Grateful

May I just say that I am grateful to have a functioning computer this morning? I nearly lost it last night... and that's not a loss I can exactly afford right now!

We are staying in our camper for 2 or 3 weeks while we get moved, so I've been using my laptop. Yes, I do have 2 computers: my main one on my desk, which is currently disconnected/packed/in pieces/whatever! and my laptop which goes with me to conventions and anywhere else I go. My desk computer is also "sick" right now (DH says he thinks the motherboard is going out), so rather than risk losing data I have switched to using my laptop until I can afford for DH to rebuild my desk computer. (I have to have a computer for work!)
So... imagine how sick I was last night when a bottle of water turned over right onto my laptop's keyboard! I immediately grabbed it and turned it over to drain the water out. It was still on, so I turned it off and then we started trying to dry it out. We decided it would speed things along if we used a blow dryer on it. After awhile DH started trying to turn it back on. The power light would come on but Windows wouldn't come up. I was nearly in tears. DH got on his laptop to see what he could find out. The first bit of information he found was: Never use a blow dryer to dry out a computer. Apparently it can cause static electricity to build up which can be very harmful. Wonderful. I was just sure the computer was permanently dead. I went to bed, very discouraged.

DH continued to work on it. He took the hard-drive out and discovered that it was still damp inside. So he just left it to dry some more.

This morning when we got up he tried rebooting... I have never been so happy to see the Windows screen come up!! We still can't get it to run on the battery, only if it's plugged in. Laptop batteries aren't cheap to replace, but they are considerably cheaper than the whole computer.

I am grateful!!

The moral to the story is: Don't leave bottles of water near your computer. Or if you do, make sure it's just water, not some other beverage! And if you should happen to spill water on your keyboard, don't use a blow dryer to speed the drying process! (It didn't seem to harm mine this time, but now we know that's not a good idea.)

Time to move

It's time for us to find another house to live in. For the past 4 years we have been living in a house owned by the church we attend. The church has decided to sell the house, and we don't care to buy it, so we need to move. *sigh* I don't mind moving, but it's oh-so-much-work! This house is very small, and as the children are growing up we really do need a little more room.

We have been looking at various options and have about decided that now is not the time to buy. Housing prices are just all out-of-reason in this area, IMHO. The house we live in is less than 1,000 square feet, 2-bedroom/1 bath, and *old* and it appraised for over $150,000! I just cannot fathom that! It will be wonderful for the church if they can get that much out of it, though.

For now we have decided to rent an apartment that is attached to one of the print shops owned by the company my husband works for. At least in this case we'll know the landlord! Other good news: it's actually bigger than the house we are currently in and the children will each have their own rooms. However, it needs some electrical work, so my husband will need to do that before we can move.

I don't have time for this! I need to be working full-time this summer!

I was thinking wistfully today of the kick-back-and-relax summer days of my childhood. Is that life-style even possible any more?

We actually did some moving-type activities today, so the fun has begun! I've been bringing home boxes from the print shop this week, and last night DH brought the shop's utility trailer home and parked it behind the house. He told the kids to start filling it up! So they did! I had to work today, so I wasn't much help, but oh, the kids had a good time! I cringe just to think of what's going in those boxes and in what order... but hey, it's getting packed and moved. I'm just so pleased that the girls are finally old enough to be a real help. No, they don't do things the way I would necessarily, but it still helps.

After DH got home this evening we went over to the "new" apartment to do some measuring and figuring. DH for some electrical wiring that he needs to do before we can move in, and me to figure out where to put furniture and curtains and such. DH said I could have the whole upstairs room for my "dream library"! It's a great big room... 20 x 30' or something and will be our bedroom and office, too, but there is plenty of room for lots of bookcases! I'm so excited!

Our vacation is scheduled in 3 weeks. We talked about cancelling, but as the trip includes a homeschool convention (in Modesto, California) where I'm supposed to represent Sonlight, we decided we better go ahead and go. We plan to move when we get back. I'm ready to go on vacation now! I don't want to have to stew about the move for 3 more weeks.

I love camping!

On Thursday DH called to ask if I wanted to go camping that night and Friday night. Of course I did! We decided we could take the camper up to the state park that night and spend the night, then he would go to work on Friday. He thought I could stay out there with the kids on Friday, but I had to work, too. (I work from home but require the internet and phone, which we not available at the state park.) But we decided to go ahead and go up there that night in an effort to get a spot before the weekend rush on Friday evening.

We got up there about 8:30... still about an hour of daylight left. We found a nice spot so pulled the camper in and proceeded to set up camp. After unhooking and balancing the trailer, DH hooked up the water and electricity. Then he and the children "furnished" the campsite while I got supper ready. They put out the rug that keeps us from tracking so much dirt into the trailer, and set up the lawn chairs, and put a tablecloth on the picnic table, unloaded all the firewood and got the fire going. By then I had supper about ready, so we carried the food out to the picnic table. All that we lacked was to roast our hotdogs and we would be ready to eat. As I made the final supper preparations DH said he would go over to the camp host and pay the camping fee. The children went with him.

Pretty soon the kids came running back in a panic! (Scared me for a minute. I thought maybe something happened to DH.) But, no, apparently our site was reserved and we needed to move! It wasn't reserved till the next day so they hadn't marked it reserved, but we would not be able to stay there the next night, and since DH had to go to work early in the morning, we had to move that night! I said, "Well, let's eat supper first anyway, since we have the fire going and the food is all set out." DH said, "No. We can't. This campground is completely full. We have to go to a different campground [still within the state park] and the camp host there is waiting on us to show us where we can camp."

So... we carried the food back into the trailer, put away all the "furnishings" and firewood, dumped water on the fire, disconnected the hook-ups, rehitched the trailer and moved!

By that time it was after 10:00 pm so we didn't build another fire. We just nuked the hotdogs in the microwave, ate supper, and went to bed!

The rest of our camping trip was very nice, though. I enjoyed watching the sun come up with my coffee and Bible after DH went to work the next morning and before the children got up.

We got back out there about 6:00 on Friday evening. Still several hours of daylight. We had a fire and cooked hamburgers on the fire. Then DH and the kids went to a ranger program at the amphitheater to see a film about "Bears!". The dog and I stayed at the campsite to keep an eye on the fire. I listened to old time radio programs on my MP3 head-set and worked Sudoko puzzles while they were gone. The dog enjoyed watching the other campers and their dogs, and also the prairie dogs that inhabited the campground.

After that the girls roasted marshmallows and then went to bed. DH and I enjoyed conversation, the campfire, and the stars!

The girls had fun hiking and exploring and checking in on the walkie-talkies today. DH and I mostly just relaxed!

Montana trip

We took our new RV to Kalispell, Montana to the MT homeschool convention this past weekend. That was fun!

Since it was the holiday weekend we stayed over an extra day and went to Glacier National Park. We were disappointed that the pass on the Going-to-the-Sun Road was still closed, so we couldn't go all the way over it. We bought an annual NP pass because we plan to go to the Grand Canyon later in the summer, and the pass is good for any NP. Two visits to a NP pay for the annual pass! That would also allow us to go back to Glacier after the snow has melted to drive the complete Going-to-the-Sun Road. It's only about 4 hours over there, so we could make a day trip of it if we wanted to.

Since the main road wasn't an option we took a 27-mile-long gravel road up the western edge of the park. I was hoping we might see some moose or bears... but no such luck. We did see quite a few deer, though. And they were mostly just curious, not skittish. They would just stop and stare at us as we stopped and stared at them! "Nothing to see here. Move along please!"

The scenery is beautiful in northwestern Montana. Unfortunately for us it was a chilly, drizzly weekend. But we still enjoyed the trip!

Next up: Boise, Idaho next weekend for the Christian Homeschoolers of Idaho State convention.

Lay aside every weight...

"...let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us..." (Hebrews 12:1)

Life is so over-whelmingly busy, sometimes I wonder if I'll make it. It seems that there's never enough time to get everything done, and responsibilities crowd in on every side. As I read this verse earlier this week I began to think about what some of the "weights" in my life might be. What could I "lay aside" that would help me "run with endurance"?

I remember reading a quote several years ago that said something like: "God will give us the strength and grace to do everything He has called us to do." Has He really called me to do everything I've taken on?

Maybe not.