Mobile, Alabama

We arrived in Mobile AL on Saturday. It was a last minute decision we made (like everything we do)since we were driving in that direction. Owen had met a friend online through his bible studies on youtube from the Mobile area. So we called them up and asked them if they would mind if we stopped and visited. THANK YOU Nathan and Suni Lippincott for taking us in:-) It is kind of funny that Nathan has talked to Owen over the phone and AIM but we have never met him or his wife before so it was a great time hanging out and getting to know one another . They also asked if Owen would speak at their Sunday night service. Nathan's dad has a church called Grace Bible Church in Mobile. So of course Owen said he would love to .. You would have thought someone gave Owen a million dollars... hahaha..... It has been a long time since Owen has preached from a pulpit and he has been chomping at the bit to start teaching again! We were able to meet alot of great people at the church. It was so nice to be able to talk and meet other Grace believers.

This is the first view of the gulf we saw on Saturday.. We had just driven through the whole state of Alabama in pouring rain and it wasn't any better when we arrived in Mobile.

Sunday morning before church we took the kids to Mc Donald's to have their favorite pancakes:)



Notice Torin just about to shove his whole hand in his mouth(probably had left over syrup on it , have to make sure he gets every drop)... Boy, do my kids love to eat. They literally will eat you out of house and home...And I have the grocery bills to prove it:-)

This is Owen introducing himself and giving a short testimony of his life on Sunday morning.


It was such a beautiful day outside the kids were able to play outside on the church playground.
This is Kaden and his new friend Titus. Titus is Nathan's adopted brother from Haiti. Kaden had a lot of fun playing with Titus at church.

This is Owen and Nathan chit chatting outside with the kids....

Rock City

Today we said goodbye to Grandpa Jim. He will be headed out to Arizona soon, but we may meet up with him sometime next year.

On the road again... still have no idea where we are going at this point... east to NC or south ...

We had a brochure about a rock by Chattanooga, TN that you can see seven states from so since it sounded cool ...off we go!......


The kids also saw the brochure and were excited to get in... (I hope they paid their brochure people well because they sold us on it:-)



It was called Rock City. They built paths through boulders and very very small spaces.



This is Torin's nervous look , you can not tell but he shivers and taps his hands together when he makes this face to show he is scared..hahah it is very humorous.. so dramatic!

He started to relax after the first tunnel and was giving me the VIP tour on everything.









THE SWINGING BRIDGE!!! ok so i was a little nervous here but i didn't want to scare the kids.. Not cool if i had to carry screaming kids across a bridge suspended, who knows how high, between two cliffs.. so I put on my brave face and trudged forward.....

This is the view from the middle of the bridge ..about here i lost feeling in my hand since Torin again had on his scared face and was squeezing the life out of me......

This is the side view from the over look where you are able to see seven states.


There are the 7 states....
On top of the overlook......




Notice this trail is called the ' Fat man's Squeeze' ..... At this point Owen and I were wondering if Kaden would be able to call for help if we both went in and didn't come out.....Definitely diet time!!



This was a piece of rock that hung out over the ledge and was suspended in the air ...it looks like it is attached to the cliff on the side(notice red arrow on lft side) .. it isn't!

Here is a front view... Torin went no further than his little squat and Owen was over in the corner on firm ground crying like a baby since he hates heights:)








1000 ton rock balancing on a small rock... gives you a weird feeling when you go underneath... like one small earthquake and it would smash down on top of you.. needless to say we didn't stay to look at this long...



Fairyland Caverns was a tunnel they had made with nursery rhymes and fairytale scenes built in different spaces in the rock...such as humpty dumpty, red riding hood....

Cinderella...

It took them six years to build this path with all the fairy tale scenes...

Kaden making sure we know what direction we need to go ... (glad someone knows where we're going in this family because Owen and I sure don't :)

We then decided to head to Mobile, Alabama where Owen's online friend Nathan and his wife live. This will be the first time we have met them in person. Nathan's Dad has a church in Mobile where we will be going on Sunday and Owen may possibly be speaking....


And of course another classic night in a hotel....I know you all wish you were sleeping in the same room as these three kids!!! *notice again Sage has stripped off her clothes .. what is with that girl?!!*This was record time i think we were in the room 2 mins before the strip tease happened...geez...

Turkey Day

Today was a very relaxing day. Jim cooked a great thanksgiving lunch for all of us. The kids and I played lots of games and read while owen went to work on the computer. It was about 70 degrees out today and sunny so later in the day Owen took the kids out for a nice walk. This morning Jim surprised all of us with early Christmas gifts since we won't be together this year for Christmas.

Thanks Grandpa Jim for the presents!!
Well ,as of right now Owen and I have not decided what direction to travel tomorrow(either east to NC or south to Chatanooga TN). Tonight is our last day here in Crossville TN. I guess we will have to decide soon:-).....

Crossville TN

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Our Trip to Crossville TN...

Here are a few map pictures to see exactly where Crossville is...

Owen and I decided to not get the DVD player for the kids on the trip. If we felt we were loosing our minds later we could pull over for an emergency run to wal-mart for one. So far the kids have been great during the ride. Kaden found pretty interesting way to fall asleep ... whatever works i guess...



While the other two crazy kids were trying on the swim gear. They were just preparing themselves for the water...





Owen's dad Jim runs a Bed and Breakfast called 'Betty's Bed and Breakfast' Which is where we will be staying for the next three nights. It was a very cute and cozy Inn.

And here is Betty! The kids absolutely loved playing games with her. She is almost 90 years old and a ball of fire:) She loved to just hug and love on the kids... and the kids just ate it up ...i mean who wouldn't love 100% undivided attention all the time..hahaha... She opened this Bed and Breakfast up all by herself about 19 years ago.
I don't think either of them knew exactly what they were doing but it didn't stop them from having fun and making up there own game.

Sage made made a game out of rolling golf balls on the carpet. Betty and Sage were pretty serious about it.

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Jim later took us on a tour of Crossville and went to see the Homestead Tower.

*A little history lesson* You can skip right over this if you don't give a hoot about the history of this tower :-)

History of the Cumberland Homesteads
The Homesteads began as a project to provide hope, homes and employment for the people of the region. By 1933, the Great Depression had left the Mountain people without jobs, hungry, desperate and despairing. To overcome the devastating economic effects of the times, Franklin Roosevelt began a series of New Deal Programs. The Cumberland Homesteads is a planned New Deal Community built by the Division of Subsistence Homesteads between 1934 and 1938.
Thousands of unemployed miners, textile mill workers, and hardscrabble farmers applied for one of the proposed 250 Homesteads to be constructed and purchased by the selected Homesteaders who had to meet rigid requirements of “high character, ability, honesty, and willingness to work and cooperate with the government in this planned Community.” The project began with the clearing of ten thousand acres of timberland. Architect William Macy Stanton designed the houses. The wood and stone used in the construction were taken from the land around the homesteads. The homes were paneled in pine and heated with fireplaces. Fifteen different house designs were used only eleven of which were repeated. The houses had indoor plumbing at the request of Eleanor Roosevelt who had a special interest in these projects. The homes were wired in anticipation of the Tennessee Valley Authority, which provided electricity by 1937.
Before there were any houses, barns were built for the families to live. Each homestead also consisted of a number of outbuildings including chicken houses, smokehouses, and sheds. In addition, the workers built a number of community buildings including the water tower that now houses the museum and the elementary school located behind the tower.

Here we go up the 97 stairs to the top of the tower...

After we were able to catch our breath again we ventured outside to see the river and bridge.

I am so thankful right now at this moment that we were not in all that terrible snow you Ohio people just got:) heehee

After lunch and naps , it was time to pull out the games.. Torin loved playing domino's with Grandpa Jim.


Owen decided to put in a few hours at work:)

Then Grandpa Jim surprised Sage with a birthday cake

HAPPY 4TH BIRTHDAY SAGE!!!

To end the night I was able to watch a beautiful Tennessee sunset from the back deck.. ...