2 of the reasons we are on this trip

 #1-  We are waiting and expecting God to show up big on this trip.  In our lives (the Phillips') its very easy to take all the good things for granted and think we are totally in control.  Just 2 days in I can say God has shown up in great ways, that I love my boys to witness.

      Scenario 1- We are about 3 hours from Laredo and stop to get gas.  The car is leaking something.  We have had the car thoroughly checked twice before we left.  Dexter fills the antifreeze and we call his mechanic at work.  It could totally be a flukey thing (there is a bubble in the system) or there is a leak in the hose.  How to know?
     We pray in the car that God would show us which it is and give us wisdom about it and peace to know which is right.   We stop in about an hour.  The antifreeze is at the same level.  We check when we get to Laredo.  The antifreeze level is still the same.  No signs of any leaks.  Every time we check there is no leak and the level is still the same.  We decide there is no doubt it was a fluke.  We thank God for a clear answer with no doubt in our minds.

    Scenario 2- It is almost dark and we are about an hour from San Miguel.  Our house does not show up on the GPS because it's on a private street.  We have printed directions and Dexter has looked at the route on Google Maps and Google Earth a bunch of times.  We are approaching the city.  There are no street lights.  We're looking for a round-a-bout.  We can't find any street signs.  We literally drove to the house on the first try saying, "Yep, that feels right,  Ok. I think we go this way.  Oh yes there's a street name.  Look there's the house."  There is no way to explain that other than God was guiding us in.

#2-  Have you ever had 14 days in a row with nothing on your schedule?  

      I don't think I have.  It's a very funny feeling, and it's one of the reasons we came here.  We wanted to spend time with the boys doing whatever our little hearts desire.  
   I get so tired of telling the boys..."We don't have time to read, we have to take Walker to practice. We can't play that because we have to pick Mason up at robotics.  We have homework and showers tonight, no time to play that game."   I just want to be able to say, "Sure, let's do that right now."