Bump in the Road

Things were going to smoothly and to quickly in this house buying processes. It was only a matter of time until we hit a bump in the road.

We got word yesterday that there's a slight issue with the title and a good chance (good as in 99%) that settlement wouldn't take place on Thursday as planned. Apparently the seller got into some criminal trouble and the court placed a lien on the title. Since the house is a short sale, the seller obviously doesn't have any money to pay it off, and from what we heard, her family wants nothing to do with it either. So we are left begging the court to either write it off (haha, them let go of money?), having the probation office out in California (where she is currently living) set up a payment plan with her, or paying it ourselves so we can get our house.

I'm directly involved in this situation, but even if I wasn't it angers me. She's the criminal. It's her debt to pay, not mine. What will she learn if it gets paid off for her? IT'S NOT FAIR!!!

I know I don't have any right to judge her, but it's so hard not to. We just want a home. We want to clean up the mess they made in the place, and make it our own. It's still going to happen. Just not in the timing we were hoping for.

It stinks because we have a vacation planned at the end of the month. We planned out when we would do what to the house, when we would move, and how it all fit around vacation. Now, all of it is out the window. Not something a planner like me likes to hear.

One thing that we have learned time and time again during this house buying excursion is that God is most definitely in control. He has perfect timing and a reason for everything. He protects us. He sees the bigger picture. If it wasn't for that truth I'd be a wreck right now, but I know that He is bigger than all of this, and even if everything completely falls through on this house, it's for the best.

Counting down

The count down is on! We settle this week!!!!

EEKKK!!!!

So exciting!!!

The grass has finally been mowed and is no longer 3 feet high.

The furniture and junk is slowing moving out.

Every day is consumed with packing and planning.

I feel like there is so much than needs to be taken care of in the next few days! So much to buy!

I'll post a picture of the house after we settle!!! :-)

Any tips, suggestion, ideas???

I've Got A Little Secret

Renae is not the sweet and innocent woman that most people suspect. Underneath her cute and young looking exterior she is a true warrior. Over the course of our almost 3 year marriage I have been attacked many times (not by Renae) and engaged in battles of various sorts. This first one did involve a cicada nearly impaling me in the face with it's frivolous flight pattern, where I ran through the kitchen directly into the bathroom. What happened next is the stuff legends are made of.

After convincing Renae that someone did not break into the apartment she left the bathroom door conversation, to which I only heard a lot of loud noises. I heard some slamming, banging, some frustrated words, and then an eerie silence. Then came a soft knock on the bathroom door. As I opened the door there she stood, her hair was no longer in a pony-tail, but disheveled and frowzy. She, in a warrior-esque voice said, 'It's taken care of." She closed the door, and I feel on my knees thanking God for such a strong and courageous wife.

When it comes to bugs, I am not afraid to admit that my wife is the bigger man.

I love you sweetie!

Finally

So you know that post I wrote like a month ago? The one about putting in another offer?

Well the seller accepted it! Woohoo!!! Good news, no? Yes, except for the fact that it was a short sale. Let me let you in on a little real estate secret....Short sales are ANYTHING but short. Seriously. They generally take 3-6 months. If you have patience, or are looking to gain patience this is the type of house you need to look for. If not, run. Run, far, far away! NOW!

Lucky for us the listing agent has a ton of experience with them, and only a short (or not so short) month later along with a few thousand dollars they agreed to sell us the house!!!

Inspection's next week, but since they raised the price due to their inspection I'm not too worried about it.

Life has been super, crazy busy and I have tons of pictures and stories to post. As soon as things slow down I'll get to it. :-)

Buggin' Out

I have a secret.









Kevin's not the big tough guy we appears to be.

Shh!!!!!

Don't tell him I told you!

Okay, truth is, he does have a weakness, and that is BUGS! No matter how big or small, he doesn't like them. His biggest nemesis is the stink bug. Lucky for him he married a girl who has a soft spot in her heart for all of God's creatures.

True story:

Our first apartment was a haven for bugs. I don't know if it was because it used to be a garage. Or if the bright light outside drew them in. Or maybe it just wasn't sealed very well. Doesn't matter. You name it, we had it. Including a praying mantis! Yes, you read that correctly. A praying mantis. Doesn't that mean luck or something? That was a fun one. But I digress. One night a cicada/locus thing decided to visit. As it's flying around the apartment Kevin locks himself in the bathroom refusing to let me in until it's gone. Real nice. So bugs and him are not friends. Not even close.

Fast forward to 6am the other morning. I'm still in bed and I hear an "OH MY GOSH!!!! Renae come here. NOW!!!!" coming from the bathroom. Groggily I fumble for my glasses and stumble down the hall. I give Kevin the "this better be good to interrupt my last half hour of sleep" look. He proceeds to pull back the shower curtain and there is a huge thousand-legger guy staring back at me. Great. Being the nice wife that I am, I catch him and flush him down the toilet. Seeing that he awoke me from my slumber he didn't deserve to live. Hopefully it gets passed on to his friends.

This place has been relatively bug free (aside from stink bugs, but who doesn't have them?) for the past 2 years up until recently. And they all seem to love the bathroom. Why!?!?!? There's an abundance of ants in there. There was a spider. There was a thousand-legger. Thankfully they are no where else. But it definitely motivates me to make sure I turn the light on if I ever have to go in the middle of the night.

Do you have any bug tales?

Here We Go Again

We were eating Dove chocolates at leadership last night and reading all the 'cute' little sayings on the inside of the wrapper. The first one I ate said "Patience is a virtue." Very clique. Very over used. Very true.

We put in another offer on Sunday night. This is our 2nd official one, and our 4th 'unofficial'. I am so over the waiting process. I'm tired of putting in what should be a strong offer, only to be out done by someone else. I need to realize that we did our best. Now it's up to the bank to agree.

I'm done with drawing up floor plans to see where to put our stuff. I'm done with picking out colors for different rooms. I'm done with imagining what changes we need to make. I'm done with looking up "how to's" for the wide array of problems we've seen.

I am now waiting on the Lord. He has the perfect place for us. Something that won't stretch us on monthly payments. Something that won't drain every last dime from us. Some place that is just the right size and the right place with the right neighbors to build relationships with.

Make me know Your ways, O LORD;
Teach me Your paths.
Lead me in Your truth and teach me,
For You are the God of my salvation;
For You I wait all the day.

Psalm 25:4-5

Not Me Monday -Country Edittion

It's Monday again??? Already???

• I did NOT have an emotional week. It was NOT a result of having an offer on a house be rejected. That did NOT happen once, but TWICE in less than 5 days. I would never get that attached to something that wasn't mine.
  

• I certainly did NOT get sick this week. It's Spring time, you're suppose to get sick when it gets cold, not when it gets warm! I am NOT still whining and suffering through it.

• I did NOT have flashbacks of childhood yesterday. It wasn't a result of Kevin and I playing in the meadow behind my parents house. It most definitely did NOT result in me getting shocked by the electric fence. I know better than to touch one (even if Kevin was stuck on it because of the camera bag.)

• I did NOT have to tell my husband to watch his step because of cow pies and burn hazel. Surely my hiking/camping/outdoors-loving-husband isn't a city boy and would know about these common factors.
  

• While in said meadow I did NOT try to re-kindle my friendship with the cows. This did NOT include me telling them that cows are friends, not food.
  

• We did NOT get chased out of the meadow by a herd of curious calves. We weren't afraid of a few harmless babies. Why would we be scared of a few animals bigger than us walking towards us?
  

Click over to MckMama's blog and check out more Not Me Mondays!!!