Time for an update on all things around Casa de Blundell. It’s been a while since I did one of these and there’s lots going on — so this might be a bit longer than a typical brief…
Needless to say, there’s lots of goodness going on and lots of…. well….. waiting.
Foster care – adoption
As of last Thursday we are officially licensed and finished with all our foster care training. Now we’re only waiting on a child (or children) to be placed in our home for foster care.
We met with our new team of partners Thursday morning to finalize a few other things and get some instructions on the continuation of paperwork that is all part of the foster parenting process.
The folks at the Texas Baptist Home have been excellent. Very helpful, very thorough and we look forward to continuing to work with them as we move into this new stage.
We really don’t have any idea when we’ll get that call — but we’re hoping it will be soon.
It could be before this post is published, could be two days from now or it could be a couple months from now.
We’re just waiting for that perfect child (or small sibling group) to be matched with our home and family.
A fellow blogger recently referred to it the placement process as similar to Match.com — we’ve personally had good luck with eharmony.com in the past — so we’ll keep our fingers crossed.
Home for sale
Have we mentioned that our home in Red Oak, Texas is for sale? Have you seen the add on the top of our blogs for a beautiful 3/2/2 bedroom in Red Oak, Texas? Have you told your friends about the great home in Coyote Ridge that’s for sale? Are you interested in buying a house? Wanna know more?
What we hoped would be a two to three month process (based on what our original realtor told us) has turned into at least five months and probably longer.
Just two weeks ago we had an offer on our home — but it was far less than we could accept. Accepting the offer would have put us too far into a hole at closing.
So we countered, they countered, we countered and then they reported a day or so after our deadline that they were going elsewhere. We managed to scrounge up some additional funds and accepted their second counter — only thing is — they haven’t gotten back with us with a yes or no.
Yup — this started two weeks ago.
In the meantime, right after the initial offer was made we found a spec-home in Forney, Texas that we love and put an offer in, contingent upon our house selling. Of course at that point we were certain this other contract would work out…
Oh the “stress free adventures” of selling and buying a new home….
Needless to say, we’ve lowered our price once more and had three different lookers this last week — but no offers. So now we’re back to the waiting game.
New year, new projects
We Live Simply
As 2010 began, a good friend Johnny Laird was let go from his job. Since his announcement, Johnny and I have had several conversations back and forth about the future, possible collaborations and more.
And then somewhere along the line I had the idea to start a simple living website. Initially the idea was for a “green living” but as I thought through it more I decided to go with “living simple” as it encompasses so much more.
And like I’ve mentioned before, “I’m a pacifist because I can be one heck of a violent SOB.”
And likewise, I need to become live simply because like to horde and complicate things.
So, in that mindset, I launched “We Live Simply” last week.
We’re not hoping to turn you into monks or make you join a commune somewhere but we believe that living a simple life will not only give you the time, energy and finances to do what you’re really passionate about — but also give you the opportunity to give more of yourself away to those around you.
We believe that by choosing to live a more simple life, we not only care for our planet, but also our neighbors around the world.
Each decision and each purchase we make can have a lasting impact on the world around us.
Whether it’s cutting back on consumption, buying FairTrade, or starting a garden, we hope that the ideas you find within our site help you to live simply — both as a benefit to you and your neighbors around the world. – We Live Simply
As the site launches, my plan is to post 1-3 articles every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. But you really don’t want to remember that do you? Of course not! So simply subscribe via RSS in your favorite reader (I like Google Reader), or via e-mail and you won’t have to worry — the new posts will come to you — SIMPLE!
And if you haven’t been by the site yet, no worries, there’s still plenty of time to catch up.
Here are the top five most visited posts thus far:
- The Simple Living Manifesto
- Helping others in simple ways – coloring for a cause
- Simplify your phone service with Google Voice
- The Simple Guide to Minimalist Living
- The Warehouse Mentality
Also, I’d love to get your input and experiences as we travel this simple life journey together. Simply drop me a note on the site and lets chat.
And as you may know already, there may be times there’s some cross-over posting from this site, St. Peter’s Brewery, the podcast, Red Oak Laundry Love or We Live Simply, but for the majority of the time, these sites will have their own content related to their topic.
Insurgency of Love
Late last year, I launched a newsletter – The Insurgency of Love. The premise of the newsletter is to keep folks posted on some of the projects I’m involved in as well as give ideas and pointers on how each of us can be Insurgents of Love.
I’ve pushed one newsletter out and getting ready for the next. I’m trying to keep them to once or twice a month — and not more. I want to be sure I’m not spamming those of you who have trusted me with your e-mail addresses.
I’d love for you to join us — as well as submit ideas on how your loving your community.
The novel
Sales of my novel, St. Peter’s Brewery, continue. It’s now available in even more places — CreateSpace, Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com, Eat-a-CD.com and IndieBound.com. I’ve heard it may be available at your local Barnes and Noble store as well (although you may have to order it).
And since the book came out last December, I’ve had the honor of being interviewed by several different sites as well…
- The Belton Journal
- Johnny Laird’s blog
- Kevin Hendricks blog
- and coming soon – Homebrewed Christianity
I’d love to hear/read your thoughts about the novel as well. If you’ve read it, drop me an email or share the review on your blog/facebook/twitter etc. I’d love to see what you thought (good or bad).
Final thoughts
I think that’s all that’s happening — today.
I continue to appreciate each of you for coming back day after day to read my random thoughts and rants. I know there are millions of other website you could be visiting but for some reason you’ve chosen mine. Each of you are important to me and encourage me to keep going. So for whatever reason you come — I thank you!
Happy New Year — and here’s to a great 2010!
