Update #3 ~A Herd of Cows and a Llama...

   We're home! We got home late Saturday night. Yes, Saturday night. We ended up staying overnight. The girls did wonderfully! I was the trouble maker, I didn't realize the car ride would be so uncomfortable. Luckily I had somewhat prepared for such a necessity so it wasn't a terribly big deal. I bet you're wondering about my post title. If we got nothing else out of our road trip we got a new family code word of sorts. While driving down a country road we came upon a herd of cattle. Noticing there was something odd about one of them I took a closer look...it was a Llama...one little lone Llama in a herd of cows! When we went *back* by a little while later I double checked for additional Llama kind and there were none. I had a lot of fun at that poor Llamas expense! When Bri pointed out his circumstances weren't of his own making and I was being cruel for picking so mercilessly, I replied I wasn't making fun, I was pitying him...in a somewhat jovial manner. I guarantee that when we are out in public and the girls start picking up on the manners and behavior of "the world" (aka "the cows") they will know exactly what we mean when we say...be the Llama! You know, come out and be ye separate...and all that.

   Other than that interesting experience, I will always remember the car that looked like it had had a head on collision with a bedazzler. You know, those things that were "all the rage" many years ago. And personalized license plates seemed to be "the thing". I about drove myself batty trying to figure them all out! While you were working on one, another was coming up right behind it and I would totally lose my train of thought! I would be a horrible driver in...that state.

   Tori was entranced by the beauty of the countryside :). It was so cute to hear her in the backseat saying, "Oh Bri, look! It's beautiful!". When we asked what she thought of possibly living there she said, "I would get to see the prettiness every time we went somewhere!". Bri said she felt a lot better about a move after seeing the place if that was what we ultimately decided and Bethi said, "Anything you want, just let me out of this car!!!". O.K. she didn't really say that, and she was very good, but she was thrilled to get home!

   I got very little sleep that night, but at least I got to stretch out and I can guarantee you it saved me some serious bouts of motion sickness! We got to bed about one in the morning, I think.. Bethani woke up at about two and knowing Lee would be doing a lot more driving the next day I didn't want to wake him up. She finally went to sleep at about four at which time I tried to get some sleep but it was difficult because Bethi had decided that the only place she could get comfortable was down at the foot of the bed by Lee's feet! I left her there, partly because she kept flinging her arm in Lee's face and partly because she was actually going to sleep down there and I didn't want to mess that up! So, I was hyper-anxious that Lee would accidently kick her and I had to stay awake until I was sure she was asleep and I could scoot her over. Then from five to seven I started having contractions that could be timed at about 11 minutes apart, exactly. Again, I didn't wake Lee up because I convinced myself that no matter what I was too tired to have a baby, I just couldn't do it. I guess I was tired if I convinced myself I had any control over that! I finally got some quality sleep between seven and eight, when Bethi woke up. You really don't know what kind of odd sleeping habits your children have picked up until you lay awake watching them sleep in a hotel. Surprisingly I was even in a fairly good mood that next day!

   Now, for the info you're all waiting for... we stopped by the store while we were there, unbeknownst to anyone who works there. The girls thought it was pretty cool to be playing "the spy". It was a mess. No, it was a MESS! We were under the impression that Lee would be making little more than a side step. That the store needed a little cleaning up but nothing drastic. Ya, it was a little messy. I don't think they have vacuumed since the Easter rush and it's been a lot longer than that since they have changed light bulbs! But the real problem was, well, everything! Even our eight year old said, "Mom, I can't find anything in here!". The home school section was labeled Young Readers and, trust me, whoever ordered for it did not know what they were doing, that stuff is never going to sell. The stuff looked years old already. And this in a state that is really big in homeschooling! Ceiling tiles were haphazardly pushed aside and book sections were split up into three and four areas in the store! If Lee took over he would have to start from scratch. Every shelf would have to be moved, every book reorganized, every section properly labeled, every staff member probably replaced (we got a pretty poor impression of the work ethic of the ones we got to see "in action"...if you can call sitting in a big comfy chair behind the counter "action"), and the "numbers" grown on top of all of that. It would mean 80 hour weeks when we first got there, all with a new baby and the girls and I in a hotel room? So, we've made our decision. They have got to be crazy! I don't know why they have been holding out on us this long, you think they would be so desperate to get Lee in there that they would be throwing benefits his way! In the end, the place wasn't quite what we expected, though we did like it and we have narrowed it down to a couple of areas if we ever do decide to go there. So, there is really no compelling reason to go. Lee and I both feel that, while it wouldn't necessarily be a "bad" move in the long run, there just isn't enough in it for our family to make the move right now. They are expecting Lee to work double what he does right now for next to nothing in return. Nope, sorry, we've got it pretty cushy right here! So, while this isn't *exactly* a no, it is a "not without a lot more compromise" and we have had to wait so long for what they finally gave in to that it is highly unlikely this is going to go through. Lee's staff are thrilled. He told them last night that he has developed a whole new appreciation for them!

   I had a really hard day yesterday, I think I have been under so much stress the last couple of months and then this whole moving thing this week has just set me over the top. It was a chocolate day yesterday! Lee and I will be working in our room making it all clean and cozy for recuperation time and I am enjoying the thought of being able to once again look forward to baby time, instead of packing. it is going to be hard to let my guard down until Lee has actually talked to the DM up there though, they have been in meetings the last couple of days).

   Thank you so much for your prayers and support!