Lila and I had lunch yesterday, leftover Shepherd's Pie. She fed herself a few bites from a fork. Emily came over and we went for a walk around the neighboring park trail. Jake keeps asking if I'll miss having that nearby, but... not really. There's always creepy people there. Anyway, it was a beautiful day out and so nice to get out and walk! Looking forward to many walks with Lila this spring and summer. I love family walks. After that, Lila took a short nap and Emily and I did a little packing.
When Lila woke up, we headed over to our house :) We had the home inspection that day. It took a few hours to walk through everything. Jake was way into it, of course, but Emily and I mostly walked around the house and talked about decorating ideas. Played with Lila on the floor in the sunshine, something I'm looking forward to doing every day with her in our house. We sat in the driveway in the sunshine too. I'm so excited to live there! The inspection went well--there are a few minor problems that need fixing and hopefully the sellers will have those done for us. We're asking them for a ~$1600 credit to get all of those things done.
After that we had soup and sandwiches for dinner and Lila loved the soup. She made funny faces at us too and we were all giggling so hard. It was awesome. After dinner we did showers and bedtime. At 9:00 I headed to Applebee's for a girls night with Candace Laughead, Annette Shumway, and Megan Oliphant. A few more women had been invited but couldn't make it. Didn't leave until almost 11. It was a lot of fun! We shared half-off appetizers and talked about high school shenanigans. I love my RS friends.
Thursday I was sick all day and Lila was too. Achy joints, headache, tired, sore throat. Kasey Hunt told me on Wednesday that Waylon was diagnosed with strep throat, so I was really hoping we didn't have that, but I don't think we do. It was so hard to get motivated to do anything, so we didn't do much. Dinner was soup and sandwiches again, which Lila didn't seem to mind. She's digging soup these days, but only if she can feed herself. After dinner, she and Jake walked outside for a while and played with a neighbor's dog. It was warm out. After she went to bed, we watched part of the movie Morning Glory and talked to Mike a bit.
Today we applied for a loan with Sharon Waldecki of Evolve something or other out of Grand Rapids. Rich referred us to her and she had the best quote of all the places we looked at. We got locked in with a 4.75% interest rate, which is pretty good. Jake met with Rich this morning to go over all the repairs that need to be done and sign the related paperwork. Lila got up this morning when Jake did for work but took an hour and a half nap later in the morning. I slept that whole time too which is awesome. I needed that. At 1:30 I picked up Emily and we had lunch with my old co-worker/friend from Gryphon Place, Melissa Dunn, and her sister Annie. It was good to see her! I haven't seen her since I stopped in at Gryphon when Lila was like 3 months old. As much as I liked it there, I'm glad I don't have to work there anymore. It was a perfect job for me though when I had it; what a huge blessing. Lila was a good girl, ate some soup, and sat so nicely. Cuddled with me too.
From there, Emily and I headed to Target. Lila needs actual shoes now (instead of the moccasin type things she's been wearing) and I wanted to get her a birthday outfit too. She pooped while we were there, of course. A big, messy one. She screamed and cried the whole time we changed it. It was awesome. Pooped again on the way home and had a melt down while I was changing it here. She's sleeping now. She probably feels awful too. I feel a bit better today. My sore throat went away but I still feel achy and tired. Jake is teaching a Chinese investigator with missionaries right now. Tomorrow morning he's going to leave for a while to play Ultimate Frisbee. And on Sunday he'll be gone from like 7:30-4 for a branch conference in Coldwater. Not looking forward to it.
I think I forgot to write that I talked with Jess on the phone for a while on Sunday night. It was so nice, we hadn't talked for a while on the phone. She's due in a few weeks. I'm so excited for her. I was surprised to hear that we share a lot of similar parenting philosophies... as far as co-sleeping and nursing goes. She's going to be a great mom. I would like to take Lila out there this summer to visit and meet her little one.
Friday, March 18, 2011
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Weight
Oh, I forgot to write... the last time we walked through the Hathaway house, we (Mike, Jake, and I) all weighed ourselves on their scale. Mike now weighs around 4-5 pounds less than Jake does. He probably hasn't weighed less than Jake in a decade. And I was shocked to find that I weigh 95 pounds! I seriously eat allll day. And mostly unhealthy stuff. lol. My mom said after she had me she got down to 95 pounds too and couldn't gain any weight for a long time. I don't mind it at all.
Tuesday
Yesterday Lila and I stayed home. She's catching a cold or something and was pretty cranky all day. Took a long nap in the afternoon and a short nap before dinner. Did some cleaning, reading, etc. Mike called and told me about the talk he had with Cassandra the previous night, about her past serious relationships. She talked about how when she dates someone there's a stage where she's deciding to see if she wants to be more serious with them. Jake came home for dinner (shepherd's pie) and we got to relax a little bit before he had to leave for his meeting. Lila and I played in my room until bed time, she was up till almost 9 (because of the time change). I cleaned up after that and talked with Mike until Jake got home. Mike finally got new couches; I think he and Kalina sold their old ones like 9 months ago. Jake and I were up past midnight and up early this morning. Lila's still sick. She munched on a cookie and some Cheez-Its this morning, but a little after 10 she got super cranky and tired so she's napping already. We have our home inspection today at 4:00. I might start some packing today, maybe have Emily over. It's supposed to get up into the 50's today and it's sunny out.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Busy People
On Thursday morning I had to bring Lila to the doctor's again for a re-check of her hemoglobin levels. So we were there for an hour, and of course she hated it when the nurses and doctors were checking her out. Her iron levels are going up, thanks to the iron supplement, but we need to continue with that for 3-4 months until they're back to normal. I don't know if I wrote about this yet, but her lead levels are normal. The levels from the first draw they took were a 12, which is pretty high, but the second time was a 2.
At 4:30 that night we met Mike at the Hathaway house. We wanted to see it one more time before we put in an offer and to show it to Mike and Emily. (Emily had to work so couldn't come.) Mike wasn't too impressed, lol. It's not what he'd buy. But we were sure that we wanted to buy it still. We walked around the house and in the backyard. It's actually a great yard. And I could definitely see us living there and being very happy there. So we drove over to Rich's office and signed all the papers. Lila was a trooper... though she was pretty cranky by the end. We decided to offer $170,500. Rich said he'd try to meet with Kim (their realtor) as early as possible the next day and call us afterwards to let us know what the "vibe" of the meeting was.
So, Thursday night we were all excited about that. Called our families and told them. And we spent more time on the phone with Mike, of course. Actually we video chatted with him. Because we don't see each other enough. He was texting and chatting with Cassandra. He hadn't contacted her all day because he was still pretty bummed/weirded out about their conversation the previous day, when she told him about Mr. Colorado. But she texted in the evening and started asking him when she'd see him next. She asked what he was doing this weekend, and then he suggested she come home, and she said she would.
Friday was a very boring day. Lila and I sat around at home until 2:30 or so when I got so bored that we needed to get out. We went to the mall to pick up my anniversary ring that had been fixed. Lila and I had a treat--she loves her french fries. Walked around a little bit before she got crabby and needed to go home. I made chicken and rice for dinner. I think we just hung out at home that night. Oh, Cassandra got snowed in and couldn't leave Canada, but she and Mike talked on the phone for an hour, until her mom and sisters called at midnight.
Here's an email I wrote Jake Friday --
You know, I've been thinking and feeling lately that it's been a special part of the Lord's plan for us and for others in Kalamazoo that we live here. Just think about all the opportunities we've had to serve and share the gospel here in Kalamazoo. I know that we would do good wherever we live, but I feel like we're specifically needed in this area to build up the kingdom here. I'm excited that we'll continue to live here and grow some roots here. Our children will be blessed for it.
Saturday morning we went grocery shopping and got boxes from guys stocking the aisles--good idea! It was nice to get shopping out of the way. While there, Mike called to say that Cassandra was actually going to come home that day! So he was excited. We went home, took naps, got up, played with Lila, and then had a free lunch at Penn Station East Coast Subs (we had a coupon). Then went to the stake center for a few hours to clean out files and papers in the clerk's office. (There were files in there from the '70s and '80s.) We got home, got ready for bed, did showers. I worked on finding design ideas for our new house, Jake helped for a while but got on my nerves. :) Then we kind of watched The Social Network. I was doing other things and went to bed before it finished, but with the time change (spring forward), we didn't get to bed till after 1.
Mike went over to Cassandra's house for her birthday dinner with her family. They met up at the youth dance he was chaperoning and after that he went to their house again to watch a movie. It was weird for him because he got to see a lot of her family's craziness. Particularly her mom's and youngest sister Savannah's. They have a weird family culture. It was her 26th birthday. The sisters found out that Mike isn't an Eagle Scout and said that their mom wouldn't let them date guys who aren't Eagle Scouts. (The Lillrose girls are Savannah (15, almost 16), Samantha (21), Tiffany (23), and Cassandra (26).) Cassandra thankfully spoke up and said, "I'm old enough to decide who I'm going to hang out with." Savannah "lectured" Cassandra after Cassandra showed up at the dance to visit with Mike; didn't want her there. Savannah is pretty rude to all guys that go over to their place. Before he went in after the dance, he told Cassandra that he didn't have to go in if it would cause tension in the family. Cassandra said that Savannah is like that with all the guys that come over, and that if he didn't go in that night, it wouldn't help the next time he came over, so he should just come in if he wanted to. So they had donuts and watched a movie. Cassandra fell asleep on his shoulder and held his hand the whole time. They had a long hug goodbye and he mentioned that it was weird/different around her family and she said, "Yeah, you should come to Canada more." I feel for her... because I know how it is to have a kind of crazy family.
On Sunday morning, the alarm went off at 7:45 but we fell back asleep until 8:30! Woops! Church starts at 9, so we were 10 minutes late. Savannah spoke in sacrament meeting and Cassandra was there. I didn't get a chance to talk to her but Jake did. She congratulated him on the new house, which in very close to her parents'. Jake had Lila the whole time, which was nice for me.
After church, we talked to Mike on the phone and he filled us in on the previous night. We had lunch and laid down for a while. Had dinner before Jake had to go do some clerk training at 4:30. Emily came over around the time Jake left. Skyped with my parents for a long time and they loved watching Lila play. She danced for a looong time while we sang to her. It was really funny.
At 6, Lila and I headed to the stake center for the ward's RS birthday party/fireside. I sat by Sister Johnson and visited with her for a bit about the new house. I was asked to share my testimony about how RS has blessed my life. I talked about my background--how RS sisters taught me the gospel at church, in primary and YW, growing up... which meant a lot because my mom isn't a member of the church. And how they helped as I was a very young wife, and how now I'm so grateful as a new mom to have their support. Several other women and the bishop also spoke. The other testimony that really stood out to me was Sharon Hunt's. She is the Stake Primary President and my friend Kasey's mother-in-law. She said when she was younger, she used to think it was kind of pointless to visit inactive sisters because they usually didn't want her there and it was awkward and uncomfortable. And then she started sobbing and said that now, she has a daughter who is inactive, and it means the world to her just to know that her visiting teachers contact her monthly. So when we're assigned inactive sisters to VT, remember that often, they have mothers and fathers and siblings who are praying for them. It was a powerful message.
After the fireside, we got to just sit around, eat refreshments, and visit. It was a lot of fun. I really love my RS! Visited with Candace, Alicia, Kasey, Kendra, Amber, and Annette. As we were talking out to the parking lot, Kendra told me she really enjoyed my talk, that she loves getting to know people better. She said that since she's met me, she's thought that I'm a really strong, awesome, upbeat person... that I do so much for the Primary and so on top of things, that the Primary would be a mess without me, haha! And then she said after hearing my background and testimony, she thinks I'm even stronger than she thought! It was a nice compliment. She said, "You're awesome, Rudi!" I really like Kendra, so it meant a lot to hear that from her. She's pregnant with her fifth and turned 32 yesterday.
Yesterday (Monday) morning, Lila woke up just as Jake was getting ready to leave, so we hurried up and half-heartedly got ready (I just threw my glasses on and some clothes) and headed off with Jake to Rich's office to sign some papers for the house. Mostly just stuff from the relocation company, Cartas. Lila pooped while we were there, which is awesome. Found out that Rich's best friend is my mom's first cousin, Greg Krause! Small world! As we were leaving, Alicia Thompson called and invited us over, so Lila and I headed there. Talked to Mike on the way. He was excited because Cassandra had emailed him. On Sunday he didn't hear a lot from her because she was busy having dinner guests, but before she went to bed she wrote him a quick note telling him about her day.
We spent the morning and had lunch at Alicia's. Brig is almost 15 months and she's due in June with her second, a girl. It was fun visiting. They have one car so she's mostly at home every day. I'd go crazy. But she's awesome and has a positive attitude and loves being a mom. We left at around 1, and Lila slept for an hour in the car. At 4, Lila and I went to Walmart to pick out a birthday present for Waylon Hunt. When Jake got home, we had a quick dinner and went to Waylon's birthday party at 6:30. Opened presents and had cake. There was a beautiful sunset on the way home. Lila had a few small bites of cake and liked playing with a big ball that Waylon got for his birthday. Lila turns one a week from today; can't believe it!
Something kind of exciting: Jake's boss, Jen Randall, had a giant, custom-built house in Indiana before she and her family moved to Kalamazoo. (Jake said that the mortgage alone was $3800/month!!) It took them two years to sell it. So they've been in an apartment in Kalamazoo and are planning on building a house here, but will be in an apartment for another year and a half or so. Right now they have two storage units in Kalamazoo full of their furniture and stuff. All really nice Pottery Barn type furniture. She suggested to Jake yesterday that while they're waiting to build a house, we use their furniture. That way we don't have to buy furniture right away (and can take some time to save up more money for it) and they don't have to pay $200/month for the units. She sent pictures of some of their furniture; really nice stuff! So it's not official yet, but we're planning on doing that. Another blessing for us.
Last night after Lila went to bed, we had a virtual FHE with Mike (video chat). He played some guitar, Jake gave a lesson on getting what we want most in life. We told Mike to ask Cassandra about the dozen other boyfriends her sister said she had. So they were up talking till 1:30 on the phone.
We did not get good sleep last night. Lila was up a lot. Today she has a runny/stuffed up nose so maybe she's getting another cold.
At 4:30 that night we met Mike at the Hathaway house. We wanted to see it one more time before we put in an offer and to show it to Mike and Emily. (Emily had to work so couldn't come.) Mike wasn't too impressed, lol. It's not what he'd buy. But we were sure that we wanted to buy it still. We walked around the house and in the backyard. It's actually a great yard. And I could definitely see us living there and being very happy there. So we drove over to Rich's office and signed all the papers. Lila was a trooper... though she was pretty cranky by the end. We decided to offer $170,500. Rich said he'd try to meet with Kim (their realtor) as early as possible the next day and call us afterwards to let us know what the "vibe" of the meeting was.
So, Thursday night we were all excited about that. Called our families and told them. And we spent more time on the phone with Mike, of course. Actually we video chatted with him. Because we don't see each other enough. He was texting and chatting with Cassandra. He hadn't contacted her all day because he was still pretty bummed/weirded out about their conversation the previous day, when she told him about Mr. Colorado. But she texted in the evening and started asking him when she'd see him next. She asked what he was doing this weekend, and then he suggested she come home, and she said she would.
Friday was a very boring day. Lila and I sat around at home until 2:30 or so when I got so bored that we needed to get out. We went to the mall to pick up my anniversary ring that had been fixed. Lila and I had a treat--she loves her french fries. Walked around a little bit before she got crabby and needed to go home. I made chicken and rice for dinner. I think we just hung out at home that night. Oh, Cassandra got snowed in and couldn't leave Canada, but she and Mike talked on the phone for an hour, until her mom and sisters called at midnight.
Here's an email I wrote Jake Friday --
You know, I've been thinking and feeling lately that it's been a special part of the Lord's plan for us and for others in Kalamazoo that we live here. Just think about all the opportunities we've had to serve and share the gospel here in Kalamazoo. I know that we would do good wherever we live, but I feel like we're specifically needed in this area to build up the kingdom here. I'm excited that we'll continue to live here and grow some roots here. Our children will be blessed for it.
Saturday morning we went grocery shopping and got boxes from guys stocking the aisles--good idea! It was nice to get shopping out of the way. While there, Mike called to say that Cassandra was actually going to come home that day! So he was excited. We went home, took naps, got up, played with Lila, and then had a free lunch at Penn Station East Coast Subs (we had a coupon). Then went to the stake center for a few hours to clean out files and papers in the clerk's office. (There were files in there from the '70s and '80s.) We got home, got ready for bed, did showers. I worked on finding design ideas for our new house, Jake helped for a while but got on my nerves. :) Then we kind of watched The Social Network. I was doing other things and went to bed before it finished, but with the time change (spring forward), we didn't get to bed till after 1.
Mike went over to Cassandra's house for her birthday dinner with her family. They met up at the youth dance he was chaperoning and after that he went to their house again to watch a movie. It was weird for him because he got to see a lot of her family's craziness. Particularly her mom's and youngest sister Savannah's. They have a weird family culture. It was her 26th birthday. The sisters found out that Mike isn't an Eagle Scout and said that their mom wouldn't let them date guys who aren't Eagle Scouts. (The Lillrose girls are Savannah (15, almost 16), Samantha (21), Tiffany (23), and Cassandra (26).) Cassandra thankfully spoke up and said, "I'm old enough to decide who I'm going to hang out with." Savannah "lectured" Cassandra after Cassandra showed up at the dance to visit with Mike; didn't want her there. Savannah is pretty rude to all guys that go over to their place. Before he went in after the dance, he told Cassandra that he didn't have to go in if it would cause tension in the family. Cassandra said that Savannah is like that with all the guys that come over, and that if he didn't go in that night, it wouldn't help the next time he came over, so he should just come in if he wanted to. So they had donuts and watched a movie. Cassandra fell asleep on his shoulder and held his hand the whole time. They had a long hug goodbye and he mentioned that it was weird/different around her family and she said, "Yeah, you should come to Canada more." I feel for her... because I know how it is to have a kind of crazy family.
On Sunday morning, the alarm went off at 7:45 but we fell back asleep until 8:30! Woops! Church starts at 9, so we were 10 minutes late. Savannah spoke in sacrament meeting and Cassandra was there. I didn't get a chance to talk to her but Jake did. She congratulated him on the new house, which in very close to her parents'. Jake had Lila the whole time, which was nice for me.
After church, we talked to Mike on the phone and he filled us in on the previous night. We had lunch and laid down for a while. Had dinner before Jake had to go do some clerk training at 4:30. Emily came over around the time Jake left. Skyped with my parents for a long time and they loved watching Lila play. She danced for a looong time while we sang to her. It was really funny.
At 6, Lila and I headed to the stake center for the ward's RS birthday party/fireside. I sat by Sister Johnson and visited with her for a bit about the new house. I was asked to share my testimony about how RS has blessed my life. I talked about my background--how RS sisters taught me the gospel at church, in primary and YW, growing up... which meant a lot because my mom isn't a member of the church. And how they helped as I was a very young wife, and how now I'm so grateful as a new mom to have their support. Several other women and the bishop also spoke. The other testimony that really stood out to me was Sharon Hunt's. She is the Stake Primary President and my friend Kasey's mother-in-law. She said when she was younger, she used to think it was kind of pointless to visit inactive sisters because they usually didn't want her there and it was awkward and uncomfortable. And then she started sobbing and said that now, she has a daughter who is inactive, and it means the world to her just to know that her visiting teachers contact her monthly. So when we're assigned inactive sisters to VT, remember that often, they have mothers and fathers and siblings who are praying for them. It was a powerful message.
After the fireside, we got to just sit around, eat refreshments, and visit. It was a lot of fun. I really love my RS! Visited with Candace, Alicia, Kasey, Kendra, Amber, and Annette. As we were talking out to the parking lot, Kendra told me she really enjoyed my talk, that she loves getting to know people better. She said that since she's met me, she's thought that I'm a really strong, awesome, upbeat person... that I do so much for the Primary and so on top of things, that the Primary would be a mess without me, haha! And then she said after hearing my background and testimony, she thinks I'm even stronger than she thought! It was a nice compliment. She said, "You're awesome, Rudi!" I really like Kendra, so it meant a lot to hear that from her. She's pregnant with her fifth and turned 32 yesterday.
Yesterday (Monday) morning, Lila woke up just as Jake was getting ready to leave, so we hurried up and half-heartedly got ready (I just threw my glasses on and some clothes) and headed off with Jake to Rich's office to sign some papers for the house. Mostly just stuff from the relocation company, Cartas. Lila pooped while we were there, which is awesome. Found out that Rich's best friend is my mom's first cousin, Greg Krause! Small world! As we were leaving, Alicia Thompson called and invited us over, so Lila and I headed there. Talked to Mike on the way. He was excited because Cassandra had emailed him. On Sunday he didn't hear a lot from her because she was busy having dinner guests, but before she went to bed she wrote him a quick note telling him about her day.
We spent the morning and had lunch at Alicia's. Brig is almost 15 months and she's due in June with her second, a girl. It was fun visiting. They have one car so she's mostly at home every day. I'd go crazy. But she's awesome and has a positive attitude and loves being a mom. We left at around 1, and Lila slept for an hour in the car. At 4, Lila and I went to Walmart to pick out a birthday present for Waylon Hunt. When Jake got home, we had a quick dinner and went to Waylon's birthday party at 6:30. Opened presents and had cake. There was a beautiful sunset on the way home. Lila had a few small bites of cake and liked playing with a big ball that Waylon got for his birthday. Lila turns one a week from today; can't believe it!
Something kind of exciting: Jake's boss, Jen Randall, had a giant, custom-built house in Indiana before she and her family moved to Kalamazoo. (Jake said that the mortgage alone was $3800/month!!) It took them two years to sell it. So they've been in an apartment in Kalamazoo and are planning on building a house here, but will be in an apartment for another year and a half or so. Right now they have two storage units in Kalamazoo full of their furniture and stuff. All really nice Pottery Barn type furniture. She suggested to Jake yesterday that while they're waiting to build a house, we use their furniture. That way we don't have to buy furniture right away (and can take some time to save up more money for it) and they don't have to pay $200/month for the units. She sent pictures of some of their furniture; really nice stuff! So it's not official yet, but we're planning on doing that. Another blessing for us.
Last night after Lila went to bed, we had a virtual FHE with Mike (video chat). He played some guitar, Jake gave a lesson on getting what we want most in life. We told Mike to ask Cassandra about the dozen other boyfriends her sister said she had. So they were up talking till 1:30 on the phone.
We did not get good sleep last night. Lila was up a lot. Today she has a runny/stuffed up nose so maybe she's getting another cold.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Lunch with Rich, Conference Call
So, Tuesday night Jake and I both felt pretty hesitant and nervous about buying the Hathaway house, and kind of about buying a house in general. Jake emailed Rich to say that we'd like a few more days to think about it and that we'd also let him know of more houses we'd like to look at.
The next morning, Rich said that he'd still like to meet with us as planned, except without paperwork, just to chat. He said that he figured we were getting cold feet and usually having a chat like this helped. Jake and I said it'd be fine to still meet, but we both went into the meeting thinking that there was no way this would help or change our minds. We were both pretty sure that the Hathaway house was definitely not for us.
We met at Culver's and had lunch there. Rich said that back in 1972, when he and his wife had just made an offer on their first house (that was $23,000), he called his realtor in a panic and said, "Tear up the papers! I don't know what I was thinking, we can't buy a house!" His realtor then said, "Hey, let's just have breakfast together tomorrow morning and have a chat." He talked about how this feeling of nervousness is completely normal--thinking that we can't possibly afford a house and that we'd go bankrupt, etc. I told him we still really liked the Greenbriar house, and that I never got the same feeling at Hathaway that I did at Greenbriar (the feeling of "home"). He pointed out that it's because the folks at Greenbriar really worked hard to make it feel like home, and that Hathaway's owners clearly didn't. Rich is great because he doesn't put pressure on us to do anything. He just talked to us and answered our questions. He really is great and I'm very grateful that we switched to him. I don't think Dawn would have been able to talk us through things as well as he did. Anyway, he restored our confidence and we left there thinking that yeah, we would still think about it for a day, but we were pretty sure we'd put an offer in.
Jake did some more research on Wednesday night and found out that the sellers actually finished the basement. We had thought that they hadn't put any work into it. Rich estimates that it was probably a $20,000+ job. So Jake felt a lot better about their asking price after that and we'd offer $170,500.
On Wednesday night we also had a "conference call" with Melissa and Mike, mostly giving him advice about Cassandra. I swear we're always talking to a member of the Betzold family. During their conversation, Cassandra told Mike that she was talking with her brother on the phone because they're working on a project together (designing something for pianos). We were still on that "conference call" with Meliss and Mike, so I told him to tell her that he was on the phone with his siblings working on a project too. hehehe. Mike had sent a birthday present out in the mail to Cassandra: granola (an inside joke), "coupons" for things like help with her car, a temple trip, a movie, a day at the park, etc, and a card. She texted him in the evening saying that she found flowers in her room, with no name on the card. She was excited about it. Asked Mike if he was responsible. He said no and felt dumb that they weren't. Then she told him more about "Mr. Colorado" and Mike's thinking, "How many boyfriends does this girl have?" So he kind of ended the conversation after that.
The next morning, Rich said that he'd still like to meet with us as planned, except without paperwork, just to chat. He said that he figured we were getting cold feet and usually having a chat like this helped. Jake and I said it'd be fine to still meet, but we both went into the meeting thinking that there was no way this would help or change our minds. We were both pretty sure that the Hathaway house was definitely not for us.
We met at Culver's and had lunch there. Rich said that back in 1972, when he and his wife had just made an offer on their first house (that was $23,000), he called his realtor in a panic and said, "Tear up the papers! I don't know what I was thinking, we can't buy a house!" His realtor then said, "Hey, let's just have breakfast together tomorrow morning and have a chat." He talked about how this feeling of nervousness is completely normal--thinking that we can't possibly afford a house and that we'd go bankrupt, etc. I told him we still really liked the Greenbriar house, and that I never got the same feeling at Hathaway that I did at Greenbriar (the feeling of "home"). He pointed out that it's because the folks at Greenbriar really worked hard to make it feel like home, and that Hathaway's owners clearly didn't. Rich is great because he doesn't put pressure on us to do anything. He just talked to us and answered our questions. He really is great and I'm very grateful that we switched to him. I don't think Dawn would have been able to talk us through things as well as he did. Anyway, he restored our confidence and we left there thinking that yeah, we would still think about it for a day, but we were pretty sure we'd put an offer in.
Jake did some more research on Wednesday night and found out that the sellers actually finished the basement. We had thought that they hadn't put any work into it. Rich estimates that it was probably a $20,000+ job. So Jake felt a lot better about their asking price after that and we'd offer $170,500.
On Wednesday night we also had a "conference call" with Melissa and Mike, mostly giving him advice about Cassandra. I swear we're always talking to a member of the Betzold family. During their conversation, Cassandra told Mike that she was talking with her brother on the phone because they're working on a project together (designing something for pianos). We were still on that "conference call" with Meliss and Mike, so I told him to tell her that he was on the phone with his siblings working on a project too. hehehe. Mike had sent a birthday present out in the mail to Cassandra: granola (an inside joke), "coupons" for things like help with her car, a temple trip, a movie, a day at the park, etc, and a card. She texted him in the evening saying that she found flowers in her room, with no name on the card. She was excited about it. Asked Mike if he was responsible. He said no and felt dumb that they weren't. Then she told him more about "Mr. Colorado" and Mike's thinking, "How many boyfriends does this girl have?" So he kind of ended the conversation after that.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
To Offer or Not to Offer; Lila's Eating.
Yesterday at noon we met at the house we were thinking about putting an offer on (8639 Hathaway). We spent an hour there, looking around and talking with Rich about the house. Jake was a little hesitant at first because it has a Home Owner's Association. But he worked through that by reading through the by-laws and calling up some neighbors and asking questions. When we went to the open house, we only spent maybe 10-15 minutes there, but we immediately recognized that it has everything we wanted. We were both impressed too because it looks a lot better in person than in the pictures. The current owners have owned the house for 8 years and have barely done any decorating, it's pretty awful. But that means all neutral colors on the walls and no wallpaper or anything to deal with. All of the trim and doorways and cupboards and walls are pretty nasty dirty. The kitchen appliances are really dirty. But, nothing a good cleaning can't fix.
For a while we were thinking that we'd make an offer on it tomorrow. The tricky thing is that it will be through a relocation company; the company has the final say on whether the sellers can/will accept our offer. It's priced at $179,000 and Rich thinks it will go for $172,500. He recommended yesterday that we offer $170,500 but Jake wants to start lower. He looked at the statistics for houses in the area and thinks we should offer somewhere between $165-170k. We're going to take a few days, or a week, or however long we need to think about it. I'm starting to get the feeling that it's not the house for us. I'm still thinking about Greenbriar. And I think we really need to make sure we want to buy a house that expensive.
Anyway, Lila had fun there chasing the kitties around. She fell asleep on the way home and slept for an hour. When Jake got home we had dinner and kind of talked about the house, but I was pretty tired. The most exciting thing happened though: Lila started walking FOR REAL! Instead of us helping her get going, she just started walking from Jake to me on her own and took real, balanced, careful steps... instead of kind of walking/running towards me and then falling and me catching her. It was amazing. She took 10 steps 3-4 different times to me. I unexpectedly burst into tears and started crying, to see her little face walking towards me was unreal. I can't believe she'll be a year old two weeks from today. Wow, what an emotional thing to be a mom. I can't believe how fast she's growing up.
I've noticed a change in her the past week or so. She's definitely maturing. Her eating has improved a LOT! Not that she's eating anywhere near enough to sustain her, but she's trying more things. For instance, today she "ate" a graham cracker, a piece of bread, a banana toddler cookie, half a piece of chocolate, some tomato soup, a Pop Tarts mini-crisp, and a french fry. That's HUGE. When I say that she "ate" all those things, mostly I mean she took 3-4 teeny tiny bites. She doesn't quite get how to bite and chew things. She won't eat food if it's cut up into small pieces... it has to be a big piece that she slowly gums her way through. So, when she ate some bread, I gave her an entire piece of bread and she nibbled on the corners of it. I'm definitely seeing an improvement and I hope she keeps getting better. Oh, and last night, she was even gumming on a piece of pizza.
This morning she took a nap from 10:40-noon. It was her only nap of the day. We had lunch with Jake at his office. Talked about making an offer on the house and it looked like we were going to, but at dinner is when we decided to slow down and think about this some more. After that Lila and I went to Meijer to pick up some groceries. I got a lot of things that I think she might like: banana Toddler cookies, Cheez-its, Some Pop Tarts mini crisps (someone at church gave her a Chocolate one on Sunday and she ate the entire thing, so I definitely wanted to try those, and she ate one today). I got her some dried apples too, thinking that they'd be like chips, but they're sticky and not completely dried, so she didn't like them. Now Jake will have to eat the whole thing.
We had grilled cheese and tomato soup for dinner and chatted with Mike on the phone while we ate. Lila enjoyed sitting in Daddy's lap and eating with him. She's not a huge fan of her high chair, though she'll sit there for 10-15 minutes before whining. She likes high chairs in restaurants, though. She really likes sitting in Jake's lap and eating. After he left, I got Lila ready for bed and we had a nice story time. She sat so quietly and let me read her a whole book straight through (usually she ends up turning pages over and over). And she fell asleep within minutes before 8:00.
For a while we were thinking that we'd make an offer on it tomorrow. The tricky thing is that it will be through a relocation company; the company has the final say on whether the sellers can/will accept our offer. It's priced at $179,000 and Rich thinks it will go for $172,500. He recommended yesterday that we offer $170,500 but Jake wants to start lower. He looked at the statistics for houses in the area and thinks we should offer somewhere between $165-170k. We're going to take a few days, or a week, or however long we need to think about it. I'm starting to get the feeling that it's not the house for us. I'm still thinking about Greenbriar. And I think we really need to make sure we want to buy a house that expensive.
Anyway, Lila had fun there chasing the kitties around. She fell asleep on the way home and slept for an hour. When Jake got home we had dinner and kind of talked about the house, but I was pretty tired. The most exciting thing happened though: Lila started walking FOR REAL! Instead of us helping her get going, she just started walking from Jake to me on her own and took real, balanced, careful steps... instead of kind of walking/running towards me and then falling and me catching her. It was amazing. She took 10 steps 3-4 different times to me. I unexpectedly burst into tears and started crying, to see her little face walking towards me was unreal. I can't believe she'll be a year old two weeks from today. Wow, what an emotional thing to be a mom. I can't believe how fast she's growing up.
I've noticed a change in her the past week or so. She's definitely maturing. Her eating has improved a LOT! Not that she's eating anywhere near enough to sustain her, but she's trying more things. For instance, today she "ate" a graham cracker, a piece of bread, a banana toddler cookie, half a piece of chocolate, some tomato soup, a Pop Tarts mini-crisp, and a french fry. That's HUGE. When I say that she "ate" all those things, mostly I mean she took 3-4 teeny tiny bites. She doesn't quite get how to bite and chew things. She won't eat food if it's cut up into small pieces... it has to be a big piece that she slowly gums her way through. So, when she ate some bread, I gave her an entire piece of bread and she nibbled on the corners of it. I'm definitely seeing an improvement and I hope she keeps getting better. Oh, and last night, she was even gumming on a piece of pizza.
This morning she took a nap from 10:40-noon. It was her only nap of the day. We had lunch with Jake at his office. Talked about making an offer on the house and it looked like we were going to, but at dinner is when we decided to slow down and think about this some more. After that Lila and I went to Meijer to pick up some groceries. I got a lot of things that I think she might like: banana Toddler cookies, Cheez-its, Some Pop Tarts mini crisps (someone at church gave her a Chocolate one on Sunday and she ate the entire thing, so I definitely wanted to try those, and she ate one today). I got her some dried apples too, thinking that they'd be like chips, but they're sticky and not completely dried, so she didn't like them. Now Jake will have to eat the whole thing.
We had grilled cheese and tomato soup for dinner and chatted with Mike on the phone while we ate. Lila enjoyed sitting in Daddy's lap and eating with him. She's not a huge fan of her high chair, though she'll sit there for 10-15 minutes before whining. She likes high chairs in restaurants, though. She really likes sitting in Jake's lap and eating. After he left, I got Lila ready for bed and we had a nice story time. She sat so quietly and let me read her a whole book straight through (usually she ends up turning pages over and over). And she fell asleep within minutes before 8:00.
Monday, March 7, 2011
A Miracle
Oh, in Fast and Testimony meeting on Sunday, Sister Johnson got up and shared her testimony. She talked about the blessing that Jake gave her (she didn't say it was Jake, just that it was a "dear friend") and her experience with her sick granddaughter, who is now at home and doing well. She said the whole experience was life changing. After we left, she and Rand sat down and recorded everything they could remember from the blessing, and she reviewed it every day she was out in New York helping her daughter and granddaughter. She said it was amazing, seeing the things from the blessing unfold. After sacrament meeting I sat with her for a while and she teared up and said how grateful she and Rand were for us and how much they love us; said that we've done so much for them. I said, "You've done so much for us!" I told her what it says in Jake's patriarchal blessing... that as he ministers to Heavenly Father's children, he will see miracles transpire. She said this was definitely one of them. She's going to write a record of this experience and share it with us. Heavenly Father is amazing.
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