Life and blogging...

Real life has once again taken precedence over blogging, as you can tell from the sparseness of posts and the tardiness in sharing our story.  :)

There is a very short lull now before real life will need my full attention again, so I will try very hard to catch up the blog to current adventures.

Thanks for hanging in there with us!  We have many adventures and stories yet to share!

Washington~Where Team Monty began...20 years ago

Springtime in Washington, 1992...two people fell in love, with Mt. Rainier as the backdrop.

Welcome to Washington

Hello, Mt. St. Helens!  It's so good to see you!

Mt. Rainier welcoming us back :)

A gorgeous campsite on Ft. Lewis at the Army Travel Camp
...and a VERY happy Monty wearing a t-shrit!
Thank-you Lord for sunshine and a few days of warm weather !

After settling into our campsite, it was time to take the kids on a trip down Memory Lane...

McChord Air Force Base brought us together, as we both were assigned to serve here--I arrived in 1990 and Jon, 1992.
(In 20 years, things change...McChord AFB has now combined with Ft. Lewis Army Post to
become one Joint Base--Lewis-McChord and it's now called McChord Field.)

We were serving in the same small air defense career field...so our paths crossed here:

Another change:  Our unit used to be the Northwest Air Defense Sector and it was an active duty
unit, call sign:  "Bigfoot"

There is a nice monument to those of the air defense mission outside the building now.
This is a radar height finder with an F-16, the tools used to help us "see" who was flying in our air space
and then defend it, if necessary.

We showed the kids our first apartment and then our first house on base.

But, the best was taking them to our home church while stationed here.  It was an amazing "Team Monty" experience.  Together we worshipped the One who knit this family together where He started it all!

Heritage Hills on McChord Field...

with Mt. Rainier as the backdrop---

my how life changes in 20 years!

Team Monty established 1992.
The team expanded in 1998, 2000, and again in 2003.  :)

...My Old Kentucky Home...

Are you wondering how I can be posting about Kentucky while in California?  

Well, I won't keep you in suspense :)

We are moving to Kentucky!!

Jon was selected to be an Air Force Junior ROTC instructor at

Harrison County High School 

Cynthiana, KY!
(NE of Lexington)

We have covered our future in prayer and asked God to open and close doors as we sought His will.  We're excited about the door that God has opened for us.  Jon is a gifted teacher and has a heart to reach the next generation.  

Team Monty is excited to know where our RV expedition will end.

Jon will be starting July 1st, but until then...

there is still so much of America to explore!

We will be traveling from California to Kentucky via Florida ...

for the next 2 1/2 months :)  


GO THOROUGHBREDS!!!!

6 months... A reflection.

September 23, 2011-March 23, 2012

6 months on the road in an RV:  
Otherwise known as a lifetime...

Not sure how I should write this blog to mark our 6 month anniversary of full-time Rving.  Should I recap all we've done?  Should I just say happy anniversary?  I think I'll feel out this post as I write...


Departure day... we pulled away from Tyndall AFB in Panama City, FL with so much excitement about our journey ahead!  We left with only a general idea of where we would go, how long we'd be there, and how long the trip would last.

6 months later, we still don't know where we are going beyond next week or how long this adventure will last!

One thing we do know, according to "our plan"...it will end by the end of summer, if not before.  This has been an amazing experience, but we know beyond a shadow of a doubt...we are not free spirits and do not want to live a nomadic lifestyle forever :)  This journey has stretched us in new ways, like we knew and hoped it would.  But, it also reenforces our knowledge of who we are... we are home bodies.  We like to be free spirits only within known boundaries :)

A few insights:

* We really can live without so many "things" that we think we "must have" in order to survive.  Even having very little with us, we still have TOO much!  We still have too many clothes, toys, books, food, etc.  We are abundantly blessed!  I look forward to continuing to live a downsized life because in this...we actually can live an oversized life!

* We love the adventure of seeing God everywhere, especially worshipping and fellowshipping with our brothers and sisters in Christ in churches all over the USA.  But, we long for a "home" church and a faith family that know us intimately.

* We miss walking to our own mailbox and getting our mail... daily.  I would've thought this silly 6 months ago, but for us...we like having a home address :)  Answering the, "Where are you from?" question is so much more difficult to answer now!  It was already difficult to answer being a military family!

* Jon NEEDS to work!  He loves to work and is ready to jump back into the race.  Although...it'll be with new vision, purpose, and passion.

* We miss our dear bosom buddies.  :(  I really thought that staying in contact more frequently would happen with my dearest of friends, but the reality of life is... you put out the fires that are in front of you.  We've met some really interesting, wonderful people, but these are not the ones that know my deepest heart's desires and weaknesses.  They are not the ones to go to their knees in prayer for us and share the wholeness of life with us.

* We miss our dog and sugar gliders.

* We miss trips to our library where the librarians are so happy we're there!  And having enough room to bring home 50 books from the library if we want :)

* All the "free time" I thought we'd have did not materialize.  :(  We still have the same responsibilities of life...cooking, cleaning, laundry, financial planning, schooling, child training, etc. that we always have had.  Plus, we have new things to do:  trip planning, finding a way to get Wifi or Mifi connections, learning our way around new towns...where's a church, Walmart, post office...or whatever else we may need, but don't know where it is.

* With an ever changing schedule and location, routine is hard to come by.  And we LOVE routine!  It is harder to get the important things done because we "have all day" to accomplish them.

* This list is actually much longer than I've written so far, but these are some of the big ones that come to mind as I was writing.

Obviously, the above insights are preferences.  God is always with us.  He is enough.

They are honestly not complaints, just observations.

Some of the insights surprised us, some did not--we knew.  

Areas of growth:

* There have been many times that because we couldn't do some things ourselves, we asked God to help us... and He did every time!  Back at home, we would just handle most of these things ourselves because we could.

* We are much more resourceful than we thought we could be.  God gives us fresh ideas and wisdom daily on how to live on the road like this.

* We've grown even closer as a family, and we were pretty tight before!  The biggest growth has come with Jon seeing the kids in all aspects of their lives... how they "do" their days, especially in the area of schooling.  We've been able to do deep heart work with our children in this area, especially with our boy child.  :)

* We have strengthened our faith muscles...in new ways.  God has given us lots of new exercises to do :)

* Adjusting our expectations was and continues to be critical.  We often set very high expectations and if they aren't met, could led to disappointment...when actually, we still had a fantastic experience.  We commit every day to God and we trust that He prepares the way for us.  His ways are often not ours, but they are always better...even if we don't understand.

* We find a new favorite of the journey almost every week.  :)  We loved the horseback riding during autumn in the Smokies best, then we loved the Insectarium best, then we loved the rock climbing at Joshua Tree Nat'l Park best, then holding brand new baby goats was the best thing ever...until we went sledding with Uncle Joey and Auntie Allison!  We've learned that new and great adventures are always around the next bend in the road... and we are so blessed to have so many favorites along the way :)

Some idiosyncrasies about RV life:

* Just about everything pulls double or triple duty...especially our space.  So...we break down, set up, and shift... a lot.

* Yup, the toilet paper isn't quilted anymore...but we have found some single-ply that isn't too bad.  

* I can take a full hot shower...with 6 gallons of water :)  

* We REALLY miss our garbage disposal!

*  We ALL know what kind of power we're hooked up to (30 or 50 amp) and how many electric things we can run at the same time :)

*  It takes a team to do everything... we use everyone's eyes when parking!  

* You have to give lots of grace to each other... in close quarters you will be tripping on someone else's stuff and bumping into each other.  There is no point in getting angry and feel like your space has been violated...because it has been :)

* I enjoy not having a dishwasher (most of the time.)  The kitchen is cleaned up after every meal!

* We have woken up not remembering where we are parked!

* When one person wakes up...everyone wakes up :)  The whole house wobbles when you roll over!

* Using a water pump is annoying and loud, but we're so thankful to be able to have water at our finger tips when needed even when not hooked up to a water source.

* Not all campground water tastes good!  Overall though, we drink the campground water.  We've only been I think two places where it just wasn't bearable and got some bottled water.

* We ALL know and look for Clearance Heights at overpasses and gas stations.  

*  Diesel fuel is not available at all gas stations!

* We learn something new daily.

Jon and I think we'll understand and fully appreciate the value and experience of this adventure after it's over and as time passes.  Through the years, it'll be a memory that is a Team Monty family memory.  Just like when we all experienced our very first mission trip to Costa Rica--- together.  It'll hold us together, as it has tied our hearts with one heartstring.

A quote I just read and love:  "Sometimes you never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory."

Are we glad we went on this grand journey?  Yes!
Do we look forward to the remaining time we have?  Yes!
Do we look forward to settling back down again?  YES!

If you have any questions about our time so far that I haven't addressed, but you really want to know about... just post a comment here and I'll answer your questions. :)

6 months anniversary!

Happy 6 months anniversary to us!!!

I'll be posting a reflections post about hitting this milestone soon.  But tonight... it's date night!!!  Whoop!!  

One of the many benefits of being near family :)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

We send you our love and blessings across the miles this Thanksgiving.  God has given us an amazing opportunity this year and we are so thankful that you, our blog readers, are joining us on the journey!

We want to give our Team Monty Expedition Pit Crew a very grateful THANK-YOU today, whom without we would not be able to be on this RV adventure:

L to R:  Petersons, Montgomerys, Jacksons, Garretts, Breitmanns, Fullers

The Fantastic Fullers---are taking care of our sugar gliders, Boomer and Bindi

These two are so much fun---and super cute :)

The Garrett Family--is taking care of our sweet dog, Daisy

One last sleep-over in the old house before moving day.

Our "Postmaster" Nana!!!

Old Faithful Geyser of California in Calistoga, CA
Nana, the one whom inspired a desire to travel and the courage to try new and different things in life!
(During my childhood, she took cooking lessons in Indian and Chinese food...which were the catalysts for many trips to Chinatown :)

The Jackson Four--are the keepers of our household storage key, so that they can add boxes of items that we jettison from the RV into our storage unit.

Yes, we actually have room to squeeze in a few more boxes :)

Our prayer and encouragment team:  includes many family and friends that we knew from before the journey started and many new friends that we have met along the way that have told us they are praying for us.  Please know that we're so very thankful for your support of our family and our adventure!!!  
Please keeping praying~~~ :)




HAPPY THANKSGIVING---
Philippians 1:3:  I thank my God upon every remembrance of you.

One year ago...

Do you remember where you were one year ago?

We do...it was one year ago that we felt God release us from Panama City, FL. It has been an amazing year of faith! All we knew was that we were to get our house ready to sell and to look for other work for Jon.

We spent the next five months getting the house ready...after living in our home for nine years, there were projects we were in the middle of that need finishing, updating that the house needed, and a little bit of clutter that had to be eliminated (which happens when you add another child and you are a home educator :)).

The whole time we were preparing the house, we heard how crazy it was to sell a house "in this market". We also thought we were crazy! We are very steady people...we're a military family after all :). However, any time that we thought about stopping, we reminded ourselves that God was asking us to prepare. If we quit, we'd be disobeying Him.

One thing I've learned in the years of walking with Him, is that when He asks you to do something, you obey--crazy or not. And often times, it'll look crazy to everyone else. Thankfully, He gave us His peace to walk this journey. We were going to obey, the results were up to Him.

So, while we were getting the house ready, Jon was also looking for jobs. He was looking only at military, civil service type jobs. Over the course of this year, God started leading Jon in a new, unexpected direction. We still don't have the whole picture of what this means yet. We know that God is using this RV journey to get us to the next adventure in Jon's career. We'll be blogging about it as the expedition continues...

This has been an amazing year of prayers, answers, direction, and new things. Among the stand out events of this year is the way God confirmed His plan regarding our house... It sold the day we put it on the market, for OVER asking price! Now we knew...we were on the move!

So, how did we end up on an RV adventure? One year ago, as we passed an RV dealer on the way to church (that we'd passed hundreds of times over the last eight years)--Jon looked over at me and said, "You know, we could sell everything and go on the dream trip..."

We're on the road!

Welcome to our family’s blog!  We’re known as Team Monty.  Both Jon and Kellie will be posting about our story, experiences, lessons learned, new places, and our great adventure on this journey.  Our three kids will also be blogging!  They’ll be working on their blogs and we’ll link them on the side bar.

A journey like this does not come about easily.  We’ll share about how we got on the road and the many ways God opened up this opportunity.  We have a great “pit crew” of friends and family that have prayed with us, encouraged us, and are supporting us along the way.  We’re so grateful for each of them!

We will be reading and responding to your comments.  If you have any questions, please ask!  We plan on posting often, but one thing we’ve already learned so far---Internet access on the road is intermittent! 

Let’s enjoy the journey on the “Will of God Trail” as it unfolds, together!