Put the brakes on!!

We’ve had a good month. But it’s been a busy month. Very busy. And when you’re that busy, one or two unexpected events can cause things to veer out of control.

For one thing, sickness has struck again. Nathanael had it bad, as you can see…

Well, he’s getting better now, though a face plant on the pavement today didn’t help the condition of his over-blown nose. But the rest of us are sick now, in particular Hannah. Lord willing we’ll be better by the weekend, when we start a week-long visit to Saskatchewan.Then there’s the old van. Several hundred dollars have been poured into it over the last few days – the majority of that dealing with a replacement of the brakes. Sure, that’s a normal maintenance issue. But the reason why it had to be done was because of another problem, which may cost us a few more hundred. Plus a few other things we know need to be done – a few hundred dollars more – and before we know it we could be over $2000 and rising.

But wait! This is not the van we’ll be using in Mexico. We’re still looking over whether or not we should buy a van here or drive one down and buy another in Mexico. But the point is, we’d better decide what we’re doing. Spending thousands on a van that isn’t worth it isn’t exactly a good use of funds. So we’re working on the specs of what exactly we want and where we should get it.

Ever since we started with CAM International we’ve had money to raise for a vehicle. We raised a portion and used it to buy this van – leaving us with about $14 raised for a new one. So if we’re going to need a van before we leave for Mexico, that’s money we’ll need to raise (see the current status of the van project).

Of course, the added expenses are a strain on the pocketbook. Just when we thought we were recovering from expenses in the fall (which also involved van repairs), we get hit again by a number of things. We just found out that our laptop needs a new battery. How much are laptop batteries? Well, it varies, but this one is CA$200! Ouch!

But we’re still looking forward to the days ahead, though we’re hoping we can put the brakes on life just a little after the weekend. We appreciate your prayers! Now, I’d better get Nathanael to his crib for a nap.