Alive and well

Yes, we're still alive and well...but without internet access.  No high-speed service is available in the boonies where we live as of now, but hopefully soon, they'll make something available other than dial-up. Right now I'm mooching a wireless internet connection from various shopping centers and fast-food joints on my laptop. 

Just a quick update. We're all moved in and settling in. We LOVE our new house and thank God daily. Sharon's mom and sister came down for a week and helped her decorate, paint and such. The baby room is all painted, decorated, and furnished. The only thing missing is the baby! She'll be here in about 2 1/2 months though (man, time is FLYING). Sharon's feelin' good and her belly is growin' bigger and bigger each day. Lilia has been moving and kickin' like it's goin' outta style! She's been very active -- I love to feel her kick around...it's the neatest feeling.

Our digital camera broke. It still works if you breathe and hold your head just right while you use it. That explains why there are no pics of the house or Sharon yet. I'll try to get it to work and snap a few pics to post on here by this coming week. Maybe even this weekend. 

Ok, I'll try and post more soon. Ciao Ciao!

 

Airport Madness

Sharon and I flew to Indiana this past weekend to attend and wedding and visit the home folk.
I get some good rates on Airline tickets through work, but there's one major catch: they're all standby tickets. We've used them several times before and we've always made every flight and everything always went smooth.

It all started Thursday morning at 3:00 am when we got up to drive to the Pensacola (about 1 hour away). Everything was going just fine.

5:00 a.m.
We arrived at the Pensacola Airport where we were supposed to catch the 6:20 a.m. flight to Atlanta. We finally get through security, which by the way, is a joke nowadays. We make it to our gate and start what would prove to be one of the longest days of our lives.

6:00 a.m
Boarding for the 6:20 flight begins. Confirmed and ticketed passengers pour onto the plane and it begins to fill up. I don't like the look on the gate agent's face; he looks a little stressed. They usually wait 10 minutes before departure to start calling standby passengers by priority. There are three other standbys ahead of us and they barely made it. In the last minute, a couple and their two kids come running, and get on just in the nick of time, and I begin thinking "if only the would have caught one more red light". Needless to say, the gate closed with the gate agent saying "sorry guys, we're full, we'll have to get you on the next one.

7:00 am
Waiting...

8:00 am
...still waiting...

9:00 am
...waiting some more...

10:00 am
Flight full again. No deal.

11:00 am
Waiting again...

12:00 pm
...waiting again some more...

1:45 pm
There are two seats left, so the agent tells us to embark. Quickly we run down the jet bridge and get on. Sharon sat in an empty, first-class seat, and I was told to go to 16C, where to my dismay, it was already occupied. ARRRRRGGGGH! So close! We disembark.

We're promised a seat on the next flight out (at 3:00 pm) since it had plenty of empty seats.

3:00 pm
AT LAST! We're on and confirmed. A huge sigh of relief from both of us. We couldn't imagine or possibly bear another grueling minute in a tiny airport with absolutely nothing to do.

We make our connecting flight in Atlanta and arrive to our final destination in Indianapolis at 8:30 pm. Sharon's mom picked us up and drive us to Jeffersonville, which is about 2 hours away. So we don't actually make it there until around 11 pm when we should have made it to Indianapolis by 11:00 am and to Jeff about 1pm. Talk about a LONG day.

Every other time we flew standby, I would always bring my carry-on bag with my laptop and iPod just in case we ever got stuck. Never happened. This time, I decided it was too much of a hassle through security and we always make all our flights. Bad move. We were stuck 10 HOURS in the Pensacola airport with absolutely NOTHING to do. We couldn't even call anyone because we only had about 20 minutes left on our cell minutes, which didn't renew till the next day. We eventually bought a crossword book and that kept us busy for a little while and made time go by just a little bit faster. There was just one place to eat, a place called Veona's. Since they were monopolizing the food industry of the airport, they price gouged like nothing.

I would never wish what we went through upon anyone. The way back was smoother, even though we took a chance and took the last flights out of both cities. It was tight, but we made it just as those dreadful feelings of being stuck in Atlanta overnight came over me (I did that before too, but that story is for another day).

I've decided a couple of things after this ordeal:

#1. I'm never leaving my laptop and iPod home.
#2. We're not flying for a very very long time.

At last...

We found a house! After about seven months of what seemed like endless searching, Sharon and I are buying our first house (just in time, too...the baby is due in about three months).

In the past months, there were several offers, and near-buys, but none of them worked out, and now we're both thanking God. In His own time and way, when we least expected it, God provided us with a house we both thoroughly love. It's a brand new 1637 Sq. ft. 3 br/2ba brick house that sits on a half acre lot further away from the city and more in the country.

Going from 10 minutes to work to 30 will be well worth it (even with gas prices the way they are)! We're countin' down the days we have left in this ol' apartment! It'll be nice to finally become homeowners, settle down, and have everything ready for Lilia when she gets here.

I don't have pictures yet, but as soon as I take some (maybe after closing), I'll post them up.

It's a very exciting/sobering time in our lives as we're faced with new responsibilites, etc. But we're thankful for God's grace, as we know He'll provide all our needs, as always.

Procrastinators Unite!

Tomorrow.

I laughed so hard when I seen those words on a t-shirt because, sadly but truly, I could relate. I admit it's been a weakness of mine, but I am proud of myself for improving in that area.

So here I am again with attempt #543 at updating my blog (o.k., slight exaggeration, but you get the jest). This time I will not proclaim that I will keep it updated, but that I will do my best. Maybe it will work out better this time.

Y'all pray for me.