Homeowners Tonight!

Well, the day has come. After a time of apartments and a duplex, Heidi and I have jumped into the realm of realty. We sign papers tonight at 4pm (we'll post pictures). It has been a busy week, but it is exciting to know we will be putting our money in a place where it will work for us.
In other news, I have recently got a new part-time job. I am Office Assistant in our Church office and helping to setup our website and possibly getting our sermons online as a podcast to download. Heidi and I are also helping another couple start a College/Career group. We will also be managing a Coffee Cafe ministry to our community. Grace Community Church (our home church) is adding on the 2nd floor that was never finished when the building was first built and they are going to build in a Coffee/Espresso cafe. We really want to build new relationships and help get people connected in the church.
So, a lot has been happening with us!
Thank you all for your prayers, we feel a real peace in this whole process. Everytime before when we were considering the home option, it seemd as if there were obsticals, but God has not only opened a clear path, but gave us clear judgement in purchasing our first "home" and we have been wise in not allowing our emations to over-run our decesion making.
Stay tuned! photos are coming up!

-T

Now...Where did I put my toothbrush?

Well, As you can see, we had success in our Pizza Packing Party Saturday! We only have a few things that are not boxed, mostly because they are too large to fit in a box. We are just a weekend away from signing papers to make it official and a few days away from keys and hand. not to mention a little over a week away from moving day! We have been in a new place for Christmas EVERY year since we have been married and here we are again! This time it will be easier though. Heidi has gotten this great idea that in order to "make room for new decorations" we need to sell everything. I think at this point, the Bed is the only original thing we will be left with by the time moving day comes! ( I think we are also keeping a few night stands, dressers, and I don't think she is going to sell me yet either :) Although some days she may think she'd like to.

Here is our outlook from here:

Monday - Sign papers to make it official
Tuesday - Get keys in hand
Wednesday - prep the house to get the ceilings sealed and painted primer white
Thursday - Proficient Painting sprays the primer
Friday - Clean the Furnace duct work
Saturday - MOVING DAY (and clean out our old place)
Sunday - church and a NAP!



Thanks for praying for our sanity! We'll keep you up-to-date as we can.

_-T

Our little "snuggle bunnies" (aka: Heidi's babies) were enjoying a cool rainy day together yesterday....cute, huh? We are doing great here...We are hosting a Pizza Packing Party here at our place on Saturday. We are getting excited to move again, hard to believe it's our 4th move in 3 years! Once again, we won't have Christmas in the same place twice! Work is going well, on both ends. Tim got a job at our church, Grace, as an office assistant. They were looking for someone to work 8 hours a week, Tim applied and was hired. This will be a nice job for his school schedule. I have been enjoying cooking in my spare time, and freezing tons of meals for Tim and I to enjoy in the next few months. Split pea soup, minestrone, chicken pot pies, stuffed red peppers, enchiladas, lasagna, pesto, marinara, apple sauce...to name a few.

We are moving on November 4th, however we actually get the keys and close on the 31st. We are having Proficient Painting (whom we both work for) come in the Thursday before and spray all of the ceilings and walls with a primer white. Then the air ducts and furnace are going to be cleaned, and we'll move our stuff in. Tim and I picked out some paint colors for the interior too. Well, ER's on in 15 min, so I gotta get ready! Enjoy this beautiful fall season!

-H

Moving Day... on the way!

Well, no photos to post of our actual choice in home, but exterior photos won't do it justice. We will be closing on our first "home' at the end of the month. Yes, that is quick, but by moving at the end of the month, the seller will pay ALL of our closing costs! So, for the locals, we are having a "Pizza Packing Party" This saturday we have invited some friends to come over and help us pack some boxes and eat some pizza.
Please pray for our sanity. Prior to our find, we volunteered to house-sit for another friend. from the 17th-31st. It is good because we can take what we need to their house snd pack up EVERYTHING in our house, but that also means on top of packing and moving, we are not staying the night at our own house, feeding and walking their dogs.
As for our new home, it is a condo that is similar style and size of our current duplex. The main floor has a kitchen, dining room, living room, front patio and back deck. The upstairs has 2 bedrooms, bathroom, and laundry. We have more storage in this house and we love that idea! it is much cuter (did I just say "cuter"? ) Anyway, the outside doesn't have the charm as it is 1 building that shares 3 condos, but "it's what's inside that counts" right? We are excited not only because it has bigger space, but is what we pay now for rent and once we add in the HOA fees, it is still less than $200 more for water/sewer/garbace etc...

We are sad to leave such great landlords, but we are also glad to own our own place. Keep checking, we'll update as we can!

from the quiet one.

Um, I really don't have much to say usually. I'm pretty docile and quiet, but lately a lot has happened to be talking about. Dad Tim has considered going back to school to be a teacher, Mom Heidi is working full time again, taking care of 4 girls, the weather has changes from warm and sunny to cooler and rainy. Most recently, we have heard about moving. They had a nice Condo inspected today and it sounds like it is much roomier and cuter inside than the last place. It doesn't have as much "curb appeal", but it is affordable and great to start out with, and has lots of potential. The main concerns they have after the inspection are replacing the older original furnace and sealing the asbestos ceiling. It also has a smoke smell, but they are ready to clean the walls and paint to remove that. Mom and Dad are so saavy!
Snickers and I are excited to see the new place and the possible Movie room they plan to create, but neither of us are looking forward to moving in a cramped kennel. Snickers is trying to crowd in my blanket, I'll have Dad write more later.

-Endearing Emma

A word from the Master of the house.

So there I am just sitting in my new found treasure, a box Ivan left for me, when I hear Mom Heidi and Dad Tim telling him about moving. How come nobody asked me? What if they don't bring my box? What if I don't even like the house? But oh well, I don't like being inside anyway. I just hope it has a big yard and a good supply of squirrels and moles!

I heard they are still thinking of moving, but not to the original place they were looking at in Gresham. I guess the old owner is more of a grump than I am. He won't fix anything on the house and is just plain being a, well, crabby man. God has always taken care of them before so I don't know why He won't be watchin' out for them in this next option.

It's a townhome in Fairview that has a Rec. Facility (that I doubt they'll let me in), a pool (that I will NEVER use), and day care (that I will stay as far away from as possible!) Snickers and Emma may adore kids, but I can't stand 'em. From what Mom and Dad were saying, it sounds like it has 2 bedrooms upstairs and a nice living room, dining room and kitchen downstairs. It also has a deck out back and a patio in front both with sliding glass doors. If I get daring, I may run the gauntlet through the house, in one sliding door out the next, but then again, why torture myself! I have plenty of resting to catch up on.
Speaking of which, I need to get back to my cat-nap.

-Fiesty Freckles

Inspection

Well, we had our home inspection yesterday. Tim and I, our realtor (also named Tim) and our home inspector, Susan examined every square inch of this home, inside and out. We were prepared for the worst, but actually walked away surprised at how few concerns there were. Okay, so there were a few major concerns, but the big problems we were praying against, weren't issues at all. No mold, no foundational issues, structure is sound. The big things we are going to be negotiating with the seller on, so you can keep us in your prayers as from what we understand, the seller wishes to do NO repairs. He has had 5 sale-fails on this home though, and is ready to just sell fast, from what we understand. We aren't too concerned at this point though, as our realtor has some good ideas, and ways of saving $$ whether we do some repairs, or what not. So, here are the biggies: The utility room floor and sub floor need replacing. There is dry rot. The bathroom dry rot was "fixed" but done in a shoddy way, covering up some problems, so that needs to be fixed by a licensed contractor, only. The kitchen counter top needs replaced, some noticeable rotting. The house needs gutters~we already knew this! :) There are some powder beetles and damp wood eating termites in an area under the crawl space, but it's not wide spread. So, an exterminator needs to come out and take care of that. Those are the big things we are needing the seller to take care of. As far as the rest, there are small issues we can tackle on our own, and with the help of friends. It's definitely going to take time and manual labor, but we're ready. Looking forward to the challenge of home ownership! Our inspector was phenomenal, and so knowledgeable. Tim, Tim (the realtor), and I are meeting tomorrow night to send out counteroffers, etc. to the seller and his agent regarding the repairs. We'll keep you posted. Thanks for your prayers, we need them. On a fun note, Tim (realtor) suggested a great place to check out for inexpensive vintage home stuff in North Portland. It's called The Rebuilding Center. Tim and I checked it out yesterday; we can't wait to find great finds in the future! For all of you Portlanders reading, check it out sometime, especially if you're building from the ground up, or just restoring your old home. Oh yeah, on a fun note, the attic is a usable space, and quite large too! So, that solves some of our storage dilemmas. Tim spotted an old, old metal bed frame in the far corner, and a box. Who knows what else we'll find....kinda exciting though!

-H

Patience

Tim and I are learning the art of patience these days. Our home inspection is this Saturday morning, so we feel as if everything is weighing on this one particular person....to buy or not to buy....based on one person's perception and articulation of our lovely, soon to be (we hope!) home. With a home that was built in 1904, having the home inspected thoroughly is an obvious. We will have a much clearer picture after the inspection, as to if this is a wise investment for us or not. Our offer has been accepted, financing has come through, but our offer is contingent on the home inspection. So, in the meantime we are trusting God, and asking for his guidance and wisdom in all of this. It is an exciting time for us; we have enjoyed visiting stores like "the container store" seeking creative storage ideas for a charming home that has absolutely no storage! Potential storage, but nothing defined as "storage" you know? Think, one closet in the entire house, and a small utility room with shelving. An attic, but who knows if it's a useable space or not. We have already made some good $$ selling things on craigslist, and downsizing some. I guess that's the "price" you pay for charm! We'll post after the inspection on Saturday. For now, I'm off to make dinner, and get ready for another intense ER! Tim and I have ditched The Apprentice for now, as ER is so much better this season!

The announcement is here!

Well, the guessing game is over. Congrats to our one guesser, thanks Angel! Yes the blue one does look like us, but the white one in Gresham is our choice. It is within our budget and will be in our old "hood" we are only 10 blocks from our favorite coffee shop and Boccelli's where our Wedding rehersal dinner was.
A lot has changed in the past few months for us. I thought at the begining of the summer I was going to go back and get my Bachelors in Communications. Then this summer, I decided to take a career test to see what I could do with my Communications Degree and the test said I would actually make a better teacher than anything else. Mom is a teacher, Karen is a teacher, Angel did pre-school, It seems that teaching is in the blood. So, while I am considering the teaching option, I decided to drop school this term. I could pay almost $900 out-of-pocket for school or we could use that as money for a home. So after praying, looking, and setting a budget, We found 2 homes. One in Vancouver WA and another in our favorite place, Gresham. The one in Gresham is a little bit of a fixer and yet in a growing neighborhood with $200k-$300k townhomes going in across the street to raise the prices in our neighborhood. We are getting in a good little 102 yr old home with tons of charm. So pray for us as we wait for inspections to confirm our choice in home, our sanity as we pack and storage once we move in our 783 sq ft home!