11-22-2009 - Finally IN

Oh, my word! What a lot of hurdles, triumphs, challenges and changes have come about since my last post. I believe I saw the last post was on September 25th. Here's what's been happening since. **WARNING** This will probably be lengthy. :)

We moved out of our apartment on October 1 and moved in with my parents. We were hoping to move by November 7th. Although we combined two households into one, my paents were very gracious, and we didn't feel out of place. My father-in-law arrived in town shortly after that to help us repair the primary bathroom. There was a hole in the floor beside the bathtub and the tub was sinking. Bottom line: there was rotten wood underneath the whole bathroom. Therefore, we (I say we like I helped...yeah, not really...well, not at all) demolished the bathroom all the way down to the studs. The finished product? I have a brand-new bathroom. Woo-hoo! It's so pretty. We also replaced a front windown that was broken, repaired the garage door and purchased a new thermostat.

From there it was a waiting game. We encountered many obstacles with trying to close. "This" wasn't just right, we were missing a receipt for "that". However, the worst was the sellers chose a title company that couldn't prove they were licensed to write a title in IL. :) You gotta find humor in that. Anyway, everything finally settled down, and we closed on the house two weeks ago from yesterday, November 7th. Since that date, my brother-in-law and Mike have been working around the clock (or as much as Mike's schedule would allow) to get things ready. They ripped out all of the carpet (we found a mess under the carpet in the master bedroom), fixed the flooring in the MBR, painted EVERYTHING in the house, purchased-primed-painted trim and new doors and moved us in. What a transformation! The house looks beautiful. Oh, least I forget, a man in my church converted our electricity from fuses to breakers, plus repaired or replaced many other things in the house. From the looks of it, I feel like I live in a new consruction house.

In the midst of all of this chaos, God has led us every step of the way. We received small (and unexpected) blessings, which we could only attribute to God. He has been so good to us. We pray that we focus on the good things and not on the few "bad" things we had.

Thank you, everyone, for your prayers and support. We are so thankful to be here.

09-25-2009 Catching Up...Again!

Okay, so I have been remiss in my "blogging" duties. It's been over three weeks since my last post, and it has been a busy roller coaster ride. Let's take this one topic at a time.

-The family...The girls are doing just great. Every day with each of them is an experience. They keep me on my toes, but they also keep me laughing (the latter is probably their saving grace). Kara is learning to defend herself. She has also learned she can be the instigator. She and Leah now compete frequently. Leah is growing up so fast. It never ceases to amaze me the idiosyncrasies of life that she comprehends. She is SO smart. Mike is in full-swing with school. In fact, the school just began it's candy sale...much to the parents' chagrin. :) My turn will come soon enough. :( Basketball season will begin, they he will REALLY be busy. I have been quite nauseous with Child #3. Some family and friends have decided this is because we are expecting twins. Others say it's an indication of a boy: different pregnancy than the girls. Some just say it's a different pregnancy. I have an ultrasound scheduled for September 30, at which time I hope (and pray) to confirm the existence of ONLY one little baby. We will be happy ANY way, having more than one would just definitely be a shock...to say the least! :) I am eagerly anticipating my 13th week (only 4 weeks away) in hopes the nausea will subside. We shall see...

-The house...Now this is REALLY where the roller coaster began. To try to explain everything that has transpired with the house would take me many days of typing. Bottom line? We are on course to move out of our apartment next Thursday to move into my parent's house. We have some things that have to be fixed in the house in order for us to close (a pro AND a con). The house passed a major sewage/sewer/septic test this week. We were really concerned about that. Wanna know irony at it's best? The house has a NICE pool in the backyard. Guess where part of the leach field is...yep...under the pool. Long term, that's not good. So, we will AT LEAST have to move the pool, if not get rid of it. :( *sniff* Again, we shall see. That's really everything in a nutshell. There are boring details to describe the ups and downs, but there really not pertinent. So, hopefully in mid- to late October, we will be able to move in! Woo-hoo! I do know that God has/had a reason for all of this to turn out as it has. Some things we have been able to see why, but the others we are just trusting God and His timing. He's worked too many things out for us to not have faith. He has been so good to us and our little family. Thank you for your continued prayers. I know the peace that I have could have only come from God.

09-01-2009 - Just Catching Up!

Well, since my last post, we have all healed. In fact, we came down with the flu on Tuesday, and I was headed to Cedar Point (Sandusky, OH) by Thursday afternoon. I wouldn't really recommend that. :) Some teenagers had won an overnight trip during the previous year's candy sale. We arrived there late Thursday evening and spent the day at the Park on Friday. We left Friday afternoon and arrived at a decent time that evening. By Saturday, I was WORN OUT!

Saturday, we spent the afternoon and evening at my sister's and brother-in-law's house. He and Mike were working on the third installment of our church's 40th Anniversary. Long story there. Anyway, we included a mini celebration of my parents' 45th Wedding Anniversary.

Sunday, Mike was out at the house with my sister and her boyfriend. He has many investment properties as well as flips houses for a living. So, we were totally welcoming his opinion on the house. As the home inspector said, it is a good house, but it DOES need some work. We have a budget, and we are just hoping everything will fit into that budget. It is an investment, so things may not get done right away, but they will come in time.

Monday and Tuesday (today) were quite normal. Our realtor called today to let us know that the owning bank is having issues with the deed (the house's title). Apparently there was a 2nd mortgage taken out on the house, and when it was sold at the sheriff's auction, all of that information was not immediately known and cleared. So, now they are just getting there documents in order. We still do not have a signed contract from them. On one hand, that has been nice, since we "only" have 10 days from their signing it to back out if we wanted to. This has given us lots of time with lots of "eyes" to look at the house. On the other hand, our hopeful closing date of September 29th is probably not going to be realized. The big bummer about that is we are supposed to be out of our apartment by October 1st, and our landlord won't extend our lease unless we extend it until March 1st. UGH! What a mess! I know God is still in control though, and Mike and I both have a peace about all of this. We just wait on Him.

08-25-2009 - Sickies

What's worse than morning sickness or the flu? Having both at the same time. :( Kara and I woke up this morning with the flu. Yuck! Poor little baby. My mom came over to pick up Leah to take her to soulwinning nursery. Afterward, they went to the library. Leah no sooner walked into our apartment than she looked awful. Sure enough, she came down with it, too, within thirty minutes of being home. GREAT! So we are all resing now, though not as much as we would like, thanks to our upset tummies. This too shall pass, right?

08-22-2009 - We're Having A Baby!

If there are any who haven't heard, we found out on Saturday that Child #3 will be making a grand entrance into the world around the end of April, maybe beginning of May. :) Woo-hoo! It was a very informative weekend: accepted a contract on the house on Friday afternoon; find out we are pregnant Saturday afternoon. *phew* We are so happy.

08-21-2009 - House

Well, it happened! Our realtor called yesterday to tell us that the price on the house we REALLY liked had been dropped significantly. We place an offer on it, received a counteroffer this morning, and accepted the counter this afternoon! Woo-hoo! It's a "TLC" house, so it's gonna take us some elbow grease to get it ready, but we are SOOOOO looking forward to actually having a house. We will hopefully meet with our loan officer this week to receive our official paperwork. Then, we need to schedule a home inspection ASAP. Provided that goes well, we begin the rest of the inspections. Fun times! :) This all transpired so quickly that I think we are still trying to process everything that transpired. Wow! Our closing date is set for September 28th. Please continue to pray.

My in-laws are still here but will be leaving this evening. We will meet my parents for supper, then Mom and Dad Bragg will leave shortly after that.

08-20-2009 - School Started!

I'm pretty sure it's a good thing that school started. Sometimes the fixed schedule is a lot better than a flexible schedule in the summer. Too many "things" get crowded into that kind. :) Now I' have a lot to do. I volunteered t be the Box Tops and Campbell's Soup Label Coordinator! Oh, my! I am up for any suggestions on either front.

My in-laws came up on Tuesday evening. Dad Bragg is preaching our Back-To-School revival. They get to stay until Friday evening, though we were hoping they could stay until Sunday afternoon. The girls are enjoying their Papaw and Grammy. I don't think I have ever heard "Cinderella" read so many times in such a short period of time.

We are still working on the house front. We placed a hopeful (but not holding our breath) offer on a HUD home that did not go through. Oh well. We haven't given up hope on the other house. God knows.

The girls are growing and becoming more ornery as each day goes by. Leah is a 7-year-old stuck in a 3-year-old's body. She's hilarious. Drops her baby off on my lap so she can go shopping. Her litle hands out, telling me her baby will be okay, she (the baby) may cry for her (Leah), but she will be back soon, so I need not worry. Too funny! She has a sweet spirit, and she is my cleaning helper...the child loves to wipe things down and vacuum. Kara has figured out she has a choice to obey or NOT, usually she chooses the NOT...little bugger. She is a riot though. She has such a great personality.

August 11, 2009 - My crazy kids

We have been capitalizing on Kara's new tricks. While reading an animal book a couple of weeks ago, Mike pointed out a skunk, covered his nose, and said "Pee-eew!" That action and word have become a signature Kara move. This picture is demonstrating this cuteness.

As for the video, Leah has written a new song, and I figured I would share this great piece of musical talent.

August 2-5 - Trip to St. Louis

Michael journeyed to Dwight for the 15th Annual Midwest Christian Boys Football Camp (I'm not sure if I have all of those words in the right order though). Since I'm not one who enjoys staying home alone for a WHOLE week, the girls and I went to St. Louis to hang out with my mother-in-law, sister-in-law and grandma-in-law. We had a blast. We arrived Sunday about five minutes late for church. OOPS! Monday we took it easy and were just lazy. Tuesday included the girls' second trip to a zoo (their first to the St. Louis Zoo), although their first was in December, and I highly doubt either of them remembered. It was wet, cold, and yucky. :( Anyway, they had a blast. Kara enjoyed almost all of the animals; Leah was alright with them so long as they couldn't get anywhere near her. However, she found a flower and yelled for a giraffe to come see her. Mom, Jana and I were taking bets as to the level of her fear should the giraffe actually come within 10 feet of her. She would have FLIPPED! True to St. Louis weather, it was hot and humid, so we only lasted about 2-3 hours, but that was perfect for the girls. On our way out of the zoo, we caught the "feeding of the sea lions" show. That was pretty cool.

August 1, 2009 - Downtown Chicago

We made an impromptu trip to Chicago where we took a boat ride down the Chicago River followed by spectacular view of the fireworks from the Lake. Loved it. Leah loved it, thinking she owned the boat. Kara actually did well. I was kinda schocked. We had never taken that trip in the evening. We loved seeing he skyline at night. How beautiful! Never really realized how bright the top of the John Hancock building was at night. Have to admit thought, seeing the Sears Tower and trying to think of it as the Willis Tower was really weird. Silly British people renaming that. :)

July, 31, 2009

We went to the Shedd Aquarium yesterday. We had a great time, though there were LOTS of people there. :( The girls had parts that they liked and parts they disliked. In one section, you could walk on a glass aquarium; below you were some sting rays. Kara flipped out about that. Leah had a hard time with a floor-to-ceiling aquarium that contained sharks and other fish. However, we could have stayed for hours at the Caribbean aquarium. They LOVED watching all of the fish, sting rays, hammerheads, sea turtle, and many other "things". We enjoyed having a family field trip.

July 30, 2009 - Ah, the simple life!

So, nothing is going on as far as a house is concerned. We are checking out a few leads this week though. The girls and I get to stay home today and just have fun. Well, actually it IS laundry day and straightening up, but other than that, we get to be lazy and play ALL day. However, on Sunday afternoon the girls and I leave for Missouri to visit with my mother-in-law, my grandma-in-law (hehe) and my sister-in-law. So excited! I do wish my other sister-in-law and my little niece were going to be there, too. My sweet little Ally! :) Love you, Baby! Please pray for my husband, nephews, brother-in-law, father-in-law and church guys who will be at Football Camp next week.

Oh, and on that subject, please pray for my nephew, Nathaniel. My sister found out last week that the hump on his back is caused by two compressed vertebrae in his back. :( He has a doctor's appointment scheduled in August in Saint Louis. Although he will be at football camp, he will NOT be able to participate. Poor guy. He has been looking forward to that all summer. Oh well.

July 23, 2009 - Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

Well, we heard back from the bank yesterday: they rejected our offer. I suppose on some level, we expected that simply because they really haven't budged from their intial listing price. Oh, well. We are trusting God that He has the perfect house out there, and in His time, we will find it. Some consolation for us was that both our realtor and their realtor agreed that we should NOT bid any higher than where we were because theouse is not worth that. Don't get me wrong, it's a TLC-er, but it's not in disrepair. Some new flooring, cleaning, and painting would have made that a beautiful home. Anyway, Tim, our realtor, was telling us the listing agent gave her initial appraisal to the owning bank. They tried to get her to raise her appraisal, which was around what we bid. Whatever! God knows, and we know we submitted the right offers, so now we back away and wait for the RIGHT house to pop up. Thank you for your continued prayers.

Today is Mike's day off, so we are anticipating a fun-filled "US" day. I live for Friday! The sad part is it's usually the day I get the most done because the girls are playing with Mike so I am free to clean and fold and well, whatever! :)

July 21, 2009 - Counteroffer cont'd

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

This has been an interesting experience. According to OUR realtor and according to the bank's realtor, neither understand why the bank is being so silly. We raised our counteroffer significantly; only to received another counter from them...and they only came down $2,500. UGH! Anyway, we sumbitted our previous counter as our final, so we shall see what happens.

Really, househunting has been all-consuming for us. We have VBS this week, which has been tiring for Mike. The girls are growing and developing so fast. Their creativity never ceases to amaze me...though it DOES sometimes frustrate me. :)

July 21, 2009 - Counteroffer

We heard back from the bank regarding our offer. Get this...so the original listing price is $84,900; we offered $60,000; their counter offer is $85,500 (including closing costs). :) Gotta love it. Even higher than the list price. Well, we are thinking about what to do. We WILL counteroffer their counteroffer (confused yet?!) and then go from there. Thank you for praying. I have a peace about all of this though at times I have to re-claim that peace. We will keep you posted.

July 18,2009 Sleepy Day

Well, if my wife doesn't know how to use a blog than I for sure don't know how to use it! This is September weather that we are having for sure. I told Naomi that I was going to go get my deer hunting stuff put together today. The kids just wanted to sleep today, not such a bad thing though. Looking forward to church tomorrow and hearing Preacher preach. He has been in Texas for a week and said that the weather was in the 100's all week. Yuck. I have been enjoying my wife and kids today at home. Also, looking forward to VBS; Bro. Caleb does such a great job getting things ready for this week.

July 16, 2009 - Househunting (Part 2)

So, my realtor called this morning: the listing agent on the house we want to put an offer on has been reassigned back to the house. She was supposed to send in the offer today. Hopefully we will hear something by the end of this week; otherwise, it will be next week.

July 15, 2009 - Househunting

First of all, we have been looking for a house for several months now. It started when we found a house up for auction (though we didn't know that). Anyway, we have looked at several, found many we like, and even place an offer on a couple.

The most recent is a house on Jan Avenue in Kankakee/Aroma Park. It is a foreclosure; 3 bedroom; 1-3/4 bathroom; 2-car garage; pool-in-the-backyard house. It will need new flooring throughout, ad the bathrooms will need some updating. However, we really like it. Anyway, we went for a second walkthrough last Friday. When our realtor showed us the house last week, he mentioned in passing that the listing was expired. Didn't think anything about it at the time. We met Tim (our realtor) on Saturday, had to fill out "their" contract. He said he would let us know if there were any major difference between theirs and his. He called on Monday: there was one MAJOR difference. Their contract did NOT allow us to back out of the contract based on the results of a home inspection. We decided to send his contract (that would include that option), and hope the bank would accept that.

He called the listing agent yesterday, she had already sent the contract...no problems.

However, today Tim called again. ANOTHER SNAFOO! We found out what "expired listing" meant. Come to find out, the listing agent was bumped off this listing because of inability to sell the house. Therefore, the bank had NOT received the offer. Without giving an enormous amount of useless information, we are now hoping that Tim will be able to work with the bank themselves. The worst case scenario is we will have to wait until the property is reassigned to another agent and then make an offer through them. UGH! Please pray. We really like this house, we think we can get it in our price range, and we are ready to vacate apartment living. We are trusting God, though, and His timing!

July 15, 2009

Hello! So, I've never done a blog before, so I'm giving this a whirl. We have quite a hectic life. With being a full-time mom and wife, working in the office two days a week, and fitting in church and church things, life tends to be a rollercoaster...although it's a fun ride.

Today has been VERY interesting. Leah and Kara have been quite a challenge for the last three days. A great example? We went grocery shopping with my mom today. On the ride from Wal-Mart to my mom's house, Leah asked if she could hold the grapes. Sure, I said. In the five minute ride to my mom's house, she had de-vined all of the grapes, except for one sprig. They were in her shoes, on the floor mats, in the door handles, in Kara's car seat, between the girls' car seats. YIKES! I'm going gray...quickly!