New Car for New Travels, plus some other stuff.

Hey family and friends,
We have some major updates in our lives. As some of you know, we have been wanting to move back to California for about a year or longer. We've been praying about it and have had some definite closed doors, but then some opened doors.
The background.
At first we were enthusiastically pursuing Culinary Arts at the Culinary Institute of America for this current Fall semester, and we were able to visit the amazing campus and the amazing surrounding area (we loved San Fran, and the lush Napa Valley). Although we loved the idea of learning all about food and getting to have our own restaurant some day, a few concerns popped up immediately for me when we were visiting the campus back in March. Financially the school and other grants were only adding up to about a quarter of the costs, although we maintain high marks, which was discouraging. We also had to consider getting paid only about $10 an hour in a kitchen starting off right out of school, which hardly pays enough to pay back ($100,000 between the two of us for 2 years!!!), not to mention we get paid more than that at our current positions. My personal last concern was the fact that I do want to have kids within the next 3 to 5 years, which puts another reality check into place. If Billy and I need to make ends meet with kids, with a culinary background, I could easily see me working days, and him working nights, which equals grumpy Rachel, because I covet the evenings with my husband and especially time with the whole future family. Of course I'm sure these things are not or wouldn't be issues for other families, but these were the things weighing on me. We had to make a change of plans, and we were very discouraged about all of it.
All about school.
After just waiting in silence to hear from the Lord during a three month span, we started thinking of new possibilities. The ideas came in trickles, but it has all pulled together in some certain way. We have to admit we love food, the production of food, and the enjoyment we have when we get to share it with others. Billy has been home-brewing for a couple years now and we randomly looked up "beer careers". Immediately, the silence was breaking, and good ideas were forming. There are three Universities in the US that award a "Fermentation Science"degree, which specializes in beer, cheese, and wine (I know, the more we researched it, the more it sounded perfect for Billy). Locations include Michigan, Oregon, and California. We love Portland, Oregon, but Billy is kind and knows my desire to be close to my family, so we chose UC Davis, California, right outside of Sacramento. We also discovered that if you transfer from a California community college to a UC school, you can transfer immediately and be accepted, granted your GPA is maintained. You have precedence over kids right out of high school, which makes sense. We still need to finish up our Associates Degrees, so community college in Cali while we gain residency before transferring to UC Davis. For me, I am doing something a little more simple as of now. I will finish up my Associates Degree as well at community college in California, combine it with my associates of Theology, and Calvary Chapel Bible College uses both degrees to create a Bachelor's in Biblical Studies. If I want to continue school at University at that point, it will be at a much slower rate than Billy, but my goals are Fine Arts and Business. We would still love to own our own Bakery/Brewery, where we both get to use our favorite crafts. We'll see. It's all a tentative plan laid out before the Lord, because isn't that the most important thing in life? To be surrendered even when you think you have it all worked out. Things can change so fast, as we have realized, so it's best to keep an open heart. We are following these plans prayerfully, and walking if the doors are open, and waiting if the doors are closed. Just pray for us, we need it.
Most recent happenings.
On our path to these goals, we have some short term things happening too. We have been seeking jobs and a house in the Temecula/Fallbrook area since we realized we should go to community college first in California to gain residency. One of the biggest factors for us wanting to leave our beautiful state of Arizona (and my family, sadly), was that we miss our friends. So that's why we chose to go back to the Temecula area. We have been applying for jobs and seeking housing, and awesomely our friends, the Schatzingers, are allowing us to rent from them. So one hurdle out of the way, we have a landing pad. Which is so important. Please continue to pray for us for jobs. We have possible leads for employment but nothing solid yet.
A huge thing also happened last night. We became first time auto buyers! My parents are graciously helping us with finances towards the car, and they were really pushing for us to get a newer car since talk of moving to California began. We can now safely travel within the State of California, and also the trip back to see family and friends here in Arizona. Thanks parents.

Call us if you have any questions, thanks for reading.
Love R