It's a New Year 2012, but it's not starting out too well...

It's been a while since I've posted. A lot has been going on. We are on hold right now from building because we aren't even sure we can keep the house. The previous owner owes back taxes from 2009 to now. Thomas finally told him that he needs to pay those taxes as well as prove that he can legally sell this land to us, or else we walk away. As I was researching the taxes on the property, it came to our attention that there are 2 names on the deed to this property. Now he has to show us proof by filing a quick deed and getting the land only in his name. We should know something definite by this Friday. Needless to say all this stress has really gotten to me. I've been dealing with the fear of the unknown, fear of what the future holds, fear of code enforcement, etc. As well as completely stressed and tired of our current housing arrangement. It wouldn't be so bad if I could actually take care of day to day chores without issue. Had problems with laundry, hot water, no oven to bake, the list goes on..... I'm trying to come out from under this dark cloud, but some days I just don't care about trying. All this stress has caused relationship issues as well. I'm hoping that I can see the light at the end of the tunnel soon.

The Woodlands, TX Convention

Had a great time at my last convention of the season. Started out a little rocky though. My plane was late leaving, so I arrived about 30 min later than scheduled. We checked into the hotel, went to a local BBQ restaurant called Thomas BBQ (it was delicious, tons of food, very reasonably priced), and then went to set up our booth at the Marriott Convention Center. I'm so glad Esther and I had decided to just take our work clothes to change into, because our pallets were FILTHY! Some kind of black, oily stuff was all over our boxes. Everything was so black, we had to keep washing our hands between boxes so we could actually touch our curriculum books without leaving handprints, ugh!! Finished setting up around 4:15 and our booth was supposed to open for business at 5pm!!! Keep in mind that during set-up we already had people coming around asking questions.

We were one of the sponsors of this convention, so we had an EXCELLENT booth space. Foot traffic was phenomenal. As well as, we were listed on a punch card for customers to take to all sponsoring booths. When they had their card filled, they were entered to win an IPad2. Needless to say, we had a lot more people come through than we would otherwise have. I believe that really helped with our sales as well. We didn't just punch their card and let them move on :) We started asking questions finding out what their homeschool needs are and it gave us a chance to discuss what is so awesome about our curriculum!

Worked 5-7pm and were very happy with our sales. We went to the Cheesecake Factory and enjoyed a delicious dinner, then crashed at the hotel because we knew a busy 2 days were to come if Thurs night was any indication.

Friday and Saturday passed in such a blur! I have never worked a convention that seemed to go by so fast! We were busy back to back with customers from start to finish of each day. Friday night, we went to Outback and one of the reps from Pensacola Christian College went with us. It was really neat being able to laugh about our college "rivalry" and the differences between the two colleges.

Saturday, as I was helping a customer I looked up to see Casey standing behind them showing me 2 tickets to Tim Hawkins!! I couldn't believe it! Didn't even know he was there!! He was on the hunt for a 3rd ticket for Esther because it was a sold out show! A few hours later, he walked by flashing 3 tickets!!! He's awesome! :)

We finished up the show, got everything packed away and on the pallet. Casey ran to get in line for seats since the concert was general seating. Esther and I took all our bags out to the car. As we were walking back in, I started getting texts from Casey saying that they were closing the doors in approx 10 min! We hurried in and finally were able to sit for a bit and recover from packing up. Casey got great seats! Tim Hawkins didn't disappoint! We laughed so hard, we were crying and our cheeks hurt! I've been a fan of his since I found him on youtube. He's actually a homeschool dad so he had some great homeschooling material that we could relate to. I've been wanting to see him in person, but it had never worked out up until that night!! What a great birthday present since my birthday was the next day :)

We were starving when we left the concert since we had been so busy that we hadn't eaten since breakfast, and it was now 9pm! So, we headed out to P.F. Chang's. I had never eaten there before so I'm glad Casey was a veteran :) He gave several recommendations, and I have now discovered I LOVE that place! I am a very picky eater, and don't really branch out to try new things. However, during my travels I have really learned to stop being that way. I am in LOVE with the lettuce wraps! Going to try and figure out how to make them! We also shared the Great Wall of Chocolate cake! Oh my goodness....you've never tasted anything like it!! 6 layer chocolate cake with delicious fudgy icing and chocolate chips on the outside, surrounded by a raspberry sauce and a pile of strawberries. Huge rush of flavors in just a tiny bite! Soooo delicious!

Had such a great time, but was very glad to be going home to my family. I miss them terribly while I'm gone, but I do enjoy the few days of just "getting away". I have found that while I'm gone, they seem to really appreciate me :) Had to fly home on my birthday, but I came home to a great welcome.

We had pizza for dinner at my in-laws and found that Ashleigh and Grammy had made my favorite! Iced Chocolate Chip Cookie, sheet cake size. It was delicious!! Enjoyed the fellowship and celebration.

Now back to the grind of daily RV living.... :)

Meet Eeyore

Shadow isn't lonely anymore!! Eeyore has now joined our family. He's a gentle, sweet goat and Shadow has taken to him immediately! He went around the yard causing a ruckus because he heard her, and when he finally found her hiding in the bushes they became instant friends. She is following him around everywhere! They are so cute together.

Our new family member

The yard is shaping up nicely! Thomas has hauled away a complete van and trailer load of trash to the dump. Our side yard that is fenced in is completely cleaned up except for a small pile of brush that we're slowly burning. My clothes-line is working out nicely as well.

Thomas has been talking about having goats for a while now, and since we finally have our own yard we took the first step. Shadow has joined our family. She is approx. 4-5 months old. We went to a local "farm" on Monday and saw many pygmy goats ranging from 2 months to a few years old. The kids had a wonderful time running around with 20+ goats, 3 donkeys, 6 chickens and a HUGE pig. I almost wish we had more acreage now after watching them have so much fun.

Yesterday, I took the kids to 6 Flags with our free tickets, and Thomas went to the dump. A friend of ours had offered a large doghouse since the only thing we needed for a goat was a shelter. He picked up the doghouse, and then headed over to the farm to pick up our new goat. He had her all settled in the yard and we surprised the kids as soon as we got home. They were sooo excited! I was afraid they would want to sleep outside with her! She seems to be settling in pretty well, except we're afraid she's going to be very lonely. I have another friend in the area that has offered us a little boy goat that looks almost identical to her. We're going this evening to see him. Thomas has agreed to help take down some limbs for her in exchange for the goat.

This morning, I was wide awake at 6:30am, and didn't want to bother anyone so I went outside to read. I washed a load of laundry and got them hung up to dry. While reading, I kept talking to Shadow to get her used to me being there. She ended up making an area under a large tree and sleeping there all night last night. Luckily, she was very quiet and settled down pretty quick. Thomas came out around 8am, and started clearing some brush away from where she was laying. We're enjoying her. She's soo adorable!

I'll keep you posted on if we bring the little boy home to join her.

A little nervous today, because we're talking about the 1st step on the house. Thomas has gone to Home Depot this morning to check out all roofing options. He has determined the WHOLE roof needs to be repaired/replaced so this is going to be more than we had first budgeted. Money is going to run out fast! I'm just going to keep trusting God that we're doing the right thing and even if it takes years, I know we'll finally own our own home.

First time for everything......

Finally able to do laundry today! Thomas hooked up the washer in the demolished bathroom, and then hung me a clothesline. Never EVER used one before, but I'm so happy to be able to have clean clothes!

God Lifts Us Up When We're Down

Yesterday, we had one of those days where we questioned what we were doing. We even went and looked at new RV's that would be bigger, but yet had plenty of room. The house just seems so out of our league and price range... So we spent a long time yesterday discussing how we should proceed. I concluded that I would do whatever Thomas felt was best for the family. I had already adjusted to living in an RV, and I would have never thought that would be possible.

This morning, our neighbor was over talking to Thomas and they were looking around the house. Thomas was showing him all the plans he had so far. Out of the blue, our neighbor said that he had several things lying around his house that he had bought for jobs and couldn't return. He has given us a tub/shower insert, a pedestal sink, steel front door, and one of our biggest issues right now...a battery for the RV! We have been having issues with keeping the battery charged. That would have been $100 that we just don't have or want to spend right now! All those items total well over $1000 that now we don't have to buy! Praise the Lord!

All Creatures, Great and Small

So, this adventure of living in the RV is never without a dull moment. Last night, Thomas chased down a Salamander. This morning, he found a huge beetle and a baby mole. The kids have been enjoying "hands-on" Science! LOL I'm ok with it as long as everything stays OUTSIDE my very small home. :)