The phone and internet is FINALLY working at the new house. I have plenty of moving adventures and pictures to share but you'll have to wait a few days! Just wanted everyone to know we are now available by email and phone!
If you were one of the many who helped us with moving out, moving in, cleaning, brought a meal or watched children....THANK YOU SO MUCH!! Many hands make light work! Back to unpacking!!
Monday, March 31, 2008
Thursday, March 27, 2008
One Down, One to Go
Just a quick update...the big truck is packed!!! We are picking up the other today. Loading the first one went faster than I thought. The other truck will be a bit more challenging to load since it is a bunch of odds and ends that don't stack nicely. Will it all fit? Good question! Let's just say I have a feeling there will be a few items in Grandma's garage tonight!
Since the phone/internet will be disconnected any minute now, I'll keep this short. No move is without it's challenges and this house gave us one last HURRAH that required a plumber, a sledgehammer to the kitchen wall (under the sink thankfully!), a sweet brother-in-law, and some drywall repair. The complete story and pictures will follow. I have taken a few pictures of moving related fun but packed the cord to hook the camera to the computer...oh well...you'll just have to be patient.
If you don't have anything going on, head to the new house tomorrow after about 11am to help us unload!! This will be the last post for a few days and we won't have phone or email either...so if you need to get a hold of us call one of the cell phones. And if you think of it, pray one last little prayer that all goes well with closing tomorrow...on both houses!
Since the phone/internet will be disconnected any minute now, I'll keep this short. No move is without it's challenges and this house gave us one last HURRAH that required a plumber, a sledgehammer to the kitchen wall (under the sink thankfully!), a sweet brother-in-law, and some drywall repair. The complete story and pictures will follow. I have taken a few pictures of moving related fun but packed the cord to hook the camera to the computer...oh well...you'll just have to be patient.
If you don't have anything going on, head to the new house tomorrow after about 11am to help us unload!! This will be the last post for a few days and we won't have phone or email either...so if you need to get a hold of us call one of the cell phones. And if you think of it, pray one last little prayer that all goes well with closing tomorrow...on both houses!
Friday, March 21, 2008
Prayers Answered!
God is pretty awesome! I told you yesterday we needed a miracle and a miracle is what we got! This was Wesley's AWANA verse from last week:
...He hears the the prayer of the righteous." Proverbs 15:29
If you prayed for us...thank you! At about 1pm we got the call that the buyer's loan commitment came in and we can proceed as planned. I want to get excited but am still a bit nervous. I will feel much better ONE WEEK from today when I am sitting in my new house surrounded by boxes.
We have a lot of work to do. I had stopped packing so we'll get going on that ASAP. We will keep the plan that we came up with...we'll just have to let church know and hopefully people will be able to help us on short notice. Let us know if you are available!
Thank You!!
...He hears the the prayer of the righteous." Proverbs 15:29
If you prayed for us...thank you! At about 1pm we got the call that the buyer's loan commitment came in and we can proceed as planned. I want to get excited but am still a bit nervous. I will feel much better ONE WEEK from today when I am sitting in my new house surrounded by boxes.
We have a lot of work to do. I had stopped packing so we'll get going on that ASAP. We will keep the plan that we came up with...we'll just have to let church know and hopefully people will be able to help us on short notice. Let us know if you are available!
Thank You!!
Six Years Old!
Yesterday was Wesley's sixth birthday. He requested pizza from "the place that has the yellow dipping sauce" which is Papa John's. I made a cake from a box and cheated by not even making the frosting! I'm such a rebel! We sang but there were no candles to blow out because I packed them. Oops! We were planning on having his "real" party when we were settled in the new house...not sure what we'll do now.
Roz had to work so she missed the fun. But the rest of the boys enjoyed the mini-party. Wesley was very nice about sharing his new gifts with his brothers. He was also able to read the birthday cards all by himself this year. That was fun! I'm so proud at how well he is reading. It has been hard work (for both of us)!
I have been including an newborn picture with the birthday posts but Wesley was born pre-digital camera and...you guessed it...the photo albums are packed. So you'll just have to remember or trust me...he was a cute baby! And my biggest at 7 pounds 10 ounces! Happy Birthday Wesley!
Roz had to work so she missed the fun. But the rest of the boys enjoyed the mini-party. Wesley was very nice about sharing his new gifts with his brothers. He was also able to read the birthday cards all by himself this year. That was fun! I'm so proud at how well he is reading. It has been hard work (for both of us)!
I have been including an newborn picture with the birthday posts but Wesley was born pre-digital camera and...you guessed it...the photo albums are packed. So you'll just have to remember or trust me...he was a cute baby! And my biggest at 7 pounds 10 ounces! Happy Birthday Wesley!
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Still No Word
Despite the fact we gave her until 5pm tomorrow, we were hoping to hear something, anything today. I don't know what is going on with the whole situation but not getting calls returned or any information is worse than just knowing the deal isn't going to work out. It would truly be God's doing and a real miracle if we find out her financing goes through tomorrow. Continue to pray for all involved.
Also if it doesn't work out, please pray that the buyer will sign the "mutual release" quickly and without incident so we can move on to the next offer. I don't understand all the ins and outs of contracts but apparently if she refuses to sign the release the contract is not automatically null and void and we will have to get a real estate attorney. I really don't want it to come to that. If we can get the other offer together over the weekend then we can still hold the deal together on our new house. At this point that is all that really matters to us. We don't want to lose that house. There really is nothing else on the market in our area right now that would work for us or that we are even remotely interested in.
I am sure there is some great lesson to be learned from all of this...I'll let you all know when I figure out what it is.
Also if it doesn't work out, please pray that the buyer will sign the "mutual release" quickly and without incident so we can move on to the next offer. I don't understand all the ins and outs of contracts but apparently if she refuses to sign the release the contract is not automatically null and void and we will have to get a real estate attorney. I really don't want it to come to that. If we can get the other offer together over the weekend then we can still hold the deal together on our new house. At this point that is all that really matters to us. We don't want to lose that house. There really is nothing else on the market in our area right now that would work for us or that we are even remotely interested in.
I am sure there is some great lesson to be learned from all of this...I'll let you all know when I figure out what it is.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Bad News
We had some bad news yesterday. The lady who is buying our house was supposed to have her loan commitment to us yesterday by midnight. Despite the fact she was pre-approved, there was a problem and she did not make the deadline. She has asked for an extension until Friday at 5pm but I think we are just delaying the inevitable. Our loan paperwork (which is all set to go) is supposed be handed in Monday.
As of right now everything is on hold. I already "canceled" the help we had set up with church for next week. I hope if it works out we can call them back in. If it doesn't work out, we will have a long list of phone calls to make on Monday to undo all the work we've done the last few weeks. I will also have to unpack at least some of the stuff I packed (food, toiletries, etc.)
Fortunately, the person who made the second offer has not found a house yet and is supposedly still interested. So if this deal falls apart we are hopeful that she will make an offer, but we wouldn't be able to move until sometime mid-April or later since we would have to start the whole process over again.
So if you have a minute say a little prayer...for the buyer to get her loan through and for the Shown family to hang in there either way...
As of right now everything is on hold. I already "canceled" the help we had set up with church for next week. I hope if it works out we can call them back in. If it doesn't work out, we will have a long list of phone calls to make on Monday to undo all the work we've done the last few weeks. I will also have to unpack at least some of the stuff I packed (food, toiletries, etc.)
Fortunately, the person who made the second offer has not found a house yet and is supposedly still interested. So if this deal falls apart we are hopeful that she will make an offer, but we wouldn't be able to move until sometime mid-April or later since we would have to start the whole process over again.
So if you have a minute say a little prayer...for the buyer to get her loan through and for the Shown family to hang in there either way...
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Moving Logistics
Just a quick update on the move situation...
First, if you have any boxes laying around let us know. We can come pick them up! Roz brought a van load home on Friday night but we used them up already!
For the actual move...we have decided to get two trucks. This seems like the best way to have the old house completely empty before we go to closing. Especially since we can't put anything in the new house until after we close. We were going to try and rent back (or forward) but decided against it. If we have leftover stuff that won't fit in the trucks we'll leave it in Grandma's garage.
The logistics of all this will be interesting. The plan right now is to pick up and load one truck starting Wed. (26th). The Youth Group from church is going to come help us load in the evening. Then we'll pick up the second on Thurs. (27th) and my friend Nora is going to load it for us. [Just kidding, Nora...we won't make you do it all by yourself!] Friday (28th), the morning of closing, we'll load up the last few items and head over to sign the papers. We could stay at grandma's but will probably stay here one last night. We'll leave the trucks parked until we get the keys to the new house. Then we'll head over there and start unloading. We plan to have both trucks unloaded and returned by Friday night.
Since Roz is off for Spring Break we are hoping a few of her friends can help. But several will be gone on vacation so we aren't counting on it. Some friends from church and Jerry's co-workers will be helping when they can as well. Unfortunately, we won't have the luxury of moving on a weekend so this will be a move that spans several days! :) So if you have a few hours to spare on the 26th, 27th, or 28th (pretty much at anytime of the day) head on over and help us out!
Just a few of the many!
And just in case you were wondering...while I am sure they would be great helpers...we are sending the four big boys to Grandma Linda's house for a few days. So why they are at Camp Have-a-Bunch-of-Fun we'll be here slaving away. They'll get to the new house, see their beds all set up, and wonder what all the fuss was about!
First, if you have any boxes laying around let us know. We can come pick them up! Roz brought a van load home on Friday night but we used them up already!
For the actual move...we have decided to get two trucks. This seems like the best way to have the old house completely empty before we go to closing. Especially since we can't put anything in the new house until after we close. We were going to try and rent back (or forward) but decided against it. If we have leftover stuff that won't fit in the trucks we'll leave it in Grandma's garage.
The logistics of all this will be interesting. The plan right now is to pick up and load one truck starting Wed. (26th). The Youth Group from church is going to come help us load in the evening. Then we'll pick up the second on Thurs. (27th) and my friend Nora is going to load it for us. [Just kidding, Nora...we won't make you do it all by yourself!] Friday (28th), the morning of closing, we'll load up the last few items and head over to sign the papers. We could stay at grandma's but will probably stay here one last night. We'll leave the trucks parked until we get the keys to the new house. Then we'll head over there and start unloading. We plan to have both trucks unloaded and returned by Friday night.
Since Roz is off for Spring Break we are hoping a few of her friends can help. But several will be gone on vacation so we aren't counting on it. Some friends from church and Jerry's co-workers will be helping when they can as well. Unfortunately, we won't have the luxury of moving on a weekend so this will be a move that spans several days! :) So if you have a few hours to spare on the 26th, 27th, or 28th (pretty much at anytime of the day) head on over and help us out!
Just a few of the many!And just in case you were wondering...while I am sure they would be great helpers...we are sending the four big boys to Grandma Linda's house for a few days. So why they are at Camp Have-a-Bunch-of-Fun we'll be here slaving away. They'll get to the new house, see their beds all set up, and wonder what all the fuss was about!
Budget Report 3/9 to 3/15
Weekly budget for groceries and household: $170
Amount spent: $56.06
Coupons used: $ 18.48 (not including ECBs or RRs)
Since I'm only buying milk, fruit, and stuff we really need for groceries we are coming in way under budget this week. We are trying to eat some of what we have on hand so we don't have to move it. I can't pass up free stuff though so it seems like I keep packing stuff I get from Walgreens and CVS, but I haven't really been paying much out of pocket for it so it isn't affecting the budget much!
Amount spent: $56.06
Coupons used: $ 18.48 (not including ECBs or RRs)
Since I'm only buying milk, fruit, and stuff we really need for groceries we are coming in way under budget this week. We are trying to eat some of what we have on hand so we don't have to move it. I can't pass up free stuff though so it seems like I keep packing stuff I get from Walgreens and CVS, but I haven't really been paying much out of pocket for it so it isn't affecting the budget much!
Friday, March 14, 2008
What a Winter!
We have now lived through the snowiest winter in the recorded history of Green Bay! As of last Thursday, we had just over 80 inches of snow. I took these photos awhile back to show just how deep the snow got in our yard. Towards the end, I wondered if we were going to be able to throw the new snow up and over the old piles. We managed somehow. Since we don't have a snow blower Jerry shoveled each of those 80 inches! I should do the math and figure out the area of our driveway to see how many cubic feet of snow he moved...maybe I don't want to know! Jerry has already mentioned how glad he will be to have a shorter (crack free!) driveway and NO sidewalk next winter.
The "path" to the front door...hey, where are the bushes?
The pile in the back...
A long driveway!
The other pile in the back...otherwise known as Buck's Mountain!
Plus the killer icicles!
It is melting fast now though...soon enough it will all be gone and the grass will be green! If you want to read more about the record breaking winter here is a short story about it.
The "path" to the front door...hey, where are the bushes?
The pile in the back...
...look at the height of the pile compared to the door to the garage!
A long driveway!
The other pile in the back...otherwise known as Buck's Mountain!
Plus the killer icicles!Before and After
Tonight all the boys (except JD, but including Jer) got haircuts. Eli and Justus were overdue. I normally leave their hair a bit longer in the winter but decided to cut it short this time so I don't have to worry about it for awhile.
Justus before (above) and after (below)
Eli before (above) and after (below)
When I showed Eli his "after" picture he thought it was Wesley! (He is making a silly face here because the hair on his face was bothering him.)
Hayden before (above) and after (below)
I couldn't take the clippers to Hayden's hair though so he still has his a bit longer. When he was done he, of course, proclaimed himself..."so handsome!" I didn't take a picture of Wesley since I cut his not too long ago...so tonight was just a quick trim for him. They had baths afterwards so everyone looked and smelled so nice!
Justus before (above) and after (below)
Eli before (above) and after (below)
When I showed Eli his "after" picture he thought it was Wesley! (He is making a silly face here because the hair on his face was bothering him.)
Hayden before (above) and after (below)
I couldn't take the clippers to Hayden's hair though so he still has his a bit longer. When he was done he, of course, proclaimed himself..."so handsome!" I didn't take a picture of Wesley since I cut his not too long ago...so tonight was just a quick trim for him. They had baths afterwards so everyone looked and smelled so nice!
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Brotherly Love
Isn't this sweet? Hayden was trying to show JD how to stack their hands to do a "cheer".
Kids say the funniest things or so they say. I like it when the kids "mis-speak" or say something that has a double meaning. Following are two examples courtesy of Wesley.
Wesley to Justus (what I heard): "There's only one you!"
What he meant: Not a pep talk to make his brother feel unique, although there definitely is only ONE Justus! They were playing with a felt letter set, trying to spell their names. Justus couldn't spell his name. Not for lack of spelling skills but because as Wesley was pointing out..."there's only one U"!
Kids say the funniest things or so they say. I like it when the kids "mis-speak" or say something that has a double meaning. Following are two examples courtesy of Wesley.
_______________________________________
Wesley to Justus (what I heard): "There's only one you!"
What he meant: Not a pep talk to make his brother feel unique, although there definitely is only ONE Justus! They were playing with a felt letter set, trying to spell their names. Justus couldn't spell his name. Not for lack of spelling skills but because as Wesley was pointing out..."there's only one U"!
_______________________________________
Wesley to Mom: "Choose Life!"
What he meant: Good advice, but not what you think. It was snack time. Hmm...what should we have? Wesley wants LIFE cereal for snack hence "Choose LIFE!"
Wesley to Mom: "Choose Life!"
What he meant: Good advice, but not what you think. It was snack time. Hmm...what should we have? Wesley wants LIFE cereal for snack hence "Choose LIFE!"
Saturday, March 8, 2008
A Good Week for FREE stuff
After several trips to both CVS and Walgreens this week this is what I came away with:
12 bottles of shampoo/conditioner
10 bars of soap
3 bottles of mouthwash
3 tubes of toothpaste
4 bags of candy (only 2 are shown in picture)
4 lip balms (only 3 are shown)
3 bottles of vitamins
4 pkgs. razors
1 face moisturizer
When all is said and done (meaning after store rewards and rebates are recieved) I will have paid NOTHING for all of the above. In fact, the stores/companies will have paid me $23.50 (in gift cards, rebates, RRs, and ECBs). This is so FUN!
12 bottles of shampoo/conditioner
10 bars of soap
3 bottles of mouthwash
3 tubes of toothpaste
4 bags of candy (only 2 are shown in picture)
4 lip balms (only 3 are shown)
3 bottles of vitamins
4 pkgs. razors
1 face moisturizer
When all is said and done (meaning after store rewards and rebates are recieved) I will have paid NOTHING for all of the above. In fact, the stores/companies will have paid me $23.50 (in gift cards, rebates, RRs, and ECBs). This is so FUN!
Budget Report 3/2 to 3/8
Weekly budget for groceries and household: $170
Amount spent: $137.25
Coupons used: $ 72.15 (not including ECBs or RRs)
Another week of lots of little trips. Did find two of my "biggies" on sale this week at Piggly Wiggly. Chicken breasts were $1.66 per pound and cheese was $1 (per 8 oz. pkg). I was so excited about the cheese I didn't see that it was limit three. It has never been limited in the past. So I ended up having to return some cheese! Actually, I made Roz do it since I had already gotten into it once with the service desk lady over the cereal deal. In the end it was all figured out with nothing but time wasted. I'll have to look more carefully at the add next time.
Amount spent: $137.25
Coupons used: $ 72.15 (not including ECBs or RRs)
Another week of lots of little trips. Did find two of my "biggies" on sale this week at Piggly Wiggly. Chicken breasts were $1.66 per pound and cheese was $1 (per 8 oz. pkg). I was so excited about the cheese I didn't see that it was limit three. It has never been limited in the past. So I ended up having to return some cheese! Actually, I made Roz do it since I had already gotten into it once with the service desk lady over the cereal deal. In the end it was all figured out with nothing but time wasted. I'll have to look more carefully at the add next time.
Monday, March 3, 2008
We Got It!
Our offer was accepted! We will not be homeless! So who is available the end of the month to help us move?!?
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Budget Report 2/24 to 3/1
Weekly budget for groceries and household: $170
Amount spent: $131.07
Coupons used: $40.78 (not including ECBs or RRs)
I didn't do any major shopping this week. Just a lot of little trips here and there. Our grocery budget should go down in the next four weeks as we try and eat what we have on hand so we don't have to move it! Although, if I find a good sale (especially on one of my four "biggies" I will still be stocking up). I'm sure the money saved on groceries will be spent on fast food and other moving related expenses though so it should be interesting. If anyone has any boxes let me know!
Amount spent: $131.07
Coupons used: $40.78 (not including ECBs or RRs)
I didn't do any major shopping this week. Just a lot of little trips here and there. Our grocery budget should go down in the next four weeks as we try and eat what we have on hand so we don't have to move it! Although, if I find a good sale (especially on one of my four "biggies" I will still be stocking up). I'm sure the money saved on groceries will be spent on fast food and other moving related expenses though so it should be interesting. If anyone has any boxes let me know!
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Offer
After looking at several houses we decided to make an offer (again!) on this house. The owner is out of the country (and also lives out of state) until late Sunday. We are hoping to hear something on Monday. We have heard rumors that there was another out of town couple interested in this house as well but as of today they have not made an offer. That's not to say that they won't but hopefully our offer is accepted. I'll feel much better about all this when I know I have a place to move to... Then I'll just have to figure out the logistics of the actual move. We HAVE to close on this house before we can close on the new one. It will be the same day (March 28) but I have no idea how we will get everything out of this house when we can't move it to the new one. We are hoping to arrange a "rent back" type thing for a day or two, but that is not a guarantee. Any suggestions?
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