New car...

Ok, we just took the eBay craze to the next level. We bought a car WITHOUT SEEING IT! It has been a very interesting process. First, we found a car listed on eBay that was in our price range. Then we contacted a finance company to pay for the car. The application was initially rejected, because we were asking for more money that the vehicle was worth. It was only off by about $150, so not a problem. But, by the time we got the loan approved, the car had already sold!

So we found another listing, actually from the same seller, and changed the loan application to reflect that car. It was approved, and we made an offer on the second vehicle. It was accepted, at a discount from the listed price! This was Wednesday evening. On Thursday, I spoke with the dealer and started to make arrangements for the payment and pickup. I worked that day, so it was difficult for me to get much done from the hospital. I called the bank first thing Friday morning to accept the loan offer, and we finished what we needed. We scheduled closing for 4:30 pm. All that remained was for the dealer to fax a copy of the title to the finance company. Apparently, the dealership is rather small, and only one employee takes care of the titles. She faxed what she thought was the front and back, along with the purchase agreement, and then she went home for the weekend. Little did she know, the fax that was received was the FRONT of the title, accompanied by TWO copies of the purchase agreement. No back. And no one else knew where the title was after she left. After several triangular phone calls, and a fruitless trip to the bank to sign non-existent papers, we found that we would have to wait until Monday. Not a huge deal for most people, but have you met my husband?

A couple more phone calls on Saturday morning seemed to do nothing to remedy the situation. Finally, someone showed up to work who knew where the title was! It was successfully faxed to the finance company, and we completed preliminary work over the phone, during Noah's soccer game. I hear they won... This was 2:30 on Saturday. Obviously, the bank was closed. Bah! So after all that work, we still had to wait until Monday. But we signed papers Monday afternoon and booked a one-way flight to Dallas to pick up the vehicle. From there on, it has run smoothly; We had a meeting at school this morning, which was over in time for me to drive Jeremy to the airport, and I was able to get to Jazzercise on time after that (very important!) Everyone was where they were supposed to be in Dallas, and finally, Jeremy is currently driving north on I35 in his new-to-us car. Ahhh. (sigh of relief) He says he likes it! Now we just have to pay off the minivan...

Ok, so my track record for posting is incredibly crappy, but I decided to jump back in. So much has changed in the past few months, and it's only the beginning!

My husband is retiring from youth ministry. This has been a long time coming, and it's very nice to feel confident in this decision. Youth ministry is a demanding career, and it has demanded enough from my tired husband. We will be finished at Alameda on May 30 at 7am, once all the teenagers leave the lock-in and go home. On May 31, we plan to re-place membership at Memorial Road. This was a tricky choice to make. After the awkwardness of the past 2 years, we know better than to stick around when someone else comes to fill your role. Although, from what I've been hearing, that may be awhile. Apparently these decisions take time... lots of time.

Our biggest concern right now is where to live! We bought a house in Norman when we moved. Now, we would like to move back to Edmond. Houses in our neighborhood have not been moving quickly lately, and we would need to ask a not-very-competitive price is we want to break even. Anyone want a house in Norman???

Now for the kicker- guess what Jeremy is going to do? NURSING SCHOOL! Yes, I have been an inspiration to him, and he feels an overwhelming need to following in my career footsteps. The process will take about 2 years, during which I will be bringing home the bacon. Jeremy will have to fry it up and put it on the table between study sessions. It should prove to be interesting all around. Honestly, I think he will be an excellent nurse. He has a heart for helping people, as well as a wicked sense of humor, which is necessary for the job.

In closing, I will miss all my Alameda friends immensely, and I fully expect you all to actively seek me out when you want to hang out! To my MRCC friends, I am so excited to see you all again. Prayers are appreciated, (as are reasonable offers for my house!) Love you all!