The things we do for Love

Our stress reliever...very peaceful!

Our my goodness what a week it has been! We have been going going going!! We have been to Fort Hood in Killeen, TX up to Texarkana, TX back down to Fort Bliss in El Paso then up to New Mexico and back to Fort Bliss. We are now on our way to Fort Polk in Louisiana. I am not use to all this work...I need another vacation. Think I will go on strike!!

All our loads this week were military except for a small tractor that we put on with one of the military loads and boy did that small tractor cause a lot of stress for Carl. Once we unloaded in El Paso we boogied up to New Mexico to deliver the tractor. We were cruising along..no problems...and then the stress began. Our Tom-Tom (GPS) waited until we were headed up the mountain on a little pigtail road to tell us that the road was restricted to big trucks....oh just great! We had no choice but to start praying and to keep on going.  "But honey they didn't have any road signs restricting trucks." "We just passed a police officer. He would have turned around if we were not supposed to be on this road." "You know Tom-Tom does try to lead us a stray at times." I was trying REALLY hard to calm him down but nothing seemed to work. I finally just gave him a little kiss and said "Just chill it will be alright!!" Our little saying when one of us starts stressing or freaking out.. but it is usually him telling me to...just chill.

I was thinking earlier how Tom-Tom can be a lot like Satan...tries to lead us a stray when we least expect it. Things will be going along just fine and in he creeps. He is very clever and sneaky with his tactics. He tries to get in our head and feed us false lies...telling us "go ahead everything will be fine" or will make us question a decision when we know it's what the LORD wants us do. We need to always be aware and alert...know His Word...so that when Satan creeps up we will know it is him. I keep threatening to throw Tom-Tom out the window...at least we can turn him off. I wish I could throw Satan out the window!!! I do know that all I have to do is call on Jesus and He will shut Satan up real fast. "Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." Ephesians 6:13-17

Now back to delivering the tractor...we finally made it to the top of the mountain. Oh my goodness, the minute I wrote that I thought about the valleys (the dark moments) we go through and what a
wonderful feeling it is when we come out of it and reach the top of the mountain. Thank you LORD for the valleys so that I can see your glorious hand at work when I reach the top of that mountain!!!

NOW...back to the tractor. All the way up the mountain Carl kept saying, "The man said he had a wide spot for us to turn in his driveway...Have you seen any wide driveways or wide areas?!" We didn't see any...until we got to his place and sure enough the road opening to his house was wide enough for us to turn into. We were in middle of the Lincoln National Forest and it was absolutely beautiful.  I immediately got tickled and started laughing because the road quickly became small narrow and it was a dirt road. Carl was trying really hard to figure out what I was laughing about..he was still a little stressed. "Well here's our adventure for the week! Oh, the joys of trucking....never know what you will get into!" I said. The owner of the tractor made a dirt ramp out of his neighbor's driveway so we would be able to unload it. It was quite a hoot. I looked up and people were coming from everywhere..they were soooo excited to see this man finally get his little tractor. The man's wife kept saying,"It's so little and so cute." In no time we had the tractor unloaded and we were on our way....back down the mountain...stress free I might add. Well, almost stress free. We had to go 16 miles at a 6% downgrade. Now that may not sound like a big deal but in a big truck..it is a BIG DEAL!!! About half way down the mountain there was a large view spot with a enough room for us to pull over...so I got out...start taking my pictures and then I heard them. Their voices were echoing up the canyon walls. So I went on the search and there they were...."Carl! How did those people get down there? Look their playing in the water!" "Then came the look....from him..he knew what was coming next. "Can we go down...please! How cool would that be!!" I know, I sound like a child begging to get her way but hey, it worked. Carl starting looking and found the path down..well, not really a path but it was a way down. "OK, Lynne you know what happened last time we went on a mountain hike." "I know but it will be so cool." So off we went..."The things we do for love!" "You got that right!" he said. A lot of slipping and sliding took place to get down...on my part anyway. I am beginning to think Carl is a natural born hiker...he just doesn't want me to know it.

The bottom of the canyon was absolutely beautiful. It had a peaceful little stream flowing with little waterfalls everywhere. I just had to take my shoes off and go wading....Carl on the other hand went rock hopping. The stream flowed into a beautiful little swimming hole about 1/2 mile into our journey....no I didn't go swimming. After we rested a little, we journeyed back to our starting point and began preparing ourselves for the long hard climb up the mountain. As I was sitting on a rock letting my feet dry what does my loving husband do...drops me sock and shoe in the water. Oh well, so much for having dry feet when I put my shoes on. But then what do I do...trip and almost fall into a lady standing behind me. You have noooo idea how hard I worked to catch myself. When I turned around to look at Carl, he was laughing so hard with a look that said "Girl you almost did it!" He told me later he could just us both tumbling over. He had been waiting all afternoon for me to slip and fall.....wish granted not just once but several times before the end of our trip. Thank goodness we saw another couple that told us about a larger waterfall and a much easier way to get up the mountain. So off we go rock hopping to the other end of the stream....well Carl did the rock hopping...me...I slipped and fell in the water...again...shoes on and all. We did finally make it to the end and there it was....a large beautiful waterfall with another swimming hole. I wish we could have stayed a little longer and really savored the moment but that is one popular little spot. I guess it is the only place the locals have to go swimming. The journey back up the mountain was much easier and smoother thanks to the sweet couple. But I am telling you...we were two very tired people when we finished our 3 hour journey/hike. What started out as a stressful day ended up being a very enjoyable fun-filled day. I think MY new theme song will be "The Things YOU Do For Love"

'Til we meet again!"
God Bless!

Lynne

This is the way it looked for about 200 miles

One minute we were looking at desert and the next
this....Lincoln National Forest



Cloudcroft, NM....top of the Sacramento Mountains
 in the Lincoln National Forest
elevation..8800ft.

The narrow dirt road that lead to the man's house.
As soon as we turned on the road, deer started running
across. Look close and you can see one in front of the
truck.

The "cute" little tractor that was a big headache.

The ramp they made so we could unload that cute
little tractor.

Free at last...free at last!!!

Sure won't see signs like these at home...thank goodness!

The mountains when we pulled over so I could
take pictures

Had to go through the tunnel on the way up and
of course back down. It was right at the viewing spot.

The so-called path on the way down the mountain.

Taking a breather...He was really good at making his way down.

Making our way down, down, down.

What I looked like most of the time...those rocks and sand
were really slippery!

Does this look like a path to you....me either...but it got us
to the water.

I may never get to put my toes in the sand but I meant I was
going to put them in the water...even if it was rocky
and ice cold.

Beautiful

Carl rock hopping. He was
really good at this...didn't slip once

The first little swimming hole we saw.

He did finally put his hands in

The waterfall and swimming pool at the
other end of the stream.

Carl's thinking..."man we still have a
long way to go."

                                                                          

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13:13

Dealing With Life's Challenges

Hello everyone..we're back on the road again. Our time off was much needed and very busy but as

the saying goes....We owe, we owe so it's off to work we go!

We got unloaded Monday...not Friday as planned...which meant our time in sunny Florida at the lake with the rest of the family went from 7 days to 3 days. Oh my, did I say sunny Florida...no wait..sunny Florida was the 4 days before we got there. We spent 3 wonderful days in rainy stormy Florida but as Carl said..at least we had some quality family time. Yes we did...quality family time in the sun by the lake would have been better..but that's ok we still had a good time.

After we got unloaded Monday in Valdosta, we had to drive alllll the way to Atlanta to put LC in the shop so "he" could get fixed while we were on vacation. In November we had a "super trucker" back into us one night while we were parked....in a parking spot....at a truck stop. We were watching tv in the back of the truck and I just happened to look up as the driver was backing up and I started yelling to Carl that I thought he was going to hit us but before Carl could do anything, sure enough...WHAM!!! He just broke, bent, cracked and scratched all the parts that we had fixed 2 weeks earlier. I was furious and before Carl could say anything I jumped out of the truck and took off running up to his truck to give him a piece of my mind and then I saw him....this poor little old man that didn't have a clue what had just happened. I told Carl that he reminded me of the little monkeys that see no evil, speak no evil and hear no evil because he didn't see this big 'ol truck..didn't hear all the truck horns blowing at him...and bless his heart he wouldn't speak. He just kept shaking his head.  Now picture this....it's November in Michigan and I am out side taking pictures in the dark with my comfy clothes on, no shoes, no bra, hair a mess and nooooo makeup when a State Patrol comes wheeling around the front of the truck and the minute he sees me he slams on brakes. I asked him if he was there about the accident and he said, "No, I am looking for someone. I didn't know anything about an accident." He was looking for the "lot lizard"  that had been working the parking lot earlier and when he saw me...yep, Carl said he thought he had found that "lot lizard." In the midst of all that, Carl kept his calm and his sense of humor. At least one of us has a little bit of sense. Well, anyway LC is looking good again!!

Ok now back to our week...we celebrated 5 birthdays, Mother's Day and Father's Day while we were home. It was so nice to be home and not on the road during these special occasions. I really thought we were going to miss Father's Day and some of the birthday celebrations Sunday. We had planned to leave Sunday morning but when it came time to get in the truck Carl surprised me and said we weren't leaving until after lunch. It was his special day but as usual he was thinking about what would make me happy. He is by far the best!!!

As much as I love my family, I must say the best part about being home is spending time with Timothy. Before I started writing this I was thinking about how things have changed over the years. How we went from being in that "survival mode" the first few months after he was born, to the joy and excitement as he mastered all the "firsts" as a baby, to the amazement of his very creative imagination as a little boy, and then how during the teenage years we circled back around to "survival mode"..for us and for him. I remember the day I realized he was taller than me...I was getting on to him about something and was having to look up to see his face... "Oh no this is not going to work..sit down right here!" Looking down and pointing my finger seemed much more effective than looking up. Then we circled on around to the excitement of the "firsts" as a young adult...our first conversation not just as parents-son but as adults, his first job, his first truck and his first truck payment :) I look forward to all his other "firsts" as an adult. Carl and I are so proud of the loving, hard working, Christian young man that he is. If he is reading this he is probably saying,"Mama, REALLY!" He tries to tell me that he doesn't miss me when I'm gone but, he really does.  Our children may not always follow the path that we think is best but as Proverbs 22:6 says "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it."

Now that I am crying a river of tears..let me tell you where we are going....Texas! If you have read any of my other posts then you know about our Texas adventures. Can't wait to see what happens this go 'round.

'Til we meet again!

Only by Grace,
   Lynne

Happy Birthday!! Each birthday person gets their choice of
dessert cooked with lots of love by my mama.

Little man is certainly enjoying the birthday cake!

This sweet baby girl will be celebrating her birthday next.

Our youngest, precious baby girl can't quite figure out what
 her cousin is doing.

Children will play!

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not

dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts,

always hopes, always perseveres. 1Corinthians 13:4-7