In Case You Were Wondering...

Yup. It happened.We are expecting our new little one at the end of February. For the first few weeks, I was feeling fine and nothing out of the ordinary. For a short time there, I was starting to feel a bit guilty and was wishing for just a slight tinge of morning sickness just so I would be absolutely certain it was true. (Like the positive pregnancy test wasn't enough or something.) Stupid me. What was I thinking? I had it so good before, and now I am just nauseous all day. The worst part? This is just the beginning of it. Thankfully it hasn't progressed to much more than nauseousness, but it still sucks. Now here I am sitting and wishing for those days before where I felt absolutely nothing at all. The good part? I should *hopefully* be done with all the nauseousness by the time school starts. Unless I am one of those unfortunate ones who have to deal with the constant urge to vomit their entire pregnancy. Kinda makes teaching a bit more challenging.

Considering this will be my third baby, I guess you can say I am a veteran to all the pregnancy ailments. Not really. It is so true that EVERY pregnancy is SO different. I just hope and pray that this one goes just as smoothly as my other two. Just like my other pregnancies, I can't stand the taste of crackers. So my food of choice to combat the nauseousness is: It's light enough to keep me from making a fast run to the bathroom, but enough to make my stomach think it's had something to eat to keep from making me take yet another quick run to the bathroom. The heartburn has already set in, so it's my normal routine to just pop a couple tums as I'm getting into bed each night.

The girls are pretty excited. They are thrilled to be welcoming a little brother or sister this winter. We'll see how quickly the novelty will wear off once the baby arrives.

The funniest part was how my parents found out about the baby. We were all camping over the Independence Day holiday weekend. One of the days we were out there, I was stranded in my sister's RV with my mom because of the rain. We were in there playing cards while Meghan, Audrey, and my nephew were playing to pass the time. While we were in the middle of a card game, my mom overheard my girls telling their cousin about the exciting news.

Audrey: "We're going to have a little brother or sister!"

Meghan: "Yeah! Our mommy has a baby in her tummy!"

My mom then looked at me in utter shock and disbelief and desperately looking for answers. I didn't know how to respond to that, so I just laughed. My uproarious laughter then caused my sister, who is deaf, to be very confused and absolutely frantic and desperately wanting to know what was so funny. My mother then told my sister what she heard and then I had two sets of eyes staring me down and intent on finding out the truth. While still laughing, I just shook my head, "yes." They were quite excited. Seriously, who wouldn't be excited?

Considering we hadn't quite figured out how we wanted to tell the grandparents about the baby, I think that turned out well....and quite memorable.

Wasting No Time

We have wasted no time getting settled into our new house. These past few weeks have been full of lots to do and much fun to be had.

We have installed a new microwave:

This was actually quite easy considering we had done this before, and we were able to use the holes that were already on the wall!

We bought a new table for our kitchen since the other one is being used in the dining room:

We have eaten JUMBO marshmallows that are bigger than any I have ever seen before:
We have read plenty of stories and have had lots of fun reading stories to others:
We got to spend some great time with cousin David on several occasions:

We've gotten some much-need cuddle time while watching "Veggietales":

Daddy got to ride with us in the back seat of the van:

And Jason is in the midst of quite a great task of putting together our new desk in our den.

When he's done...sometime within the next several hours, it should look something like this:

Considering I only have about two and a half more weeks left of my summer, we've had a great time. Other than having the unfortunate experience of having broken a tooth recently that requires me to get a bridge to repair the problem, life is good. We are going camping over the holiday weekend with my parents and my sister, so that should be full of great memories.

Until next time...

Pinch Me, I Must Be Dreaming!

I'm actually in my new house. I can't believe it.

A whole week later and many unpacked boxes later (and many more to go), I finally have the normal necessities I have grown so accustomed to...except for my dinner plates. Those are still proving to be quite elusive. I was getting so tired of eating off of little kid plastic plates that I went to the Dollar Tree the other day and purchased some dinner plates. They aren't all that bad for spending only a dollar per plate.

I just now got my Internet set up or I would have posted sooner.

Our closing went VERY smoothly. Almost too smoothly. We were in and out of there in less than an hour. I take that as God's final blessing to reassure us that regardless of all we had been through with the banks and underwriters, He wanted us to have this house in the end. Boy, was this whole ordeal quite the headache. There were a few times throughout this whole process where I was starting to doubt whether or not we were supposed to get this house after all. Looking back to how things were for us a year ago, I NEVER would have guessed in my wildest dreams that we would end up here in this city with these jobs and a house that by far exceeds my expectations on what we could qualify for. God has been so good to us.

My parents were such a great help for us during the move. They took the girls for the entire weekend so we could move without worrying about the kids being underfoot while trying to get things moved into the house. One of the most exciting things about all this was being able to go through boxes of stuff that we hadn't seen since last October! That might also be the reason why I can't find my plates. We did have to move quickly, so we weren't really thinking about putting things in boxes and in ways that would be easy to find.

It was so exciting bringing the girls back home to our new house. Jason and I were looking forward to that the entire weekend. We just couldn't wait to see the looks on their faces when they saw their rooms with their beds set up, and all their bedding freshly washed and waiting for them.

Most of my week this week has been consumed with various unpacking and cleaning. I was so overwhelmed with all the unpacking. I didn't seem to be making a dent in anything; after all, I did rearrange my closet six different times this week! I decided that yesterday would officially be "do nothing" day. We ran a bunch of various other errands, but with regards to unpacking or rearranging, I did not do it. It was a nice break. The one thing I have been dreading most is getting the girls' stuff in order. They have SO MANY TOYS! It seemed like a lot when we were living in the basement, but that was the basement. That was 1/4 the size of my whole house now! Now they have TONS of toys that they have recently rediscovered that were hiding in storage for the past eight months.

That has actually been a blessing in disguise. The girls have been so well entertained by toys they haven't seen in months, that they are so consumed with playing that I don't hear from them for hours at a time! That has been nice when unpacking, but they are also leaving quite the trail of various toys behind them. We'll have to re-train them to keep their toys in their rooms instead of strewn all over the house.

Today Jason decided to take the day off work and help me out with the unpacking. We also got a lot of other things done, too! We bought an over-the-stove microwave, and we even got to install it. We also got a great counter-height table for our little nook in the kitchen. We needed a little something for the girls to eat breakfast there instead of going into the dining room to eat. This table is so cool. I'm going to have to take a picture of that and the microwave and post them for next time.

We are also in the middle of our painting project. The family room was pumpkin orange when we bought the house, and now we are in the middle of painting the room in normal colors. What took so long was painting the walls with primer first so the orange doesn't bleed through and altar the color of the new paint. I will have to post a picture of that too when we are done. This has definitely been a busy week, but I am so grateful to be here now. Now this whole move, eight months later, seems real.

Beyond Frustrated

We still haven't closed on our house yet. Our close date has changed four different times! This is ridiculous!

We were supposed to close on May 21st and then they pushed it back to the 25th only to find they needed more time and pushed it back to the 28th. We got notified a couple days before the final date only to find that we have to push back our close date ONE MORE TIME. The worst part of it all is that the bank that currently owns the house is not willing to push back a close date any more. If we get notification that the underwriters need yet more time, we are going to lose our house, and I am going to flip my lid. I already lost it last week when I found out that they were pushing us back to June 11th. Poor Jason. He got the brunt of all my rage. Being the passive-aggressive person that I am, I will flip my lid but I will never direct it at the people who are most deserving of such circumstances.

All that I have endured recently regarding the house is all the fault of my bank. I am so annoyed with them right now. The woman who is handling our loan has had since the beginning of April to process our loan. I know our file has been sent back and forth several times with underwriters, but the worst part is that she didn't submit all of our information to the final underwriters and everything got sent back to the bank to finish before the final processing.

When we expressed our frustration with the bank, our mortgage broker gave a long list of "excuses" as to why she hasn't been able to process our information in time. I'm sorry, but it's your job. You get paid to ensure people get to close on the houses they are qualified to purchase. We are more than qualified to purchase this house. The more excuses I saw in that email, the more unwilling I was to accept her reasoning for the delay. One thing I would say to my students when they are giving me excuses for not turning in their homework is, "The more excuses you give me, the more I'm going to think that you are not willing to accept responsibility for your actions." That's totally what it seemed like to me. All I know is that I better get this house to close, or...or...or...I'm going to be REALLY mad. Not to mention we'd lose the tax credit.

The thing that adds to this situation is that one of our cats have gone missing. When we found out we were moving, we knew we would need a safe place for our cats to stay for a while, so Jason's mom was more than willing to help us out. Jason took a weekend and drove out to Utah while his mom drove from Sacramento and met up with him so he give her temporary custody of the cats. We got a call last night to let us know that Paisley has been missing for about a week. What makes this so hard is that Paisley is the most loveable cat I've ever known...and he's considered the girls' cat. We haven't told the girls yet. We're just hoping he turns up sometime before Jason goes out to pick up the cats. Poor Paisley. He's just so cute. Here's a picture of Meghan and Paisley right after we got him. He was a little stray that some kid found in the school parking lot and I decided to take him home. He is the best cat. He is so gentle, he loves everyone, and the girls love to play with him. I hope he comes back safely. And we get our house.

So Busy

It never fails. May is so busy it always seems like the busiest month of the year. I apologize in advance if this post seems scattered and all over the place, but that's how life has been for us lately. Here's a brief overview of what this month has looked like:

• We welcomed two more cousins back into an already full house. Beth and Becca came home to stay for the summer before they go back to college in the fall.
• I had a Spring Program at my school.
• We celebrated several birthdays as well as Mother's Day.
• I had two field trips.
• Meghan had a field trip.
• I had field day.
• Jason and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary.
• Meghan graduated from preschool.
• I got a new job for the fall.
• We close on our house this next Tuesday.
• My last day at my current job is next Friday.
• We move into our new house next weekend.

Wow! What a month! God has blessed us so much this year that I can't begin to describe my amazement and gratitude for all He has done.

Jason and I were talking earlier today about how smoothly things have happened for us lately. Yes, we've done our fair share of waiting. I know I might get quoted on this as I am known for being patiently impatient. All the waiting and all the worrying was worth it in the end. There. I said it.

There is no way on the face of this Earth that I could have planned this better myself. I know that with every cell in my body. I am constantly reminded of how God has a plan for me that is WAY better than anything I could have done on my own. How can I argue with that? I got my current job the exact same day that Jason and I decided it was finally time for us to look into renting a house for awhile. It was almost like God was saying, "Not so fast! I have a plan for you, and you are not trusting that I will provide for you!"

It was because of this job that we are able to purchase our house we will be moving into next week. Because I got this job when I did, we were able to find a house and get a contract on it before the housing tax credit expired. Yes, we are going to take that money and pay off our van! It was because of this job that I was able to put behind me all the issues I had with my other school and have the opportunity to work with some amazing teachers that would be able to give me good references after I lost that opportunity with my former principal.

Yes, I got a job for next year. I only interviewed for the job almost 7 weeks ago. Yeah, apparently these people don't have any sense of urgency. I was getting really frustrated...until I got the job offer. I even get to work with my sister-in-law who teaches 1st grade at that school! The best part is that Meghan will be coming to school with me when she starts Kindergarten in the fall! My Meggie-Beth will be starting Kindergarten this year. I am so happy I can have her with me. That has always been a dream of mine, and God has answered my prayers and provided me with a job and Meghan with a school to go to. I got her enrollment papers sitting on my desk right beside my new teaching contract for next year.

Jason and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary on the 18th. I can't believe we have been married that long. Time has flown by so quickly. As they always say, "Time flies when you're having fun!" What a blessing Jason is to me and our girls. When I married Jason, I had no idea how much we would grow together and grow deeper in love. We are the best of friends and I can't imagine a life without him by my side. He makes me laugh, he makes me smile when I want to cry, he picks me up when I am down, he is my biggest supporter, the first person I go to for anything, and everything else God knew I need in a husband.

What have I done to deserve all this? Absolutely nothing. I am so grateful. I will continue to thank God for His blessings as I continually find myself speechless and amazed for all He has done.

It Actually Happened

We got a contract on a house. I still can't believe it happened. There were times when I felt so discouraged that it seemed like we would be living in this basement forever.

It's actually pretty funny how it happened. I was at work the other day, and I was quickly checking my e-mail before I left work and I discovered one of our offers got accepted! Remember, we have seen at least 100 houses by this point and put offers in on about 10 houses while praying that something gets accepted. The part that really surprised me was that our offer was accepted immediately. There weren't any counter offers or anything. Accepted as is. Pretty cool, if I do say so myself. I was so excited. I couldn't believe it....but then I wasn't too excited because I couldn't even remember what house that was. I do remember seeing that particular house less than a week ago, but we had seen about 5 houses that day and they all had the exact same floor plan. Was it the one with all the upgraded fixtures? Was it the one with the bigger backyard? Was it the one with the funky basement? I couldn't remember. But we had a contract on a house.

I quickly called Jason to share the funny yet exciting news. We both laughed at our similar responses to the house. "I guess it'll work." We said. I was struggling a little with the fact that I couldn't even remember the house! My mom just laughed at me when I called her. She couldn't believe I had a contract on a house I couldn't even remember. I told her that we wouldn't have put an offer on a house if we didn't like it enough to live in it. I believe that near the end of seeing all those houses that looked exactly the same, we were eventually thinking, "That'll do. I'll just take any house. Please, someone. Just give me a house!"

While I was still on my way home from work, I got a call from my realtor congratulating me on the contract on the house. I laughed and told him about Jason and my similar responses regarding the house, and he said, "No, not that house, the other one. You got a contract on your favorite house." "What???? We got two contracts?" Yup. We sure did. That was a no-brainer. I didn't even need to talk to Jason first before telling the realtor which house we would go with. Both of us liked this house from the beginning.

Here's some pictures from the listing:

I love how the front of this house looks. Yeah, the yard needs some serious revival, but it's nothing we haven't dealt with before. Jason loves the 3-car garage. He wants to make it his little shop for tinkering. Whatever that is. Every man needs their man-cave, and I guess this will be his.
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this staircase. It just looks so cool. I love how it is so open. Thankfully I won't have to worry about walking up and down those stairs with a load of laundry. The washer and dryer are on the top floor to the far right.
The family room. The first room we will be painting. In natural light the ceiling is not blue. The walls are currently a rusty orange. Maybe the people had some sort of southwestern theme going on. No thanks. I love how this room is right off the kitchen so I'm not exiled to the kitchen when entertaining guests. The decent-sized kitchen. I like how there is the island. In our old house, I was so limited with cooking space. I hated that. Thankfully there is still a good amount of space around the island so you don't feel too cramped with other people working in the kitchen. I think. I'd have to test it out to be sure.

I am really excited about this house. It really has so much to offer us. We were really thinking hard about what we wanted in our new house, and I think we really got a keeper with this one. We really want that house that lasts us a LONG time. Others don't seem to think we'd stay that long, but that is something we really want. We want that house the girls live in the entire time they are in school. I don't want them to have to worry about going from one school to the next....except for the natural transitions between elementary to middle school and from middle to high school.

Now all I have to do is wait...again. It seems like my big lesson in life is patience. I'm just so excited, though! It just seems extra long because we are so cramped in this basement. We've lasted this long, what's another month? We close on our new house on May 21st.

Looking For The Perfect Home

Okay, so things have been pretty crazy here.

I had my long-awaited Spring Break a couple weeks ago, and it sure seemed to go much faster than I anticipated. I guess it never seems long enough when you have a lot to do. My primary purpose for break was to do some serious house shopping.

My brother's father-in-law is a realtor, and he happily agreed to help us find our perfect house. The big challenge for us is finding the house that we can afford as well as the house we can see ourselves living in for many years to come. We have always said that it would be nice to live in one house the entire time the kids are in school. I want them to have the opportunity to go to the same schools with the same friends and not have to worry too much about going to different schools and making new friends.

I have seen so many houses, that by this point I am really having a hard time keeping them straight. I think there were only two days during my Spring Break where I did not physically go and see houses. Since we started looking, I'd have to say that we've seen at least 50 houses. That's pretty amazing when you think about it. Right now, we are in the best position to buy a house. The market is flooded with houses for sale, short sales, and foreclosures. It's pretty exciting, but also very exhausting. I know that our new home is out there somewhere, but it almost feels like looking for a needle in a haystack.

We've seen a lot of really nice homes, but not necessarily one that we feel could be "the one." We actually put offers on three different houses last week. We haven't heard back from one of them yet, but I don't expect to hear anything on that house anytime soon. It is a short sale that already had a contract on it before we got to it. The other houses were great possibilities, but the homeowners seem to think they can get more money for their houses than we were willing to pay. I'm okay with that. I wasn't totally feeling it with those houses anyways. When you look at the recent sales in the area, there is no way those people could get as much as they were asking. It all depends on how quickly the sellers are willing to get out of their house. They'd be lucky to find buyers in similar situations like us. We can move quickly. We don't have a house to sell first. Their loss.

We were able to go out again yesterday, and I think we have made some serious progress. I think the greatest success of the weekend was that we were both able to agree on our #1 pick of houses. Previously, there was one house that was my particular favorite, and then there was one that was Jason's favorite. Now we both like the same house. That's a big deal for me. I don't want it to be that one of us is settling with one house wishing we got a different one. I am really excited about this house, and I just pray that it works out. We should be putting in an offer on this house hopefully by tomorrow.

I am SO ready to have our own place again. Now that the weather is getting nicer, I am really longing for my own place to spread out and do what I want to do and to get settled. I am looking forward to establishing a new routine for our new place. I am looking forward to the girls being able to play in and out of the house and not having to worry about where they are and whose stuff they might be messing with . I am practically counting down the days to where I don't have to share a room with my girls and always worry about them messing up my space or getting into my things. I am looking forward to finally knowing where we are going to be living so I can get started on getting Meghan ready for Kindergarten (gasp!) this fall. I still don't know where she will be going. I pray that this issue will get settled pretty quickly when we actually move. I am really looking forward to this summer where I can have fun with my girls again and finally get to feeling like normal. It will be nice. I think I will appreciate it more than I thought I would just because I haven't had my own space for almost 6 months now.