Merry Christmas!

Wishing all of our friends and family a very "Merry Christmas" and many blessings for the coming New Year!  Here's a photo we took of us for the holidays from our new house in Statesboro, GA. 

Our new house

We moved to Statesboro, GA about 2 weeks ago. Today, we finally got the pictures hung and the clutter stowed away!  It looks like we really live here now.  Now we can come home and everything is in place!  The only thing we'd really like to have is a bigger sofa and recliner.  We'll be on the look-out for one soon.

We will be going to Dublin again on Tuesday morning and seeing members in Dublin for 2 days then drive to Johnson county next door to see members for 2 days.  But we'll stay at the Page House again.  We are going to try a different room that is downstairs that may be warmer and we won't have to lug all our stuff up the steps!

Sebastian put up lights on the outside of the house.  We are trying a "fake" tree this year.  It looks pretty good to me and not all that mess and having to remember to water it!  The kitten really likes it and has tried to climb it twice now!

Page House B & B

We've been at the Page House B&B for a week now.  The first 2 days I didn't work b/c of being sick!  Went to work yesterday and today and should just have stayed home----all I did was feel lousy and cleared my throat and coughed, ears plugged up.  I usually was able to hold it together in a member's home but wore a mask some of the time anyway. Oh well, just one more day.
Janice and Kelly the Innkeepers are very nice.  They've been owning the B&B for 13 years now.  Kelly's a social worker and Janice runs the Inn full time but is studying to be a nurse. 
The House is all decorated for Christmas already and looks so pretty.  We'll be back for another week in early December.

Page House

 

 

 

Going to Statesboro

Well, things have just turned around completely.  After talking with Martha and Thomas further, we all decided that being caretakers probably would not be in the best interest for either party.  They really need someone who is going to be around and maybe not have any other job commitments so that if they decided to go away for a weekend or a night here and there, they could leave.  We felt like it might be somewhat restrictive for us as well, b/c we'd also like to be spontaneous!  Plus if Bob got a teaching job in the area, he wouldn't be available in the mornings to make breakfast for any guests and not available in the early afternoons to check them in.
Martha had really fixed up the doublewide for us and it looked really nice, so somewhat disappointed about that but on the other hand not so much.
Yesterday we went looking at houses in Statesboro and we did find a cute house to rent for the next 6 months.  Sebastian is planning on taking some courses at Ogeechee Tech College.  He and Bob have talked to someone on the phone and once we move there, they can go in and see someone.  They have auto technician, welding and HVAC as well there so if he wants to do one of those, he's got the opportunity.
The other reason to choose Statesboro is that it is still somewhat central for me to do my job.  Also, Bob can train with Mary in Savannah to learn more about the insurance business.  He received his insurance license.  He also has his Georgia teaching license so could do that as well.
So I guess we are still on track to bring up some or all of our stuff from Gainesville after Thanksgiving.  It's been somewhat of a roller coaster for us.  Not knowing where we want to live and wanting to help Sebastian a little more.  Bob's daughter, Melissa is pregnant again and the baby is due in July 2011.  We feel like we should be closer to her and Anthony and Jazmin, so we are not sure how we can accomplish that.  But at least Statesboro is only about 4 hours away from Gainesville.
So our plan is to do this for the next 6 months and see how we like the Statesboro area, see how much school Sebastian wants to accomplish, how much I will still like doing the job I have and also for Bob to see if he can make any money in the Insurance business or not!

New Opportunity in Louisville, GA

While staying these last 2 weeks in Louisville, GA at the Old Town Plantation, we had a conversation with the owners of the farm and B&B.  We were discussing our dilemma with trying to find a place to "perch" for awhile somewhere in Georgia so I could do my House Calls job without having to drive too far within a day of work, so I could return home almost every day.  We have also been trying to help Sebastian to decide on whether he wants to go to school in Georgia for automotive or HVAC repair and also get a job somewhere in Georgia. 
A few days later, Martha, the owner comes by our cottage with an interesting proposition.  She wanted to know what we would think about becoming part-time "caretakers" and helping them out around the place especially when they needed to be out of town periodically.  We could live in a small house on the property with free rent and electric in exchange for approximately 13 hours per week of work.  There may not be work every week so it would be sporadic---like when they were gone, we'd feed the dogs, water some plants and be here for emergencies.  Occasionally, if there were cottage guests at the time that they needed to be gone, we'd cook the breakfast in the mornings.  We could still keep any jobs that we had.  And if we did any work above those hours, she'd pay $20 per hour!
She even talked to the local HVAC repair owner [heating and air conditioning] about possibly hiring  Sebastian to work with him and train him in the business.  There are a couple of tech schools about 30 minutes away that Sebastian could learn more in HVAC if he liked it or in automotive repair if he wants to.  
Sebastian could also help take care of the basic work around the farm if we are gone at the same time as the owners. We told Martha and Thomas that we'd like to try it out for the next 6 months.  It just felt right to take them up on this offer. 
We had been searching for some place to call "home" again in Georgia.  For a time, we thought maybe Savannah.  But prices for housing seemed to be on the high side there.  We really wanted to be close to Anthony, Melissa and Jazmin in Gainesville as well, but again trying to be there enough for them and do the House Call job seemed to be at cross purposes. 
We finally just let go of trying to make any decisions and had sort of committed to going back to Gainesville as our home base when this opportunity presented itself out of nowhere!  But it feels right to try this out. I do have a lot of time off from my job and we could travel back to Gainesville as often as we want to or need to for the next several months anyhow.  And then, things could change from there in ways only God knows right now!

OLD TOWN PLANTATION & RETREAT IN LOUISVILLE, GA

We've been in Louisville, Ga this past week and will stay for another week.  I only have 3 days of work and then we'll be flying off to NY to visit family for about 7 days. We'll get to enjoy Tom's renovated house longer than we did after we finished it in April!
We are staying at the Old Town Plantation and Retreat.  It is a bed and breakfast but they don't have individual rooms like most B&Bs, but have cottages.  Ours is called the Courtside Cottage b/c it is next to the tennis courts.  Tennis anyone?  Not us, no rackets and weak knees! 
The houses are on several hundred acres of land---just beautiful countryside.  Martha and Thomas, the owners are just really the nicest people. This land has a very historical background also, dating back to the 1800's.  There are several houses on this property that are very old cracker-style houses.  One was torn down b/c it was too costly to fix up but they left the chimneys!

See some of the pictures below.....check out the Picasa Link for more.  They'll be up for awhile there as well.

Courtside Cottage

 

We walked down this tree lined lane to find the river and a good fishing spot but never did find the river.

Restored old Library with remaining chimneys from torn-down house.

SAVANNAH, GA

We are back in Savannah!  We were at Red Gate RV park about a week ago also then went to work in Emanuel, Jenkins and Candler counties for 3 days.  We stayed in Statesboro again at the Parkwood RV Park.  It was simpler to stay there and travel to the other counties which surround Statesboro.  Anyway, then we came back to Savannah last Saturday and have been here since. We are still in our RV staying at Red Gate RV Park.
Bob is taking the last 2 days of his insurance agent classes and then will take the test before we leave Savannah this Saturday coming up.  We'll be dropping off the RV in Jacksonville but may head to G'ville first to drop off all the extra stuff we have been carting around due to the RV!

 

We did some sightseeing in downtown Savannah a week ago, walked along the river front and also around City Market area. 

Savannah feels like a "small" big city.  Traffic didn't seem too bad for a Saturday.  Sundays probably are even slower!

Red Gate Farms is where we have the RV parked.  It has a lot of land that is still owned by the same family for the last few generations.  Lots of amenities---pool, clubhouse with 60" screen TV and laundry facilities.  It has been very convenient to Savannah and the water as well as Bob taking his classes.  I will be working from  here also for 3 days this week, seeing members in Bryan, Evans and Liberty counties.

One of 4 fishing ponds

Home away from home

Bob-firing up the grill

Horses!

Swings overlooking the pond

TYBEE ISLAND!

We just spent last week at Tybee Island for 3 days.  Wow, what a great place!  It had a cute downtown area with cute beach type shops.  The beach was nice and they had a pavillion with a pier.  We went to a different section of the beach where the "back" river meets the ocean and it reminded us of the panhandle area in Florida! The water was still warm enough to go in and do some surf fishing.  Didn't catch anything though....
We rode our bikes around the campground and some of the neighborhood area.  We also went kayaking one morning but I'm afraid I just don't have the upper body strength I need to make that more fun than work!

The Tybee Island Light Station [aka--lighthouse] was really neat to see.  Also around that same area, there are bunkers from the Civil War era, I think.  Houses and other establishments are tucked in all around them. Kind of strange in some ways---should have been a state landmark to be preserved, you'd think.....

On Sunday morning, we went down to the beach to watch the sunrise come up on the horizon, only there was a bank of clouds in the way.... I didn't get up as early as I should have to bike there in time, so the cloud bank gave me extra time!  It was so neat to be on the beach watching for the sun.  Other people were there as well.
We definitely want to go back to Tybee Island!
We have rented an RV for 3 weeks, not sure about living in it that long but since I had a lot of days off, we thought we'd take advantage of the time and go to a bunch of parks in between working while the weather was still nice.  So we'll make the best of it.  Can't wait for cooler weather though!
After one more week in Statesboro, we'll go down to Skidaway Island and then closer to Savannah to an RV Park.  Bob is going to an Insurance Agent class for 2 days in Savannah.  He'll have another 2 days the following week as well.  So we'll be in Emanuel, Candler and Jenkins counties for 3 days then have another 4 days off.

STATESBORO, GA

We have been in Statesboro for about a week now.  I worked four days doing House Calls and now have the weekend off. Yeah! We are staying at the Statesboro Inn which is a bed and breakfast; but we are staying in their 2 bedroom cottage in the back of the property.  It's kind of cute but has too small of a refrigerator.  The young owner acquired this property about 3 years ago.  The Inn may have seen better days in the past.  There are just little hints that this may be a bigger job for this guy than he expected maybe.  Anyway, we are here until next Friday.  Then we will take a jaunt down to Jacksonville, FL and pick up the RV that we reserved.  We thought we'd try it for a few weeks to see how we will like it.  We may buy our own in the future. 
The town is a fairly good size with about 40,000 people.  The university here called Georgia Southern has about 19,000 students. 

Statesboro Inn-main house

Our "cottage"

Labor Day Weekend-Canton, GA

We are in Canton, GA visiting Fred and Linda, Bob's brother and his wife.  We met Sebastian on I-85 coming from Panama City, FL.  He followed us up the rest of the way.  There was a traffic jam on 575 and we decided to get off and follow some back roads; it still took us another 45 minutes but maybe we would have been sitting in traffic due to a car accident if we hadn't gotten off.
Today, we drove over to Lake Acworth area and Red Top Mountain.  We took a trail from the visitor's center and walked over to the lake trail.  Beautiful day and beautiful weather.
Fred & Linda have got us hooked on the Wii again this year.  They have been doing games for exercise almost every day and Linda has lost 10lbs doing it and Fred has become more limber! It's got us wanting to use our Wii more for a fitness routine.  It's challenging and fun at the same time.
Tomorrow we were thinking of going to Andy Stanley's church at Northpoint Church.

EASTMAN, GEORGIA

We have now been in Eastman Georgia for 1 week doing the House Calls program.  We are staying at the Dodge Hill Inn, in one of their cottages called "Mary's Manor".  It is a cute little house and comfortable for us for the next couple of weeks.  See pictures below.

So far we've been to a state park nearby and rode our bikes and fished but didn't get anything!  We went to the town of Dublin, GA to look around.  We had an awesome lunch at a place called "Ole Time Country Cookin".  It was delicious!

Fruit cup for Breakfast!

Mary's Manor where we stayed

I'm "getting into" my job more and more.  I feel like these are "my" patients.  I do enjoy teaching one on one. I am scheduled for 8 patients daily but have had at least 1 or 2 "no shows" each day this week.  I was concerned that I would have all 8 patients and I would be out  driving around till 6pm especially when it gets dark early.  But if the future is like this past week, then maybe I won't have any difficulty with 6 or 7 members per day!

Rochelle, Abbeville, Pineview

These were the last 3 towns in Georgia that we just finished doing House Calls in.  Next week, we'll be on to Eastman, Ga for 2 weeks.  I've decided to go full time with benefits with Sunbelt Staffing/Care Improvement Plus.  Bob [and I] need health insurance coverage and they have a really good plan, plus the salary is pretty good. 
We'll be in Gainesville/Archer, FL till Sunday, August 22nd.  We may not be back to Florida till Thanksgiving but we'll see  how things go. 

Back in Gainesville

Back "home" for a few days.  Took Jazmin to Cedar Key yesterday.  They have a great playground next to the water.  But it sure was hot outside.  We ate some hot dogs for lunch and got wet in the outside shower and sat in as much shade as we could.  We did walk the beach trying to find shells for her mama.  There's not much of a beach there and the tide was low so we didn't go in the water much but we had fun anyway....
She was sure tired but didn't fall asleep in the car like we thought.  She got cranky later and when we took her home, she said she wanted to know if it was okay to "rest" her eyes!
It's tough work watching a 5 year old for 2 days in a row.  We feel like we have a day off today!
We got up to get some things out of storage to take with us a week from now when we go to stay in Georgia for several weeks.

Missouri & Lake of the Ozark's

Wow, how time does fly!  We've been to Missouri for 6 days and now back from seeing my brother Dan and family.  Had a really great time seeing all the nieces, nephew and grand-nieces and grand-nephews!  We went to Linda's family's Lake House on the Lake of the Ozarks---what beautiful grounds and house!  Brother Dan did the barbeque for the chicken---yum!
Now back in Gainesville for several days.  We will babysit Jazmin for 2 days then return to Cordele, GA next week and the week after for 2 and 1/2 days then return and watch Jazmin for 2 days each week until she goes to school on August 23rd!  Can't believe that she is in kindergarten this year.
After that we'll be headed back to Georgia to work in the Eastman, GA area.  We will stay at the Dodge Hill Inn, bed and breakfast but in a guest cottage that has a kitchen so we can cook some while we are in the area for 2 weeks.

Cotton Fields!

We have been driving around here in Dooly County to my patients' homes and everywhere we go, there are cotton fields!  Also, some low growing plants which we think are peanuts.  Some of my patients are busy growing cotton and peanuts and apparently are fertilizing the plants right now.  They say that they usually harvest in September or October but some have had a late start, so may not be ready till November or December.  One lady said that one year they didn't harvest until April of the next year!  Also said that the cotton is then not of the highest grade.
Makes you think.....what kind of machine picks cotton now?  And when you see acres and acres, it also gives you awe that it used to be picked by hand and how many people/slaves in those days the plantation owners needed to pick cotton?!  Apparently Dooly County is noted for its cotton and peanuts.

History of the Cotton Gin: [gin is short for engine]
In seventeen ninety-three, approximately one hundred and eighty thousand pounds of cotton was harvested in the United States. Two years later, that harvest

grew to more than six million pounds; by eighteen ten, an astounding ninety three million pounds was brought to harvest.

The reason for this growth?

The cotton gin, invented in the latter part of seventeen ninety-three by Eli Whitney.

ELI WHITNEY

Born in Westborough, Massachusetts, in seventeen sixty-five, Eli Whitney found an early interest in machinery. Working in his father’s woodworking shop, Whitney could be found taking apart such items as pocket watches and clocks, studying the intricate mechanisms and then putting their parts together again.

At the relatively early age of fourteen, he had opened his own nail-making business and then a pin-making shop, earning a fairly good wage for his efforts.

After being graduated from Yale University in seventeen ninety-two, Whitney, in need of money to pay off some outstanding debts, accepted a private tutoring position on a plantation in Georgia owned by a Mrs. Catharine Greene. Because of his interest in mechanics, he took to heart the seriousness of doubts and growing difficulties in cotton production that were presented to him by the local planters. With his experience and success in mechanical problems, Whitney took it upon himself to find a feasible answer to the growers’ woes.


BIRTH OF THE COTTON GIN

Not long after listening to the growers speak of their troubles, Whitney began to experiment and arrived at his basic design of the cotton gin. This machine was created to ease the tremendous burdens of those who labored to pick the seeds from the cotton. Many labored under difficult conditions, and even under good conditions, one could manage to clean only one pound of the crop a day.

With his invention, Whitney made it possible to clean fifty pounds per day.

Whitney had arrived at a basic design: a cylinder, through which the cotton was fed, with wire teeth. The raw cotton from the field could be fed through the cylinder and as it spun round, the teeth would pass through small slits in a piece of wood, pulling the fibers of the cotton all the way through but leaving the unwanted seeds behind.

This crudely made box, with a cylinder, a crank, and a row of saw-like teeth had made it possible to clean fifty times more cotton than could be cleaned by hand.

It is said to have begun the Industrial Revolution, and made an immediate impact upon American industry

.

IMPACT OF THE COTTON GIN ON AMERICAN INDUSTRY

Whitney’s cotton gin, with the help of a few men, or mules, cleaned more cotton in a matter of minutes than a team of men could do in an entire day. With the adaptation of James Watt’s steam engine to drive the gin, the process became entirely mechanized, leading to a whole new industrial frontier in America.

The largest result of this mechanization was the tumultuous increase in cotton production, which helped to revive a badly lagging economy in the Deep South. Once again farmers and growers were finding profits, thanks to this labor and time saving device.

The industry of farming, however, was about to be changed forever.

Before the invention that changed the way cotton was cleaned and readied for processing, there were only two cash crops, or non-food crops, that were grown in America: tobacco and indigo, which was used in the dye-making process. Although it was abundant, cotton did not prove, before the invention of the gin, anywhere close to being a profitable crop. But with the gin, cotton very quickly began to rival in profit the industry of growing tobacco.

With the advent of the cotton gin, the boundaries of agriculture soon became almost limitless. Cotton, requiring very little more than air to flourish, was soon found growing and thriving in places previously unheard of, such as Texas. Acres of land that had been dormant because of poor growing capabilities were found to be filled with cotton; this land that had been barren for so long now held a very profitable crop that could enhance a grower’s finances.

The rules of crop rotation, a farming technique used to give rest to much-abused soil, quickly changed with the coming of the cotton gin, too. Suddenly farmers who had been willing to let sit idle certain sections of their land began growing cotton in the acres set aside for a season of rest.


NEGATIVE IMPACTS OF THE COTTON GIN

The economy of the southern states was changed with this new type of agriculture. Quickly the food-farmers were pushed aside in the move to create large and expansive co-op farms. Because so many farmers had switched from growing food to growing cotton, the supply of food had greatly decreased.

Another impact upon the economy was realized with a sudden dependence upon cotton production. Entire communities were without much notice forced to depend upon the price and abundance of a single crop. When the cotton industry stumbled, so, too, did the south. On the other hand, when cotton did well, many farmers would rush to make a gain and overproduce the crop. This sometimes resulted in price drops that proved to be catastrophic to a vast majority of growers.


The issue of slavery was also greatly impacted by the invention of the cotton gin. Prior to this invention, slavery had become less favorable with Americans. Because of the huge numbers of new immigrants to the United States, labor had become cheap enough that many farmers found it necessary to pay. Suddenly, as the gin made dramatically improved ways to produce cotton, the need for labor was made more imperative to the livelihood of those who grew the crop.

Larger and larger fields of cotton were needed to keep up with demand; along with the increased production of the crop was the need for laborers to glean it. The influx of immigrants to America had produced many more laborers for such a task, but these peoples were reluctant to undertake such terrible and difficult work; they could find easier and less painful ways to earn a living. Once again, slave labor was sought by land owners.


Although considered to be among the most important inventions in the role of economics in America, and beyond, the cotton gin also played a social role as its appearance is said to have caused the continuance of slavery in America, until its dissolution at the end of the Civil War.

Back in Georgia-working

Back to the Cordele GA area ready to start seeing patients again tomorrow through Saturday.  We are at the Fairfield Inn this time.  Nice suite with living room, desk area and separate bedroom.  Not much of a "kitchen area"---just small fridge and microwave but all in all, very nice.  On Sunday, we'll drive over to Augusta for the Summit meeting for Care Improvement Plus, the company I am working for.  Should be interesting to meet other NP's who are working for same company.  I wish they would go to an electronic system for their charting so we can save all this paper!
After next week, we'll be flying to St Louis where my brother Dan will pick us up and go to his house near Jefferson City.  We haven't been there in a long while.  It will be good to see all the new additions to the family!

Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge

Back in G'ville/Archer from working 3 1/2 days in Georgia.  Saw 20 pts, should have been 24 but some cancelled or no showed at their house!  Oh well.  Still made good money.... Next week we will be in Georgia from Wednesday till Saturday.  Then we go to Augusta for the House Calls Summit on Monday, July 26th.  The company pays for the hotel. 
On Wednesday, July 28th, we will fly to St Louis where my brother Dan will pick us up for a visit with him and the family.  Haven't been out there in several years so should be fun!
On the way back from working in Georgia, we took a little detour to the Okeefenokee Wildlife Refuge on the Georgia/Florida state line.  We took a boat out to sight-see and to fish and saw some alligators.  This is alligator heaven.  The ranger showed us a video of all these alligators going crazy in their boat yard/canal area eating mud fish recently.  I guess all the recent rain kicked up the mud fish and the alligators were having a feast.  It was crazy looking with them snapping and jumping all over the place!  The ranger was out in his boat videoing all of this.  She said she's only seen this happen twice now....
See more pictures by clicking the Picasa link....

Sebastian turns 21 years old

July 12th, Sebastian turns 21.  Hard to believe that he has been a part of our family for the last 12 years.  Sometimes we had doubts that we'd ever get this far with him.  But he has turned into a great young man.  He has put some of his past behind him; he has a job and is living somewhat on his own with our friend.  We are very proud of him.  God surely has plans for his life!

Happy July 4th!

We finished our first week in Georgia last week.  It went very well.  Bob drove me around to my pt's houses.  I was able to complete my assignments earlier in the day than expected.  We had a little trouble with the car battery but fixed it within a short period of time.  We've been back in G'ville since Friday night.  Sebastian came down from Panama City and all 3 of us went fishing over at Marriott Island National Seashore area at Mosquito Lagoon.  The boys went kayaking and fishing.  I started out with them but wasn't feeling well and came back in.  Sebastian caught a bunch of catfish but we were looking for Red Fish.
Sebastian will come back next week for us to celebrate his 21st birthday!  Hard to believe he is going to be 21 already. Will post some pictures soon.

Lunch in Lake Park, Georgia

We are on our way to my assignment area and stopped for lunch at the Farm House Restaurant.  Had chicken and dumplings---yum!  The price was very reasonable; I like Georgia already!
We are going to Cordele first to a state park first and play around for a couple of hours, then on to Moultrie to check into our hotel and relax and get ready for a busy day tomorrow.

Going to Georgia

Well, I've had my training to do the House Calls program.  So we are off to Moultrie Georgia later this week.  I have 15 patients to see over 3 days.  This company has their "stuff" together.  Online appts and scheduling of practitioner's time; sent me my bag with all the "tools" I'll need to do the visits, etc....
We'll be back next weekend for the holiday----taking Sebastian to Mosquito Lagoon near Titusville for fishing. 
Bob and I went to Ozello, FL near Homossassa and did some kayaking and fishing last Friday.  It was fun but tiring for me to paddle with no upper body strength.  Wish we had one of those kayaks that you pedal with your feet; we did take one out that was a demo to try and it was very cool!

Check out pics below of the area:

Our kayak, decked out for fishing!

Update regarding jobs

Finally heard from the Georgia Board of Nursing and I am now licensed as an NP in Georgia!  I can soon start the House Calls job in Georgia possibly next week.  Yeah!
This morning Bob and I went to Fanning Springs to walk their trail and to check out the Springs.  Cute little park. We saw a sturgeon jumping! Pretty cool.  It is so neat there looking out over the Suwanee River.  The sky is so blue with puffy clouds.
As we were hiking and looking out over the water, one of songs from church was going through my head:

This is the day, This is the day, that the Lord has made, that the Lord has made. 

We will rejoice, we will rejoice and be glad in it, and be glad in it.  

This is the day that the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it.  

This is the day, this is the day that the Lord  has made.

Back in Gainesville

We are back home in Gainesville.  Had a great weekend away.  Still no word from Georgia Board of Nursing regarding license!  Forgot to mention that the Montana position was cancelled by the facility since they hired a permanent person.  Last week I sent out a lot of "feelers" for temp jobs and permanent ones.  Will be applying with the VA in Augusta, Pensacola and Gainesville as well this week.  Still hoping to do the "House Calls" job in Georgia but guess we'll see.

Visiting in Panama City

We decided to take a break from job hunting for this past weekend and come over to Panama City to see Sebastian and Diane.  It's been fun and relaxing.  Diane and I went to Pensacola for the day to see our old friend and former supervisor, Bernice and her husband.  We had a great time and Bernice is "going strong".  She just retired late last year and is now 82 years old!  She looks great and is as busy as ever.
The drive over there was only about 2 1/2 hours, so not too bad.  Guess we are going to back to Gainesville tomorrow.  Sebastian said he would come down there next weekend for Father's Day and take Bob fishing.  He is doing so well; he is down below 200lbs in weight and says he will never be that high in weight again!  He looks great!
We received some good news that Bob's unemployment is a new claim; so he is eligible for another 23 weeks of unemployment.  It isn't much money per month but will keep us afloat till I get some employment.  Dave and Carol have been so nice and we feel so comfortable staying at their house.

Still waiting....

Still waiting for both licenses.  I messed up on the Georgia license; I only sent in the paperwork for the RN license and didn't realize they also had separate paperwork for the NP license.  Oh well, hopefully I will get the last piece of "sealed" national certificate verification that they want and can Fed-Ex it all off.  It puts the Georgia job on hold.
We've been busy with other paperwork though.  I hate to even talk about it, but we have decided that we need to file bankruptcy due to the losses from Bob's mortgage business.  Our tax accountant says that all of the 1099s that we received from the "short sales" of our personal  house and the rental properties will cost us a lot of taxes to the IRS.  So he is recommending again that we file bankruptcy so we can "start over".  We were  hesitant to do that before, wanting to pay our bills but now this seems right to do it.  We talked to a bankruptcy lawyer last week and he concurred.  So we have been getting together the paperwork needed.  We've prayed about this as well and feel that this is now God's timing.  All the paperwork has come together very easily and we have no assets except our car.  Maybe this was one of the reasons that I don't have a job right now and my Georgia paperwork was delayed!
The Attorney made us feel better about all this saying there are lots of people in this same situation.  They tried to make a small business work and when the bottom fell out, tried everything including borrowing more, to make the business float longer hoping things would turn around.  He also quoted the Bible [!] saying that in the Old Testament it says your debts are forgiven every 7 years, that's where our forefathers got "Chapter7 Bankruptcy" rules/laws.  In England of course, you were thrown in "debtor's prison" if you couldn't pay back your debt even if it wasn't through any true fault of your own and our forefathers didn't want that to happen in America.  They wanted people to be able to get back into society to be productive again and try to new businesses that would work which in the end profits for America. 
We asked Dave and Carol if we could rent a room from them while I work in Georgia.  We'll make this our home base and come back here for a few days out of each week.  That way we can visit Melissa and Jazmin.  We may still go to Montana but maybe not for long, only 4 weeks instead of 6 weeks.  We'll see about that.
I guess time will tell what we need to do.  I'm learning that a lot of things are not in our timing but God's timing.  If something doesn't feel right and you are praying about whether to do something or buy something, it's best to wait on God.....

Back in Gainesville, FL

We are hanging out at Dave & Carol's house in Archer, FL. I have not heard from the Georgia Board of Nursing yet about my license so I can start work with the House Calls program in Georgia.  Also, everything with the Montana license is on hold until I get my certificate for the CEU hours that I just completed.
We went to church last Sunday and reconnected with some of our international friends and other church friends. It was good to be back at Westside for services.

In Orlando

We are in Orlando for a couple of days.  I needed some continuing education hours for my future Montana license.  Now hoping that the certificate will come soon enough to complete the licensure process in order for me to still go to Montana for the June 28th job!  Guess we'll see what God intends to happen with all that.  I can't worry about it.
We'll be leaving for Gainesville again tomorrow afternoon after the conference ends.  Bob's been filling his time with going to the Bass Pro Shop and some other outlets nearby while I "slave" away at the conference.
We are staying with David and Carol Lee for the next week or so.  We wanted to go up to Georgia to see Bob's brother Fred and wife Linda, but the timing didn't work out.  So we are going to try and visit with them over the Memorial Day weekend.  Sebastian may drive up there as well from Panama City.  He likes his Uncle Fred and Aunt Linda.

Happy Mother's Day!

We had a great morning.  We went to St Andrew's Baptist Church with both Bob and Sebastian.  The message was great for Mother's Day.  Proverbs 31:27-30.  Yesterday, we went out to Applebee's for a Mother's Day meal with Sebastian.  He is really growing up!.  He has lost about 30lbs of weight and is looking really good too. He just recently got a car so that we can have our van back to go traveling for my future job.
We are going to the beach to go surf fishing and have some fun in the sun.  Maybe to Mexico Beach near Panama City.

In Panama City

Well, we are in Panama City since 2 days ago, on Sunday, May 2nd.  We are settling in and going through our personal boxes that Sebastian was keeping for us.  Trying to see what we need to keep with us or take back to the storage unit.  We might not be able to go to Montana for the 6 weeks NP position that I signed up for.  Montana licensure wants me to have so many hours of continuing education in pharmacology.  I would need to take a conference.  There is one in a couple of weeks in Orlando!  Man.....to go all the way back there again, geesh!  So we will see..... Have to talk to the recruiter in Florida about the House Calls position in Georgia also, so we will see.....Lots of planning needs to be done...
Had a great time in St. Petersberg seeing some sights and visiting Helen, our 87 year old cousin that used to live in NY.  Also, went to Gainesville for several days and saw friends and family and went to some appts and moved our things from one storage unit to a bigger one.  We were busier there than we thought we'd be.

We are finished remodeling!

Well, we leave tomorrow and we have finished remodeling the house.  There may be a few things left but my other brother John will have to do them!  Check out the pictures on the Picasa link.

Leaving for Florida!

Hi Everyone,
The house is just about done.  Will be posting pictures soon. The bathroom turned out very nice with the new tile floor and shower. 

We are leaving for Florida this Saturday on April 24th. Tom will be flying to Florida with us for a 1 week vacation in St. Petersberg, FL.  He will visit Helen, a distant relative of ours at the assisted-living facility she is staying in.  While he is doing that, we will go to Gainesville and see some friends and take care of some business we have.  Then Sebastian will come over from Panama City with our car to get us.  We'll go back to Panama City with him and stay with my friend Diane for awhile.
I may have a Nurse Practitioner position in Havre, Montana for 6 weeks.  This town is about 4 hours from Glacier National Park. We were trying to find something in Hawaii but nothing has come in about that right now.  

SPRING IN NY!

It is definitely spring in NY.  All the trees are budding.  Flowering bushes and trees are blooming, like the Forsythias and dogwood.  It is really pretty.  Everyone says it is too early.  We've had very warm 70 degree weather for a week but last couple of days has been cold again.

Our trip back to Florida has been delayed since my brother Tom broke his right elbow at work on April 1st.  He still can't use it of course, so we'll be staying another 2 weeks to help him out.  We've made plans for him to fly back with us and he will visit some relatives in St. Petersberg while we go on up to Gainesville.  We'll then go back down and take him to the Orlando airport to fly home.

House is almost completed.  The bathroom still needs to be finished.  We had to let go the handyman b/c we didn't like how he did the tile on the floor. He didn't take it well and was quite nasty near the end.  It's been very negatively emotional for us here the last couple of days. 

We hired a tile contractor instead to do the tile which we should have done all along.  Oh well, live and learn.  Bob still has to paint the upstairs bedroom and put down the laminate wood-look floor and then the upstairs will be done.  All except the interior doors which we may leave for my brother John to do.

Here's a picture of Lake Wawayanda State Park nearby.  We went out for a few hours one afternoon:

Some beautiful Forsythias also:

Pictures of the Blackdirt Region: