Another Treasure For My Heart

It's funny the things kids say. I've always enjoyed hearing their cute, mispronounced words, or a retelling of an event from their perspective. Today Isabel gave me another tib bit to add to the things that I'll recount throughout my years.

Isabel and I were driving out of the neighborhood on our way to run a few errands. As I passed an apartment complex, I saw that two of their buildings were tented for bug bombing. Of course Isabel saw them too...

Isabel - I see something!

Me - what do you see?

Isabel - A circus!!!

Running Out Of Time!!!

Saturday I started packing and did a total of six boxes. Not much, I understand that, but it did clear out our bookcase and maybe a quarter of the hall closet. I stacked the boxes by our front door where there is a nice place to do some stackin'.

Last night I did more of the hall closet, some of our walk-in closet, some pictures, two hope chests, and some bathroom stuff. I think that brought the total of boxes up to 17. I added them to the stack by the front door.

I had a grand thought. I was toying with the idea of taking pictures that showed the progression of my packing and stacking. But seriously I don't have the time. If I did take pictures then I'm wasting my time when I could have/should have packed another box or three.....'cause we're moving in three weeks!!!! *insert crazed scream here*

Yeah, as I said, I don't have the time. Sorry.

I Signed Papers, Took Pictures

Yep, that's what I did on Friday when we were at the house for the inspection. A lot of it. I consider the paper signing as training for closing day. And the pictures? Well, I just need to share my excitement and what better way to do that than to take and post pics??!

Here are a few to get an idea of how the Lord is blessing us with our soon-to-be-home!

front of the house with a spec of lawn

living room with a nice built in bookcase and cabinet!

dining room and kitchen....with a walk-in pantry!

family room (piano not included, darn!)

patio and pooooool

come, take a turn with me on the grounds, will you?

Blogoversary? What? I Don't Have Time For This!!!

It's true! Today is my 3 year Blogoversary and I don't have the time to do anything about it! We had our home inspection yesterday and it went great. As the inspector guy went around the house poking around and doing what home inspector guys do, we sat inside with our realtor and signed a bunch-o-papers. The kids, you ask, where were they during this time??? Well, they spent their time running around getting super dirty on the 1/2 acre lot the house sits on. Yeah, I foresee lots of bath-takin'-kids in our future at this house. Anyway, after the inspection and whatnot, we got some good news from our realtor. We're going to close on the house early!!!! "Early", as in almost two weeks early. How's that for adding some more crazy to this move??!! I gotta step it up on purging and packing!

This is why I don't have time to do anything fun and exciting to celebrate my blogoversary. I'm sure you understand.

Score!

That is what I say to my major findings yesterday! As I drove home from taking the kids to school, I past a neighbor's house up the street that recently moved back into their home (they were in Hawaii for 2 years and rented out their house while they were away, life is rough eh?) and I noticed their nicely stacked pile of folded-up boxes.

I couldn't resist.

I did a u-ee, parked, and rang the door bell.

Then I rang the doorbell again. ('cause I'm just persistent that way)

And persistence pays off! They finally answered the door (I don't blame them, I never answer the door for only one ring!) and gave their consent for my taking away their boxes.

Score #1, a nice big load of moving boxes. Now, I'll need more before we move, but it's a nice start!

There are a few things I am wanting to get the girls for their room once we move. One thing is, I want to get them a bunk bed. I was holding off until we knew for sure what kind of house we'd get, whether the girls would have to share a room or not. Turns out they will be sharing for a while longer, so a bunk bed is a must since their room isn't on the large side. So, I've been scouring Craigslist for a inexpensive bunk bed. One popped up yesterday morning at a great price (including one mattress - I only needed one! how awesome is that??! God is so good!!). I jumped on the listing and secured it for pick up later that day.

Score #2, now the bunk bed sits in pieces in my garage waiting for yet another move before it gets assembled. Mae is very excited! It is one more thing for her to look forward to when we get the house.

I'm excited, too, at my scores for the day. I wonder what today holds???

In Awe

Saturday was an exciting day. We looked at a house that had just come on the market, liked it and put an offer on it before noon. To our surprise, by late afternoon we were conversing with our realtor and doing counter-offer stuff. As of today, we are in escrow baby!!!

There is so much to this story that amazes me. First off, we had an offer on another house that we'd submitted earlier that week. This other house was a dump and would require booku work. The house we are getting could not be more opposite. It is in excellent shape and the seller has done extensive work and repair (even the landscaping, front and back!). This will mean that not only can we move right in, but also there are no projects on the foreseeable horizon! Night and day, these two houses are.

Secondly, it has a pool. Whoo-hoo! The kids are beside themselves over this little detail.

Thirdly, the house sits on a 1/2 acre lot.

Fourthly, the 1/2 acre is complete with walking paths, many fruit trees (one of each but not an orchard). The landscaping that the seller put in is drought tolerant and will not require a lot of upkeep.

And then! (yes, there's more!), the house has new carpeting, windows and window coverings, along with an updated kitchen.

Oh! and there is no need to even paint! But of course I plan to paint the kids rooms, but that's only to add some personality and color to an otherwise neutral pallet.

See???!! Isn't all that incredible??! I am amazed and overwhelmed by this huge blessing from the Lord. However, I fear that I will loose much sleep over this one, only because I am vastly excited! I am so thankful to the Lord for His provision and walking with us through this.

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down

from the Father of the heavenly lights.

James 1:17

Top Ten Tuesday - Summer Movies

I used to do a monthly movie review, but we haven't been watching many movies lately. And then I just got lazy. Maybe to get myself back into the groove it'll help to just recap some of the movies we've seen over the past few months. Here goes....

1. The Visitor - this was a lesser known movie, but we thoroughly enjoyed it. It's about a widowed man who stumbles upon some illegal immigrants who've taken up residence in his New York apartment, unbeknownst to him since he doesn't live there. Anyway, he graciously helps them as they have no where else to go. He develops a friendship with them as one of the immigrants teaches him how to play the African drum. I enjoyed seeing the relationships develop as the movie progressed. If you like character development and a good story line, then I recommend this one.

2. Marley & Me - I wasn't sure what to expect with this one, but was pleasantly surprised. It was a good family movie (although we didn't watch this one with the kids) about the life of a couple and how they brought Marley, their dog, into their lives. I liked how the story spanned over the course of years in the life of this couple.

3. Last Chance Harvey - Dustin Hoffman plays a divorced man who travels to England for his daughters wedding. He has not been involved much in her life and feels like a third wheel for this event. As he is traveling, he comes across Emma Thompson's character and spends the day with her, and then invites her to be his guest at the wedding. It was neat to see how Hoffman's character came to grips with his relationship with his daughter as well with other aspects of his life. I wouldn't say it was realistic, but it wasn't a bad way to spend an evening.

4. John Q. - I'm not excited to share that we saw this movie, but what can I say, we're suckers for a Denzel flick. This movie was intense and dramatic. It deals with the health care system as well as injustice in our world. Bring those things together along with a sick and dying child and you won't be surprised with the language and violence. Some aspects of it were, of course, unrealistic, however, it does have a feel for real life. I do wish it wasn't as violent (in language and drama) but given the situation I suppose it's understandable.

5. Seven Pounds - I can be a sucker for a Will Smith movie too. I'm not sure if I can do a review on this one without giving anything away. It was a bit of a mystery in the way the story line was brought out. You know what? I'm not going to give any details.....but I will say that it was thought provoking and some good discussions could be had after watching it. Although, I will say that I didn't agree with the his character and what he did. Ha! How's that for a cliffhanger?!

6. The Express - I love a based-on-real-life kind of movies, and this was one of them. It's the story of Ernie Davis and how he played football in college and became the first to achieve the Heisman Trophy as an African American. Great movie, highly recommend!

7. Man On Wire - We like documentaries too. This one is about the Frenchman, Philippe Petit, who walked a tight rope between the world trade towers back in 1974. The story was interesting in itself, but what I thought was amazing (aside from his incredibly daring/insane stunt) was the footage of the towers being built and the history they hold.

8. Duplicity - I'm not happy about reveling that we saw this one either. It was a good spy/heist type movie, but it's the love affair part I don't care for. Well, it would be ok if they'd leave the steamy scenes out, we don't really need them anyway for a good movie. Aside from the steaminess, I enjoyed the story.

9. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Upfront, again with the steaminess and inappropriate 'stuff'!!! It's not necessary for a good flick, it really isn't. But I am thankful for the forward button on the remote so I can easily move past the scenes I don't care to burn my brain with! Aside from those few parts, I really enjoyed this one! No wonder it was up for so many awards, didn't it win best picture? The story line and characters were incredible! I liken it as a Forrest Gump-type movie, you know, the unlikey character that we love and follow through his life? Yeah, that's this movie!

10. Flash of Genius - Another real-life flick. This is about the guy who invented the intermittent windshield wipers then had it stolen from him by Ford. He spends the next (too) many years of his life chasing after them in court. I won't ruin the ending, but I will say that no matter what the outcome was, I don't think it was worth it! If you've seen the movie you may understand what I mean.

Well, there you go folks, another round of my stimulating movie reviews. If you have any suggestions for movies, we are always looking to add to our queue!

Oh, and if you have a Top Ten list, please visit Oh Amanda and add yourself to the list!

Expecting

I think buying a house is like having a baby.

You dream and look forward to the new addition to your family. You wonder what it will look like and how your life and routine will be changed by it. You assume you'll love it and that there won't be strange or odd things about it. There is the financial burden, to be sure. And let's not forget that once you do get the house, everyone will want to come over and check it out.

Yeah. Buying a house is like having a baby. But without the weight gain.

The Wait Continues....Sort Of

First off, we did not get the house we put an offer on. We found that out last Friday. It was sad not getting a house we wanted, but move on we must!

Since then we have looked at four more houses, one of them we saw last night. It's another foreclosure in a good area of town so it is sure to have many offers. Our plan is to put in our own offer but to keep looking as well. It's just the market we are in right now coupled with our own criteria (budget and area/location) that makes this house hunting mission difficult.

I am reminded again about the Philippians 4:6 verse that says I am not to be anxious. I am not to be anxious when waiting to hear back about an offer we've made. And I am not to be anxious about finding 'the one' when checking the home listings online. This is quickly becoming another exercise in my faith and less about finding a house. Now, I know I didn't pray for patience, however that is exactly where I find myself.....seeking the Lord and His direction and timing. Who said that being a Christian and living a life worthy of our calling is boring? Well, whoever said it, lied.