A little more settled than before!

So, we are currently parked behind our church (Family Praise Center, check out the website I built for them www.thefamilypraisecenter.org) and are patiently waiting to move into the parsonage. Since we have moved here, God has really been lining things up for us! The people who are renting our the parsonage are supposed to be out by the 1st, so hopefully we will be moving in soon. We were hoping they'd be out early and cleaning it, but it doesn't look like they are very motivated to pack things out. The house is ginormous! It's a 2200 sq ft place with 2 living rooms, a big kitchen, a dining room, 3 bedrooms, and 2.5 baths. It also has a utility room and a 2-car garage. It sits on an acre (but really the church sits on like 10 or 11 acres, so our yard is huge!) I've already been told I can plant a garden, so I'm researching and planning my sight and such. We haven't actually seen the inside yet, so it's all my imagination going to work, and believe me it's working overtime right now. The huge blessing is that they were asking $1050 for rent, but when we told them we wanted it (it just felt like God was telling us to do it!), they lowered the rent to $850, which is really good for this area! So God is just really blessing us right now!

Stretch and I are also in the process of registering and licensing our new contracting business. Stretch will be building, fixing, and just about everything in between! So, pray that everything goes smooth with that!

Here are some pictures for you:

Overlook of Coos Bay

Playing in the ocean at Coos Bay

Stretch & Tucker at the river

Hiking from a waterfall (there's lots of those here!)

Tucker waiting for the candy to come at the 4th of July parade.

Settled-kind of!

Well we have landed and somewhat settled in the little town of Cottage Grove, Oregon. It's incredibly cute. Very small town feel (in fact, in order to get wifi I am now in my car, hopping onto some very nice, but unknowing person...hence the reason why I have not blogged recently.) I'm in search of a job. I have my resume into several places, but the Farmer's Market in Eugene and the University of Oregon are the two I'm really praying for. I haven''t heard from either of them which means I'm still in the running!!! Stretch is going to be staying home and launching his handyman business and working on the lodge. So it's very exciting and testing of faith at the moment, since we have no money coming in. El Jirah will provide, because we are working on activated faith! So any prayers you can send our way is really appreciated! Well, I'm not sure how much longer my battery will work, so I'm going to keep this one short. There is an Internet cafe opening here so hopefully next week I can upload some pictures! Love you all!!!

God Bless,
Sara

T's Big Weekend

Oh my goodness! Two posts in one week!!! This may be a new record! hehe Anyways, Tucker had a big weekend. Yesterday we went out to lunch with Granny and Papa Prow. It was supposed to be Granny's birthday present, but then they pulled a fast one and made it my Mother's Day present, those sneaky grandparents! Then, Tucker, Stretch, and I went to the amazingly fun and exciting Dinosaur Museum! Tucker really likes dinosaurs, so we figured it would be cool. They have animated dinosaur robots, huge bones, a place to 'dig for bones', a movie on dinosaurs, and an earthquake simulator. Tucker was a little hesitant at first and really didn't know what to do with the moving dinos, so Stretch held him a lot of the time. But after an hour or so, he must've realized they weren't going to eat him and ran around like a crazy child. It was a blast.

Then we went to church, and Tucker got beat up for the first time in his classroom. Now I don't know really what happen, but Tucker came away from the encounter with scratches all over his face and habitual bully had to sit in time-out. Despite the beating, Tucker was excited as ever to go to his class this morning. He's such a awesome kid that way. He really doesn't let much get to him.

Today he got to play at church all morning, then help daddy work on stuff this afternoon. And any minute our friends are showing up for a bbq. So, needless to say, Tucker's weekend has been very full! There's pictures below capturing some fun times! Love you and God Bless!

Tucker and Stretch moving a robot dino

Tucker and Me digging for bones

Our Paleontologist

Tucker's battle scars-bad picture, but his cheek is all scratched

Holy, Holy, Holy

Worthy is the Lamb Who was slain
Holy, holy is He
Sing a new song to Him Who sits on Heaven's mercy seat

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty
Who was and is and is to come
With all creation I sing praise to the King of kings
You are my everything, and I will adore You

Clothed in rainbows of living color
Flashes of lightning, rolls of thunder
Blessing and honor, strength and glory and power be
To You, the only wise King

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty
Who was and is and is to come
With all creation I sing praise to the King of kings
You are my everything, and I will adore You

Filled with wonder, awestruck wonder
At the mention of Your Name
Jesus, Your Name is power, breath and living water, such a marvelous mystery

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty
Who was and is and is to come
With all creation I sing praise to the King of kings
You are my everything, and I will adore You

"Revelation Song" from Gateway Worship

Isn't He amazing!?! I pray you are as blessed by this song as I've been! Love you all. Until next time, God Bless!

Phew-where did the months go?

So, I'm in the process (and believe me it's a hard process to stomach) of watching Clinton and Obama debate. I am having to force the vomit down every couple of minutes, but it's important to know the enemy and see what we may have to endure the next four years! So if this blog is a little chaotic, I apologize.

I was looking online (truth is, Stretch has Tucker helping him put in the car stereo, so I have time to actually blog and type) and realized that it's been a couple of months (again) since I have blogged. So, again, I apologize. The last few months have flown by, which is good and bad. We haven't yet moved to Oregon. As soon as the Jeep sells, we will be out of here. It's taken a little longer than we have hoped, but we know it's all God's timing.

Tucker and I have also come to terms. Yes, he is still two, but we are learning how to make this stage one of good memories. He helps me cook dinner almost every night. With it getting warmer, we are playing outside and hiking in the mountains. Last week we went hunting for lizards (he loves how fast they run!) We are getting ready to potty train once we get to Oregon, so we've gotten a new potty chair that he loves to sit on and have his toy doggie sit on.

Last week I got to see something truly awesome and fun. Vice President Cheney came to Grand Junction for a fundraiser. Of course, there were the idiots protesting, so to counter that, I made a sign saying we loved him and found a spot very close to the airport, so one of his first things seen in GJ was positive and not hateful. Seeing him drive down the street was so incredibly cool. There was a huge police motorcade and a long line of fellow Republicans following. It was like I was in a movie where the president (or vp) came rushing by. It was truly a very exciting moment of my life.

I know I said I wouldn't be political, but I have to say it because the debate is really burning me. I love how the Democrats like to blame the Republicans for everything. It really makes me sick when Clinton and Obama says stuff like "the Republicans should apologize for the Bush/Cheney administration by not running a candidate." Its like the Deomocrats don't like to look at the fact that the nation wasn't in a bad shape until the Democrats took power in Congress two years ago!!! If they'd stop passing idiotic laws and policies, we'd be in a lot better state than we are right now. Now, I don't agree with everything the Bush administration has done, but the nation would be in a worse state if Kerry would've won.

So, below are some new pictures...hope you enjoy!!! Love you all!

Tucker in his KC duds!

Tucker's Easter present---duckling (he couldn't keep it, unfortunatly)

Tucker looking for Easter candy

Traveling to Iowa--he's a great traveler!!!

Happy Late Valentine's Day

Hello! Boy, has February flown by us or what? Well, we spent the last three weeks battling colds, croup, and ear infections. It was a very trying few weeks, but we made it through by the grace of God (I spent a lot of time praying for wisdom and understanding!) Sick kids are no fun. Now everyone is well and doing great, and we are just dealing with a 2-year-old. Those of you who have kids know what that means. Those of you who don't...well the best way to explain is that when they get in their moods (which is often) you find yourself wondering if perhaps your child has been replaced with a feral creature there to destroy any semblance of order and calm. But no, he's just two!

We're getting really excited about the move. We still have no departure date, yet we are getting closer everyday!!! In the mean time, I've been going to a mom's bible study Tuesday's mornings and have enjoyed the fellowship! These ladies are incredible. Their stories are diverse and inspirational. I truly look forward to Tuesdays more than most. So while we don't know for sure when we are leaving, I'm glad I'm getting these few precious weeks with my new friends!

Well, that's about it for today. The feral creature, I mean Tucker's, crying and pulling on my arms so my typing time is over. So until next time,

God Bless and we love you!!!!

Title explanation

So, what's with the 'Crazy Non-Traditional Conservative Family Blackard?' you might be thinking. Well, with all the hype in the upcoming election, I thought if I was to label our family, what would we be called by the media? Not that the media has any reason what-so-ever to be interested in my blog, but I thought it'd be fun. So, the explanation is:

Crazy: In today's society, people who go against what is considered 'the American dream'-you know, house, good paying stable job, good retirement, 2 kids, and loyal trusty dog- are looked at with eyes of awe through sunglasses of stupidity. Though deep down, most wish they could break free from the societal constraints of normalcy, they bury their dreams in running the rat race and call anyone who steps off the track impractical, erratic, crazy. If you are a reader of my blog, you know that our track is far from normal. With enthusiasm and no hesitation, we jumped out of the rat race and into the life unknown. To top that off, we have a very strong faith in Christ our Savior. He is what we base our whole life on. He leads our every step. Because we felt Him calling us, we sold everything to follow. He lead us to Alaska and back. Now we hear Him telling us to go to the Northwest. Without ever being there or knowing anyone, we are packing up again and going to Oregon. Because of our faith and prayers and allowing Him to guide us in what we do, we don't have to worry about if we are doing the right thing. Even if we go off track or misinterpret, He'll provide because of our faithfulness (just an example-there is a company in Portland we were told about last night who help Christian ministries, i.e. our lodge for ministers. Now, could there be a reason why we were called to that area? I think so!) Now, in our secular and sometimes Christian world, people are very uncomfortable with those of us who follow the Bible in every way and truly live a Christian lifestyle. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying we're perfect by any means. I'm just saying we're crazy!

Non-Traditional: Now a lot of what I said in the previous paragraph automatically puts us in the non-traditional category of life. However, we do have a few more things that throw us that way (but in reality make us non-trad by today's standard but traditional by past standards which is confusing in itself). We have a strong desire to homeschool our children. We don't want our children to be taught opposite of our beliefs and values. We want our children to truly learn and not just be taught to pass the standards. We don't believe in going to the doctor for every little thing. Tucker only gets the vaccinations we feel are important, not blindly say 'Yes stick my son and give him something he doesn't need at this time." We rarely take medicine and will first try homeopathic remedies. Now I'm not saying we're granolas or anything, we just don't do something just because everyone else is doing it.

Conservative: There's a lot of conservative and liberal banter being thrown around lately. So with no apologies whatsoever, I formally declare that we are conservative, and strong one's at that. We believe in upholding family values. We believe that less government means stronger nation. We believe that legal immigrants are welcome, but come in the tradition of immigrants of the past. Those that came because of the desire to become Americans and live and raise their families as Americans. Melting into the melting pot, not sticking to the sides and bottom and expecting others to accommodate. We believe that a person or business should take financial responsibility for their financial stupidity. It is not the government's, and by extension the people's, problem to bale people out of their mistakes. I would never expect a neighbor or a stranger to bear the weight of my decisions. We are not entitled anything, but must and should earn it. Only then can we be proud of who we are as a person and a nation.

Whew...who would've known I would have so much to say. First you don't hear from me in months then I go off on a monologue of epic proportions! I promise to try and keep the political comments to a minimum--well, now that I think of it, I can't promise that. I'm a little opionated and have a tendency to not keep my mouth shut, which is why some of you love me so much! Until next time...God Bless and we love you!

Hello again!!!

So, I've decided that I must be the worst blogger known to mankind! I mean, who goes four months without on measly message? What kind of person does that? Obviously someone who doesn't truly appreciate the community and value the 'blog' has created. So, from this truly oblivious person to you, I'm deeply sorry for my lack of participation!

Now that the berating and gross groveling is done, it's down to business...that is, uploading the downlow...I mean, transmitting the blognotes...well you know what I mean. We've spent the last four months in Colorado visiting family and friends and trying to sort out what our next move will be. It's been nice, a little uncomfortable at times, but nice. We spent three months parked in Stretch's parents backyard. At first, it was great. Tucker was relating to his grandparents (since both live there in Rifle), we were able to get out of the rv for extended periods of time (basically we slept in it and that was it!), and we got caught up with the parents. Then the honeymoon was over. Not that our parents did anything wrong or that we did, but a grown person who has a family of their own really isn't supposed to be back at the parents. Everyone kind of reverts back into the parent-child roles and when you've been out of the house for 10 years, that's a little hard to swallow. So now we are parked at our church in Grand Junction and are loving it! Stretch works Monday and Tuesday at the church and the rest of the time he has a handyman business he has started. It's been steady and very exciting for him. I've been doing the mother thing and helping my mother-in-law, Betsy, get started in her art business-website building, art festival applying, and organizing galore. You should check out her website www.betsyblackard.com

We've also decided that in order to go towards the goal of building a lodge, we have to put the ol' life on the road to rest. So, while it didn't last as long as we expected, it fulfilled what we expected. With the dream of the lodge firmly in our hearts, we never imagined God would bless our obedience so quickly.

So, you might ask, what's next? Well, even though we are putting our rv to rest, we are not planning on staying in Colorado. Even though we love it here, we are ready for a change. So, come February, we will be venturing off to Roseburg, Oregon. Roseburg, Oregon? Why there? Well, that's easy. Neither of us have been to Oregon, so we figured it'd be the perfect place for something completely different! We'll be traveling out there and staying in the rv. Then once we're there, we'll sell the big rig, rent a place, and get Stretch's handyman business up a running. I'll continue to help him with the books, continue to expand and challenge my new painting hobby (yep-that's right-I've taken up painting, pastels and acrylics-lots of fun and very relaxing!) and get involved with whatever church we find. Oh yeah, of course all of that is somehow squeezed into the full-time mothering gig I've got going on.

So, that's the upload of our downlow. Hope you are doing good! God bless!

Love you all!
Sara

Oh...here are some long promised pictures!
Stretch, Tucker and Nation touching a glacier in Valdez.

Tucker waiting for construction on the Jeep hood.

Me and Tucker in Dawson City, Yukon at the town overlook.

Cow moose and her calf in our backyard in Chicken.

Tucker eating wild cranberries off of the bush.

All of us in front of a glacier on the wildlife cruise in Seward.