Who Needs Order?

So I've been dragging my heels on writing because I have events about which to write, so I feel like those are causing a clog in the schedule. You know, like I can't mention anything after those events because then I'm not in chronological order.

Phooey. Tonight I'm freeing myself from the shackles of time and vowing to write when I feel like it, about  the things on my mind. Someday I'll finish getting pictures off my camera and will then update the rest of my life, but for now you get presence of mind. Ooh, lucky you!

My biggest energy-suck right now is the fact that we have our new assignment. For my Facebook friends, this is old news, but for me it's ever-present. We submitted our wish list back in May and that has always worked well for us in the past. We always do our research before submitting a list and look at pros & cons, homes, schools, cost of living, etc. so that we feel prepared for whatever comes our way. But when what comes our way is out of left field, it feels a lot like we're behind the eight ball. Enter South Carolina, our future home. Hello, left field! Nice to meet you.

But now we're getting caught up, have booked tickets to do an initial househunting trip, have solicited advice from anyone who knows anyone who's ever lived there and feel like we're finally getting armed enough to make a good choice. Thank goodness for my parents who have not only offered to take the kids for a long weekend so we can hunt efficiently, but who have also helped us research schools - their education backgrounds have proven really helpful. I'm armed with stacks of data (literally - my dad printed bundles for me and had them all nicely collated, waiting after church yesterday) and a list of questions to fire at each school regarding their methods and madness. We (and by we, I mean me of course) are scouring rental sites and are also courting the idea of owning another home. Though the economy bites, it's a fantastic time to buy. Coupled with a ridiculously reasonable housing market, it actually looks feasible. Who knows. But each step feels like progress and progress makes me happy.

We've managed to stay sane until these last couple weeks of summer. Unlike everyone else in a fifty-mile radius (or more), Wyatt doesn't start school for another two weeks. We're not starting him in kindergarten this fall for myriad reasons, but he will be going to school every morning for three hours. I'm probably a little excited about that, though I'm reconciling that with the fact that now I can't just take the kids and galavant around for an entire day wherever we want. Growing pains, I guess.

Ahhhh, that feels better. Back to your regularly scheduled programming.