More on the House

We've been excitedly, casually house-hunting since April.  The plan was to buy a house when we were finished with Cares, in February 2013. 
Things have changed with Cares.  Long story-short, it just wasn't a good fit for us anymore or for our apartment community.  After discussions with our Regional Director, we felt that it would be better for the Cares Program if we stepped aside and let a new Cares Team come in and start fresh.  We think Cares is great, but with Matt student teaching and with the adoption process, we knew it was only going to be tougher to do a great job as a Cares Team.  So, now we will be done with Cares in September.

So, for the last 2 weeks, the house-hunting process was accelerated.  We looked a lot on our own for the first week.  Drove to all areas of town, explored lots (thinking we would build a modular home), a family home that had recently been re-done, and houses we found on the internet.  We were fairly discouraged with the options that were in our price-range.  So we knew we needed help.  

We signed with a realtor last Friday, August 3rd.  We knew we wanted to work with Brent anyway but didn't know how great he would be!  After our initial meeting and signing a buyer's agreement with him, we got lots of emails with potential houses.  We checked out several over the weekend but only wanted to see the inside of one house.

Love the wood floors, gas fireplace, high ceilings and openness. 

This house, we call it "Ponderosa", like the ranch, had JUST been reduced from 145,000 to within our price range.  It's a Foreclosure, so we were nervous, but it's beautiful!  We saw it on Monday morning and loved it!  It's not perfect, but it's a perfect first house.  Especially compared to the other houses in our budget, we knew we wanted to make an offer! 

Losing closet space but excited about hardwoods, double sink and being on the first floor!

So, we made an offer on Tuesday (after reading through 20+ pages with our realtor), received a counter on Wednesday, made a new offer (don't really know the terms) on Thursday and received a counter that afternoon.  We came to an agreement on Friday morning and setup House and Termite Inspections for this coming week.  If all goes well with inspections, we should be closing in the middle of September.  We are excited! 

Check out the patio and playset! 

The dogs are gonna love having a back yard, and we're gonna love not having to take them up & down 3 flights of stairs!  We can totally imagine bringing our children home from the hospital to this house.  We look forward to having get-togethers with our new neighbors and celebrating birthdays with our family and friends.  Hopefully at this house. 








I'm including lots of pictures.  These are all from the listing site.  I hope to have more pictures after our inspection on Monday. 

Nursery not pictured.  Kinda bummed about no pantry but (hopefully) plenty of cabinets.

Saturdays

I used to take Saturdays for granted.  Then I worked at Verizon for 2.5 years and didn't have any Saturdays.  I Looooooooooove Saturdays now.  They will be even better when Matt is teaching, and we have Saturdays off together.  But for now, I'm starting to figure out how to fully enjoy Saturdays and fit it as much as possible. 

Last Saturday, I met Celeste for breakfast.  Definitely a treat!  Going out to breakfast is my favorite thing, but it was extra special to catch up with a long-time friend.  (We've been friends since 2004).  After breakfast, we still had lots to catch up on, so she came with me back to our apartment.  We talked and caught up while doing dishes and laundry.  It was pretty perfect.  Being productive AND hanging out with a good friend. I need to do this more often!  

Today, I got up pretty early (I think I'm too old to really sleep in now) and decided to take the dogs to the dog park before it got too hot.  On my way, I decided to see if I could pick up my favorite 2 year old to take her with me.  Her mom happily obliged. :)  So, Allie and I took Nala and Zoe to the dog park... the very muddy dog park.  I totally should have turned around when I saw the puddles, but I knew my girls (the dogs) needed to get some energy out.  Well, we had SOOOO much fun.  All 4 of us got muddy and messy but burned up a lot of energy and made some fun memories.  It was a blast!  

Dropped off a muddy 2 year old almost 2 hours later and came home to wash up my two girls.  Neither of them like baths, and it's not very easy to man-handle either one of them into the bathtub, but I somehow managed to get them both clean.  Felt like a HUGE accomplishment!  Matt came home for lunch, and I straightened up a little bit while he ate.  I LOVE that he can come home for lunch now and will probably miss that when he teaches.  Then again, I'll be working most of the days that he teaches, so I guess it doesn't matter... 

This afternoon, my friend Lauren (also the momma of my favorite 2 year old) picked me up, and we got to enjoy an uninterrupted afternoon hanging out (hard to do since she's a busy wife and momma of 2 + a new exchange student from Australia.) :)  But we had sooo much fun enjoying chatting at Starbucks then going to the grocery store.  (Again, mixing friends and productivity... it works well!)  

My heart is full.  AND I get to enjoy an evening with my honey and a day of family tomorrow.  We are truly blessed.  I don't want to wish this time away.  I don't know how long this season will last, so I want to treasure it while it's here.  Soon enough, Saturdays will be full of new adventures and joys (with home-ownership and parenting on the horizon).  New responsibilities.  For now, I'm going to enjoy my pups and low-maintenance apartment as much as possible.  

(P.S. Sorry no pictures. The beloved camera is MIA and has been for about a month now.  Pretty bummed about that.)

You Might be a Cares Team If...

You bake in bulk.

You have about 30 signs like this in your car and/or hall closet.

You stock-pile (donated) drinks from one event to the next.

Again, baking in bulk.

And baking Green things in Bulk!

Your kitchen gets full of friends helping prepare food for 200 people.

You make fruit pretty.

Have I mentioned that we bake in bulk?

You give out Breakfast to your neighbors on their way out of the apartments.

You have a dedicated Cares Thirty-One utility tote (and often use a few more!).

your Halloween pumpkin looks like this.

You have LOTS of candy and LOTS of cookies for passing out treat bags at Halloween.

You cook in bulk.
And you actually use the Microplane Grater from Pampered Chef.

You stock-pile dog treats to pass out at pet events.

You have 300+ of these in your freezer to give out to neighbors at the pool.

You have LOTS of these signs in your hall closet.

You buy in bulk!

Just a few pictures to show what this "Cares" part of our lives is like.  We do 3 events every month for our neighbors at our apartments.  We also visit all the new move-ins and neighbors whose leases will expire in about 3 months.  We also have a Book Club, Walking Club, and Ladies Bible Study.  We definitely stay busy and enjoy getting to know our neighbors and building friendships with them. 

Is it just me...

... or does Nala seem smaller?

Playing with Daddy.

Matt's 27!

This is what you looked like as a baby.

This is what you looked like yesterday.

Today is your 27th birthday!!!

These are things about you that are true today:Jobs: Client Service Coordinator at Banfield Pet Hospital & Grad School Student.

Things I love about you: You are a man who has great Faith.  I am so thankful that God gave me such a faithful husband.  You are also hilarious and incredibly loving.  You are an individual-you do things when you want, how you want.  You have great compassion.   You are an amazing husband to me. 

You're my best friend, and you are my favorite person to hang out with. I love that you kill spiders and bugs for me even though you don't like them either. You love Nala so much, and I can't wait to see how much you'll love our kids. You remind me to turn to Jesus instead of you sometimes. You really love your family. You aren't perfect, and you know it. You're real! You help me to be real. I love your eyes. Your kisses. Your hugs. I love how you get excited about things I think are silly. You do the dishes and laundry. You read out loud to me. You write me love notes.
Activities/Interests: Movies!, Hanging out with me, Nala, Community Group & Church stuff, Reading, TV (stuff we have on DVD or can watch online), Aquariums, Wii-ing,  watching scary movies, photography, animals, playing games (Nertz, Spades, Settlers...), playing computer games (Words With Friends!), watching Spongebob, cartoons, traveling.

Favorite foods: Japanese, Italian food, Sushi, Salads. Ginger's frosting. Desserts! Sugar, Brown Sugar, Powdered Sugar. Raw hamburger meat. Stove Top. Rice.

Least Favorite foods: Anything Breakfast. Meatloaf.  Grandma's Mac & Cheese.

Things you did while you were 26: Moved to a new apartment and started being a Cares team!  Became an uncle for the first time!  Took lots of grad school classes-even one up in Virginia at Liberty.  Had your sister-in-law live with us for a few months.  Borrowed your mother-in-law's convertible for a couple months!  Went to adoption trainings & did adoption fundraisers.  Got a brand-new car for a Christmas present! Paid off another credit card.

Favorite Movies/Shows: too many to name: (You are currently in the process of watching every single movie you own during 2012), The Nightmare Before Christmas, Blue Planet, Planet Earth, Christopher Guest movies, Transformers series, LOTR series, ...What you want to be when you grow up: Elementary School teacher and stay-at-home DadLast year, I wrote that the previous year had been the toughest year of our marriage and prayed for more joy this year. I totally think God answered that prayer as we figured out how to have more time together and time doing ministry together.  Though we still face challenges, we are moving forward and trusting God to lead us.  I'm so thankful for this past year and what we've learned about living together.  Maybe next year, we will be celebrating you becoming a father!

This is what you look like today!

 I love you, Matthew! Happy 27th Birthday!

Seaman Visit

Jack, Dan, Kylie, Megan, and Kristen!

We had some very special visitors a couple weeks ago:  the Seaman family who we know from Thailand.  During our time there, we became very close with this family: we loved playing games, going on adventures, being in LifeGroup, babysitting, having dinner, and generally just hanging out.  It was very sad to leave them (and several other people) when we left Thailand.  

Thankfully, this family is in the States this summer as they are transitioning to a new home next month.  They stayed with a us for a couple of days on their US summer tour. :) 

They got here Thursday night, right when I was getting off from my job. We met up at our apartment and hung around for a bit.  They got to meet Nala (who they had heard a lot about), my mom's dog, Tori, and Valerie's dog, Daisey.  The kids and I took the dogs on a short walk, which turned out to be their favorite thing to do in Charleston.  :)  We ate dinner that night at the Bear E Patch, which is one of my favorite local places.  Then we went to visit Matt at work.  

Kiddos at Bear E Patch

We didn't do anything too exciting that night but went back to our apartment where they got to meet my Mom, then later went over to Dad & Gail's house where we spent the night.  (Mom and Valerie were at our place already so adding the Seamans too would have been a little too crowded.) 

On an evening dog walk.

Matt and I both took Friday off so we could hang out.  We went to our place in the morning and got ready for the day, took Mom to the airport for her mission trip to Guatemala, then we all met up downtown at Fleet Landing for lunch.  I really like this place, and I wanted them to be able to eat some good Charleston food.  We usually sit outside and can see dolphins playing, but we sat inside this time which was still enjoyable.  

Guys at Fleet Landing

View of Fleet Landing from Waterfront Park

After lunch, we walked around Waterfront Park for a bit.  We were heading to the Market when Jack started having problems with his shoe.  So we piled into their van and did a driving tour of Charleston: the Battery, the houses, Rainbow Row, etc.  I learned from Matt that the Market was actually never a "slave market" but actually just where most of the slaves would go and do their shopping.  

With the bridges in the background

On the swing at Waterfront Park

We also drove over the Cooper River Bridges then drove by the USS Yorktown then went to Mt. Pleasant Waterfront Park for the kids to play at their cool playground.  While they walked out to the fishing pier, I went to the store to get ready for our Cares event that night.  We met up back at the apartment and made tacos for dinner then took the dogs on another walk (seriously: their favorite part about Charleston).  After dinner, we headed over to the Bolton's Landing movie theater for the Cares Family Movie Night and got all setup for snacks and Finding Nemo.  No one else ended up coming to that event (our first event with truly 0 other residents), but it ended up being pretty nice to just be us.  

After the movie, we headed back to Dad & Gail's where the kids went to bed and the grownups played Settlers of Cataan.  :)  Brought back lots of fun memories of playing at their place in Thailand, and it was nice to play with such good friends.  Flaglers won one, and Seamans won one, so that was fitting.  

The next day, we came back over to the apartment and just hung around (and took the dogs for walks) and were also joined by Valerie's boyfriend, Zebediah, then went to Costco to stock up on some things for their next stop on the East Coast and ate lunch while we were there.  It was my first time having lunch at Costco, and I gotta say that the $1.50 hot dog combo is a pretty good way to spend $1.50 for lunch.  Matt met us there on his lunch break, which was nice but kinda sad to say goodbye in the Costco parking lot.  After Costco, we came back to the apartment for one more dog walk and for them to load up their van and get re-organized for their next stop, then for them to get on the road.  

Each of the kiddos had his/her own dog, which was maybe why they loved it so much!
Certainly was nice having some extra helpers too! :)

I totally played it cool while saying goodbye but cried as soon as they drove off.  








 Seaman fam, you guys are so special to us for the unique season of life we shared with y'all and for the many ways y'all showed love to us while we were there.  It was wonderful to reconnect for a few days while y'all were here, so thank you so much for coming and for being such gracious guests.  We love you guys and look forward to seeing you next time! :)

More from the Youth Mission Trippers

"Our" girls for the week.
Top Row: Cydney, Kathy, Courtney, Kelli
Bottom Row: Hayley, Alexis, Ginnabeth, Brooke

When they weren't being acrobatic...

They were playing fun games like Quelf.

Where one of the phases was for Courtney to build a fort and stay in it until her next turn...

And Cydney had to wear a helmet and bang her head with a spoon while saying something silly.

But it kept them occupied and laughing and getting along quite well.
Even Nala wanted to be part of it.

Here's a video of one of the cards...

That was Courtney. She found an egg but took it back to the bedroom instead of the gameroom, so I believe she got the penalty. Every area of floor space was used for sleeping and/or storing bags.
Someone even slept in the big chair all week.
But they were great!
And Nala LOVED having them here and felt like part of their family.