Sep
18
2009

The Update

Filed under: Travels

The Big News from Sara Janssen on Vimeo.

Let me just say…you guys are crazy! I don’t know how many emails I have gotten lately begging for the details of our new adventure. You’ve been trying to guess….

“Is it a boat tour?”

“Is it a plane tour?”

“Is it a bicycle tour?”

“Are you going overseas?”

Nope. None of the above. We are just doing what we love…and that is going ON THE ROAD again (you gotta love Willie). After Lucy was born, we knew right away that we wanted to get back out there on the open road. Living life. Seeing old friends and meeting new ones. Learning. Growing.

We’ve different now. The road has changed us. Our priorities are different and we’ve realized that our traveling life just wasn’t over yet. When we bought the Minnie Winnie, we truly thought that we would just be using it for weekend getaways and for traveling to see family. But, as soon as we got back out there, it just felt like us. It was good. We missed it.

However, the Winnie was a bit small for full-time livin’. So, we sold the Winnie and went back to a motorhome. This time, it’s a 2000 Alpine Coach (40 foot). The same exact one as our last RV, but 2 years newer and 4 feet longer. Just enough extra length for Matt to build bunk beds for the girls. We’ll be remodeling it back in Bozeman while we gather our belongings and sell/give away the rest.

Right now, we’re still in Des Moines…and will soon be heading to various locations in Nebraska, Colorado, and then back to Bozeman. We’ll be back for a few weeks and then will head west to Eugene, OR to convert the RV to veggie oil at Green Eye. After that, our plan is loose, but we’re thinking California through January. Then Arizona and Texas throughout the winter, the east coast in the spring, and then back to the Midwest in the summer. We will most likely be offering a “buffet” of services as we travel through different cities.

Photography
RV or home remodeling
Raw food consultation / speaking
Veggie oil conversion services

We won’t be doing any public demos, etc. like we did the first time around…and we will hopefully be traveling at a slower pace!

You may be a bit confused because you know we love Bozeman so much and have a cute little house with great neighbors and great friends, etc. etc. And that is all true. This wasn’t an easy decision by any means. There is great comfort in stability and living life in one spot. We went back and forth. But after much prayer, finally decided to take a step of faith and as soon as we did that…all of the pieces started falling into place perfectly. We just kept praying, and God kept answering. It’s been a fun ride…it’s quite an adventure when God is at the wheel!

What we have realized is that we need to live our life NOW. We don’t want to wait until we are retired to travel again. This past year has changed our perspective greatly…we lost my grandma and we nearly lost my brother in his accident. Family is super important to us and by having a home on wheels, we are able to see them more often. We are extremely blessed with jobs that enable us to travel…but that could all change tomorrow if one of us got hurt or sick. We can ALWAYS settle down…but we might not always be able to travel. Life is short!

I think this quote sums it up perfectly:

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bow lines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” -Mark Twain

So…once again we are sailing away from our “safe harbor”… with the goal of experiencing new things, meeting new people, and encouraging others to take that little step toward their own dream…whatever it may be!

And yes, I will be writing a blog about our new journey…it will take a little while to get it up and running so bear with me during this time of transition. I know this blog has been a bit quiet lately except for RV announcements…but now you know why I have a really GREAT giveaway and a blog about yoga coming soon. Have a fabulous weekend!

Posted by Sara @ 11:22 pm | Leave a Comment

Hallie

Thats AWESOME! How fun! You guys are so inspiring! It will definitely be exciting reading about your travels and adventures! The husband and I are in Texas now, so you’ll have to swing through! The home we are about to move to has an RV pad and hook ups, but I don’t know if it will fit such a big rig!
http://walkslowlylivewildly.com Sara

Hallie…ooooh yay! I didn’t know you guys were in Texas now! We’ll be there for several months I think, and we would love to see you again. Send me a message on FB or email so I can get details xxoo
http://www.lauraluphotography.com Laura

YAY! Praise Jesus!!
Marieke

Hopefully you’ll swing through Berkeley again?!? I’d love to see the fam and meet Lucy
Michelle

Excellent. I am so jealous, and have been trying to talk my DH into doing something like this in Australia. Can’t wait to hear all about your trip and see the wonderful photos that always come with the story of your journey.
http://myjourneyandtrials.blogspot.com Heather

Congratulations on living your dream! I hope you guys make your way to Maine again!
http://www.roadtohippie.blogspot.com Jennie

How exciting guys!

After we were too late contacting you about the Minnie Winnie, we went on a search for an RV. We took it home yesterday, and I am waking up from it this morning. Yay!

We plan to be in AZ this fall and possibly back out there in early 2010. You’ve been so inspiring that I really hope the Universe puts us together even if just for coffee.

Best of luck and Happy Trails!!
http://www.thehayeszoo.blogspot.com Faith

Oh my goodness –

HOW EXCITING. I agree with that quote 100%. Plus, the more we make ourselves and our LIVES available to the LORD the more HE is able to use them to bring HIM glory. Our mission fields are where our feet are and you willingness and availability to be moved and create fellowship – it’s incredible. I’m so excited for you all and your adventures.

I would LOVE to get to meet you someday whether around your table or mine.

Abrazos y que Dios les guarde, guia, y cuida mucho!!!
http://shineuniverse.blogspot.com/ Jentree

so happy for you all! praying the best for you <3
Ellen

Oh Sara, this is such exciting news!! Your post just made me smile so much! It’s obvious that you are going to be doing what you love and it’s so awesome that you have the ability to do it! If you have any time to get together when you’re in Colorado, let me know
Alicia

Your little video made me teary:) I love you guys so much and I am so stinking excited for you!
Kristin M.

I knew it! Can’t wait to talk to you in person!
Chickadee

You sure do change up your lives on a regular basis! Good to do it now while the girls are young.

On a practical note, it looks like the recession hasn’t affected you in the least. I know our investments are down, and although we are older and debt-free, we could never afford to buy a huge RV as a lifestyle change. Wish we knew your secret to always having the money to follow your dreams.

Looking forward to photos and your travelling blog!
http://adepts.blogspot.com Deborah

Super happy to have found your blog. We are in the process of selling our house and moving into a caravan and travelling around Australia. We are just waiting on a settlement date. We already have the caravan and car organised. I’ve been packing and downsizing a ton.

Very scary. Looking forward to what God has in store for us.
http://goodlifealways.blogspot.com/ Michelle @ {Life Is Good}

I am so excited for you. I also thought about emailing and then I remembered, wait a minute, I really don’t know her that well, even though I feel like I do!!
Lots of prayers for you and your family and cant’ wait to hear about the adventures.
I do have one request. Are we going to get a birth story?
http://cailin-davis.blogspot.com/ Cailin

Sara,
That’s great news. I hope your journey brings you to Virginia Beach, Virginia. I would love to meet you, Matt, Bella and Lucy. You have been so impactful in my family’s life and we hope to set sail soon and head on the road as well. We hope to utilize your knowledge to start our own adventures!
http://www.beoverjoyed.blogspot.com Stephanie

wow, so exciting!! I look forward to reading your yoga blog.
http://www.hersoutherncharm.com Jennifer

Hey! That is so exciting! Y’all are definitely my camping inspiration! Seriously, I thought a lot about you and your little family when we were deciding in whether or not to get our RV. Should we save that money or just go for it- throw caution to the wind. Get out there while we’re still young enough to do stuff! “What would Sara do?” Hmmm… that’s good motto to live by! lol!
http://www.hersoutherncharm.com Jennifer

PS- Can’t wait to read about it all!!! We’re in Texas so let us know when you come across Dallas!
http://theorganicsister.com TheOrganicSister

Your video made me smile. How exciting! We’re very excited to get going too but it will be a few months. If you pass through Vegas before we leave, you’ll have to stop by. Or if we’re on the road maybe we’ll run into each other (figuretively speaking of course!!).

And thanks for all the inspiration. I just posted the photo of our very first RV.

~Tara
http://www.foundandmade.com Heather

Wow! I so want to do this but my husband refuses. I’m happy for you and also a little envious. I guess that life is not in the cards for me. Besides I have a lot of stuff so I would need a really BIG rv. lol

xoxo
Heather
http://www.invertedcrescent.blogspot.com cavewoman

AWESOME!

I hope you travel to Mississippi ( Jackson)—I’d love to meet you and your family.

Blessings on the trip!
http://www.journeybacktoveg.wordpress.com Tara

Hello–I am in Dallas, Texas. I’d love to have you talk to my mom’s group about raw foods/green smoothies, etc. Please contact me with your rates per hour or lecture and dates available. Thank you!
Susan

You are sooo inspirational, Sara!! I wish you, Matt, Bella, and Lucy all Gods blessings on this next chapter of your lives!! Follow your dream, girl and don’t let anyone stomp out your dreams!!
http://NexusJewelry.com Jen

Wow, good for you guys! I am so excited for you and your new adventures. I’ve been enjoying your RV experiences and would love to be able to go on the road like you are, but right now it;s not in the cards for us. Please post if you are coming to Florida – I’d love for our families to meet! Congrats and best of luck,
Jen
Jacqulyn

I love you guys! Thanks for living life and being so very inspiring. I can’t wait to see you in the spring. We have LOTS of land this time for you to park on. We just had some friends park here for 3 weeks. You will be here just in time to help plant the BIG farm garden and watch the new baby chics hatch. I can see the blog title now, “Janssens visit Downstream Farm”. Yeah!!!
Lucy

Congrats Sara! Your family is such a huge inspiration to so many of us. Can’t wait til you get the new blog up, and if you swing by Huntsville, AL–that would rock!
jen

i can’t wait to read/see pics of your upcoming rv remodeling/travels! you and your family give me a lot to think about in my own life. you’re such an inspiration! happy travels
http://www.lzbthlgh.blogspot.com Elizabeth

Good for you guys – following your heart!!! SO ADMIRABLE. I’m trying to figure out where God is leading me and what my heart says – then i’ll try to take that plunge:)

And – enjoy the road. If you’re thru Pennsylvania – let me know:) i know you have no clue who i am or anything else for that matter, but we have a tiny little house that has a spare room near philly:)
Tara

Love the Vimeo video Hope to see ya down the road!
http://www.toward-a-simpler-life.blogspot.com Kelly

Oh how I wish my family could do something like this. I think it is so awesome that you are taking the opportunity to do it. I don’t think you will EVER regret it!! Please come through Southeast Tennessee!! It is beautiful through this area and lots of history…and I just want to meet you all!
Myra

LOVE the video and Willie Nelson song…I’m a huge fan and living in Austin we’ve had many opportunities to see him LIVE. At any rate, If y’all travel down to Texas we’d love to host your stay down in La Grange, Texas. Oh, the things you could do while there! You are a great inspiration…
Take care and safe travels!

*Myra*
http://www.herbanhomestead.blogspot.com mandi

i can’t wait to see the improvements to the rv. i had emailed you a while back about having some questions before we hit the road…
anyway- we really need one with bunk beds (we have a soon to be 6 year old and a 3 year old), so it will be great to see what you guys do. because we fer sure can’t afford the models that already have the bunks in them! : )
http://goodlikeamedicine.com Kristi

That video made me chuckle!! I was waiting for Matt to scream something cheesy, but it didn’t happen. Other than that small disappointment, I’m super happy for you guys! “See you” soon perhaps!!!
http://providentlife.wordpress.com TV Free

I am excited for you and your family! You are an inspiration to many for seeking the Lord’s will and following through with it.

Practical question – how on earth do you afford it? Do you get enough income from your photography and side businesses to pay for gas, loan, food, insurance, etc? I am all about going without purse or scrip, but I am curious how you make ends meet.

Thanks!
http://walkslowlylivewildly.com Sara

mandi…look for models with closets that can be converted to bunks. Or, you might consider just having them sleep on the dinette bed or fold out couch.

TV Free…we have found that living on the road is about the same in cost as living in a “stick house”. I work from home doing administrative stuff for my parent’s company and Matt does contract construction/repair work wherever we are at the time. My photography and consulting fill in the gaps. The biggest expense for most people on the road is gas, and soon that will be free for us (converting to veggie oil). Overall, our budget is nearly the same as before…our “office” is just on the road now instead of in a house.
http://www.newlyandforevertamantha.blogspot.com Tammy

Yay! How exciting! I would love to meet you guys if you pass through Arkansas!
Rosanne

Read your site and bought a rig ourselves!

We own a house, but decided to live on the road like your family is doing. For very much the same reasons, one day we may not be able to. Love that you and your family will be on the road … Happy Trails to you.

Blessings
http://wiredfornoise.com Summer

If you head down through Texas I know some tree hugging, Jesus loving, hippies that own a small RV park. The park is here – http://www.hillshadervpark.com/ and the owner’s blog is here – http://www.welcometomybrain.net/
Jenell Brooks

What an Inspiration! I love the Mark Twain quote. We recently made a life changing desision to rent out our home in Colorado , sell most of our belongings and move to Australia. It was a huge leap, we are military, but this is remote location with out the traditional support of an overseas base. I’m so glad we did it! We will never forget it, and although we made alot of sacrafice and had some rough transition periods, we are loving this adventure. Now, we are already thinking of our next adventure.
http://ilovesdesign.blogspot.com Erin D

You have no idea how much your life has impacted mine. I cannot remember how I found your blog, but it was when you were in the middle of your last wheeling adventure. You inspired me to *go raw* and to also get out and see my world. Hubby and I are in the middle of figuring out how to get our business to sustain itself for a long period of time so that we can give our daughter some life experience and backpack around parts of the globe we want to explore. Life is definitely what you make of it. I am so excited to hear about your newest adventure! Please update often!!!

If you ever decide to head north of the border, we would love to have you! Though it won’t be warm around these parts again until at least April or May… sometimes June. The Rockies are beautiful though…
http://www.urbanprairieforest.blogspot.com sarah

perfect. way to go sara.

i have a truckload of hope that our rendezvous will happen the end of november, before we follow our dream of spending the month of december in the big apple as a fam. more on that when you are all welcomed around our woodburning stove, tea in hand and we share life dreams and stories in person
[can you feel all that hope?]
http://joy-of-my-heart.blogspot.com/ Amy

Sarah!! This is so inspirational! My hubby has been wanting to do this very very thing. He will love your post!

Love it! Amy
http://www.jenfromtheblock.blogspot.com Jen

Congrats on another journey Sara! We’re still planning the logistics of our own trip – taking it out for weekends here and there so we can learn how everything works. And funny, but I have that same Twain quote over a map of our dream trip hanging in our office for inspiration. Can’t wait to keep up with your adventures! And if you’re planning to visit Charlotte, NC on your trip through the east coast – let me know. We have plenty of RV parking and would love to meet you!
http://nomadneedles.wordpress.com/ Robyn

I pop in to check on you guys every once in awhile and never cease to be inspired. Thank you for sharing your life with us. You have added to my growing desire to get back out on the trail – biking and backpacking. I hiked the AT 11 years ago and have been desperately wanting to do it again in combo with a cross-country bike trip. Now seeing that you guys are taking your family back on the road is just inspiring me to follow through on my dream trip! There is so much to explore in life and we have to get on it!
kristin

you always have a driveway waiting for you in michigan! i hope you’ll come back and see us… what fun to have our four girls play together! enjoy the ride!
Bessie

Yeah! I’ve been busy and haven’t checked in for a while. I’d love to catch up when you’re in GA!! Come park in our driveway!
http://www.blessedisthejourney.blogspot.com/ Tara

Congratulations! I have been following your blog forever, and this is our dream too — to travel throughout the country spreading Christ’s love