Happy Birthday . . .

Well, Tuesday, August 25th in the year of 1969, Jay came into this world at 7:13 a.m. Yes, that’s right, this year he celebrated his 40th birthday. We (Cassie & I) wanted to throw a huge surprise party, but as we neared this landmark year and then month we realized a big surprise shindig was out. People, us included, are just busy so trying to even get family together, especially since one sister lives in California and then one is in Dayton, OH getting together just doesn’t happen.

Last week, Thursday to be exact, Jay realized he didn’t even ask for the day off of work. Of course, my first reaction was, “Where will you make up the hours?” considering that is one of his 15 hour shift days at work. Then I was like, what the heck, you might as well take it off at this point. So, he phoned work and find out the schedule was already done, but they worked it out that he could have the morning off and wouldn’t have to come in till 4:00 p.m. and work till closing and they’d try to find someone to work the evening. Well, in the mean time his brother phoned me and said lets take cake into work (Cosi @ Easton) and surprise him.

So, on my way to take Cassie jeans shopping at Kohl’s (they had a great deal on juniors jeans), I go through this huge ordeal to try and call his place of employment. Let me tell you, according to Sprint’s 411 service there’s only one Cosi in the Columbus area, they need to update their records. Well, after being resourceful, I obtained the phone number and called one of the managers.

I explained who I was and then followed it by “Don’t let him off of the evening shift!”

She was shocked and asked, “You don’t want him off on his birthday?”

So, I explained our plan to surprise him at work with cake and balloons.

She agreed she’d run “reconnaissance” and make sure no one would cover his shift. (Thanks Rachel)

After working his Friday shift, he came home and said he couldn’t find anyone to cover his evening shift. I reminded him he still had Monday to try and see if he could find someone to work for him. Well, after a long day at work Monday, he came home a little flustered because, “There’s no one to cover my shift.” I tried to play it off and I asked him if anyone owed him a favor and he said no one’s around because they’re back in school. I told him, “Oh well. I had to deliver papers on my birthday, which was the Saturday before (Aug. 22nd), and no I am not 40, not yet I still have a few, three to be exact, years to go.

Well, when he left for work on Tuesday, I was taking a nap (I’m not sleeping well at night with everything that’s going on) and when I woke up Cassie informed me that he told them he would try to get off early so he could put them to bed. Of course, Mackenzie I guess about panicked in front of him and Cassie had to get her to hush and once he left she said she’d let me know and I’d take care of it. And take care of it I did. I called work and talked with Amanda and told her his plans and our surprise to come. She said she wasn’t surprised and she’d keep him there.

So, at 7:45 p.m. we met up in front of the new Lego Store at Easton and then we walked down to Cosi, and the pictures tell the rest of the story . . .











Well, I think we surprised him. Thank you, Rachel, Amanda, and all of Jay's co-workers for not covering his shift!! It was a nice way to say Happy Birthday!! I hope he had a good day even though he had to work. Happy 40th Birthday honey!! We love you very much.

Ordination Invitation

By the grace of God

The Reverend Callon W. Holloway, Jr.

Bishop of the Southern Ohio Synod

of the

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

will ordain

Jay Douglas Jackson, Jr.

into the ministry of Word and Sacrament

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

7:00 in the evening at

New Hope Lutheran Church

7025 Adamsville-Otsego Rd.

Adamsville, OH 43802

Clergy are invited to process

The color of the day is red

 

Jay has been called to serve as Pastor of

Peace Lutheran Church, Lincoln, ND

in the Western North Dakota Synod

 

9-9-09

Jay's ordination is September 9, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. at New Hope Lutheran Church in Adamsville, Ohio.

Let the Craziness begin

School is officially on hiatus until we are moved and settled, so I'm guessing till the end of September!! Can you hear the kids yelling in pure excitement? Little do they know that the next few weeks are going to be busy, hectic, chaotic, crazy – what other synonym can I use? And they are going to be involved with a lot of organizing, packing and unpacking.

So far Jay has reserved our moving truck (using ABF – we pack it, load it, they drive/transport it, and we unload it), signed and faxed the rental agreement, got his ordination on the bishop's schedule (will be Bishop Holloway of Southern Ohio Synod), cancelled our Sprint service, worked a 15 hour shift, and gave his notice at his job (YEAH!!). I too have notified my coordinator that it is official, we are moving and I will be done delivering all those papers on Sept. 6^th. YEAH me, too!!

Both tomorrow and Wednesday mornings, Jay & I will go over to our storage units and bring the possessions of one back to the house so we only have to pay rent for one till we move. Then the final packing phase will begin. In a matter of days we will be leaving the great state of Ohio and heading to North Dakota. As of right now, here's a brief glimpse of what is to be:

Clean, clean, clean, - Organize, organize, organize -Pack, pack, pack

Sept. 8^th – ABF drops the 28' trailer for us to load

LOAD the moving truck

Sept. 9^th – Jay's ordination

LOAD the moving truck

Sept. 11^th – ABF picks up trailer and heads north; we too head north

Sept. 12^th – 14^th – in Iowa visiting my family (bro & sil, sis & beau, mom & dad)

Sept. 15^th – drive and arrive in Lincoln, ND

Sept. 16^th – clean house and prepare for the arrival of moving truck

Sept. 17^th – moving truck arrives in Lincoln, ND – UNLOAD & unpack, unpack, and unpack

We'll have several days to unload . . . UNPACK and unpack and unpack . . .

Sept. 20^th – Jay does his first service at Peace Lutheran (so somewhere in between everything, Jay has to write a sermon)

Continue to get settled in . . .

Oct. 5^th – school resumes!! And we try to get back some normalcy in our daily lives!!

Obviously this is a tentative schedule, and as we all know, nothing is definite, so I'm sure there'll be various twists and turns that will alter some part of my perfectly scheduled transition.

Signed

Now Jay makes arrangements for his ordination and we finalize moving plans. We'll keep you posted. Keep an eye here and on your email!!

Hangin’ with Odie

Isn't he just adorable? We got to spend some time with our favorite little guy. He is a ball of energy. He crawls all over the place and just has the biggest smile!!! For Christmas we got him a few things, just a few - LOL, and we are very pleased that the Baby Einstein tunnel and this Playskool activity toy he actually plays with. He is so cute to watch crawl through the tunnel.

The Letter of Call has arrived . . .

It came today. Jay has officially received his Letter of Call to Peace Lutheran Church in Lincoln, North Dakota. So, what does that mean now? Well, with that letter came the Definition of Compensation, Benefits, and Responsibilities of the Pastor which outlines the compensation, pension & other benefits, expenses, agreement, other provisions, and other matters. He has been asked to make a decision within 30 days of receiving the letter, whether he will accept or decline the call. So, now, he has to decide if this is the right call.

CMA's Surprise Supplies Saturdays

Well, yesterday was a busy day for us. We all got up early and went down to Canal Winchester to deliver the weekend shopper to 460 homes. We've been delivering this walking, yes we have to walk and hang the bags on front doors or the mailbox on the front of the house, route for at least six weeks now. The first week was rough and it took a lot longer than we had thought or hoped it would. Well, we have gotten really good at it and it only took us 1 1/2 hours yesterday.

Well, after we delivered that route we came home and ate lunch. After lunch, Cassie and I left to go deliver three of our other four routes while Jay took Mackenzie and Zack to the Columbus Museum of Art. We joined the museum when another homeschool family had shared their excitement about programs the kids could go and make art projects. The kids enjoyed going to First Saturdays and various other programs, but those ended when summer began so we haven't visited the museum for a while. Well, in August they have another artsy-crafty program for the kids.

Every Saturday in August they have a program called "Surprise Supplies Saturdays" from noon-3:00 p.m. Well, evidently they are cleaning out their program supply closet and each week they will have different supplies available to make an art project based on a specific theme. The assortment of supplies will vary each week and you will never know what you get to work with until you show up. Well, we've been wanting to go since the first weekend in August, but we have just been too busy with this or that and just had forgotten to fit it in.

Earlier in the week, our crafty kid, Mackenzie, noticed the CMA August calendar on the fridge and began to question when she was going to get to go. So, we made sure to fit it in to this Saturday's busy schedule. So, while Cassie and I went out and delivered for 3 1/2 hours, Jay took Mackenzie and Zack to the art museum. Of course, Zack didn't want to go to the art museum, but he didn't want to sit in the delivery van for 3 1/2 hours either. So, he sucked it up and went with Dad. Which I think he's glad he did, aside from not having to sit in the hot hot - very hot delivery van, he had a good time. The theme this Saturday was collages and evidently the supply selection was awesome.

So, they are both excited and can't wait till next Saturday to go and see what kind of supplies they will have available to make something spectacular from.

She's not so little anymore

Why do they have to grow up so fast?

We took advantage of Old Navy's jean sale this week and Mackenzie got some new jeans as she has officially grown out of last years jeans. She's finally a size 8 - Yeah!! She is growing, but she is still the tiny one of the family. She is only 9, but she is starting to look and (try) to act more and more grown up.

I am the oldest of my family, but there is nine years between me and my sister. So, I don't ever recall her wanting to dress like me or hang out with me and my friends or just be a mini me. Well, Mackenzie has reached that age where she truly looks up to, if you will, her big sister. There is only five years between them so there still is a pretty good gap, but then again it's not a huge gap. Mackenzie likes to dress very similar to her sister and she likes to hang out with her and her friends . . . she does try to be a mini Cassie. Which we have said lately how much she reminds us of Cassie at that age.

Of course, Cassie is devastated when Mackenzie wants to wear an outfit that even vaguely looks like what she is wearing. Cassie dislikes the hangin' out thing, because her argument is she's not going to want to hang out with Mackenzie and her friends (but she does love to entertain them when they're around). Then to even hear, that Mackenzie reminds us of her at that age, she is just beside herself because she knows she didn't "act that way." Not that that way is a bad way, but it's a humerus coming of age way, you know the kind that tests the water.

Anyway, when we went shopping for jeans, Mackenzie wanted to get the "skinny jeans" that are the latest style. Yes, Cassie has "skinny jeans." Before we even got home she knew exactly what she was going to wear the next day. She was so excited to wear her new jeans with her Converse shoes (Cassie has a couple of pairs of these, as does Mackenzie now - she found hers all at the thrift stores so she could have some like her big sister). She looked so cute and grown up and of course when Cassie got home from work she was vocal in her observation . . . "Uh, why is she wearing an outfit like that? That's something I'd wear. She's not suppose to want to dress like that!"

The joys of being the big sister is having a little sister that looks up to you and wants to mimic everything you do. I'm sure Cassie will enjoy her role as the big sister when she gets a little older, but until then I'll have to referee and let the little one know when to let up a bit.

Our pretty puppy

It's been a while since we had Chloe Bear groomed. We put it off waiting for a move so she'd be groomed and all pretty for her new home. Well, I couldn't wait any longer. She was well over due for her grooming. We had them do a tight cut, as close as they could get without actually shaving her. We didn't realize how skinny she was till we saw her new do. Her coloring really shows now that the fluffy coat is gone. Isn't she just adorable . . .

In a holding pattern . . .

Well, I'm not sure what to say other than there still is no official news on Jay's ordination or an upcoming move.

We, at least Jay & I, are feeling the immense pressure of uncertainty. We still have not been able to find a suitable house to call home. Do you know how difficult it is to try and find rental properties when there is 1,200+ miles between where we are at and where we need to go? The distance isn't the only factor that is making this search for a place to live difficult . . . the fact that the whole Bismarck/Mandan metropolitan area is not as populous as we're accustomed to presents its own challenges. For example, I picked up the Columbus Dispatch rental property section yesterday and was amazed at the 100s of houses to rent all over the Columbus Metro area. To compare that to the handful of rentals in the Bismarck/Mandan area, one can understand why this search has been extremely difficult.

We had gotten excited about what we thought could be a potential house to rent in the rural area of Lincoln, ND, but - yes, there's that BUT - it's a three bedroom (Master = 12 x 12 and the other two are 10 x 10), kitchen (10x10), one bathroom, first floor laundry, and open floor plan for the living room/dining room and we're not quite sure our furniture will fit (3 piece sectional and our 7 ft. country farm table). The individual that checked it out for us sent pictures and measurements and even said the house is quite small. I don't know if it would be adequate for our family, especially the age/size of our children (they're not babies or toddlers - they're pretty big and getter bigger every day) and our 130 lb. dog (which the homeowner is okay with). Could you imagine one bathroom with a teenage daughter and a pre-teen daughter. OUCH!! Don't forget the tween boy - what do boys do in there, never mind I shouldn't have asked. On top of that, put two girls in a 10x10 room, who are we kidding? Remember, I just want to live sanely and comfortably. Anyway, the housing dilemma still hasn't worked itself out.

This whole "process", if you will, has taken its toll on me, I can only imagine how it has affected Jay. I just don't get it. Back in May when the first round of churches didn't work out we went and talked with the president of seminary for some guidance. He expressed the importance of having a very candid conversation with the bishop and discuss the reassignment process. Well, at that time the bishop wasn't sure what, if anything, he had available for churches in need. Part of our concern is Jay & my health insurance, which is coverage through the seminary, ends on August 31, 2009. So there was and is a sense of urgency to find a job, if you will, so we have insurance. After a couple of weeks the bishop presented this congregation and made it clear if this didn't work out this was the last opportunity he had for Jay/First Call congregation.

Here's my problem . . . Jay interviewed via web cam/Skype on June 16 (pushed back from June 10). We just learned that Jay could have requested for release from the assignment as of June 15 (90 days after his synod assignment) "when no possible call opportunities are imminent." Is a call opportunity imminent when the congregation can't afford a full-time pastor on their own and they have to team up with another congregation to financially support a pastor? Seriously was this a fair scenario for the bishop to consider Jay for knowing the finances of this congregation? Now what? If this doesn't work out what are we left with? Well, according to the ELCA's website, Jay has missed the deadline to submit his paperwork for reassignment in the church wide assignment consultation because an unfair call opportunity was presented.

Why do I think it is unfair? Well to begin with, Jay submitted paperwork stating he is looking for a full-time pastor position. This congregation can not afford a full-time pastor compensation package, so in order to make it work, they needed to pair up with another church in the Bismarck area that would be willing to utilize part of Jay's time and pay (by contract) a part of the compensation package. Was it fair for the bishop to hold on to Jay knowing that this whole thing would not work if the other church voted not to hire a part-time youth pastor? Granted they didn't vote no, they too voted yes, but there's still the issue of the compensation not being at synod guidelines. I know they are only guidelines, but they are there for a reason. The ELCA stresses the importance of a healthy congregation and in order to have a healthy congregation there are several things that should be in-line. They talk about having a healthy pastor. Well, if the pastor and his family are behind the eight ball because of the compensation package then how can the pastor be healthy. Let alone if the congregation spreads themselves thin to meet a compensation package then that congregation is not healthy. Really. Do you see my concern here?

This whole scenario reminds me of the Adamsville Parish where Jay served his last two years of seminary. We loved the people, we loved the church, we loved the community, but the bottom line was they couldn't afford a full-time pastor. It wasn't fair for us to ask them to financially strap themselves to extend a Call to Jay (which they had made it perfectly clear they would have loved to Call him) and it wasn't fair to us for them to expect us to take a compensation package less than we could survive on.

The people we met at Peace Lutheran in Lincoln, ND were wonderful people. All the people we met at First Lutheran in Bismarck, ND were wonderful people. Everyone we met or talked to was friendly. They smiled when you made eye contact. They waved as you passed by. The city/town area was full of wonderful things to see and do. Tons of shopping. Jay and I agree, this would be a great place to live, a great place to raise our family, and a great place to call home. I know we would love to see this work out because of the people and the area. But it has to be a good fit for all parties involved.

Anyway, the days are numbered and we are exhausted. If this was meant to be would we be struggling so hard to find a place to live? Let alone to be able to afford it. When it seems like there's light at the end of the tunnel . . . BAM . . . there's another road block. I have to be honest, with all this frustration I'm wondering if we did the right thing. I mean we gave up our perfect dream home, Jay gave up a great upper management position that was lucrative and had great benefits, we moved in with family, we have made sacrifice after sacrifice so Jay could pursue his Call to serve, but for what. All I see are the headaches, the arguments, the uncertainty, and the stress that we have endured over the last few months and we still have no place to put our roots and call home.

The new school year is approaching . . .

Tonight as I got all my paperwork in line so I can appropriately notify the school district about my intentions to educate the children at home, I came across this list and I found some of them on-point and quite amusing - please note my personal input is in blue:

Top 20 Advantages to Homeschooling
20. Your kids never tell you that you're a lot dumber than their teacher.
19. If you can't find matching socks for your child first thing in the morning, who cares? (Seriously, my girls think it is important to express their individuality and wear non-matching socks, even in public.)
18. Cleaning out the refrigerator can double as chemistry lab. (This is a scary venture in our house.)
17. Your kids have good reason to think they might get spanked in school, but no reason to think they'll get beat up by a gang. (So much for sending them to the Principal's office . . . they go straight to their room to ponder their wrong doing.)
16. If the principal gives the teacher a bad evaluation, she can stick her icy feet against his legs at night.
15. You can post the Ten Commandments on your school room wall and won't get sued. (Can even say the Pledge of Allegiance using "one nation under God."
14. You never have to drive your child's forgotten lunch to school.
13.Your child will never go to their 20th high school reunion, meet an old flame, and recklessly abandon their marriage. (According to my husband, I mean the principal, the girls will not be allowed to date let alone get married until they are very very OLD.)
12. You get to change more than diapers, you get to change their minds.
11. If you get caught talking to yourself, you can claim you're having a parent teacher conference. (Really? Who doesn't talk to themselves? On a good day the conversations are light and funny.)
10. It's better to be slightly concerned about socialization than very concerned about socialism.
9. Your child will never suffer the embarrassment of group showers after PE.
8. The only debate about the school lunch program is whose turn it is to cook. (At least they are getting home economics very early and will be able to cook for themselves.)
7. You never have to face the dilemma of whether to take your child's side or the teacher's side in a dispute at school.
6. If your child gets drugs at school, it's probably Tylenol.
5. The teacher gets to kiss the principal in the faculty lounge and no one gossips. (Just get to hear the "YUKS!!" from the students.)
4. Your kids recognize that this list is numerically in reverse order.
3. Your honor student can actually read the bumper sticker that you have on your car.
2. If your child claims that the dog ate his homework, you can ask the dog. (We don't have a dog, we have a miniature horse. LOL)
1. Some day your children will consider you to be a miracle working expert and will turn to you for advice. (I look forward to this day!!)

The Vote . . .

The vote is over, but it seems very anti-climatic for me. I guess I had envisioned us on pins and needles anticipating a call regarding the final vote, and then in a joyous celebration sharing the news with the kids, calling our friends and family, and then going out to celebrate.

The call did come Sunday afternoon, but Jay heard the news via a voicemail because his phone didn't ring through. Then he informed me that both churches voted yes. The kids were out playing with friends - we didn't even go find them to share the news. Neither of us discussed it nor did we pick up phones and start calling to shout out the news that the churches voted yes. We went about our day cleaning, shopping, and delivering phonebooks. Every once in a while we'd bring it up, but I never got that excited feeling making me want to share the news with everyone.

It's all very bitter sweet . . . .

While we were out in Bismarck we met some great people. We felt very comfortable with the people we spent our time with. It is a great place. It is a nice area to raise a family. There seems to be so much there to offer a family. There is a lot of history there. There are several small colleges for the kids' higher education. There is so many wonderful things there, but to move my family there means certain things have to feel right. All those other things are great, but for me there are a few things I think are more important and have to be the focus of any final decision.

Many have wondered if we are okay with this assignment in Western North Dakota. As I have shared with many of you, we tried to be meticulous about ranking our preferences. Prior to selecting our preferences, I did research on cost of living, homeschool laws and opportunities, and synod compensation guidelines for various areas we were interested in. We have always loved the Colorado area and would love to return there. But we know from personal experience what the cost of living is there and when comparing the compensation guidelines, we knew it was not feasible for us to move there -- let alone, it is almost impossible to get placed in the Rocky Mountain Synod because everyone wants to go there.

So, we discussed going west and then in three to five years if we still wanted to go to Colorado we could put in mobility papers to get to the mountains again. Well, after the initial interview process when we went to North Dakota the first week of May, we talked more about not wanting to go through this in three to five years. So now our desire for this initial call is more than what we had originally thought it would be. We are not looking for that typical first call that lasts only 3 - 5 years. We want to be somewhere and put roots down to call home. I DO NOT want to go through this whole process again any time soon, especially after moving some place new.

When it comes to, uh life I guess, I am the practical one and certain things are black and white for me while for Jay, he is the faithful one and is 100% willing to leave everything up to God. Now with that said, the few things that are of concern to me with this scenario are finding adequate housing, our survival, and the longevity. What do I mean? Well, we had agreed once we knew the financial component (the compensation package) of the Call we would evaluate it and see if it is doable within our needs. Unfortunately, the black and white of it is . . . we will be financially strapped. When we returned from our trip we even told the kids that, warning them there would be a need for some change. One of the ways to alleviate the financial concern is for me to find a part-time job, which I'm not opposed to; however, it would have to be in the evening so we could still maintain our home education. If I were to work in the evening means I would miss out on the kids' extracurricular activities and church functions and Jay would have to find a way to balance the kids' and churches' activities. Bless his little - I mean BIG - heart, Zack offered to go get a job to help out.

Within that financial component is the housing concern. There is an amount designated for housing and unfortunately it has restricted us from finding adequate housing. What is adequate housing. For me, it is being able to live comfortably with a roof over our heads and not being so cramped we can't sanely survive. We have three older kids that are looking to have their own quiet space, but the girls would be able to share a room if it is big enough. So we are looking for a 3-4 bedroom house. Okay, just to give you an idea, some of the 3 bedrooms we looked at or inquired about have 900 - 1075 sq. ft. and we couldn't find any 4 bedrooms within the budget.

Okay, so I have addressed the survival (compensation) and the housing concerns. Now for the other concern. The longevity. Like I mentioned, we are looking for something long term. There was a comment made, during our visit, about the church being spread thin and a concern about being capable of making salary with the outlined compensation package. So, when we inquired about the sustainability the only response we could get was a hope to sustain but not a guarantee. I am sorry, but I - the practical one - cannot uproot my family to some place new and have that worry in the back of my mind. I don't want to be worrying if Jay's paycheck is going to come on time every pay period. And then if they can't sustain the compensation, then what? We'd have to does this all over again.

Okay, I have been rambling forever and for what - I guess this was my therapy . It is what it is and now we are faced with an important and very difficult decision. All I want is a place to call home that will allow for us to maintain our current family choices. I love being a full-time stay home mom, I love sharing the joys and sorrows of everyday life and being a part of their lives everyday, and I love being the one to see them light up when they learn something new as we learn together as a homeschool family.

Our Trip up North . . .

Well, we made it. It was such a whirl wind trip. Our plane was scheduled to leave Columbus at 3:20 p.m. on Saturday and take us to Detroit then to Minneapolis to Bismarck. Well, the connecting flight in Detroit was scheduled to board before we were even suppose to land in Detroit so I was a little concerned if we would make our connection (only 37 min. in between). There was a flight leaving Columbus at 1:45 p.m. out of the same gate we were leaving. Well, their flight was already delayed so I was worried if our flight would get out on time. So, Jay asked the gate attendants if we could get on the earlier flight -- long story short Jay was able to get us on that flight which gave us just under an hour in Detroit. With that little adjustment, our flight to North Dakota became less stressful and we enjoyed the flights.

We arrived on time in Bismarck at 9:30 p.m. and it was still daylight- it was just then starting to get dusk. Yes, the sun was still shining. Evidently the summer season is short, but the summer days are longgggg!! We were told in the summer the sun doesn't go down till almost 10:30 p.m. in the month of June. That will definitely take some getting use to. We would so lose track of time while we were there because of the sun.

As many of you know, Jay has already interviewed with the congregations that he would serve and this trip was an opportunity to meet members, for Jay to preach, and for us to look for housing. If this happens, Jay will serve as the full time pastor at Peace Lutheran in Lincoln, ND and a part-time youth pastor at First Lutheran in Bismarck. We were so busy . . . Sunday Jay preached at Peace Lutheran then we went to First for a meet and greet potluck. Then we drove and toured around the Lincoln/Bismarck area for several hours before heading to Peace for a dinner potluck to meet the members there. That's right two potlucks in one day . . . Jay said it was the next best thing to heaven.

Here are a few pictures of the area . . .



This is the Missouri River. We were standing in Bismarck and across the river is Mandan.



After our dinner potluck, we traveled to a member's house to see her ostriches. Yes, you read right - ostriches in North Dakota. Evidently they use to raise them to sell them for their meat and they use to have 80 of them. Over time it hasn't been very profitable and evidently they are not the brightest birds, so when they would have to travel way down south to sell them they would trample each other and the majority of them would be dead when they would arrive to their destination.

Well, anyway Kathy was nice enough to show us the four remaining ones she has. As we approached closer to the corral the male was very agitated and he was strutting his stuff. Of course I wanted a picture of the birds. Kathy invited me to stand close - right next to the barrier (metal walls basically between me and an angry bird) on a stack of something. No thank you, but I knew my husband would oblige. So he got up there as the male wasn't right there, but it didn't take him long to charge the wall - my husband - and let him know he was the boss!! Jay jumped off and away as Kathy duck to get out of the male ostrich's way, this is the picture Jay snapped as he jumped . . .



I think the man of the pen was a little pissed!







Then Kathy showed us her horses. Cassie loves horses and they are everywhere out there. Well, after checking out all the animals we headed back to the house where we were staying for the duration of our trip. When we arrived at Patti and Kevin's house, we had a glass of wine and nice conversation before turning in for the night.

Monday was another fun filled jam packed day. We spent time driving around Bismarck and the surrounding the area to try and find a house to rent.



While driving around a neighborhood we thought we saw peacocks, but they weren't peacocks, they were wild turkeys. Really, wild turkeys walking around the neighborhood. Crazy.





We found this little place just ten miles east of Bismarck.



Our trip was great. The people are very nice and we got to stay with a wonderful couple. We had really late nights because of activities and then with the sun never going down and then early mornings as the sun is up by 6:00 a.m. Monday night we had an awesome steak dinner (t-bones) with sweet potatoes, vegetables from the garden, and homemade bread at 9:30 p.m. central time. We don't normally eat that late, but the food was good, the wine was tasty, and the company and conversation was great.

Well, we had a very nice time and feel very comfortable in going to Bismarck if that is where we are meant to go. Tomorrow both churches will vote on whether or not to have Jay come. If they vote yes then the struggle will be to find housing that is affordable and accommodating to our family needs. So until then we are still here in Ohio. Once we know more I will let you know more.