It's final ? !

Well, we are truly, no longer TN residents - Yesterday was the big closing on the sale of our house. It feels good for it to be done. Of course it couldn't have gone down without those last minute struggles. Let me just fill you in on the details...
We had traveled to Nashville a couple of days early to complete the last few repairs and move out the furniture items that had been left behind. It went rather smoothly. Saturday was the final walk through. We heard nothing so we assumed everything was still a "go". Sunday we spent hanging with friends. Mid-day John realized that we had forgotten to get receipts from our contractor. These were rather important for proof that the inspection report repairs were indeed completed. Monday morning we stopped by the house before closing to load the pickup truck. John also had to finish installing a garage door eye. We arrived to discover the electricity had already been turned off. John continued to work while every few minutes stopping to call the contractor. We continued to call the contractor every two to three minutes for the next hour and had been calling since the day before. We were both stressing! All we could think of, was this was going to be the detail that breaks the deal.
Five minutes before we arrived at the Title Office we finally heard from the contractor. He decided to drive to our location and deliver the receipts. Praise the Lord! We continued with the closing proceedings but not without realizing a mistake in the paperwork. We had to have it changed. After out part was over it still didn't feel done. We knew that the buyers were coming in for their part after us.
In the meantime, we had mentioned our loaded down truck to our realtor. "Know anybody who needs a couch?" my husband says. "Well, actually I do". replied our realtor. So on the spot we decide to deliver the couch in the back of our pickup truck to a needy family who had no furniture. On the drive there, I was quite emotional. I wanted to burst into tears, I think mostly from the stress of the day. I was really discouraged about the amount of money we were going to receive for the house. It was much lower than we thought it would be. So to make matters even worse, as we are sitting at a stoplight, a Metro cop pulls up behind us. Great! Our tags are expired and he pulls us over. Yes, he wrote us a ticket and then sent us on our merry way. What can you do but laugh.
We are still waiting for the actual deposit into our bank account. I've checked it a few times today already. Why do I still feel nervous? Because at this point I feel like anything is possible.
I apologize if this post is unorganized in thought - but today it is about getting it out, so I can release it. I'm wanting to let go, but am having a hard time.

Do you like it?

I've been playing around with my blog site. I finally (with a good friend's help) got a background added and then also got the playlist uploaded. What do you think? The first song you'll hear is one that I use in my zumba classes. Honestly, I have no idea what she is saying (so I hope it's "clean") but it energizes me, makes me want to get up and dance! And then the second song is one that I taught the kids at Covenant. I always have loved this verse and fell in love with this song the first time I heard it - Brings back great memories of "assembly time". The last song on the playlist is one that I chose for all my dear friends, new and old! Love you guys!!!

School Days

The girls have been working hard each day. We have recently been blessed with two new desks for them to work at. Kelsey uses one, where she thinks she is as much a part of the schooling as the others. She mostly colors and loves to cut with scissors! Emily uses the other desk and finally has a home for her own books and things. Anna sits at our table while we do work together in the dining/office/school room. She has her very own desk in her bedroom but prefers to be with everyone else. It is a small space but we all seem to manage. We are happy homeschooling!

Doesn't take much!

Well, it doesn't take much to turn a good mood around. Yesterday I discovered an electronic check written against our account for an amount that I did not have record of. After investigating it a little further we have come to the conclusion that it is a fraudulant check. Whoever it was, took John's nickname that he only goes by at work, used it as the name on the account, had our routing number, account number and old TN address and cashed a check for $400. Honestly, I'm glad it wasn't for a larger amount and I know I should be thankful but it still makes me mad!!
So yesterday we had to go down to the bank (with all three kids) close our current accounts and open new ones. Now I have to change all our direct deposit payrolls, contact all our automatic bill withdrawals, and write new checks to those that are still out. What a pain in the butt! And yet again my faith is tested, when I ask, "Why me, Lord?"

I'm energized!

Finally, it feels like I've been dragging along for a while now. I'm not sure what it is exactly, probably our schedule. I usually feel better when my days are planned out. I know, that's weird isn't it? I guess it is the feeling of accomplishment. When I know that I've accomplished what I set out to do and I can even check it off "the list".
Now that the girls are doing their studies and I have had to work on lesson plans, I feel compelled to "plan out" every other aspect of my life. I love calenders! I like to know what is ahead and mark every detail into each little box. I have also had time to work on my zumba choreography again! It has been a long time since I have had the energy or desire to put together another set. I guess this has been one source that has given me that extra bit of umph.
Anyhow, I'm ready to go! Today I feel like I could conquer the world but tomorrow may be another story.

Say what you mean, and mean what you say!

Today has been rough. We received an offer on our house late last night. You would think that this would send a rush of excitement through my soul but I think at this point I am pretty guarded with my emotions. The offer was quite low, in fact 14,000 dollars less than our asking price. We also put out a bounty to all the buying realtors, for a bonus of $2,500 when the house closes. We also recently spent another $2,100 on brand new carpet in the house. So all this to say that we are loosing money fast! After John and I talked it through, we realized we did not have much choice but to accept whatever we could. We tried counter offering but in the end, it seems that we ended up right were they had started.
SO,how do I feel about this? Well, I've hit about every possible emotion one could have over the situation. But mostly I've been angry. I just couldn't accept that this is the plan God has for us. Until the Holy Spirit began to work in my heart this morning.
It started with the girls' Bible lesson this morning. We were reading about the story of Noah and the rainbow. I was explaining to them that God gave us the rainbow as a covenant, a promise that he would never forsake us. Then we decided to sing some songs at the piano. We sang "O Be Careful Little Eyes" to teach it to Kelsey. Then we sang the verse, "O be careful little mind what you think...for the Father up above is looking down in love..." WOW! I couldn't have more convicted at that moment.
Later in the morning I was on a phone call with John, he was filling me in on the details of the upcoming contract. I was reminded (not by him, but by yet again the Holy Spirit's nudging) that I told him before we moved that I was willing to come, even if it meant starting over again. You've got to be kidding me. Did I really tell him that? Wasn't that just one of those things you say to a person you love, but not sure if you really mean it?
Well, I'm not sure if I really did mean it when I said it, but funny how it turns out, isn't it? It's kind of like that southern hospitality thing. Someone offers you a gesture of kindness and you at first turn it down, hoping they will ask you yet once more. All this to say, that I feel like the Lord is teaching me to say what I mean, and really mean it when I say it! I am sure there are many other things the Lord is teaching me right now as well, I just haven't fully realized them yet.