Why we did it

Some people might ask,
“Why on earth would you want to live in a camper with six kids?”

People shake their heads and think we are crazy. Or maybe they are one of many people that look wistfully at us and say,

“Oh, I have always wanted to do that. You are so lucky.”

Many people have dreamed of doing this, selling and storing their belongings and hitting the open road.

It was a big decision for us.

It started October, 2007. We were at a church camp out. We had such a wonderful time, we had a great camp site. We stayed a lot longer than everyone else.

Shae looked at me and said, “I could do this full time.”

I was extremely shocked. He loved our home. I had brought up this idea years earlier, when he worked on the road, but he said he likes a home to come back to. We began talking about the idea of selling the house and being debt free. We talked about spending more time as a family. We discussed the benefits and negatives of actually doing a trip like this. We prayed a lot. We really sought God on His will. We did hours and hours of research to find out what kind of camper to get, the best truck to pull it, how much campgrounds would cost, where we might travel, affects on the kids, our marriage, family, the kids education, when we would settle back down, and many more topics.

After weeks of this, we thought we would like to sell our home and get rid of as much as we could and travel full time.

We then turned to some people we felt could advise us on this decision. The bible says there is wisdom in a multitude of counselors. We went to our Grandmother. She has traveled extensively, raised her children, and has been a constant encourager with home schooling. She told us her thoughts and concerns. We went to our pastor and sought his wisdom. We felt strongly, after all of this, that this was the right thing for us to do.

Then, the work began!
Yikes!

Doing this kind of trip is not easy. It was very difficult to get things done. I am so thankful we did, though.

Now that it has been a while, people wonder if we regret it...
not a chance...

To read my thoughts on this after almost one year of travel, scroll down:)

1. We truly feel that this is best for our family.
2. We want to take more time as a family to know God better and have a deeper relationship with Him.
3. We want to have more time for each other. It seemed like the things of the world were demanding more and more of our time, and we had less and less for each other.
4. Teach our children to love God, each other, and other people. We hope to reach out to lots of people and show them an unconditional love. So many people are hurting and in need of a friend.
5. It is great to be debt free! We felt very strongly that we needed to get out of debt. Shae lost his job one month after we sold our house! Thank goodness the house sold when it did. It would have been very hard to make it those three months with little income. Shae is back working now, and even got a pay increase!
6. We need a bigger home. We have six kids, the old house was not set up for that. We are hoping to make some money while traveling and then buy a large piece of land, 80 - 200 acres. We want enough land so our children can ranch it and also build homes on it. Of course, I would love to do this debt free, so pray for the Lord to show us what to do as a business to make some big money this year.
7. What a great education! Instead of reading about history and geography, we are actually seeing, touching, walking, hiking, kayaking, four wheeling, smelling, tasting, hearing, feeling these things. What a great opportunity for our children’s education!

There are more reasons, for now, this is all I have time to put. It was a huge sacrifice to do this trip. It was very hard to get ready and finally leave. We have had many hard times while we have traveled, but the good times out weigh the hard. The good things are worth the cost. It has been wonderful, exhilarating, incredible, wild, fun, sweet, emotional.

We are so thankful we did this and are excited for our next adventure!

Sheri

TWO YEAR UPDATE

It is hard to believe two years have passed since starting this trip. In fact, it is two years today that our home sold. When we were preparing for this trip, it seemed we would never get it done. There was so much work sorting and packing, selling and giving away our junk, good stuff, and treasures.

Now, two years of travel has passed. We are going to have a big party celebrating the anniversary. It is a big accomplishment to have lived in a camper with eight of us for so long. When we first started preparing for this trip we had committed to travel for one year because it was so much work to get to that point. When the one year commitment was up, we knew we weren’t done.

How do we feel after two years? I don’t feel like we are done, yet. I would love a home to go back to inbetween adventures, but not at the cost of high debt. We are getting things perfected in the travel full time lifestyle. I think if we can keep on for a few more months, we will reach the peak of our trip. Our baby is 15 months. He is just getting old enough where we have a little more freedom. My six year old is calming down a little and obeying better. My three year old is a little more independent but still quite needy. The two teens are still very needy also, as they are going through so many changes, but they are a real blessing to our family. My nine year old is getting to the point in her schooling where she will need more attention, but can also do a lot more on her own. Shae and I are doing better in our marriage. His work isn’t the greatest, I wish he did something else, but we need to be thankful for the job he has.

The camper is holding up well. Shae is always caulking it and working on something, but that is to be expected. I can’t seem to get the back room set up the way I want. I have decided it is impossible. How one earth do I expect to fit clothes for 3 kids, toys, school stuff, washer and dryer, and some storage in such a small space. It is not realistic. So, the other day, I looked back there and told myself to not worry about the mess and clutter. There is no way to not have clutter.

So, where do we go from here? I am not sure. We want to see Colorado and Utah, maybe Texas, I would love to go back to Virginia. Wisconsin, Kentucky, family out west, up north, and to the south. We all want to go back and visit our new friends and long lost family we have met on the way. How can we stop? I just hope we can make enough money to afford a home to come back to.....that is all.