Homeward Bound

South GA here we come!!!!

We loaded last Friday in Seattle, WA for Illinois. This load was one of those "Oh my gosh, you have got to be kidding me" loads. TARPS...not just one tarp but 3 tarps!!! I knew it was bound to happen sooner or later. Just wish it had been MUCH MUCH later! But this is the load the LORD had planned for us so I really couldn't complain. He and I are just going to have a long talk about these tarping loads.

We had to load at the Port of Seattle which requires you to have a twik card (government clearance/background check). This wasn't a problem for us but it was for another driver. After we got loaded Carl had to drive the man's truck in and load it. Well, in the mean time I am in LC turning it upside down looking for my phone. I finally decided that Carl must have taken it with him by mistake. While all this was going on, Timothy got a phone call but when he said "Heelllooo!" in his silly little voice it wasn't his mama saying "Hey, what are you doing?"  It was "I just found this phone." It was a strange voice from a nice man who spoke very little English.  I would have loved to have seen Timothy's face when he said hello and it wasn't me on the other end. Timothy said he was on the phone with him for about 15 minutes. Timothy kept saying, "It is my mama's phone. I will get my daddy to call you." "What? Who'll call?" "My daddy! He is at the same place." "What?"  "My daddy will call you." "Who?' Finally Timothy just hung up...called Carl and then Carl got to call and talk to him. Now I usually have to translate for Carl because if the person doesn't speak southern English then he doesn't understand them. But this time he was on his own. So he called,"I understand you have my wife's phone." "What? Who's phone?" "My wife's!" "What?" "DID YOU FIND A PHONE?" "Oh, yes I'm talking on it." Carl was like..I know you are talking on it. I just called you on it. So Carl left the building where he was and started walking and looking for a man in the parking lot talking on a phone. About the time he saw him sitting in his truck the man said "Oh is that you?" "Yes, it is!" There is no telling what the man thought about us because I have Timothy set as "Toot" so he called  Toot and "My love" called the nice man and the ring tone for when My love calls is I Don't Want to Miss A Thing. He was probably wondering "Who are these people?" Right now, I am a very thankful person....I am lost without my phone!

Finally, Carl is back with the man's loaded truck and with my phone. Now, let the fun begin! It took us all day to tarp that sucker but we got it done...cleaned everything up, jumped in the truck and took off. About 5 miles down the road Carl says "Where is my phone?" You have got to be kidding me! Yep, it's gone. It got left on the trailer and is probably laying in the middle of the interstate in 100 pieces. Since we had an oversize load we couldn't turn around and go look for it. I do believe it is time for us to go home. Our brains have started turning to mush.

We didn't stop at any view points or go hiking down to a river or up a mountain but we still saw some beautiful places on our way to Illinois. I just had to be very quick and Johnny on the spot when taking the pictures. It is not easy to take a picture while traveling down the highway in a semi on a road that has more craters than the moon.

Montana

Montana

North Dakota

North Dakota

I want to ride my bicycle....NOT!

Fields and fields of sunflowers..North Dakota

Missouri River...North Dakota

We unloaded Wednesday afternoon in Illinois and found a load in Kentucky going 24 miles from our house. Now is that a God thing or what!! So we are Georgia bound. This has been our longest trip...9 weeks out. I haven't had my hair done in months. I need a pedicure by someone other than myself. Carl has to get a new phone. I'm running out of make-up. He keeps forgetting what highway we are on and where we are but most importantly we miss our family something terrible.  Timothy, Mama, Daddy, Godwins, Collins and Connells we are coming home!!!

Our ticket HOME! (a tree trimmer) Thank you, LORD!!!!

I am extremely thankful for my time with My Love and our work. The time we have with one another is priceless. I thank the LORD everyday for blessing us with this opportunity. I am also very thankful that He knows just how long I can handle being away from home and that He knows exactly when it is time to point LC toward the house. I am thankful to have a God who knows when enough is enough before I do; otherwise, Carlos might have a very unhappy wife on his hands. We stayed out a little longer this trip but He knew I could handle it...we both could. He sees the bigger picture in every little detail of our lives. I am so thankful for that!

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. James 1:17


Til we meet again! I'm going home so it'll be awhile!

Only by Grace!

Lynne

Pray...Don't Worry!

After sitting since Tuesday afternoon, we will finally be loading tomorrow morning going to Fort Worth, TX. Unfortunately, we will be tarping AGAIN...uggghhh!!! As much as we dislike tarping it will be worth it just to get moving again. If LC isn't rolling, the money isn't rolling in! The only nice thing about sitting is that I get to sleep late...except for yesterday. Carl decided that he didn't like where we were parked and wanted to move. He was trying to drink his coffee and have his quiet time outside on the trailer but the truck beside us was soooo loud he couldn't enjoy his morning. It sounded like a pressure washer coming on and off ...a generator on and off...plus his motor kept squeaking. It was awful!!!! So anyway, Carl decided to move...NOT once but 3 times! He would see an open spot that looked good and off he would go but before he could get there another truck would get it. So he would ride around and around and around the parking lot then park and wait for another one to come open...then off he would go.  He did this 3 times...3 times around and around and around and parking. He finally found one that suited him and it has been our home ever since. I know the other drivers thought we were crazy. Finding the perfect spot is such an ordeal for us.

The other day when we were at Walmart we bought a set of hair clippers. Carl was in desperate need of a hair cut and just did not want to spend $20 on one. So today we let our true colors shine...Carl got a hair cut...outside in the truck stop parking lot. Yes, we had it going on!! Gotta keep my man happy...even if that means being a little rednecky.

One of my biggest enemies is worry. Like I said earlier when we are not working, we are not making any money and that leads to...worry. It is something that I am constantly praying about. I know the LORD will take care of us and will meet our needs but I like for things to happen quickly which isn't always the case.  If I am worrying then my faith and trust is not in the LORD. The LORD sees the whole picture and his timing is always perfect. Worrying strangles our happiness, joy and peace. It is amazing how much peace and joy I have after turning everything over to Him. He is standing there with his arms WIDE OPEN just waiting for me to say "Here LORD, it is in Your hands not mine!"  Matthew 6:34 says "So don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today." This is one of my favorite verses that I am constantly saying to myself.  I just need to work on saying it first and not after I have worried myself to death. I know the LORD is just standing there saying "One day my dear you will learn...first not last is best!
Turn your worries over to him today! He is waiting!!!!

'Till we meet again!

Only by Grace,
Lynne

Our view as we were taking our walk tonight.

Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hears and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7

Westbound and down

We finally got another load and yes we are going west...Salt Lake City, UT here we come. We got loaded Thursday night about 10:00. Every time we turned around the workers at the plant were on a break. I told Carl I was going to get a whistle to blow for my breaks. I even thought about forming my own Union. He didn't think that was real funny.

Our load had 4 pieces and all 4 had to  be tarped...uggghhh!!! Tarping is not a fun job at all and it is certainly not a girlie girl job but someone has to do it with the bling and all. It's like wrapping a HUGE Christmas present but with no tape. Every corner and every end has to be pulled tight and tucked so no air can get in...or my goodness if the wind gets inside. Carl hates to see flapping tarps in his mirrors. If it's a flapping we're a stopping!

We have been traveling through Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Iowa and now we are in Nebraska.  Missouri has some really bad memories for us and certain areas are extremely difficult but the LORD is always there to carry us through. Yesterday as we were traveling through Missouri I kept focusing on all the wonderful signs of our Loving and Caring Savior. On just about every bridge pillar someone had painted Jesus Cares. We saw a huge Cross right off the interstate and the blue, blue skies with all the birds were just magnificent. Our difficult spot ended up not being that difficult after all because we knew the LORD was there watching over us.  There are signs of the LORD all around us but we are so caught up in our busy lives that we do not take time to notice them.  Please take time out of your busy day to notice all the wonderful signs and the presence of our LORD and Savior.

The weather has been beautiful! I finally get to wear shorts and flip flops. We did run into some pretty bad weather tonight in Nebraska and had to shut down earlier than we wanted. So that means it is going to be an early morning..like 5:30....that is leaving at 5:30! I am sooo not a morning person and for some reason it takes me F-O-R-E-V-E-R to get ready now. Carl says I take too many tv breaks, but hey that's ok...I can finish while riding down the road.

We should get unloaded Tuesday and then we'll be off to our next adventure.

'Till we meet again,

Only by Grace,
Lynne

It started flapping so you guessed it.....

The Cross we saw in Missouri.

"Fear not, for I am with you, be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."  Isaiah 41:10