Some changes

I was hoping to get out to you some neat pictures that I have on the camera but I can't find my little usb cord OR flash drive to download them on the computer so once I find that I will post them! Michalea drew a picture of her friends and has been missing home a lot lately. Abby has mentioned missing home too but Michaela got a little weepy about this today so if you think about please be praying for her. She asked me today if she could save up her allowance to buy a plane ticket to go back to WA to live with Aunt Peggy and be with her cousins/friends. We had a nice chat afterward, but it was really hard for her to see WHY God would not want to let her move back to WA.

First off and something that many will get a kick out of and I was hoping to post a pic of...... John was trimming his hair the other day to see if he could get the sides trimmed closer in between trips to the barber and well, he decided that it wasn't working the way he wanted it to SO HE WENT BALD! After he shaved his head he spent about a couple hours in the sun and got a little burned...... He is not sold that he really likes it enough to keep it but at work today he got quite a few compliments!

Something that still really amazes me about this move is my continuing education in 'east coast' thinking/mentality. Everyone suspects you of being someone they don't want to know, before you even get the opportunity to open your mouth........ Almost leary and slightly "conspiracy theory" thinking in nature. WEIRD!!!! I applied and paid into a subscription to be apart of a homeschool group here in town (all groups here have a subscription fee to be apart of) and showed up to their weekly playdate this week. I'm sure I felt much like the animals at the pet store behind the glass in their cages with everyone staring, inspecting them. Basically, I had to introduce myself and butt into people's conversations in order to meet anyone. After getting the cold shoulder quite a few times I would basically just sit by someone and TRY to begin a conversation. Most didn't really notice I was there and even some I went up and chatted with turned their backs and visited with people they did know. Some were limitedly friendly but not very helpful to a newcomer. It is quite a very sad thing for a "christian" gathering, but I suppose culture is realtive! I did find one mom there who had a hubby who worked for Lee county on the road, which was nice to find something in common with someone, however, she is pretty well established with her own friends in the group, so I do not forsee much hope in that relationship. The kids had much of the same reaction as I did, so by half way through the day, when someone did try to be-friend Michaela because her mom made her come and say Hi, Michaela was weary of rejection and pretty much stayed by my side. There is one other local homeschool group that I can pay to be apart of as well so I think I will widen my variety of homeschool groups so that the kids can find some more friends. When I told the pastor's wife of my experience she suggested we have our own so when I get confident enough in my knowledge of the community, homeschool laws, events and we get another homeschooling family in our church, I just might consider doing something rather informal through yahoo much like the ones back home! I know that if I stick it out and keep putting myself out there that God will eventually place someone in my path to be-friend. I met a homeschool lady at a yard sale today that was more helpful/friendly than anyone I met the other day at the playdate, so this tells me that there are people out there that remember what it was like to be a newcomer!

On a more encouraging note, the sale on the house was finalized and we got more money than anticipated! God totally provided enough for us to pay off a credit card debt so we are no longer in bondage to that, and enough to spare to buy John a TV & a gun (because we left the other huge TV back in TC; the gun I will explain). We even have a little left over to buy me a desk too since the one we brought got distroyed in the move so this was a huge blessing! God just seems to be providing and multiplying blessings for us so we continue to pray and be good stewards of His provision!
As for the gun........ He has a dept issued gun and has one that he bought a couple years ago for personal use but he never really fired it. If you have a private weapon for personal use and want to use it to wear concelaed you have to certify with it. When he took it to the range to get certified with it, the range master had not only never heard of the brand but when John fired it he realized that it is not safe because it jams and isn't very reliable. SO, he wasn't able to qualify with it. They prefer that John carry a conceiled weapon on his time off and he can carry the dept issue Glock but it is pretty heavy and hard to conceal. So John is on the lookout for a mini-glock or something similar.
John spent the last week at the outdoor facility, which was very hot. He ended up finding an inmate that had been beat pretty badly by some other inmates and who ended up having to go to the hospital to get his jaw fixed and treated for a concusion. Today he spent time at the core facility. The guys were very personable on that squad and more welcoming than his last assignment so this made the day go much better; they even pulled a practical joke on him to see if he had a sense of humor. Luckily today, despite having to get up very early, he had one! They gave him a glass of water that had a hole in it. It wasn't until they were all laughing that John realized he was all wet......... Despite how silly this is, it was a neat way of feeling accepted since he is used to the "love through ridicule' approach from his work and church friends!!! Kind of a neat thing that reminded him of home, was when his seargent informed John that he would be cooking the squad breakfast on Sunday....... Since he is the new guy nothing was expected of him to bring (and not biscuits and gravy were expected for his wife to make), but this was neat for John to see his leadership taking an interest in the comradery and morale of his squad!
Anyways, this is what is up in our neck of the woods. Still praying for a youth leader, worship leader and where God wants us to be doing at church. Hope all is well with you and yours back home! We hope and pray that if God is leading any of you, our way, that you see all the provisions God has made in our journey and trust that God will do the same for you as well!