We hope you and your family have had a wonderful Christmas season. We pray that in the middle of all the hustle and bustle you have taken time to remember what is really important. And it’s not just that it’s Jesus’ birthday. We are celebrating the Wonderful Counselor, Almighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace coming to earth. It’s the beginning of The Story, the fulfillment of prophecy. If you have been too busy, this evening would be a great time to sit down, take a deep breath and maybe pick up your Bible and read the Christmas story again.
We have spent our “vacation time” resting, reading, catching up on some work, working puzzles and watching Christmas movies. There have been lots of beach walks, and bike rides, eagle sightings and lots of good food. Most importantly God has blessed us by allowing us to spend this time listening to Advent devotions and enjoying the beauty He created here.
Our campsite this year
This heron has been a daily visitor to our campsite
We have taken several walks on the beach even though some days have been quite cool.
For most of last week the purple flags were out at the beach meaning that venomous sea life was present. They really weren’t needed because it was too cold to get in the water.
The pier is open again so we can walk on it any time. Since we are staying in the park, we don’t have to pay to walk it.
We see sharks every time we walk on the pier.
We attended a park presentation on raptors and got to see Archimedes the screech owl.
Of course, we have made several trips to the eagle nests. Yesterday we finally caught both of them on the nest at the same time.
On one of our hikes we stopped to watch this osprey eating a fish.
These grilled steaks fed us for a couple of days.
One day we took the afternoon to make Aunt Inez’s Tea Cake cookies.
We made them bite-sized this time because they are easier to eat on travel days. They probably will not survive another whole week to our next travel day.
Believe it or not, we actually worked our Advent puzzle the way it was intended – one small section at a time. We have really enjoyed it.
We tried a new recipe for for breakfast today – cinnamon rolls baked with eggnog.
Our traditional Christmas dinner of snow crab legs
As we have the last few years we took the time to watch our favorite Christmas movie again.
After leaving Selma, on our way to South Carolina we made a too brief stop to visit Anne’s brother south of Atlanta. We had a great time visiting some sights around Peachtree City, sharing meals and catching up.
City Hall Fountain in Peachtree City. The tubes gradually fill with water, then tip forward and spill the water.
Since we arrived at Max’s brother’s house we have been enjoying our time here catching up and clearing trees downed by Hurricane Helene.
One of many trees down at Max’s brothers house. We were actually very blessed that none of the trees fell on the house or on our motorhome that was parked there.
Spending our days cutting up trees …
… and hauling to the roadside.
The tree in the picture above pushed to the right-of-way for pickup
The four of us did take a weekend camping trip to North Carolina to see the Carolina BalloonFest in Statesville. We camped at Blake Farms RV Resort which is a small family-owned campground. There are large full hookup gravel sites, a short hiking trail, and all the miniature golf you want to play – at no charge. There is also a general store. We recommend it to anyone needing a campground in the Statesville area.
Our campsites at Blake Farms RV Resort
Free minigolf at the campground
Saturday was our day to spend at the BalloonFest. We were up early to be able to see the first balloons go up at about 7:30. There were about 25 balloons in the morning flight and there was a competition to see which pilot could drop their streamers closest to the center mark. Later in the day there was a mass ascension of balloons and later still there was an evening glow. It was a day of great fun. We particularly enjoyed the special shape balloons.
Mass ascension
Evening glow
One of our favorites
Another favorite
Three of the cutest balloons
Being photobombed at the BalloonFest
We are back in Johnston currently, still working on trees and enjoying time with family.
January 12, 2023 brought 15 tornadoes to the state of Alabama, including one tornado that tracked right through the heart of Selma, with top winds of 130 MPH. Monday, September 30 marked the official start to the NOMADS efforts to assist in the long term recovery of the city of Selma. As team leaders for the beginning of the project we first visited the site in June of 2024 to meet with Bud, the construction coordinator. We returned September 24th to prepare for the arrival of our teams and visit job sites.
Before the team arrived we spent some time helping Bud finish the electrical installation …
… trimming low limbs …
… and a little landscaping.
Friday, our first team members arrived, Carolyn and Gene. Unfortunately, our next couple, Herman and Janis had to cancel to return to their home which had been damaged by Hurricane Helene. On Sunday Bill and Becky arrived after having to delay travel due to the effects of Helene. We were very excited when we received a call that Bob and Leone were joining us Monday afternoon due to their NC project being cancelled. In the mist of all the tragedy caused by Helene, we remind ourselves that places like Selma are now off the TV news and masses of volunteers are no longer arriving. There is still much work to be done in Selma and we are so proud to have NOMADS as part of the long term recovery efforts.
We had to hold one of the low hanging communications cables for some of the RVs to get into the parking.
Monday morning, the team began work on our first house. Tommy’s home suffered wind and water damage and was further damaged and emptied by looters. The first priority was to replace the exterior doors so the house would be secure. While that was being done, the rest of the team then began demo work, removing damaged drywall and paneling and flooring. Then began the repairs to the wall framing and drywall. That continued through Tuesday and Wednesday.
Installing one of the new doors
Preparing to patch a large hole in a ceiling
As usual, when you open up a damaged wall you find more than you planned for.
The team filled up this trailer a few times.
Thursday began a new adventure for our NOMADS team. We began working alongside some employees of Fannie Mae, a government lending agency, that came to Selma to volunteer in the recovery. Fannie Mae encourages their employees to volunteer to serve in communities and allows them some time off to do so. There were about 30 people, most with minimal construction experience, that volunteered to help make a difference for the people of Selma. They came with their own team leaders and our four NOMADS couples became the “expert” advisors. We really were Bud’s (construction coordinator) eyes and ears at each of the five homes where we worked on Thursday and Friday. Team one continued our work at Tommy’s home, continuing the demo work we had begun and began hanging drywall. Team 2 worked at a home that had ceiling and wall drywall work. Team 2 moved to a house needing exterior painting on Friday. The third team worked on windows, and drywall at house 3.
Thursday morning meeting with Fannie Mae volunteers
Team 1’s crew installing ceiling drywall
Team 2’s crew repainting a house
Removing a broken window at house 3
We were at the fourth house both Thursday and Friday. It needed exterior siding to be replaced and bathroom flooring and ceiling repairs. The house next door had burned, and the fire damaged the siding on about half the right side of our house. We had two volunteers that had some experience with siding and after we helped them get started, they moved right along, mostly completing that job by Thursday afternoon. The two ladies working on the floor in the small bathroom seemed to really enjoy learning new skills. They had never used the tools we used to removed three layers of subfloor to repair damage from a leaking toilet. They worked hard on a dirty job and we got most of the subfloor and the toilet reinstalled before the end of the day so our homeowner had a working bathroom. Friday we assisted the team in installing the last of the subfloor, installing a ceiling fan and removing the ceiling tiles and replacing them with drywall. Anne even taught a beginning class on taping and mudding the ceiling.
Our crew taking down the old siding. They finished installing the new siding but we forgot to take a picture of it.
Adding a brace under the toilet
Our crew got enough of the new sub-floor in by Thursday afternoon to reinstall the toilet for the night.
Teaching taping and mudding to one of our Fannie Mae volunteers
It was a very busy week, and yes, we NOMADS worked on Friday. We will be taking an extra day off next week and all the team members were in agreement that it was the right thing to do. It was a great experience for us too. New friends were made, faith discussions took place, and we have two people interested in NOMADS membership. Great way to start our DR in Selma.
We have been attending Church Street Methodist Church which has some beautiful stained glass windows.
These little fellows frequent the edge of the lake where we are parked.
We left the NOMADS Annual Meeting on Thursday, September 19, 2024 (a day early) and overnighted at Cracker Barrel in Bentonville, Arkansas and then drove on to Arcadian Moon RV Park in Higginsville, Missouri Friday morning. We were meeting with some of the Switch It Up Crew for a Crew Campout Friday and Saturday night. We had about 70 people – which is very large for a Crew Campout and included about 20 new members. We had a good time meeting the new crew and it was great to renew friendships with people we had not seen in a while. The weather Saturday didn’t cooperate, and we had several downpours that curtailed some of the morning and afternoon activities. However, we were blessed with late afternoon sunshine and cooler weather for the great potluck Saturday evening. What a great time we had eating and visiting with friends from several states.
Todd and Sheila visiting with the Crew
Lots of good food at the potluck
After the heavy rains, this heavy RV that was parked in the boondocking area got stuck …
… but was rescued by another Crew member.
This truck was also rescued by a Crew member.
One of the odd sights we saw along the road in Missouri
We also spent some time with Sheila discussing future plans for the crew. For those that are not aware, it is through the sponsorship of Switch crew that we lead a Bible study for our RVers on Wednesday nights. It’s our “small group” since we are not able to attend small group at our church due to our travels. Such a special group of friends helping each other grow in faith. We are hoping to begin additional faith groups soon.
A really special time with some of our Wednesday Night Bible Study Group
We are now in Selma, Alabama setting up for a NOMADS Disaster Rebuild project to repair home damaged by last year’s tornado.
RVing With a Purpose 