So I am way behind on my blogging I know and I apologize. It’s been a crazy month. Although we have been officially moved onto the bus for a few weeks now, it was not until Friday that we actually left Colorado for new adventures.

The challenges continue daily, but we are definitely getting better at diffusing them from crisis to benign irritants. On Friday we were delayed from leaving Golden, CO for six hours waiting for a repair to be done. We had to drive all night in order to be in Albuquerque the next morning, so we were a bit stressed. We ended up treating ourselves to a night in a hotel because, once again, the water wasn’t working on the bus. Bugs, bugs, bugs.

Albuquerque to be honest was not my favorite place. We did meet a few incredible people…Maria and Nick from Whole Foods and Kent Ponder an extremely interesting man and professor of linguistics. I am always in awe of how before I leave each place, even those that don’t result in any measurable success; I know exactly why I was there. I am convinced that I was in Albuquerque specifically to meet Mr. Ponder…so ponder that.

We decided that we desperately need a nanny on this trip with us. Brock felt that I should put an ad on a nanny site and I honestly thought he was out of his mind to think that anyone worthwhile would come on this crazy adventure for the next 10 months for 250.00 a week. Within 24 hours we had 49 applicants, a dozen of which were highly qualified and 6 of whom we really, really liked. Go figure. We couldn’t find a qualified nanny to save our lives when we were living in a beautiful 4,000 square foot home in Evergreen, Colorado. We made a decision on who we are hiring and are just waiting to find out if she can start when we need her…yesterday…Ok, latest end of March.

As you are probably realizing about now, these blogs will act as a trip journal…sometimes serious, sometimes entertaining…but always real.

So here are the funnies so far. As a person with an advertising background, I always notice both incredibly good and incredibly bad (or odd) billboards. The two that stuck out so far (one in Albuquerque and one in Arizona ~ the part that still looks like Albuquerque) are:

A billboard for Cracker Barrel restaurant that went like this: A visual of a big spoon of corn…yes niblets with a headline that reads “Coming up Fresh.” Now I don’t know about how other people read this but for us “corn” and “coming up” when you are on a bus with kids…well it didn’t work.

The other one was a billboard that said ” 241 Fake Discounts” I got it…the whole knock off’s for sale, but they really didn’t do well with the wording.

The classic line of the day however, came from the mouth of a babe named Cruz. We were at an absolutely horrible Chinese restaurant on Route 66 (I know we deserved it) and we were all reading our fortunes. Of course Blaze at 4 can’t actually read but he pretended and made up a fortune that sounded believable. Cruz decides to follow suit and holds his up and reads it. His words exactly “You will soon have a wet diaper.”We laughed ourselves to sleep in a very barren landscape…but we laughed and woke up happy.

I am in awe of this journey. Sometimes I’m not sure how I got here but I like where I’m going. I’m in awe of the people we meet, the best and the worst. I am in awe of how close I feel to Brock after so many things that tried hard to tear us apart. I am in awe of my kids and feel lucky to know that if you keep your eyes open and your heart as well, you will find a gem in every day no matter where you are or what you have.

God Bless

Been so busy that I just haven’t had the time to update the site…so here I am. It’s a new year and we are starting it with a big plan!

Myself, Brock and our two little guys, Blaze and Cruz will be hitting the road in Feb. for a 6 month signing and speaking tour. We will be living on a motor coach, I can’t even imagine with the little guys, but it’s what we are committed to doing in order to get in front of as many people as possible.

I will be doing book signings at different Whole Foods to benefit Whole Planet, independent bookstores, rotary clubs, high schools, colleges and churches. If there is an event you would like me to speak at or a book signing you’d like to arrange, please contact either Brock or myself so that we can get you on the calendar.

This is going to be quite an adventure so watch for my daily blogs once we get on the bus!

Peace and Love,

Caryn West

By Caryn Evans of Des Moines Iowa

Yesterday at First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) we heard about the Prophet Isaiah and Prophetic Imagination.  It made me  think about Charles Dickens’ opening of a Tale of Two Cities “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness; it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity; it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness; it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair; we had everything before us, we had nothing before us; we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.”

Prophetic  Imagination. What a concept.  John Lennon wrote about it in his beautiful song “Imagine.”

Imagine there’s no countries
It isn’t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace…

You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will be as one

Prophets are alive today. They are persons gifted with profound moral insight and exceptional powers of expression .   On December 14, we have the opportunity to hear from one.  Caryn West is an ordinary person who is doing something extraordinary.  What started as a home decorating project turned into a message for the entire world.  Take a look at the challenge she places out for us.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIysyvuJAgA

An ordinary person with a passion for making the world a different place, Caryn is an artist and a writer with a keen sense of stewardship.  You need to be in church on December 14 to hear our youth read the words of a modern day prophet.  You need to see the images and “Imagine all the people Living life in peace…”

Stewardship and children.  Stewardship and peace.  So many opportunities to be a steward and if passionate enough, a prophet.   Using our gifts and our imagination is a formula for a change.