LOOKING BACK AT JUNE ...(OHIO)

So, it's been a bit since I have shared here. A bit longer than I had expected. Many reasons. Traveling from place to place has been busy sharing and spending time with people in their homes/churches, some places internet was limited, and sometimes when we had free time (with internet) we were all quite tired. It has taken some time to get the hang of traveling so much, and if I'm honest, we still have not completely "adjusted' to it because it's ever changing. We have changed vehicles, states, homes, beds, etc. so it's been different in every place. But there are a few things now that we all know how to handle a bit better (the traveling for hours is one of them). Our kids have proven to be troopers and have done exceptional over these few months, which is one of the many examples of God's grace on our family during this season. He has proven over and over that He is with us!

So, I will just give a brief summary of how we took off on this journey to give some insight on what this has been like for our family, and to give praise for God's provision. As I had shared a little (here ) previously, Brandon and I have always talked about the journey with God and saying "yes" to what He leads us to do. We have journals from the past years of God providing for us supernaturally at times (meaning without a "normal" steady 9-5 job), providing money, food, vehicles, etc. Last fall, as we knew and felt things shifting with Brandon's job, we were praying about what was next. Traveling and sharing our songs as a family had come up a few times. We were also feeling prompted to sell some things to move forward. One of the things we both felt we were to sell was our van. It seemed a bit crazy in the moment. Why would a family of 6 sell their vehicle? But when we both prayed we felt peace that this was what we were supposed to do and trust God for what was next. So, we looked into it. Brandon took it to a place that gave an appraisal. We then had 7 days to decide if we wanted to accept their offer and walk away from our van, with cash in hand because although we did not own it fully, it was almost paid off and we had some equity in it. Within the same week that we were feeling that we should sell it, a friend of ours called and asked (without knowing about our situation) if we would "car sit" their 3rd vehicle for a few months. Brandon told him what was happening and we all agreed that this seemed like confirmation that God was providing another vehicle for us for now. We waited a few more days just to make sure selling it to this specific location was the right thing to do, and strongly felt a "yes" to move forward. So, we did. We ended up using our friends vehicle for months all the way up until this journey we were about to take. As May was coming around it was time for our friends to get their car back. Brandon and I both knew this meant God must have something else in mind. The same day that we were returning their car, we had another family let us use their van for a few weeks as they were going out of the country. Just in time! Then a man that was in our church told Brandon he had been praying and felt that he wanted to let us use their 2nd vehicle the whole month of June while they were out of the country as well! 

That took care of the car situation. We now had a vehicle to drive for the month of June! But because we had been without a steady job since the fall, we did not have savings set aside for this journey. We had been living bit by bit....doing what we could here and there for money, and sometimes people would call us and say they were praying for our family and God was telling them to give us a specific amount of money. All the while my husband was still applying for jobs every week with no word back, because this was awkward even though we felt like God was calling us on a journey, he was still trying to be practical and cover all the bases if he could. So June was nearing and we had been staying in our friend's basement as we planned our next steps. The last week of May we were praying and asking God how were we to go on this journey without tons of money in the bank. This time when we prayed we felt led to sell some of our bigger furniture items, because at this point there was no need in keeping them in a place without using them for however long we would be gone. So, off to craigslist they went as we listed them cheaply so we could let them go quickly. Mostly everything we listed sold within 2 days. The last weekend of May, before we left on our journey, we had tallied up $782.00. Now, I know it doesn't sound like much...but when you have been living week to week sometimes and seeing how far your money can stretch, we knew this was enough to start and get to our next few destinations. And it was. There is so much more that could be shared about this part of the journey. The provision. Walking into the unknown with enough to just see us through to the next week or the next steps. But that will have to be for another time. I just wanted to lay the foundation for what we started with. How this journey really began. In all of it's raw vulnerability. In all of our need and dependency. This is the truth, and without it our journey would not be what it is. My husband calls this our pilgrimage of "faith and family". And so it began here.

Okay, so as much as I would have loved to share tons of photos of all we did, my phone (which is my only camera at the time) was completely full as we started this journey and I could not take photos. However, I did snag Brandon's phone and took a few. And my lovely friend, and awesome host, Allison, took some photos as well! Unfortunately, due to the shuffle of the past few months (and I ended up changing phones) I lost some of the extra photos she had messaged me at the time. So, I only have a few listed below, and of most of the photos that were saved, they are of the older ones helping plant seeds in Allison's garden. Kind of funny if you think about it. Call it coincidence, but I actually feel that it is the best way to begin the documenting of our journey...planting seeds. The seed is the beginning of a process, the beginning of growing something, and starting something new. The seed is tiny to begin with, but it produces something of value. 

 As you can see in these pictures, our sweet friends (The Riggs Family) have some amazing property in Alexandria, Ohio. We stayed with them in their lovely home, which has an amazing story of history, as it was Allison's home as a child. Her extended family owns and still lives all around this property, with her parents living in an apartment below them, and grandparents across the street. Although we didn't get photos of the family, or all of us together even, we got to just spend time with them for the week and see how they do life on the average day. The girls were really interested in helping with the garden. They also got to play on their swing set, we took a walk into the town just a few blocks away, and even rode on a little train in the back yard that Allison's grandfather made!

 There were a few special treats staying with The Riggs. As mine and Allison's birthdays were coming up we got treated to a hair trim, a pedicure, and a little lunch date! Also, just spending late evenings after the kids were all in bed, talking as adults and getting to know each other just a bit deeper. Hearing about each other's history and vision. These were treasures for us. We couldn't have asked for a better place to begin our journey, with some of the most encouraging people we know.

As the week came to an end, we set up an outdoor space for some family time of food and music to share with their community. People from the town were all invited. We got to meet a few of the neighbors and friends! We were thankful for all that came out to join us.

Although we did not get photos of us singing (because we were all too busy singing and playing), there were a few people that did take a few snaps of the evening. I did get one with Ruby on the drums!

 One kind lady gave us the polaroids she took. If you look closely you will see a bunch of little ones sitting on a blanket singing with us as the sun was going down.

This was the beginning of our "faith and family" journey. A journey of giving, receiving, and sharing.

A special thanks to The Riggs Family for inviting us to spend time with you guys and the opportunity to share some music with your community!