Almost done

Welcome to a semi-bright Thursday morning, at least here in Petersburg. Winter refuses to release its grip without a fight. We had a couple of days of 40+ degrees and rain, helping to wash away some of the snow, but last night, snow started to fall again. This morning, we are seeing a combination of sun, clouds, and snow.

We received our property sale closing documents yesterday. We signed them, and now they are on their way back down to Portland. Unless something major occurs between now and next Thursday, the closing should take place as scheduled.

When that finally settles, our severely negative cash-flow situation will be improved to a little bit of a negative cash-flow. The next little hurdle is our wait for the Alaska Board of Nursing to send Elise's nursing license so that she can start working. It can come as early as around the 20th, and hopefully no later than the first week or two of April. The application fee check was cashed, so we know they've received the application.

And then once that happens, we can find out how much of a housing loan we can get. That plus the proceeds from the sale will determine how much house we are able to purchase. Projecting forward, my guess is that it's going to be May or later until we are able to purchase and move. That's probably just as well, because moving in snow and ice isn't all that fun. (I must add though, that moving is never fun for me.) Maybe it will be dry and warm by the time May and June come around. On the other hand, some property could come up for sale in the next month or two that we simply have to jump on.

We're basically looking for property in town (no more than a mile, maybe two, from the center), 3+ bedrooms, 1.5+ baths, a largish living area, a good kitchen, and covered parking (we've learned is very important here - no fun digging out vehicles buried in snow, or trying to thaw out 1/4-inch thick ice) that can fit our F-150.

I'm not yet at the place where I understand the reasons behind why our property sold when it did, or why it's taken so much longer than we anticipated for Elise to get her license, and a multitude of other "why's." Maybe in another six months or a year, we will be able to look back and begin to better understand. I guess that's one bit of life that I've learned -- that the events of life don't make much sense at the time they're happening. Our God reveals only what is necessary for us to live life today, for us to make decisions necessary to get through today. Our life this past year is an illustration of James 4:13-16:

"Look here, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.' How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog--it's here a little while, then it's gone. What you ought to say is, 'If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.' Otherwise you are boasting about your own plans, and all such boasting is evil." (NLT)

This week, our girls have been spending their nights at the church with their grandmother and their cousin. Grandma and cousin are leaving us tomorrow. Stripey, one of our cats, will be very happy to have Shelley back home. Shelley is his special person. This week, he's been very clingy whenever I'm around. He tries to hug and kiss me when I'm trying to read and otherwise accomplish things at the kitchen table.