PAINT!!!!

Hey y'all, 

LONG day today, we had a beautiful day, Praise God, and we decided to paint the bus again. This time we had sun, so the paint dried pretty quickly, especially on the roof!

Now don't get me wrong, it got warm on the roof, and I actually got a slight sun burn, but the roof is done nice and thick.

On the sides we had to do 3 coats (some spots need 4) to cover the yellow, and in a few spots we will still have to touch up on another day. 6hrs of 3 people painting makes those 3 people tired! But the end results are worth it. We no longer have a yellow bus!!!

Like I said a few touch ups and the paint will be completely done. It took right at about 4 1/2 gallons to do it, and with the touch ups probably take the full 5 gallons. Here's my favorite picture of the bus out of all the pictures so far.

Well I'm pooped. Good night y'all, have a good night and God Bless!

Finishing touches and the start of paint!

Hey y'all!

Today we took more stuff up to the bus and finished up a few things. Shanesta made the boys curtains so they can have some privacy as well as block out some light. Needless to say, they like their little "caves" alot!

I got a shelf for our bedroom built and, with Shanesta's help, we got it squared away and level. Now it might not look fancy, but it will hold an alarm clock (for Sunday morning Church) and whatever else we might need to hold. It will also make for a future safe for a shotgun or a 22 rifle.

So after almost all day of doing these projects as well as others, we heard that it is supposed to rain tomorrow. Well, we were planning on painting the outside of the bus tomorrow and even though it was wicked cloudy, it hadn't dropped a drip, so we decided to start painting. We had 5gallons of Exterior Acrylic Latex Paint in a light Olive Drab green color that we had stored away for a while and since we don't have tons of money to spend on the start up of this entire project, we decided to use that. We can put a different color paint on the bus in the future if we feel that we don't like the OD.

Shanesta and TJ did the side of the bus while I painted the top. We definitely need to put on a 2nd coat and Lord willing it won't rain tomorrow and we can put down some more paint. We will have to do multiple coats to make sure everything gets covered good and thick, but we got the roof and the starboard (passenger) side's 1st coat pretty much done.

The blue on the windows is on the inside of the windows inside of the shower stall (and the toilet room on the other side), and is the same color as our ceiling. We will be painting those windows as well as the ones that are white with lettering on them, since they are behind the closets and the pantry/fridge. Eventually we would like to completely remove those windows, but that's a pretty big project (6 windows on the starboard side and 5 on the port side), and we need steady warm/dry weather for a while before we tackle that!

We even got the bus out of the yard, and parked on the side of the road so that the bus won't completely sink in to the ground, and the grass doesn't completely die......

Well that's about all for today, stay tuned for more another day (tomorrow if it doesn't rain!)

P.S. We were talking with the neighbor today who also goes to our church (Thanks Leta!) and she suggested that we call the bus "F.R.O.G." (Forever Rely On God) since it will be green, so we talked about it and we will be putting F.R.O.G. on the front and rear of the bus along with the definition and along the sides we will put God's Grace, along with this blog's web address. Whatcha think???

The beginnings of loading the bus

Hey y'all, so we went up to the bus again today to work on getting it ready to roll. We took more of our stuff that needs to go, our house would probably be empty if we still had our truck, but since we don't, it gives us more time to sort out the keeps and the donates.

I worked on putting locks on the storage doors as well as the front and rear doors. (I forgot to take pictures....sorry!) But Shanesta put away all of the stuff we brought up.  With the food and plates/bowls/cups all we need is water and hooking up the propane tank and we can cook/eat!

Here's a "getting full" pantry, still more food to load up, but it's looking good!

I also finished scraping all the stickers off of the outside of the bus. It wasn't difficult until I got to the reflective stickers.... man those act like they are super-glued down!!! I'll have to get a heat gun to get that sticky stuff off the paint. Here's our "naked" bus!

Well that's about it for tonight. We are hoping for some clear weather for a day or two so we can paint. We have 5 gallons of Exterior Enamel paint that is OD Green, so we will be painting the bus that color, unless we find another color that was tinted wrong. Those normally sell for $20-30 for 5gallons versus the $150-180 that it would cost if it was correctly tinted! We just have to find a color we like that is either Exterior Enamel or Acrylic Enamel so stand up to the elements for 4-5years.

Well good night and God Bless.

Finishing up small projects

Hey y'all!

Shanesta and I headed up today to finish up some small projects since her back and my leg are still bugging us. But we did get a few things done before it started raining and the outdoor cutting had to stop. We worked a bit on the lower kitchen cabinets while the weather was nice.

Once it started raining we had to stop cutting the wood outside, so we finished the carpet completely. It's done! (except the "mud" carpet that we have to figure out for the stairwell, but that's later anyways...)

Well, the bus looks livable huh?!?! Ya, that's what we are thinking, so we have put a tentative date of departure at about 2 weeks from today, or approximately the 10th of April. That should give us plenty of time to heal, do a final downsize of stuff we are taking, and figure out where to put it all!

On another note, we added our first official bumper sticker today. It's from my cousin Cheyne's store, Island Surf and Skate, in the Merritt Square Mall in Merritt Island, Florida. I think it looks great!

Well talk to y'all later!

God Bless!

The carpet is in!

Shanesta and TJ went up to the bus today to work on things.  They weren't really sure what they were going to do, but when they got home they are both tired! So here's what they did.

Above, we're looking towards the back of the bus, and below is looking towards the front of the bus.

We aren't sure yet how we are going to address the seal, but I'm sure we will figure it out.

Well that's all for now, Have a good day, and God Bless!!

We got carpet!

So yesterday we got our carpet! We were going to go for either laminate flooring or the "peel and stick" stuff, but the cost is outrageous here locally. and we won't be going to Lewiston (80 miles away) until after the fist of April, and we are thinking we are going to start our adventure around that time, so we want the floor ready. I have wussy feet and I can find the smallest little speck of a rock on any floor, so I want carpet!!!

After we picked up the carpet and a few other essentials from the hardware store (Thanks Clearwater Builders Supply) we headed up to the bus. When we got there I started cutting the carpet in half. It came in an 8ft wide roll, so I had to make it 4ft wide for inside the bus. (Our widest spot is 3ft 9in). Well I had a momentary spot of time when I forgot Situational Awareness and the Carpenters Knife slipped and I stabbed myself in the leg.

Ya, so lesson for the day,
ALWAYS BE AWARE OF YOUR SURROUNDINGS!!!!!!

So we went to the ER, because it was deep and wanted to stay wide open (a bit to wide for Duck Tape, and we only have Metal tape right now, used all the Duck Tape already....). After about 2 hours I finally got stitched up. It took 2 hours because there was a wreck we passed on the way to the bus and they were still in the ER. One person was in critical condition and had to be Life-Flight-ed out. I didn't mind waiting, they were WAY worse off than me!

Anyway, I got all stitched up (5 stitches, so not to bad) and released, so we had some lunch at almost 3pm, Thank You to my in-laws John and Mom (Krissy)! and went back to the bus to work some more. Shanesta wouldn't let me do much so I sat on the couch while she put polyurethane on our kitchen counter so that it handles bumps and dings better. I think it looks great!

After that, we decided to go ahead and finish cutting the carpet in half. Shanesta did all but the very center of the roll, which I did......VERY carefully. I don't need any more stitches!!! After it was in half, we decided it was about time to head home, my leg was starting to hurt pretty good, so we locked everything up and headed home.

Sorry there wasn't alot to show progress-wise, but Shanesta and TJ are heading up to do some stuff. Well, I guess that's all for today.

God Bless!

Pantry finished, Curtains and Plumbing!

Hey Y'all! I figured out how to change the theme of the blog. I think it looks cool!

So yesterday we "split up" again and Shanesta worked on the Pantry, organizing some of the food we brought up and making some curtains while I did the plumbing for the sink and shower. We decided to bring up a bunch of the dry and canned food we have since it needs to go in the bus anyways, so we filled the trunk. Everything fit pretty good in the pantry, we still have alot of room for more food, which is a good thing! The bottom has 4 "cases" of canned veggies, and 2 cases of different kinds of pasta (we are going to go fresh veggies and almost zero pasta once this is gone, but we aren't going to trash already bought food). The shelf above has 2- 1gallon buckets of un-refined, completely 100% natural Honey that we bought from Barb and Sam from our church (Thanks y'all, we love it!!!) with plenty of room left!

So here's our curtains Shanesta made, I like them because they are really thick material, so it will keep people from looking in at night and seeing us (even though we are posting all this publicly and will let anyone see our bus, I do like my privacy), as well as blocking either heat or cold from coming through. They slide completely closed on these windows and they look good too!

While she was doing all this in the nice warm bus with some tunes going, I was under the bus installing pipe where pipe was never meant to go, talk about fun! But, at least I can sit up for 90% of the job.... Shanesta and I decided to use a 35gallon water tank as our grey water tank. The tank used to be the drinking water holder in our house the 2yrs prior to us getting a well dug. It got a little bit nasty sitting out by the shed for the last year, so it is perfect! We used some 600lb working load/1200lb breaking strength ratchet straps to hold it in place until we can fab up some type of metal support (but we may just leave it if it works...). Here's what it looks like from under the side.... completely hidden unless you get down low, almost under the bus!

Here's what everything looks like from under the rear of the bus. Just off picture in the top-center of the picture is where the sink drain "T's" into the shower drain, and the metal-ish stuff is just some metal tape to hold things up until I put supports in today. We have a drain that we can hook up a regular hose to, to drain the tank (like what we used to fill pans or cups when it was in our house) Recycling/reusing at work! But, I'm kinda a pack-rat.... I don't like trashing major things that can be re-used for something else. This is the 3rd use this barrel is going through... some sort of food manufactures use, our drinking water, and now our grey water. If we have to replace it, it will probably be because it has a hole in it, but it's close enough to the wheels and centered, so it should be fine for a few years, it's wicked thick plastic.

Well that's all for today, we will post more either tonight or tomorrow morning. I think we are doing the pipe supports and maybe the shelf in our room, and finishing off cabinets, but I could be wrong. Tune in tomorrow!

God Bless and have a great joy-filled day!

Couch finished and upper cabinets

Hey Y'all, so yesterday was a good day. We had mid 50's and cloudy with an occasional sprinkle (not enough to call it rain). SOOOOoooo much better than 30's and snow! The ground looks weird not being white! Anyways, we "split up" again and while Shanesta finished off the couch cushions, I worked on installing the shower pan.

Shanesta did an awesome job on the couch cushions! The colors are brighter in person, the pictures just don't do justice....

Our shower was an interesting one, that's for sure, we had to get the drain to go through the floor between the rear storage box and the rear wheel well.... About 6 inches. That required me in and out and back in and back out of the bus a few times so I could look, and measure, at where things should line up. In the end I asked God to help me get things squared away, and He did. Shower pan installed with no mess-ups!!!

After that, we joined forces again and attacked the upper cabinets. We changed our original plans of rabbit wire inside of a 1x4 frame on hinges and opted for the wide-open look. It makes things look bigger vs cramped. We faced the cabinet over the sink, and built the cabinet that is over the couch. I still need to finish installing a plug in the couch-side cabinet, as we want to put LED rope lights up there for night time.

Now I know what your thinking.... Why do they keep jumping around from one thing to another to another versus just working on one part until it is completely done? Well, VA pension isn't a whole lot, and we are limited on about $300 or so per month to put into this bus conversion. No, this isn't me asking for donations, I don't want them. God has given us the exact amount of money we need every month to complete this project in His timing. He has a plan for when He wants us on the road, and the budget He has given us for this conversion is exactly we need to be finished by that specific date. When that is, we don't know yet. We jump around from one thing to another because we work a spot until materials run out then instead of wasting an hour or more making a material list, going and getting the materials, and then coming back to the bus, we just pick up the materials we need on the way to the bus the next trip.  That's why we jump from one spot to the next. Now granted we could go and get a loan for $5-6000, buy all the materials (and tools) we need and finish this build in a few weeks, but we don't want to push things along and try and rush God's plan.....that doesn't work so well! His timing is perfect.

Well gotta run for now.
God Bless y'all!

The big WHY?

Today's post is gonna be an answer to the question of Why? (that pretty much everyone asks us)

Just a warning, it's a long post, but will answer most peoples basic questions. Hope you enjoy!
Some questions we get very often, and I'm sure we will get over and over.

Why a bus?
Why do you want to give up everything?
And the big one, (not really a Why, but it goes along with this subject)... "How can you leave everything, I could never do that!"

So I'll tackle one at a time.... If you have questions different than these major ones, feel free to ask in the comments, I will answer each and every one.

Why a bus?  Well, we were going to go with a motorhome at first simply because everything was already there, and proven. Motor, water tanks, electrical, plumbing, beds, shower, toilet, etc. So I started researching the life-span of an average motorhome. Seems to be around 100,000 miles, or 15-18years with only occasional usage. With full timing, the life-span was WAY shorter at about 25,000 miles, or about 2 years (some cases are different, I just looked at the price range of under $3000). That threw us off big time. Why spend all this money for something that might last 2-3 years, 5yrs max with lots of costly upkeep, just to have to buy another when it wears out, and then another, and another for however many years you plan to be on the road. So we started looking at other options.

When we researched buses (greyhound style, tour style and school style) we found that school buses were not only built to handle lots of kids (no small feat) for 20+years, but were also built to handle extreme weather as well for those 20+years. Well that and the super strict government rules on maintenance of the buses, we were sold. Ya, we would have to build everything we needed in the bus.... but that's ok, we've built 2 houses now, a bus can't be to hard.... the walls, floor and roof are already done! All we have to do is squeeze everything in! Once everything is built, we have a super heavy duty motorhome that will last us many, many years, and with the "skoolie" trend growing the way it is, if long term plans change, we could easily resell it for what we have into it.

So that's the "Why a bus?" question..... next!

Why do you want to give up everything?

First off, IT'S JUST STUFF, IT CAN BE REPLACED! (and it will have to be replaced eventually anyways when it wears out and breaks!)

1 Corinthians 7:31 (New Living Translation) tells us "Those who use the things of the world should not become attached to them. For this world as we know it will soon pass away."

If you look at how much stuff we have accumulated over the past 3 years that we have owned our property, we have alot of stuff! I mean really alot of stuff! We have 12 acres (scattered with stuff), a 900sqft house (full of stuff), a 10x18 shed (full of stuff), a 10x20 ATV shed (with 3 ATV's and 2 dirt bikes), a 8x15 root cellar (partially full of stuff), a 8x20 chicken coop with 10 chickens and 1 rooster, etc, etc. We have so much stuff, that we haven't even touched alot of it since we stuck it where it is! Why do we need all this stuff? Because we are told we need it? Because the "American Dream" is to have a big house (and mortgage), a couple of really nice cars (and payments), and a bunch of "toys" to make the neighbor jealous (along with all their operating costs), and a 50+hr a week job to pay for it all (not the case with me, VA pension and God's many blessings have funded this place, but you get the idea).

So if you suddenly realized that every extra bit of income you have goes into paying for the stuff you have, and the stuff you have takes every bit of extra income you have, wouldn't you think that this kind of lifestyle is madness? Make all this money so that you can buy all this stuff that costs you all your money to have, as well as clutters your life???? God opened our eyes to this several months ago and we started downsizing alot of the extra stuff we have. When we sold a bunch of stuff, we realized that we had basically bought it to have it sit around and collect dust until we used it for 5 minutes. Why? Because we thought we needed it? Yes. Because we have the room for it? Possibly. Did we really need it? No. Do we need more stuff? No. We have more stuff than 90% of families in the rest of the world have. God has blessed us with so much that we can't even use it all.

The long and short of it is that all this stuff is controlling our lives. We were blessed with the ability to get some stuff, but the choice of actually getting it was ours. We weren't forced to buy it. We want something, so we buy it, then we have to spend more money on it to use it. And when it has out lived it's "new-ness" it goes in a shed, or attic, or cellar to sit and collect dust until we re-discover it and use it again. We actually forget we have it! That's sad. Time to change our lives! Instead of buying the latest, greatest "X", we have decided to save our money for traveling to  "X" and creating memories with our boys, and living a Godly lifestyle by sharing God's Word to others. Acts 2:21 "And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved."

 How can you leave everything, I could never do that!

We feel that God is telling us to travel around and tell our life stories. We want to tell others that if you really listen to God and do what He wants you to do, and not go and follow yourself, your life will be blessed, and you will bless others. God gave us this land, and the ability (and alot of help from others) to build everything. Before we were given this land we lived in an RV park in a 30ft long 5th wheel that had mold and multiple leaks. But we also didn't go to church, we didn't spend time each day studying God's Word, and we didn't talk about God to anyone. When we started doing that, God started blessing us. The more we followed what God wants for our lives, the more He blessed us. Now we feel it is time to use the stuff God has blessed us with to bless others. So we started selling and donating a bunch of our stuff. My Dad told me something a few weeks ago that opened my eyes, "You know how much something is worth when it sells, not when someone tells you what it is worth." Just because a book says that this "blank" is worth $75 doesn't mean it will sell for $75. It might sell for $45, but it will sell in 2 days vs sitting in a shed for 6 months! So when we decided to sell stuff we hadn't used in years, we decided to sell it so that it goes, vs make tons of money off of it. God will provide us with EVERYTHING we need and He has.

A few months ago we asked both boys what major events they remember about their lives. Now Lucas is 8, so he will only have a couple of years worth of long term memories, but TJ, at 14 has plenty. TJ remembers the last trip to Florida, the trip to Alaska, and a couple of other major things. But what "neat" thing he did the month prior, nothing. Lucas remembers Alaska and one or two other short trips, but other than that, nothing. That shouldn't be like that. TJ should have a long list of things he remembers that were "neat", and Lucas should be able to name at least 7-8 things that really stood out in his mind. They don't have these memories because we spend all our money on stuff versus experiences. If you were given $1,000 to spend on anything with no regrets, would you take a trip, or buy an new TV? We used to think along the lines of the TV.... Now God has opened our eyes and we would take the trip. We actually did something just like that a few months ago, when we went to the Washington Coast. We can talk with both boys about the big tree on the beach, or climbing the tower on the dock, or the seagulls, and they remember, vs "wow, we can see a movie in 4K,3D ABC/XYZ!".....SO! in a few months that movie will be forgotten, but not the trip!

Now how would you feel if you were in a State Park somewhere on vacation and you led a complete stranger to the Lord? Pretty Awesome, that's for sure! God would bless you for doing that. God promises us blessings if we bless others in 1Peter 3:8-9 "Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing." What you don't realize is that you would never have that memory or the following blessings if you had never taken that trip. If you felt that God wanted you to go to..... Dallas Texas.... and He gave you the money for the trip through a bonus at work, but you bought a motorcycle instead, God's blessing would be given to someone else who listened to Him. Every time that you talk to others about God and His Grace and Blessings you are planting a seed in their heart and mind. From there it's up to the individual whether they want to know more, or ignore it.

As Christians it is our responsibility to spread God's Word. But every ones calling is different. Just because we feel called to move into a bus and travel the west coast talking about what God has done in our lives, doesn't mean that you are supposed to do the same. Your calling might be to talk to your co-worker, or best friend, or neighbor. Your calling might be simply to pass this blog address to a friend who is talking about buying a motorhome for vacations. Only God knows what He wants you to do with your life, and if you just listen to Him, He will show you. The Bible tells us this in Mark 9:23 " Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” " Also in John 1:12 "But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name:"
 
If you're not sure how to listen for God, think of it like this.... that thought of "I should go to church more", or "I need to take a break from...", or something like that, that's how God talks to us. The Bible says the God is "that still, small voice", or basically you can think of Him as your conscious. The thing inside that tells you that what your about to do is not good, or that what your doing is the right thing to do, or that you need to tell your buddy that what he is doing isn't right. That's God. And the more you know Him, the more He talks to you. You can't make yourself hear God, you can't force it to happen, you have to be willing to trust in God and that He has a plan for your life. You have to be willing to listen to Him and do what He wants you to. You need to ask Him to talk to you, and when He does, listen! The more you listen to Him, the more He blesses you. If you don't know Him, then you are missing out on His Blessings and His Mercy and Grace.

God will talk to you and bless you, all you have to do is believe He will.
Ephesians 2:8-9 "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."

God Bless. 

First night in the bus!!!!

We went up to the bus yesterday with the plan of working all day, and most of the evening and then SPEND THE NIGHT! First time any of us has slept on a bus. Now granted, Shanesta and I probably fell asleep on a bus going on field trips when we were younger, but I mean the first time to purposely fall asleep on a bus. TJ and Lucas slept like rocks on their new mattress' that Shanesta made out of a few bus seats. No this picture isn't staged, this was this morning when I (like normal) was awake hours before everyone else.

I didn't take a picture of Shanesta and I sleeping, haven't quite figured out how to do that yet! Anyways our mattress was comfy, but I think it is a bit hard.... But Shanesta had no problems with it at all, so we will see how things go after a few more nights in the near future. In the long run, these "test" nights will make things a bit easier for my back to handle. Last thing I want is to be on the road and to have horrible back pain after just a few nights on our mattress, when a simple $20 topper fixes everything. This picture is just our bed and pillows/cover. We will be building a shelf at the head of the bed for lights and a clock, but haven't yet. Possibly tomorrow if there is still to much snow to horn hunt. It's crazy how last year we had already found a bunch of horns, and the snow had been gone for weeks, where as this year we still have 8-12inches in the shady spots!

Yesterday, I finished the toilet room while Shanesta finished the couch cushions and TJ's bed mattress. The toilet is a simple composting toilet, but we want stability for whoever needs to use it if we are driving!

Here's how our shower is going to be. No it's not big, or roomy, but in reality why have a huge shower when you only spend 10 minutes a day in there???? I haven't plumbed it yet, as I spent the morning finishing various projects that I had been putting off, such as: getting the starboard (passenger side) storage opened (the latch was full of dirt and was stuck shut), putting more cedar 1x4's trim pieces in place, and getting the propane squared away for the stove/oven. Out of all the vehicles I have been under, I have to say being able to sit straight up under one when working on it is a pretty awesome feeling!

Here's the couch cushions all finished. We still have to find more foam for the back piece, but talk about comfortable, Yea Buddy!!! I found my "spot" for morning devotions.... sitting where the newspaper is with my back against the pantry and my legs stretched out on the couch facing the front of the bus. Well y'all have a good night and God Bless!

mattress, electrical, and a couch cushion

Wow busy day yesterday, I was way to tired to post this last night, so here it is.

We "split up" and worked on different projects. I finished off the 120Volt electrical for the bus (a one person all day job) and Shanesta worked on Lucas' mattress and its cover, as well as making and covering one couch cushion (hand sewed!).

Yes, I'm sitting in our closet trying to wrangle all these wires in place, but that's ok, I like closets hehe! End result didn't get a picture yet, but it's all in place. The electrical box I have in my lap (about 40lbs) is now mounted under the stove. Actually the electrical isn't completely done, sorry I forgot.... I still have to connect the 12v wires coming from the charge controller part of the electrical box to the batteries to keep them charged for if we use the bus interior lights, as well as to maintain a proper charge to the batteries if God leads us to a spot to sit for a while and not fire the bus up.

Anyway, Shanesta worked her butt off yesterday! We re-cycled a few bus seat cushions as mattress pads for the boys' bunk beds (saved us $200 for foam mattress') and it kept 8 seat cushions from finding their way into a land fill. Shanesta used spray glue to hold the cushions together and then also to hold the mattress cover to the cushion.

She will be making custom sheets for the beds since they are smaller than a twin size by a few inches. She got Lucas' mattress done before running out of spray glue, so she started on a couch cushion. Now the first part of the day, I though that I had the hard job, having to become a contortionist to get some of the wires to go where I wanted them, but when I saw Shanesta sitting on a upturned bucket sewing the couch cushion cover by hand (no sewing machine), I immediately decided she had the harder job. She sat on that bucket for over an hour while she sewed the cover onto the cushions we re-cycled out of a packer camper that is on it's way to the dump in a few weeks. (We are also going to recycle the tin sides, any wiring left over and sell/donate the windows/doors.) I did get an end result of Shanesta's busy day, check them out! Lucas loves his mattress!

Here's the cushion Shanesta slaved over, and the bucket she slaved away on, only four more to do! I tell you what, it's wicked comfy!

So we are headed back up today, we need to get more spray glue to do TJ's mattress, and I'm going to work on the toilet room, and maybe start plumbing the shower/sink. Yea, I get to cut through the bus floor..... joy! (!!!sarcastic!!!) depending on how things go with the toilet room. I would say bathroom, but there's to be no bathing in that part of the bus....only thing going in there is a toilet! YUCK!!!!

God Bless y'all!

A few days in one

So here are a few days gathered into one post, mainly because I forgot the camera on Friday, but remembered it on Saturday....

On Friday we finished putting the sink in, got the stove in, and built upper cabinets over the kitchen counter. We are going to "face" the cabinets with cedar 1x4's on hinges that open upwards so we can save someones nose from meeting a corner.

Saturday we got up there earlier than normal and Shanesta and Lucas got to work on paint while I ran most of the electric. Lucas had fun painting with pretty much everything he was wearing, but did a good job.

Shanesta got the rest of the ceiling painted, and the cabinets have a good solid white base coat.

So today is our day to go to church and worship the Lord, and relax the rest of the day, so may God bless your day, and we'll see ya later!

The start of a counter top, pantry, and ceiling paint

Today we worked on a few different projects, but only because we ran out of materials for one spot, so we moved to another spot. So we started with a counter top. We will be putting epoxy over the counter top which will seal all the cracks/gaps in the wood, as well as make the wood rock hard and resistant to cuts, nicks and dings.

We are going to fill all the screw holes with wood putty, along with the backsplash/counter joint. So here's our sink, which we got for free from my father-in-law's buddy. He is tearing apart an old nasty RV, and gave us a few parts. We got it in and we think it looks pretty good. We still need to get a faucet, but those are easy to do.

So after that was done, and we couldn't do any more on the counter, we started on spraying the ceiling. Shanesta and I decided to go with a light sky blue, and with all the cedar on the walls, and the sandy-brown carpet we are going to get, it will feel like we are outside when we can't be due to bad weather or nighttime. We did make sure to tape off what we didn't want blue! (I've made that mistake more than once!)

After going through 2 - $5 cans, and getting almost 1/2 of the ceiling painted, we ran out of paint. Gotta get more paint! The really cool thing is that the imperfections of spray paint makes it look like clouds in the blue sky, Can't wait to see what it looks like when it's done!!! But, since we ran out of paint, next project!

We got busy on the pantry. TJ put the OSB in for the shelves by himself. Man, he's growing up quick!

We are still trying to figure out how to hold the food/drinks in the pantry (we don't want doors.....doors have a tendency to trap air and cause condensation which causes mold). We might possibly use a copper pipe about 2 inches above the front of each shelf to help hold things in place, but we aren't 100% sure yet. I guess we will research it some more and see what others have done, and decide from there.

 Stay tuned for more updates! And thanks for checking out our blog! God Bless!

Bunk Beds

Well another day, another dollar (out of the pocket), but we got the wood for bunk beds. They framed up pretty quick, since we have learned how to secure things to the walls, roof and floor.

We are putting TJ on the bottom bunk and Lucas above him, both will have the windows for light, which is a good thing! TJ started learning how to build frames today, he did great!

Lucas is already learning how to get into his bed!

By the end of the day we had both beds framed in and cedar 1x4's in behind the drivers seat. We still have to figure out alot of things, but we are getting close to running electric and plumbing. The list after that is still long, but not as long as it used to be!!!