progress!

Well, as many of you know, we were able to close on our house last Wednesday! We are so glad that part of the process is over with!! Now it's on with the work!! No really, we have been at the house every free moment we've had since Wednesday night! There is A LOT to be done, but we're excited to think about what it will look like when we're done. We are so thankful to have family members who are so knowledgeable and helpful!! I don't know what we'd do without them!! We started roofing this weekend, and it is starting to look really good! It needed a lot of repairs, but we were expecting them, so it's not a huge deal. Krystal and I also attacked the inside of the house by taking down all of the blinds, curtains, mirrors, etc. We now have running water too, so that has helped to get a few things cleaned up. My next giant task is cleaning and sanding and prepping everything to be painted. We need to get things painted soon so that we can put down the floors that we just ordered last night. It's a lot of work, but it's so exciting to watch things change!!

Here are a few pictures of the beginning roofing on Saturday morning.

Here are a few more "before" pictures I took of the house that you haven't seen yet.

Other Upstairs Bedroom:
Covered Porch:
Say Goodbye to the SkyLights!!
Back Yard (once we get the giant circle filled in and the deck torn down, it will be great!):
We call this the wood room, but it is going to be drywalled:
Random Toilet (this will be laundry/half bathroom):
Surprise!! :(
The sweet paneling in the basement:
The Living Room with lime green carpet & GIANT window!

More to come as updates happen!!!

Oh, and I just found out today that I got the position I was hoping for at Nationwide - I start in a couple weeks! I also may do some medical Spanish interpreting on the side, depending on how things work out. I am excited to start working again, though I'm sure I'll miss these days when I am back to the grind!!

Hope you are all well!

a few pictures

Well, I had hoped to be writing that we closed on our house yesterday . . . but due to some problems with our lender and then the title company, it has been pushed back to this coming Wednesday. While it is a little frustrating, it has turned out a lot better than it was looking last weekend (when we all of the sudden had NO loan). Everything is set now & we will be closing Wednesday, if not Tuesday! It sure has been a long, drawn-out process, but it will be worth it!!

I thought I'd share a few pictures to appease you (& myself). You may have seen the outside picture on Bryan's blog, but the inside ones are all new! We had to go measure for flooring, so I went photo crazy!! Sorry for the bad quality, it was dark out and very few lights worked inside!!

Front: The roof and garage doors will be the first things to change on this house,with hopefully the columns not far behind!

Kitchen: We love the overhead lighting. Cabinets will be painted white, with hopefully a new sink someday! Oh, and the mini blinds WILL come down - they are all through the house - yuck!

Kitchen: A view of the peninsula bar thing (family room is to the right, laundry room & garage down the hall)

Dining Room?: It's gonna be big enough for Thanksgiving dinner! Imagine with dark wood laminate flooring. (Living Room & Basement doors to the right, master bath & bedroom straight ahead)

The fireplace: I like it more and more every time I see it!

Master Bedroom: Hard to photograph - has two windows and two big closets! Needs carpet :)

Master Bathroom: Needs just a little updating! Anyone in the market for lavender sinks? The toilet and shower are to the left, behind a pocket door.

Upstairs Bedroom: Quite large, with a cedar closet. Just needs paint and carpet!

Upstairs Bathroom Vanity: Looks like they started making improvements??

That's it for now - I'll try to get more pictures when it's actually ours & has better light! And of course I will keep you all updated as it changes :)

Other than that, we continue to be incredibly busy. I had two interviews last week at Nationwide, and I have one this week with Mercy Medical as a Spanish Interpreter. Please pray that I (& my interviewers) would make the right decision. I've also been getting all of my appointments in - eye doctor last week, dentist this week (ouch), and doctor next week!! I know, I know. . . but you weren't in Costa Rica with terrible insurance for two years like I was :) Bryan is doing well with his classes and football - they beat a pretty good team last night!! It was exciting - hopefully it stops raining by next Friday though!!!

Hope you're all well! Hopefully next time I write, it will be as a proud homeowner!

shopping . . .

for insurance policies! Yea, it's about as fun as it sounds!! We got word yesterday that our home had been appraised, that we just have to get estimates for fixing the roof and floorings, and that we will probably close on it next friday!! We are SO excited & more than ready to get in and start working. Knowing that closing is quickly approaching lit a fire under me to get our insurance figured out (must have it by closing). We were with State Farm (for auto), but due to prices, are shopping around a little bit with Allstate, Nationwide, and Erie Insurance. So far Erie is looking to be the winner. If anyone has any suggestions on other companies they've had good experience with, we are open to them!

What else?? Brad, Krystal, Jeremiah, Isaac, & Bryan's parents are all down in Myrtle Beach right now (yes, the same spot that Tropical Storm Hanna is headed towards!!), so we are all alone in the house. Dodger really misses them, so we've been trying to play some ball with him, give him the occasional treat, and even let him sleep with us a couple nights!! I haven't figured out if he understands when I tell him "They'll be back in a couple of days." Oh well, we are looking forward to having them back as well!

We've been super busy this week. Bryan started classes on Tuesday, so between that and football, he's always at the school. What a difference from working together every day!! Speaking of work, I'm still looking for a job. I'm hoping that next week will be the week I get some calls for interviews. For now, I've been taking advantage of my free time by getting things taken care of for the house, making important phone calls and running errands, and starting to work out again. I've started running and lifting (yay!) with an old track friend from Malone. The cool thing is that alumni can use the new Wellness Center at Malone for free. We've been in there quite a bit lately, and I'm proud of what we've done so far! We are both crazy sore, but I know that if we keep at it, it will go away! I just love having someone to be accountable to :)

Wellll, I guess that's about all for now! We will keep you posted on the status of the house! Maybe I'll even have some pictures to share next time :)

PS - Wish Bryan a happy birthday this Saturday!!! He's such an old man!

dizzy!

Not a whole lot new to report around here . . . it's been quite a rollercoaster ride trying to buy this house!! We had to wait over a week for the bank to officially accept our offer and get contracts . . . and then once we did, it was DIZZYING to read through all of the fine print. I spent all day on the phone today trying to figure out our closing costs and whatnot . . . also very intense . . . I still have a million different numbers running through my head!! Please pray that the inspection of the house goes well and that they don't ask us to come up with a bunch more money that we don't have!! Regardless, we are still so thankful & really excited to get keys & get started!!

Last weekend was really busy, but a lot of fun too! On Friday, we decided it was finally time to hit Ruby Tuesday for dinner. It was pretty yummy! On Saturday, I watched the boys, watched some really cute old home videos with Krystal, and then headed to the Backpack Giveaway Festival that our church was doing. We worked the bean bag toss and then I took Jeremiah around to jump/slide/play on everything that he could. He had a blast!! He is a daring little guy! Then on Sunday, we did church and got to talk with the college class about Costa Rica. It was a lot of fun to be able to show more pictures and just talk about our time there. After church, we went to the Kandel Family party. It was really nice to see everyone and to sample all the great food! I made pizza bread and cranberry salad that I was pretty excited about. :) It was a beautiful day, so we hung around for a while and then finally crashed.

I don't think there's much else to share . . . please keep me in your prayers as I try to figure out what I should do for a job. I would love to do something that involves Spanish, but there is just not much need for it around here!! So we will see!!! Hope you all have a great week :)

exciting news!

I'm pretty sleepy, but I just wanted to say that we finally heard today that our offer was accepted!! It's been a crazy two weeks . . . waiting, countering, figuring, and hoping, but I'm thankful to say that this part of it is over! We are so thankful to report that our offer was chosen over 3 others. . . makes us feel good that this is a worthwhile investment (the house had 4 offers after only having been on the market for about a month)! Now we're moving on to the stage of appraisals, getting our mortgage completely approved, and signing our lives away!! If all goes well, we will close on the house on September 5th! Wow!!
A little about the house - it's in Louisville, on Weeburn Way. It's a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, brick 1.5 story home. It needs a lot of work (a roof, flooring, etc), but we are excited to go project by project until it becomes what we're envisioning!! We just thank the Lord for blessing us so immensely and we look forward to the memories that will take place in this house!!

waiting . . .

Wow, this sure has been a busy week! We have seen a few more houses, gotten some new school clothes for Bryan, tried to renew my Ohio driver's license (yes, I have to re-take the whole driving test. . . .grr), and done many other things that I'm too tired to remember right now!!
Probably the most exciting news is that we found a house that we like. We actually put an offer on it today! It was quite a nerve-wracking time, but we are really excited!! So at this point, we are just waiting around to see if they accept our offer. If they do, I'll give you more details about it . . . but right now we're just trying not to get too invested! Yikes!
I have talked to a few of my students from Palabra de Vida recently, and there seems to be some problems with the new English teacher that took over my position. It's very discouraging to hear that . . . so if you could, please pray that God's hand would be on those students and the whole situation!! Thanks!

goodnight :)

Home

Well, we're home. Or are we?? It has been so nice to see everyone and get somewhat caught up on things around here. However, I can't help but say that it does feel a little odd. This transition has been the most drawn out thing you could ever imagine. We were heartbroken as we said goodbye to most of our students, sold all our stuff, and moved out of our apartment at the end of June. We spent the first two weeks of July in two different places, numbly trying to straighten our school stuff out, wrap up loose ends, and enjoy a few last days at the beach. We said some more difficult goodbyes and flew out of CR on Thursday feeling quite nostalgic. We spent two days in Miami getting some rest and finishing up with the LAM. And then we excitedly headed for Ohio on Saturday. We've now been home for about 4 days, and I think it still feels surreal. It kind of feels like I'm sitting watching myself go through all these actions. I go between being really excited about all of the opportunities ahead of us to feeling crushed and homesick for Costa Rica and the life we knew there. Then last night I found out that the school is still searching unsuccessfully for one more English teacher to replace us . . . for classes which start tomorrow. Kind of makes me feel like I should have stayed. Yet I still believe that God has a plan for us here and for Palabra de Vida.
So what exciting stuff have we done since we've been home?? Well, as I mentioned, we have gotten to see lots of family and friends (though we don't see my dad and Ann til this Saturday). We have played a lot with Jeremiah and Isaac. Jeremiah got through his shy stage and was asking me all about what house we wanted to live in and telling me about how their new van doesn't have a hitch so they can't pull the boat with it. He's a lot smarter than he lets on sometimes!! His questioning brings me to my next point - the search for a house! We have driven around twice now looking at houses - there are a TON out there!! There is one that we are very interested in (older ranch that needs work, but in a nice neighborhood with a big backyard), but it is for sale by owner and we haven't been able to get a hold of anyone yet. So, here's hoping!! I have also started running again so that I can run the Pro Football HOF Festival 2 mile race. It's only in two weeks, but I think I can still do it. It, along with some 5k's this summer/fall, is my motivation to get back in shape! Let's just say that on day 2 of running, it hurt A LOT to just walk downstairs!! Yikes :) It's exciting though, because a lot of friends have decided to join in the race with me - even my hubby, who HATES running!
Well, that's probably about it. . . I'll keep you all updated as we continue the search for a house, as I start looking for a job, and as we get used to life in Ohio. Hope to see you soon if I haven't!!