We Survived!

We had a garage sale yesterday. Man! It was HOT! Richard had to go in for a while and cool off--he was starting to get dizzy. We didn't sell most of our big-ticket items, but we still made a little bit. The best part is getting rid of the stuff. When we packed it in, I loaded all the stuff that didn't sell (except the big stuff) into the van and took it over to CCA. It's gone! Yippee!

So now we're in a holding pattern waiting for TPTB to do their part and then we can move. But, for right now, we're focusing on John's birthday tomorrow and his baptism on Saturday. This week will be all about John. I think he'll like that. :-)

Family Reunion

First generation - my dad (89) and his sister, Hazel (82)
Second generation - (standing: me, Wanda, Jack-didn't realize he was fuzzy in this picture- sitting: Janis, Peggy)
Third generation - standing: Neal, Penny, Kyle, Colby, Amber; sitting: James & John

It was a great reunion. Each of these pictures are true generations. Neal (in the last picture) is actually a year older than me, but he's in the next generation. Those standing are true first cousins to my kids. Ahh...gotta love age differences. The best part of the reunion was to watch my dad and his sister enjoy their time together. She still thinks of my dad as her "big brother!" So sweet. There was a fourth generation picture of all the rest of the young kids (ages 6 months to about 16), but unfortunately it didn't turn out. :-( I'm sure someone will send it to me. I really hope we can make this happen again. My family is not known for getting together, but I think everyone had a good time and it's something many of us want to continue.

House Pictures

A friend said, "Why don't you just post the pictures on your blog?" Duh! The seller has agreed to all the repairs we requested. Now we're waiting on the appraisal, so we're focusing on the garage sale this weekend.

Front of house

Formal living

Formal dining--will be an office for a while
Kitchen
Kitchen--looking out into family room.

Family room

Master bedroom

Game room--the pool table stays!

Next Step

The house passed inspection! Yippee! There are a few things we're going to ask the seller to fix, but most of them are things that even if she says no--they're not deal-breakers. A missing shingle, a couple of ripped screens and a couple of window seals (fogged windows), and one burner on the gas stove won't light on its own. We didn't notice the screens the last time we walked around the house so they may have happened in the last storm for all we know.

So now we're waiting on the appraisal. Last big hurdle. And once I talk to Richard today and pin down exactly what we're going to ask the seller to fix and get that off to our realtor, then I'm done with the house for the weekend. I'll finish packing and be off tomorrow for the Thompson family reunion! I can't wait to meet all those cousins that I've never met before. Yay!

Moving Forward

Well, the owner of our fave house countered. It was within what we were willing to pay and seemed fair, so we accepted. We're buying a house! And not only that--we're buying the house we want. The house that will fit everyone. I'm excited and stressed all at the same time. They want lots of money this week and payday isn't until Friday. There's the earnest money, the option fee, the inspection fee...Heaven knows what else. But hopefully we can move things around and put off this or that until Friday. I know it will all work out.

So now the decluttering takes on a whole new meaning. But...since the new house is only three houses up the street from here, packing is much less of an issue. I've already got a plan in mind for how to make it work with the least amount of stress. It'll be hot and sweaty work, but we can just roll stuff up the alley. So we have about two weeks to declutter before the garage sale. That gives me this week (without Richard and Chris) to do the office and the younger boys' room. Next week will be my bedroom--that'll probably take all week because of the closet. And then it's the garage sale. After that, we have about two more weeks until the scheduled closing. And then we're homeowners!

It's been a long, hard road to get back to this point. It's been worth it in the long run.

Cub Camp Survival

We did it! We made it through cub scout day camp. Man it was hot by the end of the week though.







Who wants to play catch when there are old tree stumps to walk on?






Rolling ice cream!














James in the pack skit.

Offers

Well, we did it. We put an offer down on a house. The house is only three doors down from us, so it would be a tiring but inexpensive move. It's exactly what we need and everything feels right, but you just never know. Heavenly Father could throw us a curve--or we might not be listening well. But after much prayer and thought, we really feel like this is the right place and it will happen. Probably not today and probably not with the first offer, but it will happen.

I'm excited about the house. I'm not excited about moving, but I'm excited about the house. All the boys' rooms and a game room are upstairs. Everything else is downstairs. It's all in good condition with very little needing to be done before move-in. We could paint the boys' rooms--I believe everything is an off-white right now. Good floors, good carpet, great kitchen. And I'm betting they went to Camey and the local high school. Our realtor's kids go to Camey as well, so I'm hoping she mentions that to their realtor. She's already mentioned that we're teachers here. Can't hurt! So...we're on the road to home ownership again. It's been a long road to get back here, but it feels good.

Sad News

I'm really saddened by the death of Tim Russert. I loved watching him interview people--both political and entertainment. I enjoyed watching him explain the primaries and elections. I don't know exactly why I'm so saddened by this, but I guess he always seemed so good-natured and natural--not the typical cookie-cutter TV newsman. The rest of this political season will be vastly different without him. He was only 58.

Cub Camp

First day. Always a bit of torture just getting started, but we made it. It was hot and humid, but it didn't start raining until this afternoon after we were home. The boys had fun and did some cool things. Both boys say their favorite part today was the BB guns. Go figure.

One thing...cub day camp the week after school is out--too soon! But we're home and showered and clean and slowly getting rested enough to do it again tomorrow! Woo hoo! Maybe tomorrow I'll take the camera.

House Hunting

So we go house hunting again today. I wanted to look at the two houses that are precisely in our price range. Richard doesn't really like them, so he agrees to open up our price range a bit. We saw the "perfect" house. Four bedrooms with the master downstairs and the rest up. A game room upstairs. Good kitchen. Split formals, but workable for us. Tiny back yard, but the boys don't go in the yard much anyway. There would still be room for a small pool if we decided to in the future. Great neighborhood. Actually, just three houses down from where we are right now. LOL

Downside--it's considerably more than we had originally intended, but I think it might still be workable. We'll crunch some numbers and see if it'll work. It feels right. I'm trying not to get my hopes up too high because there are a lot of factors to deal with, but it's a great house! Perfect for us and our boys!

School's Out!!!

Woo hoo! We're done for the school year! My classroom is packed up and put away and I will not be entering that building for a couple of months. I intend to forget about school for now...there's too much else to focus on this summer.

Next week is cub camp, then scout camp, then family reunion that I still need to send stuff in for. ARGH! And then there's the whole house-buying craziness. I'd like to take just 2-3 days and just go to fil's resort and relax. Just sit around and read and swim and basically do nothing. Wonder if we can fit that in. When did summers get so crazy? Oh yeah...it's the whole moving thing. Oh well...it's an adventure, right?

What a Weekend!

It's been an amazingly spiritual weekend. Yesterday (Saturday) we had a very busy day with a karate tournament in the morning and all the requisite chaos that goes with that. But James did well and was pleased once it was all over.

Saturday afternoon we went to a baptism. It was overwhelming. Young Mason was getting baptized. It has been a long road for his mother and family and it's wonderful to see them coming back to church. Mason is also a student at my school, so I've been teaching him for the last three years. I didn't know until this year that his mother was a member. He asked me to give the talk on baptism. I was so honored. The spirit was so strong during his ceremony. Then he was confirmed today and again...I could feel the Spirit so strongly!

Yesterday evening we went to look at yet another house. It's the same floor plan as one I've already blogged about, but it's in much better condition. The first house--we were thinking maybe yes, but after much thought and prayer, it just didn't feel right. This second house is the same floor plan, on the same street but feels right. We've fasted today about it and it really feels like this is the one. Of course, now we start the arduous process of financing and making offers and trying to close and all that fun stuff. But there's very little in the house that we would need or even want to change. There is the small problem of the pink & lavender room that would need to be painted. ;-) But everything else is good to go. I'll be getting all of my papers together to try to get with our mortgage broker on Friday. Richard just doesn't have any time before then.

I feel like my "spiritual feelers" (as Richard calls them) are out and I just feel so "in tune" yesterday and today. I hope I can keep this feeling going through the last week of school. I really want to remember this feeling and try to recapture it more often.