Getting settled

So we are finally in our new house and have been for about a week. Things are getting into a normal routine and the explosion of boxes has been taken care of...mostly taken down the the basement for future explosions. The kids started school a few weeks ago and have had a great time getting to know friends and a new school schedule (much less hectic than Texas). I am starting to remember what it is like to live in Utah with all the LDS people around. That is a comforting thing. The kids have meet everyone on our block and discovered all the friends at school that live so close. So far we have experienced crazy weather...from sunny and 70 to snowing and 30. We also had a tremendous wind storm the other day and I had to go rescue the kids from the field with the car because it was too windy for them to even get on their bikes. I have been told that that was unusual for our area but it does get windy here. That is what happens when you are in the valley. We are also getting used to the house...there are no closets besides in the bedrooms (who builds a house without a coat closet?) And we are lacking a game room but there is a ton of storage in the basement so I guess that makes up for it. We are hoping to finish the basement one day but I don't think it is as much of a need as we thought it was going to be. Our Texas house was so completed as far a decorating goes that it will take a while for me to get things where I want them and to get used to the space here. I have a great kitchen with lots of space and I am loving that, except for when I have to clean it. I have found some great bargains on a few pieces of furniture and things and am excited to get it all together. For now it is one day at a time...I am hoping to have the house as clean as I can soon so I can take some pics and post a link for those who are interested in seeing where we live now. It has been so great being close to family and being able to do things with them. We can't wait to see more family soon. That isn't to say that I don't miss Texas, I do cry occasionally for the very reason that I am sad to have left my home and friends. This just doesn't feel like home yet and it will probably take a while. One day at a time.

Alexism and on the move

So the movers came on Monday and packed the whole house in just over 4 hours. WOW! They came back on Tuesday and packed everything into the truck. That took almost 8 hours. But now I know how to pack, wrap and load. It was boring for Justin and I those two days but I am glad he was able to come home. I had a few items of business I had to get too those days so with him here it was easier. Today we are going to eat breakfast at IHOP. (One night I was tucking Alex into bed and he started to cry. I asked why he was crying and he said because you and daddy get to go to IHOP???) I laughed but he didn't appreciate that. So I told him we would go before we moved. Then we have to arrange our airplane backpacks with toys and entertainment and then leave Katy, TX forever. Ok, may be a little premature to say forever but I don't see us coming back here to live. I do hope to visit. As a matter of fact my 20th high school reunion is this summer and I am hoping to come for that. Anyway, we have enjoyed living in Katy. We have enjoyed our ward and hate to leave it. We have loved our home. We are looking forward to the future we will create in Utah. We are excited, nervous and sad all at once. So, ready or not here we come.

Alexism: yesterday when the kids got home from school the movers had already left and there was nothing left in the house and Alex came in and looked around and said, Wow it seems so empty...) Huh, Alex, maybe that is because it is empty.

One more...we checking into a hotel on Monday and the kids were excited because we don'tstay in them often at all. So upon inspection of it and the room Alex stated, "Now this is a life I could get used to."

HAHA, funny kid!

Hey Heather Hansen

I would love to view your blog...send me an evite:

thehayes05@gmail.com

Thanks!!!

Into the final stretch...

Justin comes home today, yea!!! We have a few things we need to get done on the house and then on to laundry and packing. I am so thankful that we have movers for this move. This process has already been stressful, I can't imagine having to pack the house and arrange to move the stuff myself. What a blessing. However, I do have to say that some of the stress comes from the relocation company, what a pain to deal with them...you can't do anything without their approval first, which means tons of phone calls and e-mails. (note to self..stop complaining!) We truly feel blessed with this opportunity and what it means for Justin's job and our family. We are so excited to be close to family and for our kids to have cousins to see on a regular basis. They haven't even complain about the move and the friends they will miss. It is all about how they will see cousins and make new friends. I am so thankful for that! We are excited that this time next week we will be in Utah. That the hard part will be over. We will be together again as a family. We should be in our new home the last week in March and then the unpacking begins. I am excited for that, it gives me yet another excuse to purge. Well, more to come on the saga of our move later. I hope getting into the new house goes smoothly and we can start to relax a little but. So long for now...adios Houston, it has been great!

More...

Well, it has been a very long few days as we have negotiated the inspection repairs...nothing too bad except that the people buying our home have been very hard to work with. We feel that we are giving our house away to a certain extent. We also feel that we need to be in Utah with Justin as soon as we can therefore we need to sell it. Turning their offer down and relisting crossed our minds a few times but the need to be together again was greater. So after all of the praying, pacing, not sleeping, not eating (no I didn't lose any weight), crying it is finally done. (the other day in the car we were talking about Emma wanting to be some kind of doctor when she is grown...I said she could be a psychiatrist and she said what is that? It is when you are having emotional problems or stress you go see someone to talk about your problems...Alex said, "that is what you need Mom, you are a very stressful person." He meant I was stressed out and he was right.) Papers have been signed by both parties and attorneys. I have to say that today was such a peaceful day. No thinking or worrying involved! Well on to bigger and better news. Justin and I put in an offer on a short sale home back in January. If you don't know, short sales can take a very long time and you may have several offers on one home. It can take months...several months. Well we saw this house when I went to Utah in January and we just loved it. We saw quite a few homes and this one stood out to us almost the minute we walked in. I told myself I didn't want the same type floor plan we currently have and this home is like that but it is different enough that it didn't even matter. It has enough finished bedrooms so we won't have to try to finish a basement to fit our needs. That in itself is exciting. So many homes had three bedrooms and unfinished space in the basement. Anyway, when we looked at I was dying, thinking no way can we ever get this house. When we got in the car and drove away our realtor said you would be crazy not to put in an offer. There was no risk involved because you can always get out of a short sale, almost to the last minute so we did it. Anyway it can take a long time to hear if the bank has accepted your offer, not to mention if there are multiple offers...well as crazy as this whole journey has been the day we got an offer on our house we found out that the bank accepted our offer on the Utah home. We are elated and can't contain our excitement to be back together in our own home. We are grateful to my sister for so willingly letting us stay with them for a while and I am partly sad because it probably will be a few days vs. a few months. But we will be close enough to jaunt over to one anothers houses for a visit. I also have another sister that lives overseas and they have a house in Utah that they will stay in during the summer...FUN!!! It'll all work out as Justin always says, not that I argue that but it seemed to have taken forever on this one! More to come...

House update...

Well, we have a firm offer and papers have been signed. The only hinge now is the inspection. It was yesterday and I have not heard anything yet as to what if anything needs to be done. I am hopeful that there isn't anything that would jeopardize the sell. As of now the movers are scheduled to come on the 8th and 9th of March and we will leave the 10th or 11th. Everything is so confusing but we should have a more definite schedule later this week. I can't believe it is almost over...I can hardly wait for these next few weeks to pass. I will have to find something to keep myself busy. We are so excited to be in Utah near family and especially with our daddy. We have had a crazy 6 months. I have to say that my kids have handled it like champs and I am so proud of them. That isn't to say that we haven't had meltdowns but all in all we have been just fine. It will be nice to not have bedtime duty every single night, as a matter of fact I am thinking about taking a month off. Anyway we are happy to have this time almost past us. That's it for now..more updates to come.

No News is Good News???

Whoever said no news is good news wasn't waiting on something. For us no news is bad news! Our house is still on the market without a whole lot of interest. We are starting to get nervous, anxious and just plain tired of waiting. We are going into month #6 without Justin home and I think it is wearing on all of us. Bad bedtime last night proves that theory...I want my daddy! Well, I want your daddy too! We are hanging on and praying that things will be looking bright soon. We did have some interest on the house last week but they ended up buying another house. We are hopeful that there will be someone else who loves our home. In the meantime we have placed an offer on a home in Utah that we will be sad to lose it if we can't sell our in the next few weeks. It is a short sale home and one that would be perfect for our family. It has enough finished room that we wouldn't have to rush to finish a basement. Short sales are hard to get but for some reason this one seems to be a piece of cake. I hear stories of it taking people months and months to get a short sale home. This house only had one other offer on it and the bank counter-offered and the buyer backed out. So we are the only offer in the running and that is a big bonus for us. So it is all still a waiting game. That is the update thus far, when there is more news I will pass it on...