Packing!!!

Okay, so the past few weeks have been CRAZY! We are trying to get packed up since we are moving in less than 3 weeks! At least we have more notice than last time (6 days)! We had a yard sale last weekend that went really well! We've also sold some things on Craig's List and eBay. Thankfully, we sold the washer & dryer (actually sold them for $25 less than we paid, so that was great!). We are trying to slim down the furniture we are taking with us so that we can rent a UHaul trailer instead of renting a moving truck because we would also have to rent something to tow one of the vehicles if we go with the moving truck.

I'm actually pretty excited about the move! I can't believe that it's almost here though! I'm really going to miss our families and all of our friends. I truly think that us moving to B'ham was God's way of easing us into being further away from our families. We have been blessed in so many ways! I think I've mentioned this before, but I don't have to get a job immediately after we move, so I'm excited about having the opportunity to really look and find the job that is right for me!

On a goofy side note, I have Christmas presents in our living room! Last year, we bought Christmas presents for 21 people (each other, parents, siblings, g-parents, and friends) and only spent $500, but it was about $2500 worth of gifts. Yeah, I'm that good at shopping :) Anyways, since we will probably be flying home for Christmas, the amount of luggage we bring back will be a concern, thus the amount of gifts. We could do gift cards, but we wouldn't be able to give near as much as me going shopping for gifts (since I'm so good at finding sales :)). Since shopping for actual gifts instead of gift cards is a more reasonable option, I am trying to purchase gifts now and wrap them so that I can keep them at my mom's until we come back to AL for Christmas. I'm already done shopping for Erika and Ashley :) and only have a few more things to get for my brothers! I'm pretty excited!

Well, other than that, pretty much all we are doing right now is packing!

Oh, this next week is my last week at work! I have a lot to wrap up before I'm done! I'm finishing two classes this week and doing post-assessments on both...which means more paperwork to complete! And I have two DHR sessions, which is also more paperwork! I am excited about Tuesday though...Momma is coming to see my office and we're going to dinner together! Monday is going to be a long day! Hopefully, I can get off a little early on Wednesday to make up for it! Friday morning, I think they are having a going away reception for me...I'm hoping I don't cry! Even though certain people I work with drive me crazy, I'm really going to miss everyone there! I'm not going to miss some people at the higher level (A&M), but that's another story!

Well, I'm going to try and get some Bible reading done and get a little more packing done before I go to sleep tonight so good night!

And the winner is...

WYOMING!!!

That's right! We are moving to Wyoming! After looking at all of the options, costs, benefits, advantages, and disadvantages, we have decided that Alan is going to the University of Wyoming School of Law! We are moving at the end of June and will be making our trek across country with moving van and two cars!

We are very excited about this next phase in our lives, but also nervous and anxious about what the future holds. I currently do not have a job there, but the cost of attending there is so much less than the schools in the area here (I would actually have to get a second job if he were to stay here) so we will still be better off financially going there versus staying here. If you have any questions, advice, or tips, please feel free to let us know. More so, we would appreciate the fervent prayers of all our friends and family! This is a huge step for us and we couldn't do it without the loving support of all of you!

More about this to come soon...

Organization and boxes...oh, my!

Well, I've been really looking forward to having some extra time on my hands to get some household projects completed. Last week, I had most of Friday off and all day Saturday, so Alan and I used a lot of that time to catch up on some housework. Now that we are caught up on all of that, I have time to tackle some more time-consuming tasks. I really want to get our second room cleared out and organized so that I have a crafting space and so that guests can also stay in there instead of having to sleep in the living room. This is going to be a very long project to tackle because we still have a lot in boxes from the move because we simply don't have space to put some things, so it's just easier to keep it in the boxes.

We've decided that, even if we stay in this area, we are going to move apartments when our lease is up. There are just too many things that we were told would be fixed that nothing has ever been done about and we also just want something different. When we moved here, we saw six apartments and had to make a decision that day...then we packed up and moved 5 days later. Needless to say, if we had had more time/money, we might not have selected this apartment. We are planning ahead so that our next move is not as crazy as the last one. Things that I know we won't need again until after the move (like winter-wear) will soon be boxed up so that it is ready to go and out of my way. We're also going to try to find a place that has a washer and dryer in the unit or purchase new ones when we move since ours are so old (the dryer is definitely older than both of us!), so if anyone knows someone who is looking for either, let us know! We are probably going to sell the set for dirt cheap (~$100).

So, where might we be moving??? That's a great question. There are a lot of possibilities that hinge on a lot of "unknowns." I had an interview earlier this week that would result in a 50% pay raise. If I get that job, we will almost definitely stay in this area. If not, the door is a little more wide open.

Hear are the possible locales:
-Faulkner University (Montgomery, AL) 75% scholarship...I'm so proud of my hubby!
-University of Louisville (Louisville, KY)
-University of Wyoming (Laramie, WY)
-Michigan State University (East Lansing, MI)
-Ohio Northern University (Ada, OH)
-Samford University (Birmingham, AL)

While the easy choice is Samford due to proximity to our current location, that would also be our most expensive choice of all the schools he has applied to.

There are also some schools that we are waiting to hear back from:
-University of Alabama
-Indiana University-Bloomington
-University of Colorado
-University of Mississippi
-University of Wisconsin
-University of Minnesota

Unfortunately, the schools we haven't heard from yet are the Tier 1 schools (ranked in the Top 100 nationally). Hopefully we will start hearing from them soon. We did hear back from University of Tennessee today and he was not accepted there. I know that this has him down about whether or not he will get into some of the others, but I am so proud of him and I know that he is going to excel no matter where we are!

Pray for us and keep us in your thoughts. These next few months are going to be very difficult for us!