Jill is asleep, so let's see how fast I can type and how caught up I can get!! :)
Okay . . . so Thanksgiving was wonderful. We were blessed to have my parents come down for a few days and join us. We also got to enjoy the company of our friends, the Arellanos, for the actual Thanksgiving dinner. Everything was tasty, and we actually had as many pies as people. No, we did not all eat one pie, but some of us may have eventually once all their pie eating was done . . . :)
The house failed its inspection, so we are looking again. It was a beautiful house, but there were some less desirable things lurking under its beauty. Termites, water, mold, and foundation problems—that pretty much sums that up. So, we stepped away. We're looking again. I actually went to four houses with my Realtor today, and that was a pretty interesting experience. We are looking at houses that range from small houses that are move-in ready and beautiful to larger houses that are foreclosed and trashed. Well, it really makes me sad how trashed houses can be. Who are these people that take absolutely no pride in their homes? I mean, we cannot all have top-end appliances and granite (of course), but do we have to smoke in our homes? Leave animal urine on carpets? Tear up floor boards? Leave holes in walls? It made me so sad to see the trashed houses.
We basically need to decide how much work we want to do and can do. It's an interesting balance. Buy a small house for 40,000 more than a trashed large house, or buy the cheap huge house and then fix it up. I don't know. We'll keep you posted on that. The foreclosed and short sale houses might take a while too. Our Realtor said banks usually drag things out for a while. She estimated about 2 to 4 months, but she has had one take 6 months.
Hmm . . . hmm . . . Jill is still asleep. I might even be able to add pictures!! As I (think I) said, Jill is crawling now. Moving, perhaps, is a better way to state it. Today though she got really close to crawling. She can definitely get from point A to point B/shiny toy, but she usually crawls, stops, sits, rolls, etc. as she gets there. Today she did not ever stop, sit, or roll, and she crawled to it. Her legs are still pretty awkward though. She'll figure it out.
Jeff is in Kansas right now on a business trip, well training really. Kansas City is the corporate headquarters. It's weird to have him on a business trip. (Although Jeff says it's not and that I just think to much.) It's just that in the past whenever we've been apart, it has been because of visiting friends and family. Never before has one of us just had to sit alone in a hotel room. Lonely. He'll be back tomorrow night, and he left yesterday morning, so it's just under 3 days. I think Jill misses him. She seemed pretty sad last night.
Sigh. I went grocery shopping with Laurie, and she was thinking about getting ice cream, so I offered my opinion that she should get fudgsicles. (I have been craving fudgsicles for about a year but could never justify buying something that is expensive, unnecessary, and not healthy.) Well, she bought them!! I ate three yesterday. Oh my! I really, really love them.
Jeff and I received new callings. He was a nursery worker, and I was a Relief Society instructor. Now he is the assistant ward mission leader for Spanish-speaking investigators, and I am the visiting teaching coordinator. So, our callings are going to take up more of our time now, but we're both really excited about these new opportunities to serve. We have both been asked to speak on Sunday. I was asked to speak on Jesus Christ's birth and purpose, and Jeff was asked to speak on the Atonement and make it somewhat personal. I am also teaching Relief Society for one last hurrah. Haha. Wish us luck. I wrote out my talk last night, but it was no good, so I'm going to write a new one. I haven't written out my lesson yet, but I've read it two or three times, and I've pretty much got it plotted out. The lesson is on the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum. I thought it was interesting that I'm preparing to talk about birth and death.
Other than that, I've just been a reading fiend. I have really been enjoying books by Brandon Sanderson, Clare Dunkle, Sharon Shinn, and Jessica Day George. I've also been a singing fiend. Some of my friends and I are singing at the ward Christmas party this Saturday, and the choir has been working on music for the Christmas program in a few Sundays. That's been pretty fun, since singing and reading are pretty much my two favorite things.
Almost all of my Christmas cards are addressed. I only bought 50, and then I realized that Jeff and I have big families and that leaves a lot of my friends out. So, I am really sorry. :( It is too expensive to print and mail as many as Jeff and I have friends though. So in a week or two, I'll post the Christmas card and letter on my blog, and please, please, feel loved. Because you are loved. I'm just cheap. Well, frugal sounds nicer, so I'll go with that.
Okay, no crying sounds, so here come the pictures!!
Jill with GranB
Jill with Pappy
The Arellanos :)
The next three pictures are of Jill playing with her cousin, Emily
Jeff, Mimi, and Jill at the Xavier game.
Okay . . . so Thanksgiving was wonderful. We were blessed to have my parents come down for a few days and join us. We also got to enjoy the company of our friends, the Arellanos, for the actual Thanksgiving dinner. Everything was tasty, and we actually had as many pies as people. No, we did not all eat one pie, but some of us may have eventually once all their pie eating was done . . . :)
The house failed its inspection, so we are looking again. It was a beautiful house, but there were some less desirable things lurking under its beauty. Termites, water, mold, and foundation problems—that pretty much sums that up. So, we stepped away. We're looking again. I actually went to four houses with my Realtor today, and that was a pretty interesting experience. We are looking at houses that range from small houses that are move-in ready and beautiful to larger houses that are foreclosed and trashed. Well, it really makes me sad how trashed houses can be. Who are these people that take absolutely no pride in their homes? I mean, we cannot all have top-end appliances and granite (of course), but do we have to smoke in our homes? Leave animal urine on carpets? Tear up floor boards? Leave holes in walls? It made me so sad to see the trashed houses.
We basically need to decide how much work we want to do and can do. It's an interesting balance. Buy a small house for 40,000 more than a trashed large house, or buy the cheap huge house and then fix it up. I don't know. We'll keep you posted on that. The foreclosed and short sale houses might take a while too. Our Realtor said banks usually drag things out for a while. She estimated about 2 to 4 months, but she has had one take 6 months.
Hmm . . . hmm . . . Jill is still asleep. I might even be able to add pictures!! As I (think I) said, Jill is crawling now. Moving, perhaps, is a better way to state it. Today though she got really close to crawling. She can definitely get from point A to point B/shiny toy, but she usually crawls, stops, sits, rolls, etc. as she gets there. Today she did not ever stop, sit, or roll, and she crawled to it. Her legs are still pretty awkward though. She'll figure it out.
Jeff is in Kansas right now on a business trip, well training really. Kansas City is the corporate headquarters. It's weird to have him on a business trip. (Although Jeff says it's not and that I just think to much.) It's just that in the past whenever we've been apart, it has been because of visiting friends and family. Never before has one of us just had to sit alone in a hotel room. Lonely. He'll be back tomorrow night, and he left yesterday morning, so it's just under 3 days. I think Jill misses him. She seemed pretty sad last night.
Sigh. I went grocery shopping with Laurie, and she was thinking about getting ice cream, so I offered my opinion that she should get fudgsicles. (I have been craving fudgsicles for about a year but could never justify buying something that is expensive, unnecessary, and not healthy.) Well, she bought them!! I ate three yesterday. Oh my! I really, really love them.
Jeff and I received new callings. He was a nursery worker, and I was a Relief Society instructor. Now he is the assistant ward mission leader for Spanish-speaking investigators, and I am the visiting teaching coordinator. So, our callings are going to take up more of our time now, but we're both really excited about these new opportunities to serve. We have both been asked to speak on Sunday. I was asked to speak on Jesus Christ's birth and purpose, and Jeff was asked to speak on the Atonement and make it somewhat personal. I am also teaching Relief Society for one last hurrah. Haha. Wish us luck. I wrote out my talk last night, but it was no good, so I'm going to write a new one. I haven't written out my lesson yet, but I've read it two or three times, and I've pretty much got it plotted out. The lesson is on the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum. I thought it was interesting that I'm preparing to talk about birth and death.
Other than that, I've just been a reading fiend. I have really been enjoying books by Brandon Sanderson, Clare Dunkle, Sharon Shinn, and Jessica Day George. I've also been a singing fiend. Some of my friends and I are singing at the ward Christmas party this Saturday, and the choir has been working on music for the Christmas program in a few Sundays. That's been pretty fun, since singing and reading are pretty much my two favorite things.
Almost all of my Christmas cards are addressed. I only bought 50, and then I realized that Jeff and I have big families and that leaves a lot of my friends out. So, I am really sorry. :( It is too expensive to print and mail as many as Jeff and I have friends though. So in a week or two, I'll post the Christmas card and letter on my blog, and please, please, feel loved. Because you are loved. I'm just cheap. Well, frugal sounds nicer, so I'll go with that.
Okay, no crying sounds, so here come the pictures!!
Jill with Grandma Collett
Jill with GranB
Jill with Pappy
The Arellanos :)
The next three pictures are of Jill playing with her cousin, Emily
Jeff, Mimi, and Jill at the Xavier game.
Dang. Jill woke up. No captions!! :) (Note: I came back and added the captions.)
Finding a house can be so frustrating. Scotty and I looked at so many houses (before we found out that we couldn't get a loan anyway). There were some good ones and some bad ones. I really just want to build my own house that was designed by me! Hopefully, my dad's skills at architecture and home building will allow that someday....someday.
ReplyDeleteI just spent all morning trying to figure out applying for home mortgage loans. What a mess they make of it all.
ReplyDeleteI love the pictures of Jill, of course, and that you are eating fudgesicles. :)
I can't wait to see what house you finally end up with!
I've looked at 5 houses almost every weekend since september, made offers on 3, turned one down due to termites, had a short sale fall through, and just had the final appraisal on the third! closing date is set as 12/29.
ReplyDeletei know EXACTLY what you're talking about and how frustrating it can be...but people keep telling me it's worth it in the end and i'm choosing to be optimistic.
good luck!
omg!! new callings?? i had no clue!! holy cow!! so you aren't teaching in relief society anymore?? that was quick. vt coordinater- does that mean you get to stick whoever you want together as companions and get to pick who they see??
ReplyDeleteand the house- did you ever check out the one i told you about on amelia olive branch? it has a nice back yard. i love that house. just go to starone.com and click on street name and you should find it. i think it's listed at like 130 or something.
and you are speaking in church!! wow- good luck- better you than me, hehe.
o and the christmas cards. i got mine for free.... but 26 bucks in stamps to mail them!!! not so free after all.
cute pics:) love ya