It is finally all done!
We have a house!
We're homeowners.
It's ours.
It's not in dispute.
There's no hesitation.
No "long story."
It's just ours now.
Ours.
Well, ours and our bank's.
Whew.
Josh and I were so excited when our offer was accepted on May 16th. We were still excited as we planned for our June 16th closing. We started doubting when June ended without a date. We flirted with other houses after we missed the July 10th closing. By the time we had to move out of our house, we were dating other houses. We've spent so much time trying not to get emotionally attached, not to get our hopes up, that it's been harder for me to enjoy the triumphs this week.
Until today, when we officially took posession. Now we can scrub, paint, trim, and decorate to our heart's content. We can schedule activities and plan the move. And that is such a good thing. Thank God.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Monday, July 28, 2008
Closing!?
As of 7:49pm Monday night, we're actually scheduled to close on our new house Wednesday! Hallelujah! It's hard to believe. Really. As my sister-in-law said, we're "cautiously optimistic." I don't think I'll start celebrating till we can walk through the front door and get to work (cleaning, painting, moving, and cleaning some more), but our realtor's confidence is starting to rub off on me, and it feels good.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Another First
With July's heat in full-swing, we've been spending as much time as possible in the water. In my opinion, nothing feels better in the summer than a good swim. Last weekend, that was at the YMCA, where Noah accomplished another first: his first...(drumroll) BOO-BOO!
Oddly enough, the actual event went unnoticed. It wasn't till we got home that Mommy saw the scrape. And thankfully, Noah never found it (hence the in-tact scar). But just the same, I had to take a picture of what will assuredly be the first of many.
(I must add that while he never saw the boo-boo, he had such an adventure at the pool that he was out by the time we got home. Isn't he ADORABLE!?)
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Moving Days
Wednesday, the movers carried out all of our furniture (and maybe a baby). Thursday, we moved the rest of the boxes (and a baby). Friday, we wrapped up loose ends and handed over the keys (but not the baby). Saturday, we rested.A few highlights:
-- We seriously overestimated how much storage space we would need. We'd already filled a 10x15 unit to stage our house. We'd reserved two 10x20s for the rest. When we arrived at StorPlace, the manager (such a sweet, grandmotherly lady that it's hard to imagine how someone convinced her to oversee a sea of garages) offered us a 10x30. The movers unloaded the truck into the 10x30 and had half the space leftover. We thought about just camping out in the other half, but instead decided to have them empty our original 10x15 into the rest of the 10x30. The end result: our entire household fit into one unit. Our stuff is now completely inaccessible, but we're saving money!
-- With all of the sorting, packing, loading, and cleaning that had to get done over the past two months, we would never have finished without the help of generous friends, some of whom wound up at just the right time and place to make it happen: 1) my brother and sister-in-law who helped stage, pack, and unload our stuff while also watching Noah AND letting us move in with them, 2) a close friend who watched Noah all day Wednesday, 3) a new church friend who watched Noah Thursday morning, 4) our next-door neighbor who watched Noah Thursday evening, (do I detect a theme here?) and 5) our cleaning team who randomly showed up two hours before the walk-through to clean the house. We could not have done it without you! Thank you!
Josh's addendum: So now all our worldly possessions have been reduced to: 4 rubbermaid containers, one rack of hanging clothes, and a large suitcase. (Well, Carolyn's shoes took another small suitcase, but we're not counting that one.) Makes you wonder why you need that 10x30 storage unit afterall... assuming you can live with friends and family the rest of your life! :)
Monday, July 21, 2008
A Short-Sale Primer
For those of you uninitiated into the drama called a "short sale," I thought a little primer might save you from some of the headaches we've experienced over the past two months:
1. Short sale = home owner wants to sell the house to a buyer for less than he owes the bank (because he can't find a buyer to pay more and he has to sell)
2. Short sale contract - must be approved in writing by seller and the seller's bank (usually takes about 3 months)
3. Foreclosure auction - what happens when the foreclosure dept at the seller's bank doesn't realize there's a short sale in the works; the bank offers the house for sale on the courthouse steps for the amount owed by the seller plus fees; must be published in local newspaper for 3 weeks prior to auction; if no one buys the home at auction, the bank puts it for sale on the market (w/a realtor); can be postponed by the bank's short-sale dept if they are reached in time
4. Liens - a seller headed for foreclosure often has other bills he wasn't able to pay so there may be "liens" against the property besides just the primary mortgage; this is why you probably want a lawyer to help you navigate the short sale and avoid future liability
In our situation, we signed a contract with the sellers in May, but we still haven't received a response from their bank. That's supposed to come soon, but until we have their approval, we can't buy it. Hence the househunting, homelessness, and disorientation...
1. Short sale = home owner wants to sell the house to a buyer for less than he owes the bank (because he can't find a buyer to pay more and he has to sell)
2. Short sale contract - must be approved in writing by seller and the seller's bank (usually takes about 3 months)
3. Foreclosure auction - what happens when the foreclosure dept at the seller's bank doesn't realize there's a short sale in the works; the bank offers the house for sale on the courthouse steps for the amount owed by the seller plus fees; must be published in local newspaper for 3 weeks prior to auction; if no one buys the home at auction, the bank puts it for sale on the market (w/a realtor); can be postponed by the bank's short-sale dept if they are reached in time
4. Liens - a seller headed for foreclosure often has other bills he wasn't able to pay so there may be "liens" against the property besides just the primary mortgage; this is why you probably want a lawyer to help you navigate the short sale and avoid future liability
In our situation, we signed a contract with the sellers in May, but we still haven't received a response from their bank. That's supposed to come soon, but until we have their approval, we can't buy it. Hence the househunting, homelessness, and disorientation...
Sunday, July 20, 2008
My Southern Boy
First Noah's favorite food was yams. Now it's country breakfast. It's actually called that on the label. "Country Breakfast." He won't eat 4oz of fruit, but he'll eat a platter from Cracker Barrel stuffed into a jar. Ham, eggs, oats, apples. It would sound good to me if it weren't pureed into a room-temp, canned smoothie. But then again, it's high in protein, low in sugar, and just 50 cents/meal, so I'm not complaining.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Homeless
We're moving out of our house Thursday. Our stuff will go in storage. We will go to my brother's. And then we'll wait and pray for a house (as will my brother).
Once we had a contract on a new house, it seemed such a big goal to sell our old house that we never considered asking for more time in it. We were elated our old house sold so quickly. Six days! It was a miracle.
Now that miracle will be someone else's house on Friday, and I don't know where to forward our mail. Or our calls. Or our magazines or bills or Netflix movies.
We are so blessed. I can't say I'm worried. I'm really not stressed either. I just feel adrift. I can't plan events, invite people over, commit to new activities -- not until we know where we'll be living. It feels like events are floating out in the future without a context - without a house to ground them. And it saps my productivity. Out-of-town trips felt different, because we knew our home still existed and we could come back to its comforts anytime. Now, the comforts of our home will be locked in a cinder block 10x20' cell, which makes them slightly less comforting.
But it is an adventure. I didn't know how I'd react to these circumstances. Now I know. And someday this will all make for a great (or very boring) story. In the meantime, I'm praying that we'll land in the right spot at the right time, the home that will bring us closer to each other and to God. And that we'll land there in the next two weeks.
Once we had a contract on a new house, it seemed such a big goal to sell our old house that we never considered asking for more time in it. We were elated our old house sold so quickly. Six days! It was a miracle.
Now that miracle will be someone else's house on Friday, and I don't know where to forward our mail. Or our calls. Or our magazines or bills or Netflix movies.
We are so blessed. I can't say I'm worried. I'm really not stressed either. I just feel adrift. I can't plan events, invite people over, commit to new activities -- not until we know where we'll be living. It feels like events are floating out in the future without a context - without a house to ground them. And it saps my productivity. Out-of-town trips felt different, because we knew our home still existed and we could come back to its comforts anytime. Now, the comforts of our home will be locked in a cinder block 10x20' cell, which makes them slightly less comforting.
But it is an adventure. I didn't know how I'd react to these circumstances. Now I know. And someday this will all make for a great (or very boring) story. In the meantime, I'm praying that we'll land in the right spot at the right time, the home that will bring us closer to each other and to God. And that we'll land there in the next two weeks.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Q & A
In my experience, when people see a baby, they ask two questions:
1) How old is he?
2) Is he crawling/walking?
The questions have no relation to each other. I know this because I asked them of other people before I had Noah, and I hadn't a clue when babies were supposed to start anything. I asked them to show my interest, to avoid silence, and to flatter the parents.
Now that I'm a parent, I understand this phenomenon in a whole new light. For instance, they sound like easy questions. Maybe. But do you want to hear 10 months and 3 weeks? Should I round up (even though adults don't say they're 40 until they actually turn 40)? But if I say 10 months, that's actually less accurate because he's closer to 11 months. Or do months sound too anal and really I should be saying "almost a year"? Maybe I should just say 48 weeks and let you do the math.
And then there's the milestone question. This should at least be binary, right? Wrong. Learning to sit was a two-month proposition for Noah - first sitting assisted, then sitting with less assistance, then sitting with an occassional fall, and finally sitting with such balance that he could turn, lean, and re-balance himself. Not to mention that he just learned how to sit up on his own.
The same seems to be true for crawling. Is he crawling? Well, not technically. He doesn't move quickly on all fours across vast spaces. But he does gradually get where he wants to go through a series of shoves, pushes, squirms, rotations, and willpower. He's deceptively mobile. It looks like you could leave him alone in a room, but then you come back in to find him chewing on a cord. (Not that I would do that.)
For the record, I don't mind people asking me these questions. In fact, I feel properly flattered that the asker is interested in my beautiful, perfect child. It's just taken me a little time to figure out which answers I'm comfortable giving. On the first question, I round to the nearest month or year (depending how interested you look). On the latter, I agree with a friend of mine who says, "No, but he gets where he wants to go." No kidding.
1) How old is he?
2) Is he crawling/walking?
The questions have no relation to each other. I know this because I asked them of other people before I had Noah, and I hadn't a clue when babies were supposed to start anything. I asked them to show my interest, to avoid silence, and to flatter the parents.Now that I'm a parent, I understand this phenomenon in a whole new light. For instance, they sound like easy questions. Maybe. But do you want to hear 10 months and 3 weeks? Should I round up (even though adults don't say they're 40 until they actually turn 40)? But if I say 10 months, that's actually less accurate because he's closer to 11 months. Or do months sound too anal and really I should be saying "almost a year"? Maybe I should just say 48 weeks and let you do the math.
And then there's the milestone question. This should at least be binary, right? Wrong. Learning to sit was a two-month proposition for Noah - first sitting assisted, then sitting with less assistance, then sitting with an occassional fall, and finally sitting with such balance that he could turn, lean, and re-balance himself. Not to mention that he just learned how to sit up on his own.
The same seems to be true for crawling. Is he crawling? Well, not technically. He doesn't move quickly on all fours across vast spaces. But he does gradually get where he wants to go through a series of shoves, pushes, squirms, rotations, and willpower. He's deceptively mobile. It looks like you could leave him alone in a room, but then you come back in to find him chewing on a cord. (Not that I would do that.)
For the record, I don't mind people asking me these questions. In fact, I feel properly flattered that the asker is interested in my beautiful, perfect child. It's just taken me a little time to figure out which answers I'm comfortable giving. On the first question, I round to the nearest month or year (depending how interested you look). On the latter, I agree with a friend of mine who says, "No, but he gets where he wants to go." No kidding.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
My Little Pop-Up
Monday, Noah discovered how to sit up on his own. He hasn't had a decent nap since. He's too excited. As soon as I lay him down, he pops back up. It makes going to sleep quite a process and long naps almost impossible. Usually, he goes to sleep on his own. During naps, he wakes after 45 minutes, talks a little, and then goes back to sleep for another 45 minutes.
In this new sitting-up-on-my-own world, it takes 15 minutes and an extra visit to get him to sleep. Then after 45min of napping, he wakes up, pops up, and talks himself into a tizzy - partially because he's having too much fun sitting up, partially because he's not very good at lying back down again. Will we ever enjoy a 90min nap again?
Suggestions are welcome.
Monday, July 7, 2008
Of the Essence
If time is the most valuable commodity (yes - even more so than gas), then I've been doing some important experiments over the last few weeks to determine how I'm willing to spend it.
A few activities I plan to repeat:
- The Park - Since I've already written my ode to our jogging stroller, I'll just say that our local park has a paved, shaded path that we visit almost daily. It's natural, athletic, and free. Only hiccup: heat.
- Festive Treats - Whether it's hot-cross buns for Easter, a 4th-of-July flag cake, or "bad dates" for an Indiana Jones movie night, baking and holidays (both real and made-up) help our family celebrate life. So maybe I'm an unlikely Betty Crocker. I can still read P&Ls. I just consider myself better "diversified."
- Facebook - With a few quick clicks, I've reconnected with more old friends than I even remembered - from high school, grad school, past jobs. Some of it serves the curiosity factor (Where are they now?), but some is truly social networking at its most efficient.
- NPR & Moody Radio - I don't imagine those networks share many listeners, but Josh and I have found they balance each other nicely. NPR tells us the sky is falling, while Moody tells us why and how to fix it.
Just not worth it:
- Weekly Weeknight Commitments - Our evenings have a rhythm that works - unless I'm running out every Mon, Wed, and Thurs for Bible study, book club, etc. Noah may be asleep by then, but Josh isn't, and I just don't like to be gone that much. Sorry, no more Beth Moore study for now.
- Long Trips - After two nights on the road with Noah, we're both ready for home. Eating and sleeping just don't work as well when we're moving from one place to another. I love to travel, and we're still planning a few longer trips, but I just nixed the 3-city 7-nighter coming up in Sept. What was I thinking??
- Oprah - An hour of commercials interspersed with a few moments of content. And somehow the only days I remember to watch, she's interviewing polygamists or profiling people who've lost 200 pounds. I have friends who've learned a lot from Oprah. I think I'll just stick with learning from those friends.
On the fence:
- The YMCA - I love the childcare, elliptical, pool, TV, and air conditioning. I don't love that Noah's having separation issues. We'll keep trying, but at some point, the staff may not take us back.
- Grocery Game - I'm not a big shopping fan. It stresses me out. Add in too many rules, and I might just choose to starve. But I'm working the program: coupons, sales, stock-ups. One week at a time. We'll see...
Still to be explored:
- Library's Storytime
- The Zoo
- Cheekwood Gardens
A few activities I plan to repeat:
- The Park - Since I've already written my ode to our jogging stroller, I'll just say that our local park has a paved, shaded path that we visit almost daily. It's natural, athletic, and free. Only hiccup: heat.- Festive Treats - Whether it's hot-cross buns for Easter, a 4th-of-July flag cake, or "bad dates" for an Indiana Jones movie night, baking and holidays (both real and made-up) help our family celebrate life. So maybe I'm an unlikely Betty Crocker. I can still read P&Ls. I just consider myself better "diversified."
- Facebook - With a few quick clicks, I've reconnected with more old friends than I even remembered - from high school, grad school, past jobs. Some of it serves the curiosity factor (Where are they now?), but some is truly social networking at its most efficient.
- NPR & Moody Radio - I don't imagine those networks share many listeners, but Josh and I have found they balance each other nicely. NPR tells us the sky is falling, while Moody tells us why and how to fix it.
Just not worth it:
- Weekly Weeknight Commitments - Our evenings have a rhythm that works - unless I'm running out every Mon, Wed, and Thurs for Bible study, book club, etc. Noah may be asleep by then, but Josh isn't, and I just don't like to be gone that much. Sorry, no more Beth Moore study for now.
- Long Trips - After two nights on the road with Noah, we're both ready for home. Eating and sleeping just don't work as well when we're moving from one place to another. I love to travel, and we're still planning a few longer trips, but I just nixed the 3-city 7-nighter coming up in Sept. What was I thinking??
- Oprah - An hour of commercials interspersed with a few moments of content. And somehow the only days I remember to watch, she's interviewing polygamists or profiling people who've lost 200 pounds. I have friends who've learned a lot from Oprah. I think I'll just stick with learning from those friends.
On the fence:
- The YMCA - I love the childcare, elliptical, pool, TV, and air conditioning. I don't love that Noah's having separation issues. We'll keep trying, but at some point, the staff may not take us back.
- Grocery Game - I'm not a big shopping fan. It stresses me out. Add in too many rules, and I might just choose to starve. But I'm working the program: coupons, sales, stock-ups. One week at a time. We'll see...
Still to be explored:
- Library's Storytime
- The Zoo
- Cheekwood Gardens
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