(((Sharon))) Praying here. VH

Wow, Sharon, what a wonderful story of God's provision. Yes, God has taken care of us with all our previous moves so we are trusting Him on this one too.

The relocation package will pay for a move within a year. They paid for a month of temporary housing for dh at an extended stay place. He just moved into another effeciency apt which is sort of like an extended stay place only cheaper (with a bonus of a smoke smelly room!) but can be paid for on a weekly basis. Yes, I agree that an empty house doesn't look great which is why I'm trying to stay here as long as we can. Unfortunately I can't imagine shoveling heavy snow off our wide driveway in the winter so I'm thinking that we may have to move by Nov. Thanks for responding. VH

Brief Update 7/15/08 I posted several months ago that dh’s company was being bought out and he was looking for a job. He did accept an offer in April and started his new job in Indianapolis in the middle of June. He is currently staying in a small efficiency apt. We listed our house at the end of May because dh was out of the country and we had to process a bunch of paperwork with the new company before it could be listed. We had 3 showings the first week and only 2 more since then. We live in a small town, with tons of houses on the market. Our house is priced fairly but with the current housing market it is hard to predict when it will sell. Given the current situation how long would you wait for a possible sale? I hate the thought of moving twice but we may have to do it. The company will pay for our move so it would be great to do it once. I know folks recommend moving to an area and then buying but dh is already there so it wouldn’t be difficult to get an idea of where we would like to live. All of our previous moves (we’ve had many) involved dh moving 3 months prior to us but it looks like it will be longer this time and that is depressing. With dh being gone, all the paperwork with a new job, roll-over retirement stuff etc I feel like I am shuffling paperwork all day! Ds and I are also trying to finish up some school work that was stretched out due to my health issues. I need to make some curriculum decisions for the fall but I feel like my brain is going to explode. For those who were praying for my ugly autoimmune induced rash - it has completely subsided for which I am so thankful. I did end up with some whip lash problems after I hit a deer with my car (which did end up being totaled) in May so I have been going to the chiropractor twice a week to deal with that. I had severe headaches from a contraption he had to use on my head but he no longer has to use it, whew! I feel so much better after the chiro treatments and I’m thankful I found somebody who knew what he was doing even though it is a half-hour drive each way. Would you please pray for the sale of our home and wisdom about how to proceed if there in no movement on it? Thanks so much. VH

Thanks for your prayers for sleep. I slept a full 8 hours - something I haven't done in a long time. Got a chunk of school done this morning and I actually have energy to do some cleaning and decluttering this afternoon. The appraiser just called and can't come out until Monday to look at the vehicle. So we just have to wait. Thanks again! VH

Eww, did you have to ruin a good dish for me?:tongue_smilie: I miss my mom's pork vindaloo. Sniff!

Thank you ladies, for your support. Off to bed early tonight - my nerves are frayed. VH

If you are ordering things that they won't have on hand you can fill out an order form - they usually have some there or tear the one from your catalog. It is helpful to have the catalog numbers because the few catalogs that they have on hand are usually being used by others. So if there are things you definitely want to order -have those item #'s listed to make your job easier. It is easier for me to pay by credit card but if you have trouble staying within your budget you are better off with cash:001_smile:

Yep, ds has mostly girl cousins and family gatherings over the holidays can be quite noisy with the high pitched squealing.

Aww, (((Jo)))...some days can be so hard. You are not a bad mom!!! Take care, VH

Our piano teacher offered us her tickets to a music concert 45 mins away because they were going to be out of town so ds and I attended it last night. Left the venue around 10 pm and I braced myself for 45 min drive home watching for the deer. One minute I was driving straight ahead and the next minute I heard a thump and a deer's face right against my windshield. Thankfully it flew past me and didn't come through the windshield. I realized I couldn't see ahead of me because the deer had broken off the headlight on the passenger side and had buckled up the hood of the car. I was able to stop the car when I realized I driving into the ditch. I backed out and got out of the car once my legs stopped trembling and realized the deer had knocked us into the other lane. Thankfully, there was no oncoming traffic. I had ds roll down his window once he had stopped yelling in panic (he had dozed off) and had him guide me so that I would stay within my lane. By this time the car was billowing with smoke and I could see even less. It was pitch dark, I don't own a cell phone so we started praying out loud. After what seemed like forever we came upon a house (I was on a rural county road) and I knocked on the door several times. No answer. I saw a car approaching on the road so I ran out to try to flag them down but they didn't see me or just didn't stop. Just as I came back to the car the lights in the house came on. The couple ended up calling the police who then called a tow truck. The tow truck got a flat tire on its way to us! He finally got us hooked and towed us 15 miles to our home. Did I mention that dh has been away all last week and for the rest of this week and can't be easily reached because he's in Puerto Rico on a work related trip! I slept about two hours last night because my heart was racing and I couldn't get the image of the deer peering at me from my brain! I've spent most of the morning on the phone dealing with insurance stuff, car rental etc. The appraiser is supposed to contact me within 48 hrs and I'm still waiting to hear from him. Would you pray that the whole process goes smoothly. The towing company thought that the car would probably be totaled. It is a 13 yr old Honda Accord Station wagon with over 130,000 miles but had been in great condition. Not something we need to be dealing with, on top of an impending move BUT ds and I are both alive and I just have some aches and pains today - probably from whiplash. So we are indeed thankful for God's protection from a disastrous situation. The funny part of this story: I was in the middle of getting my driver's license for the cop, still shaken and trembling and he says to me "Ma'am, did you want to take the deer home otherwise I can make a few calls to others?".....I replied..."Uhh,...no I'm not interested please go ahead." Of course, I was thinking....Are you kidding me...I just want to get home safely and the last thing on my mind is eating my own roadkill! Ah such is life when you live in a community where hunting is a serious sport. :001_smile: I could use some prayers to calm my nerves. Ds was pretty shaken up too. I am so ready for a dull, boring life:tongue_smilie: Thanks for letting me get this out of my system. VH

Thanks. Will email soon. It's been a wild week. About being further south...yes that will be a welcome change especially after we had another winter storm on Fri/Sat. We had one about two weeks ago where we lost power etc and I thought *THAT* was the last of the season! There's just something wrong when it is the end of April and you have temps in the high teens and 8 inches of snow. Take care.

Thanks, Jean! Take care, VH

Update 4/28/08....Great news! I wanted to let you all know that your prayers have been answered. My dh accepted a job offer in Indianapolis. It is a little different from what he is currently doing and with a much larger company than he is used to working for but he is looking forward to the challenge. We are so thankful for God's provision for our family. His current job will end mid-May. It will be a big change to be moving from a town of 5000 people and 2 stop lights to Indy so we are all a bit nervous but also excited. It will be closer to family in PA and we will be able to visit old friends from our time in IL. Dh is traveling for the next 2 weeks so we will have to wait until he gets back to list our house. Time to declutter! My rash has eased up considerably. If nothing new develops I should be on my way to the gradual end of this cycle. Please pray that the end of the cycle is near so that I can sleep well and focus on all that needs to be done with a cross-country move. We have moved several times in the past few years and each one involved dh moving 3 months prior while I waited for our house to sell. Would you pray that our house sells soon so that we can be togther as a family. I know we are in a tough housing market but I am trusting God to work in this situation. THANK YOU, THANK YOU for your faithful prayers on behalf of our family. GOD is GOOD! VH

Well, I own Deborah Madison's Veg Ckg for Everyone but haven't used it much. Usually if I'm cooking vegetarian I just throw things together with some Indian spices. However I have borrowed books from the library by Nava Atlas. Also, not exactly vegetarian but I like Simply in Season. Have fun using that gift certificate. VH

Thanks for the prayers. VH

(((Crissy)))..so sorry to hear this. May you be comforted by the special memories you have of times spent with her. Thinking of you.

Oh how sad. Will pray! VH

I got a call from a mutual friend that a former colleague and friend passed away suddenly late Monday night from a heart attack. We worked together until I quit right before my ds was born. We went through infertility struggles together and then became pregnant around the same time. Her son was born 3 months after ds. She leaves behind a dh, a ds aged 10 and she was about 47 yrs old. Would you pray for her family. My heart is so heavy. This morning ds and I spent some time talking about our shared memories with them and looked at old pictures in our album. I feel so helpless being several states away and not being able to help in a more tangible way. So, so sad. Thanks for letting me share. VH

Karen, I would've loved to live close to in-laws but if they are like the Costanzas or the Barones all I can say is: Perfer et obdura; dolor hic tibi proderit olim - Be patient and tough; some day this pain will be useful to you. (Ovid) Sorry I couldn't resist:001_smile:

D. you’ve already received great advice but I just wanted to offer encouragement to hang in there with the scales and etudes. As you know ds started with a new teacher in Sept who is not Suzuki trained. When we started with her ds had been working on Vivaldi’s A Minor concerto 3rd movt in Book 4. She has helped him polish it but we have done no more Suzuki. At first I thought ds would be upset but he has hung in there with all the scales and etudes. Funny you should mention Hrimaly because his tr’s focus these past months has been on Hrimaly, Wohlfahrt, and Whistler. She has given him a few other pieces to work on and he is currently working on a piece by Handel for his recital at the beginning of May. She is a fabulous teacher – she doesn’t let ds get away with sloppy posture and fingering. She has just the right balance of pushing and challenging without being overbearing. She has also been willing to communicate via email if there was something I wanted to discuss without ds present. I really appreciate that so I understand your frustration with your teacher’s lack of communication. I feel like ds’ tr and I are on the same team. Funny thing is that our practices have also shortened. Ds used to practice at least 45 mins to an hour but now it’s more like 30 mins. He does keep up with the pieces in Suzuki Book 4 in rotation. I decided not to push for longer practice times since we also started Piano in Sept. However over the summer I will have him do more review of Suzuki. He does occasionally keep up with fiddling. It has also helped that he has played a few times in church – most recently for Easter and that gave him something other than scales, etudes and arpeggios to focus on. I doubt any of this has been helpful to you specifically but just wanted to let you know you are not alone on this journey. I don’t even have half the musical knowledge you have so I feel less competent in helping. I did get the Midi Disk for Suzuki Book 4 so ds used that to practice playing with accompaniment. I’m on the last few pages of the Faber Adult Adventures Book 1 in my piano playing journey so I can’t really play along with him ;-) How wonderful that you can play with your ds. Wish we lived closer, then our boys could encourage each other.

Thank you all for your kind thoughts and prayers. I decided to post updates because I know many of you have been praying for me. I wanted you to know that those prayers have not been in vain. Some of the older stuff that erupted first has settled down so at least my whole body is not on fire. I have new stuff erupting mostly on my arms and legs so I know I have a few more months till that settles but at least it's not all over my body all at once like it had been. Thank you again! VH P.S. I have tried Homeopathic treatments but that didn't help either. Once we move and are settled I will talk to a naturopathic dr. In the mean time I try to eat healthy, exercise, take vitamins etc. Unfortunately this rash seems to be something out of my control - there's a life lesson!!

Sue, I'm still pondering the direction of our schooling but I wanted to share a link to this thread about CM from the old WTM boards that I had saved. Hope you find it helpful. http://wtmboards.com/K8genAug272006/messages/2709.html VH

Aaah, I thought I did but I hit advanced or something...oh I don't know. :confused: Hopefully the next time it will work. Let's see how this post shows up. Pam, I've often thought I should get you to wave your flaming sword over this rash:001_smile:

Jean, I think you need to come over and help me declutter before we list our house. I'm just one state over y'know;) Have fun! VH