Well, we are back in the area of my birth, some 26 yrs later, and I have never tired of the salt air, the gulf breezes or the obnoxious sea gulls! I was at Walmart just down from my house and sea gulls landed on my hood looking for food! I was just saying some pretty nasty things in my head about the heat and the traffic and the rude "older" retired person who gave me the finger, which I must say was not age appropriate, but when that little bird cocked his head at me, the beautiful blue sky as the landscape behind him, I thought WOW, I am just blocks from the ocean, my lil "cottage" (I have named it and lil is not an understatement) is just walking distance; once again, shame on me! Ok, saying all that, I will tell you how we wound up here, and then once we are settled I will get back to our story. Kenny still had found no work, and like I had said in previous posts, my Dad had always said, just as my Mom, his home was our home. But, the difference in my Dad, (they have been apart for 19yrs) he has 3 places, with almost no debt, that we can move in and pay very little. He had made that offer from the beginning but, everything is a process, and I am certain, looking back, God absolutely had us planted for that time in North Carolina. So timing is everything. So Sunday, July 2, I felt a release to leave north Carolina, so we called Dad, he headed up, we pooled our money, my brother also pitched in, and here we are. So let me explain the set up of the 3 places here. They are just blocks off a main highway and blocks from the ocean. BUT.... BUT>>>> The are in desperate need of TLC. One is an RV and the other 2 are mobile homes (very old ones). They have loads of potential and just need lots of elbow grease and someone like Dad who knows plumbing and electrical and Kenny who knows construction. We have the kids beds all lined up in the living rooms now because the bedrooms have no walls. But, they love it! So we may stay or may renovate and sell and get something else. I just don't know. But, I do know it is a wonderful feeling to not have a mortgage or worry about paying the utilities and have cable! I feel so very thankful, even though some may see it as something "less" than what they would live in, I am so grateful and appreciative, and we are just enjoying "living" without all the other stressors that keeps you from enjoying the little things. We have a beautiful yard, we have the water, and an adjoining park with a huge dock. So I had this idea, to start documenting the renovating process. So I took some before pictures and I will be up dating them daily. It has been a very hard and tiring week. We pulled in from a 12 hr drive and the truck we were driving, that was pulling one of our trailers, the rear end went out, so thank God for his protection all those miles. But now we have to face fixing that vehicle. We will be getting my Bronco fixed, thank God it is under warranty, but the main thing we are settled, the kids are happy, and our next mission is finding a church. Will be posting pictures tomorrow, so you can see how things are looking!!! I am trying to come up with a name for our new lil place, ummmmmm........
