Choosing to Take Life By the Horns and Really Live
My family is choosing to really live as we take a month long road trip with our three and year old little boys. It’s time for an adventure!
I want to live. I mean really live. I want to take life by the horns and milk it for all it’s worth.
I want to see the world God created. I want to soak in the California sun. I want to feel the wind whipping through my hair in the capital of Illinois. I want to taste the syrup of New England. I want to swat flies in Africa. I want to experience the waterfalls of Australia.
I want to get outside the walls of my home, of my little town. I want to walk in someone else’s shoes for a day. I want to step outside my comfort zone and let my heart race a little. It’s in the racing that I live. It’s in the adventure that I thrive. It’s in the experience that I truly understand the grace of the Gospel.
God always becomes greater when I venture outside my little sphere.
He becomes bigger as I experience just how small I really am in this great big world. I become more compassionate as I experience life through another’s eyes.
I don’t want to wait anymore. I don’t want to wait for a better time, a time when it could be potentially easier or make more sense financially.
I want to go now. I want to see it now.
And then later?
I want to do it again and again and again.
And so our journey begins.
Tomorrow we are leaving on a month long road trip with our three and one year old little boys. We are taking a risk, choosing to live, and trusting the Lord to guide us.
This last month has been spent in much prayer and preparation.
We have experienced many late nights of mapping out our trip, choosing the destinations, booking hotels, reserving camp sites, planning our adventures at each stop, and making arrangements for the home we leave behind.
We’ve poured over spreadsheets and budgets, and we have counted the costs of the journey we are committed to making.
Together as a family, we want to breathe.
We want to see the land God has created. We want to meet people from other places. We want to talk with people who don’t look a thing like us. We want to smell the smells of another city so unlike our own.
We want to worship God, grow closer as a couple, and create memories as a family.
I would love to meet you along the way.
Here’s where we’ll be visiting along our journey, and if you’re in the area, let me know.
I’d love to meet you!
Better yet, can we stay with you?
Okay. Too forward? Never hurts to try.
Here’s where we’ll be:
- Fort Laramie, WY (see what we did in Southeast Wyoming here)
- Mount Rushmore, SD
- Badlands of South Dakota
- Sioux Falls, SD (see all our fun in South Dakota here)
- Dubuque County, IA (see our detour through Iowa here)
- Chicago, IL
- Indianapolis, IN for the True Woman Conference
- West Tennessee to visit family
- Chattanooga, TN
- Atlanta, GA
- Mobile, AL
- New Orleans, LA
- Baton Rouge, LA
- Houston, TX
- San Antonio, TX
- Austin, TX
- Lubbock, TX
- Pueblo, CO
- Denver, CO
And all the places in between as we drive from place to place. We’ll be on the road for nearly forty days!
Maybe you live along the way and we can grab lunch as a family. Or you enjoy hiking and want to hit the Badlands with us. Or you know the best coffee shop in town that doesn’t mind a couple travel-rumpled boys tagging along.
Or you just want to follow along on our journey with us?
We head out bright and early tomorrow morning. We are as ready as we’ll ever be!
Follow me on Instagram (@intentionalbygrace) to keep up with our shenanigans.
It’s time to breathe. It’s time to really live. It’s time to take a chance.
We’re in Lafayette, LA. You’re bound to pass right through. Stop by for dinner and let us exercise our hospitality muscles 🙂
You’re going to pass right thru Dallas on your way to Austin. Stop here – we’ll feed you and the fam!
We’d love to see you and grab coffee, lunch, whatever you are up to at that point with you when you pass through New Orleans!
We are between Mobile and New Orleans, in Gulfport, MS, could jump in with Melissa for a luncheon 🙂
Aww, you will be missing the wonderful Twin Cities :/ I’m following on Instagram and can’t wait to see all the great moments…and maybe some bad? 😉
Exactly! Hahaha! Right now the bad is my awful, messy house.
We live in SD, 60 miles north of halfway in between the Badlands and Sioux Falls. You will love Mt. Rushmore (and if you have any extra money for touristy type stuff, go to Bear County!!) and the Badlands are great to take a break! Also, stop at Wall Drug! It has an amazing story behind it and a great place to have a cold drink of water and a potty break! Enjoy your trip!!
We’ll have to do check out Wall Drug. We’ll be driving through tomorrow. 🙂
Well, you know you are always welcome to stay here or have breakfast, lunch or dinner! Praying for your safe travels and SO proud of you for taking the leap that many of us spend our lives dreaming about!!!
Keep in touch when you hit Houston! I’d love to finally meet you and pray with you for your journey and family road trip! 🙂
Will do!
You may not need this depending which direction you head home or since you’re staying in Denver, but there are a couple nice indoor places for the kids to get out their energy in the Fort Collins area. If you let me know when you come through my 3 year old & I may be able to meet up with you too. At the 1-25 Loveland exit (at hwy 34) there is an inflatable wonderland called Jumpin’. In Fort Collins there is a place called Cool Beans Playhouse, with a tree house slide, a foam pit with ropes to swing on, all kinds of toys for 0-5 year old, great natural food lunches, snacks, amazing (can be green) smoothies & coffee drinks.
In Denver, I highly recommend the Children’s Museum & the Butterfly Pavilion. The nature & science museum also has a really big kid’s play area.
Girl, I am so excited to follow along on your family’s adventure. We would love to try and catch up when you’re in South Texas! Prayers for safe and rewarding travels.
We’re outside of Chicago and would love to visit with your boys. I have three boys ages 3, 2, and 2 months. I’m sure our boys would love to play together!
I emailed you. 🙂
If you drive through Louisville on your way from Indy to TN, it would be an absolute pleasure to host you for a meal or meet you for coffee, whichever you have time for. You’re such an inspiration to me, pointing me to Christ. It would blow my mind to hug you in person!
We are outside Chicago as well! You’re welcome o stop by and stay or just share a meal! Oregon, IL, north of Dixon off of 88! I have a 4 year old girl and a almost 2 year old boy. Thanks!
Oh, I’m originally from Colorado 😉 So I’d love to hear how it is out there!!
I see you are coming to San Antonio. My daughter and I would love to show you some hospitality.