SO here I am!  I have totally neglected my blog this past week!  We were in a hotel again and I did not have my computer with me!  Yes, that is right-no computer for a week!  And I am still alive!

So where do I start.....

School starts Tuesday for our family.  I will be homeschooling.  Ella is starting Kindergarten and Emma entering into the 2nd grade!  We are so excited!  We decided that since last week was the end of our "summer break" that we were going to make the most of it.  Started off Monday at home still and took the kids to our local ice cream shop for lunch and ice cream.  They had so much fun. It's the small things.  We sat in there for almost 2 hours talking, telling jokes and finishing with big ice cream cones.  The girls ordered their own ice cream cones and to see them stand at the counter ordering treats together brought tears to my eyes.  They are so lucky to have each other!  I try to tell them this when one is kicking the other out of their bedroom or one of them is telling the other "I hate you"!  I always tell them I didn't have a sister!  Seems to work for now:)

Tuesday the kids and I headed out.  We traveled for the first time to the Youngstown area by ourselves as Josh was already at work.  The trip went so well! We had an appointment to see another home for rent.  The house was cute but after looking at the 1 1/2 story, 2 bedroom home we realized we would have to store everything we own if we wanted to live there.  Our bedroom suits would not even fit upstairs.  SO the the search continued.

We ate at Los Gallos...yum.  There was a sign posted that they were hiring servers-I'm tempted to apply yet I don't think I would be able to slurp margarita's if I was working which would totally take all the fun out of things.  There is a lady that sings on their patio every Tuesday evening. She plays a guitar and sings and it's fun!  It was rainy on Tuesday so she was inside.  The kids really enjoyed her music.  They were singing and dancing in our booth and by the end of our pitcher of margaritas, we too were singing and dancing on a Tuesday night at a restaurant!  She ended on Brown Eyed Girl by CCR...oh how I LOVE this song:

copy and past this link to hear it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZ4FO7ZZDDQ

Between Wednesday and Thursday I called apx. 20 people regarding rental properties and I got 2 live people and all the rest were answering machines and did not return my calls.  Really?  The one that did answer said I would have to complete a credit ap and a background check just so I could see the place.  AND it was going to cost me money to fill out the application.  The world is tricky! Tricky!

Finally, Thursday evening Josh found an interesting listing "for sale or lease".  Called and was on the phone for quite some time giving me thumbs up here and there,lol.  Made and appointment to see this house that is just a few miles from  Josh's work and in the country!  Saw it on Friday and I think it's a winner.  I am 99.9% sure that I can say WE HAVE FOUND A NEW PLACE TO CALL HOME!  Of course we have not signed anything yet so I should not count my chickens before they hatch---but I want to!

The home is not perfect.  I have only seen the exterior.  Josh drew it up on a piece of construction paper last night.  It is not what we are used to (ie: new, updated) but it will work!  Some key things we were looking for was:

1) all one level for Joshua to be able to get around in his wheelchair
2) not an apartment complex
3) in a county setting
4) a place for the kids to run free

This has all of that!  And the price is right on!  It will be temporary; 1-2 years at most.  Once we plant our money tree we are going to start saving for a down payment on our mansion...pft.

Ahh, I feel as though a huge weight has been lifted.  I also feel it has sunk in that much more.  We are leaving town officially.  I love this place.  And unfortunately you don't truly realize it until you have to say good-bye!  I am however excited for new beginnings.  I love a new challenge.

SOOOOOOO

My mother, grand-mother and I plus the kids spent the afternoon together on Friday- did a little shopping and went to Chuck E. Cheeses.  Another fun thing to do before school starts.  The kids had so much fun.  Emma was so helpful with her brother carrying him from game to game helping him.  She has a heart of gold.  I had to force her to spend her tokens on herself and not her brother.  She was so out of breath taking him all over.  He is lucky to have her!

At one point Chuck the mouse came walking through with a sign that said "Follow me for free tickets".  So the kids all followed him and if they did a dance with him he would throw tickets in the air.  I was pushing Joshua's wheelchair around so he could feel like he was "dancing" like the other kids.  Then the mouse told everyone to sit on the floor.  Joshie wanted to sit on the floor too so I took him out of his wheelchair and put him on the floor.  When the mouse threw the tickets the kids went crazy!  Joshie was trying to grab as many tickets as he could but the other kids were just so fast and crazy!  Poor kid I was grabbing tickets and putting them in front of him so he could grab them and just as he was about to get it another kid would swoop it up.  Another challenge that a  kid in a wheelchair will have to face.  And though you try to be strong for your kids sometimes it's hard.  Breaks my heart.

Well, my coffee cup is now empty so it's time I sign off for now.  Not sure what I will do today-but for now all 3 kids and my husband are sawing logs.  Peace and quiet!

Give all your thanks to Him friends.