O, Happy Day!

Sorry for the long drought in blogging, but I've been a little busy!

Yesterday, we finally had a sign placed in the yard...so, officially, our house is now on the market (not bad...only about a month later than I had planned)! We finished all the painting, cleaning, primping, etc, etc, etc...

We have made some pretty late nights of it recently. I still have a couple pieces of quarter-round to put on the new landing floor, and a few spots to touch up on the ceilings where we got a little crazy when we were rolling the walls - but that's it. The new carpet is in, new living room furniture, new head & foot boards for the master bedroom. After this, I really don't think I want to move again for awhile.

The problem is, I'm a perfectionist when it comes to making things just right. I spend a lot of time measuring, then remeasuring to make sure the cut is right the first time. I built a book case in our downstairs family room on both sides of the window. It probably took me two weeks just to make everything right. It turned out great...it just takes me way too long.

I also got the pickup truck I wanted. It's fire engine red with dual exhausts (a low rumble when you start it up and accelerate). It's a SuperCrew which will be nice for transporting 4 adults around. It sits high off the ground so I can see everyone around me - it's just what I wanted. The gas mileage could be a little better, but it's not a bad trade off.

Please pray that we get a lot of ready-to-move-in folks walking thru to check out the house and it doesn't stay on the market too long. The average house in our neighborhood after listing has stayed on the market about 58 days - 2 months isn't too bad! Please pray it goes in less than 30, for my own sanity's sake. Onto the next fun item - finding and putting a contract on a new house!

Get ready for, "Busy - Part II!"

Friday The 13th

I spoke with Stephan last night about how school was going and what's been happening lately. The first question he had for me was, "Dad, when are you going to get another truck so I can have yours?" A couple of weeks ago, I let him drive the truck for the week after his stopped running. His truck was getting, on average, about 8 miles to the gallon (it's just an old beat-up farm truck). Mine gets closer to 20 miles to the gallon. I've been looking for a crew cab because I like the size and the additional seating - that way, it also becomes a family vehicle. With just the regular cab, there's people who will not be coming along for the ride. I promised Stephan the truck after he finished with boot camp to drive to his first duty station - he may be getting it a little earlier if I find what I want.

Mom's in Phoenix this week catching up with a good friend, George, who used to live in the area! George is a great guy. Mom met him after dad passed away and mom was making a new group of friends. I guess George couldn't handle the cold any longer and decided to make Phoenix his new home. Mom's doing well and I know she enjoys the travel.

The home we were looking at has a contract on it now. Our Realtor is coming by tomorrow to check out the house, give us some ideas and try to sell us on his marketing approach. We got the new carpet in and are finishing the trim painting - we are very close to listing. Steph and I talked last night; if we sell the house and have nothing to go to, we may have to rent for a little while. That actually may work out better...then we won't need the contingency when we find something. Keep us in your prayers as we begin this process to find "OUR" place!

Happy Valentines Day to everyone out there! Love and cherish those who God has placed in your path and life for a reason. Just know, God has a plan!

Tuesday Morning!

We finally got some rain yesterday after about a month in a half - my yard is very thankful (the flowers in front have already started to bloom)! It came down pretty hard for about 30 minutes with a strong wind behind it...you know, the kind of rain that seems to be going sideways!

It's been awhile since I blogged...oh so much has happened! I got all the carpet torn out of the house and yesterday they laid new carpet. I've never built a home or had new carpet put down - it's kind of a cool experience. To go from a pine shell to a fully carpeted house in just a couple hours (about 6) is very interesting. Before the carpet went down, we spent the week cleaning and painting baseboards - the place looks immaculate (now lets see if we can keep it that way)!

I watched the MU vs. KU game last night - very good game. MU looked very nervous in the first half - their movements were very jerky. They seemed to settle down as the game progressed. They battled back very well and took the game in the final seconds.

Last Saturday night, Steph and I went to a party at my former Commanding Officer's house - it was exactly to the day that he entered boot camp...30 years ago! There were a number of old friends I'd made through the past eight years and new ones I made that evening. I spoke for quite a while to a S.E.A.L. named Bill Irwin about Stephan. We're all three going to get together and put Stephan on the competitive road to boot camp then off to SEAL Basic Training. There is a SEAL Motivator in the area that we will get together with in the next week or so - he can help Stephan to focus on the right areas to be successful. All in all, the party was a lot of fun and Scott (my former CO) had a great time with old friends.

We expect to put the house on the market in about a week or so. We are having a new couch and chair delivered from Nebraska Furniture Mart next Monday - we should be good to go right after that. I'm ready for a couple of very busy weeks in front of me. Have a great Tuesday!