inspections

Well--the last big humps in the house process have been crossed today. We had inspections on both houses, and signed papers with the lender. Everything seems to be in place. I haven't got the results from the inspection here--but I did hear the inspector tell the buyer that there was nothing major wrong with structure or major systems--so if there are any repairs, they will be minor. The buyer was taking pictures and measuring for curtains after the inspection--so I'll take that as a good sign. At the new house, there was a shingle loose--and the inspector said the furnace should be serviced, but that was all, and the seller will take care of those things. So...I think we're in good shape. I'll feel better after we get the official reports, but I'm not expecting anything too drastic. The buyer did say they really liked the house because it was in a great neighborhood and had been obviously taken care of so well, so that was a nice compliment.
Trevor left today--he called from the hotel--I guess there's a nice little kitchen in his room with a few dishes, etc., toaster, full-sized fridge, stove, microwave, etc. We went shopping at Walmart last night for some easy-to-fix, but fairly nutritious groceries for him to take down with him. I'm praying for extra patience to get through the next month without him. At least he'll come home on weekends! Now I need to really start packing!
We did put up our christmas tree and some of the nativity sets and santa claus collection, but not too much. Still, it looks festive. Sam has asked me several times today if it was Christmas yet. Hard for a kid to understand that it is still several weeks away. Ginny keep pulling all the ornaments off the tree and rearranging the nativity sets. She's fascinated.

Found a house!

We found a really great house in Pacific, MO. It wasn't even one of the houses on my list, but we knew when we saw it that it was just right. The only drawback is that it's a little further away from work and church than we were hoping to be--butthe houses that were closer and in our price range were just too small, or in need of major repairs. This house, though, has 4 bedrooms, a huge yard, a 2 car garage, and is only nine years old. The roof was is very good shape. The basement was beautifully finished, and it has main floor laundry and a much bigger kitchen. Also a screened porch, and a walk-out basement with patio. Perfect. We're really excited.
Yesterday morning I had fun watching Emily and Ginny before school. Ginny was sitting in Emily's lap, and they were laughing and giggling as Emily sang little songs and rhymes to her as she bounced her on her knee. Very satisfying.
Last night we put up christmas decorations for our first christmas family home evening of the year. We read a christmas story, sang carols, and decorated the tree. we put up some of our decorations, but not very many since we are moving. Still, the kids were excited to see the christmas things up. It really is a magical time of year.
At work, Trevor's co-workers gave him a going away party yesterday. He was quite touched. They had pizza and cake for lunch, and gave him a gift of a swiss pocket knife with flash drive attached. He thought that was really cool.
I guess that's it!
Both home inspections are tomorrow. I hope they'll go smoothly.

SOLD!!!

Yippee!! We're definitely doing a happy dance today! They accepted our offer of 122,900 and agreed to drop the contingency if we would buy a home warranty. Great! We feel so blessed to have sold so quickly. Now we can go to St. Louis next weekend and start looking for houses down there! We have been SO blessed by the Lord every step of the way in this move.
I feel like His blessings have been poured down so that there was not room enough to receive it--just like it says in the scriptures. I'm just feeling so grateful!

offer

We got an offer on our house yesterday, but it was quite low, so we're still negotiating. I'm really glad we got a realtor because I definitely do not have a very good poker face. I'm not patient enough, and frankly, I'm REALLY anxious to sell!
This has been a better week at home. I'm not as stressed out, and I've been able to spend more time with the kids. Only two weeks now, and Trevor will be leaving for St. Louis.

St. Louis

We went to St. Louis yesterday and saw the music store where Trevor will be working and drove through some different neighborhoods. The store owner was really nice It seemed like Trevor would get along well with the other people in the store. The area was really nice, but the housing is expensive. I hope we'll be able to find a house we can afford. Also, I'm worried about finding Trevor a place to stay. NOne of the apartments we visited would accept a short-term lease. Definitely a big city. Lots of traffic, and not as many parks, etc. as we have in Normal. I suppose we'll get used to living in the big city. I"m not sure about what I want to do there, either. Maybe I'll take some time off before teaching again.
It's a lot to think about. If only our house will sell...

For Sale

Our house is finally up on the market. We finished most things up this weekend and signed the papers on Monday afternoon. So far we've have 5 people come through, which the realtor says is a good sign, but we'll see if anyone is seriously interested. When someone calls to come through, you pretty much just have to pack everything up and head out. Last night we ran out while I was in the middle of making dinner, which I was too exhausted to finish when we got home at 8:00 so we had cold cereal for dinner.
I praying so hard for the house to sell quickly. That would be such a blessing! But maybe we'll have to be patient on this one. I'm trying not to panic yet--after all the house has only been on the market for a few days.
The kids have been pretty good sports. Max and Emily are helping me to keep things clean, and Sam and Ginny have been fairly cheerful about spending lots of time at friends' houses so I can work on the house.
Once again, I have been blessed with many good friends who have helped me with cleaning, watching kids, laundry, and even dinner one night. It makes me sad to leave all these people we love.
We're going to St. Louis this weekend. We'll be trying to find Trevor a place to stay while we are in transition.
I think that will help us get more excited about things on the other end.