Making the decision to finish school before we travel “full-time” has given us a peace of mind we haven’t had in a while. We are moving to Virginia in a little over a week and so we are packing furiously and selling off applicances we no longer need. We signed the lease on our apartment last week and drove around Lynchburg and found so much to get the girls involved in. The area is beautiful and everyone we ran into was really friendly.

There are some pictures in our Flickr account for those interested. I’ll have more time in the coming days to get a full-fledges post up. In the coming weeks, this blog will move away from being a “travel” blog and more to being a “family” blog.

We’ll be updating this blog with our camping and travel adventures, though. That desire hasn’t abated.

Hannah and I just wrapped up the first term of the Fall semester last night. We now have a 9 day “break” before our second Fall semester term begins.

And speakng of school, I have an announcement to make about our Adventure… we’re still doing it, but we’re going to ease into it while we finish school. After months of prayer and weeks of planning and more prayer, talking, evaluating, more prayer, more talking, advice-seeking and research, we’ve concluded that yes, we’re still going to travel and be a “Family on the Road.” However, we will not start out full-time as originally planned.

Hannah and I are both not “getting into” the current degree programs we’re working through. The ones we really want to do are on-campus only… so… we’re moving near our college to be able to attend classes on-campus, opening up our options greatly.

We are still going to be traveling and camping every chance we get. We’re moving ahead with our purchase of an RV of some type after the first of the year and will make it part of our lifestyle. I believe we will be on the road full-time one of these days, but until we finish our degrees it will only be part-time.

All this is going to happen rather quickly, since the lease where we are living right now is up at the end of the month. I want to be in a house or apartment in Lynchburg, Virginia, by November 15. That’s my goal. Because its a college town, the rentals are so much cheaper than here in Mount Vernon. We’re paying $675/month right now. Houses in Lynchburg of the same size are $450/month. We just want a 2BR this time and those are $395-$410.

As for our studies, Hannah has had a desire to be an RN or get her BSN for the past 4-5 years, and we’ve always been able to come up with reasons why that would take too long, be too expensive, blah blah blah. But now, looking back, if we had gone in that direction when Hannah first wanted to, she’d have been done for three years now. So no more procrastinating with it. No more excuses. Hannah loves nursing (she’s a CNA right now) and has been told by every single one of her employers that she is one of the best care providers and employees they’ve ever had. And she loves it.

So what about me? I’m going to continue through the distance program, working on low-level prerequisite and foundational classes, and then transfer to the campus next Fall, when I will switch my major to English/Writing. Hannah and I both intend to continue through to our Master’s Degrees.

That’s where we are right now. We’re sorting all our crap, selling stuff and putting things into storage. I hate packing and I hate moving, but I have a gut feeling that we’ll be in Lynchburg for a few years, and its a feeling I haven’t had anywhere else we’ve moved. I finally feel the Holy Spirit giving us both PEACE about something we’re about to do.

Our adventure is truly going to be UNENDING, and for us, it starts in just a couple of weeks!