Live Lightly Tour

Transitioning back to our Traveling Lifestyle
In a few days, we will set out on the second leg of our tour! We’ve been “off the road” for almost 3 months now, and we are anxious to get moving again. On Feb. 18, we flew back into Raleigh, NC from Minneapolis, MN…staying overnight at Patrick and Jen’s house and then continuing on to Florence, SC (Becky and Rocky’s) where the RV has been parked.

When we arrived at Becky and Rocky’s house…we were excited to move back into our home. We had really missed having our own space and our own king sized bed! It was a pretty easy transition, although when you haven’t been living in that small of a space for awhile, it takes some re-adjusting! We discovered that that fridge door had closed inadvertently, and it was full of mold. Yuck! It took many hours of cleaning and soaking and scrubbing to get it ready to fill with food again. I had stopped at Whole Foods in Raleigh to stock up, so I had to load everything into Becky’s fridge first and then back into our own later.

Another fun thing was that our kitchen faucet was leaking water everywhere when we turned it on. Matt needed to do some work on the counter top before re-installing a new faucet, so we ended up being without running water for several days. Of course, we were able to take showers and wash dishes inside the house, but carrying them back and forth was a nuisance. I am TRULY thankful for running water. You don’t even realize how much you love it and need it until it’s gone! I am so humbled to think of all the women around the world who have to walk miles and miles to a well to carry water back to their homes every day. Isn’t God good to teach us thankfulness in such an unexpected way?

We found that we had accumulated quite a lot of “stuff” in our travels and consequently, the RV was busting at the seams. We filled several boxes with clothes, shoes, and toys and made trips to the Salvation Army so we could actually move around the RV. Bella grew so much while we were gone…she outgrew many of her clothes too! I always have to remind myself that we really don’t have much stuff…we just have a really small living space! It always feels sooooo good to make space and to give away things we aren’t using anymore.

Physical and Spiritual Renewal
When we left the RV on Dec. 12, we didn’t know that we would be spending 6 weeks longer than we had planned away from it. As we were flying out, we got a call from Matt’s parents…asking if we would be able to stay longer and help out while Matt’s dad had back surgery. Of course, we said yes! We had only purchased a one way ticket to get home, so God had all of this perfectly worked out and planned long ahead of our knowing it.

We had a wonderful time at Christmas and New Years’ with my family in Iowa and then headed up to Minnesota to be with Matt’s family for the next 6 weeks. The time we spent there was such a blessed time…but it was a big change from what we were used to. Every day was virtually the same…with a few variances here and there. When you are used to something new happening every day on the road, we had to adjust a bit! Once we got into the swing of things, it was clear that God intended that time to be one of physical and spiritual renewal for all of us.

We were able to make some much needed changes to our diet, and we started working out again regularly. The routine of each day made it so easy to have a consistent daily time in God’s word and in prayer. Matt was also able to play on the worship team at church and lead worship for a father/son retreat at Camp Shamineau. We had lots of hot tub time and Bella learned to ice skate. The wonderful, quality time she was able to spend with Grandpa and Grandma was so precious. By the time we were leaving, we were completely rejuvenated and refreshed…ready to hit the road again. All of the changes we made in our life have been easily continued now that we are back in the RV.

About a week before we were to fly out, we received word that my Papa (my mom’s dad) was experiencing complications from Parkinson’s Disease. He passed away a few days later. The funeral was the weekend before we had booked tickets to fly back to Raleigh…again, we saw God’s hand in the timing. We had booked that return flight quite randomly based on a “guess” of when we would want to return…but it was exactly the timing needed to attend the funeral across the state, and get back to Minneapolis to fly out.

After the funeral, my family joined us in Minneapolis and we had a great time there celebrating Matt’s 30th birthday and enjoying each other’s company. It was so hard to say goodbye, but we have plans to meet up with my parents in Phoenix, AZ in late April….and will hopefully see my 4 other siblings around the country somewhere as well.

We were definitely looking forward to leaving the cold temperatures of the Midwest and getting back to warm weather! However, we had no such luck! North and South Carlolina have been unseasonably cold while we’ve been back…it was actually the same temperature here in Florence as it was in Bozeman, MT yesterday! 50 degrees! Brrrrrrr! It was 25 degrees overnight…and our heater just died too. Luckily, we have other heaters we can use…but boy! How far south do we have to go to find some warmth!!?

I’ve added many photos to our Minnesota sets. Click here, here and here for those albums. I will be posting more of Florence soon.

We have just a few more days here…we head to Lexington, SC on Monday to “officially” re-start the tour. We have so many fun families to see and events planned…we’re really looking forward to meeting everyone. Check the Route page for updates on our locations!

Off we go!

We have officially kicked off the second leg of our tour, and we have some exciting news! We have a new sponsor. Organic Valley is partnering with the Live Lightly Tour! We are so excited to have them on board…they are a fabulous company with high standards and a deep concern for the environment. Personally, I have always loved their products and have chosen them over other brands such as Horizon (owned by dairy giant, Dean Foods) because I knew they walked what they talked. Organic is not just a word on their label…they truly are what they say they are. I would encourage you all to examine where you purchase your products from…especially if you are currently buying non-organic. Choose Organic Valley from now on!! Here is a little more about them…and you can check out their website here.

Organic Valley Coupons!

“Organic Valley is a farmer-owned cooperative, with 1,201 family farms around the country, that produces award-winning organic foods, including milk, cheese, butter, eggs, juice, soy beverages, produce, and meats. Our philosophy and decisions are based on the health and welfare of people, animals and the earth. Because of our concern for the environment, Organic Valley is dedicated to continuous improvement in decreasing our ecological footprint, reducing use of fossil fuels, and embracing renewable energy technologies at all levels of our cooperative, including our farms.”

While we have been back in Minnesota, Matt has slowly been collecting grease for us to use when we come back through in the fall. He found a few sources who had 5-10 gallons each time their grease was full, so he’s been bringing it in small containers back to the garage and putting it into the 55 gallon drum he found on Craigslist (for free!). The grease will have plenty of time to warm up and “settle” throughout the summer months. When we return, we’ll have our own little “grease station” on site. Yay!

We have finally updated our tour route for the South! Check it out here. This route is still in the beginning stages and I can guarantee that it will change a bit…but at least those of you in these cities can get an idea of when we will be heading your way. We are so excited to get to some warmer weather…we are experiencing a -41 degree wind chill tonight. All the surrounding schools are closed…and we’re dreaming of the beach!

We have at least one contact family/person in all of the cities listed on the route. If you have already contacted us, you should be receiving an email in the next week or so confirming our arrival. If you live in one of the cities listed, but have not contacted us…we’d love to hear from you! We are still in the process of setting up college/churches/events to speak at. Please let us know if you have contacts! We will update events on the site as we confirm them.

See you soon!

After we flew back to the Midwest, we found out that Matt’s dad would be having some unexpected back surgery and would not be able to run his business for 6 weeks (he is self-employed and is the only employee! ). The timing worked out perfectly for Matt to take over his business for that time. He had the surgery just before Christmas…so instead of coming back to resume the tour now, we will be coming back mid-to-late February.

The tour route will remain the same…we will just be moving a bit faster when we come back. I will let you know when we have the new schedule in place…I am hoping to get it set within a week or so. Stay tuned!

We left the RV in Florence, and drove the car north to Raleigh, NC, where we spent the night at Bart’s house. The next morning, he drove us to the airport and we were on our way towards cold weather! After a nice little layover in Atlanta, we arrived at the Minneapolis airport right around supper time. We called Dan, Matt’s uncle, for a ride and he confirmed he was on his way. After gathering our bags and digging all of our cold weather gear out of the suitcases…we headed outside. Brrrrr! It was about 70 degrees colder in Minnesota than in South Carolina. As we were loading everything into Dan’s truck, I heard a familiar whistle in the distance. I spun around and there stood my parents! They had decided to drive the 3.5 hours to Minneapolis from Des Moines and surprise us. What fun! My parents are a little crazy like that, and that’s why I love them so.

They spent the night and we headed out the next morning for a fun time on the town. We hit Dunn Bros. Coffee on Grand, Bibelot (my favorite store!), and the best Goodwill I’ve seen for awhile. We also took a trip to see my sister’s new office, and made a few more stops before they headed back to Iowa. Here are some photos of our time with them.

That weekend, we had a family Christmas with Matt’s extended family and then we went back to Brainerd, and then to Des Moines. Lots of driving!

We had a wonderful holiday season…thank you to all of you who answered the call for REAL mail. We received cards and letters from all over…New York to the Netherlands. We just received them a few days ago and it made us smile!

You can pics of our family Christmas with my family here. Happy 2008 Everyone!

Eight days of relaxation and fellowship…ahhhhhh. Just what we needed to recharge before the holidays! We pulled into Florence on Monday afternoon and drove to the home where we would be parking our RV for several months. We were greeted with lots of love…and reunited with one of my sweetest friends, Becky…and her husband Rocky. Becky and I met on MySpace over 2 years ago…and a friendship formed. We started talking more and more…exchanging things in the mail, talking on the phone…etc. So when I decided to dread my hair, I immediately thought of Miss Becky (she has amazing dreads herself!) and asked if she would be interested in coming to Boulder when we were there visiting family and friends over Christmas. She had a friend in Boulder at that time too…and I was so excited when she said YES! Weeeeee! I was on my way to meeting one of my most favorite people! We had a wonderful time in Boulder getting to know each other IN PERSON. It was a blessed time of fellowship.

Fast forward one year…and here we are! Florence, SC Baby! We spent 8 days there before we drove the car back up to Raleigh to fly back to Minneapolis. And what a wonderful 8 days they were…here are some highlights:

We spent an amazing afternoon in Hartsville at The Midnight Rooster. Becky’s dear friend Jessie is the owner of this adorable establishment and we had a great time eating veggie delights and sipping lattes while the girls danced on the stage and entertained us all. This is the kind of coffee shop that you just want to stay and stay and stay some more. It’s eclectic, warm, funky, and fresh (I just like saying funky and fresh in the same sentence). Check out some of the other pics I took there and you’ll see what I mean. Lots of great ideas for decorating there :). I want to go back!

We went to Marianne and Kirk’s house. I wish I could truly explain with words what it means to be at their house…it’s an experience that you need to have in person. They have 6 kids. They have a huge open hearth fire. They have a ping pong table in their family room. They have a wood fired oven in their totally crazy amazing commercial kitchen. And the moment you walk in, you feel like you’ve been there 100 times. They were missionaries in Italy for 9 years. Marianne is like a mother to everyone near her…she’s Italian. She’s beautiful. She can cook like no one’s business. That night we had wood fired pizzas…on the most tasty crusts I’ve ever had. The olive oil they used for the meal that night had been pressed just 3 weeks prior in Italy (they order it direct!). They have the kind of house that you want to stay and stay and stay.

We met Tami. Beautiful, world-traveler, aspiring midwife, yogini Tami She holds a yoga night at her adorable home and we went over to say hello. Of course, once I was there, I had to capture it in photos. I loved looking around her home…you can tell so much about a person by what they choose to surround themselves with. It was so fun to see all of her treasured items…a necklace from Africa was my favorite. I also loved how she didn’t have a couch…but a soft futon on the floor, covered with pillows. I may have to steal that idea someday So inviting.

A few days before we left, we packed all the kiddos in the van and headed to Myrtle Beach. It was a beautiful 75 degree day, and we had so much soaking it all in. Lilli and Bella were CRAZY in the water (even though it was COLD!). They played in the sand all day. We saw a horseshoe crab and found lots of seashells. Rocky and Matt stayed at the water’s edge with the girls while Becky and I walked and chatted. There is just something so soothing about the sound of the waves. I could have stayed and stayed and stayed! Noticing a pattern here?

Becky and Rocky play in a band called Rosewater Faire…and I fell in love with their music the first time Becky sent me a CD 2 years ago. We had the other band members over on Sunday afternoon for lunch and we were treated to an impromptu concert in the living room. Yay! Becky sings lead…she has the most beautiful, smooth, haunting voice. Be sure to check out their music on their MySpace page. They haven’t been playing actively for awhile…but they still sound great!

We had a couple different families who have been following our tour stop by the RV to see it and say hello. Debbie brought her son and his friend and Hope brought her daughter Claudia to play with Bella.

The best part about spending time with this family is that it’s just “easy”. Everything feels so comfortable. Bella and Lilli had so much fun playing together every day in their cute little fenced in yard. Their house is so warm and wonderful…with music always playing, tea always brewing, original artwork adorning the colorful walls. Becky spoiled Matt with one too many pans of rice crispy bars…and he loved it They fixed us “grits”…which I promptly put butter and brown sugar on. Oh boy…you would think I was going to be kicked out of the South for that one Apparently they like to put cheese and salt on them. Ish! Rocky and Matt had “boy time”…and we had “mama time”. It was definitely hard to leave Florence…but we knew that we would be back! We are planning on spending more time there when we get back from the Midwest. It will be a welcome change to go from ZERO degree weather…back to warmth!

Florence photo album here.
Yoga photo album here.
Myrtle Beach photo album here.

When Matt was 16, he applied to work on the High Ropes Course at Camp Shamineau near his home in Brainerd, MN. Normally, they didn’t hire anyone under 18, but the ropes course director, Bart, took a chance and hired him anyway. Bart and Matt’s friendship quickly blossomed and Bart has remained a mentor throughout Matt’s life. The last time we saw him was when he stood up as a groomsman in our wedding. We were so excited to reunite in North Carolina after not seeing him in 7.5 years! Bart has recently proposed to Diane, a news anchor in Raleigh. We had a fun time getting to know her better and hanging out with them for the weekend.

Photo album here.

What a blessing it was to spend time with Patrick, Jen, and two of their children (Luke and Lauren) in Raleigh. Jen is a self-professed “former vegan hippie” who is now finding her way back to her roots . She’s a homeschooling mama of four who has a kind, generous spirit. I’ve enjoyed getting to know her through Walk Slowly and was excited to meet her in person. We were welcomed with open arms into their warm home and fed amazing, delicious vegan food (check out the photos!). The next morning, Jen made MORE yummy food … and we sipped tea and coffee while looking out the windows to their backyard. They live in a really pretty wooded area…complete with a HUGE (and I mean huge) tree swing that lofts you out into the trees (and tree with colorful leaves STILL on them!). Fun! We are planning on getting together with them again when we fly back into Raleigh after the holidays.

Photo album here.

Piedmont Biofuels, located near Raleigh, NC is one of the pioneers in backyard biodiesel production…and they are only the second coop we’ve seen that offers B100 (100% biodiesel). We stopped there on our way through and chatted with them for the afternoon. They have a great facility with gardens, a cob house, a straw bale house, biodiesel production house (of course!), intern housing, and a great tree swing (weeeeee!). We had fun talking with everyone and enjoyed the beautifully sunny day. We were delighted when they generously offered to donate 20 gallons of veggie oil to us…as well as a big bag of organic bell peppers from their gardens. Yay!

Photo album here.