It's the Little Things

Here's a list of 5 little things that I love about the house:

• the mailbox opens from the front & the back
  (so I don't have to risk my life getting the mail from Detroit Rd.)


• we inherited a sprinkler


• pears are growing on a tree outside my bedroom window


• the refrigerator door has a water dispenser


• 6 of the rooms have ceiling fans (plus ac!)

Home Sweet Home

Well, I'm here. I'm really here...blogging from the family room of our new home. It's a beautiful sunny Saturday afternoon and I'm feeling really blessed. Ian is taking his nap while Levi plays and I get a moment to catch up on the blogosphere. My parents have both been here...Mom to wash windows and Dad to do some electrical work. Someone from my family usually drops by every day. When Nate and I went on our first walk around the neighborhood, we ran into my sister and her husband. With one sister living almost directly across the street and another about 3 houses down, there's not much you can do without someone knowing about it. Plus they have 11 kids between them, so there's almost always someone around. The space we have here is plenty big for family parties on both sides and our basement is set up for overnight guests. I think our social life is going to be different here. I'll keep you posted on any and all hospitality endeavors!

Moving Day Announced

Family room

Office

Bath #1

Bath #2

Laundry room


Living room

Dining room

Kitchen

Boys' bedroom

Our bedroom


Saturday, June 28 is the big day. Before then, we're working on cleaning out, cleaning up, painting, wallpapering, etc. at the new hosue. It's a big job. I mean, it's a big. job. We could've spent months working on it instead of weeks. And we still have to pack up, move & clean our apartment. But that looks like a cakewalk compared to what lies ahead at the house.

The Move is On (Maybe)

Mary & Levi

Ian was so thirsty

Sweet baby Reagan


After seemingly dozens of back-n-forths, it seems like we're moving to Mr. M's house starting June 20. He'll be moved out by then and it gives us 10 days to pack up and clean our apartment. After talking about this deal for more than a year, the wait is almost over, I think. I refuse to speak in terms of absolutes until I actually blog from my new family room in Westlake. Pictures coming soon!

Back to Square One

Renting the house is no longer an option. We are still going to try for a loan but we don't have too much hope of being approved. We're also under tight time constraints as our apartment lease is up June 30 and we already gave notice. Aarrgh.

Updates

My husband's brother and sister-in-law are one step away from legally adopting their son Gabriel. A few days ago his birth mother agreed to relinquish her parental rights and consented to the adoption. She still has six months to change her mind but after that, it is a done deal...praise the Lord!

On the housing front, the man who is hoping to sell us his house (Mr. M), has met with a lawyer who is supposed to be writing up a purchase agreement for us. We will sign this document and then take it to a bank for submission along with our loan application. Mr. M told the lawyer he wanted the papers by mid-May before he goes out west to finalize his new housing arrangements. After waiting all this time and thinking that the sale was so far off, now it seems like we must hurry to get this done. Mr. M would like to move by June 1 and we need to be out of our apartment by June 30. In fact, we need to give notice by May 15, which we will do, but we probably won't know if the loan has gone through by then. That is where we take a step of faith. We pray that our apartment won't be leased out again before we know for sure if we are moving. If it is, my hubby suggests that we could rent the empty apartment next door. We can't wait to see what happens!

Where You Hang Your Hat

We're thinking about buying a house. In fact, we're trying to make our final decision by next week. The owner of the house is nearly 90 years old. He has recently gone blind and must move into assisted living. He's offering to sell us the house for a more than reasonable price but we would still have to take out a loan. Our monthly mortgage payment would be more than our current monthly rent. If we do buy the house, our move-in date would be July 1. Otherwise, we're probably going to stay in this place for one more year.