Growing on the Go!

Wow! It's been seventy-seven days since we got back home from our last trip, and I can't even begin to tell you how ready I am to get back on the road. Let me first apologize for how sparse our posting has been; aside from the fact that we have been home and enjoyed some down time over the holidays with our families, as Molly very briefly mentioned in our last post, we were without our RV for nine weeks. Yes, you read that right - nine weeks! It all started when...

We had a few minor things that needed to be fixed on the trailer: a couple of loose seals, a switch that went out, a bent manual jack rod, etc. – all things that were covered under our manufacturer's warranty. I had called a couple of weeks before we returned home and made an appointment to drop it off the first day after we got back. We arrived on the night of November 12th, and I dropped it off on November 13th. After going over the list of needed repairs, I was told that it would take about two weeks to even get to the RV because they were backed up, then about a week for repairs.

After not hearing back at the four week mark, I stopped by because I was needing some things out of the RV; they hadn't even started on it yet. The following week I received a call from the service rep, but instead of letting me know that it was finished, he instead asked if there had been a gash on the back passenger panel when I dropped it off. (Let me just pause and say that he knew there wasn't because he and I had walked the whole trailer, rental-car style, and noted any mark or scratch – there weren't any.) I adamantly said no. He then let me know that he didn't think there had been, and that they were looking around the lot to see if there were any other RV's with damage.

The "gash".

I immediately showed up at the dealership and took pictures of my rig. It looked like someone had backed into it and then drug something down the side. I was pretty hot. In addition to now having to wait for them to repair the damage that they had done, they still hadn't started on the repairs, and we were six weeks in. Unfortunately, it was also the week of Christmas, so the repair manager told me they couldn't complete it until the following week. They did finish it up the following Friday, but of course, they were still waiting on parts for one of the initial repairs needed. I was promised that the parts had shipped and that they should be in that coming Monday. They weren't. Or the next day. Or the next.

You can ask anyone who knows me well, and they'll tell you that I'm one of the more even tempered people you'll ever meet. It takes a lot to get me angry, but at this point, I was completely fed up. It had been two full months and I still didn't have my home back. I emailed the service manager, operations manager, and general manager of the dealership, and with my best balance of infuriation while still trying to avoid coming off like a jerk, I let them have it. I *very nicely* shared with them that we lived in the RV full-time, meaning we were without a home, that we were promised a three week turn and were now at two full months, that we were having to stay with family, putting them out and putting us out of our own home during the holidays, and also delaying our plans to get back on the road. Amazingly enough, I received four calls from them within a couple of hours of sending that email, and the parts magically came in within four days. After nine long weeks, we finally had our house back! If you've never had to be "away" from home for that long, I don't recommend it. Needless to say, we were thrilled to be back in our own place.

Me with my parents and brothers.

While all that was transpiring, we were enjoying being home. We spent Thanksgiving with Molly's family, celebrated seven family birthdays between Thanksgiving and Christmas, had Christmas with both families, and kicked off the new year. In addition to all of the "fun" things, I was busy working on wrapping up the year for my business and strategizing for this year.

We leave next Wednesday and head to Orlando for a yearly trade show for my biggest client. After the show we're headed to Miami to be at the Hattabaugh's church, then we'll head home and stay one more week before heading out to the west coast for the remainder of the spring and summer. I'm. So. Ready.

One last thing I'll mention: when Molly and I first seriously considered having kids, we discussed how many we would want. We settled on three or four. Over the past year, we've talked about whether or not we wanted to have one more baby, and if we did, when we would want to have it and how (if at all) it would work living on the road. We finally both arrived at the point where we were fairly certain we wanted one more, and unbeknownst to me, Molly prayed that if it was the right thing, it would just work out. Two weeks ago we found out that she's pregnant and is due the last week of July!

The LAST one.

I'm sure some of you are wondering how on earth we'll all fit in the RV, or the truck for that matter – or if we even plan on staying on the road after adding another kid. First, we're definitely staying on the road! We started this journey because we felt like it was right for us for right now, and we still feel that way. Second, the RV has plenty of space; honestly, that was one of the reasons we felt so comfortable having one more baby while still on the road. We're planning to remove our couch (which we rarely use), and replace it with a crib and the rocker Molly has used in all three of our other children's nurseries. While the baby is still a newborn, we'll use a co-sleeper. Third, our truck did pose a little issue – it only had five seats! However, after doing a little research, the large center console in-between the two captain's chairs in the front could be swapped for a jump seat that's also an option in this model truck. I was blessed to find a guy with my exact same year, make, and model truck who had the exact same color seats and was looking to trade for a console. We swapped this week and I installed the sixth seat yesterday. Fortunately, Jack is now tall enough to ride up front, so Molly and Jack will ride up front with me and Grey, Annie, and the yet-to-be-named-baby will ride in the back. It will be tight but we'll all fit!

We wanted to make our family a little more symmetrical...

Standing at the precipice of 2015, looking back over the progress of 2014 and ahead to what the new year will bring, my heart was, and is, full. Last year was a transition year for us; my business was steadily growing, we felt God calling us to "move" and made the crazy decision to start this journey, and Molly and I both grew personally. (Spending a lot of time together in small spaces tends to help you do that.) This year, I believe, will be a year of momentum, and I can't wait to look back as December 31st rolls around to see everything God did this year with my little family. That excites me.

~J