He Watches Over Us

Tonight my husband went into work fully anticipating on filling out paperwork that would terminate his employment.  They were making cutbacks and he had opted not to reapply for his position.

Needless to say, I was very surprised when my hubby called me at 6:45 and told me "I'm staying."  And he didn't mean just for the night.  He meant, for an undetermined amount of time.  The terms of his employment have changed some (he will only be working 32 hours a week and will not get paid vacation) but they were able to work it in such a way that he should be keeping his health benefits for a while.  After spending hours on the Internet and phone looking into our health insurance options that last part is such a blessing.

Hubby is not anticipating this on being a long-term solution (we think the place where he works will be closed in 6 months or less), but at least it gives us income and health benefits while he is searching for something better.

Although we've been anticipating for the last 2 weeks that hubby was going to be losing his job, we've been at peace the entire time.  Now I know why.  God knew what was going to happen and that we'd be okay.

Doing it His Way

A couple days ago everyone at my husband's employer was called in to a staff meeting.  At this meeting they were told they were going to be cutting staff in half.  They are going to accomplish this by asking everyone to re-apply for their jobs and then they would fill the "open" positions from those applicants.  There are 3 people that do what my husband does, and at the end of this process there will only be 2 positions filled.

So after a couple nights of thinking on it, my husband has decided he's not even going to apply for the position.  I completely support him in this decision.  "Say, what?!?!?" you ask.  We saw the writing on the wall a few months ago when his company was bought out.  We knew this was going to happen.  In fact, we were thinking the company would be shut down in the next couple years.  We have since adjusted that guess to a few months.

We figure why delay the inevitable.  Not only that, but the two people that would remain need the income and benefits more than we do right now.  I am so thankful I decided not to give up real estate because that's allowing us to feel at peace about this decision right now.  I know the two left behind are going to be looking for a job (with so few staff it's going to be tough going), but this will at least give them more time do to so while still getting paid.

My husband has already been online searching to see what openings are available.  He's working on his resume and getting things together to present at any interview he may go on (he's a Computer Engineer so programming and circuit / computer design's he's done could play into whether he gets hired).

I am so proud of my husband for all that he's done with this employer over the last 17 months.  He's awesome at what he does and they know it.  In fact, one of the managers is so upset my husband plans to not apply so the other 2 can keep their jobs that he's trying to find money in the budget from somewhere else so they can keep all three of them.  And the thing I'm the most proud of... that he's thinking about the impact on his friends and coworkers just like I would do if I were in the same situation.  I guess that's one of the reason we work well together.

Realtors Move Too?

You're thinking, "Everyone moves.  Of course Realtors move too."  Yes, but I'm not talking about my personal house.  I'm talking about the real estate company I work for.

Today I started the process of changing real estate companies.  I have decided to leave RE/MAX and join a smaller, local real estate company.  Why?  For numerous reason, all of which I won't go into here.  Let just say it was time for a change, and I like the idea of working at a smaller company.  Aside from the company change, there is one big(ish) thing that's changing.  I am now going to be able to sell houses as well.  You see, the team I was on before only allowed me to work with buyers.  Now I will be working on my own and will be able to help people buy AND sell homes.  I am SO excited about this change.

Will I miss RE/MAX?  Yes, a part of me will.  There are some people there I will miss interacting with on a regular basis.  But you know what?  The people I've meet at my new office so far... I think I'm going to like working with them too.

Once my website is up at the new office, I'll do a new post so you can see just how cool my new real estate company is.  And if you know anyone looking to buy OR SELL in the Manatee, Sarasota, or Charlotte County areas of Florida, send them my way!

Beauty is a Beast

As my regular readers know, in March of 2012, we bought a short sale that needed quite a bit of work.  In addition to the typical things (like paint), we've had to replace a pool pump, do lots of tree trimming and yard work, and clearing out junk that the previous owner left behind.

Wow!  Looking at these pictures, 

I forgot how much she left behind in just the front hall.

Another thing we had to do was to remove all the carpet in the house.  The previous owner had cats and she let them do whatever they wanted all over the house.  Needless to say, that left some nasty carpet.  Add to that the fact that the cats had flees and the carpet had to go.  Immediately.

So before we actually moved in, we spent 2 months (on the weekends) ripping out all the carpet and installing laminate flooring in all the bedrooms.  We decided that we wanted to tile the hallway that had been carpeted, but that wasn't as urgent since we wouldn't have furniture in those areas to move around.

We took a few months to find tile that would work on Craig's List and at the local Habitat for Humanity store, and then hubby got to work.  Slowly.  He's done tile before, but this time was different.  He wanted to make a statement.  And he was doing it on the diagonal which meant more cuts.

But I think you'll have to agree, it turned out very well.

Coming in from the front door (that we don't use)

Such detail

Grouting = almost done = big smile

You know what I just realized?  These pictures were taken before the trim was put back, so it looks even better!

And how long did it take from the time we ripped out the carpet till he was done?  About 16 months.  But beauty like this is worth the wait.

A Blessing and a Curse

Well, today it was made official.  My mentor has decided to leave the team I joined, in order to venture out on her own.  I have no doubt she will do great on her own.  I do however wonder how well I will be able to handle things with her gone.

I don't doubt my skills in general.  But besides being the first person I go to with questions or to commiserate, she's been handling 1/2 of all the new buyer leads that the team gets.  Now I'm going to get them all.  That's a good thing and a bad thing all rolled into one.  Good because it gives me the potential for more money, but bad because it means I will most likely be busier.  Possibly much busier, especially since we are coming up on our busy time of year. 

If you think about it, pray for me.  I've had a busy day that's given me an example of what my future could be on a regular basis, and I'm not sure I like it.  Fits and spurts of busy I can deal with, but I want need down time on occasion too, and I want to be able to participate in some of my kids school / fun activities.

Gonna Take Some Getting Used To

Today is Sunday, but it doesn't feel that way to me.  Why?  Because we aren't going to church.  Why?  Because we went last night.

We recently decided to join a life group (aka, small group or Bible study) at our church and it happens to meet on Saturday evening right after the Saturday night church service.  So we decided to try the Saturday night service yesterday. 

It truly was a lot like the Sunday morning service we've been going to with one exception.  There were fewer people there.  And for my family, that's a good thing.  You see, the main reason we joined the life group was because the church is so big it's easy to get lost amongst everyone.  Don't get me wrong, there were still quite a few people there, but the difference was noticeable.  Especially for my kids.  They've never liked big crowds and church is no exception. 

In fact, till we found this church, my kids would give us a hard time when it was time to drop them off.  The fact that there were 50+ kids at drop off didn't seem to matter at this church because at drop off there is a bounce house in the gym.  Last night with only about 20 kids, drop off was a breeze. 

 The other thing I noticed... my kids remembered more of their lesson.  The lesson discussed wasn't something that I would consider that memorable (it wasn't any of the typical stories we read our kids so they didn't have that memory to fall back on).  My theory is that fewer kids leads to fewer distractions and that leads to better concentration. 

As odd as it may feel for a while, I think I may enjoy going to church on Saturday evening.  Except for the fact that we don't get to have dinner till 7:30 at the earliest.  Now to start planning one meal a week that I can have ready when we get home.

The Big Reveal

In my last blog post I mentioned that I had been in a self-imposed hold for my life.  I told you that I was trying to accomplish a goal I had set and that I was working on my next goal and would probably be in another sort of hold for a while.

Well, today I'm going to tell you what this is all about.

I have decided to become a licensed realtor.  This is not a decision I came to lightly.  In fact I've been thinking about it for about 3 years but wanted to wait till the kids were older.  Technically, I'd like to wait till they are even a few years older, but life has necessitated that I do this now.

You see, a month ago my husbands hours were cut dramatically and for an indefinite period of time.  He is working on a new idea that we think will be able to bring in enough money to pay the bills, the only problem is that it will not be to that point for a few more months (maybe as many as 6 - 12).  So in order to help pay the bills without eating up all our savings till we get to that point, I decided I would try to find some work.  I still wanted to be able to have pretty flexible hours so of course I thought real estate.

When I contacted the realtor who helped us buy our new house asking her what I needed to do to get the process started, she asked me to come in to her office so we could talk about it.  When I got there, her partner was with her and I was offered a job working as a buyers agent once I got my license.  This is awesome on multiple levels: 1. My realtor was AWESOME!  She is the kind of person I want as a mentor and now she's going to be!  2. I got a job offer based on the way I bought our house (first time ever I think that's happened), and 3. I feel this was God's way of saying that this is the right thing for me to be doing right now.

So, what has been taking up all my time.  The licensing process of course.  In order to take the state test, you have to take a 63-hour state-approved class.  At the end of that class there is also a test.  Well, this last weekend I wanted to complete the class and take the end of class test.  All I needed to do to successfully complete the course was to get a 70% or higher on the test.  How thrilled was I when I got an 89%! 

The class I took was an on-line class.  That way I could fit it into my busy schedule but also because the earliest classroom class doesn't start till July 10.  During the online class, I had a few technical problems accessing the book so I ended up getting a study guide off Amazon so I could make sure I would meet my goal of taking the test when I wanted to.  After ordering the book the technically difficulties went away so I never really needed it.

Once I finished the class I scheduled my state test for the first available date which is July 3.  Since I have over a week to wait, I decided to take the practice tests in the study guide I bought to make sure I didn't forget any information.  I've taken 2 of 5 sample tests and I barely passed one and failed the other.  Not because I forgot a lot of information but because the book covered more information than apparently the online class did.  AAAAKKKK!!! 

So now I'm freaking out that I'm not going to pass the test next Tuesday.  My parents are planning on coming down in a few days to bring a 15' sail boat for us to store (and use - yippy!) so I know I will have them watching the kids some while I cram some more.

One more thing that I know will be really helpful.  Prayer.  If you could please do me a favor and pray for me I would appreciate it. 

Back to Normal - But for How Long?

Today my parents started their journey back to Virginia.  It's hard to believe they stayed with us for 4 of the last 5 weeks.  It certainly doesn't seem that long, until I realized some of the things I've been neglecting because they were around the house.

The poor hamsters were in need of a SERIOUS cage cleaning.  Yes, I've cleaned it while my parents were here, but I didn't do the serious scrubbing that was needed (till today).  Boy does it smell so much better now!

I also realized how long it's been since the whole house has been vacuumed at one time.  When you have visitors, there are lots of bodies who have very different schedules and it makes it hard to get that sort of thing done all at once.

I will say that having my parents around helped forced me to focus less on the to-do list and more on the let's find something fun to-do list.  I've visited a beach I've not visited before and took them to another that the kids and I enjoyed.  I live near lots of beaches now and the though of visiting them regularly just doesn't enter my mind because of all the "stuff" I need want to get done.  Hopefully, the last few weeks will change that.  At a minimum, I think I need to schedule one trip to the beach each month (starting after Spring break of course).

Now that my parent's have left, I am finding myself looking forward to getting back to some sort of routine again.  Then I wonder how long that routine will last.  After all, we are about to close on a house that we're going to need to fix up some before we move in.  That's going to involve some driving (an hour each way) as well as time spent working on  it, all mushed into the middle of our "routine."

But the routine we will have once we are in the new house will be sheer bliss.  At least till we have our first visitor(s).

Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow...kind of.

Today, a monumental thing happened.  Today, I sent the final invoice to a customer my husband has had for over 7 years.  This customer allowed me to stay home with my kids.  And this customer, allowed hubby to start working from home.

We knew this was coming.  In fact, 2 years ago we were told they had found a new vendor they were going to use and they would only need our services for another 6 months.  The extra year and a half have been interesting to say the least.  That's part of why the loss of this customer is a bit of a blessing.

At the same time, this is the nail in the coffin for a company my hubby and his brother started together.   It also brings back memories of my son's birth.  You see, hubby went to a meeting with said customer to get their business while I was in labor with our son.

I am thankful for God's provision in our lives and that this customer hung on long enough for us to get another that is continuing to providing for us. God is good!

Growing Up

Both of my children have a lovie.  It just so happens to be a blanket (called "blankie") which they have each slept and cuddled with just about every day since they were 6 mo. old.  Jon and I are both in the habit of letting our children know that their blankets must be washed on a regular basis just because of all the germs we are sure they contain (after all, they are taken just about everywhere - including being drug on the floor).

Today as I was getting ready to do laundry, I told my children it was time to wash their "blankies."  My son then told me that he no longer wanted his "blankie."  He said I could sell it or give it away to the Salvation Army.  Any family members know that this is a BIG deal (especially if he sticks with it).  You see, my FIL has been trying for a couple years to convince my son that he is too old for his blankie.  I'm just hoping that something flipped the switch and he's now thinking of himself as a "big boy" and will therefore be blankie free from now on.  That said, I have scrolled it away just in case (you know, just in case I need to embarrass him when he's older).   ;-)

A Month for the Record Books

April 2011 will definitely go down in the record books.  We are still technically one day away from the end of the month and according to Accuweather, it is “likely to set record for [the] most tornadoes.”  This fact has affected me personally in a couple of ways.  First, while living in Virginia we were all forced to the basement because there was a tornado warning for the area (a first for my kids).  Second, shortly after leaving Virginia we ended up racing a particularly bad storm out the state of Georgia (and we got out only hours before it hit the area we had been in).  It was nothing too serious there, but who wants to drive a 38 ft camper through torrential rains and wind?  Not us!

On a more personal note, this month will go down in our family’s record book, because we’ve had a lot going on.  We finally made the plunge and “moved” South in our camper this month.  Both of my kids learned to ride their bikes without training wheels this month.  And yesterday, my son learned how to swim without his life jacket!!!  My daughter is hoping to work on her swimming skills tomorrow, so there is even a chance she will be swimming without her life jacket in April too.

And of course, the primary reason we left Virginia when we did… so we could view the Endeavor shuttle launch scheduled for today.  Unfortunately, that will not be happening in April (it was postponed till May 2 at the earliest).  I guess that’s something for the record book in May.

The Countdown has Begun

If things go according to plan, we will be leaving Northern Virginia on Friday afternoon.  We have a few more things to do but we're confident we can get them done before we leave.

Our trip is starting out pretty low key.  We will visit family in Southern Virginia for Easter weekend and then we will proceed to Florida.  This trip is exciting for numerous reasons.  1.  It means the next stage of our lives is beginning.  Hopefully, the life of being a nomad is about over.  2.  We are going to be heading South, which means we will get to be warm even first thing in the morning.  My kids and I love being outside and being South will allow that to happen more.  Hubby has been complaining about VA temps for YEARS.  In fact, he wears flannel till the temps go over 70 or 80 degrees.  Perhaps now, I will see him in flannel less and maybe even shorts on occasion (that doesn't happen unless the temps are over 90).  And 3.  We have booked a campsite in Florida near Kennedy Space Center which will allow us to see the shuttle launch without having to steak a claim somewhere hours before the launch.

Just like the shuttle, we've had a few delays of our own.  In fact we found an issue last night, but it can be overcome.  I'm going to miss Northern Virginia, because it's where I've spent almost all of my life.  It's where most of my friends still live.  But I've found that those times that I've gone out of my comfort zone have been tough at first, but well worth the leap of faith.  So T- minus 65 hours.

A New Normal

My kids have been watching WAY too much TV and have been whining and giving me 'tude.  I think they are related, so I've decided to do something about it.  I have a couple of friends who've been using a system called Accountable Kids for a while, with pretty good success.  I'd gotten the basics on how the system works from them and even found the companies quick start information on You Tube.  I fell in love and decided to buy it.  (I even found one kit on ebay for less than half price, so score one for me!)

Accountable Kids recommends instituting their system in 4 stages.  We started stage one yesterday and I must say it's been eye opening.  Each day the kids are responsible for a set of chores (simple things like brush teeth, get dressed, etc).  Upon completion they receive tickets.  Those tickets can be redeemed for things I'm trying to limit their time on (like TV time) or other things I think will help motivate them (like time playing games with Mommy).  They've been doing great doing their chores.  Those tickets are quite the incentive.  The most surprising thing is that neither of them has used their tickets to watch TV.  Instead they've been interested in playing games with me.

This has been a good and bad thing.  They have been TV free for over 24 hours now (good).  It's also meant I've been able to spend more time with my kids (also good), but it's also meant I've spent less time getting other things done that I've been needing to do (there is no laundry fairy so that's bad).  I'm hopeful that things will soon stabalize and I will not be requested quite so much.

In the meantime, I'm enjoying the fact that my kids are enjoying the "new" responsibilities they have as well as the responsible choices they are making.  I can't wait to see how step 2 goes.

Change of Plans

One of the reasons I liked the idea of homeschooling (for this year in particular) is that it allows me to be flexible in where and how I teach.  After helping my son with homework last year I realized that he learns better if things are made a bit more fun.  Doing pages and pages of seat work is not appealing to him (and I get that).

Yesterday, we learned about the classifications of animals.  I let the kids go through magazines and cut out pictures of different animals and then we glued them onto pages based upon their classification.  My son enjoyed the project so much that he made a book out of the pages and then started to add facts to the different categories (e.g. birds all have feathers).  Yesterday, was one of the longest "days of school" we've had to date, but he didn't complain because I'd found a way to make it fun.

This morning we learned about George Washington Carver.  My son has always been into inventing and making things so GWC, was of particular interest.  It didn't hurt that we got to shell and eat peanuts while watching a DVD about him and some of the things he invented. 

We are currently taking a "break" from school for today (another benefit of homeschooling).    You see, I've also learned that sometimes a break helps him focus better (and it can help me focus better because I can get a few things done now and then without feeling like I'm ignoring his schooling).  After lunch we will start up again and do a few worksheets and read a book before heading out to the playground and the library.

Another benefit to homeschooling is that when a child is sick on the day of a scheduled field trip, you can change the date on said trip.   You see, today I was going to take the kids to the zoo in DC.  I figured it would be appropriate since I've been teaching the kids about the different categories of animals.  Luckily I did not tell my children of my plans.  If I had, there would have been a LOT of complaining when we didn't go.  You see, when we went to bed last night, I was still not confident that I should be taking my daughter 1.5 hours away from home since she hadn't been feeling well lately. 

Today, she seems to be doing much better.  It's too late to go to the zoo today, but since it is so nice out I think I will take the kids to the local playground and the library (which is a couple blocks away) instead.  

I'm still hopeful that we can get a trip to the zoo in soon (Saturday looks nice - but more crowded of course).  Who knows what will happen.  Things can change, and probably will between now and then, but that's ok.  We're homeschoolers and we can roll with the punches.

Time flies

Today is my son's 7th birthday.  It's hard to believe that 7 years ago today our lives changed for ever!  Every year on his birthday I relive the day like it was yesterday.  What memories!

That day is also memorable to my husband and me because it was also the birth of his business.  While I was in labor, he had a business meeting that set in motion a business that has allowed my husband to work from home for the last 7 years (Don't worry, I told him to go.  I WANTED him to go.  You see, with every contraction he gave me this look and after a while it got on my last nerve!).  Seven years later, the company is in the process of closing, but it has been a wonderful opportunity for me to see first hand just the kind of man he is.  I believe it's also allowed him to be around in a way that many father's never have the opportunity.

As enjoyable as having my husband home for the last 7 years has been, the last 7 years with my son have been spectacular!  It has been such a wonderful experience to see him grow and learn (and teach me a few things as well).  And more recently to be his "teacher" has magnified that.

I'm excited to see what happens over the next 7 years, but I certainly don't want to rush them.

I'm BAACK!!!

In Virginia.  Yep, you read that right. It's late January and we are in Virginia... in the cold.  Yuck!

I'm sorry I have not been updating you as faithfully as I would have liked but I will briefly explain what has happened over the last few weeks and will then give you more details over the next few days.

As I've said in previous posts, our goal was to get the camper ready so that we could take it down to Florida for a while.  Well, the date we were working with was Jan 5.  That way we had 3 days to drive the camper to Ft. Lauderdale before we left on a 6 day cruise to the Caribbean.  We had a lengthy list of goals and aspirations for the camper before we went and as we got closer to the date we were deciding which things could be done while "on the road."  There were a few things we knew we had to get done before we left including the flooring, a new toilet, and a state inspection.  We were able to get the Pergo installed in the camper (which my husband told me after the fact was said to be impossible by every forum he'd read).  By the way, it looks SO much nicer now.  Replacing the toilet was easy.  But when trying to get it inspected, we found that the emergency braking system and the brake pads and shoes needed to be replaced. 

Normally that would not have been a problem except we found out 1 day before we needed to leave and we had to order the parts.  Not only that, but we'd been storing the camper in a building my father had been trying to rent out for over a year.  Needless to say, he found a renter that wanted to move in immediately so we were forced to scramble to get everything cleared out.  This made things a bit more complicated for us, but we are VERY happy that he found a renter. 

We'd also been storing some old computer equipment from my husband's company that is in the process of closing.  He's been intending to sell it on ebay (and he's been successful selling the things he's listed, he's just been pressed for time to sort through everything).  That meant we also needed to find a place to put all of that (as well as the stuff we want to keep but not take in the camper).

Ultimately, we decided to drive to Florida (without the camper) for the cruise and an additional week to visit friends and family in Florida.  We will probably be in Virginia for 2 - 3 more weeks as we work on selling the computer equipment as well as working on the camper some more.  We now have time to do a few of those things that we were going to do "on the road" which probably means they will be done better too (always a good thing when thinking resale).

Now that I've caught you up on why I dropped off the face of the earth for a while, I'm going to go do some of those things you need to do when returning from vacation... laundry, grocery shopping, unpacking, and in my case school for my 1st grader.

Details and some pics of the trip will come soon (once I've gotten the pics sorted). 

Diamond in the Rough

As I stated in my last posting, we recently decided to buy a truck and camper.  Good news!  My husband has the truck he's always wanted, and we have a pretty nice place to call our own. 

It was very surreal to be driving the truck the other day with my husband in the passenger seat giving me pointers like I was just learning how to drive.  I admit, the truck is a BEAST and is very different than anything else I've driven. 

Thankfully we did not get a dually.  If we had, I'm not sure I would be willing to drive it.  You see, the truck we bought has a long bed.  It makes it nice when you think about storing things (especially since it also has a locking topper) but it is VERY hard to park.  Let's put it this way... for the next few months or so I will probably be "that" person who parks across two parking spaces (sometimes side-by-side and sometimes front-to-back).  I also intend to park so there is no chance anyone else will park next to me.  There is no way I will be able to park between two cars without hitting one of them... at least not for a while.

There is an up side to "the beast."  I have never felt more safe (from deer and stupid drivers in particular).  How can you not when you are the same height as a school bus?  I kid you not; we were driving in town and I could look straight from my window into the window of the school bus next to us.

The trailer is also a beast!  It is 38 feet long and has 4 distinct rooms. There is a room with bunks in the back for the kids.  Just in front of that is a bathroom (with a full corner shower).  Then comes the kitchen/dining/living area.  In the very front is the master bedroom. 

We have some work to do before the trailer is ready to go, but we hope to be going South before the end of December.  With the weather the way it's been lately we can't get South soon enough. 

It's taken a lot of searching but we've finally found our diamond in the rough.  Let the fun begin!!!

Appologies from a slacker

I knew it had been a while since I had posted anything and I just realized it's been almost a month! I feel like such a slacker.  I have a friend right now who is working full-time, taking an accelerated cohort college program, and is a wonderful mother to a 4 year old.  Did I also mention she regularly posts on her own blog?  In fact, her posts over the last few days have guilted me into staying up a bit late to get something posted today.

My intent for this blog was to let you know what is happening as it relates to our travels.  I think the reason I have not posted anything has actually been because I really wish I was sharing different information.  I was hoping to be in Australia for Christmas this year.  Granted, we've known for a while that that wasn't going to happen.  Our most recent hope was that we would drive South in an RV just days after Thanksgiving.  That hasn't happened either.  The RV we were going to take has engine issues and we've decided not to fix it.

Now we are on plan 3.  Last week, we drove all over Virginia in search of a 1 ton truck and a travel trailer or 5th wheel camper.  This new plan is a bit exciting because newer camper layout's seem to be better than the RV we had.  It's a bit unnerving at the same time because we're going to be trading in our (read: "my") car for the truck.  I will miss our car.  It has just about every bell and whistle I could ever want. 

We are still hopeful that we will be going to Australia, but I feel like we've given up so much already (e.g. a great house near my family and friends as well as our cat) that to give up "my" car would just irk me that much more if we don't end up in Australia.  I feel a bit selfish and guilty considering what others are going through, but my husband has always wanted a truck so I am trying to suck this up and let him get his toy. 

This does seem to be the logical thing for us to do right now.  We could still move to Australia, which means we don't want to commit to a long-term rental. Not only that, but we don't have any furniture!  A camper means our furniture travels with us and we don't have to commit to staying anywhere for more than a night.  Not only that, but if we end up staying in the US, we're both thinking we want to buy a fixer-upper and having a camper will give us a place to stay while working on a house.

I am sorry I have been hiding from you.  I will try to be better about posting.  The next few days could be a bit hectic though (I'm pretty sure we will be buying the truck and camper this week) but I will certainly let you know what's going on.

Keep us in your prayers as we try to firm up our plans (and purchase a few rather big ticket items).