Day three....it's been a James 1:2-4 kind of day

We had a little bit longer drive ahead of us today, so after breakfast and Kylee doing some ballet in the hotel lobby we hit the road again (our lives for the past two weeks have been a Willie Nelson song). It was hotter today so unfortunately it was a little rougher on the vehicles, causing dad and moms check engine light to come on. We got them some antifreeze and checked everything out with the help of a sweet older man who worked at the gas station, we ended up giving him a pair of needle nose pliers we had (he was so excited!). We are not looking forward to finding out what all needs to be replaced/repaired in both vehicles once we reach chetumal (going over a lot of mountains while pulling trailers takes its toll especially after 3,000+ miles). Please keep that in your prayers, because repair expenses are no fun, especially after such a big move.

We didn't go through many towns today other than around mexico city and through a few what I call "trucker towns". These trucker towns are bad news, they are nasty and look so sketchy. They have semi's pulled off to the side all over the place but there is nowhere to get gas or anything like that, just several "motels". We just tried to barrel on through them, I did however manage to snap a couple of pics of them. We didn't see much of Mexico City thanks to a new road that takes you around instead of having to go straight through. We have been to Mexico City once before and it's not a place I would advise going, it's not very safe and there is a lot of bad things that go down in the city.

Shortly past the Mexico City bypass we blew a tire on the trailer, we are pretty sure that at one of the stops to get gas they over inflated It. So we had to pull over on a very busy four lane hwy to change the tire. While I can safely say that we have no future with the Indy 500 pit crew (my dad had said before that he wanted us to look like the pit crew if we got a flat while in MX) we did pretty good for a hand crank jack and a tire tool. I think it was under 15 minutes, I assure you that fear was the driving force behind us going so fast. About two minutes after changing the blow out it started raining, so we got it done just in the nick of time! The rain caused several accident (which we were not involved in) which caused a two hour back up on the hwy we were on, and this doesn't even tip the iceberg of the thins that have gone on today, from getting lost to expensive tolls its just been a long day. Right now I want to plead to you to continue praying, we need your prayers, we cherish them. Today was by far the hardest day we have had it was very exhausting physically, mentally, and emotionally. I honestly cannot begin to explain to you the stress that this trip entails, and we are by God's grace handling it as best we can.

Tonight we are staying a little ways outside of Mexico City, and we are hoping to not have as many mountains to go over tomorrow. We are all doing well just very tired and ready to be done driving. Dad and Joey have driven the entire way due to safety reasons like pulling the trailer etc. and I know it has been extremely difficult on them, and my dad in particular with his bad knees. But we are all pressing on and trying to keep our spirits high! Thank you again for your prayers and support!

James 1:2-4

Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.


Love
Jordan

P.S. highlight of the day: the sweet old man telling Joey that he knew what he was doing and to let him add the antifreeze because the car needed it....he was speaking Spanish so fast and pointing to the radiator and all I caught was "refrigerante en el carro" (antifreeze in the car) to which Joey replied "ok" lol. I laughed so hard I was crying.

Day two in Mexico on the road to Chetumal!

Well we had a good nights rest after our busy day yesterday and even got to connect to wifi to call family (boy technology is great)! Kylee got to go swimming for a little bit before bed, where of course in true kylee fashion she made a friend,who was also four. We hit the road bright and early and even though we are in Mexico let me just tell you it is cold going through these mountains. We got about two hours down the road and had to stop at a large policía checkpoint (again more guys with big guns). They looked over our cars and tried to ask us some questions but with us not being fluent in Spanish and them not speaking any English the talking didn't last long (ignorance is bliss). The one man literally could not stop chuckling because of the language barrier, one good thing is as long as you put forth an effort they really appreciate it. Anyways, after looking in the cars real quick we were back on the road (no, Kylee didn't get to hand out any coloring pages.....she was asleep).

One really cool thing we have seen since we've been driving is fake cop cars, not dummy cars, actual life size cardboard cut outs of cop cars. Now, you might be thinking what dingbat would fall for something so silly....well I can name you four right now lol. All joking aside they should totally put these things up in the states! Something else we have seen that should not be started in the states is pay toilets. I'm telling you I bet me, mom, and Kylee have payed over ten bucks today just to potty! Now that's a money making business if I've ever heard of one! Although the folks here have been very friendly I take my "bathroom companion" (monkeys fist) with me every time us girl head to the potty. For those of you who don't know what a monkeys fist is there is a pic of it below (its the pink ball, nothing complex but I think it would do the job), you can never be to careful when it comes to my baby girls safety!

Well after driving over mountains, mountains, and more mountains, as well as fog so thick that you couldn't see the car in front of you, we made it to our hotel where we will have our devotion and Lord's supper on this awesome Sunday. Just a few more days of travel, so keep those prayers coming! God has blessed us so very much and we are trusting in Him

Love to all
Jordan

After a whirl wind day.....Hola from Mexico!

Well to say today was eventful would be an understatement! We headed across the border a little after 8:30 and quickly found out we were in the wrong lane......so we had to cross the border...again....back to Texas......then again.....back to Mexico (I wish I were making this up). Finally we got in the correct lane and the Aduana (customs)begin to question us about what we were bringing with us in our tubs, so my dad handed them the manifest of our boxes in Spanish (brilliant idea of my dads, saved us so much time and headache) and they read over it. Several GI joes (army guys with big machine guns) went back and forth looking at our vehicle in all the windows looking very stern.....until a sweet little girl in the back seat smiled the cheesiest smile at them and they all started laughing.....that was the moment that changed everyone's attitude! Pretty soon kylee was hopping out of the car with pictures she had colored handing them out to everyone she saw (army guys with guns included). They all started talking to my dad about what we do and why we were coming to Mexico and before we knew it they were waving us through with only paying a little duty fee (which could have been so so so much worse).

We then made our way to get our vehicle permits and that was not a whole lot of fun. We waited in 4 different lines for about 2 hours. Again shout out to my dad for having all the paper work and everything in perfect order (he saved us so much time)! The only "problem" we had was my dads name is Russell but everyone calls him Rusty so needless to say they could not wrap their brains around how that could be the same person (does nobody in Mexico have a nickname?). But, we got that cleared up and headed to our next Aduana (customs) checkpoint. This checkpoint was fairly quick and again we gave them our handy manifest and told them we had already paid duties and they shook my dads hand and sent us on our way.

We then started our drive to get to Saltillo which was pretty easy going once we got out of the giant pothole land of Nuevo Laredo. We were pulled over by the policía one time to tell us to be careful pulling our trailer (I kid you not) then told us to have a good day. We didn't stop to much other than for gas where Kylee gave everyone she came in contact with a picture she colored....she has been busy!

Anyways, we are checked into our hotel and ready to get some rest! Please continue to pray for our safety and travels!

Love
Jordan

Ps highlights of the day....Kylee telling the army guy she speaks Spanish and then counting to ten. And also Kylee telling her poppy "well papa we are Mexicans now" I think I peed my pants a little. Oh and her new favorite thing is to tell us we are grumpy Mexicans. She is a handful!

Update On the Trip

Well we are on the road again after a set back do to a tire blow out (and several hours waiting on a tow). Thankfully we are all safe and back in the swing of driving....and driving....and driving. Kylee has been a trooper thus far however she does not understand the concept that it is going to take several days to ghetto mexico, everyday she asks we are going to Mexico today, then we say we are on the way and she says you said that before. But with 50 questions aside she is being amazing!!! Please continue to pray for us as we are traveling. Our path takes us by New Orleans (today) through Huston (tomorrow) and then crossing the border in Laredo (who knows when lol).

Love to all

Jordan

It's almost time!!

Well friends it is almost that time.......we are just a little over a week out from our long drive to Mexico! Here is just an update on what all is going on, We have been packing up a storm and are almost done, just finishing up the little details. Kylee asks every day if today is the day we leave for mexico (needless to say she is a little excited). Please continue to pray for us as we prepare to leave and especially for our very very long drive. Thank you all for your prayers and support!

Love to all
Jordan

It will all be worth it!

As most people know already I am gearing up for my first half IronMan 70.3 miles (please note I put "first" because I think I might do another one....sorry Joey). This has been a crazy experience, I have trained and pushed my body to limits I NEVER thought it could reach. I'm very proud of how far I have come, and am nervous about how far I still have to go. Right now I am in a "rest" period of my training meaning, I have cut back on my intense training for one month and then I start the home stretch of 4 months of working my tail off.

Now as some of you may not know I am ultra competitive, I can't help it, I don't even know how to turn it off. As embarrassing as this is to say I find myself checking the race roster often to find out how many girls there are in my age bracket (insane...I know). Now don't get me wrong I don't think I am going to qualify for the world championship or anything...but....I can dream of placing, can't I?

I am blessed with one amazing support system, my family goes out of there way to help me have time to train....they are simply awesome! My poor husband has been told more times than he can count that "this is gonna be my last race" or "I'm never gonna do that again", he just smiles and says "sure" and then buckles in for the next race season. I can only hope that I am as supportive of him as he is of me.

This whole experience has been so much fun (and awful at the same time), and I'm really glad that I'm doing it. I strongly urge everyone to do something that pushes you to new limits and breaks you out of your comfort zone, i promise you wont regret it. There is a saying that i absolutely love because it pretty much sums up how I feel:

It will hurt.
It will take time.
It will require dedication.
It will require will power.
You will need to make healthy decisions.
It requires sacrifice.
You will need to push your body to the max.
There will be temptation.
But, I promise you, when you reach your goal,
IT'S WORTH IT!

I can't wait to earn that title IronMan! It's gonna feel good!!

Ps still packing....and we will be heading towards Mexico the first week of May!!!

Easter, eggs, and a beach photo shoot

So we did a little Easter egg hunting at home this year which was so much! I so wish I had a picture of her coming into the living room to see the eggs hidden....her face was priceless. We also colored some eggs which gets more fun as she gets older, she is starting to experiment with mixing colors and its so neat to her her talk about the new color she made. After Church on Sunday we made a little trip over towards the beach and took some photos. So I wanted to share some pics on here.

As far as our move....wow.....what to say? Well it's getting closer, and we can't wait!! There is still so much to get done but we are working hard on it all. Please keep us in your Prayers as we finish up everything during our last month in the States......wow....our last month in the states!

Love Always
Jordan