He shoots.... He scores!!

Well, days at the new homestead are rolling along. Our days of being real-estate moguls are coming to an end as the sale of our old house goes through on Sept 30. We finally emptied that house out of everything we own last week. We have literally been moving for a year, since we got a storage unit last fall to begin the process. What a blessing that it is coming to an end! Although we still have to empty a great deal out of storage! Yes, for a short time, we could impress the world by saying we owned two homes. But as you can well imagine, owning two homes can be a blessing or a curse! We all loved that house... but are so happy to be in our beautiful new country home. We have really enjoyed the quiet... the trees... the stars... and all the space to create a family haven. As you can see above, we are in the process of building a basketball court. The pavement was carefully laid and the nets were purchased. The kids were bouncing balls on it practically before it was dry. Noah, obviously, has to use his entire body-weight to get that ball into the air, but he is pretty good at making baskets!

I've been applying for part-time jobs, to no avail. Apparently there isn't that much of a nursing shortage. At least not in the baby areas. I have two good options that may come up soon... and six resumes out for other jobs. I'm resting in the fact that God's timing is better than my own. I'm also using this precious time at home to paint rooms and try to get this new house more efficient. I have shelves to install, closets to sort, boxes to empty, lists to make (of course!)... Always a lot to do! It is a fun challenge to try to fit our stuff into three fewer rooms. My current dilemma is figuring out where to put the Christmas tree!! (I know, I have such a tough life and difficult problems, don't I?) I've thought about doing some volunteering with my time, too. Although, I've been pretty busy between the house and taxiing (is that a word) the children.

Noah had a little bit of a rough start getting used to school, but this past week he did amazingly great! He enjoys it very much and got good grades on his first set of papers. He will be starting their after-school sports program a few days each week. Jake is doing well... I think. He's not a big talker. :-) We're looking at colleges to visit and are beginning the process of creating a transcript and looking at applications. Molly is having a great time playing JV Volleyball and going to a BIG school. Although, she has been bombarded by the world, for sure... cussing everywhere, a girl drinking alcohol in class, and BOYS. :-) Needless to say, we've had many talks about standing up for who you are and what is right... and making wise choices. I'm so glad that our new house is only 3 miles from the school as we have to pick her up from sports almost daily... at least once! Jake has been a huge help, since he doesn't have a job yet. We've used him to do quite a bit of chauffeuring... and helping Daddy get things done in both houses.

Tom is doing very well. He has a heart echo scheduled for Oct 4. We have been anxious to get this done and see how well the medications have healed his heart. We are hopeful for good news. There has never been a better patient! He takes his medicine, sticks to the diet, and has been going to rehab without fail! What a guy! He even flew to Amsterdam last week for work. So life is good! A beating heart is a happy heart, I always say.

And of course... FALL is my favorite season! I love the cooling of the air... the football... the lazy Sunday afternoons... getting out my fall dishes!! I really love the falling leaves, too, but here at our new house, it will mean a little more exposure between the house and the road! The leaves completely disguise the house, right now. But soon, the neighborhood will be able to see us a little bit.

We have enough youth... how about a 'fountain of smart?'