Expect the Unexpected

I know.  It's totally cliche.  But, ask anyone who has known us for any length of time, with Don and I, you can always expect the unexpected!

Right from the start of our relationship, in fact.  Many of those who knew us back in our late-teens believed our relationship to be a passing infatuation.  Very few suspected the deep friendship and affection that was developing under the surface.

Just one year into our marriage, much to everyone's surprise, including ours, we discovered that I was carrying twins! An unexpected blessing!

On and on it has gone...the unexpected choices we've made...the unexpected happenings in our lives.

Don has always kinda reveled in this.  I, on the other hand, needed some time to learn how to take it all in stride.

The latest unexpected thing, besides our settlement being delayed yet again (maybe 3rd time's a charm?), is our newest family member, Penny.

Just like other individuals in our family, ehem, Isaac,  she has a bit of a story behind her...

Tig at about 10 weeks old

Our friend, Brianne, is Tig's breeder.  Tig and his litter-mates are purebred Australian shepherds. Brianne kept a female from Tig's litter, Reagan.  

Although each dog is an individual, Reagan is similar in stature, temperament, coat texture, etc. to Tig, who is a wonderful dog and fits our family perfectly.  It has never mattered to us that Tig has rather atypical coloring for an Aussie, as it was the Aussie temperament that we wanted.  

So, of course, Don and I were expecting that Reagan's pups would be very similar as well, prompting Don to call and request a female right away, as Brianne's pups tend to be sold very quickly because she breeds such pretty pups and is exceptional at starting them on the right path - healthy, curious, engaging and primed for training!

I had the pleasure of visiting Brianne and Reagan's seven puppies twice before they were ready to leave Mama.  And, on the second occasion I noticed that two of the pups, not Penny, looked quite a bit different in coat color and texture, and their pricked ears. 

Brianne explained... Turns out that while Reagan was in heat, not only was she bred to an Aussie male, selected by Brianne, but Reagan also paid a visit to the neighbor down the road, unbeknownst to Brianne until after the pups were born...who have an un-neutered male husky.  WHAT?!

Female dogs release a few eggs a day for several days during their heat cycle, therefore it is possible for more than one male to father a litter of pups.  How interesting!

So it seemed that only these two pups were a result of this second breeding, as the others, including Penny, all have coats that appear distinctly Australian Shepherd and their ears were still folded.

But, as we've been watching Penny develop and mature during these last four weeks, we've noticed some things that just don't fit a typical Aussie.  The most obvious being her ears, which now stand straight up, and her longer muzzle.  

8 weeks

10 weeks

12 weeks

Then, there's her rather short, though beautiful coat.  I dismissed these things at first, assuming genetic traits of the Australian cattle dog had to be in her background somewhere...But, then we discovered that her toes are partially webbed - a husky characteristic.  Also, her docked tail stands straight up, while Tig's has always been down. 

And, her temperament?  After doing some research, yep, she does have a couple of very typical "husky" traits, though the Aussie temperament seems to dominate at this point.  Both breeds are very trainable and tend to be good canine partners for humans who can put the time and effort into building a solid bond and giving them plenty of exercise, which Don and I plan to do, with the help of our girls, as well.  Lots of hiking in our future!

Not what I expected when we chose to bring another dog into the family, but wonderful nonetheless!

And, I've been doing interesting research into dog genetics - cool stuff!

So, each dog is a unique individual....Both dogs are precious members of this family!  After all, we are a family chock-full of unique individuals. 😉

Tig @ 9 weeks

Penny @ 12 weeks

Update:  As of this writing, we know for sure that our settlement will be between May 1st and May 5th.  Hoping for something more concrete by tomorrow, but I'm not holding my breath just yet!  One way or another, the girls, the critters and I will be in PA by next Friday.  😁

Take One Step at a Time...

And, if you grow weary, I will carry you for awhile.

This is how I train and provide for my new hiking buddy...this is how God trains and provides for His children.

Truly, this is how the last several months have been for us...

And, there is such peace in trusting God this way!

Now, it hasn't been easy, especially for this woman whose struggle with "control" is very real. But, it's so worth it...to surrender control to His capable hands.

I recently saw an anonymous quote that really spoke to me:

"Write your plans in pencil...and give God the eraser."  Yes, indeed!

At this point, our moving date has been pushed back twice from the initial plan.  Not even our initial plans, but our buyers'.  It was the young family buying our farmette that originally proposed an April 14th settlement, as they are expecting a baby in mid-May. Obviously, that date came and went! Apparently, between our contract on the new property running out on May 1st, as well as the mortgage rate locked into by our buyers expiring on May 1st, everyone involved has gotten the message loud and clear, from both parties: This thing needs to be settled and complete by May 1!  That said, as of this moment, we STILL do not have a specific date or time for settlement.

Best buddies!  Tig watches out for his new little friend - they are adorable together!

But, we are proceeding "as planned" for an April 28th moving day.

We've been doing lots of cleaning and packing...a good friend of mine came over and helped out on Friday, which was a huge relief.  I was suffering from paralysis thru analysis - how to tackle the kitchen, not knowing how many more meals I may need to prepare here, and feeling unsure about what I may want to have handy in our trailer for next few months versus what can live in storage until the fall.  Julianne got me through it - And, she made us a delicious meal to boot!  God provides!

As of yesterday, I have given up on maintaining a sense of normalcy in our lives - what with stacks of boxes in every room.  And, several more to pack, yet!

Penny's need for training and attention keeps me focused and in a somewhat regular routine each day. To most folks, our timing was terrible - What kind of crazy do you have to be to adopt a puppy 4 weeks before you move?  Once again, not our plan, but God's...and, she is such a blessing!

The girls have been doing their school work "as usual", but we decided this coming week can be half days, alternating subjects.

While Don was home this weekend, we removed any scrap metal from the property and rented a dumpster to dispose of any junk lying around.






When the weather cleared up Saturday evening, we decided to brave the chilly air and have one last campfire at this home...

When we down-sized to our 2-horse trailer in 2015, we thought that was all we'd ever need, not having a clue at the time that 15 months later we'd be the owners of a spunky colt, thanks to Sassy Anna!  Don and Rose were concerned about moving the horses. Knowing our situation, our sweet friend, Brianne, came forward and offered us the use of her 3-horse trailer. God provides, again!

Sunday morning, as the girls and I headed to church, Don headed back to Pennsylvania with a truck and trailer full of boxes for our storage unit...

Not sure what this week will hold for us...other than we're going to be busily organizing what's left in our current home in anticipation of our exodus next weekend.  Right now, we're praying that we have a specific date and time by the end of the workday tomorrow, and that we can coordinate a couple of friends or family members to help us transport the last of our belongings.

I'm sure many tears will be involved, as this is a bittersweet event in my life.  I experienced such a cocktail of emotions when we moved up here, nearly five years ago...it's a different mixture this time, but just as strong....

This is our 7th move in our 21 years together....wow.




Hopefully, my next blog post will be from our new home in PA!

I'll be sure to update you as soon as I can, Friends...

...Might have to find a coffee shop with free WiFi next week, but I'll keep you in the loop!

"Life Is Not Tried, It Is Merely Survived...

If You're Standing Outside the Fire!

We call them fools.

Who have to dance within the flames.

Who chance the sorrow and the shame.

That always comes with getting burned....

But, you've got to be tough when comsumed by desire,

Cause it's not enough just to stand outside the fire!"

Thank you, Garth Brooks, for writing my husband's theme song!

His fearlessness and tenacity...his ability to see the potential value of something and faithfully go for it, all in - I both admire and fear these qualities of his... This is how I know that we will see our little beastie race in a couple of years. 😉

 I love his amazing faith in God, which has grown from the tiny seed it was twenty years ago to the steadfast oak it is today.  Though the wind may blow hard, and troubles may chip at it's bark, his faith in his Heavenly Father stands firm, deeply rooted in God's promises.

Truly, though, I share the sentiments of Scottie in the new Star Trek:  "I like this ship!  It's exciting!"

As I predicted two blog posts ago, we have been facing some unexpected trials...and we still face some uncertainties with this big move of ours.  However, neither of us regrets the decisions that we have made, because every one has been bathed in prayer.  I'm so grateful for our prayer warriors who have come alongside us over these last five months!























To make a long story short, delays on our buyer's side have pushed our settlement back to April 27th, 28th OR May 1st or 2nd...apparently, in New York, the buyers, sellers and real estate agents have NO control over the actual date and time of settlement.  It is totally in the hands of the banks and attorneys... and they only HAVE to give us 72 hours notice!  This makes me crazy, but there's not a blessed thing we can do about it.

Meanwhile, we had some issues with our new mortgage due to some wording in our appraiser's report.  God provided a way around this through some faithful servants of His.  So, at this moment, we are on track for settling the same day on both properties.




And, we've been getting lots of pressure from the real estate agent representing the property we are buying. She wants a specific date...which we, literally, can't give her because things are done differently up here than in PA.  She has behaved rather unprofessionally a couple of times, creating much stress and tension for us...prompting us to look for "plan B", just in case...in those moments when we've experienced frustration and doubt.

However, Don has purchased the first of the two campers we will call home for the next four months or so, while we rehab the house on our new property. We'll be buying a second, smaller one for our girls, so everyone has adequate space...I would hate for us to be on the brink of killing one another by August!

I am so excited to see it all come together!  We've always wanted to build our own house, and this comes pretty close.




Despite all of that, we had a lovely Easter Weekend!  The weather was gloriously warm and sunny up here for a couple of days and we took advantage of it!

My time at the salon is finished, now, but I'm still cutting hair...for the family!

In fact, After much self-reflection and thoughtful discussion with my husband, I'm thinking I may not jump into that transfer with Regis Corporation.

Rather than being beholden to a corporate-owned salon every Thursday, Friday and Saturday...and every other Sunday...for barely over minimum wage...I'd like to spend lots of time with the people I love this summer, as well as getting to know my new community.

I will joyfully provide hair services at the requests of family and friends in PA for whatever they want to "gift" me or trade me for the next several months...then, I'll work on securing employment...maybe in a private spa, where I can become an expert in facials and skin care!   At the moment, I am still waiting on PA with my licensing.

It was so nice to have our whole family together to celebrate Christ's resurrection!

And, we packed up the first load of our belongings bound for Pennsylvania!  Mostly, Don's tools and equipment from the shop and books that we don't need right now.  It's all going into a storage unit temporarily.  I find it quite fitting that there's a viking ship on the side of this U-haul!

One way or another, we'll be heading to PA - horses, dogs, cats and all - in two weeks!  Stay tuned for another update soon!

Approaching "Crunch Time"

It's April now...

We have, roughly, 3 weeks to go before the move, assuming....



On our end, with the purchase of our new property, we are all set.  On our buyer's end...well, the bank through which they are getting their mortgage has to be slower than molasses in January.  Not exactly sure what the hold up is, but our agent says everything looks good, therefore we should have all settlement dates and times by the end of this week...Thank goodness!

If someone had told me two years ago...even just 15 months ago... that we'd be moving back to PA in the spring of 2017...that my mother-in-law would be diagnosed with Huntington's Disease (which I knew nothing about until last summer), would I STILL have made the choice to go to cosmetology school?

Would I still have had the desire to learn something new while living up here? Even begin a new career?  

Or would I have limped along until after the move?


I... don't... know.  

I've been pondering why I made the decision to do it.  Especially now that Pennsylvania is being such a pain in the bootie about granting me a license to practice there!  And, the darn fees from both states - it's totaling over $200 to transfer at this point!  

Yes, I prayed about it, as did Don. I truly wrestled with the decision, knowing it would be a significant time sacrifice for me, as well as a financial one for all of us.

Initially, I was simply thinking of our family economics. Living in New York, on one income, has been difficult at best...impossible at times.  I have worked part-time, on and off, during our time up here, and while a couple of these jobs were fairly interesting for a short time, none were going anywhere, if you know what I mean.

Don and I, however, were pretty adamant about continuing to homeschool our daughters, and we both knew our family's need for me to manage our home and our little maple syrup business... so a full-time job was completely out of the question.

Since I had always been interested in hair and skin care, hair styling, and a strong desire to converse with people and encourage people, cosmetology was the logical choice. It is a field that offers flexibility, and I could do it part-time or full-time according to my family's needs.  Back in 2015, when I began the enrollment process, it seemed like we would be staying in New York for at least 3, maybe 4, more years, during which my financial contribution would be kind of necessary to relieve some financial pressure.

Last August and right on into the fall, even before I finished my cosmetology program, everything changed.  When our extended family's needs became clear, and our desire to be actively involved was expressed in pray, God provided...in a big way.

Now, Don has new career with a solid income in a state with lower taxes, better earning potential and a slightly lower cost of living.  (Not to mention a lot more sunshine! No, really.  Look up the statistics.)  I don't really need to work outside of my home... in the traditional sense, at least.  I mean, what do we reeally "need"?

I do not regret the time, effort and money spent becoming a licensed cosmetologist. In fact, I'm really glad I went to school!

One of our family mantras is "Never Stop Learning."  It is so important to your mental, spiritual and even physical health to challenge yourself to learn new things no matter your age.  Accepting status quo...operating on auto-pilot... is the kiss of death, in my humble opinion.

Will's new home!

So, I will find new ways to bless people with my newly-mastered skills. I hope I have already blessed some folks, both my fellow stylists and my salon guests, during my 3+ months at Mastercuts!

I have no idea what my cosmetology career will look like in the years to come, but I am trusting God with it. HE never does anything halfway, so I'm sure he's not finished with this...with me...yet!

I mean, look at all He's done with my teaching skills and passion - not at all what I expected...but definitely better!


Over the weekend, Don, Grace and Rosie, along with some dear friends of ours, moved William into his cottage.

And, we brought home our sweet little Penny!

The next few weeks will likely be a bit of a whirlwind for us, as we fumble our way through this move.  Don is working on finding a storage unit for our belongings and furniture that we won't need until the house is completed, as well as finding a place to store our farm equipment.

Also, Don will be looking for a couple of camper-trailers for us to live in while we refurbish the house over the next several months.

Exciting times, indeed!  Leaving the details in God's very capable hands, as best as I can.  And, enjoying as many moments as I can along the way...