Yesterday marked the two year anniversary of Katrina, as most of you heard on the news. There were other victims we were worrying about yesterday, though, as I learned that the mother of one of my students was shot and killed in her home. Through students we learned that there was a history of domestic violence with the alleged perpetrator, who is the father of 3 out of 5 children in the home. The incident occurred in the middle of the night while the children were there. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

Students start Friday! Talk about nervous! Luckily Walker's family was able to come visit and help us relax and get some things done around here. Walker continues to work extremely hard and is on his first fishing trip with customers right now. We'll go to the lake for the first time in a while this weekend-we've heard vines have over taken the house. Please keep in touch!

Back to the grind...

We were able to go to Savannah for our friends Mary and Scott's wedding, then stop and see the Cohens and Kennedys in Tallahassee. If you haven't met Molly yet, you will be amazed by her beauty and luscious lips! The next weekend we got to hang with Stew and Sue, then the Serotskys (Ella is off the charts in height!) It was a great end to a short summer...as I headed back to work yesterday (nerves really kicking in!) Luckily we'll see Walker's family this weekend, and in case you haven't heard, we're getting a niece!

Walker is still struggling with HR stuff-1 of his 4 guys is definitely quitting and 1 is talking about it. It leaves him with the original 2, which are awesome guys and really hard workers. Today was the first inventory and I'm waiting for Walk to come home and debrief (it's almost 7pm). We absolutely appreciate your continued support as we work through this transition (I can't think of a better word...)

Luckily...

You can get gas, booze and hardwoods in one convenient location!

It's been pretty quiet aroud here since our last post. I think Walker would spend the night at the yard if they had a bed and shower. I've been demanding he come home at a decent hour so he can relax and unwind before he has to turn around and go back. The vice prez of his region came this week and was impressed with what's going on. Next week he'll get his 2nd boom truck and be able to take on more business. As of right now, he's keeping the truck he has really busy. It definitely looks like he'll make money this month!

I've cleaned and unpacked my classroom and am starting to get excited about the year (though really nervous, too.) It'll definitely be different from Lanier...

Or neighbors, John and Patsy are ultra awesome and we've hung out with them quite a bit. I was actually over there in the pool yesterday when Walker called-he took me to dinner at the new Hard Rock Casino with the finance manager of his company. Dinner on the company is always way fun! We're headed to Savannah for a wedding by way of Tallahassee tonight. We finally get to meet little Molly Mae!

A word from Walker (finally!)

The past couple of months have been the most trying and pressure filled of my life. My feet hit the floor at 5 every morning and I usually don't get home until 6 or 7. I have received very little help from my manager. It would be one thing if I was just handling the sales aspect, but that is only a portion of what I have to deal with. One of the most difficult tasks has been trying to find employees. I have a great operations supervisor and one of the best class A drivers and operators I have ever seen. I have to watch every cost and so when I send an applicant for a drug screen and a back ground check, that is a cost. As of now I am one for three. The one I am hiring had a kidnapping charge, but he explained to me that it was because he is black and his girlfriend was white and her parents found out and pressed charges. The other two I did not hire were felony drug charges. I have to balance my inventory to ensure that I do not have too much or too little. The problem with that is I know all the products that I need, but my sales will be so sporadic that I can't just bring in every item that I know that I eventually will need to have on hand. I don't have an accounting clerk, so I have to do most of the month end closing of the books. All of this amounts to an amazing learning opportunity, both mentally and physically (I have to run loads until people are hired). Starting a brand new center from nothing, is an experience that few people get to have. I have had one truck running loads for about 2 weeks, and after closing the books last night my profit margin looked great and I think that in month 2 we might even make money. If I am slow to return emails or calls during the week I apologize, but things are so hectic right now. I appreciate everyone's support and I hope to see you guys really soon.

Things That Go Bump in the Night

Maybe I'm the only one amused by such things, but I love to listen to big bugs fly into our windows at night. We have three windows across the back of the house and the giant mosquitoes outside want to come in really bad. Check out the little guy that tried to take advantage of the situation last night by climbing up the back door. He's about the size of a silver dollar (Carmen, you'd think he was so cute!)

There's a trail in the woods behind our house where the girls and I walk every day. There are two big mud puddles and I noticed a ton of tadpoles swimming around. Watching them grow will keep me occupied a while.

Walker's yard is open! He's working on getting some business, hiring drivers and warehouse, and waiting for furniture and computers. Baby steps...


In the meantime, we arranged the living room furniture (finally). This is the view from the entry hall-the brown thing on the bottom left is our couch and there's about 3 feet to the wall behind it. Our chairs are squared in front of the tv and there's about 4 feet to the wall behind them. That left room to show off the antique roll top desk in front of the windows, which still need treatments.