*Big Sigh*

My boy is growing up. He left today for camp - all on his own - no familiar teachers or friends. He is attending an OMSI camp several hours away, and will be gone the entire week. I'm so excited for him, and I know he's going to have a GREAT time, but it feels weird knowing how fast he's growing. The fun stuff he will be doing and learning though is pretty darn cool. Ceana says "Miss you brother" and "brother bus" (he left on a big school bus). But, it might be a good prep time for her, since school will be starting up again before too long.

In house news, the inspection has been completed. It went very well - the house is in terrific shape. There are some small issues, but nothing majorly expensive or immediate. So, we put in the addendum to request that they fix the issues - we're waiting to hear back whether or not they plan on fixing them all, fixing some, or bargaining to have us take care of them after the sale. I'm hoping we'll hear something tomorrow or Tuesday. The appraisal from the VA has been ordered - the gentleman doing the appraisal has been notified and should have it done sometime this week. After that, the information goes back to the mortgage company for review, then we should hear the results. Seriously - it is going to be one of the longest weeks of my life, waiting to hear what the VA says. The realtor says that the comps (comparable sales of houses in the area) look good and should bear out our offer, but...the VA has a reputation for being very particular and somewhat sticky. So, until we hear back for sure, I'll be on pins and needles. Everyone keep their fingers crossed for us!

Our new exchange student is here - Mamiko. Thankfully, she is a terrific fit for our family. In fact, she reminds us somewhat of Chieko - very nice and down-to-earth. She is here for 4 weeks studying International Communications with an emphasis on English. She brought us a couple of the most beautiful gifts - her grandmother is a lady with a lot of talent! One is a picture she painted of a Japanese dancer facing the other way, walking towards a tree. However the dancer's clothes are actually made of cloth, and are puffy like a traditional costume. It's really neat - I need to find a frame for it so we can hang it up. The other thing is something similar to the mobiles we have here, but with two strings dangling. On those strings are sewn figures, flowers, and origami-like balls...a turtle for longevity...and a few others. The flowers are spring and summer, the children for our children...it's absolutely beautiful. I'm thinking it would be a neat thing to center the kids' playroom around if we do get this house.

Not too much else going on. Playing the waiting game - not something I'm very good at! Getting ready for some very warm weather coming this week - though it should be beautiful where Liam is! Hope this finds you all doing well, and feel free to drop us a line!