Sam and I are such planners (as evidenced by just about everything we write in this blog!). It has been really difficult for us to just sit back and enjoy the ride of life without putting too much planning into things. This afternoon I have had the chance to reflect on the last "semester" - January through now - and really look at how we are doing with NOT planning.
Back in January we PLANNED on refinancing the house. Things went a very different direction and we ended up putting it on the market because numbers were favorable and...why not? We can upgrade, we are making more money - and on continuing contracts finally! - so we figured we might as well try.
Deciding to put our house in the market seemed like an answer to unspoken prayers a week later when we found out that I was pregnant. While we had left it mostly to chance, we didn't really PLAN on starting a family just yet, with the expectation that it COULD happen any time. It happened! And who knew how overjoyed and excited we would be?! Thinking back, I am glad we never went through the "trying" phase of getting pregnant. It feels like so much pressure and well...just not fun. God has a plan...and in both of these instances, we did not! And it felt amazing to not have planned these things.
In keeping with our planning personalities, one would think that we would plan to find out the gender of our baby so we can better ready ourselves in the "proper" color scheme. No way jose! Last week we could have found out, and everyone else around us is just dying of curiosity, but not us my friends! We have decided to go the old fashioned route - no finding out the gender ahead of time. And you know what? It feels amazing to know that it doesn't matter. Healthy and happy are all we could ever hope for. I always said - in my life plan - that I wanted a girl. Period. The end. But since finding out I was pregnant...I haven't cared at all! What a relief!
The months have dragged on a bit and nothing on the house. We were ready to pull it off the market as soon as we get back from Eagle Lake, or even sooner. Our plan was to make that call very soon because I am ready to start preparing for this baby! We are getting tired of having to hurry up and clean and get out of the house for people to see it. Today, really out of nowhere, we received an offer. It was kind of a low ball offer, but the couple understood that we would be making a counter. After several phone calls back and forth...back and forth...back and forth...back and forth...(get it yet?) we settled on a price and all parties accepted. Oh man. I am almost 5 months pregnant, we are getting ready for a huge vacation for the grandparents 60th anniversary, and it is the end of the school year and NOW our house is selling. What in the world?! Oh yea...God has a plan. Now they have to schedule their inspection and bing bang BOOM! We are homeless again!
NOTHING has gone according to plan since the new year, but...we are totally okay with it. We know there is a plan somewhere and as long as all goes according to that plan...we are happy. I am so excited to move into a house that will be big enough for a growing family. And one with a yard for poor Dawg. Could be a busy and stressful summer...but I am kind of liking this no plan thing.
If you are a planner, I suggest doing something out of character and try to NOT plan something for once. It really feels good and is quite the weight lifted off. If you don't have a plan...it can't fail! :)
Cheers!
-Heather
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Monday, April 22, 2013
All is well, but what a scare!
I've debated about whether or not to do a post about our recent baby scare. I've decided that it might be good for me.
To begin, let me assure everyone that the baby is okay and the prognosis for a normal outcome is good. But boy did this little one ever give us a fright last week! A warning: though I will try to avoid anyhting graphic, I am learning that this baby making thing is not exactly the *prettiest* process.
On Wednesday night, as we were getting ready for Sam's saxophone student to come over for a lesson, I was straightening up the bedroom and BAM! I had to pee. This is not really uncommon for me at this point. I went to the bathroom and noticed blook on the toilet paper. Not just a little. A lot. There was bloo don the toilet paper, blood in the toilet...I took a deep breath and called Sam into the room and told him that we had to go to the hospital. Now. What a great husband I have. Before even asking why, he immediately got on his phone to cancel his lesson, all the while putting on shoes and grabbing keys. I cleaned up and then sat down. What just happened? Why was I bleeding? It seemed like it stopped...what should we do? I took some deep breaths and told Sam what happened. I remembered the doctor giving me an after hours OB number, so I called it and a different doctor from the clinic responded. She told me to get to the ER. Usually I am okay as long as everyone around me is calm, but she sounded worried. I lost it. Be it hormones, being scared shitless, or just plain overwhelmed, I was crying and I couldn't stop. We got in the car and drove to the ER.
Once at the ER, it took about 45 minutes to get into a room. Sam and I were silent. I didn't want to talk about it. I knew what COULD be happening, and I didn't have the words anyhow, so why bother trying to talk? When we finally got into the room, the nurses put an IV in, told me to drink a TON of water, and then sent me off for an ultrasound. I was relieved that we would know, instantly, whether or not the baby was okay. I think I was shaking the enire way to radiology. At first the ultrasound tech seemed really nice, but as we got into the actual ultrasound, I did not care for her much. Obviously we were in the ER, and obviously I was sent to ultraosund to see if our baby was still alive. At the very least, as you are taking the pictures, SAY SOMETHING! Tell us if the baby is moving, tell us there is a heartbeat...something! Anything! The picture was much more fuzzy than the first we got at twelved weeks, so I began to get frustrated that I couldn't see anything at 16. When she brought up the heart beat screen (which we recognized from the first time), there were no spikes. Sam grabbed my hand and we just held tight. Eventuall she told us that Baby's heartbeat was strong at 149 beats per minute. What a sigh of relief. However, after having endured ten minutes of NOTHING, Sam finally asked if we could hear it. Her response was less than kind, but she relented and turned the sound up...a little...for about 5 seconds. We ehard it, thank goodness. After the ultrasound we went back to the ER room and waiting to hear from the oncall OB about what was happening.
45 minutes later, the nurse comes back in and tells us that the doctor said my placenta is low-lying and he wanted to keep me overnight for observation. What?! I have never been hospitalized in my life! But...anything for Baby. At this point we had been at the ER for almost 4 hours and had not called our parents. If nothing was wrong and the bleeding was just a fluke, we did not want to worry anyone. Since I was being hospitalized we assumed that this was serious and finally made the called at about 10:30 pm. Couldn't get ahold of Sam's parents because our phones were dead and we couldn't remember their cell numbers (they were out of town helping with our new niece!), but we did talk to my mom and set up a plan for Dawg (poor Dawg...). I was transferred to Family Care for the night, Sam went home to get a few things and let Dawg out, and I was checked in by the nurse. This process took about two hours. I was so tired. The nurse explained everything (I have a marginal placenta previa...no space between the placenta and my cervix - trauma of any kind...stretching, bending, lifting, pushing, pulling, etc....can cause bleeding). We KIND of slept off and on for about 5 and a half hours and then woke up to 6 nurses in the room for the shift change. We were told that the doctor would see us early and that I would probably be home by 8 am. 7...8...9...10...FINALLY at 10:30 the doctor came in.
He was kind of a strange dude, but explained everything again and said that I was basically not allowed to do anything but go to work. No moving risers into place, no heavy cleaning at home...if I wasn't teaching at work (and I had better find help for most tasks), and I was to be chillin' out at home. Sam was to do the cleaning, etc. Not. Fun. But, I am allowed to go to work. That is a huge relief. Had I been put on full bed rest, we would be in biiiiiiig trouble! With no more bleeding, I was released to go home at 11. I couldn't wait.
We got settled in and took a really long nap before heading to church choir practice and Sam teaching a lesson. The show must go on, folks! I was so tired and relieved that Baby was okay, I was fairly happy and just wanted things to be normal and happy.
Friday I had a concert at school during the day. Friday morning and I SEVERAL breakdowns. I think everything hit me after I had gotten some rest...this could have been, and still COULD be...quite bad. If I don't take care of myself, we could lose this Baby. Not a good feeling. Quite the gut check. The staff here at school are great. My principal, having had twins just last year, was not a good patient herself when it came to rest and not doing dumb things, so she was adament that I follow doctors orders and ask for help when I need it. Note to the world: Heather does NOT like asking for help. Better if you just jump in! Needless to say, Friday morning I was a wreck. The afternoon and the concert were fine.
This weekend, Sam got to do a lot of the lifting and cleaning. I feel horrible not contributing, but know that we are doing this for the sake of Baby. I have a doctor's appointment Thursday with MY doctor, to hopefully find out more and see what all we have to do now to moniter my silly misplaced placenta. My mom always did call me the experimental child. Here we are experimenting again! Supposedly as my uterus grows, the palcenta should be pulled up and out of the way. Maybe in a few months we won't have to worry anymore about what I can and cannot do that might cause it to tear. That would be fantastic.
Thank you family, friends, and coworkers for your support. This was probably one of the scariest things that has ever happened to us. It showed us just how much we love this baby already. So...so much. Sam has been awesome and so supportive. I love that he is so involved in this process and is with me every step of the way.
Just to reiterate, everything is basically fine now. I may (and probably will) bleed again, but at least this time I know what it is and can to a better job of keeping myself calm. I will continue to keep everyone posted! In th meantime, prayers would be greatly appreciated!
~Heather
To begin, let me assure everyone that the baby is okay and the prognosis for a normal outcome is good. But boy did this little one ever give us a fright last week! A warning: though I will try to avoid anyhting graphic, I am learning that this baby making thing is not exactly the *prettiest* process.
On Wednesday night, as we were getting ready for Sam's saxophone student to come over for a lesson, I was straightening up the bedroom and BAM! I had to pee. This is not really uncommon for me at this point. I went to the bathroom and noticed blook on the toilet paper. Not just a little. A lot. There was bloo don the toilet paper, blood in the toilet...I took a deep breath and called Sam into the room and told him that we had to go to the hospital. Now. What a great husband I have. Before even asking why, he immediately got on his phone to cancel his lesson, all the while putting on shoes and grabbing keys. I cleaned up and then sat down. What just happened? Why was I bleeding? It seemed like it stopped...what should we do? I took some deep breaths and told Sam what happened. I remembered the doctor giving me an after hours OB number, so I called it and a different doctor from the clinic responded. She told me to get to the ER. Usually I am okay as long as everyone around me is calm, but she sounded worried. I lost it. Be it hormones, being scared shitless, or just plain overwhelmed, I was crying and I couldn't stop. We got in the car and drove to the ER.
Once at the ER, it took about 45 minutes to get into a room. Sam and I were silent. I didn't want to talk about it. I knew what COULD be happening, and I didn't have the words anyhow, so why bother trying to talk? When we finally got into the room, the nurses put an IV in, told me to drink a TON of water, and then sent me off for an ultrasound. I was relieved that we would know, instantly, whether or not the baby was okay. I think I was shaking the enire way to radiology. At first the ultrasound tech seemed really nice, but as we got into the actual ultrasound, I did not care for her much. Obviously we were in the ER, and obviously I was sent to ultraosund to see if our baby was still alive. At the very least, as you are taking the pictures, SAY SOMETHING! Tell us if the baby is moving, tell us there is a heartbeat...something! Anything! The picture was much more fuzzy than the first we got at twelved weeks, so I began to get frustrated that I couldn't see anything at 16. When she brought up the heart beat screen (which we recognized from the first time), there were no spikes. Sam grabbed my hand and we just held tight. Eventuall she told us that Baby's heartbeat was strong at 149 beats per minute. What a sigh of relief. However, after having endured ten minutes of NOTHING, Sam finally asked if we could hear it. Her response was less than kind, but she relented and turned the sound up...a little...for about 5 seconds. We ehard it, thank goodness. After the ultrasound we went back to the ER room and waiting to hear from the oncall OB about what was happening.
45 minutes later, the nurse comes back in and tells us that the doctor said my placenta is low-lying and he wanted to keep me overnight for observation. What?! I have never been hospitalized in my life! But...anything for Baby. At this point we had been at the ER for almost 4 hours and had not called our parents. If nothing was wrong and the bleeding was just a fluke, we did not want to worry anyone. Since I was being hospitalized we assumed that this was serious and finally made the called at about 10:30 pm. Couldn't get ahold of Sam's parents because our phones were dead and we couldn't remember their cell numbers (they were out of town helping with our new niece!), but we did talk to my mom and set up a plan for Dawg (poor Dawg...). I was transferred to Family Care for the night, Sam went home to get a few things and let Dawg out, and I was checked in by the nurse. This process took about two hours. I was so tired. The nurse explained everything (I have a marginal placenta previa...no space between the placenta and my cervix - trauma of any kind...stretching, bending, lifting, pushing, pulling, etc....can cause bleeding). We KIND of slept off and on for about 5 and a half hours and then woke up to 6 nurses in the room for the shift change. We were told that the doctor would see us early and that I would probably be home by 8 am. 7...8...9...10...FINALLY at 10:30 the doctor came in.
He was kind of a strange dude, but explained everything again and said that I was basically not allowed to do anything but go to work. No moving risers into place, no heavy cleaning at home...if I wasn't teaching at work (and I had better find help for most tasks), and I was to be chillin' out at home. Sam was to do the cleaning, etc. Not. Fun. But, I am allowed to go to work. That is a huge relief. Had I been put on full bed rest, we would be in biiiiiiig trouble! With no more bleeding, I was released to go home at 11. I couldn't wait.
We got settled in and took a really long nap before heading to church choir practice and Sam teaching a lesson. The show must go on, folks! I was so tired and relieved that Baby was okay, I was fairly happy and just wanted things to be normal and happy.
Friday I had a concert at school during the day. Friday morning and I SEVERAL breakdowns. I think everything hit me after I had gotten some rest...this could have been, and still COULD be...quite bad. If I don't take care of myself, we could lose this Baby. Not a good feeling. Quite the gut check. The staff here at school are great. My principal, having had twins just last year, was not a good patient herself when it came to rest and not doing dumb things, so she was adament that I follow doctors orders and ask for help when I need it. Note to the world: Heather does NOT like asking for help. Better if you just jump in! Needless to say, Friday morning I was a wreck. The afternoon and the concert were fine.
This weekend, Sam got to do a lot of the lifting and cleaning. I feel horrible not contributing, but know that we are doing this for the sake of Baby. I have a doctor's appointment Thursday with MY doctor, to hopefully find out more and see what all we have to do now to moniter my silly misplaced placenta. My mom always did call me the experimental child. Here we are experimenting again! Supposedly as my uterus grows, the palcenta should be pulled up and out of the way. Maybe in a few months we won't have to worry anymore about what I can and cannot do that might cause it to tear. That would be fantastic.
Thank you family, friends, and coworkers for your support. This was probably one of the scariest things that has ever happened to us. It showed us just how much we love this baby already. So...so much. Sam has been awesome and so supportive. I love that he is so involved in this process and is with me every step of the way.
Just to reiterate, everything is basically fine now. I may (and probably will) bleed again, but at least this time I know what it is and can to a better job of keeping myself calm. I will continue to keep everyone posted! In th meantime, prayers would be greatly appreciated!
~Heather
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Where does the time go?
A wise woman once said that I should slow down and enjoy life where it was because before I knew it, time would pass faster than I could ever imagine. I would be married, have bills, have children, all before I could blink and then those children would grow up way too fast. That wise woman is my mother. Mom - you were right! (I find myself saying that more and more as I get older...hmmm...).
Sunday marked the passing of my first trimester carrying our first child. It already seems like just yesterday when we found out I was pregnant. What I truly can't believe is that some women don't find out until about two weeks ago (12 weeks along!) and I figure dit all out at 4 weeks. That has given us a lot of time (and yet so little!) to comprehend this new life forming. It is exciting, scary, happy, nerve wracking, and such a blessing. We couldn't be happier. Both of us have always wanted a family and now our dream is coming true. Here is my concept of time at the moment:
* In 2 weeks, I have my 4 month doctor appointment. I was just at the doctor two weeks ago for my 3 month! Holy moly!
* In just 6 short weeks, I will be half way through pregnancy.
*In 10 weeks, school will be out.
*Summer ALWAYS flies by of course, so that too shall pass faster than I can imagine.
*Then I have one month once school starts back up again and we should be welcoming our little bundle of joy in the world.
WHAT?! You are telling me that I ONLY have THAT long to get ready??? Whoa. Really puts things in perspective. Thanks Mom! ;-)
In the meantime though...an update on how things are going. I feel great for the most part! No morning sickness at all = score 1 for me! I got woosy in the beginning with the pre-natals and with lack of food at regular intervals, but other than that no sickness. Woohoo! I was EXHAUSTED for about 8 weeks, but that is waning now, thankfully. I have 12 concerts in the next 10 weeks, so hopefully that second trimester energy will kick in!
At my 12 week appointment we were supposed to get to hear the heartbeat for the first time, but our doctor could not find it with just the portable doppler machine. She said it could still be a little early, but offered us an ultra-sound to make us feel better. I jumped at the opportunity since I was only supposed to get one at 20 weeks. Not only were we able to hear the heartbeat (158 beats per minute!), but our little cherub was jumping like a bouncing bean! That is why the doctor couldn't find the heartbeat. We have a bundle of energy!!! And a very healthy one so far. Such a blessing! It was really cool to see our baby...and...he or she has a face! SO awesome and amazing to see!
So....onward we go. Things are going well, we are excited, and blessed! Please continue to pray for us as we journey forward! And...I will try to do better at updating :D
~Heather
Sunday marked the passing of my first trimester carrying our first child. It already seems like just yesterday when we found out I was pregnant. What I truly can't believe is that some women don't find out until about two weeks ago (12 weeks along!) and I figure dit all out at 4 weeks. That has given us a lot of time (and yet so little!) to comprehend this new life forming. It is exciting, scary, happy, nerve wracking, and such a blessing. We couldn't be happier. Both of us have always wanted a family and now our dream is coming true. Here is my concept of time at the moment:
* In 2 weeks, I have my 4 month doctor appointment. I was just at the doctor two weeks ago for my 3 month! Holy moly!
* In just 6 short weeks, I will be half way through pregnancy.
*In 10 weeks, school will be out.
*Summer ALWAYS flies by of course, so that too shall pass faster than I can imagine.
*Then I have one month once school starts back up again and we should be welcoming our little bundle of joy in the world.
WHAT?! You are telling me that I ONLY have THAT long to get ready??? Whoa. Really puts things in perspective. Thanks Mom! ;-)
In the meantime though...an update on how things are going. I feel great for the most part! No morning sickness at all = score 1 for me! I got woosy in the beginning with the pre-natals and with lack of food at regular intervals, but other than that no sickness. Woohoo! I was EXHAUSTED for about 8 weeks, but that is waning now, thankfully. I have 12 concerts in the next 10 weeks, so hopefully that second trimester energy will kick in!
At my 12 week appointment we were supposed to get to hear the heartbeat for the first time, but our doctor could not find it with just the portable doppler machine. She said it could still be a little early, but offered us an ultra-sound to make us feel better. I jumped at the opportunity since I was only supposed to get one at 20 weeks. Not only were we able to hear the heartbeat (158 beats per minute!), but our little cherub was jumping like a bouncing bean! That is why the doctor couldn't find the heartbeat. We have a bundle of energy!!! And a very healthy one so far. Such a blessing! It was really cool to see our baby...and...he or she has a face! SO awesome and amazing to see!
So....onward we go. Things are going well, we are excited, and blessed! Please continue to pray for us as we journey forward! And...I will try to do better at updating :D
~Heather
Saturday, March 16, 2013
New Years Resolution Fail...
Well friends...I did not keep up with my post a week. I tried, I promise! But I have an excuse! I have been sooo tired lately. All because...
Sam and I are expecting! I plan on posting a long version of this news but for now that will have to do. We are so very excited and can't wait for our new life with children!
More soon!
Heather
Sam and I are expecting! I plan on posting a long version of this news but for now that will have to do. We are so very excited and can't wait for our new life with children!
More soon!
Heather
Thursday, February 14, 2013
NAfME All-Northwest- Portland, OR 2013
Here we are at the bi-annual All Northwest Music Conference in Portland, OR. We are lucky to have a wonderful friend that is letting us crash at her spot for the next few days. Thanks, Mel!
For the next three days we will be cramming our heads with new ways to inspire, encourage and teach our students. These are long, physically sedentary days, but exciting. It is always refreshing to get new ideas, especially at this time of the year with things are lagging a little and students are tired.
I am always excited to get new ideas to bring back to my classroom. This year I am finding myself yearning for a new way to reach my choir students. Band is my bread and butter, so figuring out ways to get them going is pretty natural. I am instrumental first, and choral second. I am continually searching for ways to establish choral routines while creating new approaches to warm-ups. One thing I always am frustrated with is how to effectively teach choir students to read music. They check out so quickly when I begin to teach them how to read. I need a fun and engaging way to do this.
When at this conference, I always like to discover new approaches to instrumental ed. This is fun because I am just discovering new ways to put the "sugar on top," so to speak. My secondary goal is to discover this.
Teaching choral and instrumental at the same time is tough because I find myself spending much more time trying to develop my choral teaching methods because I feel I am much more inadequate in this department. This takes away from my improvement as a band director. Hopefully, I will be able to really establish an effective choral routine so I can return to a more aggressive approach to my first love, instrumental instruction.
This should be a very busy and tiring weekend, but I am definitely looking foreword to it!
Sam
For the next three days we will be cramming our heads with new ways to inspire, encourage and teach our students. These are long, physically sedentary days, but exciting. It is always refreshing to get new ideas, especially at this time of the year with things are lagging a little and students are tired.
I am always excited to get new ideas to bring back to my classroom. This year I am finding myself yearning for a new way to reach my choir students. Band is my bread and butter, so figuring out ways to get them going is pretty natural. I am instrumental first, and choral second. I am continually searching for ways to establish choral routines while creating new approaches to warm-ups. One thing I always am frustrated with is how to effectively teach choir students to read music. They check out so quickly when I begin to teach them how to read. I need a fun and engaging way to do this.
When at this conference, I always like to discover new approaches to instrumental ed. This is fun because I am just discovering new ways to put the "sugar on top," so to speak. My secondary goal is to discover this.
Teaching choral and instrumental at the same time is tough because I find myself spending much more time trying to develop my choral teaching methods because I feel I am much more inadequate in this department. This takes away from my improvement as a band director. Hopefully, I will be able to really establish an effective choral routine so I can return to a more aggressive approach to my first love, instrumental instruction.
This should be a very busy and tiring weekend, but I am definitely looking foreword to it!
Sam
Monday, January 21, 2013
Here we go again!
A fresh coat of paint really spruces a place up! We just finished painting the office (LATE) last night and moved all of the furniture back in today. We love the color, but wish we would have picked a shade darker. You just never can tell with just a swatch of color. It looks great though and we are really happy with how around $250 we made this room functional, welcoming, and modern looking.
Maybe the plant is a bit too much, but I will keep tweaking things until I like it more :)
The house saga continues...we called our Realtor from before to get a market analysis of our house and also called a second one. This new Realtor seems more aggressive than the last one and I think we already click with her better. She seems to understand that we are looking more for guidance and advice, and don't just want to do this ourselves. We did a walk through of our house with her and she pointed out that it would be great for someone who might not be able to handle stairs anymore (it is wheelchair accessible) and for a live-in person who might be helping. Or young childless people such as ourselves who aren't in a hurry to start a family. She thinks we can make a decent amount on the house to get all of our must-haves in a new house. I am still skeptical, but am starting to get excited none-the-less. Looking at houses again online I am reminded of why we liked this one so much (and still do if it weren't for the size), and why I didn't like looking at houses! It is so overwhelming and you just know that what you see online is NOT what you get in a house. That being said, she explained to us that land and a house might be an option in our new price range if we are willing to look at foreclosed homes. I instantly said no, but she asked me to hear her out. She explained that many banks are now completely redoing these foreclosed homes because they really want to get rid of them and - surprise! - people won't buy a trashed house. So I suppose that if she finds our dream house, with land, in our desired location, that is completely fixed up and fault free, and is semi-new construction, we will be considering a foreclosed home, but I am DEFINITELY not holding my breath on THAT one! All in all, we are saying "here we go again" and holding our breath to take the plunge once more into the sea of real estate Eeeek!
Anyhow, things are moving forward with that, Sam and I joined an additional church choir (just for this month) that will perform at the Food Bank Benefit Concert that our church holds every year. It was a little bit more of a time commitment than we bargained for, but it is just for a few more weeks. Sam has jazz band tonight and I will indulge in watching the Bachelor. Silly me!
Hope everyone is doing well and keeping warm!
Cheers!
~Heather
Maybe the plant is a bit too much, but I will keep tweaking things until I like it more :)
The house saga continues...we called our Realtor from before to get a market analysis of our house and also called a second one. This new Realtor seems more aggressive than the last one and I think we already click with her better. She seems to understand that we are looking more for guidance and advice, and don't just want to do this ourselves. We did a walk through of our house with her and she pointed out that it would be great for someone who might not be able to handle stairs anymore (it is wheelchair accessible) and for a live-in person who might be helping. Or young childless people such as ourselves who aren't in a hurry to start a family. She thinks we can make a decent amount on the house to get all of our must-haves in a new house. I am still skeptical, but am starting to get excited none-the-less. Looking at houses again online I am reminded of why we liked this one so much (and still do if it weren't for the size), and why I didn't like looking at houses! It is so overwhelming and you just know that what you see online is NOT what you get in a house. That being said, she explained to us that land and a house might be an option in our new price range if we are willing to look at foreclosed homes. I instantly said no, but she asked me to hear her out. She explained that many banks are now completely redoing these foreclosed homes because they really want to get rid of them and - surprise! - people won't buy a trashed house. So I suppose that if she finds our dream house, with land, in our desired location, that is completely fixed up and fault free, and is semi-new construction, we will be considering a foreclosed home, but I am DEFINITELY not holding my breath on THAT one! All in all, we are saying "here we go again" and holding our breath to take the plunge once more into the sea of real estate Eeeek!
Anyhow, things are moving forward with that, Sam and I joined an additional church choir (just for this month) that will perform at the Food Bank Benefit Concert that our church holds every year. It was a little bit more of a time commitment than we bargained for, but it is just for a few more weeks. Sam has jazz band tonight and I will indulge in watching the Bachelor. Silly me!
Hope everyone is doing well and keeping warm!
Cheers!
~Heather
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Home Sweet Home!
This is the front of our house last January when we moved in. It actually looks about the same now. Buying this house was such a roller coaster experience and looking back, I don't really know if I am ready to do that again anytime soon. I mean, we love our house, but we know it is not our forever home. We could probably have one child here no problem, but the more I think about wanting to start a family, the more I think - we don't have enough space!
Awhile back we spoke with our mortgage broker about refinancing the house since the interest rates are even lower and because we did a short sale...the property value is obviously more than what we paid for it. We could get rid of the mortgage insurance and have a cheaper monthly payment. BUT, since it hadn't been a year since our last appraisal, we had to wait until this month to look into things further. I called Mark today. My initial reaction? Let the roller coaster begin!
Mark explains things very well. It is part of what we like about he and his wife and their awesome business. Here is what he said: in order to refi, our house needs to be valued at at least $191,000. We did NOT pay that for this house, but upon looking at the county assessors page, our house appraised at $189,900 LAST year, AFTER we paid significantly less for it. We are in the pocket of the market where home prices are back on the rise. This is great news. Then he explained that if our house is worth that much, it probably would be in our better interest to SELL, and use the extra funds as a down payment on a more long-term investment, rather than refi. Let's break down the numbers.
Let's say we can sell our house for $200,000 (as a nice round number), we would be able to take the money we earn from the sale, put down 25% on a new construction home in a little bit more rural area (which we eventually want anyhow), and our payment would be LESS than what it is now...for a bigger more permanent investment. So as Mark said, why wouldn't we do that?
Well, let the list begin! We are just now able to start putting our own touches on this house. In front of me on the wall in the office...paint swatches.
In the living room... new shelves and picture frames to finally hang after a year of living here. We LIKE our house. We are tired of moving. SO many reasons. The list could go on.
BUT, then comes our budget conscious selves...pay less...more house...house we like more...house we can GROW in...
Hmph. So, tomorrow we find our if the roller coaster begins again...and of course, this thought could all be completely unfounded. Tomorrow we could find out it isn't worth what it needs to be. And then we may find out that the buyer market may not support the price. That would certainly make life EASIER.
In the meantime, Sam and I will be working on putting more personal touches on the house! :) After all, it is our HOME! <3 nbsp="nbsp" p="p">
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