As you know, I have been growing a pixie FOREVERRRRRRRR! Almost a year now. My hair has not only grown, but it's gotten insanely BIG too. Haha! :) My hair dresser warned me with thick hair, that sometimes it appears to go BIG, THEN long! When we decided to go to Florida unexpectedly, and thanks to the humidity, it doubled again. Oh jeez. Good thing Drea let me go with her to her hair appointment and get a cut!!!! I asked her gal if she thought I was ready for the full buzz under the bob I am growing out. She said totally! EEEEEK!!! I am so scared! Tada!!! I love it! Cool and nice for the summer. Still need to grow the left side a bit longer like a bob, it's at an awkward stage STILL. Still growing towards this, but making some good head way! YAY! Hugs, T
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We love going to visit south Florida! Sunshine, beaches, palm trees. It's like a WHOLE different Florida than the rolling hills, and tree arched roads we just left behind in horse country!
We haven't visited Florida in the summer since like 2014 I think it was and we were ready to hit the BEACH and have some fun after such a series farm departure. The kids hopped in Grammy's pool right away!
We made big plans to spend several days at the beach, eat our favorite restaurants, and do some shopping. We also found out Uncle Chad and Auntie Lauren and the cousins got to come the next day, and stay the weekend too!
After dinner, we headed to the beach to check out the sunset.
We started coughing first, then the stench hit us. PU!!!! Dead fish littered the beach!
Even puffer fish! It was so sad! It is called Red Tide and it's a dangerous algae level that kills fish, burns your legs and takes your breath away.
That didn't stop us from taking photos of the sunset, but it DID change our plans to spend ANY time there.
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We spent our days playing games, and just hanging out enjoying each other's company! As tradition dictates, we also went out to breakfast at the local Amish restaurant, Der Dutchman. We always take stairs photos, as long as we have been going there. This time was no different! We knew Papa would want us to keep this tradition going....
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Sweet Aunt Torrey stayed up late to dye the girls' blonde streaked hair rainbow mermaid colors! They were so excited!
Uncle Daniel told us about the neatest park and fishing area, so we loaded everyone up and headed down there in the evening.
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We stayed one more day after everyone else had gone home, swimming and scoping our RV parks, trying to decide where to live this winter.
We knew we couldn't go to the stinky beach again, so we walked the golf course that evening, and it was so GORGEOUS! Slideshow:
Flokie, Uncle Dan and Aunt Torrey's dog, was CRACKING US UP with the giant white "ball".
Flokie the Brave Warrior from Tonya Ferguson on Vimeo.
Bye Florida family! We miss you already!!!!
Look out world, Ferguson's are heading to South Carolina! Hugs, T
P.S. Don't be TOO scared, I only held the brake and slowly crept forward at a loooong line to the turning lane while Dale quick went back to remove some coffee from his system. It was pretty much terrifying and the kids all screamed and groaned until he came back.
My hands were pure SWEAT by the time he was back up front. I had to collapse on the ground a moment, LOL! I am a sandwich maker and kid entertainer, NOT THE DRIVER! We all have our own giftings to use, Hallelujah!
I cried a lot of the way to Florida. It's funny, I thought that part was done, but it is still hard to go there and not anticipate seeing my dad, you know?
I also was feeling the pressure of a really BIG decision we needed to make. I wanted the Lord's will, not my own. I wanted to be SURE that I didn't have any regrets, one way or another.
We arrived in Florida late Saturday night, June 16th, and got to wake up to Father's Day at my dad's farm. None of this was planned ahead, just at last minute decision to come down, the Lord knew we needed to, so we even had a week off planned to go into the mountains.
I find it so sweet that the Lord would allow me to be at my dad's favorite place on a day we honor him.....
I found myself keenly aware this Father's Day, of how important a role Dale plays in my children's lives and how big of a piece he occupies in their hearts.
Loosing my own daddy this year, left a hole in my heart and me gasping for breath. Such a huge loss, one that is felt so distinctly with each and every beat of it's broken pieces. So I say thank you to my sweet Dale, for loving our kids so fully, for pointing them back to Jesus, for correcting wrongs and praising rights, for taking them on adventures they will never forget, for saying yes when playing it safe would've been simpler and for always being able to lighten tense moments with that onery grin and funny banter. You are amazing at all you do and we love you so very much! To our 2 daddies in Heaven, we honor your legacy. You are missed so greatly. You are remembered. We talk about you all nearly every day and say hi often. (We hope Jesus let's you know) You are loved so BIG by the Ferguson crew! We hold you in our hearts.
So, I had called ahead and had Drea go get Dale a Bettycake (Spider cake is the best!) for the special occasion.
Oh guys, it's the BEST cake I have ever put in my mouth!!!! It's so soft and moist and gooey and the frosting and chocolate ganache are DIVINE! This cake is FAMOUS in the area!!!!!!!! Of course, we had to have steak and all the manly fixins for my hunny too. :)
Remember that really big decision I mentioned?
You can see on our prayer wall...... DO WE BUY THE FARM?
This place is GORGEOUS, and we have so so many memories with Papa here. Drea is ready to sell, and we want her to be able to, so we must decide.
This has been our winter home for 3 years now! We adore it but we recognize, it doesn't bring dad back. That Florida properties require a lot of care with lawn and humidifers. We recognize, the more we spent on places we "stop through", the less money we have for fun adventures in travel, which is our first desire. However, we also know property is always a good investment! We love that in Florida, when everyone else scrambles to find a place to live that isn't full or $3000 a month, we would have a place to come to anytime. (Fun fact: Did you know that Florida population increases by ONE MILLION every winter from the snow birds that come there?) We love that we could own dad's favorite place on earth and hold all those memories close to our hearts. We have spent the past few months pleading with the Lord for wisdom and making list after list, of both the negatives and positives, of owning a rural property, in Florida. I guess time will tell. For now, we are here to enjoy the space and see it again as we decide. I just didn't feel comfortable deciding without walking it and staying there again. We have never come in the summer before!! It is HOT, but green and pretty too! More on this in a bit....
While we were there, we got to surprise Uncle Chad at work! He had no idea we were coming to Florida instead of taking a week in the Smoky Mountains as planned.....
Surprising Uncle Chad from Tonya Ferguson on Vimeo.
We also got to go see Uncle Chad & Auntie Lauren's BEAUTIFUL new home. Of course the kids went for a swim first thing!
It starts POURING, in true Florida fashion, but that didn't stop the cousins from having fun!
Check out this HUGE moth!!!! I thought it was a goner, but nope, just resting in the heat before flying away. So cool!
We thoroughly enjoyed our 2 days here, we always do, but it was decision time.....we headed south the next morning.
We had a pretty clear idea of what the Lord was asking us to do......
I use this blog as a journal, so let me take you back a bit about something the Lord has been using to comfort my heart and tie it all together - right here in this space. I want to remember forever, His goodness and care. My dear friend, Tiffany, once told me, that the Lord uses signs in His nature, to comfort us, remind us of His love and loved ones lost. Her pastor did a sermon on this topic. She mentioned the Cardinal being special to her, and not long after that I started seeing them and breathing a prayer of thanksgiving for my heavenly Fathers love of me. Then, after my dad passed away, this became even more real to me. Here is what google said: "A cardinal is a representative of a loved one who has passed. When you see one, it means they are visiting you. They usually show up when you most need them or miss them. They also make an appearance during times of celebration as well as despair, to let you know they will always be with you."
This Spring, when we came home to Kansas, after wintering at the Florida farm for the first time without dad there, we had cardinals EVERYWHERE at our place. I got to see them outside our big picture window in the living room. I hadn't ever seen them out here before, and I felt so blessed to have my dad checking on us and the Lord showing us His care!!
One day, as I was driving home alone from town, I was particularly feeling the weight of our Florida Farm decision that we knew was coming soon. I tearfully prayed out loud as I took the winding road home:
"LORD, please show me if we are supposed to buy the farm or not. I do not want my will, I want yours. I just do not want ANY regrets. No regrets of buying, no regrets of letting it go. You know our path, you know our future, you know our finances, YOU CHOOSE." Right as I was saying that last line, this cardinal swoops in front of my car, flies in a line in front of windshield, and then up into the trees next to the road. A tear rolled down my cheek, I looked up and I grinned and hollared- HEY WAIT!!!! IS THAT A YES OR A NO?!?!?!??!?!?!??!! No answer. I was talking to Chad and Lauren on the phone a few days later, and mentioned all the red birds in my life currently. Lauren says, wait like cardinal red birds, or like red bird, red birds? I said cardinal. She and Chad go WOOOAAAAHHH! We have like 4 in the back yard of our house, which we have never had before in all our years of living at this place. Maybe Dad is saying hi to us too?! We all had chills.
So now that you have a bit of a back story, I can tell you that on the long drive to Florida, I asked for a cardinal sign at the farm. It seemed fitting, as much as the Lord had been using them in my life of late.
I was thinking maybe there would be red birds in the trees everywhere when we arrived or something, hahahah, but no, nothing unusual and no birds that were red in color. Just a beautiful place, full of a million memories! One morning, I felt a prayer burden to go walk the place as I petitioned the Father for an answer. I needed to walk around and really ask myself some hard questions about ownership, as I acknowledged each memory spot out here.
Back in the day, Dad & Drea's RV was parked under the awning next to the tiny cute apartment....ready for our next summer adventure. We LOVED traveling with them!
Our RV was parked out here, on this foundation of lyme rocks, with railroad ties around it, solar lights, and a little wooden porch got brought out each year as dad worked so hard to prepare it for us each season.
It was AWESOME!
The views out here just don't quit....and it is so so peaceful, since its a gated drive and only those living back here have access.
This swing got used many an hour, after dad got all his "farm" tasks done.
We would just sit there, talking and swinging as the kids played. They loved to come join Papa as he took a break. He would tell them stories, encourage them, talk about Jesus.
I walked past the fire pit where we spent evenings relaxing around the fire....
We would talk business, goals, dreams, tell stories and laugh our heads off out there, under the night sky.
Many a tether ball tournament happened here. The kids loved the tether ball pole Papa worked to set up for us.
The porch were we ate all our meals, and enjoyed the twinkle lights, birthday parties and more.
Such amazing memories to tuck away in my heart....
There is the barn that houses a playhouse Papa made for the kids in one stall, Christmas dinner under the twinkle lights in the main barn room, that he so carefully hung. Even a family wedding happened here last year!
Here is the swing Papa carefully hung for the kids to play on. First a tire, then we switched to one that is tarzan style! Man, the kids were on it CONSTANTLY!
As I prayed, I knew with tears in my eyes, and peace in my heart that we weren't going to buy the farm after all. That didn't keep me from sobbing at the loss of it all. Just one more change. One more thing to say bye to. Ugh. This year has been so full of that.
But we know, that this beautiful place deserves someone who will live there full time and enjoy it. Take careful care of it, like dad did. It isn't set up to let sit empty for 8 months at a time. We weren't prepared to deal with mold from 94% humidity, CD sized spiders and critters moving in, a lawn that needs care 12 months a year, plus trimming and weeding. To tighten our budget to allow for a payment, when we really desire to keep traveling and living as we are. As badly as I wanted it to be a YES, I only felt peace with a NO. That had to be the answer, but where was my sign I asked for? We woke up the next day, ready to pull out. Ready to say goodbye one last time in case Drea sells it before winter. We were tearing down the RV when Paxton yells, "MOM!!! There is a cardinal in front of our motorhome!!!!" I ran to see and sure enough. Right outside the huge RV windshield, on the palm out front, was a bright red cardinal. (not pictured, but this is where he was) I burst into tears. (Man, I have cried a lot these last few days!) I knew this was my "fleece", my test, and it was answered..... AS WE LEFT. I knew my daddy was saying bye, it's ok that you aren't buying this place. I knew my Heavenly Daddy was answering me as I asked.
As we drove down that driveway, we turned to look again and had peace. Sweet surrender and a full heart that comes from obedience.
We headed south to go see our Grammy at her and Papa's house, 2 hours away, and guess who greeted us when we arrived in her neighborhood?
Papa. A cardinal flew level with Avery's window before heading up into the trees. I CAN'T MAKE THIS STUFF UP! It is all Jesus, and I am grateful to be called His Beloved. Hugs, T
So we have been THROUGH Alabama about a million times to and from Florida, but we have never stayed. WHY?! I don't even know. It was SO amazing!
We had two classes in the area, and needed to be close by, so once again we found ourselves with no RV parks locally that we fit at, except another State Park! I love state parks and wish we could use them more, but this summer it's apparently THE place to stay! And for whatever reason, we fit at these, must be a southern thing compared to the coasts where we cannot fit at all!? ANYHOOO, this state park was AMAZING, and I feel like we are parked at Old McDonald's Farm RV Park..... ????????? You could feed and pet the animals and everything!
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Oh and apparently? Sophie HATES goats! Check out video, LOL!
Sophie goes head to head with Billy.....?? Sophie vs the Goat from Tonya Ferguson on Vimeo.
In addition to the farmstead you could walk through, they had the most beautiful lake there!
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We grabbed some BBQ before class at the infamous Jim 'N Nick's. We LOVED the cheese biscuits with honey butter especially. Oh and the fresh lemonade!
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We had planned a week in the Smoky Mountains, but felt very lead to head down south to our Florida family and try to move towards a decision of whether or not to buy my dad's "farm" down there.
Praying for wisdom as we drive!! Hugs, T Narrow bridges and a rainy day greeted us as we pulled into Tennessee! After a long day of travel we needed an EASY quick supper, so Potato Stick Salad was the perfect fit! Click on the link to read the recipe from the 4 little Ferguson's blog. The RV park we stayed at had the neatest commons area. The fire circle with twinkle lights, swings, corn hole and hillbilly golf. We played each night we were there and had so much fun! We got to do a class and hang out with some travel friends we met along the way. God is so good to bring us faithful friends and believers in Him to hang with wherever we go. We loved their church, had a fun oil class, then went out to dinner! :) Want to create good listeners in church? Try this fun game!!! You can personalize it to the sermon topic once you get to church! :) We headed towards Chapel Hill, TN to see if we could fit in Henry Horton State Park. We don't get to stay in State Parks very often because of our rig size, but this one we JUUUUST barely squeezed into with much manuvering by Dale. This is why HE is the driver, not me! SCARY STUFF! Slideshow: Duck River Slideshow It is funny, we live full time in our RV and normal life usually prevails, but being in the forest like this? We started acting like we were weekend campers again. Cooking over the fire every meal, hanging out in the hammocks, fishing and swimming all afternoon. Dale made us the most simple, easy breakfast. Bacon cooked on the cast iron skillet over the fire, fresh sliced avocados in soft warm grilled tortillas. Mmm mm, breakfast of champions! We also tried zoodles and squash noodles sauteed in butter with golden shitake mushrooms. Ohmyword! We just kicked back in the hammocks and read and talked. Ahh, it was the life for sure! We have a budding team in Chapel Hill, so we planned to meet them and offer a business training for the evening. We had such a nice time!! They are WONDERFUL! Slideshow: One of our builders and new friends, Karen, offered to let the kids ride her horse at her home the next morning. Knowing what a horse FANATIC Avery is, we quickly said yes. They had a BALL and she taught them so much in the short time we were there! What a blessing! Slideshow: It was such a stunning property! Slideshow: Back at the RV park, we took off in the forest and discovered an abandoned farmstead. Holy creepy! And how sad! I always wonder the stories behind these places and why they were left empty without a new family to fill them with love and laughter. The old house still had furniture in it, and a beautiful summer kitchen or something behind it. I went up the front steps to check out the furnishings and heard an air leak. It was almost like an air pump with it's rthymic and repeatative - shhhh, ch, shhhh, ch, shhhhh. | I was showing Ty the cool old black leather chair when all of a sudden a CRASH BANG BOOM noise came from the gaping down ceiling exposing the attic and something rushed towards my head. I turned tail and ran so fast, screaming for Ty to follow me..... Avery took one look at me and screamed along with me, even though she was far down the drive already and ran fast ahead. I am still screaming and running while looking over my shoulder at Tylan. That kid! He was slowly making his way down the grassy drive, not even worried about the giant monster trying to get us. Where was Dale you ask? Oh, laughing his head off at the barn. We had one heck of a time in Tennessee and cannot wait to come back again! Time to head to Alabama for more classes, so we are off!
Hugs, T We are off for the summer! On the road once again.....this time until fall. We plan to go east coast and up north. We have great things planned like Creation Museum, Ark Encounter, Yorktown, Jamestown, Philly, NY city and MORE! And OIL CLASSES EVERYWHERE!!! I will share my schedule on the RV Oilers FB page as we go, so pay attention, if I am close to you, I would love for you to be my guest at class. :) It will be a summer of FUN for sure! Follow along with us..... First up, Missouri! There is a new happenin' team in Joplin that are using and loving oils! YAY! In addition to classes, we snuck away for some fun one morning, and visited the Precious Moments Park and Chapel What a NEAT place of faith! :) Slideshow: Our next class is in Branson on Friday, so we headed there for some fun in the sun. First up, was LAMBERTS, home of the throwed roll! Great homestyle food, and lots of extras they walk around with to add to your heaping plates! Avery wanted to catch a roll SO BAD, but was super nervous. Here is a video of her: https://www.facebook.com/daleandtonya/videos/pcb.10160517450600230/10160517413005230 We LOVE LOVE LOVE Silver Dollar City but are skipping this time because it's HOT. We are SPOILED and used to having the park to ourselves in the fall when everyone else is in school and it was customer appreciation day which means EXTRA LONG LINES. Instead, we treated the kids to our second favorite thing to do: SIGHT AND SOUND THEATRE! They are doing Sampson right now, which we have never seen. It was SO SO GOOD! Wow. Any of the shows they produce is a must see on a MASSIVE stage! Our favorite place to walk at night is the Branson Landing, our RV park was just down the way from it. So we would walk over to see the Fire and Lights Show every evening. Great atmosphere to walk and window shop as it is basically like an outdoor mall! Slideshow: A friend of our recommended TWO amazing restaurants for us to try, off the beaten path of the Branson Strip and we LOVED them both! Branson has never been our favorite "food place" because of the lack of home cookin, but not anymore. Billy Gale's is one heck of a breakfast stop and we WILL be back again! WOW. They are famous for their 14 inch pancakes, and boy where they good, along with the biscuits and everything else we tried. The second place she recommended was a Mexican joint called La Bonita's. WOAH BABY! They gave us a free cheese dip with our chips and salsa, which was delish. We ordered the 3 Taco platter, hard shells, and it came out homemade and lightly fried, unlike any shell I have eaten before. We did a class at the house of a team member, who revealed to me we already knew each other! We had volunteered at a Weekend to Remember years and years ago, and they were the couple we worked the table with! She later stumbled onto our blog and then found doTERRA oils. It is SO COOL how God works! We had a lovely time with them, but UGH, no photos! Why do I do that?! And just like that, our time in Branson was done. Off to Tennessee we go!
Hugs, T
Well, Kansas, it was fun! But it's time to hit the road again......this time until September!
Friends were seen:
Porches started getting decorated:
16th Anniversery's got celebrated:
Thank you Lord for blessing us everywhere we went! Upgrade to Presidential Suite, free wine & chocolate, waiter bought us dessert at dinner. Thank you Jesus!
We also helped with 2 family reunions. It was both of our families "turns" this year!
The kids helped with church on Sunday morning. They have been working hard all year on learning a lot of the book of James.....
I have some visual learners, so we use these cards as prompts, but you can try to figure it out too, like a word puzzle! ;) Verses from James from Tonya Ferguson on Vimeo.
Later that weekend, we visited the graves of our loved ones. First time for the kids to see Papa's headstone and grave since the funeral this past Christmas. Lots of tears!
Saw a cousins new place with the COOLEST old barn!
Survived a super bad rainstorm and came out on the other side to a rainbow:
And enjoyed one final stop before we left the land of Oz!
We had just enough time for a Fercho reunion:
Bye Kansas, see you next time! :)
Hugs, T
If you are here from our previous blog, the 4 little Fergusons, you know we have a dear dear blog friend named Mrs. Marsha Baker. Her blog is the Better Baker!
Clever, right?! We became great friends and she decided she wanted to come meet us, so in 2012, that is precisely what she did. We had a grand ol time! The kids were super little and just fell in love with her.
This time around, she was coming to our new apartment house and would be SURPRISING THE KIDS! Mom got a video of the whole thing. We went over on the premise of going out to dinner with Nana, who had already gone to get Mrs B from the airport hours ago! :)
Check it out! Miss B Comes to Kansas from Tonya Ferguson on Vimeo.
We enjoyed our time so much! Meals on the porch, school reports, ice cream to celebrate...everything is more fun with a guest around to hang out with.
We taught Miss B one of our favorite games called Hearts. I grew up playing it at the cabin with my grandparents! :)
We went and had lunch at Dale's momma's delicious restaurant! I didn't realize we had gone last trip, 6 years ago, until I saw this old photo on the blog. We should've had Eileen come out to recreate this picture!!
There are super cute shops downtown and Miss B had her heart set on going to a darling kitchen store! Avery, our little baker, was more than thrilled to check out the merchandise.
I found some treasures at a local "pikin" store.....old antiques and unique treasures.
When we got home, sweet Miss B, brought out a gift for each of the kids. What a fun treat!
Did you know our miss Marsha is quite the sassy one? ;) She has always wanted purple hair, so guess what? We busted out some temporary color and dyed hair on the porch while the other kids were at church with daddy.
The next day we packed up to head 2 hours out of town for a class and to drop Miss B at her next location of another blog friend, Miss Mary Lou. We had to get some photos just like last time, with all 4 Fergusons!
LOOK at those sweet little faces! OH MY WORD!
And we were off......Bar U Ranch here we come!
We pulled up to the most BEAUTIFUL home! Come to find out, it was a Sears & Robuck Catalog home. Ordered and shipped on the train back in the olden days! WOW.
It was such a joy to meet Mary Lou & later, Burt and see their LOVELY ranch!
The house was just stunning, I wish I had gotten more photos! I was busy setting up for our class. :) We had such a fun time and great turn out.
After class, Mary Lou offered to feed us at their giant ranch table with a huge turn table in the middle. It was GORGEOUS!
While she prepped food, Mr Burt took us alllll around their property. They have acre after acre of rolling hills, streams, swimming holes, and all the cute baby cows you would ever want to see!
It was simply breathtaking, and the meal Mary Lou fixed was divine! We cannot wait to go hang out with these amazing folks again. I love this part of our job that never feels like one!
The Lord brings the NEATEST people into our lives.....
We knew we were leaving Miss B in good hands, and they would have a grand time in the coming days! A HUGE storm with tornadic winds and hail was coming to we booked it out of there quickly!
Until next time friends, blessings and hugs! Thanks for an amazing time!
And to our BESTEST Baker, thanks for being a part of our hearts and family..... Hugs, T When Dale asked me what I wanted for Mother's Day, I said two things: One - I want to go rough it at the lake for the weekend. Open skies, sunshine and relaxation! Two- A buffet/hutch thing for the back porch of our apartment home for easier meals out there. He got right to work on it! I am constantly amazed at my Mr Handy Man and all the secret skills he has, because he whipped this out in no time and its coming together just like it looked in my head! How did he even know?! Here it is, all finished, minus the decor I hope to find this summer when we go antiquing on the east coast! :) We headed to the lake Friday afternoon......I always follow behind in the truck loaded down with chairs, floats, coolers and fishing gear! We parked in my favorite favorite spot. It has no hook ups, but I didn't care, it was worth "roughing it" for the views every morning! We spent the first afternoon in the sun, fishing and playing and reading! It was lovely. Dale caught a fish every few minutes at the beginning, and Destiny got her first catch too. I don't think being at the lake means we can ONLY eat lake food, so I planned for our first supper to use the instant pot. Super easy Philly Cheesesteaks with homemade provolone sauce. I found the recipe here: www.laurengreutman.com/slow-cooker-cheesesteak-sandwiches/ Then, I made the following sauce recipe, see images: After dinner we want down to the river to explore, it's so beautiful here! Time to get some EXHAUSTED kiddos to bed! Serenity oil and serenity pills help everyone relax and get the deep, quality sleep they need for another day of fun in the sun. I woke up WAY too early Saturday morning, but look at the view from my bedroom window. Good morning, Moon! It was simply TOO STUNNING to go back to bed. So I stayed up and watched my fishermen in his element.... One by one the Ferguson's woke up and came and joined me by the fire.....so peaceful and lovely! The boys headed right out to fish with daddy! I make my own bug spray and sunscreen because of the toxins in the store bought stuff, it's so nice to have natural things at our fingertips!!!! But it helps if you USE them. Mommy did a good job putting lotion on everyone but HERSELF. (blue squeezy bottle) Oopsie! Chest was red and sore. Blue Tansy and doTERRA night cream to the rescue. I used the essential skin care toner first, to cool. Then slathered myself in blue tansy oil dripped on the night cream and got relief for HOURS. The next morning, I am brown again, and no sting! YAY, for another oil win! Being Mother's Day weekend, we planned to have each mom come spend one day with us at the lake. It was SO FUN! First up, was Nana, my mom...... We read books in the sun all afternoon, played games while dinner cooked and had a lovely time! We did Hobo Dinners for supper. Mmm! -A pat of butter, cubed red potatoes, seasoning. -Chopped onion, cubed zucchini, baby bella mushrooms. More seasoning. -A stack of previously smoked pork (cooked seasoned burger patties work too). -Spoon organic cream of mushroom soup over the top and close foil packet. Oh my word! It was so good! We served it with soft rolls so you could sop up all that good sauce after. For dessert we stayed with the Hobo style and did dessert cones. -Empty sugar cones -Different chips (mint, pb, caramel, chocolate, white chocolate) -Marshmallows -Fresh slices of strawberries (for topping after you cook it) The kids wanted to show Nana the forest and sunset, so we loaded up in the truck just like the night before, and headed out...... Mother's Day dawned sunny and beautiful. I totally slept in until 7:30, and missed the sunrise! Must have been the 4:30am start the previous day?! ;) Dale and the kids were scurrying around making breakfast over the fire. So precious! Today Dale's siblings and momma would be joining us! And later, his aunt Lucy and her crew. Grandpa and Grandma brought out the cousins to play! The kids were so happy! Once everyone arrived, we did a late lunch/supper. Smoked gouda cheeseburgers, giant dogs and all the yummy fixins! I wish I had a photo, but alas, I dove in and didn't even think about it! Haha, yup, that hungry! :) As the sky started to deepen, the kids once again asked to go to the forest and jetty for the sunset. Sunset watch. We had an amazing time and I think a new tradition might have been born!
My only regret was that this wasn't my view again this morning. :) Hope you all had an amazing relaxing weekend! Hugs, T You are invited to a read along, Green Up Your Life facebook class!!! This is the class we have been working up to! :) Read along at your own pace, TONIGHT, May 14th at 8pm CST from the comfort of your home.
A new post goes live every 3 to 5 minutes. Prizes will be drawn from those participating at our class and commenting at the event! Whoop whoop! The rest of the month, we continue with our education in images and videos. It all happens right here: www.facebook.com/groups/1876272422702901/ We are going to have fun! Hugs, T
There are THREE ways to use doTERRA essential oils to green up your life!
Watch this video: Ready to learn more? Please come to our FB Class page! I have a month of learning planned for you. www.facebook.com/groups/1876272422702901/ Hugs, T
We are taking May to focus on GREENING up your life! Today, on the RV Oilers blog, we are talking about the SWEETEST room in the whole house, which is actually the most TOXIC......
Your LAUNDRY room!
It's Laundry Day! And it's never been simpler and safer.
Watch this video I made you!
Come learn more about greening up your life on our FB Class page! A month of educating, shocking facts and fun videos is planned for you. We will give away prizes too! :)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1876272422702901/ Hugs, T My focus this month, is to help you GREEN Up Your LIFE! Have you ever stopped to read and learn about what is in your CURRENT sunblock? Plan to come on over to our class page and learn how to make this silky, gorgeous, homemade sunscreen that WORKS amazing, and is safe too! We have a natural alternative to everything you are currently using!!! Come on over to our class page to learn more.
I have a month of recipes, shocking facts, fun videos and more planned on our FB Class page. You can join the fun here! www.facebook.com/groups/1876272422702901/ We are Greening Up Your Life this month with some awesome posts on our FB Class page! I hope you will come join us! Easy, read along, learn at your own pace facts, videos and tidbits from MUAH! :) Today, I want to talk to you about about the dangers of traditional BUG REPELLENT!!!!! Your skin is your largest organ, that means your body is DRINKING up everything you put on it! YIKES! Have you ever read about the dangers of DEET and over the counter bug repellents? Why DEET-Containing Repellents Are Better Off Avoided About 30 percent of Americans use DEET every year, but you should know that this chemical – though generally effective in keeping away insects – can have deadly repercussions. From 1961 to 2002, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry reports eight deaths related to DEET exposure. Three of these resulted from deliberate ingestion, but five of them occurred following DEET exposure to the skin in adults and children.3 Psychological effects have also been reported including altered mental state, auditory hallucinations, and severe agitation. In children, the most frequently reported symptoms of DEET toxicity reported to poison control centers were lethargy, headaches, tremors, involuntary movements, seizures, and convulsions. Further, in a study of more than 140 National Park Service employees, 25 percent reported health effects they attributed to DEET, including: Rashes Skin or mucous membrane irritation Transient numb or burning lips Dizziness Disorientation Difficulty concentrating Headache Nausea In addition, Duke University Medical Center pharmacologist Mohamed Abou-Donia spent 30 years researching the effects of pesticides. He discovered that prolonged exposure to DEET can impair cell function in parts of your brain -- demonstrated in the lab by death and behavioral changes in rats with frequent or prolonged DEET use. Other potential side effects DEET exposure include: Memory loss Headache Muscle weakness and fatigue Shortness of breath Muscle and joint pain Tremors You can read more here: http://articles.mercola.com/…/natural-insect-repellents.aspx THROW that Deet AWAY and check out this homemade version we make. We use this on our kids, ourselves and even our dog. Safe, natural, smells amazing and we love it!!!! HOMEMADE BUG BE GONE: 10 drops each Thyme & Geranium 10 drops each Lavender and Melaleuca 15 drops Terrashield 15 each Cedarwood and Lemongrass 10 Lemon Eucalyptus (so amazing! 90% more effective then DEET!) Add distilled water to the top of a glass 4 ounce spray bottle. Shake and spray. Repeat often. Dale had HUGE blood sucking pests swarming and landing on him, but NEVER biting when we used this spray. Amazing! You can also diffuse it on your back porch in a diffuser with cedarwood and lemon eucalyptus! Mmmm, smells good and works good! Come on over to my Green Living Class page, I am so excited to teach you more!
www.facebook.com/groups/1876272422702901 Hugs, T My focus this month, is on how to GREEN UP YOUR LIFE, using doTERRA essential oils and products! Today I want to share how we have greened up our DISHWASHER recently, by making our own dishwashing powder and liquid. There is a safe, natural alternative to everything you are currently using! I want to help you live better, choose better and feel better with doTERRA, you NEVER oil alone! Dishwasher recipe number 1, is in powder form: It uses Borax, Baking Powder, Salt and Essential Oils. You can use Citric Acid if you need more help with hard water. NOTE: Fill the entire rinse compartment with white vinegar!!! Curious about the safety of Borax? Check out this article: https://crunchybetty.com/getting-to-the-bottom-of-borax-is-it-safe-or-not/ I'll tell what I do know, it's a BETTER CHOICE than what is sold in the stores! Yikes! Our dishes came out sparkling clean! Batch two came out a tiny bit gritty so I am doing less powder and adding a teaspoon of our On Guard concentrate to it. People with hard water will need to play with ratios too. You can also try recipe 2 instead, coming up. Let me introduce you to the, oh so amazing, doTERRA Concentrated Cleaner, which I do my WHOLE HOUSE with. Seriously, toilet, dishes, shower, floor, windows, mirrors, all of it. Safe and natural, On Guard oil in a soap base! This powerful essential oil blend is combined with plant-based derivatives that provide a non-toxic and biodegradable way to clean and eliminate odors, so it is safe for loved ones as well as the environment. The multi-purpose capabilities of doTERRA On Guard Cleaner Concentrate make it perfect to expertly clean hard surfaces in the kitchen, bathroom, or any room, leaving behind a clean and invigorating scent. ONE bottle can make 16 bottles of cleaner. Pennies on the dollar!!! Green cleaning saves you some GREEN! And better yet, you won't choke and cough as you clean your bathroom!!!! Dishwasher Recipe 2: 1. 1Tablespoon of baking soda + 1/2 teaspoon On Guard Cleaner Concentrate in the detergent compartment. 2. Fill the jet dry compartment with white vinegar. You'll have sparkling clean dishes in a safe, natural way. I have so many amazing, shocking and helpful things planned for you all of May on our Green Up Your Life Class page. Won't you please come join us?
www.facebook.com/groups/1876272422702901/ Hugs, T Nothing feels as comforting and welcoming as a tidy, well-tended home.
But a clean home isn’t necessarily a healthy one! The average American welcomes more than 1800 toxic chemicals into their home in the form of sweet smelling laundry soap to powerful cleaners, candles, personal care products and more.... Have you ever been curious about green living and creating daily healthy habits? We have a safe counterpart to everything you are currently using! YAY! Join our Green Living with Essential Oils FB class. It all starts May 1st and I'll be your teacher! 😁🌱 Come on over! I have daily posts, shocking facts and fun Ferguson Boomerang videos to share with you! :) https://m.facebook.com/groups/1876272422702901 Read along class night is May 14th, 8pm CST, SAVE THE DATE, but we have tons to share before then, so click the class page link today! Hugs, T Denton is a SUPER cute little town we enjoyed while staying the the Dallas area. It was about a half hour from our RV park, so after a long day of looking at motorhomes, we headed to the square for some dinner. This place got RAVE reviews online, so we decided to check it out: Cartwright's. This is the HALF order of chicken fried steak. Woah baby! We enjoyed walking the square and checking out this BEAUTIFUL museum building! We were told by a local Denton-ite that Beth Marie's was a must. Old fashioned HOMEMADE ice cream....TONS of flavor choices! After tasting several we settled on raspberry, peach, cotton candy, smores and I forget what Destiny picked. My peach was the BEST! Oh man, real chunks of peaches in there made it taste like my moms homemade ice cream she used to make back in the day. BOY was it WINDY in Texas! Like incessant, non stop blustery day. I think this Kansas girl had FORGOTTEN how bad it can get. We tried to go for a bike ride. Bad idea! Dale nearly blew away..... ;) I taught a few essential oil classes in the area for our builder, Lanya and her sweetie pie Miss Linny, and am so STINKING excited how many lives are being changed by these beautiful gifts of the earth. Vanessa drove in from Van Horn and hosted one in Andrews too. We had a nice group show up! Texas is HOT FOR OILS! Whoop whoop! Vanessa, had a birthday while we were there. Lanya and I asked her where she wanted to go, and she had ONE request: BABES! I was like, um what's a babes? You all, WOW. This pace is insane! Ok, so first of all no menus. You pick your meat: Chicken strips, bbq chicken, chicken fried steak, fried chicken or catfish. Then, they bring out all you can eat sides, family style. SO STINKING COOL! Sugar vinegar tossed salad just like great Grandma Schrock made, homemade biscuits, some kind of savory sauce green beans, creamed corn, mashed potatoes and gravy. Mm mm good! Banana Pudding for dessert. And of course they harassed Vee and made her dance like a chicken while they sang. We just love these gals so much! What a privilege to be able to cheer them on and support them as part of our job that rarely ever feels like one. God is so faithful! Speaking of CHICKEN.... I was scrolling through FB and noticed one of my friends kids had the chicken pox. I thought to myself, I'd really like for the kids to get them before they get too old. (Destiny had a mild case when she was little and Ty had a pretty decent case) Guess what showed up while we were in Texas? THE CHICKEN POX. So, previous to all this, Ty had itchy bug bites on his trunk and back, about a dozen or less and we blamed the dog, since she slept with him. I sprayed her with oils and Ty too. They bugged him a lot but went away in a few days, so we didn't give it another thought. Then the girls, who slept with Sophie, got a really really bad case of the bugs. So we stripped sheets, vacuumed the mattress, treated Sophie again with oils and the girls too. The bugs must be bigger in Texas cause boy were they were so extra itchy, right?! By the time we got home from an oils class, the girls were HEAD TO TOE covered and we realized quickly we were dealing with something else.... THE CHICKEN POX. That explained Avery's mysterious headache the day before and her eyes hurting. The girls got it the WORST, especially Avery! Oh man, head to toe dots and everywhere in-between. (ouchie) And poor Destiny. They say the older you are, the harder it is on you and I have to agree. Hers lasted by far the longest and were the BIGGEST! Pax got it last, and had the smallest pox yet, tiny dots actually. And his scabbed way faster than his sisters and again, Destiny is the last to heal up. She is still scabby on her face and body. I am actually grateful we got our natural shingles booster and the kids got this done and over with. We figure they got it at Sun N Fun when they were playing Gaga ball with all those kids every night. The gestation period is like 10 to 15 days. Our Arkansas friends begged us to come back for a Pox Party! LOL :) Do you remember those? So the secret to natural comfort care is the following: A glass spray bottle with 10 drops each doTERRA lavender, melaleuca, bergamot, eucalyptus, copaiba and a squirt of fractionated coconut oil. Fill with Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar to the top. Shake and spray OFTEN! Seal in the oils with a good dose of calamine. The kids were getting relief for about 4 hours this way. On Guard and Oregano on feet bottoms as those are serious immune booster and the most powerful antiviral in nature. Do this hourly. (we set a timer) Bingo! Frank Touch Roller was for the head discomfort and body aches. And the Rose Touch was a powerful tool for those spots that were driving them NUTS! Worked well. Thank goodness for natural tools to use and what a blessing to see them get relief! About day 5 they were all getting crabby, so we brought them home a treat after class..... Some famous food truck was in the area, so we stopped to check out these famous funnel cakes. WOAH BABY! I give you Sopapilla, yum. And Cookies and Cream, yum. Oh, and while we are talking food, I want to write about Fuzzy's Tacos, so when I re read this, I remember how amazing they are! The BEST tacos. Garlic sauce on the bottom, your pick of brisket, pulled pork, chicken or beef, normal toppings PLUS FETA. Oh my cheese loving heart! We ate these tacos THREE TIMES before we left. Yes, we love food. Yes we love new food in new areas. Totally a highlight of life on the road! ;) And again, lest you think I never cook. We had an Instant Pot recipe winner. So we are doing a new thing where the kids each pick a meal, make a grocery list, shop for their items with daddy and help prepare it that night in the kitchen. Everyone felt lousy, so daddy made the meal, but it was still totally yummy! You can trade Velvetta for shredding a fresh block of cheddar with some milk added in as it melts. We added extra seasonings too like more garlic and pepper and a drop of thyme essential oil. Great immune booster! This blog is getting longer than usual, but I have already uploaded the pics so I am committed to finish the Texas run ON THIS POST, haha! Last stop in Texas was Big Spring for a class.....dry, dusty, windy west Tx - Big Spring. Good thing we have some FUN friends their to hang out with!!!!!! Sweet Mark and Vera were not scared of our "chickens", and after our class was done, invited us all back for dinner. The kids LOVE playing at their house whenever we are through, and they ADORE Mr. Marks corn on the cob, so they were THRILLED to find it was on the menu along with fall of the bone ribs, and all kinds of fixins. He grills it husk and all, then peels it and dips it in a tupperware cracker container FULL of butter. It REALLY REALLY coated and the husk thingy makes its own handle. (very technical term there) We had such a nice time! Vera even came over the next day to pick up our chicken poxy kids to play at their house an hour while Dale and I were at another class. They are PRECIOUS friends and some of our Texas doTERRA business partners! We explored the area a bit one day, when all the kids were going stir crazy and get cranky at each other. They didn't last long out there, but the sunshine felt good and it boosted their spirits. That and natural fruit pops, worked like a charm! ;) That wrapped up our time in Oil country...... DoTERRA and otherwise. ;) Time to mosey on! Bye Texas, see you next time!
Hugs, T Welcome to Texarkana, Texas!!! Er, Arkansas.....Texas....Arkansas. BOTH!!!!!!! Texarkana, where you can be TWO places at once! :) We were excited to meet our new and growing Texas team! We had a lovely dinner out at an AMAZING authentic local Italian joint. I was so busy stuffing my face with the best alfredo I have ever had, that I FAILED to get any photos. WAH! I did however, get some pics with Lanya and Amber. These 2 are rocking and rolling in Texarkana, and I was honored to present them with their Elite rank name tags at our first class together. Woo Hoo!! It was a full but FUN day! Am class, meet and greet, business overview and a pm class before we said our goodbyes. We pulled out the next morning to head to Dallas area. We have classes planned in Oak Point, Denton and Andrews. If you are ever in any of the areas we visit and are interested in learning about oils, please message me! I would love to meet you at class! :) I try to advertise them on our 4 little traveling Fergusons - RV Oilers FB page so you can not read about them AFTER I blog. :) And just like that it was time to head to Bonham and the Dallas area for more classes.... We got into some pretty crazy weather on our drive to Dallas area!!!!! Thank the Lord for His safety! Tornado warning, hail and crazy strong winds that started to rip our awning covers. YIKES! Dale's birthday came and went on on a busy class day, so we stole a quick date night afterwards. My favorite was the fried goat cheese balls in tomato relish. Mmm! Sunday morning, the kids planned out and made daddy a birthday breakfast and the celebration continued the whole day. We found a great place to worship in Denton and then Dale picked to eat at La Hacienda. We told the waitress it was his birthday while he was in the bathroom. Haha, he was less than impressed! ;) Next up is Dallas area classes, then back to Kansas for a while!
Hugs, T We made it as far as Arkansas before calling it a night. We found a nice RV park with a lake view! We had some visitors right away! Pax and Avery fed them grapes and bread pieces..... The kids were starving and anxious to get out of the RV, so we ran in the rain, across the street to a little catfish joint for dinner. We try not to get the car out of the trailer for short stops like this! We left early the next morning to head to Little Rock! The kids get so creative with their playdough while we travel. I love how they entertain themselves! See King Kong on the building and all the army guys below? Apparently, the mid-west is experiencing a bit of a cold snap. We have been oblivious to the weather as we laid by the pool in Florida, so this was a RUDE awakening!!!!! I am a nature girl, myself, so I found this industrial area we stayed in, interesting and different, but not beautiful. UNTIL EVENING....... The bridge was lit up so beautifully and changed colors every few seconds!!!! I LOVED IT! The next day was MUCH warmer! We explored the River Market area. It was over the bridge and down the walking path and made for a fun little outing! We read rave reviews about David's burgers, they didn't disappoint! We did something FUN before we left Florida, and I just now got after pics! (Daddy said yes.) It goes with our current goal and life theme: Go big blue! (DoTERRA BLUE Diamond that is) 💙💎 Girls are proud to match momma's blue stripes. Theirs is the entire underside! Whoop whoop! 😊And I am not dyed a Smurf color like I feared. Only one drop on my leg. Phew! After our walk, I got my things together and prepared for our upcoming essential oil class. Dale took care of dinner and BOY was it good! Do you use an Instant Pot? I don't know what we would do without it! Dale doesn't believe in mixing fruit with savory, but he still followed the recipe directions per my request, it was delish! He added sriracha to his and it added a beautiful and rich flavor pop that I LOVED! Lest you think I never work, my hostess and new friend, Alyssa, got a pic of me teaching our oil class at the local Chiro office that night. We had a great time! The next night, Alyssa and her husband, Mike, had us over to dinner. We had a ball! They are total foodies and we got along GREAT! Mike smoked the most amazing burgers and beef ribs that tasted like burnt ends of a brisket, my FAV! Alyssa made home fries and some delicious caramelized onions while we chatted and the kids played. Everyone had a blast! It continually boggles my mind, that this is our lives and part of our "JOB," because meeting new people, connecting with them, teaching & encouraging them, and breaking bread together in fellowship, never feels like one.
Thank you, Jesus for new friends and doTERRA business partners we love to hang be with! Tomorrow, we head across the border to Texarkana for some more fun... :) Hugs, T This is how I handle stressful days......a little PEACE oil deeply inhaled. Ok ok, this may be a little TOO deeply, but it worked. We had our single worst travel day in the history of mobile Fergusons. I don't know if it was because we had had so many late nights and busy days in a row at the wedding. Or, if the wind rocking the RV made us all sick (thank God for Digestzen oil), or if it was just us being rusty from not traveling much this past year, but by the time we got to Florida (after leaving at 5 am) we were CARSICK, GROUCHY and EXHAUSTED. 7 hours later, we arrived in beautiful to Sarasota, Florida. PHEW! We made it! (barely) Dale & I made the decision to get the kids some pizza, have them get on jammies and stay home for early bedtime and some cable tv. (a big treat!) We headed out for a grown up dinner with Dale's family at our favorite sea food place, Anna Maria's Oyster Bar for all you can eat fish and chips. It was gorgeous so we requested the patio! It was SO GOOD to be back! Florida feels more and more like home, the longer we spend time here. For the next two weeks, we ate yummo food and played in the sunshine. We saw Grammy Drea, and ate out with Dale's aunts as much as possible! The rest of the time, we relaxed and road bikes! Oopsie, got into a good book and 18 chapters later, someone got a little burnt! doTERRA toner, Roman Chamomile and Lavender to the rescue. INSTANT relief! I gave it a couple days to heal up and hit the pool again, this time the back of me got a wee bit red. Oopsie again! We were just leaving when a nice couple came up and asked, are you the Ferguson's? We read your blog! What a SMALL WORLD?! We adore meeting our blog reading friends and this darling couple is giving RV life a go. Hi Jena & Charlie! I hope you are having a great trip! We discovered an authentic, gooey, drippy, Philly Cheesesteaks place. Wow! They fly in the bread fresh daily from Philly. Gentile Brothers is hidden gem of Sarasota! We fell into a routine of bike rides every night after dinner and it was LOVELY! Sophie GOES NUTS and jumps around whining excitedly until I get her up in my basket. This RV park is MASSIVE, so we can go new ways every night and discover new parts. 1300 spaces for RVs and then darling park model housing too. Lest you think I never cook, I do have a few new Instant Pot recipes we made and loved. The first is Pioneer Women's Enchilada Dip for Easter snack supper. YUMMO! I used the packets of red enchilada sauce instead of canned because I prefer the simple ingredient list. Tasted great! Leftovers got turned into a layered enchilada casserole, totally divine! The second is a Baked Frito Pie that we turned into a Frito Platter. Very yummy! Instant Pot makes things more liquidy, so I used the sautee button to boil and stirred in some cold water with corn starch to thicken. Recipes in slideshow: Grammy headed to Germany to see her momma and family, but Uncle Dan and Aunt Torrey were still in town. We had them out for burgers one night. GOAT CHEESE stuffed burgers, mind you. Holy amazing! There is a really cool Amish market nearby, so we grabbed freshly made homemade buns, local tomatoes and corn on the cob too! Avery set a nice table for them, complete with name tags. Destiny made herself an appointment at the Apple store to get her phone fixed at a nearby mall, so we all headed in. We had NO idea there were such big and fancy malls in the world apparently, because every person in our family stopped and gasped. The girls when we went IN, and the boys when we went OUT. You will see why in a sec. First of all, it was just beautiful. Light and airy, and infinity fountains everywhere. While we waited on the iPhone people, Avery and I slipped away to go look at formals for our doTERRA event in September. It's prom time, and I have learned you either snag one early, during spring prom, or they are ALL GONE by September and not coming out with new dresses until Christmas. She was in princess ball gown heaven! I tired on a billion teeny bopper dresses, not made for a mom bod, then narrowed it down to two, and once Dale joined me, he quickly picked his fav once he joined us. RED of course! For my doTERRA Dorothy team. And the color is nice and happy too! :) We walked out of the mall, past valet parking, and the boys all GASPED. ..... Toto, we aren't in Kansas anymore! Right before we left, the girls got to do something CRAZY cool to their hair...... Daddy said it was all good since we have a GO BLUE theme going at our house right now as we run for Blue Diamond in 2018. (thus my blue stripes in mine) We took advantage of the hot sunshine and warm outdoors to get it done! I ran out of time to get "after" pics, so that is another blog for another day apparently, SORRY! ;) A few more sunny swim days and hot tub nights and it was time to pull out and head up to the COLD states. (pretty much everywhere else right now is snowing or un seasonably cold) Bye again, Florida! We miss you already! Until next winter........
Hugs, T Even though it was hard to leave Florida, we were all ready to be on the road again! 2017 was hardly a year of travel as many times as we ended up back in Kansas. The RV park we stayed at was BEAUTIFUL!!! The Battle of Broxton Bridge happened here and we love history. And trees. And quiet. It was a perfect fit! EXCEPT, zero cell service. Almost as bad as way up in the U.P. two summers ago. Like red bar, no service nada. Oh well! I can work while we are in town, right?! ;) A nice gal from the RV park took us around in her golf cart, and showed us all the interesting sites and points of interest. I guess every March thousands of people and actors come in with cannons and battle gear and reinact the whole thing. I LOVE stuff like that!!!! Too bad we missed it. I was thankful for our own private tour though! Right before this pic, our guide hollered, watch our for gators, this is the swamp lands you know!!! I don't know if the kids are smiling or grimacing! Haha, maybe both?! We walked a ways and then got outta there! Bunkers were the soldiers hid and fought. There was also a cool church back in the woods..... There was also a post office and black smith shop. And an old timey bed and breakfast on the other side of the lake that I didn't get a pic of! Neat place! We were here for the wedding of our doTERRA upline and friends, the Trents. So we headed into town to see everyone and see if we could be of any help pre wedding day! Eating was the first thing on the menu so we went and enjoyed some local fish and lots of friends from doTERRA, the Vissers (whom we met from the 4 little Fergusons blog) and the Esteppes, our other uplines in doTERRA. SUCH a fun crew! While we were in the south, my dad's birthday came and went. Happy happy birthday, Daddy! We made sure we had the oh so special, Florida Betty Cake along with us to celebrate for him. The kids wanted to light a candle and sing for him. You can watch here: Happy Birthday To You Papa, we miss you every single day, and feel so thankful you are up there hanging with Jesus & the Father in paradise. ❤ We ate some Betty Cake and blew out the candle you! 🎂 (Just one, we didn't have 71!) 🙂Love you always, miss you forever, see you again someday....Xoxo Wedding set up wasn't until the next day, and no one needed our help, so we took a little family trip into Savannah, GA. It. Was. STUNNING! Wow. We explored the park first.... I couldn't get enough of the HOUSES. We walked along the whole street just staring at them all with their neat shapes, narrow sizes and details. We drove around historic downtown to see more....what I wouldn't give to see INSIDE some of these! We use Trip Adviser a lot to see what the local digs are, where to eat, what to order....we kept reading about the sea food, so much to the kids shegrin, we once again picked to eat local fish. We try to always eat the local culture and Savannah is definitely not known for their beef. Silly kids! Despite their initial response, lunch was amazing. When we were done and walking to the car, we wandered by the famous ice cream shop we read about, and decided to see what all the hubbub was about. Good thing we stopped when we did. The line was already out the door when we arrived and by the time we walked out with ice cream it was winding it's way down the sidewalk! I've eaten my body weight in ice cream sine we left Kansas 3 years ago, and I have to say, this ice cream falls second on my list!!!! It was fabulously thick and creamy, all homemade and SOO soo good! FYI: #1 is Jack the Dipper in North Carolina, ONLY because they make homemade cinnamon waffle cones fresh on the spot before filling it with homemade ice cream. {DROOL} And just like that, it was time to leave a town that TOTALLY stole my heart. I swear, I was born in the wrong era! :) Back to the RV we go for groceries, dinner and bedtime before a busy wedding prep day. Outdoor seating for the service and a twinkle lit dance floor! Wedding day dawned beautiful, thank goodness, it had been COLD. But very very windy! We probably set up the reception tables 3 dozen times because everything kept blowing across the yard, glass vases and all. We made emergency run for battery powdered tea lights, and sent the guys all over town for tablecloth clamps when the duck tape failed to work. In the end we did duck tape, table clamps, chip style clips AND twine before they stayed put. PHEW! Reminded me of Kansas! :) Thankfully, as the event went on, the wind died down and it was perfectly lovely out there for a good ol fashioned southern wedding. I didn't get many pics, so thank goodness Spring did! The kids had a ball and even danced the night away with their friends! Slideshow: We stayed to hear Pastor Brian preach and worship with our friends before hitting the road again. Sunday afternoon was full of catching up, relaxing, and the teenagers jammed it out with their guitars and worshiped. Great group! 4 generations of doTERRA right here..... We had plans for classes in Florida pan handle and Louisiana that changed, and we had been praying and asking the Lord where we should go to kill 2 weeks before we needed to be in Little Rock, AR and our Texas classes.
Not long after, Dale's mom called. She was in the car with 2 of Dale's aunts, heading to southern Florida to move out of Grandpa & Grandma Miller's winter place, since Grandma is with Jesus, and Grandpa needs to go to a home for more care. So many sad changes this year for our Florida families.... We felt very led that we were supposed to turn around and go the 7 hours back down and see them and help in any way we could. Thank you Lord for our mobile lifestyle! Cause Florida, here we come.... Hugs, T We got back from Leadership Retreat and just like that, it was time to leave Florida. Because we stayed in Kansas so much longer this year, just trying to heal our hearts from losing our beloved dad and Papa, our time in the sunshine just simply FLEW BY! We tried to squeeze in some fun with Uncle Chad, Aunt Lauren, Nana and the cousins before we all went our separate ways again. Oh, and our friends from Kansas and business partners came by and hung out too. They are new full time RVers! SO FUN! We planned a family skate day and headed into town....... Let's get a photo of all the skaters!!! Whoopsie, down went Dylan. One more stop by the house for final goodbyes and it's time to hit the road.....we have a wedding to attend in South Carolina! Come on guys, TRY to be normal! There we go...... See you both back here next winter! Love the Florida sunshine! Then it was time to pack up and clean up my dads beloved Florida "farm" and it all started feeling official. The heart is a fickle funny thing.... ❤ I cried because I didn't want to come face this place, and now I cry because I hate to go! The Lord is so faithful to have helped us through our first tough winter without Papa, to hold space for us and put us in a place where memories to flow in and out as gently as the warm Florida breeze. 🌴☀️ It was a safe haven and a place for the next level of healing. I am grateful for our time here! South Carolina, here we come!
Hugs, T As a leader with doTERRA, we get invited to the Orlando Leadership Retreat each year. We stayed at a local hotel this time, instead of renting a condo. Sweet Avery filled up her traditional "Love Box" with hugs and kisses so we wouldn't run out or be lonely while we were gone from them. PRECIOUS! She also made sure we went from kid to kid and filled their hearts with extra hugs and kisses for when they missed us. <3 Even though we miss the kids and the comforts of the RV, it's always so fun to connect with our team leaders, and learn more how to lead strong with this great company called doTERRA! I love learning about all the latest things doTERRA has been up to in their giving and growing. My favorite part about doT is their HUGE hearts and humanitarian efforts all over the world. They are a billion dollar, debt free company with a heart to SERVE and give and help! LOVE this! We pay the farmers we hire, fair wages, on time, no middle men gouging prices. We help drop wells, build schools and build and staff medical clinics and hospitals in rural areas with no help. We have an organization called Healing Hands Foundation that helps to pay for all these things as well as supporting other ministries like micro loans for small businesses, Days for Girls and Operation Underground Railroad to rescue and rehabilitate sex trafficked kids. Slideshow: DoTERRA is also expanding its campus and adding a medical clinic using all the areas of care, chiropractic, nutritionalist, holistic and adding oils to it all! Health care is about to change. In addition to this facility in Salt Lake City, UT, they are looking to open other clinics all across the USA! Pretty exciting! Slideshow: We also got to work with Gallup on Strength Based Leadership and how to focus on what our leaders are GOOD at, as opposed to our weakness focused society. POWERFUL stuff! We got to take the strength finders test, and here is what Dale and I got. I am anxious to utilize these tools with our team and our own growth, to use those God given giftings for HIS glory and for really big things in doTERRA! It's not ALL learning, we get to have some fun too. There is always a THEMED PARTY night! Whoop whoop! We've done 80's, Super Hero, and now..... Into the Deep Blue Sea Get it? Like Deep Blue Oil. Pretty awesome! No I am not bruised, that's makeup scales! I packed a little piece of potato sack so I could make the scaley look. Too bad I couldn't find another color, green and purple looks like a bruise, but OH WELL, still fun, right?! Dale wouldn't dress up with me - party pooper! So we found him a Shark Week shirt and added a phrase to the back: It's Shark Week Ya'll. Thank God there is an oil for that!!! It's called Clary calm and it TOTALLY works for the females in this house. Haha! :) We had matching shirts, Mermaids and even a Sea Week Queen! We were still hungry after, so we hit the streets to go find a place to eat. You'd have thought Orlando had never seen hungry sea creatures before! Haha :) It got cool enough, Dale decided to go get the car and come pick us all up. How many mer-creatures would fit inside good ol' Flexie? We were about to find out! SUCCESS! On the last day of retreat, we could NOT find parking, just one spot remained by 2 mom mobiles that both parked crooked over their lines. I hopped out to go search out another spot. Low and behold, I see Dale preparing to back INTO SAID TIGHT SPOT. What a nut! It was so tight he had to crawl out the BACK HATCH......I was DYING laughing as was everyone else that drove by. Never a dull moment with this one I tell ya. Sure do love doing life with him! <3 And just like that it was time to celebrate new leader ranks and head back home to utilize all we learned.
Hugs, T Are you seeking natural solutions for your health? You are invited to a Facebook LIVE class, on our class page, tonight at 8 pm EST.
We are going to talk about how to green up your home and life, and to tackle those health challenges in a safe, natural, affordable way, all from the comfort of your home. Join me here: www.facebook.com/groups/1876272422702901/ It's going to be a blast! :) Hugs, T You are invited to a 2 part Essential oil class tonight and tomorrow night, 8pm EST.
Our topic is Essential Oils for Special Needs! Join our class page and read along from the comfort of your home tonight and tomorrow night. www.facebook.com/groups/1876272422702901/ Hugs, T |
Tonya Ferguson
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