Slowing Down

Well, finally we have some moving news. The past couple months I've been feeling like we are running a race. And we've been sprinting. Giving it our all, no looking back. And then a few weeks ago we hit the wall, we stumbled, crashed and burned. It just all seemed to be falling apart. We weren't sure what was going on. Surely if we were supposed to be doing this, it would be easier. Surely our faith, our giving it all, selling so much, would be rewarded with the house selling quickly, and for a good price. But we both just learned a lesson about God and about ourselves and about timing. Sometimes we have an idea, that matches God's idea/plan for us, but He has a different time frame than we do. To us a year would seem a long time to wait for something, But really what's a year to God?

So now we are jogging. :) We're still pressing toward the same goal. We're just approaching it differently. We were all set to auction the house at the end of the month. Jonathan talked to the auctioneer and they were kind of put off by the reserve we wanted to put on the place. So today Jonathan went to an auction with a relatively similar property. It didn't go so good. So as of next weekend, we are moving back in. We're going to keep the house on the market until our current contract runs out, then we'll gauge the market and go from there. Don't get me wrong, I love being here with mom and dad. And Ohlen loves it too. But it will be nice to be back in our own place again. Yay for windows!! :)

We are still going to Ireland, it just won't probably be for a while. Maybe in a year, maybe less, maybe longer. It isn't up to us, and that's fine. For the time being we're just glad we know how we are going to be approaching everything.

Thanks to everyone who's been praying for us and thinking about us through all of this. So this blog will probably morph more into just an update about our lives, as exciting as that is.... :) But eventually it will tell about our travels, just not quite yet.

Weiner Dog Update

Well, we have finally made a decision about the wiener dogs.

We aren't taking them with us.

I did some numbers crunching and really looked into shipping costs and all the other costs involved, and it ends up it would still cost several THOUSAND dollars to take them over. It's so discouraging, but we know going to Ireland is the right thing to do.

So the wieners will keep on being American wieners and they will be very well taken care of. They even get to stay together.

I can't tell you what a huge load off our shoulders this is. To know exactly what we are going to do with them and where they will be staying. We will miss them so much; we will just have to cherish every doggie snuggle and lick while we can still get them.

Quick Praise

I just got my passport in the mail!

I was sort of expecting it to come back fairly quick - it was just getting renewed. But to be back 5 days after they received it is just amazing. Thank the Lord for all the small steps that are taking place.

One Step Closer

Today Ohlen's passport came in the mail!! I couldn't believe it, we just applied for it maybe a week and a half ago. Crazy! We were all worried because we had heard stories about some people having to wait months.

I haven't got mine back yet; I needed to get mine renewed, but it had to be mailed in and they got it Monday, so hopefully I will get that back soon.

Also, the truck is officially gone. :( The tractor is very close to being gone. The bike might be gone. And we have put the house up through Help-U-Sell. So things are moving along.

Small Steps

Well we have made a few steps towards moving.

- The truck is sold.

- We have a potential buyer for the tractor!! We should find for sure by the end of the weekend. And if that doesn't go through we got a call from someone else today, so there is a back up.

- We applied for Ohlen's passport and also sent in mine to be renewed.

We haven't had much interest in the house, but we are started to form plans to get things moving along. We really feel that this is where we are supposed to go right now, and we feel like we just need to take a leap of faith and dive in. The only reason we would keep waiting is to hold out for more profit, and we just don't feel that is what we are supposed to do. So, as we see it, we will be in Ireland before the end of the year. Crazy, but exciting too. And of course, it really matters on how quickly Jonathan can get a job too. For whatever reason, neither of us is really worried about that part of the process.

Well, that's all the news for today. I hope to get some pictures up in some posts soon. I've got some good ones of Ohlen adapting to living at Mom and Dad's, and some of the things we've been doing now that I'm not babysitting anymore.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend.