Our new house

God . . .

When Lia goes to bed at night she usually sings or can be heard talking to her animals that line the side of her bed. It's so sweet to hear her from the living room--her raspy voice singing sweet songs and discussing the day with her pig and puppy. Two nights ago as she went to bed we heard something very different--it went like this:

"God, will you talk to me. God . . . talk to me! God will you read me this book. God . . . "

When she woke up Saturday morning her first words to Todd were, "Daddy, God didn't talk to me last night."

Todd then talked to her about how God might speak to her. I'm not sure if it really helped because she just kept saying, "God didn't talk."

What a beautiful, simple and yet profound longing--to hear God speak to our hearts.

Moving

Our offer was accepted! There was a little negotiating but everything turned out really well and we're happy with the outcome. Closing date is April 25. Inspections will be next week. We don't foresee any problems--one can never know though!

I'm excited to pick out paint colors and make it a home for us!

I'll post pics soon.

Thankful.

making an offer

I've been looking at houses for about 3 weeks. It's been a lot of fun and a little exhausting. Over this 3 week period I have seen over 40 homes. I have spent hours on-line viewing what seems like hundreds of homes. After I see the homes I think we'll like, in areas I think that we'll like, I send my favorites to our wonderful realtor, Sharon and we schedule to see them. Some homes we just drive pass, once I'm there I realize this doesn't look as nice as it did on-line. Other homes are are wonderful but the street is really busy or the foundation is leaning or the kitchen is like a small box. One of the most fun things about my on-line home searching is the google map feature--street view. It's wonderful. I type in the address and get an aeriel view of the area and then click on street view and can literally feel like I'm walking down the street. I can see the home I'm interested in and all the houses around it. Very cool.

My search parameter had to enlarge a week or two go. I was focused in on certain areas and Todd (and our realtor) suggested that we broaden our search. I felt a little out of my comfort zone and a bit like I was giving up something really special to me. It's been good though. We've seen some really nice homes that seemed like they might actually work for our family. One house in particular I knew that Todd would like so we went back again Saturday--I was right--it was Todd's favorite of any that we've seen up to this point. I also like the house and the area but I had something else envisioned for our next home.

I decided it might be good for me to take a friend with me to look at the house. Maybe a friends view of things might help me have a little more excitement about the shift I was needing to make. My friend, Tara, met me at the house this afternoon. She didn't encourage or discourage but was supportive and helpful in pointing things out to me--she also lives close so that would be cool. After we left I drove through the neighborhood. It's quiet, a lot of kids were out in their driveways playing basketball and mom's were out taking walks. I actually stopped one of these mom's and asked how she liked the area, the school, etc. She was helpful and I continued my drive. The school is in walking distance, the community pool is maybe 5 minutes away, there are trails and parks near by--nice.

After talking with Todd and evaluating the homes that we have seen, the price, location and how nice the home really is, we decided to make an offer. Now we will wait. The family that owns the home no longer live in the area so they will need to be contacted and then we'll see if they accept our offer. The house has been on the market for 560 days--no offers have been made during this time. Hopefully, this will be to our benefit.

It they don't accept. Well, then I guess I'll probably be staying up too late, looking at homes on-line, google mapping and scheduling more homes to see. I really hope not though.

haiku

Zach's class has been working on haiku poems.

dragonfly

I fly over ponds
I am small my wings are thin
I am flying fast.

--Zach, 2008

make a wish

Lia yesterday afternoon while we drove around looking at houses--"Mom, I wish I had a fairy godmother." I smiled and said, "Really, why is that?" "If I had a fairy godmother and she had a wand she could change me into a mermaid and I would really like that!"

I just love her imagination.

you gotta love the midwest

Today it was 73 degrees. I broke out my Chaco's (the best sandals ever--they make my feet happy). This evening it started to rain and the temperature started to drop--quickly! The temperature is currently 37 degrees and it's beginning to snow! Snow! Is that crazy or what?!

Zach was asking at bedtime if he'll have school tomorrow--he's really hoping for a snow day! It's probably not going to happen.