Thursday, March 29, 2012

Jude showing Joel how to drive...kinda


Jude wanted to show Joel how to drive. I don't think it turned out quite like Jude had envisioned it would but it was adorable to watch!! About the time Jude showed Joel the horn, Joel took over! It looked like 2 huge grown men in a SMART car! Love these boys! Haha.

SOLD!!! Maybe...

Many of you are asking how things are going. I'm so afraid to divulge anything just b/c things seem to change by the minute but here's where things are RIGHT NOW... Thank you to all praying for us! :)


**Back story note: We’ve had 3 offers, all around the same price. We’ve turned them all down**


The house showed 5 times Saturday and there was a “second showing” on Sunday. Linda, our realtor, called Saturday afternoon asking about pool locations and other HOA stuff for clients. I felt confident that there would be an offer…and it came in on Monday. It was similar to our prior offers. We had been talking and Jon and I are both in agreement we are ready to move on! So, we accepted! I was so relieved and took a deep breath of relief that I could atleast let the kiddos play with their toys more freely for a while without OCD cleaning up after their every step! Haha.
Well, turns out the young couple that signed on the dotted line needs 100% financing…meaning they want their closing costs, etc rolled into their home loan. It’s the buyer’s responsibility to get the house they’re buying appraised. Wouldn’t you know it, I don’t think these kids have the money to pay the $350ish for that! It seems to me they don’t have money to be shopping at the mall, much less buying a home. Ay yay yay! Anyways, contract was signed by both parties on Tuesday. That gives them til’ Wednesday, April 4, to back out. I’m not holding my breath! My feelings of relief have come to reality and I’ll have the house clean and ready for showings this weekend, haha. Lord be with me! Selling your house is an emotional process!!

Thursday, March 15, 2012

2006 vs Today

When we purchased our current home, in October of 2006, I felt like I would live there FOREVER!

Looking back at 2006:
I worked in Dallas and Jon worked in Fort Worth making Keller a great central location offering both of us a manageable commute. Gas prices were around $1.97/gallon…which we complained about.
My mom lived 15 mins away, also in Keller, so I’d have close reliable loving help when we decided to start our family.
My sister and her fam had hopes of moving back to DFW from Chicago as soon as my brother in law, Mike, found a local job. They moved to Chicago from Saginaw (10 mins from Keller) in 2007 after his employer, DELTA airlines, made budget cuts. They loved their street and had several friends in that area so I was hopeful they’d land there again.
The community we decided on (Villages of Woodland Springs) was in the beginning stages offering light traffic and easy access to 3 different highways w/in 2 miles driving. There were several pools and playgrounds to choose from all with secured access for homeowners of VOWS only.
1825 sq feet: 3 BR and 2 Baths w/a 2 car garage and manageably small backyard on a corner lot was a dream in comparison to my 715 sq ft apt.
Stainless steel appliances were all the rage and Lennar (our builder) even included a nice fridge in their building package!
Blinds were our biggest expense after moving in.
Bentley, my schnauzer, was the “only child.”
We were one of the first houses on our street. I had dreams of knowing my neighbors, block parties…the American dream!

Current View:
Jon and I both work at Lockheed Martin, in Fort Worth which proves a 25-65 minute daily commute ea way depending on traffic/wreck(s). We’ve tried riding together but it rarely works out w/our schedules. We’d definitely prefer to live closer to work. Gas prices are currently 3.79/gallon!
My mom married Marc in 2008 and moved to Roscoe in West Texas…3 ½ hours away. Thankfully they visit as often as possible but now, we want more room for our guests to feel comfortable! :)
Mike did find a new job…in Oklahoma City! They have been there since 2009 and are feeling quite established. Since the move, they’ve had a second son and my sister has started going to school (college) full time. So…they won’t be moving to DFW anytime soon, if at all.
Our current neighborhood (VOWS) has BLOWN up!! They’ve built a HUGE new elem, middle and High school on our main street that we turn off of to go home in the past 2 years. The pools and parks are always populated and our commute time has increased due to school zones, retail, construction, new lights and traffic.
1825 sq feet is NOT enough! Haha. And, we kinda need more of a yard and an extra garage bay. Too much to ask? ;-)
Stainless has become almost a “standard” and hard wood flooring has become the new requested upgrade!
We’re a family of 4…err, 5! Poor Bentley has become a dog rather than a child as Jude and Joel have taken over our world in the best possible way!
Our street is 75% rental property. Families are in and out before we ever even meet them. Not what I expected from my first home buying experience.

I knew my life would change, ofcourse! However, I did not know how FAST and by how MUCH it would change in really, the last 3 years! I feel EXTREMELY blessed to have such a full life and don’t thank our heavenly father enough for the blessings he’s allowed in my life!!

As I’ve blogged before, our home is currently on the market! We have had an offer but it’s nothing worth even really writing about. It did cause us to take a very hard look at things and organize priorities if we really do want to move. We have researched the housing market to an exhausting level. As a result, we lowered our asking price to a competitive $ per sq footage range against our possibly biased opinions that our house is the best in our area and deserving of a higher sell! :) The price was officially lowered on Monday and we’ve seen a heavy flow of traffic since! We had 3 showings just yesterday and the pattern has continued today. Surely something will happen soon!

We have decided to move forward on the other end of things; buying! We’ve secured a lot in a neighborhood we really like closer to work and have put in an offer with Sandlin builders on our NEW dream home complete with 3 car garage and 3500 sq ft of living space! Here’s to the future….stay tuned! :)

(Model of our floorplan. Ours will look a little different.)

Ready for St Patty's Day!!


I have a bachelorette trip with some of my best girlfriends planned for this afternoon - Sunday afternoon in Austin/Fredericksburg. I'm totally excited but since I won't be around for St Patty's day with my boys...they dressed in their green early! :) Makes my heart smile...
Jude giving me a full on "CHEESE!!" which startled Joel a bit, haha I tried to encourage smiles and eyes forward by making some funny noises. I got their eyes forward...and a really confused look! haha HUGS!! and a kiss! Such sweet brothers! :)

How can my BABY be almost ONE!?

As usual, time has escaped me! My sweet baby boy turns ONE on April 29. With everything going on, Jmainly trying to sell our house/move, I have been torn on what to do as far as a birthday party. I absolutely adore the "Little Man" theme and there are so many cute ideas on Pinterest! With some hesitation, I went ahead and ordered invites Monday. They are SO cute!! I moved the party date up a week and figure worst case, the party location will have to be moved if we were to sell and have to be out pronto style, right?! We're keeping the invite list minimal so it won't be a total nightmare if it does have to be moved. Friends, Please don't avoid my calls in fear I'll be asking to borrow your home...but I may be! Hehe. ;-) J/K!!
Side note: We only had one house showing over the weekend (due to down pouring rains no doubt) which really gave me the ease to go ahead and order the invites Monday. Since, we've had showing after showing!! We had 3 just yesterday! Funny how God laughs at my OCD most days, LOL.
Here's a pic of the invite...

Thursday, March 8, 2012

As the wonderful days blur...

There is simply not enough time in my days! I want so badly to record every moment to review detailed memories in the future (with J&J) but I find myself looking at the calendar to realize that it is already march 8, 2012…my last entry was February 1!! When I let a couple days lapse without an entry I have so much that has gone on, I don’t know where to start! Such is life I suppose. Feeling blessed to have a full one! :)