Operation: Asa Joy

May 13, 2015 A Day of Rest We did nothing today. No parks. No hours long drive. We needed a little break so we planned a day where we did nothing. That was not the original plan by the way. The Alamo was on the agenda. BUT…. We woke up to a deluge of rain. A soaking, cool rain that flooded roads everywhere. Carl got up and fixed a breakfast of eggs and bacon. He loves to do it even when the bacon sets off the smoke alarm in the camper. Even when he drops my egg onto the hot stove top, accidently. Even when his wonderful wife throws away his grease collecting can and he has to put the bacon grease in a pan. Even when 8 children are underfoot as it is raining so hard outside that we can barely hear each other speak. Among all the chaos of 10 people being forced to be together in a camper with little ones coloring and big ones folding their bodies up into tight spaces. Among the wife who is researching things to do in the rain while in San Antonio. Amo...

May 12, 2015 Texas!!!!! We got up and packed up by 9:00. We wanted to be at the office to pay and then be at the park when they opened. We are definitely learning to work together as a family to get the camper packed up and ready to go. Esther and I normally work on the inside and get lunches ready. Carl and the boys work on the outside and get the camper hitched up. It is teaching the kids teamwork and responsibility. We drove down the road and pulled off to drive the Natchez Trace Parkway. It is a trail that was used by the Native Americans and later the early explorers and settlers. We then drove to Natchez National Historic Site. When I heard the name I thought Indian site. I was so wrong. Think antebellum Southern plantations. It was incredible to see the huge houses and all the buildings that went along with the plantations. I explained to kids that the plantation owners did not want to heat their houses up in the summertime so the kitchen and laundry were in separat...

May 11, 2015 Best Laid Plans Today was the day we were supposed to go to Shiloh National Military Park and then on the Vicksburg. That was not how the day ended up. Carl realized last night that we had missed one of the National Parks that he really wanted to visit, Fort Donelson in Tennessee. We had spent the day yesterday trying to drive through 5 states that we completely missed it. Carl was disappointed but it made us realize how carefully we need to look at the map at night when we are planning our days. It also made us realize how fast this trip is going already. We have so much more that we want to see but we are learning that we might not be able to see everything on our list. We are now starting to prioritize our visits. That led us to make the decision to forego Shiloh and just head to Vicksburg. We packed up and got on the road pretty early. We did have quite a few stops as kids kept having to go to the bathroom. As we were leaving Memphis we arrived at a ...

May 10, 2015 Mother’s Day Mother’s Day dawned bright and early. I remember last year’s Mother’s Day. Let me just say that it was not a pretty day in the Trautman household. This year I had purposed in my heart to not build up the day and just expect nothing. I was not even going to mention it to my family but my mother had other ideas. She reprimanded my children about last year and told them that had better make this Mother’s Day better than last year. I saw the kids really make an effort this year on their own. Carl remembered and even texted me a week before asking what I wanted. I was quite impressed. The day started out good because Carl let me and Tirzah snuggle in bed. He took all the breakfast things outside and cooked me a breakfast of scrambled eggs, sausage, and hash browns. It was delicious. I even got some of my yummy cappuccino. It was very good and an added bonus was I got to eat outside in God’s beautiful creation in KY. I received store bought and ha...

May 9, 2015 Detours!!!!!! Today was a day of detours and things off the beaten path. Today was also a day where I had to bite my tongue and just trust that my husband knew what he was doing. You see, when I got up this morning I had a plan. I wanted to be certain places at certain times. I was very intent on getting my way. The Lord showed me today that letting go of my plans in obedience to being a good wife can sometimes lead to unexpected blessings. We got up early and I had planned to be on the road quickly. I wanted to get to Mammoth Cave by lunch so we could enjoy ourselves and tour the caves. Carl had other ideas. He had learned from another camper that there was an old coal mine further up the park. He wanted to pack up the camper and then leave it at the campground and just take the van to the coal mine. I was a little upset but I relented and went alone. That was detour number 1. On the way we saw the most beautiful scenery. We saw a huge cliff almos...