Once again I have been bad about writing on my blog! Updates....we are pregnant with our 6th blessing! It is another girl! Alicia Jayne Vallejo is due October 19th. We are in Weatherford TX. We like it here alot! We have been so blessed...we have a great campground, hosts, and neighbors. Since we have been here since March, we have been able to establish roots. We have been blessed with some good friends here in Weatherford, the Hurds and some others in their church. I have found a GREAT organic grocery store and found a couple of people to buy fresh and chemical free meat from.

That leads me to my latest learning adventure....trying to feed my family as healthy food as possible. I am also trying to establish(or reestablish for me and Jamie) healthy eating habits. WOW! It is a tough but much needed change! It has taken a lot of prodding by God to get my attention on this one because I always thought we did ok before. But after watching Food Inc., asking alot of questions of a few well educated friends in this area and doing my own reading. I knew we were not heading down the path I wanted for our family. Unlike the popular diets and such, I am not looking at short term weight lose as a goal. I am looking at long term health benefits and establishing it as a habit(not a fad). For instance today I am working on my 1st batch of Kombucha Tea! It is full of natural probiotics and enzymes that Jamie needs is his digestive systems. We actually all need it but we only bought it for him because it was really expensive. But it is cheap to MAKE like most everything. I am also going to make croutons today too. Really I am making that only because I have bread that is about to go bad.

Well on to the fun stuff.... we just gotten back from vacation a couple of weeks ago. We went to San Antonio TX. Jamie's brother Jesse met us there. Jamie's cousin Rachel and her family were with us most of the trip too. Rachel lives just north of SA. We spent one day at Six Flags and 2 days at SeaWorld. We even made it down to the Riverwalk for dinner one night. Lots of walking, sun and swimming. We had a great time and have lots of memories. Thanks Jesse!

We went back to KS the 1st week of June, then we were at Weatherford for a day and a half. Then we went with Jamie to Houston for 5 days. He had to work there. We didn't pull the camper. We are not fans of Houston to say the least! The kids and I did go to Voddie Baucham's church and heard him preach. That was a nice worship time and the kids did a good job in the service. Then the day we were leaving we spent a few hours at NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston. It was AWESOME!

We have been to other neat places here, in the last 4 months too. We went to the US Treasurery Western Division in Ft Worth. It is 1 of 2 places in the US that make our currency. We took a great and FREE tour. We also went to a great Civil War Musuem in White Settlement. We really appreciated the perspective it came from. It told the story of the Civil War from the Texas view point which fought for the South. Not something you usually hear. We also went to a Creation Musuem just south of here. It was small but very interesting. We were given a pass to the Ft. Worth zoo so we have been there a few times. We also went to Austin for a few days with Jamie because he had meetings. The kids and I visited to capital. We all watched the bats come out one night from under a bridge. We had dinner with 2 of Jamie's aunts too. The kids and I met my friend Stasia at the Ft. Worth Botanical Gardens one day for lunch. We need to go back this fall. We have been to play miniature golf twice and went bowling once. We are also regular visitors to the parks here in Weatherford. I took the kids to the Peach Festival yesterday here in Weatherford. It was about 60% craft show and 40% food booths. We rode the "shuttle" from the parking lot to the festival. Well the shuttle was a school bus. The kids first ride on a school bus. They were thrilled! Well not Luci. My mom has been here twice to visit. We even enjoyed the Ft. Worth rodeo with her. Jamie's parents have been here twice and Jesse is a regular visitor too.

Well that is about it for our big adventure for now. Jamie is going to apply for a job with another company so we are praying about that. We also have friends the Glinskis from KS that are coming down in about a week. We are looking forward to their visit. We are going back to KS the 1st week of August again. Thanks for the continued prays :)

Still in San Antonio

Wow! We have been so busy I have not written and I should have. Lets see on the 28th the kids and I went to the New Braunfels Railroad Museum. It was really neat! While we were there one of Jamie's trains came by. It was a long one. At the end of the train another engine was pushing it. Which means it was really heavy. Well that night I mentioned it to Jamie. He said that they were just up the tracks waiting on it. It was full of rock. For them to dump. He said it was 76 cars long! Way cool!

On Friday the kids and I met up with Cousin Rachel and Ashley. Rachel treated us to playing at the Jumpy Place. It is just what it sounds like. An indoor place with like 5-7 BIG blow ups. The kids had a blast!!

Saturday the 30th was Jamie's 34th birthday. He took a personal day so he could spend it with us. Well we went to check out Gruene TX. It is a historic old town. We really didn't know what it would be like. LOL!! Not for us. It was FULL of antique stores!! And bars! Well forget the FACT that we have 5 kids. BUT we also don't really care for antiques and we don't drink. But we did find a cute toy store. It had unique toys in it.

Then on Monday it was raining and cold(in the 40s). But that was the only day we thought we had to go into San Antonio. So we went to downtown SA. We usually love it. But not that day. We went to the Alamo(1st time). It was really neat! We talked to the kids about the culture of the time and why the 1st people came to TX. The film they showed was mostly on the battle. The kids really enjoyed it. Then we went to the Buckhorn Saloon. We would have checked that out BUT it was going to cost us $62 to get in!!! No thanks!! So then we headed out. I wanted to go see another misson San Jose(which is what the Alamo was to begin with). So we headed that way. I think we drove through some of the WORST parts of SA. So by the time we got there, Jamie said we are NOT getting out. LOL!! So we saw it from the car. It was beautiful and huge.

We had planned to leave on Wednesday. So Tuesday we were getting ready. We went over to Tom and Rachel's house to visit them all. And we did our laundry. We were there all day. Tom feed us again with his great cooking! The kids so enjoyed playing with Ashley. We got to visit with Tom, Rachel, Becky, and Elizabeth.

Well yesterday we had every intention of leaving but when we woke up it was pouring. So Jamie checked the weather again and it was showing a HUGE storm all the way up to Dallas. So we would have to drive up in it all the way. That is after we sucked in the slides that ofcourse would be soaked! So we decided we might as well stay until Friday which is suppose to be nice. So we had a good family day. The kids did school, took naps, and then we all went to Walmart. When we got back Jamie grilled out hamburgers(our picnic table in covered). They were delicious! Then we all played Uno. It brought back memories of my own childhood. We played it alot when I was a kid. We had fun. Then after the kids went to bed I put on a pot of coffee. Yes Jamie and I are old!! And we played Scrabble. Good time!! Why is simplicity so sweet?!

Well we are going to go and visit Aunt Becky and meet her boyfriend. We are hoping to head to Ft. Worth tomorrow.

Enjoying the weather

We have gotten back into the swing of things. We started back up with school. It is so nice to get back into a routine! The kids and I have been outside everyday after nap time. There is a little playground here. They have also been riding their bikes. We have been taking walks(the kids say that we are exploring) too.

Jamie has been working really hard on this gang. They work 10 hour days. He says that they work hard the whole time. He is at the front of the gang pulling spikes. Then everyday they go and dump rock. It is as physically demanding as it sounds! There is about 40 guys on the gang. And this isn't even considered a "big gang". His hands hurt and his body is sore. Who needs the gym! But of course Jamie makes the best of it. He embraces every chance he can to be a witness for Christ. Which starts with the way he lives and works.

Well today is laundry day....BIG job! I am sure glad I have so MANY helpers! I have to go and get quarters first. Then I will probably have about 5 or 6 loads of laundry. That is 5 days worth. We are suppose to be getting rain the next few days. So I better get done!

1st trip in 2010

Ok I have been very bad about writing. I hope and pray to be better! We have been at Jamie's parents' house since November. We enjoyed the holidays there and got our storage cleaned out. We sold most of the big things except the kids beds. We moved them into Grandpa and Grandma's house. Jamie was laid off for almost 2 mos! It was defiantly tough. But grew alot spiritually!! Jamie did not get unemployment. We sold our stuff, he did some handyman work for Bridget, and rode "extra" on the local gang for a week and a half. We got by. We also got a nice gift in the mail this month. God is good!

Well Jamie got a bid down in San Antonio TX. He made the first trip down by himself. Which was tough emotionally on everyone! Then we all left on January 22nd for our trip down. We left at 10AM. We got to Ft. Worth at 5:00PM. YUCK rush hour!! So we stopped and hung out at Cabela's for 2 hours. We left there at about 7:30PM. And we STILL hit rush hour! But we decided that we would boonedock at a Walmart in Austin. We got there at about 11:30PM. We were all EXHAUSTED! We didn't even unhook. We just popped out the slides and went to sleep. Well the kids and I did. Jamie stood guard, I guess. He said he only slept about 1and a half hours. There was even 4 other campers in the lot. The kids thought it was so crazy because we had them just sleep in their clothes! LOL!!

Well we got to New Braunfels at about 10Am on the 23rd. Well we checked 4 different campsites:

#1 Place-close to Jamie's work, ok price, no playground, no picnic tables, kids not allowed to ride their bikes.

#2 Place-close to Jamie's work, cheap "$20" a night(LOL the place I will never live down), SCARY location.

#3 Place-about 10-15 mins from Jamie's work, had a playground, BUT ONLY ALLOW 1 KID!! LOL! guess they didn't want us.

#4 Place-about 20 mins from Jamie's work, $50 more a week than #1 place, but they a playground, covered picnic tables, and welcomed all our kids.

So yes we chose #4!!! We got all set up and cleaned up. Then we went to Target to get a few things. After that we went to Jamie's cousin Rachel's house. I had never met her. But her mom Becky used to live with Jamie's parents but she lives with Rachel now. Super nice people!!

Yesterday was Jamie's 1st day back on this gang. He actually got off at 4:30!! I let the kids play with these cool markers that you can write on the windows. They got them for Christmas and had been looking forward to using them. We went out and had dinner at Mamacita's. Good stuff! We ate there 6 years ago when we were here on vacation. Well today the kids got back into their schoolwork. We got some light cleaning done, school done and all the kids had a nap today. Now we are going to go outside and explore. BTW it is in the 70s today!!!!!! Pretty normal for here! We plan to go into San Antonio next week when Jamie is off. I do need to go to Vision Forum on Friday since that is the only day that they are open. It will be hard to not over spend there!! We are all so glad to be back on the road again!

Last Stop in Illinois

Well yesterday we got out for our last field trip in Illinois. Jamie got to go with us because he got "bumped"(union thing) off his job here. We don't know where to next. Well hold on I will come back to that.

We went to New Salem IL. The state restored the village. It is where Abe Lincoln lived before moving to Springfield IL. So neat. Alot of it was closed but there were signs on every house telling about it. There were a couple of people in costume there. One was a guy in the general store. He told us all about the things that they used to sell there. Amazing! Almost every house there had a fenced in area next to it. I thought it was for keeping small livestock in. Nope. It was to keep the pigs and chickens that roamed the town out of the gardens that they planted there. It so amazed me how simply these people lived! If you needed something most of the time YOU made it. The lady working in the tavern was talking to us about what the people then expected out of their kids. Every child had important responsibilities in the family(way more than making their bed and feeding the dog)and it made the kids feel important and part of a family unit. Not like today we all feel and operate like individuals living in the same house. A normal birthday gift for a 3yr old boy was a little hatchet. She also said that the daughters could pretty much run the house by 9 or 10yr old! Wow! I so need to step it up with my girls! What an amazingly simple yet hard working life to live!!

So we are returning to KS tomorrow. We are going to Grandpa and Grandma's house until we figure out where to next. Jamie will call on Friday. It looks like we will be able to get in on a field trip on Friday with our home school group. They are going to a dairy farm. Fun! We will get to see most of our friends!

Well please pray about where God would have us go next. We still want to go with Jamie. But we have to stay in one spot because Jamie says he will not pull the camper in the snow and ice. Party Pooper!

Land Of Lincoln

I know why they call this the Land of Lincoln! Wow they have all the BEST Lincoln museums! The old houses here are amazing! Yesterday Jamie and I with all the kids, went to the Lincoln museum downtown. It is only a few years old. It is amazing! It covers Lincoln's life from his log cabin days to his death. It is all done in so much detail! They had so many artifacts too. There was a totally cute and educational play room. It was a bit expensive but well worth it! They only allowed pictures in two areas. So we didn't get many.

Today we all went to the Old State Capital and Lincolns' house. I can't believe all the restoration this city has done! The Old State Capital is the one that Lincoln worked at. It is funny how different life was then. Without a tour guide you miss so much. The simplest every day tools they used most people(including me) are clueless. The filing system, heating, lighting, and most everything else are way different.

Then we went to the Lincolns' home after the Old State Capital. It was four blocks away. The state has restored the whole neighborhood. They are still working on it. The Lincolns' home is a beautiful 2 story home. It is the only home Abe ever owned. He lived there for 17 years. The state even restored the boardwalk sidewalks. The home is full of antiques. The out house and stable for all the houses were restored too. It was actually not raining today. It was a good day to walk the area.

We have decided that Isabel is getting the most out of all the museums. Gracie and Isaiah are enjoying it and learning some too. And Marissa well she is getting good practice on taking tours of places! LOL!! Really we are all having a GREAT time! I have learned so much! Really all this history just makes me want to learn more. Which is exactly what we want for our kids. Our educational goal with home school is not to some how make them geniuses. Our educational goal has always been to foster a LOVE for learning at what ever pace that it needs to be.

Springfield IL 10-20 & 10-21

WOW! Life lesson-Do not mess with what God has created!

At some point in the last 10-15 years the state of Illinois brought some Asian beetles(similar to Lady Bugs) over here. They were brought over to eat the aphids off the soybeans. But OOPS they did so well that they reproduced like crazy. Plus unlike Lady Bugs they live in colonies. So once the farmers harvest the soy beans the beetles go looking for another place to live. It is like nothing I have ever seen!! They are everywhere and get into everything! I wish I would have taken pictures on Tuesday. I was in so much grossed out shock that I didn't! That day we killed probably 40 of them in the camper and in the Suburban. That day we had some neighbors one spot down, for a few hours. But then they couldn't take it and left! The campground hosts said they should be gone in about a week. We went into town and it was better but they were there too. They are all over Illinois! They don't eat our food or anything. They are just really annoying! And of course they freak out the kids.

Yesterday was better with the beetles. God gave us a bit of a relief. The kids and I left once they started to get bad at about 11 AM. We decided to do some exploring. We went and took a tour of the Illinois state capital. It was beautiful! It was built in the late 1800s. It took 20 years to complete and cost $4.5 million. It had amazing details on most of the ceilings and amazing paintings. But unlike the beautiful Missouri capital I don't remember seeing any references to God or verses from the bible. At the MO capital they were EVERY where! I was amazed! That capital was 90 years old and cost $3 million. It is pretty sad that I have not been to the Kansas capital since my 5th grade field trip. That's bad! Jamie says he has never been there!

We also walked over to the Illinois State Museum. It was a big museum that was free. But I would say that 70% of it was about evolution. Since we don't believe in it and I teach creation science, it was a bit disappointing. Of course we walked through it anyway and I used it as an opportunity to question the kids about what we have learned in science. The rest of the museum was about Illinois animals and history. It had alot of antiques. We parked and walked around to the different places, it was nice. The kids did totally awesome at both places. I was a little nervous on the tour because there was no other kids and about 5 adults. Marissa ussually rides in the stroller but it was not in the Suburban. She did a great job of walking and holding hands with one of her sisters. Isabel also gave her piggy-back rides. Good day!

We plan to save all the cool Lincoln stuff for when Daddy is off. Tomorrow is his last work day then he is off for 7 days. We plan to still be in Springfield until the end of November. Ofcourse that is up to God and Jamie's job. Today we are doing book work, laundry, and I am baking(rolls, bread, and cookies). Hopefully a bit of cleaning too.

We have also discovered that Luci has cut her 2 bottom teeth!! So cute!