Carlsbad Caverns National Park

On Saturday we got to go to the Carlsbad Caverns.  This place was incredible and I don't even have enough words to describe it.  I tried to take a lot of pictures but it is just impossible to capture the beauty of this enormous cave! There are several guided tours you can do but they are booked up for 6 weeks in advanced, so we didn't get to go on one of those.  I am hoping if we are still here in December we can go on a guided tour.  They have ones where you are climbing down rope ladders, crawling on your belly and stuff, how cool! So since those tours were all sold out we did the self guided tour.  For $6 each we got to go into this cave.  It was so cool, you go down a paved path that is 750 feet down and then end up in the great room and walk through a bunch of areas of the cave.  We hiked about 4 miles through this cave, saw so many cool structures and learned a lot! I was concerned about going on a saturday that it would be packed but the cave is so huge that we barely ever saw anyone, the only time it was cramped was in the elevator ride back out of the cave at the end. It was cool how quiet it was in there, we were told during the orientation that you have to whisper because if you talk in there it will be so loud.  Everyone was whispering and so you couldn't really hear anyone, it was very peaceful! If you are ever ever in the area you have to check these out!!! Like I said it was impossible to capture the true beauty of this place but I tried...

Thats the hole we went down into!!

Inside the Big Room!

The Big  Room

My Grumpy Ranger, haha! :) 

Anxiety

I've learned in the short time Brandon has been in this trade, having your husband work as a power lineman can bring a lot of worry and anxiety.  It can completely consume your life if you let it.  I knew this was a dangerous job and I knew accidents can happen in a split second but I was never prepared for how I would handle it.  As you may remember some crew members got injured the week of our wedding in July.  Their lives were forever changed and I still pray for them and their families nightly.  What I didn't expect is how it would affect me.  I found myself so scared when Brandon would go to work.  I would lay in bed at night, praying for the safety of him and his crew and I would just cry because I couldn't imagine what I would do if he got hurt or worse.  He is my world and I was clinging on to him so tightly and it was emotionally crippling me each and every night.  I would hug him so tight and not want to let go.  Then I would worry myself sick with the what ifs, what if he gets cancer, what if I get cancer, what if he gets into a car accident.  I don't want to live without him.  I realized I was headed to a dark place and this is not how I wanted to live my life everyday.  I wanted to be so proud of my husband and enjoy the life we had together instead of being scared it would be taken away from me.  I went to Hastings and went directly to the self help/ psychology section to find a book to help me.  I found "Calm My Anxious Heart" by Linda Dillow.  I cannot say enough good things about this book.  It gave me EVERYTHING I needed to live for TODAY and enjoy this life we have! 

I think I have every page dog eared and writing in the margins all over the book.  Sometimes it just helps reading something in a book or online that makes it click and it completely changes your thinking.   The first thing I read was this : 

• Never allow yourself to complain about anything - not even the weather. 
• Never picture yourself in any other circumstance or someplace else
• Never compare your lot with another's
• Never allow yourself to wish this or that had been otherwise
• Never Dwell on tomorrow - remember that tomorrow is God's, not ours. 

I love these, if you really think about them, break each one down and practice this in your daily life you would have a much less anxious heart.  My favorite one and the one that changed my thinking was the last one.  Never Dwell on tomorrow - remember that tomorrow is God's not ours.  That is all I was doing, worrying about tomorrow, or next week, or next year, or the next 20 years.  I was consumed with NOT having Brandon in my life instead of focusing on having him in my life today.  Now when I start to get worked up or think about what COULD happen, I just say "God, I am sorry I am trying to control things again, tomorrow is not mine, it is yours.  Whatever is in your plan will be, I am giving you my worry because I cannot control tomorrow, it is yours" I am not saying this book will change you over night, it didn't change me over night.  As I read this book though, I felt such a sense of relaxation.  Like everything would be ok and I would find peace.  Trusting in God and giving him your tomorrows and worries is something that takes time, a lot of time, a lifetime even.  I know there will be days when its harder and I don't trust Him as much as I should but all I can do is try each day and learn how to put my faith in Him.  

Hurricane Sandy is going to hit the East coast today.  I have all my extended family there and many friends have sent their linemen there already to restore power.  This can be a very anxious time,  I encourage you to pray, a lot, and give your tomorrows and worries to God.  He is listening.  I highly recommend this book, it has changed my life and I know it can help you too! 

"Let your hope make you glad.  Be patient in time of trouble and never stop praying" Romans 12:12

"Faith: it does not make things easier it makes them possible" Luke 1:37

Making a house a home

Every house needs to be made a home, whether its an apartment, dorm room, new house, old house, hotel room or a house on wheels....they all need to be decorated to feel like it is YOURS.  We got our wedding pictures back so I printed them off and put some in frames all over and of course put them on my favorite....CANVAS!

Thanks to pinterest I have started to become a little crafty, I still have a long ways to go though :) Putting pictures on canvas though is one of the easiest things to do.  I printed 8x10 pictures and bought 8x10 canvas, I got them at walmart in a pack of 3.  I also bought some gloss finish mod podge.

Step One: paint a thick layer of mod podge on each canvas and on the back of each picture and let dry.

Step Two: paint another thin layer of mod podge on each canvas and attach the pictures, it will be kinda tacky but you should be able to move the pictures a bit if you dont get it perfectly on the first try.

Step Three: Paint a thick layer of mod podge over each picture, this will appear white, as it dries it will dry clear.  Make sure you paint the brush strokes all in the same direction

Step Four: Repeat step three on each picture, let it dry and you are done!!

These cost way less than ordering a canvas print and I think they look just as good!!

I hung them  using velcro command hooks.  There are so many options put out by command, they are perfect for decorating in a 5th wheel.  They are super sticky so you can rely on them not falling down during travel but when you are ready to take them down or move the pictures, decorations, ect you just peel it off and there is no mark on the wall at all!!

I bought this little kitchen sign at walmart on sale, I love it and think its perfect for my little kitchen.  My next project is going to be how to put my own words on canvas, I'll keep you updated :) 

We bought this key holder at Target cause I thought it was just so cute!! We were a little concerned with how it would do during travel cause its a little heavy but 17 hours of travel later and it did just find, another great testimony for the command products!!

This week was pretty eventful when I went to town to go running.  If I am lucky I get to run in town once a week, I like it cause its more scenic and I can run a full loop instead of just out and back and up and down the rows like I do here at the RV park.  Well this week I was lucky enough to go to town TWICE! The first time I went, I was running along the Pecos River and there was a remote control jet boat race going on.  It was so awesome, those little things are fast and can really produce a good rooster tail! It was funny to see all the guys on the bank with their remotes....so serious! The second time I went to town I was running a long the same Pecos river and I ran under that bridge I had mentioned on Facebook where the homeless camp was. Well earlier that week I had ran under it and it was cleared out so I was very happy about that.  This time when I ran under it There was someone under there with their dog and they tried to hide when they saw me coming, I ran just as fast as I did when I saw that big snake!! I miss home, I miss being able to run and not be scared, although from some of the stories I have heard lately maybe back home isnt so safe either.  I wish I could find someone to run with me or even better a running group.  I googled "carlsbad running group" and got very excited when I found out there was a running group....in Carlsbad, CA....dang it! 

I'm trying to find some social things to do, some ways I can meet some new people.  I am getting pretty lonely down here, I see Brandon 30 minutes a night, an hour if I am lucky.  He is working 6 days a week and gone for 14-16 hours a day.  Then on Sunday he has homework for 8-10 hours a day and then the week starts all over on Monday.  I know it wont be forever but some days are harder than others.  I have been reading a lot and doing a lot of cooking, Brandon says my cooking is getting better so that is a good thing! I am actually getting excited to cook Thanksgiving dinner in piper.  I've never cooked Thanksgiving dinner before, what a better way then to cook it in a 5th wheel oven huh! :) 

No matter how lonely I am, how much I miss my friends, family, work, or Coeur d Alene, I am thankful I get to share these experiences and be with Brandon every night.  I can only pray for 4 10s, in a nice city and with friends...I know that will happen someday and we will look back on these time and laugh! 

New Orleans!!

Well we found out on a Friday Brandon was going to have the following week off, nothing like spur of the moment plans! I love the unexpected day off...a whole week was unreal! We were about 17 hours away from New Orleans and so we said, hey lets go there and visit family, this is the closets we will ever be to drive.  Its about 37 hours driving from home in Cda...

I picked up the rental car and we headed that way Sunday morning.  We stopped in Dallas to get something to eat, we didn't know all the restaurants are BEFORE dallas...we seriously drove around downtown and couldn't find anywhere to eat so we ended up eating at some BBQ place that honestly wasn't very good.  As soon as we got on the road again we passed a Texas Roadhouse...dang it seriously?! Sometimes Siri can really let us down.... We also drove through the biggest wind farm we will ever seen in our entire lives, it went on for like 30 miles!!!

 We got into New Orleans about 3:30 am, we were so hungry so we went to the french quarter and got some breakfast at ihop! What a crazy experience to be in the french quarter  at 3:30 in the morning.  We were the only white people in the place and probably the only sober ones :) We headed to Aunt Susan and Uncle Gerrys and at about 4:30 and we stayed up talking until 7:30 when Aunt Susan had to go to work.  It was so fun!!
We went to Cafe Du Monde every morning and got beignets....4 orders to be exact! They are so good, puffed up donuts with powder sugar on them, yum!! It was a blast seeing all the street performers, jazz music and good food! We spent a whole day on Bourbon street and that was a crazy experience, getting to go from bar to bar with your drink and not getting in trouble.  They even have "to go only" bars there, haha it was too funny! One of the bartenders told us where to go and where not to go, there was a very large gay section, every day one way or another we ended up in the gay section and Brandon would get hit on....he said to me "do not let go of my hand" while he was squeezing it so hard, haha made me laugh! On Thursday a lot of family members got off work and we all spent the day in the french quarter, starting out at Cafe Du Monde of course then heading to bourbon street, it was the best day!!

The family at Cafe Du Monde

Melissa, myself and Melissa on the Ferry

Ashley Paul and Brandon on the very

Brandon, Uncle Gerry, Aunt Susan, Uncle Rolland and Ashley Paul on Bourbon Street

The guys Brown Bagging it :)

Brandon and Uncle Rolland 

Aunt Susan, Melissa and I 

Uncle Gerry and I

Us girls having some fun with a street performer :) 

Brandon on Bourbon Street

Everything in New Orleans is so huge....Brandon had to get the biggest sandwich!!!

Check out this little guy we found in a bayou....I was scared its momma was going to come eat us!! 

What an amazing experience getting to meet all my new family.  Brandon hadn't been there in years so it was very special for him too.  I have so many great memories and now I truly know my new family.  I love everyones personalities and how they will all get together at the drop of a hat.  Plans change from second to second and it is just a riot.  In the end everyone comes together though and the laughter starts.  One special thing we got to do was go see Brandon's Grandmas resting place.  I never got to meet this lovely lady but I feel like I know her from the way everyone talks about her.  Everyone just lights up and gets such a warm look in their eye at the mention of her name or when telling a story.  What a special lady, I hope to leave an effect on people like that when I go.

 It is so special to have such large loving families all over the country.  Brandon and I are very focused on family and that is our number one priority. When we went to New Jersey and saw all my family everyone welcomed him like he had been in the family for years.  We we went to New Orleans, I got the same exact welcoming and it just warmed my heart.  We are so lucky that Brandon has such a great job, it will allow us to be able to visit our family at least once a year.  We will definitely be making a trip to New Jersey and New Orleans once a year to stay connected with our families.  It may have been a little late when we finally got to New Orleans but we wont be missing anything now!! Love y'all!! xoxox