Live the Adventure

Nov. 20, 2009

I was featured on the Homeschool Classroom!

Recently I discovered a blog that I just love, The Homeschool Classroom. I stop by each day to read a short blog post that offers me ideas, tips and encouragement for my own homeschool journey. I was excited to have an article I wrote featured there yesterday. You may be interested in reading it, a short post about our homeschooling-RVing lifestyle. Even if you don't want to read what I wrote, I think you'll be blessed by stopping by. There are several wonderful homeschool moms that share on a regular basis. Happy Homeschooling!

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Nov. 16, 2009

A homeschooling mom with no kids???

Not only did my husband and I leave our car troubles in Ohio, we also left some other things behind...our children. It wasn't an easy decision, and it certainly won't be for long, less than two weeks but we both felt that the kids could use some additional time with family and their friends.

Life on the road certainly has some wonderful moments, but let's face it, we traded our modest 1800 square foot home for about 200 square feet of living space- there's not a lot of privacy. My daughter has confessed that living this way is better than she thought it would be, but every teenage girl should really have a door to slam!

We're also hundreds of miles away from family and friends and though we live in a day and age with astounding technological advances compared to 15, or even 10 years ago, emails, xbox live, cell phones and text messages can not replace human contact and our kids were missing everyone.

So, they packed up their clothes, packed up their school work and are working diligently in Ohio between visits with family, friends and Remedy Drive concerts. I'm sure they're having a great time, but they are missing me and their dad just like we are missing them. After all, not only do you not have much privacy living life in a camper, you are certainly aware when someone, or in this case three someone's are absent.

So this week, this homeschool mom has found herself in an unusual situation. No kids to teach and too much time on her hands. I'm really looking forward to those lessons next week!

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Nov. 16, 2009

A rough trip home

Well you know from my previous post that last week was a wee bit difficult. My grandmother passed away and we decided to drive to Ohio for the funeral service. Though we had all weekend to prepare, somehow I still had a ton of last minute preparations. In fact, I was still at the laundromat when my husband called to say he was finished working and was on his way home. Yikes! We yanked our clothes from the dryers, sped back to the camper and hurriedly packed the essentials that we would need...and away we went, pleased that we would make it home to Ohio by midnight, plenty of time to rest up before the emotionally trying orderal we'd face on Tuesday.

Before leaving town, we decided to grab a bite to eat. Mistake. KFC was apparently understaffed that day and it took a long, long time to get our food. Next, we encountered traffic delays in Nashville. That took a long time. We'd already lost an hour, the GPS now declared we'd be in Ohio at 1 a.m.

Things were smooth sailing for awhile when my vehicle began to make a terrible noise while driving through the pitch black mountains somewhere in Kentucky. Yikes! Thankfully we found a truck stop to pull over at that offered wi-fi, so while the vehicle was cooling down so my husband could look it over, the kids were updating their Facebook accounts...nothing like Facebook to make things better!

At this point, I was beginning to think we weren't going to make it home in time for the funeral at ten in the morning. Near panic, the kids and I prayed while my husband was purchasing any liquid ooeey gooey substance that he could pour into the engine to make things better. The rest of the trip was touch and go. We'd stop frequently while my husband and I would try in vain to get a few minutes of sleep. Finally, a little after 6, we pulled into my mother-in-laws driveway, and exhausted fell asleep for less than an hour. Our 11 hour trip took nearly 16 and we were grateful that we made it. Answered prayers.

The car problems led to my husband and I staying an extra day so he could make the necessary repairs and give my vehicle a complete tune-up. It paid off because when we returned back to Alabama, we used nearly $100 less in gas and arrived in less than 11 hours! Whoo Hoo!!!!

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Nov. 8, 2009

Leaving Family Behind

This past week has been one of the most difficult times that I’ve experienced on the road. The reality of how far we are from our loved ones really sunk in when I got a phone call on Tuesday that managed to turn my day upside down. My grandmother was dying. I admit after that first sentence I pretty much didn't hear much more of the conversation, just bits and pieces. And then I was confused over which grandmother it was. This grandmother was not in the best health, but surely she wasn't that sick was she? Don't worry said the caller... I know there isn't anything you can do, I just thought you should know... And yes, though I wasn't happy to receive the news, I was appreciative they called but now I didn't know what to do. Should I pack up and drive to Ohio to see her? Would we make it in time? Would she know us? I was pretty sure the caller said she wasn't coherent. As soon as I could speak, I somehow managed to tell the kids, who already had an idea that something was wrong, judging by the tears that were streaming down my face. We decided not to go but made plans to prepare for the services that were sure to follow. I spent the week second guessing my decision, but thankful to have such wonderful memories to hold on to. Just months ago, we had surprised my grandmother with a surprise visit when we were in Ohio and we had such a great time with her. I'm thankful for that. I'm thankful that the Lord laid on my heart several years ago the importance of developing a close relationship with her, in fact, she was one of the reasons that it was hard to leave home behind. We will remember Grandma as a strong woman who loved the Lord and loved to laugh despite her many ailments, illnesses and circumstances. And though in my humanness it is easier for me to think of her here, in my heart I know she's fought a good fight, finished the course and kept the faith. Tonight she’s rejoicing with the Lord and for that, I’m eternally grateful.

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Nov. 4, 2009

Homeschooling? Interested in Free Travel Accomodations?

Let’s face it, for many homeschoolers living on one income, the costs associated with traveling make exploring your home state, the U.S. or the world prohibitive. But what would you say if I told you that I found an awesome way to meet new homeschooling families and reduce your travel expenses? Well, this week I am so excited to share with you that I’ve discovered just such a program! This incredible program that is specifically for homeschool families will allow you to turn your travel dreams into a reality! And the best part is right now, you may be able to try this program for FREE! I am excited to offer this fantastic giveaway thanks to Amy from Home Schooler’s Home Exchange Neighborhood. Please continue reading to find out how you can participate in this awesome giveaway which will be not be one, but several free memberships to ‘The Neighborhood’ network.

I actually stumbled upon the HS Neighbor when I clicked on a banner that read Want to travel? Free accommodations for homeschool families. Well, that ad certainly got my attention. After all, I’m always searching for ways to reduce our expenses. Lower costs mean we can see more! I clicked on the ad and though I thought the program sounded fantastic, I really didn’t think that it’d work for us. We don’t have a house to exchange, and the camper barely has room for my own family. That’s when Amy explained the hospitality program to me.

The ‘Hospitality’ program is for people like us that may be passing through on their way to another location. Maybe you’d like to meet other homeschooling families while you are traveling. This program allows you to do that while sharing a meal or possibly exploring the area with your own tour guide. If you just want someplace to rest your head, or park your camper, that’s OK too.

The ‘Home Exchange’ program works this way; you swap homes with a family that would like to stay in your home while you explore their city/state/country while staying in their home. This saves you money and allows you to travel when normally you may not have been able to do so. After all, why spend all of your money on accommodations when you could really visit some incredible attractions with the money you’d save? You can read more about the program at the website.

It’s easy to get started. Once you sign up, you create your own listing on the website which will allow others to get to know you. Your listing will include information about your family, pets and home as well as attractions that may be in and around your area. You can then begin perusing the listings on the website and contacting families in areas that you may wish to travel to. The website offers a chat feature where you can ‘talk’ to other members until you are comfortable contacting them via another method. There is also a blog, the Neighborhood Clubhouse that you can follow and a Yahoo! group that you can choose to participate in.

This incredible program is available to those that currently homeschool their children, grandparents of homeschooling families and homeschool graduates worldwide! Normally you’d pay $34.95 for an annual membership, less than the price of one night’s stay in the cheapest hotel rooms, but for a limited time you can give the Home Schooler’s Home Exchange Neighborhood a try for only $14.95 or you can email me (thetravelingpraters@gmail.com) with the words "Travel Giveaway" in the subject line by midnight November 20th, for a chance to win a free membership. You don't have to become a follower of my blog, link to this post on your blog, tweet this or become my Facebook friend- though all those things are great and I certainly wouldn't mind, I've opted to keep this simple. Be sure to pass this along to everyone you know that enjoys traveling, the more entries I have, the more winners I'll have. I can’t wait to get started and who knows, maybe we’ll come to your house to visit!

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