Grateful Sunday

It has been forever since I have done a Grateful Sunday post and I figured I should do one this week.
This week I am grateful for....

• Our new house! We will close in late March (sorry I haven't posted pictures).
• My new calling as Primary Secretary. I was disappointed to leave my previous calling-teaching the 14 year old Sunday School class but it is nice to get to know some new people.
• Book Club. I finally got invited to a book club. Oh how I missed being with people who loved books and talking about books. Carma, I'm so glad I get to be your neighbor!
• Steve, Tobie and Maddy V. We went out with Steve and Tobie for Valentine's Day and their oldest daughter Maddy who was home for the weekend watched all our kids for us. Steve and Tobie even paid for dinner to thank Brad for a favor he did for them. It was a wonderful Valentine's Day evening. Thanks!
• My MIL, Dianne, for watching Ben and Sam so I could help at Emily's class party. I was hoping Brad would be home in time to watch the boys or else I would take them with me but Brad had a late appointment scheduled and Ben was sick and grouchy and I didn't want to take them after all. I decided I wouldn't go but then Emily actually asked for me to be there. I appreciate Dianne taking the time to help me out.
• The Jason and Ashley Y family. Brad and Jason have been friends since Brad was 12 and we have been friends as a couple since before Jason and Ashley got married. They came over to play games on Friday but Ashley and I ended up sneaking away to watch Twilight again. Thanks Brad and Jason for watching the kids! Thanks Justin and Hannah for playing Powergrid with Brad and Jason.
• Cheap movie theaters. It is so much more fun to see a movie knowing you only paid $3.50 instead of $9. With that price you can actually afford popcorn! Which is only $3.75 for a large.
• My new nephew, Dimitrie. He turned 2 weeks old on Friday. We are so grateful he was born. It was a close call during his delivery and we thank Heavenly Father he is with us and healthy.
• Winter. I actually don't mind it but I'm glad it doesn't last forever. Brad has taken up skiing and it is fun to see him enjoying every ski trip (except for the first one).

Have a great week!

Big News!!!!! and NO I'm not pregnant

We are buying a house!!!!! I'm so thrilled. I will post pictures soon but if I wait until I have pictures ready, I'll never get this post written.

Last Wednesday, a friend from the neighborhood called me (she has taken it upon herself to keep me in the neighborhood) and let me know she has "found my house". She saw it with her MIL (who wasn't interested because it was too big) and knew immediately she needed to call me. The house is owned by a bank and it was being drastically reduced because it has been vacant for a year or so.

Brad and I arranged to see it that night with the seller's agent. I really liked it. Brad wasn't as thrilled. The house has 5,031 square feet (HUGE) and 9 (nine) bedrooms! It is a rambler style. The main floor has 4 bedrooms, 3 full bathrooms, a living room, family room, kitchen, lovely laundry room and large mud room with a drinking fountain! Oh, and yes, a time out room. A TIME-OUT room-a small room 3'x6' with a built in bench and a windowed door. I hear the previous owners had a difficult daughter. But, my kids favorite thing about the house is that it has a slide from the kitchen to a playroom downstairs.

The downstairs has 4 bedrooms (including the playroom), 2 full bathrooms, an exercise room (which could be another bedroom) that has a drinking fountain in it as well, a HUGE, HUGE food storage room with a direct staircase to the kitchen, a "little library", and an unfinished theater room. Oh, and a dungeon. Okay, not really a dungeon just a 4'x6' concrete room (probably a cold storage room) but I didn't let my kids know that-hee, hee.

The house is on a HUGE lot (I keep using the word HUGE, don't I). It is 0.81 acre. It has a covered patio which is sheltered by the house. This is a big plus since it is sooo windy in our part of Idaho. It also has a trampoline pit-cool huh! There are a couple of garden boxes established, I'm told by the neighbors, and a large RV pad next to the 3 car garage.

Can I tell you again how excited I am?! There are a lot of weird things about this house (i.e. time-out room) and wasted space especially downstairs. But we are buying the house at a steal and so we will (should) have money to make some changes.

Let me tell you the house buying drama. I'll be as brief as I know how (which isn't too brief).
I got the call on Wednesday afternoon. We saw the house at 7:00. It took until after 8:00 to look at it. I was supposed to go to book club but I thought it was too late until I noticed people arriving at the house next door. I realized that was probably book club and joined them. I got the "scoop" on the house. Coincidence, huh

The next morning, Thursday, I met with our realtor (actually our landlord, Jake) and I went through it again with a friend. I loved it even more in the daylight and they had dropped the price $5,000. I told Jake I was very interested and to let them know so no offers would be accepted until we made one. He didn't think that would be necessary since this house has had NO INTEREST. But will do it anyway.

Brad got a call from Jake around 3:00 or so to let us know that someone already made an offer but because the bank is on the East Coast they had not looked at it yet. We went to see it again at 6:15 with Brad, Steve, and Jake. We notice about 8 realtor cards on the counter that were not there that morning. We decide to make an offer. Jake pumped the other realtor to find out any info but with no luck. We make an offer for $1,000 over last listing price. We sign the offer that evening and Jake promises to get it in ASAP the next morning once our pre-approval letter is faxed (it was just waiting for documentation).

On Friday we find out that a total of 4 offers have been received-I'm dying!!!!. All Realtors have been instructed to bring back their client's best offer. By this point I am so anxious I have made myself physically ill (I do that when I am very anxious). Brad and Jake work out the details ($10,000 more than original offer and an earlier closing date) and I just sign my name. We head out for Utah to see my brand-new nephew and to take my mind off my house. I'm still anxious. I have already mentally moved into that house. It is mine!

All weekend I think about the house; I can't sleep at night. We drive home and discover more water in the basement. Not much but the carpet pad is soaked and the carpet is damp in the corner of the toy room where we have had previous water problems. We think about the comparison between the two houses. Our offer was actually less than what we could buy the house we are renting. We call our realtor and ask if we can increase our offer. He checks on Monday and is told it is too late. The bank is already reviewing the offers. We are waiting to find out what the bank is deciding. The agony!!!

About 11:30 am Brad calls and lets me know that the HOUSE IS OURS!!!!! It turns our that there was a cash offer for $6,000 less than ours and the other offer was actually $4,000 more than ours but had "strings attached" that the bank didn't like so they went with our offer which was clean and no strings (the 4th offer never countered).

Needless to say I am thrilled. Every time I go back to the house I like it more. We went back tonight with someone who helped build the house and we told him some of our ideas of what we wanted to change/improve. He is going to let us know how much it costs.

We close on March 17th so we plan on making the improvements before we move in. Our lease runs until June 1st so it should all work out. The house is in our neighborhood, just a few blocks back. It is a great location. I didn't think I wanted to stay in the neighborhood but now that I am getting to know a few people, I am feeling more comfortable.

I'll post some pictures soon. Unfortunately, I didn't take many and I'm not sure when we'll go back through the house. It was a quick decision but it is just what we are looking for!

It Feels Like It Is finally Over

This post is a few weeks late but definitely news worthy.

Brad took his Neurology Boards in November. There were a few stressful weeks previous to the test while he tried to work full time AND study-flashbacks of medical school and residency. But all his hard work and years of studying finally paid off. Brad is now a BOARD CERTIFIED NEUROLOGIST! We are truly excited! He did very well if I do say so myself. We are very grateful because the test cost about $4,000.

So a big CONGRATULATIONS to my very dear husband.

Now I feel like we are finally done with the schooling part of our lives. We have been married for 15 years and now the only ones who are in school are the kids-hee hee.

I never thought we would get here. Now that we are here, I'm not quite sure what to do with myself.

Newberry and Other Book Recommendations

I was reading the BYU Magazine this morning and discovered an article about a professor at BYU who participates in the selection of the Newberry Awards. There was a website with some of his book recommendations that I thought was interesting and useful and I thought I would share it with y'all. Click here for the link. I already put some of his choices on reserve at the library. Stay tuned to my GoodReads to read my recommendations.

I finally posted!

Thanks for checking my blog even though it has been weeks and weeks since I last posted. I haven't had the time or emotional energy to blog but Vicki asked me when I was finally going to blog again. So Vicki, this one is for you. It is very long but hopefully enjoyable. Vicki, I hope you can read it before you have your baby (he should come any day now).

Scuba Experience

Brad has always wanted to go scuba diving. I have never in my life wanted to experience scuba diving. Once when we were visiting an aquarium, we walked through a tunnel that gave you the experience of being surrounded by marine life. Brad mentioned how cool it would be to scuba and see everything up close. I replied, "Why do you need to? This is just as good and you don't get wet!"

Getting wet has been the issue for me. I don't enjoy water. I don't like getting my face wet. I take quick showers and don't really swim. Although I do enjoy going to the beach, I like to keep my face out of the water. It seems silly but I had tubes in my ears until I was 10 years old. For 10 years all I heard when I was near water was, "keep your head out of the water." It is no surprise I don't like to get my face wet.

I also don't enjoy boats. This is also caused by other "traumatic" boat experiences when I was young but I won't go into that now.

Since scuba diving involves both boats and getting wet, it has been extremely low on my list of things to do before I die. Actually, it has never been there and probably won't ever be....But now that has all changed. Here is the story:

As I previously mentioned, scuba diving has been an interest to Brad for many, many, many years. Now that we have a bit of wiggle room in our budget, Brad has been actively pursing ways to spend this wiggle room. Last Friday afternoon, instead of coming home from work, Brad "dropped by" the local dive shop. He was informed of a scuba experience the next Friday night. It only cost $20 per person and they take you to the local aquatic center and give you a mini lesson, strap on the gear, and let you try scuba diving while assisted by trained professionals. Needless to say, he signed us up. Both of us. Yes, me. The one who has absolutely no interest in scuba diving. No interest. No desire. No way Jose!

He basically gave me no choice in the matter. HE REALLY WANTED ME TO DO THIS! REALLY WANTED ME TO DO THIS! So being the good wife that I am, I agreed, timidly. I dreaded this date night all week. I "forgot" to call a babysitter despite being prodded by Brad on a daily basis. Eventually he cornered me into calling someone before I "forgot" again.

(I know this story is long but I'm writing it for posterity's sake) So Friday arrives and I am sick to my stomach ALL DAY (because of nerves-I get that way when I am worried). By 3:30 I am in bed about ready to throw up. Brad comes home and tells me I don't have to go with this sad little puppy dog face and tells me I can just watch him. Well, that really does not sound like any fun at all, does it? Brad informs me that our good friends, Jason and Ashley, are going to join us for the dive and that makes me feel a little better-Ashley probably hates water more than me.

Time passes and it is time to go. I pull myself out of bed (darn it!) and get ready. We go to dinner and meet Ashley and Jason at the pool. We are a little early and Ashley and I commiserate while complimenting ourselves on being nice wives that are willing to do such a big thing for our husbands. By this time I am actually trembling.

We change into our swim suits (I bought the cutest little cover up at the end of the summer for $4 at J.C. Penney's. It looks fabulous with my swim suit if I don't say so myself-hee, hee) and met the instructors. They were very nice and tried to put Ashley and I at ease. After some difficulty finding the correct size of equipment for me (it turns out I need kid-sized fins). We were ready to be instructed. The instructors were fabulous! They did such a great job teaching us and helping Ashley and I feel comfortable in the water and with the equipment.

They helped us get used to the gear and the underwater breathing experience gradually. Eventually, we were ready to go to the deep end. It took me a bit of time to feel comfortable but soon I was swimming around, throwing torpedoes, and having fun. Only once did I feel claustrophobic and had to swim to the surface to calm myself down. One of the instructors immediately followed me and helped me go back down. It was such a good feeling knowing that they were so aware of us and ready to help us.

We stayed in the water for over an hour and by the end I felt really good. I had problems with my mask slipping and leaking but I was able to clear it underwater without problem (I probably need a kid-sized mask as well). When the time was up and we got out, they asked us how we liked it. I actually replied, "Awesome!" Can you believe it? I actually liked it! Me, who never, ever, ever wanted to experience this actually said awesome. Brad then asked me if we should book the Honduras dive trip with the dive shop. I said I would need more time in the pool before I felt more comfortable but I would seriously consider signing up for dive lessons.

Do I even have to say that Brad was so happy. He thoroughly enjoyed the experience, despite a leaking mask (his had a slight crack and maybe his beard/moustache got in the way), and he was thrilled that I liked it as well. It was a fun experience. I was glad I had such great instructors and friends to share it with. Ashley had a good time but had a lot of difficulty with her ears. I hope that doesn't hold her back.

Now Brad is really pushing for that Honduras trip. I'm not sure if we will go but I did say yes to dive lessons.

Now Brad, I did scuba dive even though I didn't want to and enjoyed it. Just don't get your hopes up that I will ever, ever go whitewater river rafting with you. That is just asking too much!

Sam's Preschool Program

Sam's preschool did a short Thanksgiving program. My very introverted child hardly moved his mouth the entire program but his costume was cute. Here are the picture highlights.

I enjoyed it but I'm not sure Sam did.

Okay, I did get a smile out of Sam but only when Ben jumped up and sat down next to him.