We're Coming Home Part 2

4/30 Albuquerque --> Payson

5/1 Payson --> Parker

5/2 Parker --> Palm Desert

5/3 Palm Desert

5/4 Palm Desert --> Rialto --> Fallbrook

PAYSON,AZ

We left pretty early Wednesday morning, stocked up on coffee and gasoline, and spent the rest of the day driving. It's always a long haul across the 40. In Grants and Gallup there is not much of anything and those towns aren't much to look at. It's actually depressing, really. A lot of that part of the freeway runs through Indian Reservations.... It looks more like shanty towns though. We imagined this place hundreds and hundreds of years ago. The wild horses running across the painted deserts, Indians hunting and gathering as they pleased, wild animals roaming. It probably looked much more beautiful back then......now all you see are four lanes of concrete, broken fences, broken homes, and broken spirits. You just feel sad when drive through there. And you realize how destructive man can be, not only to our planet but also to each other. 

We passed by the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert National Park and were sad we didn't have time to drive through it again. We jumped on the 77 South, then hit the AZ-377. They were two lane highways running through open fields and rolling hills. I always wonder why no body takes these routes. The speed limit isn't that much slower and the scenery is just so much better, but hey I won't complain because we enjoy the peace of the untraveled roads. After we went over a few rolling hills we started to notice more and more trees. Each foot we climbed higher they just kept multiplying. Before we knew it we were at 5000 feet in almost the exact center of Arizona in the town of Payson. They call it the "Heart of Arizona" for that reason. We couldn't argue with it's nickname either. It was a quaint little mountain town. Reminded us of home, Lake Arrowhead, but with department stores and a Walmart. I guess the roads were a little flatter too but it had the same crisp mountain air and trees with the small town feel.

The L.A. Kings had a game that night so we called ahead and found a sports bar that would play the game for us. It was Game 7 of the Sharks series and we either had to win or be eliminated from playoffs. It was a nail-biting first period at the "Buffalo Bar." We ended up getting most of the people in the bar to watch the game and cheer our boys on! In the last period we blew them away and advanced to the next round of playoffs. After thanking the owners for letting us crash at their bar for three hours to watch the game we drove a mile down the road to the Walmart and took a celebratory shot with Ian! We fell asleep with huge smiles on our faces that night!

PARKER, AZ

It's been a couple long days of driving so before we headed to the World Help Conference we needed to shower! So Thursday morning I woke up early and started the first leg of the journey to California. We only stopped in Glendale for In'N'Out Burger. It was amazing... every bite was delicious and cooked to perfection. We savored our lunch stop, changed into desert clothes (it was getting so HOT!) and headed to river oasis. We made it in time to relax by the pool and soak in that Vitamin D that I have been missing so much. We enjoyed a couple of drinks and a nice dinner then got all cleaned up for the weekend ahead.

WORLD HELP CONFERENCE, PALM DESERT, CA

I woke up at 6:30 am to start the trek out to Palm Springs. We knew it was going to get real hot real quick so we tried to get there as fast as we could! We knew we could hide out in Amber and Bryan's air conditioned room! We made it just in time to visit with Marley and Lennix before they headed to the grandparents for the rest of the weekend. 

We spent the next three days hanging out and working. While the boys worked the conference me and Ambs worked on some props for her up coming photo shoot, went to dinner and watched the hockey game, went to the pool and relaxed and went to lunch the next day. It was nice to just be with her and get a chance to catch up. I don't think we have done that for at least four years so I enjoyed the time. I also got to meet up with a friend/mentor from high school. I haven't had coffee with her for years so we ended up talking for over three hours nonstop just trying to get caught up on life. It was a blast. 

Bryan and Jordan had some breaks in between meetings so we went thrift store shopping and coffee shop hunting. One night we blasted music like high schoolers in the car until we found ourselves at the ACE hotel. We got some drinks, found a fire and explored the funky place. 

On the last night of the conference Amber and I went over to the meeting where the Children of the World choir was performing for everyone. It was probably one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. All these kids (probably 10 and under) from all over the world were singing and dancing. I had chills from their first note and was crying by the end of it. My heart and passion for mission work was definitely re kindled. I can't wait for that opportunity to come. We helped the boys clean up and pack up all their equipment because tomorrow we would all be heading home!

It was a great weekend and we loved the opportunity to hang out with Amb and Bryan and to make a little money. We stopped by Rialto on the way back to Fallbrook to pick up the Jetta for a week. We found that we had to start work in Yellowstone on May 20th. We were bummed because it only gives us 9 days to be home and only 5 days for travel up north. We had so many dreams for our trip this year but I guess we will have to be flexible.

my handsome feeding some baby ducks before his meeting

Tired little lovers at the ACE Hotel  

We went to grab drinks with amb and bry one night!

Finish the Race- the last days

So something happened two weeks before we left Arkansas... I was determined to finish cleaning up the side of the log cabin. It consisted of 8 hours of raking, weeding, and digging in the dirt. After I finally got it all clean I planted rosemary, thyme, citronella and some pretty yellow flowers. It looked so nice! All this to say... I found out that the whole eight hours I was digging and weeding, I was actually playing in the roots and stems of poison ivy. It took a little bit to figure out what it was because I have never had it before. We thought maybe chiggers or some kind of little mite. But after a few days we finally realized what it was. It covered both of my arms and all of my shins.

I am laughing now but it was pretty miserable at the time and I still have scars on my arms. Turns out I am allergic to poison ivy. I think it is a little comical because everything always seems to hit the fan in the weeks leading up to our departures. I am serious! I mean one time our clutch went out one day before we were were supposed to leave and I ended up being stranded in a parking lot til my dad could come save me, another time the company I was working for withheld ALL of the money I had earned in the months before, and recently I opened a letter right before we were supposed to leave from the IRS who was claiming we owed them over $4500 in back taxes (not possible!).... something always comes up. This time on top of my poison ivy infestation, I pinched my sciatic nerve and then the alternator went out on our Xterra as we were going to pick up Destiny from storage to get her loaded up.

A week like that really just makes me want to punch someone.... really, really hard. The thing is though, it literally happens before every trip so we are learning to laugh it off and roll with it. Most of it is just annoying little things that you just don't want to deal with right before you leave.

I was pretty impressed with us this time, we were mad for a little bit (about the alternator on our NEW car) but we just let it go and kept moving forward. Our recovery rate is getting much faster in these types of situations. In the beginning we would steep over these things for weeks, full of frustration and anger. I guess that living in a 1988 motor home that constantly has something breaking in it will teach you PATIENCE and resiliency and PATIENCE! You have to be flexible and roll with all the punches of the mobile lifestyle. They will come, oh trust me they will, and you can either choose to roll with it or let it eat you alive!

So we got over our little set back and then loaded up Destiny. Jordan has been amazing with all his help getting ready for this trip as I wasn't quite up to par and at the end of the long days of getting things ready he would even give me back massages! (Lucky wifey!) Once Des was all set to go we went out to dinner with Wendy in downtown Hot Springs at my favorite restaurant there. It has an amazing outdoor patio. It's dug into the side of a mountain so you have this beautiful cliff with green vines on one side of you. There are lights all over, hanging from trees and all sorts of greenery while someone is playing live music in the background. It was wonderful.

When we got home we watched one more storm roll in from our log cabin porch and talked about all the great things that came of this trip. We always try to reflect on every chapter and really try to remember each and every part of it. The good, the bad, the fun and crazy, the lessons learned. It helps us to really find joy in what we are doing and embrace our attitudes of gratefulness. The nights we sit around for hours with these "reflections" are some of my favorite memories with Jordan. We stay up way too late drinking wine and getting lost in conversations while watching the stars or storms. I love every part of it.

In the morning I hit one last Farmer's market with Wendy. It was bitter sweet, as I reflected on how much I poured my heart into those herbal products. It's hard to leave your work behind sometimes. But we had a great day and enjoyed the plant sale that was happening this week. I found my new baby "FERNY" He is so cute!

After that we came home and grabbed the last minute things and we said our farewells.

Thanks Wendy for everything!

And we're off!!! On the road again.... on the road again!!!

The Garden

This was probably one of our biggest accomplishments in our time at the Ranch. We spent a lot of time out there trying to get everything ready for Spring planting. I just had to share some before, during, and after pictures. I never get to stay and taste the goods from all the gardens I help plant but who cares half the fun is just digging in the dirt!

The garden plot when we arrived. 

picking up trash and moving rocks

getting ready to put the fence in...

Elderberries have taken over the whole right/back side of the garden.

weeding around the garden trying to find the railroad tie planters!

my hubby tillin' up the land!

two times around the garden, around hidden rocks and boulders... it's exhausting!

Just needs a fence, then hay and plants!

Jordan and I have never put a fence up but hey here goes nothing!

The gate may have taken us a few tries but we got it!

Finito!

BEFORE!

AFTER!

Jordan's Sprained Ankle

I can't forget to tell you this story. It also happened in the last few weeks of Arkansas. Jordan was out fishing and helping with some chores around the ranch when he misplaced his foot in a hole covered by leaves. It resulted in a horrible sprain. I mean if you look at the picture below you will really understand. It was already starting to bruise on his hobble back to the house. The bad news was that he had to work the next evening and he couldn't call off work becase we had just got home from our trip to Kauai. So it was time to enter into the world of all the things I had been reading and things that Wendy had been teaching me in herbal medicine. (I can't say I was happy that he sprained his ankle but I was very excited to play doctor with all these new tricks I had just read about!)

The result was miraculous really, that is why I have to share!

The Foot!!!!! It was pretty bad....

First, we heated up some hot water (as hot as he could stand) and mixed it with apple cider vinegar. He soaked his foot in that until it would cool to room temperature, usually about 15-20 minutes. After that we iced it for ten minutes. We repeated this a few times. This took the swelling and pain away pretty quickly.

Second, we made a fomentation and wrapped up his ankle. (Basically that means we took hot water and Dr. Christopher's Bone, Flesh and Cartilage Herbs and made a strong tea.) While that was heating up I put cayenne oil on Jordan's foot to enhance circulation and help absorption of the herbs in the fomentation. I then took strips of muslin/cheese cloth and dipped in the super hot tea and wrapped it around his foot. After the entire area was covered I wrapped it all in saran wrap to keep from dripping everywhere. We left it on for the next eight hours while he was sleeping.

Applying Fomentation: strips of cheese cloth dipped into strong tea of Dr. Christophers BF&C herbs

Wrapped in plastic wrap

We added a ziplock back over just to catch any drips and then wrapped that with a heating pad (that lasts for 8 hours)

In the morning there was no swelling and the bruising that appeared the night before was gone. We did another fomentation wrap in the morning. By afternoon he was able to walk on it with a little limp. The night before he couldn't put any weight on his foot.

So before he had to go to work we put Arnica oil all over his foot with an ankle brace. He made it through his entire eight hour shift less than 24 hours after this initial incident!!! 

I couldn't believe it. His ankle was still sore for the next few days so we repeated the process everyday with the apple cider vinegar, BF and C fomentation and Arnica oil. By the end of the week he was walking without a limp at all and in two weeks time he was pretty much back to his normal self.

Derby Week

 

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We were kind of in a funk after we got back from Kauai and California. We had some amazing time with our families and friends. It made us miss them a lot. Although, we came back truly amazed at God and his hand in all things. It was truly miraculous the way things worked out. We were also super grateful for the lifestyle we have because of the freedom it allows. We were able to just get on a plane and take off for 12 days without second thoughts. We didn't have to worry about a pet sitter, or mortgage payments and car payments that we wouldn't be able to afford. It was all truly incredible. It got us very excited to get back in the motor home and get on the road again.

But we still had three and half weeks to finish out at the ranch. There were a lot of small projects I wanted to finish for Crooked House and we wanted to finish getting the garden ready for Spring planting. At times, these tasks seem daunting but we knocked 'em out one by one, trying to encourage each other along the way. Another good push of motivation for us was Kellie's (Jordan's Mom) visit! We only were home at the ranch for a week before she came out to visit for Wendy's birthday. It definitely pushed us to finish a couple projects early so we could show them off.

We also had pretty busy work weeks coming home so it kept us distracted from the homesickness and the limbo-ness that always approaches before we take off on our next trip. The week that Kellie came to town was "Derby Week" in Hot Springs! The Horse races run an extra two days, add more races each day and there is all sorts of festive stuff going on, like giveaways and contests. On Saturday, Derby Day, the infield is completely filled up with tents from all sorts of local vendors, there are those jumpy things for kids and booths everywhere. Jordan actually came and worked the infield with his company Turf Catering and I was inside taking bets for all the races. It was kind of fun knowing he was just right outside! I also got put in the "Carosel Room" (the high roller room) for most of the week where people are betting in the hundreds and thousands for one race. It was just intimidating enough to keep me motivated through the week! After Derby the horse races are over and my only job will be substittue teaching.

In between our busy schedules we managed to sneak in a few dinners with Kel. One afternoon her and Jordan went treasure hunting at old antique stores while I was at work. It was so good for him because he had been missing his mamma lots! She also got to come to the Farmer's Market with Wendy and I for Crooked House Herbals. It was a lot of fun to show her what we have been up to. We even dragged her into the herbal kitchen for a morning to make a few products. I am not sure what it is but it is always so refreshing having a face from home meet us somewhere on our journey. We don't even have to spend every day with them but just knowing they are so close and we can just say hi and give a quick hug is so comforting.

Hiking to the pond with Kel and Wendy

Jordan rowed us ladies around for a while and even sang us songs in his french voice

Hey handsome!

All in all it was a good two weeks after getting home that kept us busy enough and threw us off our normal routine enough to keep us from getting to antsy for the road. Ha ya right, Jordan gets antsy after two months of staying anywhere in the same place. He is just a wanderer through and through. Not sure that will ever change.