Hello again..

Last time in the "old" tub.

So I guess I should start off with where I have been...
I have been inside 2 separate houses and various cardboard boxes, packing and un-packing and getting settled.
We moved just about everything in on Friday (thanks to all the awesome help we had!!) and spent the next few days getting the house all put together for my sister-in-law, Randee's baby shower that was on Tuesday.


Before you go calling me a "crazy woman", lemme explain..
We were originally supposed to close last Tuesday (the 22nd) but surgery for one of the sellers kept him from being able to put his Herbie Hancock to important paperwork which bumped us to Thursday (the 24th).. it was again bumped, to Friday (the 25th) due to difficulties with the underwriters on their loan at the old house, and so there you have it, I was really planning on a baby shower with a WEEK to get ready, not a measly 3 and a half days.
But I did it.
With LOTS of love and help.
Thanks again..
It's been a week of firsts and lasts..
I won't lie when I say that I cried going to the old house one last time, taking the key off of my keyring, and laying it with the other keys for the new owners.

As soon as we walked in to get the last few things from the basement, the smell hit me.
It smelled just as it had the first time we walked through it almost 9 years ago.
That was weird.. we had been living there, that long, with our own smells and way of life, and the second we are out, it takes on it's old smell.
That made the memories come rushing back even harder.
I walked through, taking pictures of all the empty rooms, sniffling and being sappy.



It was a good house.
I will try to get more pics up as laundry is caught up, and Peyton's room is more put together..
Here's what I do have:
Family room...
Kitchen..
Ahhh.. jetted tub.
The bubbles seriously grew to over a foot deep in there.
Just part of my closet.
The only painting project..
This will be a craft room that doesn't hurt my eyes...
I had to get my Halloween stuff up.. it is Randee's favorite holiday. :)

I am also rockin' an awesome clod.. that helps to make life even more interesting. :)
Not to mention the birthday Ashley has coming up on Monday.. I was just reminded.

Facts..

It is a fact that I love my house..
It is a fact that we could use more space..
It is a fact that this other house is awesome...
It is a fact that it will shave 1 minute and 23 seconds from Merrill's commute.. (yeah, like that is a lot, I know..)
It is also a fact that it is officially ours! :)

Musical dates..

While packing, taking care of the everyday, and dreaming, we have also been on a carousel with our closing date.
At first, as stated in our contract, it was the 22nd. Due to a surgery, it got bumped to the 24th.
Then we had to sign that we were okay with the 24th, but that addendum stated the 25th or sooner..
OR..
That one word kills me.
So we have been living in our cardboard box jungle, waiting for solid word, hoping it is the 24th.
Then there is today..
Elbow deep in the cardboard mayhem, I get a call from a title company.
Being nosy, I ask how soon this will all be signed on, and they say...
"Early next week."
EARLY NEXT WEEK!?!?!
Ask anyone present, I was calm, polite, I didn't even say a thing..
I called their agent though.
It was all a misunderstanding, it wasn't even the title company we are closing through for our new house, aka the one I care about.
I am hosting a baby shower next Tuesday.. time is of the essence!!
On top of all of that, Merrill got his 24 hour notice today that his RSM (Regional Service Manager also known as the guy to make things PERFECT FOR OR ELSE..) would be coming TONIGHT.
Seriously?
We also had my cousin's wedding dinner tonight..
Until Lynn got sick.
And I had to take her to the doctor.
So fun.
But life s good, and soon we'll be THERE!! :)

Boxes, boxes, boxes...

That is my world right now...


I am growing tired of it, and just want to be there.. or here.. I just want to be settled, not in boxes!
Merrill laughs.
"It's just part of the process. Are you going to be this way [stressed-out] for the rest of the week?"
Yes.
I enjoy living a very organized life. There is a place for everything and everything is in it's place. I like it that way.
So it is hard for me to try to get my brain to think of what I won't need this week, and box it.. I guess when it comes down to it, I won't need much of anything, when my life is boxing things.
But really, we are all excited, and I never thought we would run out of boxes.
I underestimated the amount of stuff we have collected over the years.
But I am also glad that I am not alone in my boxing infatuation..


I have also been working on some things for "Our Heart Project"..

we have a project night coming up and would love to have YOU there!

Flashbacking..

Did I just invent a new word?
Before I even begin, let me admit that I am a little sad going through this whole process.. packing and cleaning things out.. spending these last few days in my home.. the home where we started, where we brought our babies home.. where they learned to crawl, walk, and talk.. so many memories..
This move will be a good thing though, a little stressful, but good.
So here's the end of my boo-hooing, and the beginning of the fun!!
We started packing last night. We only have a week, so seriously.. we need to light a fire under it and get going.
It's just hard to decide what we can go a week without.. not like we use EVERYTHING in this house, but, you know.. what if I MIGHT want to bake a 16x16 inch layer cake AND decorate it? What if for SOME REASON, we will want to eat on the fine china?
See, decisions..
So last night, we started with the closet in the basement. That is the easiest place to begin because it's contents are CDs, DVDs, and the games I pray every day, that the girls won't make a mess of.
And here's your warning: with a man whose hobby IS MUSIC, we have more CDS than the average couple..
Inside the closet:


Outside of the closet:


It was my goal to purge the same time as packing, and not take garbage to the new house..
See all that garbage?


I try to not be a pack rat..
We did come across a treasure..


This one is a keeper!!
So it continues..
The girls play in the boxes, and we laugh, and remember..
When we moved in this house nearly 9 years ago, it was just the two of us. The basement was empty,well, besides the washer and dryer.. a few bins of decorations.
The only reason we even had to be in the basement was to do laundry, get out some decorations, or go spider hunting.
Now here we are.. doing most of our living down here, busting at the seams.
It will be good..
I just need to get over thinking about moving all this stuff!!

All things will work together for your good.

So, I will just say it before I get too far into it...

We are moving.

It's just down the street, around a corner, still in our neighborhood and ward. Right where we want to be. It's a newer, bigger house, with a bigger yard for the kidlets.

But this is such a blessing..

We have always kept an eye open to what is available around here, not always serious, but interested. Merrill claimed this house was our "starter house" and I was fine to live here forever.. really. We were close one time, last year, to buying a house of similar style, smaller in some areas (no yard really) and would be giving up on things we said were "musts" for a move to happen. We were waiting for Lake Powell to come and go to put an offer down, and that was when the market went. Good thing we didn't, we would have been up side down in it.

We also played with the idea of buying the house that Gilbert's now live in, and are glad that that wasn't a real serious deal.. we also looked into the land that Dickamore's have built on, another forehead wiping moment of relief. Look what we'd be missing out on!!

See, things that are supposed to be, are going to happen.

So here's what happened:

This house has been up for 13 months.

13 months and I was praying all the while.

I have been trying to get Merrill to just look at it. It took a year, and a $60,000 decrease for him to get there. We both loved it, but knew our home would have to sell.

We were in the midst of getting some improvements done, and decided after that, we would get an appraisal to see what it was worth, to see if we sold it for enough, if we could get into that house.

We let things quiet down, well, we were staying quiet.. the Realtor kept in contact with me, we were their only really interested people, and we weren't that serious. We kept up with our improvements and whenever she'd call, I would tell her the same thing: We love the house, we would love to be able to buy it, but we would have to sell our house, and sell it for enough to make it happen. It's just a waiting game at this point, but move on if you get an offer.. don't wait on us.

In the meanwhile, our tithing checks were piling up on the counter top. With the kids being sick, it was either one of us or the other going to church, and the checks getting forgotten.

Then there was one Sunday that we all went to church, and I remembered the checks. Just a couple of weeks after, while I was painting the garage door, I get another phone call from their Realtor.

"They will buy your house, either sell it themselves (ours would be easier to sell in this market than theirs..) or rent it.. if you buy theirs."

WOW.

We have witnessed so many blessings in this whole event unfolding.. so many "little" things that have been prompted about in advance, that made this process that has moved so quickly so much easier..

Just a couple of examples: My hormone induced trip to IKEA.. I got the shelves to better organize the basement, and I know that improved the appearance of the basement, not to mention the quick clean-up they enabled when they wanted to come and see my house with 3 hours notice.

That same morning I felt the urge to go and wipe down all the door frames to remove Peyton's sticky little fingerprints.. that saved me time later that same house-showing day.

Not to mention all the recent improvements and all of the other hard work we have put into this house..

It has been moving fast ever since and the prayer remains, if it is meant to be, it is meant to be, let it be easy, let it feel right.

And it has.

We signed papers today. It is bittersweet, leaving all the memories here.. bringing babies home, watching them grow.. okay, I can't think that way.

I will have great neighbors (no cigarette smoke wafting through my open windows anymore) and good kids for my kids to play with..

Blessings..

Let the packing begin!!!

But it won't hurt if we all just pray for the appraisal to come in HIGH. :)