I'm frustrated.

I want to find tickets to get to Texas to visit Nate. You would think that I could get a military discount for travel...why can't I figure out how to do it? If you have any info for me please help!!

What to do.

I am possibly currently looking for an apartment in the Dayton area. If anyone has any information, please pass it on. Thanks.

Charleston, South Carolina

That's right, Nathanael got his orders today, and as soon as he graduates from training sometime mid September, we will be moving to Charleston, SC!!!

Just one thing at a time.

I'm starting to get overwhelmed with everything in my head. I think I need to start using a planner. I'm driving myself crazy thinking about everything that needs to be done, when it needs to be done, and if I forgot to do it. I think my brain is on overload.

I am dealing with multiple emotions constantly, and its tiring. Just today my daughter asked me when she was going to get to talk to her daddy again. I responded, "Well we can probably skype with him soon." She looked at me and said, "No mommy, I want to hold him. When will I get to hold him again?" Not only is it is draining on me not to have him hold me in his arms, but having our 3yr old long for his touch is heartbreaking.

My grandmother's health is up and down, back and forth, and all over the place. One day I'm told this could be the start to recovery, and the next day (or even just a few hours later I'm told this is the beginning of the end. Besides my husband and children, she has been, and will always be the most important person in my life. I love her so much and don't want to live my life without her in it. I want my children to grow up knowing her the way I do. I am currently trying to come to grips with the reality that even if her health was perfect, people don't live forever, and its not practical that she would live another 23yrs.

I don't know whether to stay here, or go along with our original plan. I would like to think that we can move on to our next destination with no worries, but when I convince myself the best thing is to leave, I find myself coming back to the thought of being so far away, and not knowing what is going on.

I do need prayer. I'm drained, tired, and lonely. I know I need to lean on Christ during this time, but I am finding it hard to focus. I feel like I never sit, unless I'm sitting with my grandmother in the quiet of her room, and then all I can think about is her. I keep telling myself this is just a phase in my life, and soon it will be over. I will be able to breath again with no tears. At this point I am forced to wait for that day.

Nathanael, I love you and miss you. I thank you for all that you are doing for your family. I look forward to the day that we can be together again. And your children are doing the same. I'm praying for your strength to get through this time without us. I know that God is holding both of us close, and soon we will be together.

waiting

i am currently posting using a wii. i can't wait till my computer arrives in the mail!

I'm on my way!

I'm sitting in the Columbus Airport right now waiting to get on the plane. I'm contemplating going and getting a cup of coffee. My hands are shaking so maybe that isn't a good idea. Not sure why they are shaking. I'm excited about seeing Nate, but sad about leaving the children. I guess that is as good enough reason as any.

I've got it.

Nathanael has given me his new address, and if you want it, email me and I will get it to you.

I need your help.

Ok...Just got word from Nathanael that his school schedule is 12am-7am Monday through Friday.

So...I may not be moving down to TX after all. Here is where all of you who read my blog come in. If I don't move to TX, I'm going to have to live somewhere for the next 4 months. I don't really care where, but I do think that I want our own place. I'm going to be looking for fully furnished places with utilities included in Chattanooga, Nashville, Dayton, and Rock Hill areas. I'm willing to live in a place that is not fully furnished if people know an easy way to get furniture.

So...if you want me and the kids to live near you, help me out! :)

Other thoughts...maybe I will find out where we are going to be stationed soon, and I could just go set up camp there...

Be Praying!

Lynn Meadows Discovery Center

On Saturday, Nathanael and I took the kids to Lynn Meadows Discovery Center. Normally they charge $7 per person over one years old, but since my husband is an Airman, we got in for $5 per person making Saturday a 7hr day of imagination for just $20 for the whole family! The nice part about it, we arrived when they opened, and were able to leave for lunch, and re-enter with out paying again. We had a great time, and I have pictures to prove it. Enjoy!

(I did not take this photo)

First, outside the center they had a wooden train that the children could crawl through, a wooden house with a window Ivy felt cute looking though as she called out to her Daddy, and 3 wooden tree houses where one could hug and kiss the trees all they wanted.

The kids eyes were all aglow when we walked into the building. To their left there was a life size train station all for them. There was a ticket counter with a chalk board train schedule. The engine had a place where coal made of sponge was kept. There was even two shovels and a bucket the kids could use to transport the coal to the other side of the engine where there was a little hole with painted fire inside that they could shovel the coal into. There was one car that the engine was pulling that had one table for two passengers. The table had food and drinks to go along with it. Outside the train there was luggage and clothes that the kids could use to help them feel more like they were playing the part of either the conductor or a passenger.
(and this was just the beginning)

Right outside the train station was a table with a wooden train track and little wooden trains. Some of them were "Thomas" trains, but regardless what brand they were, Ari had a lot of fun playing with them.

Next, there was a fishing boat that had two bucket, one filled with rubbery shrimp, and the other with plastic crabs. The net had a hole that you could throw the "catch" into, and a rope at the bottom that you could tie off to hold everything in. And of course there were clothes for dressing up. There was also another part in this area that was just the front of a boat. It had a steering wheel and a bell with a rope the children could "ding". There was a third station where there was a middle of a boat with cargo (bags), and a crane with a big hook that you could load the bags onto. Then depending on which controls you used, you could raise up the hook, or spin the crane over to the back of a truck (built out of the wall) and take the bags off the hook and load the truck. There were hard hats and gloves to dress up with.

There were 2 floors to the building, and in the center of the first floor there was a huge climbing thingy. (I'm trying my best to be descriptive!) There was a ramp for those of us where were less limber than the children. This was great for the kids to climb up to the second floor.

Mexico was our first stop. There was a little cart where you could make any Mexican dish you could think of (there was even non-Mexican food.) Ivy had a wonderful time making fajitas.

Is anyone up for Tea? Nathanael enjoyed an elegant time of tea with his two children. At this station, there was a section with all different hats for women that were displayed with hat boxes and wired hat stands. There were decorative mirrors on the tables, and one full length mirror. Next to this there was another section with an armoire filled with men's top hats and dress coats. There were gloves and shoes, and a trunk full of clothes to try on.

It was hard to pry the kids away from the Winn Dixie. There were little black canvas shopping bags that could be used to get anything your little heart desired. The caned food, and boxed items were real. There were many baskets of fruits and veggies. There was a bakery, seafood counter, and refrigerated and freezer section (not actually cold). The cash register was FILLED with money! There were many different activities that were made possible outside the grocery store. For instance, to teach children how to buy groceries if someone were deaf or mute, there was a clipboard with two columns: Need and Found. Then there were lots of little pictures with Velcro on the back that would sick to the clipboard. Another activity had lists already prepared so kids could use to go shopping with and find the items on their list.

There were many other exciting things for the children to do, but the last thing I took pictures of was the Green Screen Kayak. I don't think the kids fully understood what was going on, but Ivy found it interesting that the wall was green, but that it looked like she was floating in water on the TV screen. When I passed behind the boat to help them with their paddles, my body disappeared and it looked like only my head and arms were floating around in the water (I was wearing a green shirt).

As you can see we all had a great time. There is a good chance that we will go back before it is time for us to depart from MS. It was so nice having Nathanael with us for the WHOLE weekend. He drove over on Friday after he was finished with school, and we didn't have to take him back to the base until 11am on Sunday morning. Today (Sunday) was a little hard for the kids after we dropped him off. A few times during the day they were asking when he was coming back. They are also trying to fight off colds, so they were even more whiny than usual.

This was an extremely long post, but I hope you enjoyed every bit of it. I apologize if parts of it don't make sense, I'm tired! Goodnight.

Questions

What is your occupation right now?
I'm a full-time mommy.

What color are your socks right now?
Black, White, Turquoise, Gold, and Red. They are striped.

What are you listening to right now?
Children playing and a Glad commercial.

What was the last thing that you ate?
Off-bran cocoa pebbles.

Can you drive a stick shift?
I have before, need more practice.

Last person you spoke to on the phone?
Melissa, before I went to bed last night.

Do you like the person who sent this to you?
Of Course!

How old are you today?
I am 25 years old . . .

or 310 months old
or 1349 weeks old
or 9450 days old
or 226800 hours old
or 13608005 minutes old
or 816480312 seconds old
(By the time you read this I will be a little older)

What is your favorite sport to watch on TV?
Figure Skating

What is your favorite drink?
Don't really have one. If there is bottled water, I'll take that first unless of course if there is a special drink that you just don't get everyday.

Have you ever dyed your hair?
Yes

Favorite food?
Lasagna

What is the last movie you watched?
Peter Pan

Favorite day of the year?
Get-togethers.

How do you vent anger?
Clean

What was your favorite toy as a child?
A Puffalump (which I still have) and a Brown Bear with a Red bow tie (which our dog chewed up.

What is your favorite season?
Winter if there is snow.

Cherries or Blueberries?
Cherries

Do you want your friends to e-mail you back?
Yes

Living arrangements?
Furnished Apartment, 1 daughter, 1 son, (soon) 1 husband.

When was the last time you cried?
Yesterday

What is on the floor of your closet?
Luggage, Scrapbooking Supplies, Toys (everything I don't want all over the apartment)

What did you do last night?
Watched American Idol and cleaned

What are you most afraid of?
Dying before other people, and making it hard on them.

Plain, cheese, or spicy hamburger?
Cheese...Bacon would be nice too.

Favorite dog breed?
Great Pyrenees

Favorite day of the week?
Some weeks Thursday, other weeks Friday (Nate comes home)

How many states have you lived in?
Ohio, Tennessee, Mississippi, (technically) South Carolina...4. Ask me in a couple years I'm sure that number will be MUCH larger.

Diamonds or pearls?
White Gold/Silver anything

What is your favorite flower?
Not sure yet. I really like flowers, and I don't know the names of them.

Easter Sunday.

Today was a good day. Last night I hid 40 candy filled eggs in the livingroom, and 10 sticker filled eggs in my bedroom.

This morning I woke up to Nathanael sneaking into my bed at 5am. Around 7am we heard the first "pop" and found Ari with his blanket and reebot sitting on the floor looking at the Sponge Bob stickers he found in the egg. He climbed into bed with us and insisted that we admire the stickers too. About 20min later Ivy came stumbling into the room. Her shirt was only half on and her hair was a squirrely mess. After pulling herself together I pointed her in the direction of a hiden egg. After she saw the Strawberry Shortcake Princess stickers inside, I told her there were 8 more eggs to find.

After Nathanael and I came too and were ready to get out of bed, I gave the kids thier baskets and made them wait... I had to replace the batteries in the camera. When I unleashed them, they were off. I had to explain to Ivy that she needed to look for the "harder to find" eggs so Ari would be able to get the "insight" eggs.

After every egg was found, we all sat down and opened them into a big candy pile. The rule was that noone was supposed to eat any chocolate until all the eggs were opened, but I think some pieces were "sneaked"! Ivy ended up finding the most eggs. She was really excited when I brought out the grand prize. It is a strawberry scented Strawberry Shortcake bubble bath.

We ended the festivities with some coloring. Nathanael helped Ivy and I worked with Ari. As you can tell by the picture, Ivy only wanted hers to be PINK. The hole processes what mess free, and I used water instead of vinager so we didn't have to hold our noses. We had a wonderful day with Daddy and it was great to have the whole family together.

It was interesting telling a 3 year old that Jesus died to save us all and three days later came to life again. There were some eyebrowl crinkeling, but she insisted on calling people to tell them the "good news".

Now I am being begged to give them an egg to eat. Love to all and Happy Easter!

Happy Hippity Hoppity Easter!

I'm very excited about tomorrow. Nathanael is going to come over early and spend the WHOLE day with us. I have already filled 40-50 eggs (I'll count them tonight as I hide them) with stickers and chocolate. Tonight after the children are in a deep sleep, I will hide them all over the apartment. When they wake up tomorrow morning (hopefully Nate will already be here) the kids can begin looking for them. Ivy is already VERY excited about the "colory eggies" and has no idea why. She caught a glimpse of them and keeps asking what they are for... hee hee hee.

After all that, we are going to dye some eggs. I'm on a salad kick, and I wanted eggs to cut up. We normally buy the brown eggs, but I purposely bought the white ones and boiled them yesterday.

Hopefully I can get the kids to take a nap at some point during the day, and when they wake up I plan on talking to them about Easter. I did a little researching on line today to see "why a rabbit" and "why eggs" What do they have to do with anything...I never did understand how we went from Jesus' death and Resurrection to magical bunnies and colorful eggs.

Feel free to comment if you know of anything else, or if this is completely wrong, but here is what I've learned.

Oh of course...it was a Pagen holiday...just like Christmas trees!

Turns out...(taken from http://wilstar.com/holidays/easter.htm)

"The ancient Saxons celebrated the return of spring with an uproarious festival commemorating their goddess of offspring and of springtime, Eastre. When the second-century Christian missionaries encountered the tribes of the north with their pagan celebrations, they attempted to convert them to Christianity. They did so, however, in a clandestine manner.

It would have been suicide for the very early Christian converts to celebrate their holy days with observances that did not coincide with celebrations that already existed. To save lives, the missionaries cleverly decided to spread their religious message slowly throughout the populations by allowing them to continue to celebrate pagan feasts, but to do so in a Christian manner.

As it happened, the pagan festival of Eastre occurred at the same time of year as the Christian observance of the Resurrection of Christ. It made sense, therefore, to alter the festival itself, to make it a Christian celebration as converts were slowly won over. The early name, Eastre, was eventually changed to its modern spelling, Easter."

(loosely quoted)...The Easter Bunny originated with the pagen festival of Eastre. The goddess, Eastre, was worshiped by the Anglo-Saxons through her earthly symbol, the rabbit. The egg was a symbol of rebirth.

On a different site, (http://www.celebratingeaster.com/traditions/history/)

"The two symbols most often associated with Eastre are the hare and the egg because of their obvious connection to fertility, and the idea of new growth associated with spring and dawn. Legend has it that Eastre would entertain children by turning her favorite bird into a hare that would lay a nest filled with colorful eggs."

So, tomorrow I plan on telling the kids (in 3yr old language)

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."John 3:16 (New International Version)

"I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes Him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. John 5:24 (New International Version)

"We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life." Romans 6:4 (New International Version)

I might try to talk about the eggs in terms of the fact that baby chicks and such are born from them...we'll see.

This all may go completely over their heads, but it is the seed that will continue to grow throughout their childhood. I'm sure that Nate and I will get MANY questions, but I believe there will be good discussion.

I find it odd...

Today Ivy and I were watching the Disney channel and a commercial advertisement came on for this Sunday. I was a bit surprised that they were advertising Halloween week in April, and they decided to start the week on Sunday, Easter Sunday. I did a little "google"ing and turns out they did it last year too. I find this upsetting.

I got it back!

Just received a phone call from the Ramada Corporate Office. Originally she was only going to give me my money back for Saturday Night and Sunday Night. I explained to her that I really would like my entire stay reimbursed due to the lack of customer service, and the fact that I paid for a non-smoking room, and received a smoking room. I also asked her if there was any comment on the letter that I had received, and she said the notes only spoke of the fact that I had received a letter. I kindly asked her if she minded if I read it to her. She said yes, and so I did. After I was finished I gave her a little more background of the situation. Then with out any more questions, she said "So total you paid was $$$ and I will be sending a check for $$$ to your address in 2-3 weeks. I'm sorry and we will be investigating this property."

So everything refunded. Nice! I wouldn't say that every Ramada is like this, but I would say to those of you who might be traveling, don't prepay, unless you know what you are getting into. I've learned my lesson.

Keesler AFB, 2009 Air Show

Yesterday Nathanael was able to spend the whole day with us
and we decided to take the kids to the Air Show.
We took lots of pictures...Enjoy!



The kids thought it was so cool that they could go inside the airplanes.



We all had a great time.



Ari thought this plane looked like a shark.
In these pictures, Ivy and Ari pretended
that the "shark" was biting them.



Ivy loved the idea of sitting in the seat, however she was worried
every time we went in a plane that it was going to take off.
She kept asking if we needed to buckle up.



Who's flying this plane?



Everyone was excited about watching the parachuters.



They had moon jumps and slides for the kids to play in.



The main attraction was the Thunderbirds.
They were loud, but Ari loved watching them.

Not Joking!

I'm working on getting my money back to a prepaid reservation for a Ramada hotel. Here is a letter that I received from the hotel owner. All spelling and grammar is exactly what I read in the letter I received. Enjoy!


(Blogger won't allow the 5 tabs at the beginning of the letter used to indent the paragraph.)

Dear Ms. Johnson:
We are responding to your comments regarding your experience with our Ramada Limited regarding problem in your room. We have thoroughly examined this matter and found that our staff preformed their duties appropriately and professionally. I greatly appreciate your comment and suggestion in this matter I am so sorry you think that way we just finished 95 % of our whole hotels all rooms with new knocked down painting done, so all hotels room smell fresh new painting and none of room smell smoking smell, what you smell was paint smell not a smoke smell. We did give you non smoking room and what you smelled it was freshly new paint smell not a smoking smell. Next morning you come by and tell our desk clerk to switch to a different room when you come back and you left. We did not heard from you next day all day until 4:30 PM you called ant tell our second shift clerk you did find accommodation at where you working at Kessler air force base which close to you are an you was looking for long time finally you find room at base so you decide to stay there and want to cancel your reservation which your reservation prepaid and we not able to cancel at Buy now and no refund no cancelation type policy. I am so sorry but reservation you made it was Buy now no refund policy and we not able to cancel. And you did knew that when you made reservation. I do not have any authority to cancel or refund this reservation. I am so sorry for all trouble you had and I want to give one free stay at our hotel for future your stay. Please call us in advance to hold room for you and bring this latter with at time of check in.

We take pride of Ramada name. We are sorry to hear about your unhappiness. Thank you for choosing Ramada Limited. And looking forward to see you in future visit.



Its me again...

The owner/manager did in fact see this letter before mailing it, because it has his signature in pen at the bottom!!

FYI...the prepaid reservation was for a NON-smoking room. When I checked in the FD lady couldn't find my reservation until I gave her the conf#, and then she asked me for payment. I explained to her that it was a prepaid reservation, and she shouldn't need it, but also should already have my CC info. She was continually talking to herself about how the reservation wasn't coming through properly and the paperwork hadn't been done for it. She then told me when I was checking in, that the room was in fact a smoking room and that the were almost booked and had nothing else available due to a softball tournament. Also, there were ashtrays in the room!!! Don't tell me I was in a non-smoking room and that the smell was fresh paint...I'm not stupid.

There were many other problems like: Soupy cream cheese (little individual packets that said "Keep Refrigerated" were sitting on the counter in a basket), Stale bagels, FD representatives not asking for ID when making room keys (that's a big one!), and the personal phone calls while checking me in :)

I have to wait to call corporate until tomorrow because the office is closed due to a snow storm...lol. I'll keep you updated on the drama.

My 1st visitor!

I just got word that my sister is going to fly down here to Msssspp and spend almost a WHOLE week with us. The kids are excited that she is coming. Ivy's smile was ear to ear when I told her. Hopefully the weather will be nice and we will be able to go to a couple different parks, the beach, and hang out that the pool. We may even venture out to a zoo. I'm sure at some point there will be pictures to post.

The latest.

Ok...so now that we are partially moved in to our 1 bedroom fully furnished apartment, we are moving to a 2 bedroom two doors down tomorrow. There are plus and minuses to the move, but I think the positives out weigh the negative.

The biggest advantage, is more space for the same price. The kitchen, living room, and dinning room are laid out differently and seem bigger, at least the layout gives the appearance of more space. The children will have their own bedroom, which is nice for me, and my recent lack of personal space. With the extra room, that means there will be more closet space for storing items not used everyday and will reduce the clutter. Also the children will be able to have thier toys in thier bedroom, and be able to use it as a play room.

The down side to the move is the view and lack of sunshine that will be coming in the windows. As of right now I have 4 large windows in the living room/dining room that over look the pool/courtyard. In our new place we will be located in the corner of the complex and there will only be 2 large windows, and right outside of them is a brick wall. It will make things a little darker out in living area, but I guess I can start using the lights durning the day. I also love having the windows open and feeling the breeze (it's not humid here yet) and I'm not sure there will be much of a breeze in the new place.

Nathanael has found out that if he stays on track, he will graduate from Kessler 0n May 11th. If this is accurate, our time here in MS is going to be much shorter than we originally expected. He originally understood that he wasnt starting Tech School until April 9th and then would graduate from here 14 weeks later. So, in all, I think I can handle looking at a brick wall for 7 weeks, if it means getting an extra room and more space.

The children and I really are enjoying our own space, and I'm excited about not driving long distances for a few weeks. However when it is time to go, our traves will take us 12 hours from here!! Again, we aren't planning on going anywhere until then! :)

Grab the popcorn, I have a story to tell.

A little background information.

I have been in contact with a management company (since March 18th) about a little cottage that I was looking into renting here in the Biloxi area. Before arriving to MS I had already signed an application, faxed in my proof of income, and been approved to rent the cottage All that was left was signing the lease and getting the keys.

I drove down to MS on Friday March 20th and after finding out that I would be arriving in town after the rental place closed their office, I started trying to make arrangements for the key to be picked up before they closed, and then I could finish up the paperwork on Monday when the office reopened. I was a little upset that they wouldn't take my CC# over the phone and allow someone to pick the key up which meant that I would have to find somewhere for the kids and I to live for the weekend. Oh but who knew that God was in control and there was a good reason for this minor setback? I wasn't thinking about it at the time when I was frustrated, but I can see it now.

Over the weekend I did a little more research on places in the area to rent. Nathanael and I found a 2br 1bath apartment fully furnished for the same price as the cottage, however all expenses were covered, and wireless internet and cable TV were included. It seemed a little too good to be true, but I called the number and left a message. A few moments later a man called me back and I explained our situation, and he was more than willing to work with us. He was currently out of town, but could meet with me on Monday to show me the apartment.

Now we come to today...(Monday).

I called the management company about the cottage and inquired about getting an appointment to view it. They told me that all I need to do was come to the office and they would issue me a key. So...I drove 15 minutes to the office (with the kids), I guess it isn't normal to "show" the property to possible renters, because they basically handed me the key and I was on my own...The girl at the desk made a copy of my drivers license and wanted to hold on to my credit card (but they wouldn't run it). I then got into the car and drove 15 minutes to the cottage (with the kids) (and no one representing the house) I unloaded the kids and proceeded to open the gate...but it wouldn't open. I tried for a few minutes, pushing and pulling, lifting up and pushing down, but the latch wouldn't budge. I called the management company and explain my dilemma to them the girl on the phone told me that no one has ever had a problem getting in or out. When I asked "Well then can you tell me how to do it?" The answer I was given was "I've never been to the property, let me see if anyone else can help you." Of course she puts a man on the phone and he proceeds to talk to me as if I'm just a dumb girl that doesn't understand anything and says "all you need to do is..." I tried to explain to him that I understood what he was saying, but that the latch wasn't moving, and he wasn't describing the latch that I was looking at, and then it came out that this man hadn't been to the property either! He then asks me to take pictures with my cell phone and come back to the office...(I'M NOT JOKING!) At this point I'm a little upset. I did it though, I took the pictures and drove 15 minutes back to the office (with the kids) and now I've just wasted 45min of my day.

Now we are at the office for the second time...The girl (who originally helped me get the keys, and who answered the phone knowing that I couldn't get the gate open) asks me what I thought of the place as she hands me my credit card. I'm sure my answer came out a little rude...but I said, "I couldn't get in the gate!" and she looks at me with a shocked expression and apologizes. She goes to get the manager and as he is walking down the hallway from his office he rudely approaches me with a "Hey." which I purposely ignored and pretended I didn't know he was addressing me. Then as he is closer to me he states that no one has ever had a problem with the latch, and the proceeds to explain to me how to do it. He rolls his eyes as I inform him that the latch wasn't moving as he said it should. He then huffs and says that he could drive out to the property and open the gate.

At this point I really didn't care if I got the chance to view the cottage, but I told him that I would appreciate it if he would drive out there, because I could tell by his attitude, that I was putting a kink in his plans. He leaves me standing at the counter as he goes back to his office. About 3 minutes later I noticed out of the corner of my eye that he passed by the hallway in the back of the office building. I then notice the sunlight reflect off the back wall, and then disappear. I questioned to the man at the counter, "Was that the manager who just left the building?" Yes it was, and all the man behind the counter had to say to me was, "He drives the big white truck, and he drives like he wind blows." I kid you not when I got out to the car, he was already pulling out of the parking lot, and had never told me that he was even leaving the office.

We get to to cottage, (now I've driven a total of 1hour, with the kids, to view this place) and I told him that I wasn't going back to the office again, and that he would have to wait for me to view the cottage and take the keys back with him. He goes to the gate and guess what...he can't get it open. Oh but of course there was a good reason, it was locked from the inside, and he says that the previous renter must have left it that way for his dog.

HOLD THE PHONE....
They hadn't checked the gate to even see if it was open since the previous renter left? You've got to be kidding me!

To make this long story as short as possible....I go inside the cottage and it looks nothing like the pictures.

The desk with the office chair that was pictures in the living room doesn't exist and the couch that was in there wasn't the same on that was in the picture, and it was literally falling apart, no end table with lamp, no pictures on the walls, no blinds on the windows, and no rug no the floor. In the pictures, both bedrooms had a full size bed with sheets and comforter, a desk and a lamp. When I went in the first room, there was a full size bed, but it only had one sheet, and there were 4 dusty pictures from the wall laying on top of the sheet....no light in the room. The second room only had a twin size bed, and no bedding. The man said that he THOUGHT they might be able to get me some bed linen.

Lets just say I'm thankful I wasn't able to get the keys on Friday. I would have never guessed this cottage wasn't ready to move into when the description states "in excellent condition. Renovated in 2006, it offers the charm of yesteryear with the conveniences of today. It features 2 bedrooms, 1 bath, approximately 1000sf and has hardwood floors and ceramic tile in the wet areas. Fully furnished and has a screened porch, a rear deck, and a fenced yard. " and the girl that I was in correspondence with since the 18th knew that I was needing something that I could move into with just the stuff packed in my car.

I signed the papers today on this place....

The pictures aren't 100% accurate, but the decor is the same style. There is a pool and a washer and dryer facility on site. All utilities are included in the rent and that includes the wireless internet, and the cable TV...for the same price as just the rent of the cottage (utilities weren't included there) The only down side to the apartment that we will be living in, is that it is 20 min from base instead of the 2 minute convenience that the cottage had, but I think the kids and I will be much happier here...

The End.

There's much to tell...

So the kids and I are in mIssIssIppI now. We arrived Friday evening and were able to spend some time with Nathanael before we went to our hotel room. We spend one night at the Ramada in Ocean Springs, and now we are staying at the TLF (Temporary Lodging Facility) on base, Hopefully Monday we will have arrangements made and finally have a home all to ourselves for the remainder of our stay here in MS. There are a few places that we are looking into, I just hope that one of them works out.

God has really been watching over us during our trip and stay here in MS. He has crossed our paths with some VERY gernerous people who have been very giving of their time. I have a peace about me that we are being looked after, and everything will fall into place.

The children and I got to spend almost the ENTIRE day with Nathanael. He still has a curfew, and isn't allowed off base, so we spent the entire day on base with him. Nathanael and I took the kids to the playground, and Ari showed us both how daring he was to go off the BIGGEST slide, and Ivy had her very first Teeter Tauter (SeeSaw) experiance. We then visited the commisary and picked up some fruit, sausage, cheese, and crackers for lunch and ate outside under a tree. Nathanael then found out that he could visit us in our room on base, so he came over and we had frozen pizzas for dinner and watch various Strawberry Shortcake DVDs and also most of Peter Pan. We gave the children a bath and just when it was time to put them to bed, Nathanael had to walk his way back to the dorm to make it in time for curfew. So yes...we did a lot of walking today beacuse there are many rules still for Nathanael, and one of them is that he isn't allowed to "ride" in a car...even as the passanger. The day was wonderful.

I am ready to relax now...Just made myself a cup of Tazo :Calm: tea and I think that I will play some bookworm before going to bed...Melissa and Hadassah...I did show it to Nathanael, not sure if he is as hooked as I am, but I'll get him...Bwahahaha! :)