South Carolina Law Enforcement Officers Hall of Fame

While we were staying in Columbia, SC, we stopped by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Officers Hall of Fame.  This museum shares the history of law enforcement in SC, as well as all kinds of historic equipment, seized contraband, weapons, uniforms, badges and more.  Admission is free!!

The first room you see as you walk into the museum is the Memorial dedicated to men and women who lost their lives during their service to the people of South Carolina. There is a large book that gives more details about each law enforcement officer and the events that led to their death. It reminded me how grateful I am to those who risk their lives everyday for our safety and protection.

There were also some old antique games and toys that were fun to look at. One exhibit had a very challenging sliding puzzle.  Micah worked very patiently on putting it together!

He did it!

In one area, there was a display of police uniforms from around the world. Nathanael was trying to blend in with the mannequins here:)  The museum also had a fun area for pictures! We all got into being silly with the photos:)

There was even a restored 1955 South Carolina Highway Patrol Car! Cool!

We are so glad we took the afternoon to visit this great museum! It was very educational and fun!

Blessings to you and yours,

Jill and the boys:)

Columbia - The Capitol of South Carolina!

After we left Florence, we headed toward Columbia, the capitol of South Carolina.  We visited the State House and took a free tour of the building inside.

Construction for the building began in 1851, but soon was halted because the original architect was fired due to fraud. Defective materials and workmanship were also found on the building so they had to dismantle most of it.  A new architect was hired and he began redesigning the building in 1855.  Then,  on February 16, 1865, General Sherman's Union Army entered the city during the Civil War and attacked the capitol.  Throughout the outside walls of the building you can find 6 bronze stars marking the spots hit by Sherman's cannons!

There was a plaque below this corner of the building describing the damage (shown in the photo below) was due to "the proximity of the fire from the adjacent Old State House" during Sherman's attack.

It has been so interesting to learn more about each state's history! One of our goals as we travel the U.S. is to visit each capitol city and building.  It is a great place to learn more about the state we are in, and so far, the tours have all been free:) With a family of four boys, free and educational is always nice:)

Blessings to you and yours!

Jill and the boys:)

Easter Celebrations!

During the week of Easter we celebrated with some of our old family traditions and some new ones.  Alan's parents had traveled all the way from Texas to visit us for a few days, and they brought eggs for hunting! The boys each were assigned different colors so they all would receive the same amount of eggs.  They had a blast searching for their own particular colors! Thanks Grammy and Granddad!

After finding all the eggs, it was time to open up to find treasures of candy, gum and quarters! Alan and I told the boys they could use the quarters to do their own laundry next time! (Just kidding of course!!!) 

The RV park campground where we were staying had an Easter party on Saturday as well. They had all kinds of crafts, games, snacks and a table to dye eggs.  The boys had a blast!

At the end of the party they held three separate Easter egg hunts for various age groups. Joshua's age group went first.  As all the children (ages 1-3 years) were running around picking up all the eggs they could find, we noticed Joshua was passing up a lot of eggs and only picking a few here and there.  When the hunt was over he showed us his basket...

All of the eggs he picked were BLUE! He was looking for only blue eggs! We realized he probably thought he was supposed to just get one color based on the egg hunt we had the other day with the grandparents!!! So funny! He had a great time anyway and was SO excited about his blue eggs!

During the older children's egg hunt, Micah found the prize egg!!! He was so excited! There was candy and $3 dollars inside too! Whoo Hoo!

The next day we attended an Easter Service at Grace On the Ashley Church in Charleston.  What a loving and friendly church family and staff! Alan and I realized this was actually our FIRST time to attend an Easter worship service together as a family. During the blessing of serving many years in Children's Ministry, we all were usually in the nursery/children's area teaching and/or caring for young children or babies during the Easter services.  I think we did attend about 20 minutes of one service one year with 2 of our boys, but that was it.  Please don't misunderstand me...we really did love serving the children and families in the ministry.  This was just an extra special time for us to be together as a family...worshipping and celebrating our risen Savior!

After church we came home to the RV and Alan cooked a special lunch of baked ham, mashed potatoes, cheese grits casserole (we felt like we had to eat some grits since we were in the south!!!) and homemade bread from the bread maker.  We had green beans but didn't get around to cooking them until we had leftovers the next day.  Alan does enjoy cooking and he does a great job too:) It was delicious! That evening, Alan read the story of Jesus' resurrection from our Children's Story Bible.

We also have an Easter family tradition of making Easter Resurrection Rolls.  First, we take marshmallows (representing Jesus' body) and roll them in melted butter (representing the oils).

Then, we roll the marshmallows in a cinnamon/sugar mixture that represents the spices for anointing. After that, we roll up the marshmallows in crescent dough (for the linen cloths He was wrapped in) and put them in the oven.  After they are done cooking, the marshmallows have melted away inside - symbolizing Jesus rose from the dead and the empty tomb!

We hope you and your loved ones had a wonderful Easter together! What a great time to remember how much God loves us. 

"This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person's failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him."

John 3:16 The Message

Blessings to you and yours,

Jill and the boys:)

Fun Surprises and Interesting Places!

We had a great time visiting in Florence, SC! All of the churches we have held seminars at have been full of very kind, friendly and generous people.  We really enjoyed getting to know the staff here as well. (Thank you Southside Baptist Church for all of the meals, fellowship, and encouragement!!) While we were at SBC, there was a sportsmen banquet with dinner, prizes and a speaker.  Alan took the older two boys while I went on a date with the younger two.  At the end of the banquet, I received a text from Alan saying, "Nate won a door prize!" Then, I opened this photo sent to my phone:

My jaw dropped! Seriously?!?!? He won a golf cart?? That is so cool but where in the world are we gonna put that? I talked to Alan shortly after I received the text and it turns out the picture below is the one that went with his earlier text about the door prize:

Nate had actually won a hat, measuring tape, and grill brush (NOT the golf cart!!) Too funny! The picture is blurry because he was so excited that he was jumping up and down in his seat!! :)

We had a little time to explore that weekend, so we asked about anything interesting in the area.  We were told about a place nearby where the U.S. Air Force had accidentally dropped an atomic bomb over 50 years ago! We just had to check it out! I am so glad we asked for directions too! It is hidden back in a neighborhood. Basically, we were told to look for a clearing in the trees on an empty lot.  I am surprised we found it!

There is a small clearing where there is a trail to the site. After walking just a short distance, we saw this display of newspaper clippings and photos of the incident.

And then there was the large wooden cut out of an atomic bomb....

My silly boys just had to strike a pose of course!!!! Joshua was actually asleep in this picture:) Below is a photo of the crater from the bomb.  Fortunately, it was not armed with a warhead when it dropped!! WHEW! The site was full of rainwater when we visited the area, so it was hard to see how deep the hole was.  The crater made from the bomb was actually 35 FEET deep and 70 FEET wide!!

We walked a little farther on the trail and found the site where a house nearby was destroyed from the blast. The family living there was injured, but thankfully no one was killed!!

Apparently, there was reported damage to buildings within a 5 mile radius of the site! There were fallen limbs, trees, and overgrown vines & shrubs everywhere, along with bricks and pieces of foundation from the house.  It was interesting to think this area held such an interesting event, yet not too much has been done to care for or preserve it.  It was a fun thing to go see anyway! It's not like you come across something like this every day! Life on the road is full of little adventures:)

Blessings to you and yours,

Jill and the boys:)

Old School Baseball!

At the beginning of March we headed to Florence, South Carolina for a seminar at Southside Baptist Church.  The church had a very large field where we parked our RV. The boys LOVED it! It was perfect for baseball, soccer and playing tag! They also had three playground areas for different ages. We used to have some baseball bases but they were worn out before we left St. Louis so we didn't keep them. We haven't had the chance to buy new ones, so the boys improvised and used lids from storage tubs. Talk about some old school baseball... no uniforms, no painted field diamond, no scoreboard...just lots of fun!

Nathanael enjoyed teaching Joshua how to catch the ball.

Joshua couldn't remember which way to run the bases after he hit the ball, but he was having a blast anyway!

Big brother Micah "trying" to tag Joshua with the ball!

When it was Caleb's turn to run the bases, he was all over the place...it became more of a game of tag than baseball!

SAFE!

It has warmed my heart so much to see how my boys are becoming such good buddies with each other the past few months.  My older two boys also have become so good at playing, teaching and helping with their younger brothers. Of course, there are times of squabbles and nothing is perfect. We can all be selfish, irritable or impatient with each other at times.  However, when you are living in 300 square foot of space, you can't run away from problems or conflicts!! You gotta work it out, or everyone is miserable! We have all learned a lot individually and as a family. Alan and I often feel like we are the ones getting the most out of this ministry! As Alan leads seminars at various churches with The National Center for Biblical Parenting, we are constantly being challenged and reminded of how to parent our own four boys. Parenting is hard work, but it is so rewarding. This time with our boys on the road has been so amazing! We don't know how long we will be on the road full time, and we don't know where we will end up either.  But- we do know God knows! We feel confident He will show us somewhere down the road. We are trusting and leaning more on Him every day. He is faithful!

Blessings to you and yours!

Jill and the boys:)