NEW BATHOOM YAY!

The evolution of our small but perfectly formed
salle de bains!

we are in!

Finally we are in our lovely new house, filedview. It is a gift from God and we are very happy here. I sit typing looking over fields and with a beautiful pink sky and signs of wildlife all around. It is such a contrast from the horrors of 07 and I am glad to be in 08 with a bright future ahead of us.
The pictures show some before and after shots as a lot of blood sweat and tears, not to mention cash, has gone into this house and we are very proud of it!!!

My hero (again)

Well, Simon Mears has just come 27th in the South Region Road Race Championships, which may not sound brilliant but is actually amazing as he was racing against cat 2, 1 and Elites, who get paid for it! Not to mention the fact that half the field dropped out. It also came to light that he is 5th overall in his class for the year ( a scoring system he didn't know existed), so he is really making a good name for himself now. All that remains is to begin time trialling when he is free in the evenings during the week after starting his NEW JOB next Tuesday!!!!!!
Hopefully we will be exchanging in the next couple of weeks and moving house too which would be amazing.

Exiting times!!!

Well, what news to tell.
Firstly, Simon has a new job!!! After 14 years of being in print, 7 of which have been on the night shift, he has finally made the step into a new career. He has been offered a job as a sales advisor in Primera, a bike shop in Charminster. He is very exited about this as he will obviously be ending the struggle of doing nights, and he will be able to interact with people daily rather than being in a big noisy factory with ear defenders on! Also he will be the 'road bike specialist' there, selling the top end bikes that he so loves. Unfortunately he also gets everything at cost so I will have to keep a close eye that no bike shaped objects come home in his ruck-sac!!! This will be the start of a whole new adventure, especially as running his own bike shop is something he's thought about over the years.
Secondly, my clever husband came third in the Portsmouth road race last Sunday. This is his best result yet and he was the best in his category, affording him promotion into the next group up - category 3! He was only a second behind the leaders, one of which had only the day before, set the national record for time trialling. So he was presented with his prize money in a little village hall and came home a happy man.
Also the house finally seems to be going through and we hope to have a completion date soon. It has been a very long journey but God has been incredibly gracious in it all and blessed us very richly! We will move in to Si's mum and dad's place for a bit until we decide where we want to live and how life pans out for us in the South!

SO proud!

Well it has been a tumultuous time this past six weeks since putting our flat on the market. We sold to a developer, then had to pull out as the owner of the upstairs flat made our lives very uncomfortable (that is a much more coplicated story than it first sounds!!!!) Then we immediately sold to a previously interested party for a slightly better price, only to discover one week later, that he had 'insufficient funds' "Doh". Then we put it back on the market for a week and have now sold to our highest bidder, being over the asking price!!! The freeholder (lady in the upstairs flat) has all the while made our lives incredibly difficult as we are having to renew the lease to re-sell, which seems to have given her power over all of our decisions. We just spent a week at Si's Mum and Dads' just to get away from her! So now we are praying this sale goes through without too many hitches and that the lease can be renewed in a way that is fair to all involved!!!
On a very exiting note, my boy has re-started his racing season with great gusto and came 5th in a race which does not suit him well (track racing). 5th place means 5 points and he only needs 10 points to get into the next category (3). He had his name mentioned in the Echo on Friday 30th March by a fellow team mate who had won another race, and was held in great esteem, which really encouraged our Mearsy! Some recognition is coming for the months of gruelling training he has put in, and I am sure he will really shine this year.
We are taking each day as it comes with regards to our future but feel closer to God than ever before as a result of the fear, upset, joy and exitement we have experienced over these past few weeks and months. Thanks for listening. Josie and Simon x

SOLD!

Wicked! We have sold our flat for a very good price and have officially taken our first step towards a new future!!!
We are not holding our breath for a smooth ride but as it is a chain free deal, we hope to move relatively quickly and may lodge with the in-laws until we have some definate plans/jobs in place!!! We both feel unsure, but full of hope about the future, and pray it becomes obvious as to what we shoud do when the time arrives. Thanks for all of your support and encouragement. Cant wait to fill you in on the next steps!!!

On the Market

To anyone who didnt know, we have now taken our first brave step towards a move away, selling our flat! It went on the market this monday and we just sit in wait for people to come and view it. Apparently the market has a lot of flats on offer around here so we will be patient and see what happens...Will let you know any developments and appreciate any prayers for good prospective buyers.
Love Si and Josie
xx