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!

Decisions, decisions. . .

Lani & I are stressing a bit over several decisions before us:
Lani's job situation -- she has a half-time offer that she could still probably take, but financially we'd be much better off with a full-time job (yet, will one be available?). She also could take a job at a private school, Portland Christian, and then our kids could go there for free, but she'd make just a little more than half of what a public school job would pay. Then again, should we send our kids there instead of to public school? We're just not sure what to do here (and need to decide really soon!).

Where to live -- we've looked at some houses (all of which are much more expensive than our home in Tomball) and have found one or two that could work. We've also learned of a couple of rentals that we could probably get right into. So, do we rent a house and try to pay off some debts and save more toward a house, or do we do what we can to get into a house now (since prices here are jumping up higher and higher all the time)? Another tough decision before us.

Just thought I'd share what we're stuggling with and ask for your prayers.

We had a really nice time over the weekend at the Columbia Christian/Cascade College 50th Anniversary Reunion. It was great to see so many old friends (and their kids), to sing in the alumni choir, and to just get reconnected with lots of classmates, teachers, and friends.

We went to church yesterday at the East County Church of Christ and it was a bit strange to be in a church that we've never been a part of and yet know about 2/3 of the people. They mentioned a number of people who were being considered as elders and I think I knew them all. Afterward we enjoyed lunch with three families that are very good friends.

Life in Portland

Well now that we've been here over a week, I should mention how things are going and what we're up to.

We've settled in a bit here with the Wagners and it seems like our kids are enjoying playing every day with their cousins. Hannah and Micah went to Sr. Teen Camp this week at Camp Yamhill. Caleb and his cousin, Makinna, will go to 3rd & 4th grade camp next week (and Hannah will be a counselor there).

We've visited two churches, Renovatus and Crossroads, and plan to visit many more including Abundant Life, Rolling Hills Community, East County C of C, and probably more. It's nice to be able to try several places, but I look forward to plugging in and "belonging" somewhere.

Lani and I have been looking around at houses, both online and just driving around. We've got a bit of sticker shock as we realize that our home in Tomball would cost about double here in Portland (and we can't really afford that!). Once Lani has a job, we'll see what we qualify for in a mortgage and how outrageous the payments will be (!) and then hopefully be ready to be seriously shopping. We're looking mostly at homes in Gresham or out that way from Portland.

Lani did have a half-time job offer to teach TAG in the David Douglas schools, but she has now turned that down as we feel that we'll really need her full-time income to make everything work. I know she'll make a great teacher somewhere, but it's proving difficult to get an interview.

Our house officially "closed" in Tomball and I was notified this morning that we've now dispersed the funds and everything is done. That's a blessing.

Later this week is the Cascade/Columbia Christian College Reunion and it sounds like it will be a fun event. We're looking forward to see lots of old friends, classmates, teachers, and supporters. This year marks my 20th year since college graduation and 25th since H.S. and my H.S. classmates are having a little get-together in conjunction with this larger college reunion. I'm leading worship in chapel Friday morning and have been OK'd to use a praise team for my part (two other guys are also leading parts, Tom Buchanon and Tracey Edson).

And today's closing news: Levi got sick this morning and threw up near the toilet -- he almost made it there. He seems fine now, so hopefully it's not a major stomach bug.

Every day has it's blessings and challenges!

New cell numbers

Here are our new cell phone numbers:
Dan: 503-927-2210
Lani: 503-927-2211
Hannah: 503-927-2212

I was happy to get consecutive numbers for us, but disappointed that they have no forwarding service at all (so if you call our old numbers you will not reach anyone or anything at all).

Lani interviewed for a job today, but I'm not sure when she'll hear back about it.

Today was the last day of school for my two neices here, Makinna & Lydii Wagner (and all of Portland Public Schools). Most districts here finish up this week, although the district I'll be working in doesn't finish until next week. Teachers & kids here are celebrating Summer (even though it's in the 60's)!

Next steps

We got our two trucks unloaded with help from family & friends here. Somehow we packed most everything from two solidly fillled 26' trucks into one 10' x 30' storage unit (and I mean PACKED! No chance of running by the storage and just pulling something out!).

We have an interesting situation before us for tomorrow: for the first time in most all of my life, I do not have any attachment to a particular church and so we're not sure where we'll go in the morning for services. It's kind of fun and exciting to just be able to visit wherever we'd like for the next few weeks, but at the same time it's a little strange to not have a place -- a church family -- where you belong.

Lani is excited because she got called yesterday for an interview in the David Douglas School District for a special TAG teaching position (in Texas they'd call it "GT"). She would love to get this job for many reasons (it's a good district, we need the income, etc.), but really is just totally excited about the possibility of teaching "Talented and Gifted" learners. She's trying to review and refresh her memory about things she has learned about working with these exceptional, creative kids. Her interview is this coming Wednesday, so keep her in your prayers.

We had fun viewing Portland's "Rose Parade" this morning. It was a beautiful day here and lots of people came out for this big annual event. We sat among a bunch of friends and enjoyed the floats, bands, horses, pooper scoopers, and everything else. In our previous Portland years we were regular parade-goers and it just seemed natural to be back here doing it all again.

Safely arrived in Portland

We safely arrived in Portland tonight. Our travel was all safe and pretty much right on schedule each day. Thanks be to God for His traveling mercies. We were cared for at each point along the way.

Now that we're here we have to unload our trucks over the next two days, figure out where to put everything (storage &/or at Troy & Shauna's), take care of lots of business loose ends, etc.

It's good to be here! Thanks for all the prayers and help from so many of you. Now to rest a little. . .

Ready to Roll!

Thanks to help from many friends, we are loaded and ready to pull out tomorrow! I'm so glad we ended up getting two 26' foot trucks because we filled them both completely up -- front to back, bottom to top (it's actually a bit embarrassing to see that we have that much "stuff"!).

We have been soooooooo blessed by loving and generous friends here. We had a very nice going away party hosted by Jeff & Erin Lonard last night. It was a special time to see many dear friends. Everyone blessed us with a book full of thoughtful going-away messages and also with a "money tree" (Levi & Caleb thought each of our kids should get one branch of the tree!). We've also had many people stop by our house to wish us well and several dropped off cards &/or gifts. We've been humbly amazed as people's gifts have totalled almost enough to pay for our moving trucks!

Here's our schedule for the next few days:
Monday -- drive to Abilene and stay with Bill & Mary Womack (my mom's sister)
Tuesday -- Abilene to Cortez, CO (750 or so miles -- a long day!)
Wednesday -- Cortez to Boise, ID to stay with my parents (also a long drive)
Thursday -- Boise to Portland, where we'll stay with Troy & Shauna Wagner.

Troy & his dad, Dick, are with us to help drive the trucks. Pray for our safe travels these next days. I'll probably not get back on the internet for a few days.

Nice blessings

Several nice blessings to share today:
The Spring Woodlands Praise Team gave us a special good-bye tonight. After our practice (our last time there), they gathered in a circle and sang "The Lord Bless You and Keep You", prayed for our journey, and then had a delicious chocolate cake while many people hugged us and said nice things.

A mystery "box fairy" has left moving boxes at our front door the last two days (and we can certainly use them!). Whoever it is has secretly deposited them right in broad daylight -- and that's not easy with our dog, Molly, always poised to bark at anyone or anything that comes near our house (or the neighbors, or anywhere in the cul-de-sac, for that matter!).

The appraiser and the surveyor each came and did their things today. Seems like a good sign that all is proceeding towards closing.