We love our new place. It's so totally what we were looking for--it's actually better because there's a new house on the 10 wooded acres that we didn't have to build ourselves. We're having lots of great experiences--meeting new people, learning new things. Can't wait for winter to be over so that we can get out and plant. Our ward is so awesome.
I had an experience that I'd thought I'd share. I got all the kids bundled up to go for a nature walk. We hadn't all been out of the house yet, usually just me and one kid will go for the walk up the driveway to check the mail. It's just been so cold every single day that we haven't been outside much but I was determined we'd all get out of the house for even 15 minutes.
It was freezing cold and supposed to snow. We got ourselves bundled and I was the last out and shut the door behind me, only to realize (too late) that I had just locked ourselves out of the house. I said, "Kids, I just locked ourselves out of the house!"
"Let's go for our walk anyway!"
I'm thinking, I'm thinking, I'm thinking to myself. What am I going to do? No car. No phone. No idea even where anyone that I know lives. I don't even know a friend's phone number. Freezing temperature.
Three options: 1. We huddle in the garage all day till Matt comes home (NO GOOD!)
2. We get to a neighbor's house and call someone to come pick us up and we hang out at their house for the day. (Don't even know our friend's phone number).
3. Call Matt and he comes home early so that we can get into the house.
The kids vote to hang out at a friend's house all day. I'm thinking to myself, "I wish I knew where they lived!"
I'm convincing myself not to cry. Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry. Don't panic. Say a prayer. Just don't cry.
We walk up the road to our nearest neighbor's house. The bundled up 2-year-old is having a hard time managing the uphill walk in the freezing cold. I'm trying to keep cool. Abby is terrified of going onto our neighbor's property when we don't know them yet. I knock and knock and no one answers. Shoot.
We walk on. I remember seeing a driveway further down the road that is secluded like ours. I don't know where it leads but when we get there, we turn on it and hope that this neighbor is at home. Again, the kids are uncomfortable on someone else's property. Well, I am too, but there wasn't really a choice, was there?
We live on a seriously quiet street. I wouldn't expect a car to come down it for hours.
I knock on the door of the log cabin. Yes, someone is home. I hear him shushing his dogs. The moment he opens the door, I start crying. The tears are just streaming down my face and I hear myself saying, "I'm sorry. I'm crying because I'm so stressed out. I locked myself out of the house and I'm your new neighbor and I don't know what to do." Can we say pathetic?
He's totally cool and nice. The kids have a great time playing with the dogs while I call Matt (can't get ahold of him) and leave him a message. "Hon, I'm locked out of the house and I don't know what to do!"
Thankfully, our neighbor, Leonard, knows of another neighbor who can open car locks (he's a mechanic). He calls him up and soon Mitch is over with his pickup and we all pile into the back of the truck and ride back to the house (that was the fun part).
He pulls out his tools and starts trying them out on the house. Meanwhile, Leonard is checking the windows and finds one unlocked and we open it! Hooray! We are back inside. Talk about relief. I was so thankful for my house that day!
Lesson learned: Living in the country means neighbors help you and drop what they're doing so that you stop crying in their living room! I needn't feel stressed about the isolation. I discovered that neighbors here are neighborly!
PS: I told the story to a couple of people in our ward and they just laughed at me. "I don't even know where the keys are to my house!" they replied. Apparently, not everyone locks their doors. Oh yeah. We live in the boonies now. "Actually," one friend replied, "A farmer told me once that you want to leave your truck or car unlocked and leave the keys in the ignition. You never know when your friend might urgently need it!"
So there you go. A new paradigm. A friendly place to live. I don't have to be worried about that anymore. Living in the country lesson #1 learned.
(If this post has mistakes, it's because I don't have time to edit it. Please forgive me. And I'm practically NEVER on the internet so these posts will have to be few and far between.)
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Thursday, January 28, 2010
We Finally Got Off the Closing Roller Coaster
Here is the latest news about us getting our dream home and land.
Last Friday, Rhyetta and I, went to close on the house. When we got to the title office, we were told that we weren't going to be able to close due to Fannie Mae not getting all of the required paperwork to the title company. We basically said that there was no way we can delay this any longer, because we were being kicked out of our current apartment and had no where to go. A phone call was made and we eventually signed all of the paperwork to close and got the go ahead to move in, eventhough the title company still was waiting for one last document.
We moved out of our apartment Saturday morning. Blessings from the Elders Quorum in helping us load up the truck. It would have taken a tremendous amount of time if we had done it ourselves. Once the truck was loaded, we drove the hour from Platte City to our house in Weatherby, MO. Blessings again from the Elders Quorum in our new ward in helping us unload the truck, that took 2 hours to pack, in aproximately 30-45 mins. WOW.
We love our new home. It is much bigger than any place we have lived in. There's room enough to stick all the kiddos in one room, if needed. There's room enough for dancing in the living room. We are able to actually use our dining table again, not a card table. The garage is big enough for all of our storage, two cars, and then some. Needless to say, we are thrilled to be in a home big enough for our family.
However, homeownership is not all roses. Before we closed on the house we had to get repairs done on broken pipes because the house was not winterized properly. We continue to have a broken pipe here and there which will leave a 4x6 hole in our kitchen ceiling until fixed. For the first two nights, we had no hot water because one of the heating elements in our water heater burned out (and I am glad to be able to take a hot shower now!).
Aside from this, Rhyetta and the kiddos explored portions of our 10 acres yesterday, and they loved it. There are some advantages living in the "boonies", as there are disadvantages. The main disadvantage we are facing is internet access. We have no DSL or Cable access. We may have to resort to dial-up. We may have to not have internet at home. Satellite internet is too expensive. So, for now we only have internet, email access from my work. Please be patient with us while we figure things out. We are going to be getting a land line, so when that happens we'll let you know.
Also, pictures and video will follow soon. As for now, we are glad to off the home buying roller coaster and settling in our new home.
Last Friday, Rhyetta and I, went to close on the house. When we got to the title office, we were told that we weren't going to be able to close due to Fannie Mae not getting all of the required paperwork to the title company. We basically said that there was no way we can delay this any longer, because we were being kicked out of our current apartment and had no where to go. A phone call was made and we eventually signed all of the paperwork to close and got the go ahead to move in, eventhough the title company still was waiting for one last document.
We moved out of our apartment Saturday morning. Blessings from the Elders Quorum in helping us load up the truck. It would have taken a tremendous amount of time if we had done it ourselves. Once the truck was loaded, we drove the hour from Platte City to our house in Weatherby, MO. Blessings again from the Elders Quorum in our new ward in helping us unload the truck, that took 2 hours to pack, in aproximately 30-45 mins. WOW.
We love our new home. It is much bigger than any place we have lived in. There's room enough to stick all the kiddos in one room, if needed. There's room enough for dancing in the living room. We are able to actually use our dining table again, not a card table. The garage is big enough for all of our storage, two cars, and then some. Needless to say, we are thrilled to be in a home big enough for our family.
However, homeownership is not all roses. Before we closed on the house we had to get repairs done on broken pipes because the house was not winterized properly. We continue to have a broken pipe here and there which will leave a 4x6 hole in our kitchen ceiling until fixed. For the first two nights, we had no hot water because one of the heating elements in our water heater burned out (and I am glad to be able to take a hot shower now!).
Aside from this, Rhyetta and the kiddos explored portions of our 10 acres yesterday, and they loved it. There are some advantages living in the "boonies", as there are disadvantages. The main disadvantage we are facing is internet access. We have no DSL or Cable access. We may have to resort to dial-up. We may have to not have internet at home. Satellite internet is too expensive. So, for now we only have internet, email access from my work. Please be patient with us while we figure things out. We are going to be getting a land line, so when that happens we'll let you know.
Also, pictures and video will follow soon. As for now, we are glad to off the home buying roller coaster and settling in our new home.
Friday, January 15, 2010
The New News
Well, here's the new news.
We were hoping-hoping-hoping to close on the house today (Friday) and move tomorrow. The bad news is that didn't happen. We've got to cancel the moving truck and pay for another week in the apartment. The GOOD news is that I heard these words out of the loan officer's mouth, "Let's plan on closing next Thursday."
I've been waiting for those words, those magic words. It's really going to happen! We are buying our dream property! It will be ours!
One more week!
We were hoping-hoping-hoping to close on the house today (Friday) and move tomorrow. The bad news is that didn't happen. We've got to cancel the moving truck and pay for another week in the apartment. The GOOD news is that I heard these words out of the loan officer's mouth, "Let's plan on closing next Thursday."
I've been waiting for those words, those magic words. It's really going to happen! We are buying our dream property! It will be ours!
One more week!
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Reassurance
The anxiety of planning for a move in 6 days and yet not really knowing for certain if the move is going to take place or not finally got to me. Our closing on the house should be Friday. We've got the moving van rented for Saturday and people lined up to help. We've got the utilities turned on in our name, we've paid for repairs to the house, we even have the keys. But we don't really know for sure that it's ours. We're still waiting for some very important approvals. We should know soon...but a girl's got to make plans for moving earlier than six days, people!! I've been practical (trying not to get my hopes up). I've been excited (this is our dream property!). I've been organized (pack a few boxes a day and do a big cleaning job each day before we move should keep us on track). I've been prayerful (please, God, be in charge here! Bless us with what is best, really!) But this morning when I realized that we are supposed to move this week and still don't know if it will really happen, I felt stressed. How did you all deal with this when you ever bought a house?! It's tricky business!
This morning as Matt and I drove the kids to Cameron to visit what we hope will be our new ward, I told him, "This not knowing is getting to me. I feel really anxious." He reassured me that we'll know very soon. I thought to myself, just keep on waiting for a little bit longer. This is the hard part before the great blessing springs forth. Just keep on waiting. Just keep on waiting.
Well, we got to the church and let me tell you, this ward is FRIENDLY! Someone in the parking lot noticed us and waved! During our first meeting, I noticed how many children there were. Lots of families and lots of kids. It will be easy to make friends. Hooray! As soon as the meeting was over, a member of the bishopric was shaking hands and getting all the details out of us. He was a big friendly old man with 11 kids, homeschooled. A couple sitting behind us also spoke with us and visited. She asked us if we had a 4-year-old (which of course, we do). She was the Primary teacher for the 4-year-olds and was soon hand-in-hand with Ella walking to their primary class together. Every Primary leader we spoke to was extra-happy and friendly. By the time I sat down in Gospel Doctrine I felt like I was a part of the ward! I was touched to the point of tears because I felt like I already belonged in this ward. Isn't that amazing? I continued to meet ward members and happily shared our hopes regarding the property we want to buy. "Ten acres? Oh, that's perfect!" "With trees? Oh, the kids will love it!" "Where is it located? Oh, that's near me!" It was all so fun. As I looked around the room in Relief Society, I thought to myself, I could be best friends with all of these ladies. When the teacher got up to give the lesson she talked about doing her chores before getting showered and ready for church. I thought, how cool that these are people who do real chores like tending farm animals and such. Two of the mothers (and there were lots of pregnant bellies and babies in arms) nursed during class. I just realized how we are so totally going to fit in and how I have so much to learn from these people and how much I want to be a part of this ward.
I felt like Heavenly Father was telling me to relax. This is where you will be. This is your ward family now. Everything will work out. What a blessing.
This morning as Matt and I drove the kids to Cameron to visit what we hope will be our new ward, I told him, "This not knowing is getting to me. I feel really anxious." He reassured me that we'll know very soon. I thought to myself, just keep on waiting for a little bit longer. This is the hard part before the great blessing springs forth. Just keep on waiting. Just keep on waiting.
Well, we got to the church and let me tell you, this ward is FRIENDLY! Someone in the parking lot noticed us and waved! During our first meeting, I noticed how many children there were. Lots of families and lots of kids. It will be easy to make friends. Hooray! As soon as the meeting was over, a member of the bishopric was shaking hands and getting all the details out of us. He was a big friendly old man with 11 kids, homeschooled. A couple sitting behind us also spoke with us and visited. She asked us if we had a 4-year-old (which of course, we do). She was the Primary teacher for the 4-year-olds and was soon hand-in-hand with Ella walking to their primary class together. Every Primary leader we spoke to was extra-happy and friendly. By the time I sat down in Gospel Doctrine I felt like I was a part of the ward! I was touched to the point of tears because I felt like I already belonged in this ward. Isn't that amazing? I continued to meet ward members and happily shared our hopes regarding the property we want to buy. "Ten acres? Oh, that's perfect!" "With trees? Oh, the kids will love it!" "Where is it located? Oh, that's near me!" It was all so fun. As I looked around the room in Relief Society, I thought to myself, I could be best friends with all of these ladies. When the teacher got up to give the lesson she talked about doing her chores before getting showered and ready for church. I thought, how cool that these are people who do real chores like tending farm animals and such. Two of the mothers (and there were lots of pregnant bellies and babies in arms) nursed during class. I just realized how we are so totally going to fit in and how I have so much to learn from these people and how much I want to be a part of this ward.
I felt like Heavenly Father was telling me to relax. This is where you will be. This is your ward family now. Everything will work out. What a blessing.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Spiritual guidance and real estate news
So much of what I have read today in my personal study has reminded me that we are literally sons and daughters of God. Because we are His spirit children, we have the potential to become like Him. We can become more like Him now, while we're living life on earth. You already knew that, didn't you? But if you believe it and if you think about it, it might change your attitude about life.
I recently read in the scriptures about coming to Heavenly Father as a little child. When I keep that perspective as I pray, it changes the way I pray. I feel so much more trusting and submissive and thankful. I know Heavenly Father will answer my prayers by blessing me with the guidance I'm asking for. I know that by letting Him be in charge (and giving up a little of what I want) He'll give me what I need and what will make me happy. And it seems like Heavenly Father doesn't so much care about blessing us with a comfortable life. Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount that if you are persecuted and reviled you'll feel joy and be happy! And Elder Uchtdorf's message in this month's Ensign taught us that ease and luxury are not what the Lord has in mind when he offers us blessings.
Mary Ellen Edmunds in a BYU Conference talk quoted an Ensign article by Stephen Robinson who wrote that one of the great and abominable church's characteristics is that it seeks wealth and luxury. I guess I'm thinking about this a lot as Matt and I and the kids anxiously await moving into a new home. God will bless us with what we need. I know that.
Enough contemplation. On to the update on the house...
Matt and I visited the house on a trip to Cameron to sign some homeowner insurance paperwork. We wondered what it was like with snow (we got a lot of it in the last storm!) The drive was so full of snow we didn't feel safe traveling it in our car so we parked on the road and walked up to the house. It is so pretty in the snow! It is just beautiful! Later, we heard that the appraiser had been there and needed some repairs made before she could finish her appraisal. So Matt drove up there again last week and met with our real estate agent and replaced smoke detectors and installed switch plates and GFI switches and concrete steps, etc. A bunch of little things that needed to be done. He installed a new doorknob and lock to the front door and now has the keys to the house! We also turned on the utilities to the house, the water and electricity. Isn't that strange? Matt commented that it really feels like our house with the keys in his pocket and the utilities in our name! We hope, hope, hope everything works out in the next 12 days so that we can officially call it ours!
We plan on visiting the Cameron ward next Sunday so today was probably our last day in the Platte City ward. We said our goodbyes at church today. The kids got sung to in Primary. I returned my nursery manual and keys. We also have reserved the moving truck. It's so strange and exciting!
I recently read in the scriptures about coming to Heavenly Father as a little child. When I keep that perspective as I pray, it changes the way I pray. I feel so much more trusting and submissive and thankful. I know Heavenly Father will answer my prayers by blessing me with the guidance I'm asking for. I know that by letting Him be in charge (and giving up a little of what I want) He'll give me what I need and what will make me happy. And it seems like Heavenly Father doesn't so much care about blessing us with a comfortable life. Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount that if you are persecuted and reviled you'll feel joy and be happy! And Elder Uchtdorf's message in this month's Ensign taught us that ease and luxury are not what the Lord has in mind when he offers us blessings.
Mary Ellen Edmunds in a BYU Conference talk quoted an Ensign article by Stephen Robinson who wrote that one of the great and abominable church's characteristics is that it seeks wealth and luxury. I guess I'm thinking about this a lot as Matt and I and the kids anxiously await moving into a new home. God will bless us with what we need. I know that.
Enough contemplation. On to the update on the house...
Matt and I visited the house on a trip to Cameron to sign some homeowner insurance paperwork. We wondered what it was like with snow (we got a lot of it in the last storm!) The drive was so full of snow we didn't feel safe traveling it in our car so we parked on the road and walked up to the house. It is so pretty in the snow! It is just beautiful! Later, we heard that the appraiser had been there and needed some repairs made before she could finish her appraisal. So Matt drove up there again last week and met with our real estate agent and replaced smoke detectors and installed switch plates and GFI switches and concrete steps, etc. A bunch of little things that needed to be done. He installed a new doorknob and lock to the front door and now has the keys to the house! We also turned on the utilities to the house, the water and electricity. Isn't that strange? Matt commented that it really feels like our house with the keys in his pocket and the utilities in our name! We hope, hope, hope everything works out in the next 12 days so that we can officially call it ours!
We plan on visiting the Cameron ward next Sunday so today was probably our last day in the Platte City ward. We said our goodbyes at church today. The kids got sung to in Primary. I returned my nursery manual and keys. We also have reserved the moving truck. It's so strange and exciting!
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Our Dream Coming True?!
The reason we moved to Missouri was to fulfill our family's dream of living on land, growing an orchard and a garden, enjoying peace and privacy in the country, perhaps owning some animals for meat and dairy and having the room to let the kids roam free.
We've suffered through apartment life to acclimate ourselves to the area and have the chance to shop around for the perfect piece of land and to get financing in order. The plan was to live in the apartment for six months while shopping around, toward the end of November find a place and make an offer, then move in at the end of December when our lease expired.
Getting financing was tricky business. After being flatly denied, "No loan, no way!" we were deflated but not crushed. We talked with the kids about praying that we would have a miracle happen in our family. The kids took the challenge of praying very seriously. One day, we received pre-approval loan papers in the mail from a local bank Rhyetta talked to. The next day, Rhyetta called another local bank and received hopeful news regarding an even better loan. As we continued to pray for a miracle, we received one. We were pre-approved! This news was shared with the kids, and with gratitude in our hearts for this miracle, a new challenge was given to our family: to find a house that would fit our needs. With the pre-approval in our hands, we took house/land hunting more seriously. The Friday after Thanksgiving we really wanted to spend the day looking at properties and eventually found ourselves in the office of a real estate agent in Cameron, Missouri, about an hour's distance from our current dwelling but about the same distance (30 miles) from Matt's work. We had done our research and found several intriguing properties which we e-mailed to him. He was going to set up the appointments so we could look inside. Property after property he tossed aside and told us, "This one's no good." What started out as a pile of seven possible showings, was now only a short stack of three! Then it felt like he was trying to sell us a house in the city of Cameron "that was a GOOD deal" he told us. "Does it have land?" I asked. When he replied that it did not, I frankly assured him that we were not interested. I was really not liking this guy.
We sat there for an hour while he made appointments for the last three listings. (Wasn't he supposed to have done this BEFORE we got there?) Towards the end of our meeting, he told us he knew of a property we might like but was under contract. "Let me just show you anyway on the computer." Then he noticed that the contract was pending over 30 days. He noted that was strange and called on it. Oh! The contract fell through. The property was available even though it had not yet been re-listed. He asked us if we wanted to see it. Sure, why not?!
We toured a small house on 3 acres right next to a trailer park and on a busy road that was for sale for $119,000. No, it didn't feel right. We didn't like the location. As we drove further down the country road, we noticed we had been looking in this area when we first moved to Missouri and that there were other properties we had looked at online on the same road. We turned onto a gravel road and then turned onto a private driveway lined with forest, past a pond with wild ducks and we started smiling. "I like this, Matt! I love the tree-lined driveway and the privacy!" It only got better from there. The acreage! Ten acres of wooded forest, deciduous trees and evergreens, a "creek" (or ditch) full of junk which was a specific request of Kian's--that it have junk on the property!--a large backyard clearing for a place to play and garden, even trails through the woods! Matt, my brother Warren (who happened to be visiting at the time and came along with us) and I knew we liked what we were seeing!
Then we went inside the house! It was new! It had a big kitchen with a pantry and an island and red walls! In the dining room was a mural with deer, ducks, and a forest paradise! It had a laundry room! There were three large bedrooms and two bathrooms with nice clean and new carpet throughout. The rooms were painted very tastefully, a different color in each room, like sage green and beige and such.
The greatest part of all? It was in foreclosure--which meant the bank just wanted to get rid of it as soon as it could. It had previously sold for $125,000 so we could offer much lower and still have a chance! I didn't want to "fall in love" with a piece of land. I wanted to be very careful and smart about the whole house-buying process, but this house and land were so very wonderful that we could not deny it spoke to us!
We visited it once more with the kids who loved it. They loved running around outside, watching the ducks on the pond, swinging on the swing set and studying the junk in the creek/ditch. So, we made an offer. The bank countered with their offer. We countered back. And we finally agreed on $118,500! We know this is the best deal in the entire area. The land is so beautiful, we really can't believe it is at such a low price!
Now comes the waiting. We are praying all things go smoothly: the inspection and the financing and all that jazz. Oh, do you want to see pictures? Okay, here they are! The exterior of the house and garage (oh did I forget to mention there is a HUGE two-car garage) are metal which is not the most attractive exterior but it is all so new and the inside is really, really nice. Nothing a little landscaping can't fix!
We've suffered through apartment life to acclimate ourselves to the area and have the chance to shop around for the perfect piece of land and to get financing in order. The plan was to live in the apartment for six months while shopping around, toward the end of November find a place and make an offer, then move in at the end of December when our lease expired.
Getting financing was tricky business. After being flatly denied, "No loan, no way!" we were deflated but not crushed. We talked with the kids about praying that we would have a miracle happen in our family. The kids took the challenge of praying very seriously. One day, we received pre-approval loan papers in the mail from a local bank Rhyetta talked to. The next day, Rhyetta called another local bank and received hopeful news regarding an even better loan. As we continued to pray for a miracle, we received one. We were pre-approved! This news was shared with the kids, and with gratitude in our hearts for this miracle, a new challenge was given to our family: to find a house that would fit our needs. With the pre-approval in our hands, we took house/land hunting more seriously. The Friday after Thanksgiving we really wanted to spend the day looking at properties and eventually found ourselves in the office of a real estate agent in Cameron, Missouri, about an hour's distance from our current dwelling but about the same distance (30 miles) from Matt's work. We had done our research and found several intriguing properties which we e-mailed to him. He was going to set up the appointments so we could look inside. Property after property he tossed aside and told us, "This one's no good." What started out as a pile of seven possible showings, was now only a short stack of three! Then it felt like he was trying to sell us a house in the city of Cameron "that was a GOOD deal" he told us. "Does it have land?" I asked. When he replied that it did not, I frankly assured him that we were not interested. I was really not liking this guy.
We sat there for an hour while he made appointments for the last three listings. (Wasn't he supposed to have done this BEFORE we got there?) Towards the end of our meeting, he told us he knew of a property we might like but was under contract. "Let me just show you anyway on the computer." Then he noticed that the contract was pending over 30 days. He noted that was strange and called on it. Oh! The contract fell through. The property was available even though it had not yet been re-listed. He asked us if we wanted to see it. Sure, why not?!
We toured a small house on 3 acres right next to a trailer park and on a busy road that was for sale for $119,000. No, it didn't feel right. We didn't like the location. As we drove further down the country road, we noticed we had been looking in this area when we first moved to Missouri and that there were other properties we had looked at online on the same road. We turned onto a gravel road and then turned onto a private driveway lined with forest, past a pond with wild ducks and we started smiling. "I like this, Matt! I love the tree-lined driveway and the privacy!" It only got better from there. The acreage! Ten acres of wooded forest, deciduous trees and evergreens, a "creek" (or ditch) full of junk which was a specific request of Kian's--that it have junk on the property!--a large backyard clearing for a place to play and garden, even trails through the woods! Matt, my brother Warren (who happened to be visiting at the time and came along with us) and I knew we liked what we were seeing!
Then we went inside the house! It was new! It had a big kitchen with a pantry and an island and red walls! In the dining room was a mural with deer, ducks, and a forest paradise! It had a laundry room! There were three large bedrooms and two bathrooms with nice clean and new carpet throughout. The rooms were painted very tastefully, a different color in each room, like sage green and beige and such.
The greatest part of all? It was in foreclosure--which meant the bank just wanted to get rid of it as soon as it could. It had previously sold for $125,000 so we could offer much lower and still have a chance! I didn't want to "fall in love" with a piece of land. I wanted to be very careful and smart about the whole house-buying process, but this house and land were so very wonderful that we could not deny it spoke to us!
We visited it once more with the kids who loved it. They loved running around outside, watching the ducks on the pond, swinging on the swing set and studying the junk in the creek/ditch. So, we made an offer. The bank countered with their offer. We countered back. And we finally agreed on $118,500! We know this is the best deal in the entire area. The land is so beautiful, we really can't believe it is at such a low price!
Now comes the waiting. We are praying all things go smoothly: the inspection and the financing and all that jazz. Oh, do you want to see pictures? Okay, here they are! The exterior of the house and garage (oh did I forget to mention there is a HUGE two-car garage) are metal which is not the most attractive exterior but it is all so new and the inside is really, really nice. Nothing a little landscaping can't fix!
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Christmas Lists
Do any of your kids have funny requests on their Christmas lists? Kian's includes Lego sets and Nerf guns and some other typical boy toys as well as his own bottle of vinegar and box of baking soda! I guess so he won't have to keep asking me to mix them, he can use his own supplies! He also requested a bag of sand and rocks!?
Matt told him if he's not good, Santa will bring him coal. "Oh, wait a minute, you'd actually want coal!" Matt added. "Yes! I'll burn it and create carbon dioxide and pollute the world!" Kian replied.
Matt told him if he's not good, Santa will bring him coal. "Oh, wait a minute, you'd actually want coal!" Matt added. "Yes! I'll burn it and create carbon dioxide and pollute the world!" Kian replied.
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