Prepping for FAMILY CAMP!

For 30 summers, we have gone to the Upper Peninsula to InterVarsity's Cedar Campus for the greatest week of the year, Family Camp IV at Old Mill Point! The only week our entire family is together. There is program for all ages of children so the adults can have time for just them. All afternoons are free time, as well as all evening. We take moonlight cruises on the bay, sailing cruises in the afternoons, sail our own Sunfishes, read, play in the pool or beach and other activities. The best for me? Showing up at the dining hall where food is laid out for everyone! No cooking!

Normally, getting ready would involve weeks of collecting articles, favorite snacks, figuring out food while we are on the road,and deciding which clothes to pack. Since weather in the UP is unpredictable, it took quite awhile. However, this year, Viewfinder has all our earthly belongings already packed! So fun! 

Tyranny of the Urgent

Why did I think that in retirement, the 'press' of things to do would not be a part of life? My days are unstructured in the sense that I have few commitments scheduled on the calendar. Yet, I find myself hurrying through tasks to get to the next. This can continue all day. Just moving from one thing to another so at the end of the day, I find I have not heard the rustling of the leaves, the buzz of dragonflies flitting through the reeds, the beauty of my flowers or the abundant glory of the field of beans growing out my front window. The joy of living in the MH is that these wonders are literally, right outside my door. I read in I Peter, that life should be lived "with a deep consciousness of God. "
(The Message). The wonders of nature feed that consciousness within my soul. Lord, help me to live in the moment, not looking ahead to the next task, to breathe in the freshening

of your Spirit.

I apologize for the 'blandness' of our blog page. I'm new at this and not a computer techie! I'm still reading how to add pictures and other graphics to make it interesting. I'd like to link it to FB so my friends know when I've posted.

We've been living in Veiwfinder (the name we have given our home) for almost two months. We love the feeling of living much closer to God's creation. It's so easy to shift activities to the outdoors. It feels wholesome, freeing, relaxing and rejuvenating.

We've been encouraged by other full timers that we meet in walks or as they set up next to us.  They all love to talk about their experiences. One neighbor gave us a business card with their names and contact information. We are welcome to call them if ever we have questions. So last weekend I designed a business card and through the wonders of the Internet, we have our first 500 cards!  If I ever learn how to post pictures, I'll post a picture of it.

This weekend, we emptied out our items we had stored at Jim's office building. He spent all afternoon reorganizing the basement. We are happy to say, IT ALL FITS!  I think it's a miracle. All we own is now contained within the dimensions of this 40 foot moving home. Tomorrow, the pictures of all 10 grandchildren will get hung on the 'wall of mirrors' behind the dining area. The culminating task that signifies this as HOME.

Beginning

Who are we? We're a newly retired couple starting the adventure of full time RV living. Jim has worked in business for 40+ years. Paulette is a RN who most recently ran preventive health screenings. The last four years have been preparing for this move to RV living. 

We have been RVers all our adult lives. Started with pop ups when the children were small. Somewhere around our 25th anniversary, we moved up to travel trailers. Three years ago, we bought our first Motorhome. This came as somewhat of a surprise to us as we had always imagined going the fifth wheel-pickup route. However, when you're buying the trailer and the truck at the same time, you spend around the same amount of money as you would for a Motorhome. We thought a Motorhome would be gentler to our bones as we got older.

We bought a 2003 39 ft. Newmar Kountry Star gas powered Motorhome. It confirmed that we loved Motorhome traveling! However, we quickly knew we wouldn't be able to full time in it. We needed a diesel pusher to get the power and storage they provide. 

Two years ago we purchased our current Motorhome, a 2007 40 ft. Phaeton with four slides. We love it. As of May 2016, we are living in it (having sold our townhouse) in a town a little SW of Chicago IL. Jim is still working through early fall. During the last year, we put several upgrades into our unit to make it easier to full time. We added MCD shades to all windows and upgraded the dated technology to current standards. We bought an induction cooktop which I use extensively instead of the gas range. An Instantpot 7 function pressure cooker has allowed me to shed both my slow cookers and of course, added the pressure cooking function.

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So, in a few weeks, we will begin our great retirement adventure. Nothing like a major change in lifestyle to coincide with going on Medicare, changing state residency, selling our home and leaving our places of work. We leave significant relationships, friends that have mentored us spiritually and mentally through life's ups and downs. Being able to keep in touch through FB is a blessing the generations before us didn't have. We are asking Jesus to use this blog to keep treasured friends close and allow new friends 'interaction space' along the way. We are choosing this lifestyle in order to be more closely involved with our grandchildren. We see this as a calling from God. We have not had the delights of having them physically close to us. We want to invest in their lives as much as they will allow. 

     We invite you along to enjoy all the joys, surprises, God moments and difficulties.