I survived my 4 nights away...barely. It was one of the hardest things I've done in a long, long time. Everyone is so used to me being at home, including me. Kellen and I stayed with our good friends in Lyons. I drove an hour each way to Albany for the class everyday, and Thea watched Kellen while I was gone. Kellen was a total mess and developed some massive separation anxiety. I am so appreciative of Sam and Thea's help! They made our stay away from home so much more tolerable.

I did get a flat tire about 1/2 way, on the way over to Lyons. An older couple stopped to help me change it. I then drove about 60 miles on a donut. Bleck! Sam and I rode into town together on the first morning of class. He had me drop him off at work, and drive their vehicle to class....awesome friends, huh? :) Thankfully, he was able to get my flat fixed by the end of the day. I seriously don't know how I would've made it through the week with them!

Anyway, Thea and I did our best to make the most of the few hours each night that we had, to hang out. A few shots of Tequila somehow managed to work its way into every night. Oh boy...5:30 comes around waaay too quick.

The class was so much more than what I expected, and I actually really enjoyed it. I met a few great women, and hope to be able to refer back and forth with them once we get our new businesses going.

David and I spent our first anniversary apart. He survived by inviting family over for homemade enchiladas. It was so tough for both of us to be away. He surprised me by sending an arrangement to the hotel where my class was held. Of course, it prompted question after question from other peers in the class, which was one of his goals in sending them. :)

Anyway, we are happy to be home. I passed my test, and now we have just a few more things to complete! We are still on track for opening beginning to middle of July. So exciting, yet ohhhh so scary at the same time.

Things seem to be coming together so much quicker than I really expected. We are on a short time frame, so this is really good news, but I had originally thought that we may have to allow for more time.

The person that does the Adult Foster licensing class in Central Oregon just retired. So we knew we'd have to travel, but most classes are either already started, or they are once a week for 4 weeks. Yesterday we found out there were more classes available now. Looks like I'm going to Albany on Tuesday to start a class. It goes through Friday. It will be so much easier not to have to travel for just one day a week. On the other hand, I have NEVER left the family for 4 nights. I will be staying with friends there, and she'll be watching Kellen for me during the day. At least I get to take Kellen, so I won't completely be by myself, and David does such a great job with the house and kids when I can't so I know it will be fine, but I just don't want to HAVE to do it.

We are still working on getting the lending part figured out, but I'm confident that it will come together as long as we keep up the perseverance.

The van sold today! That was a huge relief! We decided that it wasn't worth putting the money into getting it repaired, and we actually have to pay an extra $40 more that what we sold it for to get the title, but its done, and the money we would use for the last 3 loan payments now get to go toward the business!

How's that for a quick update?! =D Ok, not the shortest blog known to man, but not novel material!

Ethan was telling the neighbor girl that I actually think the guy in Pirates of the Carribean is hot. She then asked me if I thought he was also hot as Willy Wonka....umm, no. More like creepy.

I asked Ethan why it was so bad to think he looks good in that movie. I was then left speechless by his response, "MOM, HE LOOKS LIKE A HOBO!"

Mrs. Entrepreneur!

Ok, so not officially...yet. But we are well on our way.

Its been almost 2 months since I've blogged. Yeah, I suck. Mostly, I've been enjoying the sun while it was out. I'm glad I did...it was snowing again last week (not sticking), and raining this week. In my opinion, if the ground is going to be wet, I prefer watching the snow fall, even if the ground isn't white for any amount of time.

Anyway, since I dragged David into the medical field, we've talked about having our own Foster Care. My biggest reason for waiting awhile was because the boys were so little. I still think Kellen is just a tiny bit too young, but it may take awhile to get our home full, so I don't think it'll be too bad.

We've been looking at houses for a few weeks. We found an amazing bank owned Bed & Breakfast that I just fell in love with....4000 sq ft, 7 bed, 3 1/2 bath. 6 bedrooms were downstairs, and there was a MASSIVE bedroom up stairs with a full bath and an even bigger living area. It would have worked perfectly to have the upstairs set up for the boys' bedroom and our family living area. Its very important to us to find a set up where we can easily section off an area for the boys. I still want them to be comfortable to bring friends over, and to get some space from "the business".

The biggest downfall to this house is that it only interests a very small group of people. It wouldn't even be successful as a bed & breakfast any longer due to the mass neighborhood that's been built around it. Being that its bank owned, they are being very picky about the sale. They want immaculate credit, and a big chunk of a down payment....Since we've moved around so much, its kept us from saving back money, and our credit is not horrible, but I would definitely not say immaculate. We would also need extra money to do some renovations to get up to state requirements. So buying may not be in our immediate plans.

Yesterday, we went to look at a home in Sisters. Its been a foster home before. We were worried that we would have a difficult time filling our rooms in such a small town. We almost didn't go to see it. I found info on the previous foster care owner, and talked David into calling. She said she had been in there for 14 years, and had been full all those years. She has another foster care in Redmond, and just couldn't handle running 2, so dwindled down the one in Sisters. That was enough info for us to at least go look at it. It just so happened that the property manager was in town, and we met her there.

ITS SO PERFECT! 7 beds, 7 bath and an area already sectioned off that would work for our living area! There is a toilet and sink in each of the 5 bedrooms that would be used for the foster care. On that side of the house, there is a separate shower room with a tub, and even a wheelchair accessible area for grooming with a mirror. On the other side of the house, is a master bedroom (that the boys would have) with a walk in closet and a full bathroom. We would have the room right next to theirs. The kitchen is set up with a medication area (even with separators for each person, and a locking mechanism, which is required by the state). Its also equipped with an indoor sprinkler system (which is no longer a requirement, but a good selling feature), and an intercom system. The backyard is fenced, and they allow pets (yay!). Its in a quiet area with no through outlet, so going out for walks would be safe and easy.

This will be a perfect opportunity to get established without huge start up costs. It will also give us a chance to save up money, and perfect our credit. In 2 years, we'll be able to buy a home (maybe the Bed & breakfast will be for sale still, or again) and move into a bigger place, and afford to pay someone else to run this one.

The property management company is very knowledgable about what it takes to start up this type of business, and are starting out the monthly lease payment low, and stepping up to the full price to allow us time to get people in there.

We checked into the schools in that area through greatschools.net and found that they are rated very well. The boys are naturally nervous, but we've promised that they won't be changing schools before the end of this year. Austin will actually be in middle school as a fifth grader there....like we weren't having a hard enough time keeping him in check about how old he is...

Our biggest hurdle is going to be finding someone to help us out, financially. We still need to furnish the home, and since David works in a similar branch of Healthcare, he will have to quit his job before starting the company (it could be a huge conflict of interest), which means we'll have to borrow enough money to get us through a few months of income too. In the meantime, we are writing up our business plan, financials, and all of the other little forms that investors want to see before they even consider writing a check. Anyone know any investors? Or anyone with enough money to consider being an investor? The Small Business Association is quickly becoming our friend, and we've already learned so much! If you have any suggestions, please don't hesitate to let me know. We'll taking all the help we can get.

We've been tossing around names....TolleHouse (hard to resist =) ), and a few others that just didn't seem to work. We ended up deciding on...Absolute Serenity Adult Foster Care. We're excited to start a new generation of Foster Care, with more activities, socialization, and a higher quality of daily living than the typical Foster Homes.

I promise I'll try to start blogging more, and keep you updated on what's going on.