What Happened? What Happened?

This weekend went by quickly, but was full of fun. Friday morning, Tony and I went to Muskegon, after looking at a motor home in Allendale.

We were able to hang out with Daniel, Katie, Willow, Ginger, Isaac and Will for the weekend. Katie left Saturday but the fun continued.

It was great to hang out with the boys, and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Willow and Ginger. They are all so sweet and kind, yet full of spunk.

Some moments I will remember for a while:

Isaac reading Brown Bear Brown Bear. He did a fantastic job.

Reading Cat and Mouse to Ginger and having Willow read to me before they went to bed.

Cuddling with Will after a long day, and having him snuggle with me and his blanket.

Watching the four children play tag, or was it "goose goose"

Sledding, with "dog" chasing us.

Gymnastic tricks. Willow does some amazing splits.

Singing this little piggy with the boys in the van on the way back from a "special adventure"

Katie's delicious eggs. Absolutely delicious. Daniel's pancakes were pretty good too.

Click here to see a picture of all four kids watching a picture slide show.

Too bad it had to come to an end. Unfortunately, it was back to work right away. I went in at 3:30 this evening, and it was quite a busy night. Apparently there has been quite a bit of theft in the area.

Can't wait until we can all hang out again.

A Touch of Crazy

As we discussed our plans to purchase a house with those in our lives that deeply care about us, we sensed an overall concern. They were excited and would support us, but they weren't sure if it was the best time and/or place. We looked at several houses, one that we really like, but was uncomfortably high in price. The rest of them didn't work. They were decent, just not what we had imagined.

Unsure if we really wanted to buy a house here, now, we decided to wait a bit to look at any more houses.

Then we got an idea. Wouldn't it be simply fantastic if we could purchase a cheap, yet reliable, motor home and travel around the country for six months.

We began to think about the people we know around the united states that we could visit, and the costs of doing such a crazy thing. With Tony's unique job, he would still be able to work as long as he has internet, so we would live off of his income. The more we thought about it, the less crazy and the more exciting it became.

The funniest thing is that those same people that weren't sure if it would be the wisest time to buy a house are the ones who are fully supporting this idea and think it would be an awesome adventure, and this is the perfect time in our lives to do something a little unexpected.

So, we are planning and hoping. Our current plan is to start in August of 08. My brother is getting married in South Carolina, and we figure that is the best time to start, and will give us ample time to prepare and save. We plan on visiting the west for the majority of the time. We have no definite journey route yet, but we have a list of people to contact that we would want to stay with for a day or so, and we have also found tons of information online about the RVing lifestyle.

If you want to help us out and know of anyone who has a motor home that they want to get rid of, feel free to let us know. Or if you know anyone in a neat location that might be able to let us park a rig on their driveway for a day or so let us know.

We plan on taking lots of pictures, video, and are very excited to see how this unfolds.

Life Goes On

The last month flew by. I have noticed that I have started to define the seasons in my life by the rotation of retail. Quite scary. Right now we have all of the global bazaar product set. The bathing suits have been out for some time now. Valentine end caps are all over, and soon mini will be clearance.

Soon lawn and garden will set. It seems like all of the spring stuff just went salvage and preparations for fourth quarter were starting.

Assets protection is not very exciting right now, there isn't a whole lot going on. Although there was an LCD booster in the area, but he was caught. Now there is a couple in the area committing return fraud. The extent of the loss they have caused is not known because of what they are doing. Stupid creative people. (sometimes I think that if someone is creative enough to get away with it, they should be allowed to do it with out consequences)

In my real life, things have been hectic.

My sister had her tonsils removed and she stayed with us for a weekend when she was still feeling miserable. This weekend we are celebrating her 10th birthday with a sleepover with her friends at our house. Katie, you will be in for a crazy weekend.

Tony's sister is now 13 and she has been exploring options of being baptized. This sorta came out of nowhere, but I hope she is able to find hope through the process.

We have continued to be a part of Pam's life, and it continues to challenge us. The fact that our lives have been marinated in divorce has proven to actually be helpful to Pam, as she is navigating her way through a terrible divorce while she is trying to be a good mom even though she is disabled.

We started to consider the option of buying a house in downtown Grand Rapids. We have looked at a few houses, but nothing seems promising at this point. We have started throwing the idea of moving somewhere warmer around. The first option seems much more likely at this point.

We are still working on forming roots here, and so far there has been some success. It has been refreshing to create new relationships, and exciting to think about the future.

My back has been feeling a considerable amount better. Only six months later. I had an appointment with a massage therapist about a month ago to work on knots in my legs, and since then I have had barely any back pain. Woohoo! I think I will make another appointment soon - not only did it feel great, but it helped with the pain.

Adam moved to South Carolina. I am still a bit bitter, so I will not go into details. Let's just say I want him to be happy and I hope he is able to pursue his dreams as he starts over.

Winter is wearing me down. I need spring to come soon. Very soon.

A bit of a random update, I apologize. I just needed to write down what has been happening.