Today

Today we went over the pass to the western side of the Rockies. It was spectacular! Breathtaking... we saw rams, or mountain sheep (?) along the side of the road too. Just amazing scenes.
The kids slept through all of this. They woke up as we entered Glenwood valley, which is also spectacular in it's own right.

I just had to show this shot of Jadon:o)... He gave me "muscles" in his "man" shirt! He is such a character!! I swear he develops something totally random and entertaining each day. He's a kick in the pants.

Leaving the hotel this morning, after spending a full week there, was really emotional. I was surprised that the level of connectedness I felt to that room! All this moving is starting to play with my psyche:o). In truth I have started to feel the disappointment of not being home for the Christmas season, with the freedom to decorate and completely soak up all the wonderful atmosphere this time of year. But we are making do with what we have. We hung stockings this evening, which thrilled the kids. Here's a brief clip of our new home for the moment.

The picture in the end is one Elie painted and we have put up in every place we've stayed. It delights her to be contributing to the decor:o). I have to say we are getting very good at our system of moving into and out of each place... very smooth. I think we got moved in and put the kids to bed in just under one hour this time! Moving in includes wiping down every regularly touched surface with disinfectant, after we spent the first 3 weeks of this trip sick with one cold after another... I am pleased to report that, aside from lingering coughs and slight stuffiness, we are all healthy!

Wednesday will mark 30 days we have been on the road. That just feels unreal to us. The last time I was this mobile for this long on outreach in Outback Australia and Indonesia... gosh, almost 10 years ago now. I was single then too, and didn't have the immense responsibility of little ones. As I think about what this trip has meant to our family and how it's shaped us so far... I am very grateful. All the intense, hard, painful and disappointing moments have given us opportunities to grow in grace, patience, maturity, and unconditional love for one another.

The last couple of nights I've fallen in bed totally exhausted and ready to cry myself to sleep over the sheer overwhelming nature of moving our little household around for another month. I have yet to shed a tear these past few nights, mainly because of my husband's incredible supportive and comforting words and presence. Not that he was unsupported before, but this new level of our relationship - of Bryce reaching out to me beyond his own intense pressures and overwhelming work load and the emotional demand that being surrounded by settings and smells,even people who remind him of his mom, putting my needs above his exhaustion - that has been a change and a treasure we've both cherished. He is working so hard on all levels - work, family, relationships, faith... I am boosted in my faith and inspired to go the extra mile for him, for the kids, with God.

This trip has been so hard, but so good. We are seeing God at work, as we visit churches, are welcomed as friends, see amazing sights, experience awesome new things, learn new skills, develop new appreciation for each other... and reach that point of feeling like we can't go one step further, only to find out that God is lifting us up under our arms as we make it not only one step farther, but hundreds of steps! It's exhilarating to find out that we can do things we didn't think possible and that there is laughter and peace is very uncertain, unknown and unthinkable circumstances... so far this has been our own private little outreach.

There is so much to write about. I could go on for days! I'm just really excited about where I'm at and where our family is at. There is joy in trials and hardships! My respect for and love of God grows daily as I watch my family and I myself experience His tender mercies so personally. Though not always felt, His presence is very real to all of us - so much so that Jadon now talks to God as if talking to me or Elie. I have delightfully been reprimanded for answering a question that was directed to God - "not you Mommy!" (He wanted to know where his Daddy was... and apparently he got his answer before I could share it.)

Tomorrow we spend the day in Paonia, Colorado... apparently it's a very secluded resort like area of wilderness. When Bryce mentioned it to the nursing home directer here in Glenwood Springs, he said that we were going to try to be back before dark so that we wouldn't get caught in the impending snow storm (due tomorrow night). The director responded by saying that snow was the least of our worries... we needed to be back before dark because of the elk, buffalo, bears and how dark the roads are - and especially to look out for bears on the road! I must say that I'm really curious about what kind of nursing home resides in the Rocky mountain wilderness...

Move Day, Glenwood Springs, Co.

After a full week of staying in one spot we are finally moving on! We leave bright and early tomorrow morning for Glenwood Springs, Colorado. It's just north of Aspen. Fortunately it's a short 3 hour drive.

We thought we'd show you a typical day in the car... this was our trip from Kansas to Colorado - but it's very similar to all other car days.

Jadon reading his books... he gets absorbed in one for nearly 30 minutes.

Elie and Simmea... very typical - these two are car buds. Elie spends considerable time petting, stroking, talking to and sleeping with her puppy.
Looks so comfy, huh? Simmea loves the special treatment!
Jadon eventually takes naps too. Though, it takes him a bit more to fall asleep in anything but his bed - even there he's got to wiggle his way to dream land. He has to be VERY tired to fall asleep in his book! A 5am wake up call will do that:o).
And some school work, for those days we leave before 7 am...
Jadon can't be left out! He has to get his "pee-school" in too.

We also invested in a DVD player for the car, and on really long car days Hermie the Caterpillar movies play. And now, we'll have a few Christmas movies to play too!!
For all we're putting these kids through, they are angles!

Thanksgiving

This year we celebrated Thanksgiving a day late. The actual Thanksgiving day was very hard this year. Having a lot to do with missing Nancy and our being out of town, I think. Bryce struggled a ton with missing him mom, I was very homesick and the kids were simply tired from two weeks of moving around every other day. So Thursday we did a lot of crying, sleeping and sitting around and sorting.

Friday dawned and we started the day celebrating! We took a break from hotel breakfast and had our own little party. We gave the kids two new Christmas movies and let them watch those while we ate and just relaxed. Then we let them play in the snow and after that we went for an early supper at a local Colorado favorite. It was a very nice place. One that felt like we should be on our best behavior, but also had kid menus and crayons. A good compromise for Bryce and I:o) - from McDonald's and other such kid friendly places! The kids LOVED their food too, which was wonderful. After supper we mixed an old tradition with a new one:o).

Elie and Bryce at our Thanksgiving supper

Mommy and Jadon, we couldn't get a good shot of us smiling at the camera - thanks to my little Mr. Funny Man here:o)
Our usual tradition - making Turkey cookies! Our new tradition... decorating gingerbread people!

Bryce's "Hermon"
Jadon's masterpiece:o) Elie's "Doll"Lindsey's "Gretta"

The weekend as a whole went very well. We spent Saturday traipsing Denver, riding the carousel, eating yummy foods, shopping, pulling out Christmas decorations (yep, had to bring a few small ones for the road!) and just enjoying being together.

Golden, Colorado

Hello from Colorado!

We arrived late Wednesday night last week and spent the Thanksgiving holiday weekend in a wonderfully spacious suite with this as the view from our hotel. This stay has been such a gift, as we will have spent 7 nights in ONE place! We are in Colorado for this week and will head South and East next Saturday or Sunday.

As restful as this break has been, I don't have time to blog a ton right now, but will soon share Thanksgiving photos and fill you in on our holiday.

Hope you had a restful and reflective holiday weekend:o)!

Bonner Springs, Kansas

Good morning from Kansas!

Today we spend the day here in Bonner Springs, while Bryce wraps up the last Kansas install. We leave early tomorrow morning for Golden, Colorado, where we'll spend the Thanksgiving weekend.

Surprisingly we are in what has been the nicest and cleanest hotel we've stayed in yet - and it's a Super 8! I'm sad that we are only spending a day here:o)... They even have complimentary cappuccino drinks! It's nice to not be afraid of walking bare foot on the carpet or in the shower:o). And there's no cigarette smoke:o)!! That is probably my favorite part.

I've made a point of hanging Elie's art projects up in each room we've stayed in along the way. We didn't get in last night until 2am, and the kids were out cold, so the room got set up while they slept. This morning as we were sitting down doing school Elie looked up and saw a turkey she just made.

"Oh, my turkey! Thanks mom. I'm glad it came with us," she exclaimed. It's been fun to see the kids respond so well to having the same decorations out no matter where we go, and Elie's really benefited from her art work being on display in every home!

Lots of fun this travel stuff:o)!!

Not So Breif Overview of the Last Few Days

Altoona, Iowa - Thursday, November 15th

This is Wilma. She's been in this nursing home for little over two years and her hobby is coloring those velvet pictures. They cover her walls... which you can't see from this picture, unfortunately, but the kids thought her room was the prettiest. We got to spend an afternoon with her, chatting and hearing her story. She raised 8 kids! She had amazing stories to tell:o). And was thrilled to have Elie and Jadon visiting. This nursing home was much more pleasant to visit. The kids were bummed about leaving again - I'm so proud of them! They wanted to meet everyone we came across.

Boon, Iowa - Friday, November 16th

By the luck of a fully book hotel we were given a king suite with a jacuzzi. Jadon walked in the room and said, "I don't believe it! They put a pool in our home!" He kept repeating, "I don't believe it!" He was so tickled. He and Elie spent all their spare time playing in it, with or without water. The extra room was a breath of fresh air! It felt great to spread out a bit and be able to find our own space for a day or two... not to mention the luxury of a king bed!!!

This was also the first place we've had a refrigerator, and we were within walking distance of a grocery store. The kids and I bought fresh fruit and veggies and eggnog! For breakfast we fed the kids the usual hotel staple breakfast of waffles and fruit loops, but added our treat of fresh fruit... they downed the fruit and hardly touched the rest:o) - makes a Mom feel so good!

Norwalk, Iowa - Sunday, November 18th

This is the pastor of the church we've been able to attend two weeks in a row, and his family - the Louks. We met them when we were staying in Des Moines city, and attended their church. Norwalk is just south, so we thought we'd go back this week. We've had the privilege of sharing Sunday dinner with them twice, and have really enjoyed getting to know this family.

The first Sunday we met them Elie had been crying about missing her friends in Grand Rapids. The instant we walked into their home the Louk girls surrounded Elie and Jadon and Mara, the youngest and Elie connected. Her response later on was, "Mommy, God took care of me! He gave me friends again." It delighted both her and Jadon to see this family again.

John and Joy were a breath of fresh air for Bryce and I. We were able to share openly with them and just relax in their company. Their hospitality and warm welcome of our family was so easily and freely given to us, it met a need we didn't realize we were carrying. They are an incredible example of the Church.

I have to admit that moving place to place has become old. It's waring and the kids have started to struggle with move days, as we aptly named them. We've been fighting colds the whole time, and eating out was fun at first, but is getting tiresome these days... especially with Thanksgiving drawing near. But, we have completed two whole weeks! And that is reason for this family to celebrate:o)

So we thought a trip to the Zoo was in order... and wow did we get a treat! We were one of four other families to brave the cold weather and we not only got to see animals being fed, we got to "play" with lions and tigers! No joke. Though they were behind bars or glass (or in "Jaleb," as Jadon called it (jail)). Here's a brief video clip of a snow leopard that literally stalked the kids... it was hilarious, and something we've never seen before.

At the end of the video, Bryce had been looking in at a Tiger that was laying when suddenly it jumped up taller than Bryce and clubbed the window. We got a ton of footage of it, unfortunately it's not very good lighting... but the Tiger came back several times and bit the glass, pawed it, "pounced" and laid his head against the window... it was truly the most amazing thing we've ever witnessed in a zoo.

Above he towers over Bryce... Here, if you can see it, he's biting at the window, and licking at Jadon's hand. Jadon got a kick out of the tiger trying to "eat" him. Thank goodness Jadon thought it was funny! And thank goodness for the glass!! I did a little bonding... he later came up and rubbed his head on the glass where my hand was. But being there was probably the freakiest thing we've ever felt... and these photos are haunting for us to look back on!

The lions were also on the prowl, and intently watched the petting zoo, full of goats, llamas, ponies and a donkey - which was all in their line of sight. They were so close to us it felt like we could reach out and touch them if we wanted to.

It's hard to put what we got to experience into words. It felt like God put on a special show just for our little family. And as hard as these last two weeks have been, it has been humbling and incredible to see God preparing the details ahead of us on this trip. As we struggle with our own little issues, being stretched and worked over, He has given us hope, refreshment, surprises and friendships the whole way. We are blessed!

Nursing Home Experience

Yesterday was the first official visit to the nursing homes Bryce is installing bar code software in, by Jadon, Elie and I. Wow, what an experience...

The three of us helped a lady named Mary to her room, and then as I helped her get a few things in order, (emptied water glasses and put items away where she couldn't reach because of her wheel chair), the kids had an animated conversation with her. She revealed that she has two granddaughters and that her parents just flew to Florida to spend winter in warmer weather.

This information really impacted me. Especially as I made my way around her room, helping her out. It was a virtually bare, very hospital like, with hardly any room for her two small dressers, her roommate's one dresser and both of their wheel chairs. Her bed was a hospital bed and looked as if it might be held together by the duct tape wrapped around the bars. The whole place smelled of urine and sweat and unclean skin. I couldn't stand to see my parent or my daughter living in this place permanently, until they passed away. I couldn't imagine taking Elie and Jadon to this room to visit Grandma. It broke my heart.

Elie had a very hard time saying goodbye. She was concerned about the people, asking why they were so sad. I tried to explain that the nursing home was where they had to live now, because they needed doctors and their families can't care for them anymore, or they didn't have any family left. Both kids protested when it was time to go. They wanted to stay. I was so proud!

Bryce has been told of countless heartbreaking stories of tenants lives in these places. Of families all but forgetting their loved ones in these nursing homes. This has been sobering. How can we get so busy and numb that we'd even consider letting our precious elderly people live such depressing lonely lives? It's chilling to think that we are not very far from being there ourselves... that Mary could easily be Lindsey in the next few decades.

I am so thankful we have this opportunity, that my children have this exposure. I pray that it nurtures deep compassion for people within their little hearts and minds, and that as a family we grow more sensitive to those who either have no voice or a very weak one. And that we begin to learn how the little things we do impact others. Especially during the holiday season.

We won't be visiting the nursing homes every day with Bryce, but it will become a regular part of our routine over the next several weeks.

Peaceful Angels

Nap time in the Paulson household... The kids have been sharing a bed this past week... and I think it's beginning to rub off on them! Elie is not a cuddler - very much like her mama, wants space when sleeping... the slightest little touch sends her scooting away. Jadon is a cuddler - very much like his daddy, can't fall asleep unless he's right on top of usually his Honey Bear... now his sister.
This picture is just precious to me, as it really depicts the changes this trip is developing in the kids' relationship. They are growing closer in freindship and learning all about compromise, even if it is on a subconscious level at times:o).

God is so good to us.

Totally Pampered Pet

We just had to get this picture. We had to pick up a dog crate, as one of the hotels we are staying is requires dogs to be kept in one... we didn't bring ours because it was so bulky. Anyway, at the pet store, the kids got to push their own little carts... and Simmea didn't have to walk! Oh, and I just have to mention that we found this perfectly pink collapsible dog crate on clearance!!! The original price was $99.98 - we paid just under $15!! How cool is that? I think it's just hilarious that it's hot pink... and it gets even better... Simmea loves it! (she hates her crate at home)

Fun in Iowa

This is Bryce. It's Sunday night and we're gearing up for the week. Five different facilities in 5 days. We'll have our hand full.:)
A couple of intresting things about our time in Iowa.
1. Right accross the street from us John Edwards and Bill Richardson spoke yesterday for a political event and Barack Obama was accross town doing an event. We had political signs for about a mile in every direction and with a 7th story view we were able to see the whole thing (except the speaches, which for some reason we weren't invited to). I guess this is what you get when you spend time in Iowa during caucus time.
2. We went to church this morning at a local United Methodist Church and went up to talk to the pastor afterwards. He invited us over to their house and we had a pleasant lunch and afternoon with he and his family. It's great to see how God looks out for us and gives us people to connect with even so far from home.

We miss you all and hope you're all doing well.
-Bryce