" gave just the right kick!).

Fry up a couple of eggs and add a few slices of cheddar or sprinkle on the shredded stuff.

We keep a package of precooked, microwavable bacon around just for this meal and for tomato avocado sandwiches that we enjoy at lunch time. Add some slices of the bacon and tomato to your egg sandwich with a little salt and pepper and enjoy a foretaste of the heavenly banquet, my friends!

Even Snoop-dog loves them!

Another favorite (and faster!) le petit dejeuner is vanilla chai and yogurt topped with granola and fresh berries. 

Until recently, we had a hot pot that plugged into the cigarette lighter and I could boil up water for tea while sitting in my seat. Sadly, the element went out so now I have to crawl in the back and use the microwave, but a cup of tea is always worth a little extra work and the risk of being splashed by hot water!

Hey, Good Lookin'! What ya got cookin'?

I am home from California. I've survived the flooding at home in Tennessee. I am finally back in the truck with my husband! Ahh, truck sweet truck!

I have so much to blog about, but I'm not really in the mood for all the lengthy stuff right now, so I thought I would continue my expose on the "Secret Life of Truckers."


People always ask if we eat nothing but fast food all the time. When I answer "No!" and try to explain what cooking is like in the truck, people tend to look a little confused. A picture tells a thousand words, so I snapped a shot of my hubby making his specialty "Tuna Quesadillas."

Here is what this type of meal involves when it is made in a truck:

- Opening and draining cans of tuna. It sounds easy, but it can get messy in a truck. If it spills and ends up on the bed and it will smell like fish until we can get to a washer and dryer. Fun, right?!?!

- Rolling down the windows and turning on the fan to vent any fumes out of the truck.
- Setting up and lighting our single burner propane stove.

- Fry tortillas, add tuna and cheese until "melty" (Paul's word!), remove, roll and enjoy!

- Clean up cooking area, frying pan and plates with wet wipes.

That is how it is done folks! Hope you enjoyed this very random tutorial!

Tell Us About Your Life

Kelly's Korner is posting today about how people met their husbands. I think this is such a cute idea. I want to participate in this, but I don't have time today since I am helping my BIL shovel a truck load of mulch into the backyard, but I wanted to encourage other bloggers to share their stories or anyone who would like to can post their story in my comment section. I love hearing people's love stories!


So, feel free to share. And if you can't than just take a moment to remember how and why you fell in love with your spouse and then remind them about how much you love them!

Have a wonderful and love filled day!

The Whoas of Traveling (& What makes it worth it!)

"I hopped off a plane at LAX with a dream and a cardigan"...this Miley Cyrus song was stuck in my head last Tuesday as I walked out of LAX and tried to find the first of many buses that I would have to catch on my way to my mother and father-in-law's house in central California.


It had already been a busy week. After my brother's wedding in Michigan on the tenth, I had gone back on the road with my hubby. During that week we had driven back and forth between NY, NJ, VT, OH, MD, and PA several times. Paul had to help unload an entire trailer filled with tires- his skin always has a rubbery smell for the next few days! Fun. Fun.


We weren't sure how I was going to get back to TN in time to make my flight to CA, but by last Saturday it was decided that my parents, who were visiting my Grandmother in MD, would drive two hours up to PA to meet Paul and I.


Together we all went to Mass and breakfast before parting ways. It was hard leaving Paul again. I feel as though we have been apart so much during the last two months and it makes me uneasy about how different life will be once we stop trucking next month. I am looking forward to traveling with my dear husband while we are doing the marketing for Precious Life Books, but not being in the truck is akin to the bittersweet feeling of giving up the first apartment a couple shared as newlyweds- that is literally the case for us! For better or worse, life is changing and it takes some adjustments.


Sorry. In case you haven't noticed, I'm great at going off on tangents! Anyhoo- my parents and I drove through the day and night. We made it back to my house at 3am. I was so tired that I spent the rest of the night sleeping in the car!


I spent my one day home cleaning my house, doing load after loads of laundry and packing for California. Because of my torn meniscus, my back has been trying to compensate for the swelling in my knee. By the end of a day of walking up and down the stairs with hampers of laundry, my poor little body was doubled over with pain. I looked about ninety when I tried to stand up after dinner! My knee was stiff and my feet were sore. My back wouldn't straighten out. As I hobbled about I was some sight to behold! Where is a good chiropractor when you need them late at night???

I finished packing and cleaning the house and climbed into bed at 2am. I awoke at 6 and jumped online to purchase amtrak tickets. My mom drove me up to warm and sunny Nashville to catch my plane. There in the airport I sat across from a well known country musician. :) I was lucky enough to get a nice window seat on the plane next to a very amiable woman. We spent the first hour or more of the flight chatting about everything from growing up in the South to our love of vintage campers. It was a long but pleasant flight.


I had heard that they were calling for rain in LA, but as the song says, "It never rains in California, but girl don't they warn you...it pours! Man, it pours!" The rain outside the airport was coming down in sheets! It was a bone chilling damp that I experienced for the next 6 hours as I took a shuttle, a bus and then a train to my husband's hometown. I dashed off the train and into the old-fashioned, little train station to wait for my father-in-law and my brother-in-law. After 12 hours of traveling, I saw the family van pulling up to the door of the train station. With huge smiles, my FIL and BIL came through the rain for hugs. My 21 year old BIL, who has Downs Syndrome, was so thoughtful that he even brought a golf umbrella and a knit hat to keep me dry!


It was after eight when I walked in the house. Even without my husband being there, the warmth and love his whole family showered upon me made every step of my long, wet journey worth it. I am so blessed to have married into a family whom I love every bit as much as the family that I was born into. God has blessed me so much!


I love the Book of Ruth and feel that, just as Naomi wanted the best for Ruth, my family-in-law is always there for me and looking out for me. I have enjoyed my time with the family so far and, now that the sun finally came out today, I am looking forward to even more fun in the California Sun!!!

Take a moment today to say a prayer for your in-laws or future in-laws! ;)

My two families united as one on Paul and my wedding day!

As seen on Craigslist!

Our new bike has a hitch on the back and Paul and I are hoping to get a small, light and inexpensive trailer or mini camper to tow on our trips to visit our family in California. I have been scouring craigslist (my favorite place to find fun things online!) and came across something that I just have to share...

Can you say SWEET?!?! Bella and Snoopy would love these digs and we could take them with us same as we do in the truck. It is far from aerodynamic and must eat gas, but you have to admit that you would smile if you saw a motorcyclist hauling this cabin behind him, right? =D

Anyhoo- I just had to share. Hope it made you smile too!

Bucket List- Appalachian Trail

Hiking the Appalachian Trail has been on my Bucket List for a long time. With my torn meniscus, a thru hike is out of the question for now. The more I've thought about it the more I've realized that, at this point in my life, hiking for 4-7 months would be a rediculously wasteful use of my time. That just me in my situation. But, I would love to spend maybe a week each summer hiking a different section of the AT in each state and/or unique geographical region. How fun would that be?


Paul and I were thinking that we might even try to do it this coming summer. The only problem is that most of our summer will be spent out west- far from the AT, so it may not happen. We are also planning to go out to Lake Havasu and to hike the Grand Canyon again this summer. So much to do, so little time and money! ;)


Even if we can't hike the AT this summer, I am trying to research and decide on which section we should do on our first week. I've hiked short sections in both the Smoky Mtns in TN and NC and the Blue Ridge Mtns in VA. My Aunt and Uncle have property that borders the trail in NY and I think it might be fun to hike up in their region. Any suggestions? Anyone?


Does anyone have any special plans for the summer? What's on your bucket list?

A Rose By Any Other Name...

I woke up at 6:30am in the little town of Ludlow, VT. I could see large, melting patches of snow on distant ski slopes. We drove through one quaint, sleepy town after another. Each village was cuter than the last. The beautiful New England shops were still closed. Smoke plumed out of hundred year old chimneys above clapboard homes. Teeny, tiny little cafes and diners had parking lots full of cars with Green Mountain license plates. A cup of blueberry Green Mountain coffee and a chocolate & sprinkles covered donut and our day is off to a great start. I love traveling!


We made our way to Albany and then into New Jersey where Paul saw a sign for Manville, NJ. He proceeded to puff out his chest and, with an exageratedly deep voice, pronouced that we should live there- it is only fitting! {smile/sigh}


I saw my first lilac bush of the season covered in abundant purple spires! Spring REALLY IS here, friends! Hallelujiah!!!


Driving through the mountains is making Paul and I daydream and discuss our future plans of working at or owning our own Catholic summer camp and retreat center. I pulled out an old notebook and once again began scribbling down ideas for what our "Dream Camp" would include. Any suggestions? Babysitting services so that parents can relive some of their favorite camp memories, perhaps??? LOL :D Consider it on the list!

My little brother and one of his friends drove up to the Smoky Mountains yesterday to pick up Paul's new motorcycle from the dealership. They are taking it on a "test trip" for us by driving it into Smoky Mtn National Park and camping for a few days. Paul is slightly jealous that my brother gets to drive the bike and take it camping before Paul!


We have always named our cars and boats, so we have decided to name our new motorcycle as well. All of Paul's cars and trucks had girls names and my family usually goes for silly or male names for our vehicles. Paul says he has to ride the bike and "get a feel for it" before naming it, but I am the OCD planner who has to have list of possibilities, soooo I thought I would share some of my thoughts and see if anyone likes them or has any better ideas. Here it goes:

- Baby Jane
- Jasper
- Miss B Haven
- Miss Chevious
- Out on a Whim (or Whim/Whimsy for short)
- Firefly Chaser
- Wild Honey
- Uppa Creek
- Ginger Snap
- Hootin' Annie
- Stormy
- Cassidy
- Finnegan, Murphy, Donovan or O'Malley (can you tell we're Irish?)
- Galahad
- Houdini (now ya see 'um, now ya don't!)
- Nomad
- Rodeo
- Smooth Sailing


Whoooaaa!!!! I thinking I'm going a bit overboard, huh??? Anyhoo- I'd love to hear what people think!


The sky is blue and without a single cloud. Get out and enjoy it, if you can! God bless!