We Did It!

So pictures are going to come later cause we still haven't unpack everything, but about 90% is all placed and settled, so Yay! With all that we want to change we've decided to take it slow cause we're down one income. And no, no one got laid -off, but I've (lisa) quit my job at Walton International. I got placed for the maricopa community college nursing progam at Rio Salado for the Fall Semester. It is very exciting to finally be in the last leg of my formal education, but I do miss all the great people I got to work with at Walton.

Projects we've put on hold include landscaping (front and back), painting the ceilings and walls, replacing the bathroom and laminate flooring, and fixing our second bath. But once I start working on my chosen occupation, Rial and I can get to work on it all :).

Since I'm schooling full-time, Rial has gone to working full time with a new carpet cleaning company called Zero Res. He is really liking it. Right now he's training to be a technician, so he partners up with someone who's trained and its basically learning by example and doing.

And any all who wern't able to come by last friday night for rootbeer-floats, feel free to come by and we'll give you the grand tour any time you like.

Yippee!

We are schedualed to close on 321 N. Cherry St. Mesa AZ 85203 on August 3rd 2009!

2 things I didn't know I was learning the hard way

1. When working on something up close (drawing, reading, computering, document processing) You're supposed to take a 20 sec break and look far away (like across the room or out a window) every 20 min.

-Because: seeing up close for prolonged periods of time strains your eye and makes it difficult for it to adjust and relax the lense for seeing far away. And over the years causes nearsightedness.

2. The best positions to sleep in are either flat on your back with a pillow under your knees, or just on the right side of your body with a pillow between your knees.

-Because: sleeping on your stomach compresses your internal organs, which isn't the best for them. Your heart works harder when you sleep on your leftside than in any other position. And sleeping halfway on your stomach and halfway on your side can put a J-curve in the spine over time.

oh where, oh where could our little house be?

I've come to the conclusion that FHA loans and foreclosures do not mix. Enough said.

always, always, always read the fine print

(and new owners manuals but thats a whole different can of worms)

So right after I posted my last post, I went over to my in-laws to hang for the evening. And we got a suprise! the bank had called. (DUN DUN DUN!!!). Pause for dramatic affect... and we didn't get it. Haha, with all the drama that comes with buying your first home, its no wonder that there are multiple TV shows about it. But according to our mortage broker Jeff, the only logical reason we were denied was because there must have been something bad about the house that made it not qualify for our FHA loan, like plumbing, electrical, flooring, roofing. All that stuff and others I don't remember have to be functioning properly and stuff.



But don't feel sad for us, because we've already made another offer on another house thats even better (this one has a 2 car garage and a fireplace&woodstove and livable flooring-meaning we could live with it). It just came on the market 2 days ago, is FHA approved, and it would be just perfect for us. So we're hoping that this is what and where the Lord wants us to be and we can be done home hunting.



But, I just have to smile and keep trying because sometimes life gives you no choice but to live by faith. And the sooner I came to realize that house hunting is just one of those times, the sooner the stress and worry of whether our offer would be accepted or not was lifted away. It reminds me of the 'Flying Solo' CD by John Bytheway where we give up the airplane controls to the Copilot (by listening to the Spirit), and let Heavenly Father direct our lives, instead of trying to do it all ourself.

From Best to Worst

House Hunting! Oh such fun and joy and sadly sorrow.

Janelle Solomon is officially a realitor! and not just any realitor, she's our realitor (so there). And after months of looking at houses online and visiting a few to take a peek in their windows, Rial and I have now went all the way and actually gone inside and toured some of the best mesa had to offer (that was in our under $85,000 price range).

The biggest heart break for me was seeing the most adorable little house on 6th ave and then having to force myself to put my dearest husband and darling children-to-be first and not buy it.

and yes, the entire house was just adorable and had every bell and whistle I could ever want in a house. But the downsides were just to big to be overlooked. Things like the attic someone decided to convert into two bedrooms and a bath had poor ventilation and very creaky floors when you walked. Which means Rial wouldn't be able to have a room to record his music unless he wanted to make music with scary creaky noises in it. And any future children would be sadly hot at night in the summer and cold in the winter :(. And there were a few other small things wrong that kinda come with a house built in the 30's, that weren't important to me.

But we did find a house on emerald to put our offer on and here's the pics:

And yes the house is pink with pink counter in the kitchen, the carpet is that dirty and worse in the livingroom and three bedrooms, there are mouse droppings in the clossets, nasty linolium in the kitchen, no fireplace, and has none of the charm the other one has. but, and its a big but, the layout is wonderful, tearing out the carpet and replacing it (the linolium with woodflooring) will be easy and guilt-free, I can change the cabinets to have glass in them, add beautiful moulding everywhere, and it has a nice backyard and a garage.

So with our tax refund in hand (assuming our offer is accepted, we find out in a week) and some elbow grease, lots of patience, and living a humble life to save money to finance said projects, this house will make a fine home. And Rial and I have decided that if our offer isn't accepted, it just means the Lord has bigger and better plans for us. And so with faith as our ally, we will press forward and continue to put the Lord and our family first in all things.

I've got a new one to add to my Cheap Thrills/Cool Date Ideas list

Having fun without spending money is GREAT stuff.

Like reading a library book,
riding a scooter,
writing a book or making a video,
playing loaded questions, catchphrase, scum and the like,
watching comedians brian reagan and demetri martin on youtube,
playing racquetball,
eating the icecream from your parent's freezer,
camping and hiking,
and scavenger hunts (the sowards are amazing at making these).

And now I have discovered a new one! Its called LETTERBOXING and its kinda like a scavenger hunt and a little like a hike, but not one. See, all over the place are these hidden boxes that have a stamp and ink inside. And using a set of clues, you find the box and then you get to stamp your letterboxing booklet to prove that you found it. You get to be outside and solve a "treasure hunt"!

Go to http://www.letterboxing.org/ or google it to learn more about it and to find some to do. The website above even tells you how you can make your own.

They have these "treasure" hunts through out the states, a lot here even in the valley cities. You can also do great sites through out the state and learn a little about the place while at it.