Next steps here

Yesterday Lani accepted a half-time job with the David Douglas Schools as an elementary TAG ("Talented and Gifted") teacher. It's something she is looking forward to doing and is good at! We're hoping that she might pick up a half-time job-share with another teacher or at least be able to sub on her open days too. (Also yesterday her sister, Shauna, with whom we're staying, accepted a job to work at Womack Auto Body -- so both sisters were blessed with jobs on the same day.)

I met with a mortgage broker and laid out our financial scenario with him to see if we could qualify for a loan for a house that we're interested in. It's uncomfortable to have to openly discuss the good & bad of our finances. We have not always been the best money managers and are still trying to pay off some old debts. And housing is much more expensive here. Our house in Tomball would easily sell for double here and so we just couldn't afford it if we were looking at it here. We have found a 70's-style, tri-level that is just one block from where I'll work (so Caleb, Levi, and I could walk each day) that we could probably get for about $265,000. It seems like a ton of money, but we're just not finding anything much cheaper that we can fit in. This house has been a rental since the late 80's, so the yard looks somewhat neglected and it has some cosmetic flaws that we'd have to work on, but overall it could work for us. Now we'll just wait and see now how the financing goes.

Finally, a bit of news to celebrate. My great aunt, Lois Dalzell, turns 100 years old today! She lives in Fresno, CA and this weekend a bunch of relatives will be there to have a party in her honor. She has been a spunky, talented, strong, encouraging woman for most of her life and has only just in the last couple of years seemed to slip quite a bit in her mental & physical capacities. I'm thankful for the ways that has blessed so many people throughout her long life.

Thanks for your prayers and encouraging words, friends!