Wednesday, June 25, 2014

In the News


Our little endeavor

Rather than  keep asking for donations we sunk a bit of money into a business. 
Can you do us a favor and give us a like on facebook
Www.facebook.com/narrowroadschoolersjamz
And if you are in the market for some high quality nail wraps without the salon price tag and want to support us by shopping our site...
Here it is
Http://narrowroadschoolers.jamberrynails.net
We are praying that THIS endeavor supports our ministry
I honestly can't say enough about the product.
They are amazing when applied properly. 
And in a world of allergens they are latex and gluten FREE, vegan friendly, and made in the USA.
Oh...and did I mention they are completely non-toxic.
I NEVER did my nails but that is  changing.
Please give thema try through our website

Sunday, June 22, 2014

To the hills

We did it. We made reservation at a campground in Idyllwild CA tonight. We will still be close enough to my mom but moving out of the desert heat a bit. Back to "normal".... well normal for us anyway. In the meantime we are enjoying ranch life and putting our camper back together. 9 days. I can hardly contain my excitement. I deeply miss life on the road. Although it has been nice to visit friends. But gypsy life seems to run much deeper in my veins than I could have ever imagined. I am keeping busy with Jamberry parties while we are here. It has been a useful time to build up our business.

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Rockin the sauce

So not only can Frank build ...today he took care of a sickie wife. What I thought was just a head cold turned into almost an ear infection. So today I worked on the jamberry business that is going to help us in our on the road endeavors AND he made dinner. Pork sandwiches that needed bbq sauce and of course we had none. SO. He made it from scratch. Awesome yummy bbq sauce. And my headcold is on the mend so it will be business as usual tomorrow.

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

The narrowroadschoolers camper revamp & more

So. We are still in Joshua Tree CA. Still staying at our friends ranch. Definitely not what I had planned. ..there I go again, planning stuff... not really.  We are waiting on Dr appointments for my mom and sitting in the desert heat. And we are adding yet another to the mix...our eldest girlie ...that is, once we get the walking orders from the Dr for my mom. So. Since we are adding to our already tight space we thought we could do a makeover inside for what we usally spend on gas... and we are pretty close. 

I bought those beastly orange chairs (they double as beds) last year. We bought 3 ended up taking only one and dropping it off at a thrift shop in Utah last year. The other 2 I tried to sell but after spending $160 each forthem I couldn't bring myself to take  the"best offer" of $50 for all 3. So 2 went into our tiny storage facility.  God knew we would need them this year though. And 3 would have been too many. 

So we revamped the bunks we made for the oldest 2 boys last November then built in 2 more on the other side... a bit shorter though. And then we worked the big orange chairs into a couch/ bed. The girls share the top bunk ....which is a queen... then there was the space where the boys bunk were placed last year... an open canvas. So we built a narrow bench for canned goods and my sewing items and used the cute orange table that I left at my moms last year and voila. A living room was born. A separate space even.

 Definitely not an easy task in a 300 sq ft home with 9 people. And yet Frank saw potential to make our kitchen that much better so shelves and storage were added. I stained the living room wood blue...because what else goes well with orange?

 As we ran out of supplies and budgeted funds...we recycled some of the old even. And it works. We now have a boys bedroom that sleeps 4. And a girls bedroom that sleeps 2. And Judahbug, yeah..he still sleeps in our bed. Revamping a camper to comfortably fit 9 is a daunting task but I think Frank built one of his masterly crafted "pianos" once again. And the girlie....well she seems to be fitting quite nicely into this lifestyle....at least her very own picture suggest she is:) welcome to the crazy and amazing adventure of a lifetime Arianna ... but without you coming we may have made do with what we had in the camper and I am SO grateful because it feels almost like a house ...ok...moreclike a micro apartment... but for this girl who has been dreaming of a bigger rig without a budget this is a huge blessing!

Sunday, June 8, 2014

Are you crazy?

We hear that alot. People seem to feel entitled to tell us exactly how they feel about our choice of lifestyle.  Honestly, often they love it and are very supportive or they hate it and are not afraid to tell us exactly how we are ruining our life, crazy, messing up our childrens childhood, etc.  The list is often quite extensive. 
I suppose we should be used to people feeling entitled to their opinion of our large family, or the fact that we homeschool but it does get old. I mean try telling someone with 2 kids that they ought to have a bigger family sometime....and just see how that goes.
Why can't we simply be happy for life choices even if they fall outside the realm of what we deem as normal. Things that create more happiness.  For us. Being in the same town with the same rhythm ...whether that would be playing sports or local clubs....just wasn't the right fit for us. For other people...it is.

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

things you might not know

The month of May really stunk. My mom spent 3 weeks in the hospital but is still very much here & recovering quite well. and if that wasn't hard enough a very special relationship in our life took a complete nosedive. So prayers of reconciliation would be deeply appreciated.

We started a major overhaul on the camper on a shoestring budget. What else should we do in the desert in May. And June. In the heat of the summer in the desert. We are thankful for dear friends that have let us stay at their ranch

Our eldest girlie is home. At least for now.

I have wicked writers block (which is why this is a list)

I am having a really hard time not wishing we were traveling.  Trying to stay thanful especially on days I don'tfeel thankful at all. We miss the adventure & the new people we constantly meet.