The Bendickson Family

Well, well, well...

2011-11-21T20:13:00.000-06:00

Country living has so many new aspects including, well...a WELL. On Friday, we were running water outside to fill up the horse tank and the water was, well, black. Ewwww!! So we let it run awhile and it eventually cleared up. However, the water pressure wasn't working very well...very low both outside - and inside (read as "no shower since Friday").

So, I'm telling a friend about this on Saturday while we're eating lunch at Chipotle and who do you think walks in? Our plumber! So I ran the situation by him and he recommended we call our "well guy", to which I replied, "Who is our well guy?" Both my friend and my plumber recommended the same "guy" so we called him today. He took a look at the pressure gauge and said, "We need to pull it up." So out they went. When they pulled it up, they found a pipe was completely corroded and leaking. They fixed the pipe and also put in a new pump so we are back in business!

And now the really exciting news...they are coming back in two weeks to run a water line to the barn! This is going to be incredibly wonderful given that the only current way to fill the water tanks is to run a hose from the house...not so fun in a MN winter! Just in time for one more animal friend who is coming to live with us soon...stay tuned :-)

The Chicken Palace

2011-11-08T22:06:00.001-06:00

So...we've been "winterizing" the chicken coop. Perhaps "remodeling" would be more descriptive. Ok, let's be real...our chickens now live in a palatial chicken palace. Ready for the before and after?

Before...

This is BEFORE. It was a little unnerving knowing the previous owners of our home lost their ten chickens when a pack of coyotes dug under the fence. So we've been a bit nervous with the flimsy chicken wire.

Another issue was that the box where the chickens slept at night (to be safe) was too small for them to be cooped up in all winter. We also needed a heater (ok, "need" is probably a bit strong...we thought a heater would be wonderful for our beloved birds) and a light so the birds will continue to bless us with their egg-cellent eggs throughout the winter. And, the ceiling had low hanging beams that were always bumping into. Oh so many opportunities for improvement!

Enter...Brennen and his father Jerry! The dynamic duo who remodeled the Super-8 into the Ritz-Carlton!

These two professional craftsmen usually work on kitchens and basements. I told them they should start billing themselves as "Kitchens and Coops" after the bang up job they did in the Bendickson backyard.

Check this out...

Now THAT's a chicken coop! Isn't it beautiful?! I can't wait to add window boxes in the spring. And don't you just love the little chicken door?

Come on inside...

The birds are loving their nifty new nest boxes:-)

And when the temperatures start dipping down, they will appreciate their "Sweeter Heater"...

Much safer than a traditional heat lamp. AND, it is plugged into a "Thermocube" (you learn all kinds of things when you start poking around :-). A Thermocube looks like a powerstrip, but it has a built-in thermostat which will turn the heater on when it gets down to 20 degrees...and off again when it hits 30.

They even got rid of those nasty head-banging beams so we can walk in without knocking ourselves out:-)

That's the latest. The goats are growing babies (hopefully) due April 3rd and 5th. The chickens have a beautiful winter home. And Joe, the horse, has adjusted to Ashley's plan to whip him into shape.

That's what's happening in our neck of the woods...how about you?

Never say never

2011-11-04T22:23:00.000-05:00

I did something yesterday that I said I'd never do. I know other people do it. And I don't blame them for it. I just didn't think I ever would.

I put a goat in my car. (Yes, Sarah, I did it.)

Why? Because one of our goats (Nellie) was in heat and that calls for desperate measures. Well, not really. One has 48 hours or so to load up the goat and bring it to the buck...if you want babies in the spring, that is. And we do. So we did.

Meet the buck. He will be the dad to our babies. His name is Stone. And he stinks. Really bad.

If all went well, Nellie is due April 3, 2012.

We are gearing up for round two tomorrow...this time it's Betsy's turn to ride in the car and visit the stinky boy. And this time it's Rich's turn to do the driving :-)

Mystery stain

2011-10-24T21:39:00.000-05:00

So, I noticed Ashley had a stain on her jacket.
Anyone want to guess what this is?

Ok, now this was a new one.
It just never happened in suburbia.
But it happened here in hobby farm-ville.

This is what happens when you put an egg in your pocket and forget to take it out and it gets smashed all over the inside of your pocket.

Lovely.

Thank God for washing machines :-)

Remembering Anastasia

2011-10-06T23:59:00.001-05:00

Anastasia, age 2, died suddenly Wednesday night for no apparant reason. She was a good bird, an excellent egg-layer, and a leader of her flock. In fact, she was at the top of the pecking order. Was there a coup in the coop? We may never know what transpired that night. All we know is she filed into the coop with the rest of the flock on Wednesday evening, but by Thursday morning she was...welll...dead. Arrangements have been made with Randy's Sanitation. A short service was held outside the coop with all flockmates in attendance. For more information, please watch the following interview with the farmer who discovered poor Anatstasia.

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Introducing...Joe

2011-09-25T21:50:00.001-05:00

The latest tally:

11 chickens

2 cats

2 goats

1 dog

1 horse
Yes, as of today, we now have a handsome 17 year old quarter horse named Joe who came to us from a friend who was incredibly gracious to bless us with their very first horse. (They now have several more). Joe is a very gentle gelding and, as you can imagine, Ashley is head-over-heels about him already. Joe is hanging out with the goats and they seem to be getting along so far.

On another note, my 99 ½ year old Grandma Gustie was down to visit this week. She enjoyed meeting all the animals. So good to see her, my aunt, my cousin, and my sister on Friday night.

As of last weekend, we have entered yet another new season. We traded in our mini-van for...a pick up! Now we can "haul stuff". Can you even imagine?

Life has changed a lot in the three months since we moved from suburbia to a more rural setting. We feel incredibly blessed to live in this beautiful place and to care for these unique animals. God always seems to be providing opportunities for us to grow. What new adventure is He inviting you to experience? Leave a comment...we'd love to hear about it!

Goodness, gracious...now its...goats!

2011-09-03T17:29:00.001-05:00

As of today, the Bendickson barnyard is now home to 16 animals. One dog, two cats, eleven chickens...and two Alpine goats! These two sweet babies were born this spring at the Stone farm and they've been saving them for us until today. We finally got our fence "goat-proofed" - if there is such a thing. Believe it or not, it actually takes more voltage to keep goats than a bull! They've been here for five hours now and so far, so good :-)

Macie's not sure what to think...

Oh, and we went to the State Fair this week too. I know most people love to eat cheese curds and deep-fried anything, but we just haven't developed a taste for such delicacies. So, we're overjoyed that French Meadow (one of our favorite organic restaurants) has a beautiful place right there are the great MN get-together. Egg Croissant Sandwiches and mini-scones! It doesn't get any better than this :-)

The chickens are doing well, but they are not laying much at the moment. Molting, perhaps? Hopefully the seven younger ones will kick it into gear pretty soon. There's a chill in the air and school starts next week...but we're hanging on to summer for as long as we can.

The chicken or the egg?

2011-07-31T16:57:00.000-05:00

What came first the chicken or the egg? In our case it was the chicken. Or perhaps I should say "chickens". Hold on to your hats folks - yesterday we got chickens. Eleven of them to be exact. And today we have three beautiful eggs!

We significantly increased our animal population in one fell swoop! On Friday we got a call from our friend Patsy who was keeping a flock of backyard chickens. Unfortunately, one of her neighbors complained (it’s a long sad story) and the chickens had to go…on Saturday. So we mowed down the weeds in our chicken run (thank you Fraser kids for all your help!), swept out the coop, and on Saturday we adopted 11 chickens!

We have four two-year-olds referred to as "the big girls". Anastasia, Penelope, and Repunzle each lay an egg each day. Clara, well, she just eats bugs :-)

The "little girls" are 12 weeks old and will start laying in a month or two.

Whew! We were planning to have chickens…next spring. But there’s no time like the present. Isn’t that just the way it goes? Our timing is often not God’s timing. But His timing is perfect, so here we go!

The kids are LOVING these birds!!

We're working on the coop...

The adventure continues...

Green Acres

2011-07-17T19:06:00.001-05:00

Milestones.

23 years ago we got married.
14 years ago we became parents.
3 years ago we hit the road in a motorhome.
1 week ago we moved to the country.

Yes, you read that right. Two small town kids (emphasis on town) who spent 23 years in suburbia (except for the two years in the RV) have embarked on a new adventure complete with septic system, well water, barn, pastures, chicken coop, garden, orchard, vineyard, and yes, a farm house. Well, maybe “farm” is a bit of a stretch. It’s 5 acres, our driveway comes off a cul-du-sec, and there’s a paved bike trail across the road. Our orchard has three apple trees (so far). Our vineyard one vine (plus a bunch of wild grapes), and our farm house…well, its not exactly “vintage. ” However, we’ve already tripled our animal population. Macie now has two very sweet barn cat friends: Callie and Johnny. Callie (on right) is the mom and she’s blind. Johnny (on the left) is her son. We inherited our rodent extermination team from the previous owners.

Ashley’s been busy cleaning the barn. (Stay tuned for what will eventually inhabit said barn).

Jake is breaking in the basketball hoop.

Rich is mowing (the rider arrived on Tuesday).

And I am attempting to restore order to a house filled with boxes of “stuff” while marveling at the wide open countryside, listening to the birds sing, and thanking God for blessing us with such a beautiful place to be.

Our neighbors brought us brownies.

Grandpa and Grandma worked like crazy helping us weed the garden (in 95 degree heat).

Fresh raspberries from the garden...

Life is good.

Heaven is for Real

2011-06-03T23:37:00.000-05:00

It’s been three months since our last post. In that time, we’ve had the joy of celebrating my mom’s life – twice. First in Maple Grove where she lived for the last 20 years, and then in our hometown in northern MN where she was born, and raised, and raised a family. It was a joy to be there to honor my mom with her mom (my 99-year-old grandmother), as well as my mom’s two sisters, extended family, and friends. Her ashes are now buried right next to my dad just as they should be.

In May, we took a road trip which gave us an opportunity to read a book aloud together in the car called “Heaven is for Real.” It’s a true story about a young boy (3) who had an emergency appendectomy and while he was in surgery, he visited heaven. I know it may sound far-fetched, but as the details unfold, it becomes very clear that this boy had an amazing supernatural experience. It starts a little slow, but stick with it and you won’t be able to put it down. Suffice to say, it is incredibly exciting to know that my mom and dad are now in heaven, enjoying life together with Jesus for eternity. For Christians, there is no fear in death with heaven on the horizon. Want to be encouraged? Read this book!

Have you ever visited the Creation Museum in Kentucky? What a blessing to experience a museum that teaches the truth that life was created on purpose by a loving God. How wonderful to hear all of the scientific evidence for Noah’s flood. And how encouraging to know that science lines up with scripture! Evolutionary theory is a huge tragedy because it devalues life. If all I am is evolved pond scum, what value do I have? But if I am a unique person, created in the image of God to love and be loved, hmmm…that is completely different. Suddenly life is valuable, worth living, and exciting!

There are some new adventures brewing here at the Bendickson house. Let’s just say we’re in purging and packing mode again. The details aren’t nailed down, so stay tuned as the journey continues. There are a few hints in the slide show in case you’re curious :-)

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My Mom is with Jesus

2011-02-25T14:49:00.000-06:00

My dear sweet mom is now dancing on streets of gold. No more pain. No more suffering. I stayed with her at the hospital on Wednesday night. After sleeping a couple hours, I was up holding her hand again at 4:30 am. I read Psalm 23 and annointed her head with oil. She went peacefully to be with Jesus early Thursday morning.

Carole Yvonne Grovum of Maple Grove, MN, died Thursday at the age of 70 after a year-long battle with cancer. She was born in Thief River Falls, MN, where she graduated from high school, was married, and raised her family. She and her husband, Wally, owned The Club Café and worked together until his death in 1986. She then relocated to the Twin Cities to be near her two daughters. Carole worked as an insurance agent for many years prior to her retirement in 2005. Carole was a loving and devoted wife, mother, and grandmother. She lived life to the full and her smile was contagious. Her grandchildren were her pride and joy. They loved riding around with her in her notorious yellow bug. She was preceded in death by husband, Wally; father, Henry Thorson & brother, Miles Thorson. Survived by children: Connie (Rich) Bendickson & Vickie (Steve) Woehrle; grandchildren: Ashley, Jake & Ellie; mother, Gustie Thorson; sisters: Olive Eckstein & Annabelle (Jim) Sullins.

A celebration of Carole’s life will be held at Kozlak-Radulovich Funeral Chapel in Maple Grove (13745 Reimer Dr.) on Monday, February 28, from 4:30-7:00 PM with a service at 6 PM. A memorial service will also be held in Thief River Falls this spring.

Thank you for praying!

2011-01-22T20:33:00.000-06:00

Just a quick update to THANK YOU all for praying for my mom these last couple days. She was in surgery for five hours and the surgeon said it went very well. She is in Intensive Care until Monday, but she is doing incredibly well - talking, eating, moving her arms and legs, and sat up all day today in a recliner. She has no pain and isn't even taking pain medication! She's in great spirits joking around with the nurses and looking forward to getting home (hopefully Wednesday). I attribute all of this good news to the incredible power of prayer. Thank you so much!

This is a picture of my mom in her hospital gown before she was wheeled into the operating room.

Prayer...

2011-01-20T23:59:00.000-06:00

It’s been three months since we moved out of the RV and into this house. Everything felt very spread out at first – too big – like a young boy putting on his father’s suit with the arms and legs way too wide and way too long. But we have adjusted and are really enjoying entertaining friends and family. We are grateful to be living in such a beautiful place and so blessed to be close to my mom who has been battling lung cancer for almost a year now.

She was diagnosed last February, went through chemo and radiation last spring, and has been feeling well and enjoying life. Last week, however, after enduring a headache that lasted for two weeks straight, we discovered that the cancer has spread to her brain and there is a golf ball-size tumor in her cerebellum. The doctors are astounded that she isn’t having problems with coordination given the size and location of the tumor. We would very much appreciate your healing prayers as she is scheduled for surgery this Friday (January 21). Thank you for praying with us.

In the midst of a season filled with many unknowns, there’s a song on our hearts that overflows with praise and thanksgiving. We have much to be thankful for. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever!!

Café Diasozo

2011-01-09T21:33:00.000-06:00

Dear Friends and Family,

Just a quick note to invite you to the grand opening of Cafe Diasozo - my new health blog. Check it out at www.cafediasozo.blogspot.com/

Wishing you a happy and healthy new year!

Margin

2010-11-19T21:52:00.000-06:00

Margin. It’s word I’ve been contemplating lately. I remember when I wrote a book a few years back and friend kindly told me that I didn’t need to fill every page full. She said it’s good to have some white space – some margin. That comment stuck with me.

Living in the RV was an experience living outside the culture in many ways. One thing that hit me as we entered back into suburban life is the lack of margin in people’s lives. People are just plain busy. And I do mean busy. Crazy busy, in fact. On the road, it was a different story. We barely needed a calendar. Life was lived in the moment. We rarely planned more than a week ahead of time. Not that I’d want to live my whole life without something penciled in. But I do miss the pace of life on the road. It was slower. Simpler.

Back to margin. Why do we pack things so full? Schedule too tight? Run ourselves ragged? Join too many things? Say yes when we should of said no? One reason, perhaps, is because we see it as normal. I think I did too…until I got a taste of life with margin. Margin allows time for the unexpected, the unanticipated, and the important. It grants time for things that get lost in the shuffle without it. Like reading, for example. How in the world did Ashley and Jake read over 35 books a piece last year – not to mention the 17 we read together? We had margin.

So I’m really trying to be intentional on how we move back into life. I’m being cautious about what I commit to. I don’t want to get sucked back into the rat race. I want a healthy rhythm of life. Just now a Brian Regan comedy bit is coming to mind. If you have enough margin, I highly recommend taking three minutes to laugh yourself silly. If you don’t, you may be “bookin’ yourself too tight”.

A house without wheels...

2010-11-13T17:18:00.000-06:00

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind. Within the last month, we drove to Oklahoma (and back) to store our RV for the winter; moved out of the RV, into my mom’s (for a week), and then into a house; spent a week in California, threw two birthday parties, and the list goes on. And suddenly, we’ve gone from fall to winter in the blink of an eye.

But back to the moving. Two weeks before we were supposed to move into a townhome, our plans fell through. We really loved the place, but trusted that God must have something better. Back up a minute: Last summer the kids and I stumbled upon a neighborhood we absolutely loved. We stopped to see the model and shared our story with the agent…”We’re not really looking for a house…we live in a motorhome…but this is really a beautiful neighborhood…” Well, guess what? The very same day the townhouse fell through, we got back on Craig’s List and a new listing had just come on the market. And guess what? It was a house in that beautiful neighborhood! And guess what? We are now living here! Praise God! He gave us more than we could ask or imagine!

It still feels strange to have so much space. Everything is so spread out and we can go for hours without seeing each other. But it is such a blessing to be here! Rich has an office, the kids have bedrooms, and I have a gourmet kitchen. What a gift…we are so very grateful we get to live here for a season. Thank you, Lord!

Speaking of seasons…yesterday it was fall. Today it is winter. Really winter. Like six inches of snow winter. And we’re loving it…the trees are gorgeous all dressed in white.

People are asking if we’re going to keep blogging even though we are no longer in the RV. The answer is yes. Life is a journey no matter where you live. And though we no longer travel full-time, we are still committed to following Him wherever He leads.

If You lead me Lord I will follow.
Where You lead me Lord I will go.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

For Sale

2010-10-03T20:37:00.000-05:00

It’s been two years since we set sail on the journey of a lifetime. Twenty-five states, 20,000 miles, 24 months. Our children have seen more of this country before they hit high school than most people do in a lifetime. Our family spent more time together in the past two years than many do in 18 years. We’ve learned how to live with less. We’ve learned to get along with each other (most of the time :-) Our faith grew. We gained new perspectives. We experienced a slower pace of life. Our kids became more creative. We learned to bake bread. We met new people. We discovered history everywhere. We hiked. We biked. We toured. We played tennis and Quiddler and Scrabble and Risk. And made memories we will cherish forever.

Number of videos watched while driving: zero

Number of miles driven by Connie: zero

Regrets: zero

We’d do it again in a heartbeat. But the seasons are changing. The leaves are displaying their brilliant colors and the Bendickson’s are bracing themselves for their first Minnesota winter in two years. Yes, we are moving into a house again. And…we’re putting the RV up for sale…so if you know a family who is called to take a radical leap of faith, please tell them about our well-cared-for home on wheels.

2007 Newmar All-Star 4154. 42 feet. Sleeps 8. Queen in master. Two bunks. Corian countertops. Excellent condition. 24,000 miles. $135,000.

More pictures? Click here.

South Dakota, etc...

2010-09-17T01:04:00.000-05:00

Fall is in the air, it’s getting cold in the camper, and we’re breaking out the polar fleece! What have we been up to? Well, Rich and I celebrated our 22nd anniversary at the A.G. Thomson House B&B in Duluth, MN. The inn keepers are wonderful and the food is outstanding – highly recommended! We also enjoyed the New Scenic Café and Whole Food’s Co-op – unique, local, and organic...just how we like it :-)

We were so excited to finally meet (in person) our new friends from South Carolina – the Stroziers. They recently sold their house and hit the road in their RV (sound familiar)? They have six beautiful children and are traveling the country going wherever the Spirit leads. Read about their adventures on their blog. The music on our slideshow (below) is a funky new (well, new to us) song we learned when our families attended the Holy Spirit conference in August. Yes, Lord!!

A few additional highlights: Living in a real house for a week while friends were traveling; doing lunch with Laura; visiting Rich’s grandparents up north at Red Lake; attending a conference with friends in Duluth; having our 5-year-old nephew stay with us for three days; reminiscing with college friends; and last, but definitely not least…spending a week in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Now that’s a road trip!

Seeing the sights is one thing, but it’s the stories that bring them to life. Take Crazy Horse for example. If all you do is drive by, it’s easy to conclude there’s not much to see. Hearing the story makes all the difference. Did you know Crazy Horse is more/less the undertaking of one family and funded only through private donations? No government money at all. How on earth does someone even consider sculpting a mountain? The work began in 1948 with one man who dared to do something way beyond himself. The vision is big and it’s going to take time - but what an inspiration for dreaming big and persevering!

We have learned many valuable lessons over the past two years and fruit is beginning to grow as a result of this RV adventure. And while the winds of change are blowing once again (stay tuned for more details) some things will never change: “We will praise You for the rest of our days”!

P.S. As you can see in the pictures, my mom is feeling great – thank you for your continued prayers! Hallelujah, we give You the praise!!

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Is it almost August?

2010-07-23T02:04:00.000-05:00

Wow! Another month just flew by. We are enjoying a beautiful summer here in MN. Jake recently wrapped up his baseball season and Ashley has one more soccer game. The kids planted a garden this spring on our picnic table. We already harvested some wonderful radishes and we’re hoping for some beautiful tomatoes in a few weeks.

We haven’t been traveling much, but we’ve had some interesting adventures nonetheless. We got to witness our friend’s goat giving birth to a baby boy – now that is science class up close and personal! We visited the grandparents in Thief River Falls. Some dear friends moved in next door for Memorial weekend on their maiden voyage in their new motorhome. The Singh’s and some new friends joined us for a fun afternoon on the 4th. Ashley sewed pajama pants at sewing camp and we’ve entertained quite a few sleepovers in the RV this summer.

My mom has been spending some precious quality time with her grandchildren taking them to the $1 movie on Tuesday mornings and then out to lunch. Even cousin Ellie joined the fun a couple weeks ago.

A recent highlight was spending the weekend milking goats for our friends the Stones. These two goats are giving over 3 gallons of milk a day! It was really fun to experience this process and live in a real house for a few days. It seemed like so much space!

My sister and I went with my mom to a family reunion celebrating 150 years since our ancestors homesteaded in MN from Norway. My mom was very excited to reunite with her cousins who she rarely sees because they live in Canada. It was really fun to learn more about our heritage and meet so many relatives we have never known.

And last but not least, we have trapped three mice this week under the sink in our RV! Arghhh!!! And two of them while Rich is traveling. Let me tell you…I have THE bravest children and I’m so grateful that they have taken on the responsibility of disposing of these rodents while Rich is gone. Hopefully, we’ve seen the last of them!

On a happier note, we’ve been enjoying some wonderful recipes this summer. You’ll see some of them in the slideshow. Our latest is blended watermelon which is absolutely yummy! Thank you, Lord, for creating such a wide variety of colorful fruits and vegetables for us to enjoy. You are so good to us!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Summer's Here!

2010-06-21T15:19:00.003-05:00

It’s official. Summer is here. We wrapped up our school year and did the mandatory standardized test. Not that I like to think of life as school or non-school. I much prefer a “lifestyle of learning” mentality no matter what the season. We spent the last nine months immersed in American history and the human body, but there were many other things we learned along the way. And while many of them have no value on a standardized test – they are far more important and eternally significant.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m thrilled that my children rank above average according to someone else’s idea of what they should know (aka standardized test), but I’m even more excited that they love to learn and are learning to love, learning to be responsible, learning to take the initiative, learning to be kind…and learning to be more like Jesus. They’re becoming who God created them to be and being equipped to do what He has called them to do. And that is actually the definition of education – at least the definition by which we choose to live.

Yes, there are some basics that all human beings need to know…like how to read, write, and do some basic math. But what’s more important? Being a straight A student who behaves like a self-centered brat trampling over others while climbing the ladder of success? Or being a kind, compassionate, loving human being who will never make it in trigonometry, but can balance a checkbook and lives a life of faith, hope, and love?

Where’s the grade for character? Does the Department of Education concern itself with such things? Or is it too…abstract? Too hard to measure? Or simply not significant in the pursuit of financial prosperity? Not that I’m recommending we try to slap a grade on the character of our children. I think there is far too much labeling, grading, and sorting already. But isn't there more to education than what can be sliced, diced, measured, graded, and compiled?

Just my two cents. Would love to hear yours :-)

Spring in MN - Back in the RV

2010-05-02T21:47:00.000-05:00

Long time, no blog! We spent a few weeks living at the Staybridge Suites in Maple Grove while the snow melted and the weather warmed up. We really enjoyed the perks…like the breakfast buffet (thanks, Sue!), and the laundry facilities, but we are very happy to be “home” again in the RV.

In March, my mom and I spent ten glorious days at Bella Vita in Lodi, California where we went through a cleanse and learned about natural health and healing. I was blessed to be part of the staff as a volunteer and learned so much going through the cleanse myself and helping in the kitchen. It was wonderful to be there with my mom and the experience re-ignited my passion for health.

My mom is doing well. She has chemo once a week and radiation five days a week. She just finished her second week of what will be five to seven weeks total. So far, she has not been nauseated and we are praying that continues. She is strong and determined and she’s a fighter. Cancer is a battle that must be fought from many angles – and prayer is absolutely essential. It’s a huge blessing to know there are so many people praying for her including people who read our blog, but we don’t even know. Thank you so much for making a difference in our lives through prayer!

Rich recently returned from San Antonio, TX, where he was speaking at a conference about Dashboard Gear – his software that helps companies quickly and easily create reports from their Lawson financial and human resources systems. We are really happy to have Daddy home again after six days.

Ashley and Jake are gearing up for soccer and baseball season and we are finishing up our homeschool studies in the next few weeks. We have thoroughly enjoyed our first year using Sonlight studying American history and the human body. The two things we love most about Sonlight is their schedule (we didn’t know if we’d like it, but we do), and their use of real, living books. More on this another time…

For now, a few photos from the last few weeks of our journey. And a song by Jonny Diaz that sums up our hearts desire to “love like You love, serve like You serve, to speak only words of truth.” Lord, show us how to love like You.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Mad Dash for Minnesota

2010-03-04T19:24:00.000-06:00

It’s amazing how quickly things can change. One day you’re searching for seashells, the next day you’re making a mad dash to Minnesota. Cancer has a way of changing things – quickly. Unfortunately, that has been our reality the last few weeks.

On February 16th, my mom called with her test results: lung cancer.

We left Naples, FL on February 18th stopping at North Trail RV in Fort Myers to get the fluids and tires checked before the long journey north. What a blessing we got in on short notice because we were 9 quarts low on oil (out of 26). Then our water pump died. After two days in the shop, we finally hit the road on Saturday, February 20th for the four day drive back to MN.

If you know anything about Minnesota in March, you know it’s cold, snowy, and living in an RV is next to impossible. Thus, our house is now parked safely at my aunt and uncles house in Oklahoma. We’ll pick it up when the snow melts and the campground opens. For now, we have an opportunity to take minimalist living to the next level: four people, one dog, and whatever fits in a minivan.

In all honesty, we’re living very comfortably here at the extended stay hotel. It is weird to have so much space though. Two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a small living room, and a tiny kitchen - must be at least 600 square feet – double what we’re used to.

My mom had an x-ray, a CAT scan, and a biopsy – and next week she has a PET scan and an MRI. We’re meeting with the oncologist again next week to talk about treatment options. I’m really grateful to be here, along with my sister, to walk through this with my mom. She is strong and feels good right now.

Today is a gift from God. I will rejoice and be glad in it.

Naples & Minne-snow-ta

2010-02-07T21:30:00.003-06:00

It’s been a month and half since our last post and we have been so busy with friends and family – which is a real treat (and very unusual) for us being on the road! We spent a wonderful Christmas Eve with the Perrins, and then a few days later, Ashley and I headed to Minnesota for her ortho appointment – and more importantly, to see many (unfortunately not all) of the people we know, and love, and miss! It was such a blessing to spend a long weekend savoring precious moments of sweet conversation before we headed back to Naples.

Grandma Carole escaped the Arctic to spend ten glorious days in sunny Florida – a few of them alone with her grandchildren - while Rich and I went to MN (again) for a retreat with our church group. Yes, we are very grateful for frequent flyer miles!

We said goodbye to Grandma and hello to some of the Singh's - who totally blessed us by staying in the RV with us for a couple of days. We had so much fun at the beach, the pool, playing games, walking, and talking and trying to pack it all into a short visit. So much to talk about…so little time!

It’s really interesting…when we lived in a 3,000 square foot house, we rarely had overnight guests. But now that we live in 300 square feet, we have lots of people spending the night – and we love it!

We are truly blessed with the best family and friends ever – and we’re so grateful for your love and friendship. This slideshow is precious to us because it’s filled with familiar faces we rarely get to see – which makes it all the sweeter when we do.

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Bradenton & Naples, FL - Playing the drums for Him

2009-12-24T12:04:00.000-06:00

Last summer we were blessed to spend a week at Strawberry Lake Christian Retreat in Northern MN – which is why we were so excited to visit their southern location in Bradenton, FL. What a great community of people making a difference in the world.

We were also blessed to reconnect with an old friend we haven’t seen in over ten years. Marie recently moved back to the states from Bermuda with her husband and three-year-old daughter, Sienna. We spent a day with them catching up, kayaking, and checking out the manatees. Looking forward to seeing them again soon.

Next we headed a couple hours south to Naples and were so happy to see more familiar faces! Our dear friends, the Perrins, flew in from MN. They are here for a couple of weeks so we’re spending Christmas with them at Janet’s mom’s place.

Praying your Christmas is filled with the love, peace, joy, and hope that Jesus came to bring. We had a blast playing our drums for Him in the slideshow…Merry Christmas from the Bendicksons!

PS...The last blog about Tampa was from last year...sorry...I was messing around with the blog and somehow it sent it out...technology...

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Orlando, FL - What Matters Most

2009-12-14T00:58:00.000-06:00

We had a quiet week at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Campground. Rich flew to Minneapolis for a few days while the kids and I decorated the RV with our homemade Christmas crafts. I think we left the campground once… to stock up at Whole Foods, but other than that we spent the week reading, biking, playing tennis, decorating, and sending a few Christmas cards.

Jake finally got his birthday present – a LEGO Mindstorm – which is a LEGO robot that you build and then program to do different things. He was up at the crack of dawn building – his happy zone. He’s really excited that Dad is back to help him get creative with the programming part.

We didn’t do any Disney parks, but the kids took an archery class at the campground. This was their first experience with a bow and arrow and they had a blast perfecting their aim. The campground, by the way, is very interesting at this time of year. It is packed full of campers who take holiday lights to a whole new level. Many set up displays that make us wonder how they could possibly plug it all in without blowing every fuse in the place!

Our Christmas seasons have definitely changed since we hit the road. December was always a rat-race with so many good things vying for a spot on our overbooked calendar. There was always more to do than could be done. Unfortunately, what matters most usually fell by the wayside. It was exhausting. And often frustrating and disappointing. We definitley miss spending time with family and friends. But overall, we feel very blessed to enjoy a much slower pace of life these days. We’ve been journeying through the scriptures with our Jesse Tree, watching history unfold, and looking forward to the birth of Jesus. We are grateful to have enough margin in our days to stop and smell the roses once in awhile – to watch a deer in the woods - or an armadillo foraging for insects. Less is definitely more. More peace. More joy. More time for what matters most.

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Williston and Titusville, FL

2009-12-07T00:13:00.000-06:00

After Destin, we headed to Williston, FL, near Ocala in Florida horse country. We spent a few days at Williston Crossings over Thanksgiving and had an opportunity to visit the Parelli ranch. This is a working ranch where horse lovers from around the world come to learn “Parelli” horse techniques. You might remember we traveled to Kansas City last summer to attend a Parelli horse conference. Ashley’s horse instructor is a Parelli trainer – so needless to say, it was a highlight to visit headquarters and see the facilities.

Next stop was Titusville, FL, on the space coast. We enjoyed the nature trails and wildlife at the Great Outdoors RV Nature and Golf Resort. God really drew our attention to the heavens last week. First, we watched two incredible space-related DVDs: The Privileged Planet and Star of Bethlehem – both of which brought us to a place of awe and wonder about the Creator of the universe and tremendously strengthened our faith. Second, our memory verses for this week just happened to be from Psalm 19 – all about the heavens declaring the glory of God. To top it off, we visited Kennedy Space Center and spent the day pondering life from a very different perspective.

It is deeply moving to glimpse the complexity, enormity, and synchrony that God set in motion when He created the heavens and the earth. And is it not amazing that He created us in such a way that we can discover and begin to understand it? How majestic is Your name in all the earth, Lord!

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Destin, FL (Topsail State Park)

2009-11-26T21:10:00.000-06:00

After Arkansas, we drove like crazy (11 hours – way too far for one day) all the way to Topsail State Park in Destin, Florida – one of our favorite spots from last year. It’s a beautiful park with a private walking/biking trail to the beach. The kids enjoyed designing and building a variety of sand castles.

One of the highlights of the week was meeting Kelly and Jared at Amore Pizzeria in Santa Rosa Beach. We biked to their lovely café one afternoon for lunch and after tasting their excellent pizza we asked if they would be willing to teach us how they make pizza crust. What a huge blessing to learn this culinary art from such a gifted baker and teacher! Jared showed us each step and the kids got to get their hands in the dough and make pizzas from start to finish. There is a lot more to gourmet pizza crust than meets the eye. We are so grateful for Kelly and Jared’s generous hearts and their willingness to share their expertise with us. If you’re ever in the area, be sure to stop by for the best pizza ever!

We also visited another state park called Eden Gardens where we toured a southern mansion and enjoyed the live oak trees and beautiful gardens. And then it was out for dinner to celebrate another Bendickson birthday…we are always busy blowing out candles this time of year.

This week we were reminded of the forming, transforming, and conforming that God does with us when we allow Him to work in our lives. Nothing gets transformed without going through a process that often includes stirring, waiting, kneading, pressing, stretching – and a certain amount of heat. It’s true for pizza and it’s true for us. Thank you, Jesus, for the work you are doing to refine us so our lives can more accurately reflect who You are.

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Star of Bethlehem

2009-11-22T00:12:00.004-06:00

It's hard to believe we are once again standing on the doorstep of Christmas. Like many of you, our hearts desire is to slow down and truly savor the mystery of Christmas. Last year, we watched a DVD that was a huge blessing to our family. It’s called The Star of Bethlehem. This documentary-style video drew us into deep appreciation for the incredible lengths God went to when He orchestrated the heavens to coincide perfectly with His Word. What Rick Larson uncovers and shares in this video is simply astounding. One cannot watch and not be moved to worship! This is now one of our Christmas traditions. Here’s a link to the video at Amazon if you want to read the reviews &/or order it. You may also be able to rent it at your local video store.

Speaking of stars...if you haven't seen Indescribable by Louie Giglio, I invite you to check this out too. You can watch it in five segments on YouTube (or you can buy the DVD at Amazon). Here's the first segment. I'll put links for the other four below.

May you be blessed as you stand in awe of our Creator who designed and built the incredible universe in which we live. He truly is ... indescribable!

Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPybgiX9J60
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiI5gb6ZR04
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CetMLmH_b6Q
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viUwtv27Pec

Village Creek State Park, Arkansas

2009-11-13T23:12:00.004-06:00

After bustling, busy Branson, we settled into a quiet peaceful week at Village Creek State Park near Wynne, Arkansas. We felt like we were living in a panoramic picture of beautiful fall colors on a peninsula overlooking a serene lake. We more/less had this sanctuary all to ourselves and every day we woke to the sounds of birds singing, squirrels foraging through crunchy, fallen leaves, and the sun rising across the pristine lake. We were so content we never even ventured out of the park all week! It is truly one of the most awe-inspiring places we have ever been.

We celebrated Jake’s 10th birthday in traditional fashion with cake, presents, - and flag football. I knew Ashley and I were in trouble when, on the initial play, I was running full speed ahead carrying the ball toward the end zone when Rich clipped my heal and we both went flying and tumbled to the ground. Those boys take this game seriously! We kept up with them pretty well – at first – but eventually their expertise paid off and they won the game 20-11.

This week we had an incredible opportunity to learn about the Trail of Tears - when thousands of Native Americans were forced from their land in the Southeast and moved to Oklahoma in the 1830’s. We watched a very moving video depicting this tragedy and then actually got to walk on a one-mile stretch of the trail which runs through this state park. Our hearts were drawn to a place of deep repentance for the ways in which our Europeon ancestors played a part this incredible injustice.

It is impossible not to stand in awe of our Creator in a place brimming with so much natural beauty. God, we praise you and we thank you for how You created our environment to sustain itself and us. So often we take things for granted – like the simple act of trees taking in carbon dioxide and giving off oxygen so we can breathe. Yet even this is a testimony to Your love and care for us. Your creativity is beyond compare. You are God alone!

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Oklahoma, Fort Rock, Branson

2009-11-07T08:40:00.002-06:00

Howdy – how y’all doing? We’ve been in the south for a few weeks now and thought we’d give y’all a shout:-) I just love those southern accents! We hit the road and headed out of MN on October 18th which means it’s now official: We’ve been living in the RV for over a year now. The weird thing is that it seems completely normal. More on that another time…

For those of you who have spent a night in our little humble abode, you will be happy to know that we got our toilet fixed in Kansas City and it no longer sounds like a jet engine! After a few days in KC, we headed south to spend a week at my aunt & uncles house in Oklahoma where they have 40 acres and full hookups. For you non-campers, that means water, electricity, and sewer. Ashley celebrated her 13th birthday while we were there and Aunt Annabelle baked her a beautiful chocolate cake. Oh, and the kids got to drive Uncle Jim’s tractor!

We also took a field trip to Fort Rock Family Camp in NW Arkansas. It was an incredible blessing to meet Terry and hear how he went from being a work-a-holic real estate agent to building a camp and homeschooling his kids. What a blessing to hear his story and see how the Lord is using this family to restore other families. The camp looks like an 1800’s town set in the backdrop of the Ozark Mountains complete with a diner, a trading post, horses – and the longest zip line in the state of Arkansas! Did we climb to the platform and take a leap of faith hanging from nothing but a wire tied to two trees? (Remember my fear of heights?) You’ll have to watch the video to find out!

After picking up Grandma Carole at the airport and saying farewell to my aunt and uncle, we headed to Branson, MO, to check out this musical city. We saw a couple of great shows: Pierce Arrow and The Haygoods. The kids got their picture taken with one of the Pierce Arrow guys who holds the Guiness Book of World Records for having the lowest voice and the widest range. Rich and I compare Branson to the Wisconsin Dells…small towns that have a point of interest. For Branson it’s all about shows. For the Dells, it’s all about water parks.

What’s it all about for us? That is a question we are pondering these days on the Bendickson bus.

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Summer 2009

2009-10-09T19:06:00.004-05:00

Where do I begin? It’s been nearly four months since our last update. This summer flew by and the leaves are falling again (and so are the temperatures)! We are quickly approaching our one year anniversary (Oct. 16) since we set sail into the great unknown. When we hit the road last year, we all thought we would return to MN, sell our house, and find land. Well, we returned and we sold our house…but we didn’t buy land which means our traveling days are not yet over. Our home base campground closes October 15th – so we are hitting the road again in just a few short days.

We feel like the Israelites wandering in the desert following the cloud by day and the fire by night. We know God is leading us to land, we just have no idea what route we are taking to get there and how long it’s going to be before we arrive! I guess that’s where the walking by faith part comes in. We don’t have a clue where we’re headed, but we know God has a plan. So we’re choosing to trust Him.

Our summer was full of friends, family, sports and road trips. I won’t bore you with every detail, but here are a few highlights:

Ashley played another undefeated soccer season with Lindsey and Emily. Jake played baseball (pitcher and various other positions) and was chosen to represent his team in the 9-year-old All-Star Game. Ashley leased a horse named Autumn and rode in her first fun show this fall. Jake went to horse camp at Roselawn Stables with his friend Drake. We picked and dehydrated thirty pounds of strawberries. Ashley got pierced ears and braces on her teeth. We went to Thief River Falls to visit family; Wisconsin to look at land; Burnsville for a family reunion including my 97 year old grandmother; Father Hennepin State Park with friends doing Praise MN;. Kansas City, MO, with friends to attend a horse conference, Royals game, and water park; Strawberry Lake Christian Retreat Camp – what a blessing! Baker Park with college friends; The Stones came to visit us; Grand Forks, ND, for a wedding on Rich’s side.

And finally, the grand finale – a weekend at Tettagouche State Park on the North Shore of Lake Superior which included touring Round River Farm (awesome!), taking fourth place (out of four 4:-) in a whiffle ball tournament, and meeting some wonderful new friends – David and Lise.

As I write and remember the last few months, it brings me to a place of deep gratitude. We have so much to be thankful for. The North Shore inspired the music for this slideshow because He makes everything glorious!

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Moving

2009-06-19T22:25:00.009-05:00

We’ve been back in MN for two months now and so much has happened in eight short weeks. First, in case you haven’t heard yet - we sold our house – and closed this week! We feel very blessed to be passing our home to a sweet family with two young children. And we are so grateful for God’s timing. Having to come back during our trip to pack up the house in the middle of winter would have been a big bummer now that we know how much work it really was. It is amazing how much time and energy it takes to pack up a house! We honestly thought we had the bulk of it behind us before we left. But cleaning out the nooks and crannies and putting everything in storage is simply not that simple. It takes a lot of patience and endurance – and friends with time, energy, and pick-up trucks! To our dear friends - thank you all so much!!! We couldn’t have done it without you!

God has been orchestrating some really amazing things the last few weeks. First, when we left MN last fall, we gave Rich’s car to a friend in need. Needless to say, when we arrived back this spring, we only had one vehicle. While it was somewhat inconvenient to coordinate schedules, we were making due and we were so busy we didn’t have time to figure out buying another car. But God knows our needs! About three weeks ago a friend of a friend (Dorothy) bought a new car and this time we were humbled and blessed to be on the receiving end of a car give-away! Dorothy generously gave us her 1999 Honda Civic. The kids think it’s really cool to have windows with roll down handles:-) We are excited to have another car and to someday pass it on to someone else in need.

But that’s not the end of the story! After Dorothy transferred her car to us, she and our mutual friend went out for lunch. As they were driving along, Dorothy (a recent widow) mentioned how she would love to have a piano. She had no idea that we had a baby grand piano that was scheduled to be moved into storage in just three days. Now we have Dorothy’s old car – and she has our baby grand! She gets to enjoy the piano and see if she really wants to invest in buying one – and we get free storage and the joy of knowing our piano is blessing someone else! Isn’t God’s timing amazing?!

What else? So many things…but here’s a few more tidbits of how the Lord has been moving in the midst of our move: We had Smart Boxes delivered to our house, but we never got organized enough to ask anyone to help us move all our stuff into these storage pods – yet we had three couples plus my mom show up throughout the day to help – one couple we had never met before (that’s a whole other cool story!) Thank you Scott, Suzanne, Andrew, Janet, Peter, and Susan – for all your back-breaking work!

A few days later our friend Ellen came over and cleaned the entire house – what a blessing! And then Robin called and offered to haul stuff so off we went to Goodwill (again…) and the recycling center. Janet provided every box we used – and probably packed most of them too. Thank you!! Oh, and three weeks ago, we decided to have a spur of the moment garage sale – on Memorial Weekend – to try to get rid of some big items. We listed the sale on Craig’s List on Friday, stuck the furniture in the driveway on Saturday – and sold everything! Praise God!

In the midst of normal life God reveals Himself and builds our faith as we notice all the incredible ways He orchestrates what we could never do on our own. To Him be the glory! Here are few pictures from the last few weeks along with a toe-tapping tune that has been on my heart. God is good – all the time!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Maple Grove, MN

2009-04-29T23:49:00.007-05:00

Greetings! It’s been two weeks since we arrived back home in Maple Grove, MN, and set up camp just 6 miles from our house. We were so blessed to be welcomed home with a beautiful banner and balloons from the Martins and Frasers! Thank you so much!!

It’s been a whirlwind the last couple of weeks with Rich traveling for work, catching up with friends, and just generally trying to settle back into life. Our house has been on the market since we left last October – and this week an offer came in – and we accepted! If all goes well, we will close June 15th. Next step is to move our stuff into storage.

And now for the question of the day: Do you know where you’re going yet? Nope. We have no clue. But we have a God who promises He has a plan for us (Jeremiah 29:11). So we’re trusting Him, leaning not on our own understanding, and believing that His word is true – He will make our path straight (Proverbs 3:5-6). We’ll keep you posted as the journey continues…

Today is the day!

2009-04-14T23:54:00.004-05:00

If you haven’t noticed already, we are heading north. We left Kansas City on Sunday and after a short stay in Des Moines, IA, our next stop is home sweet home - Maple Grove, MN!

I have to say it is bittersweet. On one hand, we are very excited to reconnect with those we have missed so much in the past six months. On the other hand, there is a part of us that doesn’t want this to end. We have had an amazing time and have been so incredibly blessed along the way that it’s hard to imagine this season coming to an end.

And then there is the question everyone is asking: What next? The truth is we are wondering the same thing! Our house is still for sale. And though we believe we are moving to a place with land, we don’t know when. And we don’t know where. This is the part of walking by faith that isn’t so easy. Being willing to wait without trying to figure it out and make something happen is hard. Living in the unknown is unusual for us. We’re planners. We like our ducks in a row. We are accountants and this doesn’t balance!

But above all else, our heart’s desire is to live a life of faith - trusting and depending on God to lead the way. He is faithful, and though it feels uncomfortable, we really do believe that all He has in store for us is good.

I can’t think of a better way to convey where we are at than this song. No pictures of us this time…just Lincoln Brewster pouring out his heart singing words we are claiming as our own. Today is the day!

On a side note, yesterday I was pondering life from a different perspective…you can read more at http://conniebendickson.blogspot.com/

Kansas City, MO

2009-04-12T23:04:00.007-05:00

After Albuquerque, we headed out on a two-day driving extravaganza all the way to Kansas City, MO, with an overnight stop in Oklahoma City. We spent the week freezing our butts off and wondering why we decided to go north before June. :-) We got our furnace fixed again…for the third time…BUT, we couldn’t use it because we were out of propane. It has been a good lesson for us to understand, ever so slightly, what is a daily reality for many. We think the furnace really is working now…they replaced the motor and – praise God – it was under warranty!

We had a very nice week camped at a quiet serene place - Longview Campground. We enjoyed Waldo Pizza - you gotta love a place that has soy cheese on the menu! We celebrated Passover remembering how God led His people out of Egypt (slavery) and into the Promised Land (freedom) – and how He does the same for us. (No, we aren't converting to Judaism...we have just find it meaningful to celebrate the same festivals that Jesus did when He walked on this earth). We were also blessed to visit the International House of Prayer over Easter weekend and were grateful to be reminded once again that “Jesus paid it all – all to Him I owe…my sin had left a crimson stain...but He washed it white as snow.”

Father, thank you for loving us so much that you sacrificed Your only Son to pay for our sin. Thank you, Jesus, for going to the cross so that we can be forgiven and have abundant life – now and forever. Your love is amazing! Help us to be more like you, Jesus.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Grand Canyon & Albuquerque, NM

2009-04-07T21:49:00.002-05:00

After Phoenix we headed north into the mountains near Flagstaff, to a small town on Route 66 - Williams, AZ, where we spent two nights at the Grand Canyon Railway RV Park. The kids enjoyed the indoor pool and we had to get used to weather that was much cooler than Phoenix! We saw a Wild West Shootout before boarding the train that took us to the Grand Canyon. There were some interesting entertainment and on the way back we were held up by a band of train robbers on horseback. It was a two hours and 15 minutes each way and Rich really appreciated not having to drive.

If you’ve ever been to the Grand Canyon then you know what I’m about to say is true: It is absolutely “indescribable”!! It is a magnificent work of art – a masterpiece - sculpted and painted by the Creator of the universe. There are no words to adequately describe it and pictures do not even come close to doing it justice. If this canyon isn’t convincing evidence for a God who loves beauty and goes to great lengths to reveal Himself to us, I don’t know what is. If you want to understand what I’m talking about, you have to see it for yourself. There is no other way to take it in.

After marveling at the canyon, it was time for my mom to fly back to MN so we made our way to Albuquerque, NM. As we pulled into American RV Park, Ashley noticed that the ARK (Acts of Random Kindness) family was parked there. They are a family of six living life on the road and doing acts of random kindness wherever they go. We emailed with them a few months ago, but we had no idea they were in our neck of the woods. We had a great afternoon getting to know them and hearing about how God is leading their journey. And we had the privilege of taking their kids hiking with us at Petroglyph National Monument. They are an amazing family dedicated to serving the Lord and we sincerely hope our paths cross again soon. You can read more about them at: www.thearktour.org

Next stop…stay tuned…we’re back in the central time zone!

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Tucson, Minneapolis, Phoenix

2009-04-05T20:23:00.003-05:00

After leaving Chinle, we headed south to Tucson, AZ, to visit my cousin, Lisa, who I haven’t seen for 17 years! She and her husband have been living full-time in their motorhome for 14 years now (I guess it runs in the family). We were blessed to be able to park right next to them at Voyager RV Park where they are work-camping for the season. And we were doubly blessed with my mom flying in to visit us again. She was more than happy to escape the long, cold MN winter – and we were so happy to see her! This worked out beautifully as Rich had to fly to Minneapolis for two business meetings. And, since my mom was there and my cousin was next door, I got to hop on a plane and head to MN to attend a conference with a group of dear friends. I told you it has been a whirlwind lately…now you know why our blog hasn’t been up to date for awhile!

While I was gone, my cousin took everyone to Saguaro National Park to see an incredible array of cacti. It is such a unique landscape in the desert and there is more life there than I imagined. We really enjoyed our morning desert walks with my cousin. She even taught the kids the names of all the different cacti species. We also visited San Xavier del Bac Mission which was built in the late 1700’s and is under constant restoration to preserve this historic building.

Oh, remember that incident with the rock that nearly damaged the radiator? Well, as it turns out, the van was not as fortunate as the RV after being dragged over the rock. We ended up having to stay an extra day in Tucson to get the suspension and tie rod repaired. Honestly, I think God did some kind of miracle because we drove the van for quite a few days before it started acting up. It was perfectly fine until Rich picked me up at the airport and the steering started locking up and making an awful squealing noise. We took it in for repairs and were happy to have extra time with my cousin while the van was getting fixed up.

Next we went to Phoenix to visit Bob and Doris – Rich’s great aunt and uncle. They have a beautiful place in Apache Junction and we had a great time dining with them at Los Gringos Locos.

Then we were off to Sun City to visit my aunt Marvel, my cousin Penny, and her husband Jim. We enjoyed spending the afternoon visiting with them. And we were so excited to go home with a trunk full of oranges and grapefruits that we got to pick ourselves in their back yard! I cannot believe how sweet grapefruit is when it is allowed to ripen on the tree. We are still enjoying that beautiful fruit!

Time is flying and it’s hard to believe we’ve been gone nearly six months. Life on the road has been very busy the last few weeks and we are happy to be settling into a healthy rhythm again this week. Lessons from the desert: The whole earth is filled with Your glory, Lord!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Santa Fe, NM & Chinle, AZ

2009-03-31T20:42:00.002-05:00

Greetings! It’s been awhile since we’ve had time to update the blog - it’s been a whirlwind the last few weeks. After our overnight in Amarillo, we made our way to Santa Fe, NM – including a little off-roading along the way. It seems that “road construction” in the state of New Mexico literally means they are constructing a road…and you drive on gravel while they are working on putting in the pavement. After waiting in a long line of stopped cars for twenty minutes or so (and meeting a great couple from Iowa in the process), we proceeded to follow the cars in front of us through a maze of cones, trucks, and heavy equipment. We got a little nervous when the sign said “pavement ends”, but Rich did a great job four-wheeling us through the construction zone.

We were very excited to get to Santa Fe because our dear friends Tim and Michelle and their three children flew in to spend a few days with us. We spent one night at Bishop’s Lodge where the girls got to hang out with horses. We took a beautiful hike in the mountains, ate at a great little organic restaurant called The Treehouse, and wandered around Old Town admiring the Navajo art and jewelry. Michelle’s parents met up with us and we had a blast entertaining eleven people for dinner in the RV for four glorious days.

After Santa Fe, we all hit the road and drove to Chinle, AZ, to see Canyon De Chelly (pronounced Du Shay) which is in the northeast corner of Arizona on the Navajo Nation Indian Reservation. As we pulled into the campground praying for site long enough for our RV, our prayers were answered. However, in our excitement, we turned too quickly and hit a big rock that tore off part of a plastic grate that protects the radiator. Rich was not a happy camper. Fortunately, Michelle’s dad checked everything out and said it all looked fine. It really could have been a lot worse. Damaging the radiator would have been the worst case scenario, but we could have also easily ripped off the sewage pipe which would have really stunk :-) I’ll tell you about the van later…

Horseback riding is mandatory when you have three horse-crazy girls, so Michelle, Tim, I, and the girls, set out on an adventure of a lifetime exploring the canyon with our Navajo guide, John. He did an excellent job showing us around this beautiful land and sharing stories of his people and their connection to the canyon. It was an amazing blessing to be a guest in a place so rich in history and natural beauty. Words are completely inadequate, so I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.

We are continually blessed us as we travel through each unique corner of creation. God’s handiwork is nothing short of spectacular and the variety of people He created in His image is magnificent . The earth is truly filled with His glory!

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Dallas, TX

2009-03-12T08:13:00.002-05:00

Last week was a whirlwind! Our rhythm of staying a week or two in one place is out the window for awhile. We left San Antonio and drove to Canton, TX, which is about an hour east of Dallas, and stayed at a beautiful brand new RV park called Mill Creek Ranch RV Park and Cottage Resort. We loved this place! It was inspiring to us to see a raw piece of land being developed slowly and carefully and with such attention to detail. We enjoyed walking around the property and just being outside in the nice warmer-than-normal weather. We were also blessed to attend a small church gathering that meets at the campground lodge. What a beautiful bunch of warm, welcoming people at Millcreek Fellowship.

On Sunday we headed into the Dallas area and spent three nights at Hickory Creek Campground. It was a nice place – close to the city, but yet we felt like we were out in the woods. Rich spent two days teaching a class at a client site so the kids and I had a couple of quiet days. It was so weird without Rich there. We have become so accustomed to all of us being together all day – everyday - that it felt like we were missing something…someone.

We’re on our way to New Mexico now and we stopped overnight in Amarillo, TX, at a wonderful spot called Oasis RV Resort. When we checked in we actually got a refund because they have a "stimulus package" going on now. Then we had planned to do our laundry at this stop and discovered they have free laundry rooms! What a blessing! And, they even called a local mobile RV repair shop for us and we got our furnace fixed – just in time for the 20’s.

The guys from G’s Mobile RV Service replaced our limit switch, but ended up having to come back again a couple hours later. As it turned out, we had a mud dauber nest in our furnace motor which became an interesting science investigation. Once they got that cleaned out, we were back in business. Thanks George and George!

Short video this time...

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Austin & San Antonio, TX

2009-03-06T22:20:00.002-06:00

Howdy Partner! We are now enjoying the great BIG state of Texas. We spent a few days near Austin at Bastrop RV Park complete with miniature horses and donkeys. The kids and I enjoyed talking with Barb and learning a bit about her mini animals. And, of course, no trip would be complete without a trip to Whole Foods. We hit the jackpot this time stumbling upon their world headquarters in Austin where they have an incredible flagship store. Austin is a vibrant city and the best Whole Foods store hands down.

We spent an afternoon hiking at Bastrop State Park which was really fun. What we thought would take an hour turned into a three hour tour. We got lost a few times and had to back track, but we didn’t mind and Macie had a blast outside with us in the forest.

Then we headed a couple hours south to Blazing Star Luxury RV Resort in San Antonio. It was just around the corner from SeaWorld so we decided to pay our first ever visit to a Shamu – which was a great show. We also enjoyed the antics of the sea lions and feeding the dolphins. And we were reminded once again to bring our own lunch. Places like this drive me nuts because they have zero healthy food options other than a plain boring salad that you pay through the nose for. We ended up with four lame-o salads (hold the chicken), a couple slices of watermelon, one pickle, and two iced teas for $43.49. We should know better by now… We also got to see the Budweiser Clydesdale’s which live right there at Sea World – very cool.

We celebrated Rich’s 41st birthday visiting the Alamo and the Riverwalk. Unfortunately we arrived too late in the day to take the Alamo audio tour, but we did get to poke around and read a bit about the event. We sat outside by the river and enjoyed a Mexican dinner where Rich was serenaded by a mariachi band! We also took a 30 minute boat cruise tour through the river walk. It really is a unique and beautiful city.

We recently had two exciting opportunities to witness God’s provision for us. One has to do with a harrowing adventure through the city of Houston. If you want to hear the story, I wrote about it on my personal blog so click here to read more.

The other story is about our dear little Macie who lost a front tooth. As we were packing up to leave San Antonio, I was making a mental note that we would need to find a vet and get her mouth checked at our next stop. So…we were hooking up the van behind the RV when out of nowhere a lady walks up and strikes up a conversation with Rich and Ashley. I was sitting in the van at the time, but I could see her clipboard and she had business cards that said “Pet Express Mobile Vet”. Praise God!! I asked her if she would mind taking a look at Macie’s mouth and she was more than happy to help us out. Thank you, Heather! Macie is just fine…one less tooth, but there is no infection and nothing to worry about. Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

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The cost of a kidney stone...

2009-02-26T12:09:00.005-06:00

Remember that little kidney stone incident – way back in Nashville – in November? The night we spent two hours in the ER. Does anyone want to guess how much it costs to find out you have a kidney stone? Well, we finally got the bill and we are still trying figure out how it could possible cost $5,965.84 for a CT scan and a couple shots of morphine!

Perhaps the hospital was erroneously informed that we still have insurance that pays such ridiculous sums – and that we don’t pay any attention to the numbers because somebody else is paying for it. Unfortunately that’s not the case. We now have a $10,000 deductible which means we’ll be footing the bill. Which is really just fine – if it didn’t seem like highway robbery. We took out a high deductible policy because we rarely go to a doctor and didn’t want to pay high premiums for something we rarely use. We figured if we ever did need to see a doctor, the money we saved on premiums would cover the cost. And it would, I think, as long as you don’t get any pictures taken. The CT scan alone was $5,156.75.

The interesting thing is…the guy sitting at the front desk knew it was a kidney stone the minute he saw Rich doing the “kidney stone shuffle” on the way in the door. But, one does not question things when in a state of excruciating pain. If someone says you need a CT scan, then a CT scan it is.

I wonder, however, what would have happened if they’d given Rich the morphine and then shown us a menu of options – with the prices included. Perhaps front desk guy could have thrown his 2 cents into the mix and we could have saved ourselves enough money to pay for all the gas for our entire trip – twice!

Live and learn…

Gulf Shores, AL

2009-02-20T19:56:00.006-06:00

Hello from Gulf Shores, Alabama! We spent two weeks at a brand new RV resort called Bella Terra just north of Gulf Shores near Foley, AL. The RV resort is a place like we stayed at in Hilton Head and Naples where people buy the individual lots. This is a brand new place and it is really going to be beautiful in a few years once the landscaping is established and has time to grow. Right now, it's a bit of a parking lot, but nevertheless we enjoyed our time here. The people here are absolutely wonderful and the clubhouse and facilities are top notch.

What have we been doing? Well, not much - at least not much that can be put into pictures. On the other hand, there has been alot going on at a deeper level. We had some opportunities last week to really pull together as a family. It felt like something very significant was happening to unite us together. We are really grateful for this development.

Rich spent this past week in Seattle on business so it was just the kids and I for a week. I'm noticing that we are all content most of the time to just do life right here in the RV. We did, however, drive to Pensacola, FL (about 50 minutes) to the National Naval Aviation Museum. It's a free museum on the Naval base and filled with so many airplanes from WW1, WW2, Korea, and Vietnam. We had an incredible tour guide who shared the stories behind the aircraft and made it all come to life.

We also saw two IMAX movies - one called The Magic of Flight where we learned about the history of flight and about the Blue Angels which are a group of Navy pilots who travel the country doing air shows. The other movie was Grand Canyon Adventure: River at Risk . This movie highlighted the water shortage that is a growing concern especially in the southwest. The water levels in the Colorado River, as well as Lake Mead and Lake Powell, are not what they once were. There was an important message about water conservation woven into the amazing scenery of the Grand Canyon and a trip down the Colorado River.

We are learning to bake bread from a new book called Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day and our wheatgrass experiment continues. Our second tray looks better than our first attempt, but its still not looking like the trays the smoothie guy had in Charleston. We use the same seed - wheatberries - to either grind into flour to make bread or to sprout into wheatgrass. I grind the wheatberries in our Vita-Mix to make the flour. We can whip up banana bread (click here for recipe) from freshly ground wheatberries in no time. We're still perfecting our bread recipe. It doesn't rise high enough for sandwhichs, but this crusty whole wheat loaf is absolutely delicious. And we found a way to use our new wheatgrass juicer until such time as we actually have wheatgrass to juice. We ran frozen strawberries and frozen bananas through it and it came out like softserve ice cream! It was a fun treat and the kids enjoyed cranking the handle of the juicer.

All through the south we keep seeing these little tiny restaurants called Waffle House. You might remember the night of the kidney stone we stopped there to ask directions. After we picked up Rich at the Pensacola airport on Friday, we decided to see what the deal is with all these Waffle Houses so we stopped. They are little diners with a counter and cook and a couple waitresses that serve, you guessed it - waffles...and eggs and hashbrowns - and grits...we're in the south you know! No...we didn't try the grits, but the waffles were pretty good. And you can't beat the price...Jake had a waffle for $1.

We are really happy to have Rich back home and looking forward to continuing the journey as we head further west...Texas, here we come!

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Destin, FL

2009-02-07T20:45:00.003-06:00

Hello from the Florida panhandle! After a month in Naples, we headed 10 hours north. We stopped half way for an overnight at the Traveler's Campground before arriving at Topsail Hill State Park near Destin, FL. Wow! What a beautiful place. It's the nicest state park in Florida (according to our neighbor who seems to know). It was a private RV resort at one time. The campground has 3.2 miles of white sand beaches and at this time of the year (off season) we had the beach to ourselves. There are full hook-ups (rare in a state park) and paved roads with concrete pads (the place you park the RV).

The highlight of our stay was having our dear friend Molly Morton and her two girls fly down and spend five glorious days with us. As it turned out, Rich had to fly to Minneapolis for a business meeting so we dropped Rich off at the airport the same day we picked up the Mortons. The kids had a blast building sand castles and letting the waves get them way too wet for 55 degree weather. We hiked through sand dunes and took a 6+mile bike ride along the coast on a path that goes for over 20 miles. And of course, we indoctrinated our friends into the RV lifestyle by watching the Robin Williams movie - RV. If you havn't seen it, think about renting it next time you need a good laugh. It actually has a redeeming message too.

It's been cooler here the last few days - like 40's. You would have thought it was 40 below watching the Florida state park workers go about their chores wearing full face ski masks! Perhaps they had the last laugh, however, when our furnace went out that night and we woke up to 30 degree temperatures - inside! Have no fear, we have plenty of blankets, the weather is warming up - and Target has space heaters on clearance:-)

We spent our last day in Destin enjoying that beautiful beach and then headed out for dinner at Carrabba's Italian Grill where we got to sit at the kitchen counter. It was an opportunity for the kids to witness first hand how hard restaurant cooks work. While we sat enjoying a nice meal, they were working at full speed the entire time. I think we all learned to appreciate what goes on in a busy restaurant kitchen.

Wheatgrass update: Well...it's definitly not as easy to grow wheatgrass as the smoothie guy made it look. Soaking and sprouting went great...but it was downhill from there. After I covered the tray, the sprouts just never really took off. The extra seeds sitting in the colander on the counter, however, did shoot up nice and green...so...back to the drawing board. If at first you don't succeed, try, try, again. Maybe Alabama will be more condusive to wheatgrass growing. Stay tuned...

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FAQs

2009-02-05T21:42:00.002-06:00

We've had a few "Frequently Asked Questions" lately, so here are some answers...if you have more questions, just let us know!

How do you earn a living?
We are very fortunate that Rich can work from anywhere. He is a software developer and computer consultant with clients all over the U.S. All he needs is a laptop and a Verizon Aircard and he's ready to roll. He recently developed a software product that aids financial reporting and analysis for Lawson ERP. You can read more about Dashboard Gear on his website at: www.dashboardgear.com/

What is your typical day/week like?
Establishing a healthy ryhthm of life is something we have been seeking long before we took off in an RV. It is still a work in progress and no two weeks are the same, but here's a taste of what life looks like for now:

Monday through Wednesday we usually stay around the RV park. Rich works and we go about our lifestyle of learning which means school-type stuff like reading, writing, and math, but it also means doing laundry, working out arguments, soaking in God's word, exploring creation, caring for Macie (our dog), pursuing what interests us, and taking advantage of whatever opportunities are set before us.

Thursday is our field trip day where we head out together as a family to investigate the area we are in. Friday we tidy up the RV, get groceries, and make challah bread for our Friday night sabbath dinner. Saturday we connect with our "church" via conference call and enjoy a day of rest - reading, biking, playing games, etc.

Sunday is our driving/relocation day. It's a great day to be on the road because there is less traffic.

How do you survive in such a small space?
I never would have believed it, but I can honestly say we are loving this small space! We have everything we need in the RV. I don't feel like we are merely surviving - I feel like we are thriving! We feel blessed to be free from the responsibilities that come with a large house and from all the unnecessary stuff that inevitably has to be cleaned, organized, maintained, etc. We are embracing this season of small space.

How do you cook in that tiny kitchen?
Well, I admit it would be nice to have a couple more feet of counter space, but it works. We had three friends stay with us for five days. We ate every meal in the RV except one and never had to run to the grocery store for anything. There is plenty of space for food, Vita-Mix, food processor, crockpot, rice cooker, air popper, utensils, etc. We have a three burner propane stove and a combination microwave/convection oven. We don't use the microwave (not healthy), but the oven works great...we make pizza, bake bread, make cookies - all in that small oven.

How do you do school on the road?
Education is a subject I have been contemplating deeply for a couple of years. Suffice to say, my thoughts about what it means to be educated have been radically transformed as of late. The RV trip has been the perfect opportunity to put these new ideas into practice. The world is our classroom and we are enjoying a plethora of experiences that God has provided for us. What could be more educational than that?

Do the kids get bored?
No more than they did at home - which is not very often. There is always something to do. I think they are a lot more creative out here with less stuff. Jake has built some incredible Lego creations; Ashley designed and sewed a saddle. They both made bows and arrows out of hangers, straws, paperclips, paper, rubberbands, and whatever else we happened to have. We play a lot more games as a family and both kids are reading like crazy.

Do the kids miss their friends?
Yes - of course! And so do we. Thankfully we have email, a cell phone, and paper/pen to keep in touch.

When are you coming home?
Well, we think it will be April/May, but we are committed to following the Lord so we'll see if our timing matches His!

How do you get any work done?
Thankfully, Rich has an amazing ability to work in the midst of life going on around him. Sometimes he heads to a coffee shop, or sometimes the kids and I go out and about and leave Rich at home - but more often than not we are one big happy family living, learning, and working together in our little abode.

Don’t you need any time to yourself?
Yes...I think we all do. But it's a lot less than we used to need for some reason. Either God is giving us an extra measure of grace to be able to survive with less alone time - or we just need less than we used to for some reason.

How do you get time together as a couple without the kids?
This is something we probably need to be more intentional about. Our time is usually after the kids go to bed. Even though the RV is small, it still has three areas separated by pocket doors...the main living area, the bunk area, and our bedroom.

How do you get your mail?
Our mail still goes to our house. My mom picks it up every day, throws it in a box, and sends it to us every week or two. I have to say it is really nice having her recycle all that junk mail before it gets to us. Thanks, Mom!

Naples, FL...again!

2009-01-29T22:30:00.000-06:00

Hi Friends...we finally left Naples, FL after 4 weeks! Here's our top ten reasons for staying in so long:

1. The weather is awesome

2. Crystal Lake RV Resort is beautiful and the people are friendly

3. We had a tennis court in our front yard

4. There is a brand new Whole Foods Market right down the street

5. Naples is really a beautiful town

6. The weather is awesome

7. We didn't have to be anywhere until January 25th

8. We liked the 2 mile walk around the lake

9. We felt like kids there...we were the youngest by far :-)

10. Did I mention that the weather is awesome?

Over the past couple weeks, we visited the Naples Zoo, played tennis, took two classes at Whole Foods (Cooking with Kids and a Raw Food class), watched a sunset at the Naples Pier, and held a lemonade stand. It was a bit too chilly that morning for lemonade slushies...we should have been selling hot chocolate - but hey, live and learn, right?

I am also very excited to report that our wheatgrass experiment is underway. If you remember, we learned how to grow it from the smoothie guy in Charleston, SC, but up until now, we did not have a wheatgrass juicer. We finally ordered the juicer and the sprouting has begun...I'll report on our progress next week.

What else have we been up to? We were so blessed to meet up with some dear friends from MN last week - Michelle Thompson, her two girls, and her mom, Mrs. Lee. What a treat to spend some time with familiar faces! We took a nice long walk down the Fort Meyers Beach, saw pelicans on the pier, enjoyed some hot chocolate, took the trolley back to their condo, and then Mrs. Lee treated us to a delicious meal of Lentil Soup. Michelle is the founder of Hand In Hand - the homeschool academy where Ashley and Jake attended for six years. We miss you guys!!

We ended our stay with a visit to the winter homes of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford. It was inspiring to all of us to think about the way Edison thought outside of the box in order to come up with the many inventions he is credited with.

We are now on the next leg of our journey making our way out west. First stop? The Florida panhandle near Destin, FL. God continues to refine us individually and as a family as we journey through our days. He is definitely more interested in our character than anything else and we have been talking lately about our deep desire for the fruits of the Spirit to be evident in our lives - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Thank you, Lord, for the opportunities You are giving us to be transformed to be more like You. Be glorified in us, Jesus! We pray that for each of you too.

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Key West, FL

2009-01-11T17:11:00.005-06:00

We can now attest to the fact that it really is possible to drive far enough out into the ocean that you’re closer to Cuba than Miami! My mom flew into Ft. Meyers on January 1st and then we drove from Naples to Bluewater Key on the 2nd where we spent a week 14 miles from the southernmost point in the USA – Key West. It took us seven hours to drive there (bad traffic) and only five hours to get back.

It was an interesting drive on Highway 41 through the Everglades. We saw hundreds of alligators along the way – or at least the kids did. They were better at spotting them than I was. These gators were a much darker shade of green (almost black) than what is portrayed in most pictures.

After the Everglades we hit Highway 1 and drove 117 miles over 42 bridges and numerous small islands (keys). It was different than what I expected. I envisioned much bigger, longer bridges. In reality, it felt more like driving on land (which it was) with short bridges linking the islands. There was only one really long bridge which was seven miles long.

We made a couple of trips in to Key West during the week. We took the Conch Train Tour of the island and learned a lot about the history of Key West. It was originally reached by an overseas railway complete in 1912 that ran from the mainland to Key West. A hurricane destroyed much of it in 1935 and then the U.S. Government rebuilt it as a road in 1938 calling it the overseas highway. We also took a tour of the Curry Mansion – the home of Key West’s first millionaire which is now a bed and breakfast.

We ate at a very unique restaurant called Blue Heaven. This place was really fun sitting outside on a wood mulch floor with chickens and cats roaming around the premises. This would never pass health inspection back in MN!

Overall, we had a very laid back week hanging out at Bluewater Key RV Resort. The people were very friendly and we ended up playing Wii bowling with our neighbors from Chicago the first night we were there. We spent a lot of time reading, playing games, and enjoying the time with my mom. And we found out that Macie can swim! We took her down to the boat dock, put her in the water and she paddled her way to shore (though I don't think she liked it much). One day she saw a huge green iguana crawling up a palm tree right outside her window – she was ready to jump through the windshield to get it!

While we enjoyed the Keys and we’re glad we made the trip (Grandma included), we all agreed that it wasn’t our favorite spot. There was something about this place that did not sit right with us. We can’t put a finger on it at the moment, but we were unsettled there. That said, we are happy to back in Naples for a couple more weeks.

It's been nearly three months since we set sail on this journey. I'm posting more thoughts about this on my personal blog today. In the future, if you want to get an email when I update that blog, click here.

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Naples, FL

2008-12-31T20:53:00.007-06:00

Happy New Year! We are still here in Naples and so grateful for warm weather. The RV park we're at has a lake with a two mile road/sidewalk all the way around, so Macie is loving those nice long walks in the mornings.

In case you are curious...it's official...I finally drove this beast. Ok, so I drove it around the RV park once - for 5 minutes - and nearly hit a parked car going around a corner. Everyone keeps assuring me I'd get used to it, and I'm sure I would, but I think I'll keep my co-pilot job for now. Rich is happy about that too.

Oh, and here's some useless trivia. Anyone want to guess how much we weigh while we are barreling down the road towing a minivan? Our total weight is 34,180 lbs.

We visited Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary - walked on a 2 mile long boardwalk through a swamp. We saw birds, frogs, spiders, butterfies, and a glimpse of an alligator.

We also checked out the beach on Sanibel Island for a couple hours while the RV was in the shop. Actually, most of our week was spent on RV maintenance. The boys washed the RV and we got our slide fixed. We feel like we're living in a palace now with all this extra space! We also tried to get an oil change that day which is when they discovered a leak in our oil pan. This required a visit to the Cummins engine shop which we did on Tuesday. They were very kind to stay late to finish the job so we could have our house back for the night. Unfortunately, they didn't quite get all the air out of the coolant lines before they sent us on our way. It wasn't long before Rich saw a big bold message screaming "STOP ENGINE NOW!"

So he pulled off the freeway and we put more coolant in and tried it again. He made it another five miles to a rest area before the lights came on again. So we called the engine people. They offered to come out that night, but we decided to wait until morning which meant we spent the night boondocking in the rest area. Rich didn't sleep too well which explains why he is already fast asleep tonight - long before the ball dropped. The engine guys took care of the problem the next morning. Which made me think about how grateful I am for people who know how to fix engines and such.

We are very excited to have my mom joining us on the next leg of our journey. She flies in on the 1st and then we are driving through the Everglades and out to the Keys. How can you drive to an island 113 miles out in the ocean? I'll let you know next week.

Oh, and one last thing...as you can imagine, this journey we are on is much bigger than an exercise in RV travel and sightseeing. It's also a journey of the heart. With that in mind, I decided to share what I'm pondering and contemplating along with way. And I'd love to hear your thoughts too. The Bendickson Family blog will continue to update you on our travels. If you want to read about what is rolling around for me from a heart perspective, head over to http://conniebendickson.blogspot.com/ I put a little test message out there today.

Wishing you a happy and healthy new year!

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Christmas

2008-12-25T22:08:00.006-06:00

Joy to the world...the Lord is come! We had a wonderful little Christmas here in Naples, FL. For those of you who worried we might have a ba-humbug holiday (after my post on Christmas presents vs. presence), I want to assure you that there was joy in our world as we celebrated the birth of Jesus!

We had lots of "presence" as we decorated our Jessie Tree, played games, baked cookies, etc. And, have no fear, we also had presents. We had a great time one afternoon picking out a few little treasures for each other. We wrapped them in newspaper and put them under the Jessie Tree - which was supposed to hang on the back of the drivers seat...but our slide got stuck in (that's a whole other story), so we had a really cozy Christmas with the slide in all week. (We're getting it repaired on Friday).

We are also celebrating Hanukkah this year remembering the miracle when the Maccabees defeated the Syrians (who desecrated the temple) and rededicated the temple to God with festivities that lasted eight days. When the Jews cleaned the temple, they only found enough oil to light the menorah for one day, but miraculously the menorah burned for eight days straight! Our God is a God of miracles! Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord. (Zechariah 4:6) With Him all things are possible!

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Tampa, FL

2008-12-20T21:46:00.002-06:00

Merry Christmas from Tampa, FL! We didn't travel far this week, and we didn't do much sightseeing either. We spent the week at the Lazy Days Rally Park next to the "World's Largest RV Dealership." We had beautiful weather and the kids really enjoyed the pool. We played a heated game of shuffleboard - the boys came out on top - two games to one.

We also did some "normal" things this week...Rich met with a client in Tampa, the boys got haircuts, and I went to the dentist to have a crown glued back on after it fell off last week while I was eating a rice bowl at Pei Wei.

We spent some time working on our Jessie Tree. About five years ago I bought a kit to make this felt tree and all the trimmings, but it never made it to the top of our "to do" list. When I was cleaning out the house before we left MN, I came across the kit and thought it would be perfect for our simple, homemade Christmas this year. Basically, it's a walk through the Old Testament scriptures that reveal the coming of Messiah. Each ornament we place on the tree tells the story of Jesus' heritage and reminds us again of how God's plan of salvation has been unfolding since creation. We're a little behind in decorating the tree - it's supposed to be a daily event to put one ornament on and read the corresponding scripture - but we finished the ornaments now so we'll start decorating this week.

Oh, and we enjoyed having lunch at The Grass Root - a funky little organic vegetarian restaurant in Lakeland, FL. (They also have a location in Tampa.) We met the owners, enjoyed the healthy fare, and topped it off with a slice of vegan key lime pie - yummy :-)

We met an intersting lady with a cockateal bird named Trinket. She got the bird to have a "trinket" to make some noise after her husband passed away from cancer five years ago. Now the bird goes everywhere with her and they visit hospice patients together. To make sure nobody gets pooped on, Trinket wears a little outfit with a mini diaper to catch the do-do. The bird has over 100 outfits and was all dressed up for Christmas the day we met.

Our slideshow is short this time since we had such a low key week. Blessings to you as you prepare to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior - Jesus.

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Orlando, FL

2008-12-13T22:15:00.001-06:00

We'll, here we are again in a place we hadn't intended to be. It's not that we don't like Orlando - it's just that we did the Disney thing last April. But the inevitable happened...Rich had to fly to Seattle for business which meant we needed a decent airport and a place for the kids and I to feel safe. Orlando was a short drive from Hilton Head so we spent the week at Disney's Fort Wilderness Campground.

We decided to do the Magic Kingdom since we didn't go there in April. We enjoyed the day including a boat ride to and from the park. Disney was fun, but the highlight of our week was something much less expensive, much less hectic, and much more meaningful. On Thursday night the kids and I spent the evening making Christmas decorations out of construction paper and glitter glue! I cannot tell you how much fun we had - and how much creativity flowed from all three of us! This is not the norm for us at all. Ask my friends - "artsy craftsy" is not my middle name. But this was AWESOME. In past years we've never taken the time to do this. Why? That's the question I'm pondering this week...

On Friday we visited The Holy Land Experience which was another highlight. We saw musical dramas on everything from Hanukkah to the Passion of Christ to the Tabernacle to Christmas. Talk about the Bible coming to life! It was a glorious day spent immersing ourselves in the Reason for the season. I am so grateful for a place that exists to glorify God in this way. Oh, and we even learned two Hebrew phrases: Shalom (which means peace &/or wholeness) and yom tov (meaning good day).

Rich arrived home on Saturday morning after a very long red-eye flight from Seattle. We are very happy to have him home - and he's even happier to be here!

Which brings us to the video. As we spent time crafting our Christmas decor, we listened to a variety of Christmas music. This song by Go Fish grabbed my attention every time I heard it and it spoke even more deeply to my heart after seeing the passion play at the Holy Land on Friday. The line that really hits me is:

"It's about every drop of blood that flowed from Him when it should have been me."

Christmas is not just about a baby in a manger. It's about Jesus paying for my life with His. It's about the cross.

God's love for us a radical! Thank you, Jesus!! And Happy Birthday!

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Hilton Head Island

2008-12-05T22:47:00.002-06:00

Greetings from Hilton Head Island! We only planned to be here for one week, but we liked it so much we stayed for two. These two weeks were different than past weeks. We didn't do as much sight seeing, but we did a lot of biking here. Hilton Head is a bikers paradise with trails everywhere and it is so cool - you can bike on the beach! The sand is hard packed and it's just like riding on pavement - for miles! We took Macie in the bike trailer again. It's not her favorite thing, but I think she thought it was worth it once she got to the beach.

We also played a lot of tennis. The kids are really improving. We always play girls vs. boys and its pretty evenly matched. We all give it our best shot and we usually go three sets every time we play.

I think I mentioned awhile back that neither Rich or I were ever big on camping. We did it once a year with our college friends, but it was never our cup of tea. Let me tell you - we have found a campground (if you can call it that), that we could live in! In fact, some people do. Ok, well, it's really not a campground...it's more like a ... resort. Ok, the truth is they deliver the USA Today to our motorhome every morning and there's a tennis pro on staff. I had no idea there even were such places! If you ever get to Hilton Head Island, we highly recommend Hilton Head Island Motorcoach Resort. It is beautiful!

We enjoyed Thanksgiving here with our usual feast of Mashed Potatoes, Stuffing, Stuffed Squash, and Broccoli Stuff. Speaking of food - we found a delicious Thai place this week called Ruan Thai. We were very excited because we haven't had Thai food since we left MN - and we used to eat it once a week. Rich always says he could eat it every night, he loves it so much.

We did a day trip to Savannah, GA, this week which is only about 45 minutes from Hilton Head. We took a horse-drawn carriage tour of the city which is laid out in a grid fashion around a number of squares with with live oak trees dripping with Spanish moss. Very beautiful and the squares give the town a real feeling of community.

Oh, and we saw a 12 foot alligator along the road making its way into a pond as we were driving around exploring the island. We've seen the signs around about not feeding the alligators, but this is the first time we've seen one. We also saw a baby alligator in the same area.

Stay tuned...we're moving to sunny Florida on Sunday...

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You're invited...

2008-11-26T21:30:00.003-06:00

It's Thanksgiving Eve as I write this, but my thoughts are going to Christmas. The truth is I've struggled with Christmas for quite a few years. I grieve deeply that what should be a sacred season set apart for remembering the birth of Jesus and worshipping Him, has turned into a religious ritual of buying stuff nobody needs or wants.

Why do we do it? How did we get so far from the true meaning of Christmas? Wouldn't it be incredible to slow down, ponder the birth of our Savior, spend time with each other, and serve people like Jesus did?

Take a moment to ponder with us...

As you can imagine, our life has changed dramatically over the last six weeks. And Christmas will be different too. Yes, we will miss our family and some of the traditions we have enjoyed. But this year is an incredible opportunity to take a step back, to re-evaluate - and to do something different.

Here at the Bendickson Bus, we've been talking about Christmas for the last week or so - all four of us, that is. It's interesting how living in a small space helps to change our perspective. We all agree - we don't need more stuff (and we don't have room for it). So what about Christmas gifts?

We would like to invite you to participate with us in celebrating Christmas a little differently this year. First, we're going to give each other presence instead of presents. We're going to get creative! Second, we are taking the money we would normally spend on gifts for each other and giving it to people who really need it. There are many wonderful places to give - we had a hard time choosing where to help. But we have narrowed it down to three organizations.

One is a Minnesota-based organization called Feed My Starving Children. Volunteers assemble food packets which are then shipped overseas to hungry people. Our family has packed meals as volunteers at the Brooklyn Park facility two or three times and were very blessed to be part of this ministry. It costs 17 cents for one meal which means $30 can feed six children for a month. $62 will feed one child for an entire year! And the food is really good - we've tasted it!

We also want to help support a village in Haiti called Lougou where our dear friends, Tim and Michelle, recently visited. They saw for themselves the incredible need - but also the incredible hope that is prevalent in this village. The ministry we are supporting is called COFHED and their unique approach is to come alongside the community to empower them to find a sustainable path to poverty alleviation. When change comes from within, it gets rooted and established and it lasts.

And we will also participate in funding clean water through Living Water International. Nearly half of all people living in developing countries suffer from water-related health issues. Can you imagine not having access to clean water? We take it for granted here in the U.S., but it's a huge problem for people around the world. Just $10 can provide one person with a lifetime supply of clean water.

We are so excited how this has come together! We didn't plan it this way, but there is a theme running through all three organizations: Haiti. If you look at the websites, they all have a special section on Haiti. It is a country in great need and all three organizations are helping in different ways.

Would you like to celebrate CHRISTmas with us this year? Our hope is that you will ponder and pray about how you and your family might take one step toward more presence and less presents.

Please leave us a comment and let us know how God is leading you to make this Christmas special.

P.S. For more ideas, please visit www.adventconspiracy.org

It's a ... Kidney Stone!

2008-11-24T15:52:00.000-06:00

The Bendicksons are proud to announce the arrival of a long awaited ... kidney stone! It made it's grand entrance into the world today around 2:00 pm to a very relieved man who will be sleeping much better from now on. It was quite uneventful really (thankfully). Just a routine trip to the bathroom and it was out in no time. No epidural, no pain killers - just an all natural simple home birth. Here's a picture of the proud papa with the new arrival...

Just kidding...it wasn't really that big...but big enough! Amazing that something this small can cause so much pain.

Thank you to everyone who was praying for Rich over the last couple of weeks. We are very happy to have this behind us.

On a side note, we moved to paradise over the weekend...I'm serious...we are spending this week on Hilton Head Island and it is BEAUTIFUL! We played some tennis this morning and had lunch on the patio. And...for the first time in weeks, I am not wearing polar fleece!

Blessings to each of you this week as you celebrate Thanksgiving and enjoy a day set aside to remember the many ways God has blessed you this year.

Charleston, SC

2008-11-23T01:13:00.000-06:00

The night before we left Asheville, we took a vote: Go to DC where the weather looked cold and rainy - or head south in hopes of warm sun. Warm won and so here we are in Charleston, SC. It was sunny, but not quite as warm as we'd hoped. They tell us their having a cold spell - it was pretty much the 50's all week. Given the fact that it's snowing in MN, we're more than happy. But we are looking forward to giving the polar fleece a rest. The kids did manage to swim in the heated outdoor pool - for about 30 minutes before their lips turned blue and they had to head for the hot showers.

Charleston is rich with American history being the city where the civil war began. We visited Boone Hall Plantation which has an incredible tree lined driveway of live oak trees planted in 1743 that form a canopy over the road. It also has quite a few slave cabins still intact where we toured and learned about this sad reality of our history. We also stopped at the Charles Pinkney National Historic site - the home of one of the original signers of the U.S. Constitution.

Thursday we celebrated my (Connie) birthday. The kids gave me the best gifts ever. Ashley made me a beautiful bookmark and Jake hand-crafted a precious birthday banner - you'll see it in the slideshow. I got to sleep in and pick our spot for lunch. I chose Tasi which turned out to be fabulous! It's an upbeat, colorful oasis where we had fresh, delicious wraps and smoothies. Then Mark, the owner, taught us how to grow wheatgrass! What a treat to learn how to grow this incredibly nutrient-dense superfood. What made this even more exciting was the fact that just the night before we had been talking with some friends about this very thing. Then, out of the blue, God provides someone to teach us when we least expected it. We all tasted a sample and the next day I stopped back in to ask a couple more questions. Mark was so kind to give me a couple of trays so we can start experimenting with growing our own wheatgrass in the RV - should be interesting! Stay tuned for that.

Next we headed down to Fort Sumter (where the Civil War began in 1861), but we were too late to take the ferry. So we picked up the Junior Ranger booklets and spent some time at the exhibits. Then we decided to check out the Old Exchange Building where George Washington is said to have danced with over 200 women when he visited Charleston in 1791. The building also housed the jail - which was really a dungeon - very interesting tour.

As we were driving back to the campground and wondering what we should have for dinner, Rich caught a glimpse of Whole Foods! Let me tell you, this was the icing on my birthday cake! I LOVE shopping at places where I don't have to scrutinize every label and search through the aisles for healthy food. We ended up with a cart full of groceries, dinner to go, and a birthday treat to boot.

Friday morning was a first. It was the first day in five weeks that I spent more than five minutes alone. Can you even imagine that? For the last five straight weeks, the four of us have spent every waking moment - together! And it's actually been wonderful. I'm pleasantly surprised. Why? Because I honestly really need alone time. I'm an introvert meaning I recharge when I have alone time. I love nothing more than to be alone with my Bible, my journal and a hot cup of tea - for hours on end. But that doesn't happen anymore - not with this lifestyle. And so I really thought by now I would have been intensely craving some alone time. But that's really not the case. Yes, I enjoyed my morning out getting a massage and doing a few errands, but I find it interesting that I'm not going nuts without more time to myself. Either my occasional late night blog writing is satisfying my alone-time need, or God is giving me the grace to live without it for a season.

Jake loves Legos. He agonized over leaving 90% of his collection behind. We've been so busy that the Legos have been on the back burner since we left. But this week, Jake had some time to build quite a few different things from plantation houses to ships. He was very creative!

Ashley made a beautiful loaf of challah bread this week for our sabbath dinner on Friday evening. This is the first time we've made challah, but it won't be the last. This braided bread was wonderful - perfect with the Caesar Salads we had for dinner.

On Saturday we took Macie on her first bike ride. I pulled her behind in a trailer. Unfortunately, she didn't seem as thrilled about it as we were. She whimpered along the first mile or two, but settled down for a while after that. Hopefully it will grow on her...

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, we want to tell each of you how grateful we are for you. We are very blessed to have such wonderful friends and family. Have a great Thanksgiving remembering and celebrating the blessings God has given you.

Oh, and in case you are wondering about Rich...he's still waiting. No pain and no stone...yet...

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The RV

2008-11-18T00:31:00.000-06:00

Some of you visited us in the RV before we left MN, but many of you are probably wondering just exactly what we are living in. We may have downsized, but we don't feel deprived what so ever. We are very blessed to be traveling in a beautiful 2007 Newmar All Star that we purchased from the wonderful people at Howard RV in Wilmington, NC. It is 42 feet long plus we are towing our minivan. We have one slide - which means the wall slides out to make it bigger while we are parked. The booth and the couch are on the slide - so it's basically the entire length of our living space.

This is our kitchen area complete with a double sink, filtered water, 3-burner propane stove, double sided refrigerator with ice maker, and a microwave/convection oven. The rectangular area on the floor is the trap door to the engine...it's a mid-engine diesel. We now have a rug covering that area.

Here's where we eat our meals and do our school work. Ashley and Jake each have a drawer under the booth seat to keep their books and school supplies.

This is our living room with our new storage ottoman which makes it nice to put our feet up and read. The couch also makes into a bed. We keep all our current week information in the seat pocket on the driver's seat.

The kids ride here while we are traveling. When we're parked, this turns into Rich's office.

The kids each have their own bunk and three drawers. They use one drawer each for clothes so they have two drawers for books, craft projects, etc...

This is our cozy little bedroom. We have lots of storage for books and there is a flip-down TV on the ceiling where we (all four of us plus Macie) snuggle up to watch movies. Right outside the bedroom across from the bunks, we have a closet and six deep drawers which is more than enough space for our clothes, vacuum, files, etc. We also have another hall closet that has a combination washer/dryer and room for jackets.

Our tiny little bathroom with everything we need - a sink, shower, and toilet.

Outside we also have a lot of storage areas. Some of the items we keep in our "basement" include sports stuff - tennis rackets, balls, etc.; Rich and Connie's bikes; laundry baskets, outdoor chairs, sewing machine, and a few other items. The kids' bikes travel in the back of the minivan.

One thing we are really enjoying about living in a smaller space is how much less time it takes to clean. We don't have much stuff, so it doesn't take long to put it away. We don't have much space, so everything has to have a place. And we don't have very many square feet so we can vacuum the whole house in five minutes. So far...we give it the thumbs up!

Nashville, TN --- Asheville, NC

2008-11-16T00:50:00.000-06:00

It's been a couple of weeks since I've written about where we are and what we're doing. After Lexington, KY, we headed south to Nashville, TN where we took in a 50's show called Kenny and the Krooners. My mom would have loved it! We spent a day wandering around downtown Nashville where we stumbled upon an old church with beautiful stained glass windows. The church secretary took time to give us a tour and tell us about the history of the church. We also saw a fort, peered across the river at the pro football stadium, and walked through the park reading about the history of Tennessee engraved in a long marble wall.

Rich will no doubt remember Nashville as the city where he ended up in the emergency room enduring the excruciating pain of a kidney stone. It was an unplanned three hour field trip in the middle of the night. We are thankful for a GPS system! (Rich, by the way, has been pain-free since that night and is still waiting for that nasty stone to make a long-awaited appearance.)

We headed off to Cowboy Church on Sunday morning where Johnny Cash's sister and her husband pastor a church that ministers to those traveling through music city. No trip to Nashville is complete without a stop at the Opreyland Hotel - it's incredible and very pretty at this time of year all dressed up for Christmas.

Jake celebrated his 9th birthday on November 10th with a game of boys vs. girls in flag football. Yes, the boys won again.

Our last stop in Nashville was a visit to Andrew Jackson's home called The Hermitage. He was our 7th president and had a huge plantation near Nashville.

After 10 days, we dropped the "N" from Nashville and found ourselves in Asheville, NC for a few days. We dined a wonderful little vegetarain restaurant called The Laughing Seed Cafe. It's not often you find a gem like this with an entire menu filled with so many items its tough to choose. If you're ever in Asheville, this is the place to eat!

Of course, we visited the incredible Biltmore House which is the largest privately owned home in the United States built in the late 1800's by George Vanderbilt. I am very thankful I don't have to clean 175,00 square feet including 43 bathrooms! The land surrounding the estate was absolutely amazing and we also enjoyed visiting the winery, the blacksmith shop, and the farmyard.

Where to next? It's been exactly one month since we set out on this journey and we've noticed something: We never end up where we think will. So who knows...stay tuned and we'll keep you posted. Blessings to all of you who are reading our blog and praying for us. We deeply appreciate you!

And now - the slideshow for Nashville and Asheville...

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Stones

2008-11-09T00:15:00.000-06:00

I usually blog about where we've been as we're moving to the next destination. But we're not moving just yet. We planned to head out early Saturday morning to drive like crazy all the way to New York. We were excited to meet up with our friends - the Stones. They drove their motorhome to NY for a wedding and we were going to spend a couple days together checking out New York City. But a "stone" has interfered with our plans with the Stones.

It all started Friday night when Rich came to bed about 12:30 am with a severe pain in his lower back that had him twisting and turning and dry heaving. It wasn't pretty. So at 1 am, we climbed into the minivan, turned on the GPS and typed in "HOSPITAL". By the time we got to the freeway the thing still said "searching for satellite". What? We don't have time for this! So I stopped at The Waffle House to ask directions. Some guy at the counter along with the waffle cook were trying to give me directions when Jake burst into the door saying the GPS was now working. So off we went - 2.4 miles to the nearest emergency room.

I dropped Rich off at the door and as he hobbled into the ER the guy behind the desk yelled, "You ever had a kidney stone?" Not until now I guess. We barely got into the room when Jake said, "I don't feel so good"...and proceeded to throw up. Good grief! What next?

After a CT scan and two shots of morphine, we learned Rich has a 5-6 mm kidney stone. It should hopefully pass in "a few hours...or days". So we're staying put here in Nashville, TN, brushing up on our waiting skills. Please pray for Rich over the next few days. He's out of the hospital and had no pain on Saturday. We'll keep you posted...

Laughter is good medicine and we've been watching some outstanding stand-up comedy DVDs. Today Jake remembered a section from a Brian Regan show that pretty much sums up our last 24 hours. Take a look - it's hilarious!

How we ended up in an RV

2008-11-06T00:32:00.006-06:00

Why did a middle class family of four living the American dream decide to sell their house, buy an RV, and drive away from the life they've always known and worked so hard to attain?

First, let me say that a year ago, this wasn't even on our radar – though I do remember reading a few blogs last fall about families traveling in RV’s and being intrigued. In reality we've never been campers unless you count one weekend a year with our college friends who brought all the stuff and we just showed up. We were perfectly happy with life. Not looking to make any major changes. So, leaving our life behind to hit the camping scene is not something we’ve been yearning to do.

The past year has been a season of waiting. “Everlasting God” by Lincoln Brewster became our theme song and we listened to it all the way to Seattle, Washington and back on our August 2007 road trip. It was the first time we’d ever taken the scenic route so to speak. Our typical vacations involve non-stop airplanes and rental cars. But somehow we ended up driving our minivan to Seattle last summer and we loved the open road and the slower pace. We had a blast. I can see now that it was a taste of things to come. Another way that God was preparing us for the lifestyle we are now living.

Last spring, after much prayer and with fear and trembling, we did not re-enroll at Hand In Hand (the homeschool academy our children attended). This was a big step of faith for us. We loved this place and we were so incredibly blessed to be there for six wonderful years. Saying goodbye was one of the hardest things we've ever done. Yet we knew it was what we needed to do - even though we did not yet know we'd be traveling the country in an RV come fall.

During this time, we were also noticing a few other things. It seemed liked our anchors were being untied. Leaving Hand In Hand was a big one, but there were others. I couldn’t commit to anything people invited us to do in the fall. Friends asked us to buy concert tickets, join a homeschool co-op, get together on a regular basis. But I had a knowing within me that we wouldn’t be around to do any of it. I also had a deep inner conviction to purge the nooks and crannies of our house. Now we know why.

We have felt for awhile that we will be moving from suburbia to a place with more land. We’ve even looked at a few properties over the last year, but the timing was not right. These were all pieces of a puzzle that would later fit together to form a clearer picture. We did not yet see the bigger picture – we were just noticing and responding to what we knew at the time - one step at a time.

As the summer continued, Rich and I both kept wondering…are we doing this RV thing…or not? At the end of July we celebrated our 20 year anniversary with a week together at the North Shore of Lake Superior. As we contemplated life for the upcoming year, we came away believing that we would probably do it.

Then one night as we casually looked for RV’s on-line, we came across one that we were instantly drawn to. There was just one problem…well, maybe two. First, the RV was marked as “sale pending”. And secondly, it was located in North Carolina – not exactly close to Minnesota. When we contacted the dealer, she informed us that someone else had money down on it, but if anything fell through, she would let us know. Two hours later, we found out the RV was now available. The buyer just learned he was being transferred to Hawaii with the military.

So, we used some frequent flyer tickets and headed to North Carolina to take a look. We loved it, but decided to sleep on it a few days. The next week we put in an offer and the rest is history. The four of us drove our minivan to North Carolina over Labor Day weekend. We spent a couple of days learning how to operate our new rolling house, had a tow bar installed on our van, and drove back to MN to pack up our house and get it on the market.

We left Minnesota on October 16th, 2008, embarking on a journey that we believe will unite us together as a family and prepare us for what lies ahead. Stay tuned as the adventure continues…

Lexington, KY

2008-11-02T18:24:00.000-06:00

Greetings from the great state of Kentucky!

We left South Bend, IN, last week intending to visit the Creation Museum which is near the border of Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky. We’ve wanted to see this museum since we heard about it over a year ago. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to browse through a museum where you don’t have to constantly refute the theory of evolution? How great would it be to look at displays that speak truth about how life came to be! We were very excited to see it. But, we got redirected by the Creator . After spending two nights at a campground in southern Indiana, we were “uncomfortable.” The campground was nice enough – even had concrete pads for the RV. But it wasn’t right. Two nights in a row I woke up with a sense that we needed to get out of there. Rich agreed. So did the kids. So we packed up and moved to Kentucky.

We ended up at The Kentucky Horse Park Campground which was wonderful! It’s right next door to The Kentucky Horse Park near Lexington. This was the perfect place for us this week. We even had a tennis court in our backyard where we played a heated match - boys vs. girls. It went three sets and extra innings, but when it was all said and done, the boys won 4-6, 6-3, 9-7. After our grueling match, we went back to the RV for Ashley’s birthday dinner (she turned 12 on the 29th) – Tortilla Pie and birthday cake.

Ashley was in horse heaven on Thursday. We spent the day at the horse park watching two breed shows, learning at the museum, and riding on trail. I had a horse named Art – an ex-race horse who started trotting without my approval. I am definitely not as comfortable on a horse as Ashley!

We found a couple interesting cafes this week: Lock and Key in Georgetown, KY, was a cute boutique cafe in an old bank building serving hummus wraps, etc. Lori was wonderful and we enjoyed talking with her. The other is Natasha’s in downtown Lexington. It was an eclectic mix. We ordered a Mediterranean plate with hummus, baba ghanouj, and mushroom spread. And then we split three entrees – Thai Peanut Stir-Fry with Tofu, Pesto Basilico Pasta, and a Potato Mushroom Pot Pie. Yummy!

The highlight was an incredible bike ride around the horse park. We went on Saturday night and liked it so much we did it again on Sunday morning. It was absolutely BEAUTIFUL pedaling through rolling hills with horses all about and the leaves in fall colors. It felt like we were riding through a picture book!

We are certainly on a great adventure! And we're learning that if we take a detour, God will show us the way back. He has many surprises in store for us - and for you - if we are willing to follow Him into the glorious unknown. Interested in a journey beyond your wildest dreams? Saddle up your horses, we've got a trail to blaze...

Enjoy the show!

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South Bend, IN

2008-10-26T01:51:00.000-05:00

Greetings from...South Bend, Indiana!

Well, we survived our first full week on the road - thanks to a heater and tank full of propane :-) We arrived at the KOA in Granger, IN, and pulled into our home for the week among the beautiful tall pine trees. We spent the first few days getting into the swing of homeschool. Then on Wednesday we ventured out to the RV Museum where we learned about the history of the RV industry. Did you know 50% of all RV's are made right here in northern Indiana? We toured four new models and then looked through quite a few models from days gone by. We used to go through model homes and come home feeling dissatisfied with our house. We should have toured old, run down houses instead because we were very happy to get back to our home on wheels after seeing what early RVer's had to deal with!

The campground here had a great playground with an obstacle course for the kids and Macie appreciated her own doggie play area where she could run off leash.

On Thursday we took a tour of the Newmar factory in Nappanee where our RV was built. We really enjoyed seeing RV's in different stages of development, but we were sad to learn that the factory was closed for the week due to financial issues. They currently have about 500 employees, down from 1,000 at full capacity. It takes 18 days to build Newmar motorhome. They currently have four roll off the line each day - they finished 20 each day when times were better. With some of their competition now out of business, they will hopefully come through the slower winter season and thrive in the spring. 75% of their workforce are Amish people with incredible work ethics and craftsmanship skills. The short video you'll see in the slide show is our tour guide demonstrating how they move an RV to the next station in the factory. It's like a giant air hockey game. They use air pressure to lift the whole thing up and then they can push it with one finger! Very cool.

We also drove the Heritage Trail through Amish country. Ashley loved all the horse and buggies we passed along the way. We took a tour at Amish Acres and learned about the history of the Amish and their ways of life. There are certainly some appealing aspects to how they live. We could all take some lessons in how to live a simpler - though certainly not an easier - life.

It rained all day on Friday so we took the opportunity to snuggle up and watch a three hour movie. It was the story of Abraham brought to life on a DVD. It was really incredible to ponder the faith it took for him to leave his family for a land he did not know.

We have been enjoying eating in all week, but tonight we ventured out and found an absolute treasure! It's probably a good thing we didn't find it earlier in the week or we may have blown the food budget. It's called Uptown Kitchen and it was fabulous! I wrote more about it on my Healthy Moms blog, so check it out for more info.

A picture is worth a thousand words - so here's the week in pictures:

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Hitting the Road

2008-10-18T23:51:00.000-05:00

Well, we finally did it! We intended to hit the road on Tuesday, October 14th, but it didn't actually happen until Thursday. We chose the 14th because it is Sukkot - a Biblical holiday remembering the 40 year journey in which the children of Isreal lived in "temporary dwellings" called sukkahs during their travels in the desert. As it turns out, the Maple Grove KOA (where we were parked) closed on Wednesday the 15th - so we spent a night in our sukkah at the local Wal-Mart before heading out on Thursday.

So where did we go? Our first destination was...drum roll, please...MADISON, WI :-) It may not be the most exciting location, but it had a couple key things going for it. One, it was a managable drive for a family fatigued by weeks of purging, packing, sorting, and various other details required to put a house on the market. Two, it's on our way east. And...we stayed here on our way back from North Carolina so we knew how to get here!

Our first full day was spent getting into a healthier rhythm of life which is one of our top priorities. The kids did something other than Home Ec. for the first time in weeks. Rich had a full day of work, Macie found a sunny spot with a big window, and I got the kitchen organized. Check out my alphabetized spice drawer in the slideshow!

On Friday night we celebrated our sabbath evening with candles, wine, and homemade chili. Saturday we headed into Madison for the farmer's market near the capitol and we stopped at Whole Foods for lunch and supplies.

Here are some photos of our first few days on the road. You'll notice quite a few food pictures. It was just so much fun eating something other than Chipotle...and serving it on fun, colorful dishes! The music is by Cheri Keaggy. It's a song I've loved over the years, but it has new meaning for us now in this season.

Take me on a journey where my heart can grow, meet me in the middle of the narrow road. There's a world full of wonder we can walk in to. Take me on a journey with You.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Bon Voyage Party!

2008-10-12T22:35:00.001-05:00

What a glorious day! The forecast looked like rain, but our prayers were answered with a beautiful day for our bon voyage extravaganza. We feel very loved and blessed to have such an abundance of dear friends and family. Thank you to each and every one of you who came out to wish us well and to those who were not able to be with us. We love you and we'll miss you! Here's a little slide show from the party...and a reminder that you are being loved by us - and even more by a God who delights in you and rejoices over you with singing!

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Mirrors or Windshield?

2008-10-08T01:45:00.000-05:00

One week from today (Tuesday) we will be living in a motor home - "full timing" as they say in the RV world. It's an odd thought - living in a motor home - given that we never go camping and the first time we ever rode in an RV was when we purchased one...a month ago. It's been a whirlwind ever since.

Taking off in an RV for a few months sounds exciting...and it is. But the reality of saying goodbye to life as we know it is not so easy. The fact is we love our house. We love our neighbors. We love living one mile from my mom. We love Maple Grove. We love having a library down the street. We love our friends. We've lived here for ten years and it's not easy to leave.

So why are we? Who in their right mind packs up and drives away from the American Dream? There are many people wondering what on earth we're thinking. I don't blame you if you're one of them because I've wondered it a few times myself! Here's the thing...and I have to keep reminding myself of this...we are leaving the life we've known, but we're heading toward what God has for us next.

Our choice comes down to this: Are we going to spend more time gazing into the rearview mirror or looking through the windshield? Mirrors are great for seeing where we've been. And it is good to remember. I recently spent some time finishing scrapbooks and getting our photos in order. It was good to ponder the sweet memories of days gone by. I also read my journals from the last few years and marveled at how God has been teaching me and preparing me for this next season long before I had any idea what He was up to. It is good to remember.

But if all we ever do is stare at the mirrors, we'll never enjoy the moment and never arrive at our destination. Living in the moment and heading in the right direction requires a willingness to spend more time looking ahead than behind.

Lord, help me to keep my eyes focused on You. Thank you for what You have done for me. I choose to remember that you gave Your life so I could live. And I choose to look forward to what lies ahead - looking through the windshield...and the mirrors, not so much.

Treasures in . . .

2008-10-03T01:30:00.000-05:00

My how time flies when you're...purging, packing, and giving things away. Only 11 days to go! I've discovered something over the past few weeks - whatever space I have, I fill it up. I have so much stuff I rarely use, but I hang on to it because... I have room for it. Why do I hang on to so much unnecessary stuff when all it does is weigh me down?

What were we thinking stockpiling all these computers? As if we'd ever use them again? Too bad we didn't pass them to someone who could have used them. Instead they grew old, too old, wasting away in our crawl space for years on end and cluttering up our lives in the process.

Some of you know I've been on a mission to purge our house for about the last three years. However, now that we are actually selling our house and moving into a space 1/10th the size we live in now, I'm looking at things in a much different light. Suddenly, it seems ridiculous (and costly) to have so many things we rarely use. Yes, I believe we will one day have a house again - so I'm not getting rid of everything - but I'm definitely going through things with a "when in doubt, throw it out" mentality.

It's making me think hard about buying and accumulating anything else. How many things have I purchased over the years that I simply do not need? It takes time to organize the stuff. More time to pack all the stuff. And money to pay to store the stuff. I'm really interested to see if I miss any of the stuff while we are living without it for 6-9 months. I'll let you know...

In the meantime, I'm repenting... Lord, forgive me for the ways I've accumulated such excess when others are in need. Forgive me for filling my house with things I do not need when others do. Forgive me for my greed and my gluttony for the things of this world. Thank you, Lord, for helping me to see the error of my ways and for your grace and mercy and forgiveness. Help me to store up treasures in heaven from this day forward. I want to live a simpler life...with less stuff.

Nooks & Crannies

2008-10-01T21:25:00.000-05:00

It's amazing what you come across as you purge the nooks and crannies of a house you've lived in for ten years. I've found lots of treasures including cards from the kids, love notes from Rich (from high school!), and last night I uncovered a reel-to-reel tape recorder from when I was a toddler. I'm pretty sure we'll be listening to Vickie and I singing something interesting once my mom gets the right batteries to make it run again.

I also came upon a box of crayons I've been collecting for many years. Somewhere along the way, I came across a wonderful place that recycles crayons. I tucked the name and address into the box and kept tossing in the crayons. Crayons left behind in a restaurant end up in a landfill, so I'd bring them home and toss them in the box which - as you can see - is now full and ready to be recycled.

If you are so inclined to do something earth-friendly, please consider collecting crayons and send them to The Crayon Recycling Program based right here in MN. It's a great service project for kids, it's easy, and it helps take care of this amazing planet.

P.S. If you aren't already aware, we are down to just 12 days until departure which is set for October 14th. Thank you for praying for us as we continue to prepare for this adventure!

Crazy!

2008-09-23T01:00:00.001-05:00

For those of you who haven't heard about the latest Bendickson adventure, allow me to share the news. God is up to some wild and crazy things in our life these days. Here's what He has us doing now.

Two weeks ago we arrived back in Minnesota after traveling to North Carolina to purchase our new home. No, we are not moving to North Carolina. We are moving around the U.S. - in a motor home - for the next 6-8 months. We will be traveling together as a family homeschooling and working along the way. We are downsizing our living space by 90% - from a 3,600 sq. foot two-story house

to a 360 square foot motor home!

As you can imagine, there is an incredible story of how we got here and I will share it with you as time goes on. For now, please take a few minutes to listen to this song by Steven Curtis Chapman. It has been one of our theme songs for the last few months and helps us remember that we are not the only ones who have been called to do something that looks "crazy"!

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And it's crazy when love gets a hold of you.

And it's crazy things that love will make you do.

And it's crazy but it's true, you really don't know love at all, 'til it's making you do...

something crazy!

Noah spent 120 years building an ark in the middle of dry land. Abraham left his home for a land he did not know. The Israelites marched around the walls of Jericho for seven days, and the walls fell flat.

What crazy thing is He calling you to do?

Tow Truck Adventures

2008-07-28T09:50:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was...interesting. We hit the road about 1 pm to drop the kids off with Grandpa and Grandma and all was well - until about 5 pm when a deer jumped out of the corn field right in front of us. Needless to say the deer went cartwheeling into the ditch on the other side of the road. We pulled over to check out the damage and though it took out a headlight, it didn't seem that bad. So we drove a few more miles until the temperature gage hit the red zone and steam started rising out of the hood. So we pulled over (in the middle of nowhere) and began formulating a plan. Ashley was thrilled to be parked by a pasture with grazing horses and hoped we could just ride bareback the 45 miles remaining to Grandpa's house.

Fortunately, we have AAA Premier. We joined for the first time ever about a year ago when we took our road trip out west. It includes towing for up to 200 miles. Ironically, we dropped our renewal payment in the mail on the way out of town yesterday.

While we were waiting for the tow truck, Grandpa Bob and Grandma Ginger arrived on the scene. They hung out with us for a couple hours and then they took the kids and went home to begin their week of fun one night early.

It took quite awhile - about 3 hours to be exact - before AAA found someone willing to drive 4 hours to the Cities on a moments notice. Shawn showed up from Detroit Lakes at about 9 pm with a flat bed truck. He loaded up the mini-van and Rich and I climbed in the cab and settled into a long, loud, bumpy ride on seats that felt like we were sitting on a plywood bench.

When we got back to the Twin Cities, Shawn was nice enough to swing by our house so we could pick up our car before heading to the Honda dealership to unload. Here was the scene at 2 am this morning:

All in all, we are grateful that the only damage was the front end - not the precious cargo. (And of course we feel terrible about the deer!) And we are grateful for Shawn who was very kind to drive us safely back home - which, by the way, was 200.5 miles.

Once we get all the insurance and body shop stuff sorted out, we'll be on our way again...the adventure continues!