After a very cold winter, traveling from Virginia (January 7, 2915), back to Florida (January 9, 2015), back to Virginia (April 2, 2015), and finally back to Florida on May 7, 2015, we never were “hot” until this day, May 18, 2015. We traveled from Cocoa, Fl (and never were “hot” there) to Troy, Alabama. Well, except for a short time the day my hubby crawled up on the roof of our new home to inspect it: 
So on May 18 in Troy, Alabama, it finally hit 90! We settled our home into it’s site, and then took a two mile hike around the beautiful Walnut Creek RV Park. We were covered in sweat, but no close ups! After our hike, we went inside to start dinner. We heard a whirlwind and then a crack. Looked out the door to see the destruction of this once perfect tree! 
Our hike around the lake: 
Where we were (in our new home): 
Husband took this pic of a sweaty me with this new beautiful sign:
And that was our hottest day for longer than we can remember! We’re Floridians because we like it HOT!
Weekly Photo Challenge
One Word Photo Challenge: Cloudy
May 14, 2015, Cocoa Beach, Florida
Buying and selling your residence is stressful. But this new “home” was a long time dream come true. Then throw in an auto in the mix. The clouds separate and reveal the clear blue sky, and that’s where we are now!
We live full time on the road. This picture was taken as we pulled out of the seller’s homestead in our NEW HOME. And wouldn’t you know, it was the beautiful clouds that inspired me to take the picture! I jumped out of our car to take the pic with my iPhone.
“Hear this, O Job; stop and consider the wondrous works of God. Do you know how God lays his command upon them and causes the lightning of his cloud to shine? Do you know the balancing of the clouds, the wondrous works of him who is perfect in knowledge, you whose garments are hot when the earth is still because of the south wind?” Job 37:14:17
Motion Photo Challenge: Love
In response to The Daily Post’s weekly photo challenge: “Motion.”
Running to his grandma!
We’ve been “off the road” so to speak (we’re full time travelers) but for a month camping near our 19 month old grandson!
Grandparents joy when grandson comes running!
Caught him running to me again!
And finally, He’s running towards the sound of a tree trimming operation at our campground!
He’s always in motion! But I’m never camera ready. Except for these few precious pictures. When I’m picking him up from Daycare or have him at our campground, he makes my heart smile with LOVE!
“Grandchildren are the crown of the aged, and the glory of children is their fathers.”
Proverbs 17:16
Weekly Photo Challenge: Shadowed!
In response to The Daily Post’s weekly photo challenge: “Shadowed.”
Garden of the Gods
Aren’t wonderful childhood memories the best? We lived in Colorado Springs for six years when I was 4 – 9 or so. My favorite memories are of Pikes Peak, Garden of the Gods, playing on my sister’s husband’s family ranch, and Glenwood Springs. I was able to take my husband to all these places in 2011, except the ranch! The family moved. But my last picture showed what things I loved about the ranch, the boulders!
So while there on this particular trip, we also traveled to the top of Pikes Peak where I learned “America the Beautiful” was written – in part and was inspired. So looking at these shadows, helps one see how this song was created:
O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!
O beautiful for pilgrim feet
Whose stern impassioned stress
A thoroughfare of freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America! America!
God mend thine every flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law!
O beautiful for heroes proved
In liberating strife.
Who more than self their country loved
And mercy more than life!
America! America!
May God thy gold refine
Till all success be nobleness
And every gain divine!
O beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!
Written by Katharine Lee Bates, and the music was composed by church organist and choirmaster Samuel A. Ward.
Weekly Photo Challenge: Scale
In response to The Daily Post’s weekly photo challenge: “Scale.”
We love the outdoors, so most of my pictures are either from our fun outside adventures, or of our grandson. He’s not only so special because he is our first, but because his birth helped us do what we really wanted to do, travel full time!
So in his honor, here is my “scale” of him at one day old, taken by his mother who is in awe!
“And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge —that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:16-19
Weekly Photo Challenge: Serenity
This is my second post in response to The Daily Post’s weekly photo challenge. This time it is titled “Serenity.”
First, a brief definition at WordNik: “…The quality or condition of being serene; clearness; calmness; quietness; stillness; peace….”
Who doesn’t crave serenity??? If I had to say who is the most serene person in my life, I’d have to say my husband. He is ALWAYS very clear and he does all he can to remain CALM. And if you live in an RV full-time, there are situations out of our control that can steal away our serenity!
In spite of those uncontrollable scenarios, we LOVE our full time RV lifestyle because of our constant companion: Serenity!
And this is our reason for our serenity:
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” John 14:17
Weekly Photo Challenge: Depth
January 30, 2015 Buttonwood Bay, Sebring, FL
It was so much fun to take the photo challenge on “Express Yourself.” It looked like a great response when I went back to see the blogs posted. It made me think how easy to write about ourselves! :-} But today’s challenge and prompt is much tougher: Depth.
So flipping through my recent photos, this one popped up. I love it’s charm, simplicity, old town feel and the fact that it was hard to find a parking space, but it looks nearly deserted! I’m only using my iPhone camera so to think I could find this much depth, to me, was amazing. I love the sky and streaks with the most beautiful Christmas tree and the old fashioned lamp post. I love Christmas and after the “season,” I missed all the “Merry Christmas” wishes everyone was bestowing upon us. So I’m ready to go back to the season a little!
As we travel full-time in our RV, this is the type of place we love to visit. But shopping is the last thing we enjoy or want to do, except at Christmas! And since this is a Christmas picture and is about depth, I had to find an appropriate scripture that seems to fit perfectly!
“I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:16-19 (NIV)
Weekly Photo Challenge: Express Yourself
January 28, 2015, Sebring, Florida
This challenge is in response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Express Yourself.” I needed a prompt to blog during our “down time” to handle the mundane tasks of life. Today, I am supposed to finish preparing our taxes for our accountant. We’re due a refund so I don’t need much motivation, but being a full-timer now, makes it so hard to sit inside the camper while it is a GORGEOUS day outside. I’ve already put it off enough and today is my deadline. So after reading Ingrid’s blog post this morning, I decided to take a quick detour and join this weekly photo challenge!
There are four things in this world I love as we travel. So first, the foundation of our marriage began walking on a beach in Jacksonville, Florida 40 years ago, just about to the month! We were “falling” in love and discovered we both love the beach. Here is a picture of our recent walk on Little Talbot Island near Jacksonville.
Bill lived in Jacksonville, FL soon after graduating from Vale Tech training institute. He fell in love with the beaches and vowed to never move north….then he met me (Debbie), who was from the north. And like the Israelites wandered in the desert for 40 years, it looks like we’ve been wandering that long too!
We decided to travel full time because we no longer care, where we live (in a stix and bricks house). Because as much as we love the beach, we’ve decided it’s not the place to live…permanently! We love to visit and during the off season! We just bundle up a bit!
So the next thing we discovered about each other is that we love to visit historic places, museums and gardens. So while in Jacksonville, we went to a garden/museum we had not visited before, the Cummer Museum, a garden and art museum. Now this was a bonus visit as it also had a great water feature, the St. John’s River! My words just can’t do it justice! And then this fabulous urban museum overlooks the St. John River where I captured a boat gliding by with a bridge just peeking through my pictures. This was once a sanctuary for a family to express themselves, entertain and eventually help rebuild Jacksonville after the great fire of 1901.
And then our third love, we discovered we had was in July 2003, hiking! After we moved to Florida in 2005 (the Bible says God will give you the desires of your heart, so this was after 30 years of marriage), we thought our new found love of the mountains was never to be revisited. But alas, in November 2013, we discovered we could easily find ways to hike. We just take our mobile-home with us and go to the mountains. And have we ever! Here are a few snaps of our most recent visit to the mountains, near Franklin, NC.
We discovered our love of hiking goes back to our childhoods. Bill played in the hilly woods growing up outside of Pittsburgh, PA. And I spent a glorious six years in Colorado Springs, CO as an adventurous little girl.
So this brings me to our last great love of things on this earth and it is because of this, we have become full-time RVers! So we praise God for whom all blessings flow for delivering to us the next best thing in life, next to our own child, is our grandson! You see, when he was born, we lived 800 miles apart. And we were in Florida where Bill had yearned to return after our marriage nearly 40 years ago! So here I sit in the warmth of Florida while I blog, and thinking on these things that really help express who I am!
Follow the Tumble Lees! 