What a difference a week makes!

We were supposed to be closed on our new house by now and all moved in. Keith starts school tomorrow and AJ & I were supposed to be starting school tomorrow as well in our new classroom. But, after two failed attempts at a final walk through, the builder decided to refund our earnest money and suggested we look somewhere else. At that point, it was fine with me! The house that we were supposed to be having built custom for us, was turning out looking like it had been thrown together on the inside. The tile work was sloppy and the cabinets looked like seconds from a scratch and dent sale! They touched them up with a different color 'wax' and weren't planning to stain over it to make it match! I had a feeling from the beginning that the builder did not want us to buy the house for some reason. A few days after our deal was 'terminated' we found out that the VA appraisal had come in lower than the asking price of the house. Rather than lower the price a whopping $1700, the builder pushed us away so he can sell the house using an FHA or conventional loan instead.

So, we regrouped and started looking at houses again! Long (and boring) story short, we have found a home that's ready to move in to and will be signing a contract this afternoon. With a little luck, we'll be ready to move in the end of this month.

Moral of this story:

Trust your instinct! When we very first met the builder I had a bad feeling about the guy and we started to walk away from the deal before we ever even signed the paperwork. Now, we're ending up buying a house from the very first builder we looked at last summer!

Still waiting

Well, the rainy weather from last fall isn't the only thing that's held up our house! A few minor problems (mostly with some of the tile and the cabinets) has held us up another week. Looks like we'll be closing next week...I hope!

We've been living out of boxes now for 2 weeks and it's getting old...no, it's gotten old! With a little luck, this fabulous weather we've had will continue in to next week and we'll be able to get everything moved in!

Good bye 2011

Looking Back

What a year! We started it with 30+ inches of snow in Kansas City and ended it with beautiful Texas sunshine! It's great to be back in Texas! The weather, the food, the people...it's all been wonderful!

There were some rough times during the year...mostly sadness in dealing with Grandma. Her Alzheimer's has gotten much worse over the past 6 months or so. She now has trouble even remembering what her own name is. It's been very difficult for all of us to watch her go through these dreadful changes. In case you've missed it, we blog about these struggles on Caring 4 Grandma. Feel free to visit and comment there as well.

AJ grew up a ton! In less than one year he grew 4 1/2 inches taller and out-grew 2 sizes of clothes and shoes! If he keeps growing like he did during 2011, he'll be taller than me before he's 8!

Keith spent most of 2011 getting things in order to start school this year. He's been working with a very nice lady from the local VA over the past three months and has everything (almost) ready for the start of school in three weeks.

In March, we started looking for a house. After several months of searching for the best house, the best location, and the best builder, we found a wonderful house in the perfect location by a fantastic local builder. We signed on the house in October with an expected closing date before Christmas, but then the rain we so desperately needed finally arrived and set us behind about 3 weeks. So, we'll be closing and moving sometime this week instead!

As for my 2011, I had a great year! In May I did some serious 'soul searching' and realized some things in my life had gotten out of focus. My personal health being one of them, I made some drastic changes. During the months that followed, I gained a wealth of information on nutrition and took advantage of having two gyms to work out in. I must say, I'm very proud of myself and my hard work & dedication really paid off. I dropped 48 pounds and 4 sizes and feel wonderful!

Looking Ahead

2012 holds so much for us! We're very excited about moving in to our new house this week. Keith will be starting school in less than a month. AJ's holiday break from school has been extended a week to accommodate our move, but he & I will be starting back next week. He will finish 1st grade in March and begin 2nd grade after his spring break in April.

We are so blessed and look forward to everything that 2012 holds for us. Happy New Year to our friends & family!

Merry Christmas!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas weekend! This coming week is going to be very hectic for us! On Tuesday morning, Mom will have surgery to remove a small portion of her colon. (after several rounds of diverticulitis this year, her doctors thought it best to remove the problem spot before it ruptures.) She will be recovering in the hospital for at least 4 days. Tuesday afternoon we have the pre-closing walk through of our house. Thursday (hopefully) we close and Friday we move! Whew! I get tired just thinking about all the stuff that's going on this week! Next week though...and the beginning of the brand new year, look for a great 'year in review' post!

Till then...

Decorations, moving, & surgery

Well, our house is finally reaching the final stages! We're right on track for closing next week. The past week has been spent helping my folks get moved, unpacked, and settled into their new house. The last few days has been spent bringing their empty boxes to our apartment to finish up our packing. Most everything is done and ready for our move...I've just left out a few things we'll need over the next two weeks.

I helped Mom get her Christmas tree up and decorated and we got our gifts wrapped and put underneath the tree today. I'm still kinda sad that we're not having Christmas celebrations at our new house this year, but we'll have a great time at Mom & Dad's house!

Next Tuesday Mom will have surgery to remove a small portion of her colon. After several rounds of diverticulitis, her doctors have discovered that the portion of her colon affected with diverticulum has become very weak and they feel it would be best to remove it before another episode of diverticulitis occurs. She'll be in the hospital for at least 4 days and possibly a few days longer. Prayers are appreciated!

Blue Christmas

This is normally my favorite time of the year! I love the Christmas season! I love decorating, baking, making fudge, shopping, and wrapping gifts! I love spending time with my family and friends and enjoying all the fun spirit of Christmas! This year is different though...

Instead of hanging the Christmas lights and trimming the tree, I'm busy packing. This wouldn't be so bad if we were going to be unpacking soon. I unpack fast and decorate even faster! Originally, I thought we would be closing on our new house around the 16th. Unfortunately, it's not looking like we're going to close before Christmas at all! I'm very disappointed to say the least. Christmas Eve festivities are 'traditionally' done at our house. We have food and drinks, play games and exchange gifts and I was looking forward to having the whole family to our new house for Christmas Eve this year, but I don't think it's going to happen. I know, I know...there will be years of Christmas Eves and other celebrations ahead of us, but I'm still kinda blue.

Here's hoping we'll be in by the New Year...

Family Pictures

Here's a preview of our family pictures! I think they turned out great and can't wait to have them hanging on the walls of our brand new house!!