Update

I'm adding an update so that I don't lose my xanga (they sent me a nice message saying I better do something soon or they'll get rid of my page).  Well, we just got back from visiting my parents in SC; we had a *wonderful* time and it was so great to see everyone.  The last time we were down there was 9 years ago and it's amazing how so many of my family members have aged in that time.  Even my parents are not as spry as they were back in November.  On the way back we spent 2 days in VA with friends.  Had a great time with them, too.  They live out in the country and it was beautiful scenery; their church was amazing!  It is a very large church and during the service they had a short play and on either side of the stage (not just a pulpit) are 2 large projection screens so that everyone can see.  I know Pai would have loved to see all the camera work and techie stuff; they were able to put the words to the songs on the screen overtop of the feed of the worship team.  Their "welcome center" includes several computers where you can look up church info, sign up for stuff and get bunches of information.  Their children's area is HUGE and is decorated specifically for the kids - all kinds of huge murals, skateboards imbedded in the walls.  There are 4 rooms just for babies.  By far the biggest church I've ever seen.  Our friends have been on a crusade for the last few years to get us and Rob's brothers to move down there.  We'll see   The kids started summer camp yesterday and seemed to really enjoy it.  Alisha & Bryson both have at least 2 kids in their class from the regular school year.  The camp goes week to week so that may change throughout the course of the summer.  Nothing new at work for Rob and I.  Only other news is that we are getting a dog.  We've gone back & forth about getting one for awhile due to Alisha's allergies and Bryson's fear of dogs.  However, Alisha's allergy is pretty much gone and Bryson's fear is now limited to very large dogs.  But he did go right up to a doberman-type dog last night so that may be on the way out as well.  The 2 of them have been asking for a dog since we stayed with friends in VT this spring who own 2 dogs.  We came into contact with a woman who needs to give up her beagle mix by August due to an upcoming marriage and the home visit here Saturday before we left on vacation went really well.  The dog (named Baby Boy (but that will definitely change)) basically ignored our cat which is what we were hoping for.  Our cat is past middle aged and doesn't like other animals much so we needed to find a dog that would just let her have her own space and not bother her at all.  Well, that's about it for now.

Settling In

Moving Update

I know it's been awhile since I posted anything.  We have a house and we're moving in 13 days.  It was the 4th house (not the 3rd) that was the charm.  We liked the 3rd house we found but the owners are in lah-lah land and want 40-50K more for the house than it is worth.  So we said no way.  The 4th house came on the market just a day or two before we saw it.  And everyone loves it.  It's one of the biggest we've seen and it is in perfect condition (except for the termites that were found on inspection but it's in a small spot & getting treated this week).  And it is close to the school that the kids are going to attend.  Our kids are going to start a private Christian school the day after we move.  I never thought we'd be able to afford private school but daycare is so expensive in that area that it's cheaper to put them in private school than for full day for Bryson and half day + after school care for Alisha.  I think it'll work out well because Alisha can use the extra attention and smaller classroom. 

We've had some ups & downs in this whole move thing but we've seen God's grace numerous times.  Now we just have to get the rest of our house packed up (much of it is already in storage) and then haul all of it up to our new home.  I think we're going to be very happy there - all of our favorite stores and banks are very close by and it's so convenient to many major highways so Rob should have no problem getting wherever he needs to go.  At this point he still doesn't have a new job but we're waiting on God.  We keep reminding ourselves that God wouldn't have given us this house if He didn't plan on giving us a way to afford it.  And once we've settled in a bit, probably in October, we're going to have a housewarming party and we hope everyone can attend.

Still looking....

It's been a trying week and a half.  We did put an offer in on Saturday the 11th on the house we fell in love with.  2 days later we finally heard back - the house was coming off the market because one of the owners had a motorcycle accident that same Saturday.  We were disappointed but started searching once again.  We visited a few more houses and found another house that we liked; it is completely different from the first house but it is nice and suits our needs.  We put an offer in on it (and the asking price was way too high for the area).  We heard back late on Friday night (the 17th) that the owner wants his asking price and that he will not move until October 12th.  Even if we could have worked out an agreeable price his moving date won't work for us - we would have to move to somewhere temporary for 3 weeks & put all our stuff in storage.  So back to the drawing board.  Last night we saw 2 more houses - 1 is a bit small but doable (but it's a flip and that has our realtor really worried) and the other one is huge but expensive and done in a very modern style that doesn't quite suit us. 

As our settlement is only 5 weeks ago we're getting concerned.  I'm starting to doubt myself - maybe we're not looking in the right area, maybe I've missed God's leading, maybe I'm screwing everything up.  We want to make sure we have somewhere to move into but we don't necessarily want to just "settle" for whatever we can get.  Our realtor called the realtor of the first house we bid on to see how the owner is doing and whether there's any chance that they will put the house back on the market.  That would be wonderful as it is the house that we have loved the best and the elementary school that Alisha would go to has full day kindergarten which would be a big bonus for us.  Our realtor hopes to hear back later today or tomorrow about whether it's coming back on the market.  Everything was going along so well and the last two weeks it's felt like 1 step forward & 2 steps back.  Given the state of the housing market we thought that selling our current house would be the hard part and then buying a new one would be so easy - like a kid in a candy store.  But the opposite has been true for us.  And apparently we're not the only ones.  One of my coworkers put her house up for sale so that she & her husband can move into the home they plan on staying in for the rest of their lives.  Everything was going great with the buying and the woman promised them the house.  They quickly found a buyer for their house and the other major items (boat, camper) that they were selling to make their dream a reality but now they're hitting major hurdles with buying the new house.  So now they're going out looking at other houses instead. 

Please continue to pray, both for peace and for God's leading.  We know He has a plan for us, we just need to find out what it is.

It's been 9 years and counting....