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Monday, August 17, 2009

At Last!


YAY! We've finally moved in. The last month has been so insanely busy that I probably would've had a nervous breakdown if my mom hadn't come to help out for a couple weeks. But saint that she is, she booked a flight and came to my aid. Of course, her house sold the week after she booked the flight and the ticket was non-refundable, so my relief was layered with a lot of guilt. But I think they'll get packed in time for their August 30th closing date.

My 36-hour CNA clinicals were scheduled the same week that we were trying to finish the house, schedule bank and county inspections, and pack. Needless to say, we dropped into bed dead tired every night and I'm sure I wasn't the best company. But my mom was a saving grace, as were the friends who watched Jared and Nathan so we could actually get something done on the days I wasn't working 12 hour shifts for free (a serious flaw in clinical education as far as I'm concerned, but then again, most of my classmates are eighteen and don't have anyone to worry about except themselves). I didn't make much progress on the packing front until August and even then, it was mostly throwing things in laundry baskets and re-using them in nonstop runs back and forth. The result of all of this stress is the stranger in the mirror whose drawn, shell-shocked expression would be alarming if I had the time to care. I suspect that with more sleep, she'll go away.

Jeff started classes today and the two online classes I'm taking start next week. The kids don't start until September 2nd (happy birthday to Rachel). In between now and then, I'm hoping to finish unpacking and help Trevor get his Eagle project done. We'll see how it goes.

All the work has paid off though. The house is gorgeous. The appraised value is about $100K more than our cost, so I suppose sweat equity isn't as mythical as I was beginning to suspect. However, I don't want to find out what the difference is between appraised value and market value. If I have to move again anytime in the next decade, I will be a seriously unhappy camper. Anyhow, enjoy the pics. Dreaming about a new house and planning to build one is much more fun and infinitely less work than actually building it. But like all difficult experiences, once the pain has passed, the memory fades and the intensity of the experience softens. So now, I'm going to enjoy it. The coolest part is that everything looks better in this house. Even my old junky furniture looks somewhat respectable. YAY.

Now that we have a nice place to live, come visit anytime! Check out the view from the front porch.