Over 500 Miles!

Bill has kept his training schedule every day and is continuing to build muscle and endurance for what is ahead. Only two more months! We had a few days of really nice weather, so Bill was out on the road for his training. When He came in with his bicycle computer, I couldn't believe it...he hit over 39 miles per hour!

I could tell by the big grin on his face that he was pretty pleased. Going uphill can sure be difficult at times, but the downhill ride is worth it! LOL! As he was writing in his journal and checking the other entries on the little computer, he discovered he's gone over 500 miles so far and that's not including all the time spent in the shed on the wind trainer.

He's been at a men's conference for the last few days for Young Living and has really enjoyed fellowshipping with the other men and getting to spend time with our son-in-law. I've really missed him, but he is due home today! Yahoo! While he was gone, it was really cold here and there was snow up on the mountains,

now today is 65 and sunny and all the snow is gone! Next weekend we will be picking up our little camper from storage at the dealership and will start the mini makeover. I will keep you updated on our progress and am really looking forward to making this our home away from home for the summer. 

A Little about Me....

Bill is continuing to lose weight and is doing fantastic! But who is that person behind the camera? I'm Debra and I am chief cook and water bottle washer/rope holder. While he's been training, I have been getting all the things ready for our trip. Once we move the camper from the dealership to our yard, I can begin in earnest. With a few inexpensive items, it will be turned into our beach cottage. The tan and brown interior was just screaming for some color and I will post pictures when the transformation starts. I spent some time perusing Pinterest for ideas for organizing, cooking in a small RV oven, recipes, and how to get rid of toilet smell! LOL! There were even pins about how to hang pictures in your RV so they don't fall off the wall as you're going along. So while Bill is training, I am planning meals and looking forward to making this little camper as much like home as I can get it. Many of the organizational tips mentioned used different containers from Dollar Tree, so you can bet I will be making a trip there too. So you might not see me much in front of the camera, but I am there cheering my dear man on and praying for our journey to come. Thank-you for reading and please be in prayer for us.

Bill's lost 30 Pounds!

Bill's lost 30 pounds and we wanted to show you exactly what 30 pounds looks like. 

My daughter wanted to see a better picture of Bill with his 30 pound weight loss, couldn't get him to take his shirt off, but this T shirt is a 2XLT that used to fit him perfectly! We'll have to get him some new ones or it will look like he's wearing his dad's clothes! LOL! He just came in from his workout in the shed and I got this shot of him. 

Blast from the Past!

When we started to train for this journey, we found the box of articles, pictures, and receipts from our first trip. Since we wanted to share alot of this with you, we decided to organize it into binders so we would be able to put our hands on a specific item. Since today was a snow day, we spent time preparing emails and posting to social media. While looking through the binders for an address, we came across an article that was published back in February, 1989 about our first trip across America. Bill worked for Bethesda Lutheran Home in the boiler room at the time and our children were young then. It was encouraging to read and we thought you might enjoy it too. 

So here we are 27 years later, training just like we were then. Little did we know that the crushed shoebox that was holding all these items would be an inspiration and encouragement to us today. We are still amazed that through all of the moves and life challenges, that these items were not lost. Please pray for us as we continue with our training for this journey and consider being a part of this new endeavor. 

Generosity.com .

Shopping for tire liners and a Special Coin

Since Bill has had 2 flats since he started training, he started looking for something to make his tires more flat-proof. 2 flats may not sound like much, but if you have 2 flats in 438 miles, think how many there could be in 4,500 miles. We sat and watched youTube videos about different products and at first thought that a product called "Slime" might be a good choice. If you ever did have to change a flat though, it would be pretty messy business. Another item that looked interesting was called a "tire liner"; a tough puncture resistance strip that goes between the tube and the inside of the tire. Since we were in Walmart picking up a few things, we went over to the bicycle department to see if they had any. While Bill was looking, I couldn't resist trying on a funny kids helmet.

Bill took my picture so I could show it off to the granddaughters.....they all approved and want helmets to match. Bill would have added it to his cycling gear but it didn't fit into his red, white, and blue color scheme. Besides, he's more of a ninja turtle guy. LOL! Walmart didn't have what we were looking for so the search goes on. 
I made more of Bill's Granola Rounds (check out the "recipes" label) and our son that is stationed overseas happened to call a day or so later. I told him we'd send some over for him to try out....he's a pretty game guy. So while Bill was waiting in line at the post office to mail the box, he met a gentleman behind him in line and started talking about our son and also what we will be doing this summer. When Bill noticed he had a sidearm, he assumed he was in law enforcement. He handed him one of our business cards

and said he would be doing this trip for all the men and women in uniform as we will be "Standing up for All Lives" to show how much we appreciate all they do by putting their lives on the line for all of us. After a few more minutes of conversation, Bill and the gentleman parted ways and Bill continued filling out the paperwork to mail off the box. When after a few minutes, the gentleman returned and said, "I have something for you" and he handed Bill this coin.

He was surprised to be presented with this. It is similar to the coins presented to men and women in the military. Both our sons have coins similar to this that they carry with them. It was an honor to receive and will be carried by Bill on the trip. We want to thank this fine officer for his generosity and service as well as giving us this coin. Thank-you for reading and for following us on this endeavor.

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