If a picture says a thousand words...

I'll let the pics do the talkin':

I loved sitting in the den at night & just relaxing.

I didn't even get out ALL of my decorations LOL - I have about 10 huge boxes!

A better view

Front door - matched the blue icicle lights hanging from the roof.

Do you know how many times I came home to find: oH oH oH?!

I'm a dork, I know...

I got to redo this door 3 times, thanks to Ben & Micah LOL:

View from the kitchen window:

Can't see it all, but it says :BELIEVE in the magic of Christmas

And one of my favorite pass times...

You just would not believe how fun and relaxing a fireplace is! Katie & I are becoming master fire builders!

So there you have it - my first Christmas in our new home!

Ta Da!!!!

Yes, it's been 19 days since I wrote a blog. I do this mainly for me and I got to where I did not want to write down one more time just how frustrated I was about not having a house.

But today I have good news :D

We have an appointment tomorrow, at 4pm, to close on our home.

I'm doing cartwheels on the inside!!!!

At this point, after hearing we'd close on a certain day and then having that yanked away from us, twice, I'm cautiously optimistic. I'll update as soon as I can. That may be a while, as I plan on immediately leaving the title company, driving straight to storage, packing up our first load, and moving it into my new home.

Okay, I'm prolly a little beyond cautiously optimistic now. Oh, well!

Life & Death

"Like apples of gold on pictures of silver."

I drove over Graveyard Hill (a nickname) the other day and found it covered in fog, with beautiful fall leaves all over the place. I had Ben with me so we pulled in and I started snapping pictures like a fiend. I turned my back for 5 seconds and guess what my little boy was doing: marking his territory. Yep, desecrating a grave stone. Boys and dogs @@.

Anyway, I can't decide which one I like best. You decide!

A girl moment...

Okay, I'm going to do a total girl thing and ask:

To bangs or not to bangs? I like the shorter cut, mostly. It has grown on me and is SO easy to take care of now. But I think I need some longish bangs. And maybe at a gradual slant on the sides. Need to hide that lake of a forehead (thanks, Dad!)

Whatcha think?

Also, straight vs. curly?

Straight...

or curly
Leave comments & suggestions, please!

For Friend Sissy...

And all others who are waiting on pins & needles with me: still no phone call!

As for my appointment with Brian last Thursday, it went really well, considering we had to switch to a FHA loan at the end of the process, which he said was basically like starting over and added another week or more till we close.

He was very helpful, though, and explained every single thing in great detail, including how I can set up my own ammorization (sp?) schedule in Excel. And told me I could call him later if I forget how. He was SO nice and smart and articulate...something I forgot existed after dealing with Bobby the Baffoon for 3 weeks. Obviously still working on that patience thing.

But, we got everything switched, most of the work had already been done for the VA loan, which had stricter requirements, which means it should have been a breeze to do a FHA. It's not been a breeze, in my opinion. Apparently Brian's processor is still calling my realtor and asking basic questions that should have been covered by now, so I'm assuming we won't be closing this week.

But, that's okay. Chad has a day off next Wednesday, so that would be the ideal day to close, so he doesn't lose a point for missing work. They like to throw big guilt parties for missing work...even if you are sick as a dog or buying a house.

So, I'm still here. Waiting. Praying. Hoping.

When we get really stressed or bummed, we take a little drive out to the property and stand on the deck and plan the back yard. I regret the day I locked the laundry room door...now I can't go in and plan my furniture and bubble baths! But I was afraid I'd walk in to find some bum in my tub and have to hurt some homeless person. This way, I avoid jail time.

And that's my update. As soon as I find something out, I'll be sure to post asap!

Update Smupdate

I've learned a valuable lesson today. If you choose a business based on the person you speak with on the phone, only to get to the business and be handed over to someone else...you should worry.

If the person you are passed over to seems to be slightly incompetent and sloooooooow...worry!

If, every time you call that person and they bumble around and start 4 different sentences before finally finishing one...RUN!

Seriously.

So, obviously, I do not bear good news. I chose a mortgage company based on speaking with the owner on the phone several times and really liking him. He was older, in his 70's, and he didn't try to sugar coat anything, didn't try to do whatever it took to get my business. He was honest, told me the house I was looking into buying was NOT a good deal and I should hold off and keep looking. I respected that, took his advice, along with others, and moved on.

When it came time to purchase this house, I gave this man a call and set up an appointment to buy the house through them. But, upon arriving, we were handed off to his son, Bobby, who is in his 50's, and things went downhill from there. It seriously seemed like this may have been his 3rd mortgage ever.

But, we stayed. I think I regret that. I should have said, You know what, we need to talk this over some more...we'll get back to you. Then, drove off.

I guess I'm being melodramtic. I should mention that nothing severe is going on. We are still in contract. I'm just mad.

He told us we'd have no problem closing by the 30th. Then, last week I called him to see where we were at in the process. That's when he told me the investor had almost finished our paperwork then realized it was for a manufactured home, which they no longer loan on, and cancelled the deal.

????????????

Shouldn't he have checked that before sending all of our paperwork to him? For those of you not following the market right now, a lot of things changed recently, like in the past 2-3 months, regarding loans. Most importantly, most investors quit loaning on manufactured homes at all. Period.

The first question I asked every bank and mortgage company was, Do you loan on manufactured homes? 9 times out of 10, I was told NO. So, why didn't our mortgage facilitator know to do this?

I should clarify. Bobby & his mortgage company no longer loan money on homes, they just work with other mortgage investors who do. So, basically, all he does is shop around and find me the best loan. Which is what I was doing before I met him. Doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me now.

Anyway, they switched to another investor last Tuesday and I was told it would take him about 3-4 days, tops. I found out Friday, he didn't even get our paperwork till Thursday. Monday, I called Bobby again (you know they LOVE me there now, right?) and he hem hawed around again and said he'd check on it for me and call me right back.

Still waiting on that phone call, 2 days later.

I did get a call yesterday from the new guy, Brian. Seems they are concerned about our debt to income ratio. We are doing a VA loan and they have strict guidelines. On paper, it looks like we won't have enough money to make our monthly payment, because they can't take into account that we'll be using the Home Buyer Tax Credit to pay our van loan off completely, erasing the $250 monthly payment.

So, as it stands today, I have an appointment with Brian tomorrow to discuss our options. We can switch to a FHA loan, which has less strenuous guidelines. He also suggested we pay off our van loan before closing. Yeah, right, buddy. And maybe I'll win the lottery (without actually playing) too.

I'm mad and extremely frustrated. Shouldn't Bobby, our mortgage guy, have recognized all of this when he ran our credit that first day? Shouldn't this have been brought up before NOW, a few days from closing?

My real estate agent, Demetra, said yes, he should have been the one to bring this up, weeks ago.

I just prayed two days ago that, if this house is the one God has for us, let the process go quick. If we're going to end up there anyway, why not sooner rather than later?

The only answer I can come up with is this: God is more interested in developing my character than making sure I get what I want, when I want. And by character (Mom!), I mean HIS character. I do believe we are on this earth for a purpose that has nothing to do with material things. Off of the top of my head, we were made to worship Him. To glorify Him. To be His chosen people, His sons & daughters. And to show His character, His nature, to the world. So...He's allowing things to push my buttons and show me the areas I need to work on. Obviously, patience is a biggie ;)

So, please pray for me. I'm failing this test miserably, cause I really want to call up old Bobby and call him an drooling idiot for wasting so much time for us. But, I haven't yet, so maybe there's hope for me yet ;)

I feel better already, just getting all this frustration out. I'll try to come up with something fun & uplifting to post next time!

Still waiting...

ANY DAY NOW!!!!! That's what the mortgage lady, Shrimp (a nickmame, I hope!), said to me when I called her last Thursday. I'm trying not to blow up her phone and pull a Micah:

"Is it ready?"

"No."

"How about now. Is it ready now?"

"No, it's not ready now."

Silence.

"Now?"

"NO. NOT NOW. It is NOT ready NOW."

Silence.

"Ready NOW?"

"NO! NO, NO, NO....IT IS NOT READY NOW. OR NOW. AND NOT NOW, EITHER!"

Silence.

Giggle.

"NOW???????????"

At least, that's how it went when he pulled that on Daddy two nights ago. It was awesome!
And I have no idea where he learned that trick :D

So, no, I haven't heard anything from the mortgage company, but as soon as I do, you'll be, like, the 5th person I tell! Promise.