Friday, September 15, 2006 Well, it's been a while since our last blog. If you've noticed we have an additional page her at the Last Lap Gang webiste. The page is entitled ERNESTO. We felt it appropriate to share with you all, the saga of our past couple of weeks. Things were going quite well with the impending closing our our houses. Paperwork was coming together, fees were settling down, packing was underway, and some decorating ideas were forming. The date for closing was set for September 8th. For the past two months, we've had that date ingrained in our heads, knowing it was our gateway to a new phase of our lives. We'd put so much effort into preparing our little town house for sale. So many weekends were sacrificed so that it we could complete home improvement tasks that would put our home at a good spot on the market. As we painted the walls, fixed loose doors, and trimmed the yard, we filled our heads with plenty of happy memories formed over the past ten years. We also let our minds wander to forthcoming extra bedrooms, play areas, more grass to mow, and a place where we could all stretch out. However, a tropical depression was making its way up the coast. Our forcast wasn't that forboding... just a lot of rain. Unfortunately, like so many times before, the weather predictions were not accurate. The winds really picked up, and trees began to fall. Just as I pulled in the parking lot to pick up the boys from daycare, my cell phone rang. Russ, in a dead panic, told me that at tree had just fallen on our house. In fact, it did. It fell across the entire back side of our house. It even poked it's branches in our doggy door. It filled our yard. My jaw dropped when I saw it. Luckily, it didn't poke any holes in the roof. It broke a section of our fence, and tore up the gutter pretty badly. It even broke the throttle on our lawnmower, but we were all safe. Now, had we not been in the midst of selling the house, we'd probably just put on some old clothes, and gone out to help some of our neighbors who fared worse. Sadly though, all we could do was think of ourselves. Time was against us. We feared our buyer would back out of the deal, since it was still 7 days from becoming final. We feared we couldn't get the tree OUT of our yard before the final walk-through. We feared so much and just felt like we couldn't get out of the house fast enough. God doesn't give us more than we can bear though. We felt incredibly defeated, angry, sad, and bewildered. But we did make it through and we know God didn't leave us behind. He brought us some watermen who cut up and removed the tree. Little did we know, but when they arrived, we recognized them from our little church down on St. George's Island. God also brought us our Handyman, who has always been so patient and thoughtful of our needs. God gave us strength to get through the week. He gave Russ an understanding boss, who didn't bat an eye when Russ asked to take the week off to get things straightened out between the two houses. And God gave me patient co-workers, who kept me busy, but didn't push my thin limit of mental stability. September 8th finally came. The kids were at daycare, our paperwork was in our hands (or so I thought) and we were just killing time until 1:00 when we'd meet with our buyer at the attorney's office. After a rough start at the office when I couldn't find my license, the settlement went smoothly. The buyer and her realtor had been by the house and had verified the repairs (that had just been completed the night before). She was excited and positive about moving into our - now former - home. All ended on a good feeling. At 2:00 our seller arrived at the same office for the closing on the home we were purchasing. All went well there too, and our conversation was light and calm. We left the office as new homeowners of a perfect 4 level, split level, with 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, a half acre back yard, and a great neighborhood with some of the best schools in the county. We had some extra funds to pay off nearly all of our credit cards, and buy a few new pieces of furniture. Moving day was the following day, September 9th. We were thrilled and surprised to have about 15 people come to assist us in clearing out the townhouse, as well as a storage shed - and pick up a 5 piece bedroom suit that I'd purchased from a lady moving to CA. We treated them all to lunch AND dinner, and expressed our thanks over and over for giving up their day to work hard just to help out a friend. So now, we are living in "box city." I took off Monday from work to at least get the kitchen organized and a few of the clothes sorted out. We've enjoyed a few dinners together this week in our kitchen, and managed to empty a few more boxes, but our evenings are short, so we have learned not to try to do too much. We've sacrificed so much, and put a lot of stress on our relationship. We've gone through incredible ups and downs with the whole house upgrade, and still can't believe we've actually accomplished our goal. The children seem happy, the dogs are comfortable, and we know that soon that sense of order will return. We hope to get the rest of the boxes either unpacked or stored this weekend, but have decided to hire a babysitter tomorrow night so we can go out to dinner. Our realtor gave us a nice thank you give of a gift certificate to a new Japanese Steak House in town, so we're looking forward to trying it out. We need to rekindle some lost time, so what ever boxes don't get unpacked will just have to wait.

We went out on Saturday night to the Osaka with the Hoffman's while the girls watched the boys at the house. It was really nice to get out. We spent the weekend claiming the den. We laos picked up a nice item for the bedroom. We wanted to get a hope chest for blankets at the bottom of the bed. We went to this antuque place that is only open once a month in Compton north of Leonardtown. We found something that looks like a Hope Chest. It turns out it is an ice box. You open the lid and there is a door and the box. Next weekend is the County Fair so everyone is looking forward to that as our life finally starts to get back to normal. We have even been enjoying eating in the kitchen at night.  

 Well, it's been a while since our last blog. If you've noticed we have an additional page her at the Last Lap Gang website. The page is entitled ERNESTO. We felt it appropriate to share with you all, the saga of our past couple of weeks. Things were going quite well with the impending closing our our houses. Paperwork was coming together, fees were settling down, packing was underway, and some decorating ideas were forming. The date for closing was set for September 8th. For the past two months, we've had that date ingrained in our heads, knowing it was our gateway to a new phase of our lives. We'd put so much effort into preparing our little town house for sale. So many weekends were sacrificed so that it we could complete home improvement tasks that would put our home at a good spot on the market. As we painted the walls, fixed loose doors, and trimmed the yard, we filled our heads with plenty of happy memories formed over the past ten years. We also let our minds wander to forthcoming extra bedrooms, play areas, more grass to mow, and a place where we could all stretch out. However, a tropical depression was making its way up the coast. Our forcast wasn't that forboding... just a lot of rain. Unfortunately, like so many times before, the weather predictions were not accurate. The winds really picked up, and trees began to fall. Just as I pulled in the parking lot to pick up the boys from daycare, my cell phone rang. Russ, in a dead panic, told me that at tree had just fallen on our house. In fact, it did. It fell across the entire back side of our house. It even poked it's branches in our doggy door. It filled our yard. My jaw dropped when I saw it. Luckily, it didn't poke any holes in the roof. It broke a section of our fence, and tore up the gutter pretty badly. It even broke the throttle on our lawnmower, but we were all safe. Now, had we not been in the midst of selling the house, we'd probably just put on some old clothes, and gone out to help some of our neighbors who fared worse. Sadly though, all we could do was think of ourselves. Time was against us. We feared our buyer would back out of the deal, since it was still 7 days from becoming final. We feared we couldn't get the tree OUT of our yard before the final walk-through. We feared so much and just felt like we couldn't get out of the house fast enough. God doesn't give us more than we can bear though. We felt incredibly defeated, angry, sad, and bewildered. But we did make it through and we know God didn't leave us behind. He brought us some watermen who cut up and removed the tree. Little did we know, but when they arrived, we recognized them from our little church down on St. George's Island. God also brought us our Handyman, who has always been so patient and thoughtful of our needs. God gave us strength to get through the week. He gave Russ an understanding boss, who didn't bat an eye when Russ asked to take the week off to get things straightened out between the two houses. And God gave me patient co-workers, who kept me busy, but didn't push my thin limit of mental stability. September 8th finally came. The kids were at daycare, our paperwork was in our hands (or so I thought) and we were just killing time until 1:00 when we'd meet with our buyer at the attorney's office. After a rough start at the office when I couldn't find my license, the settlement went smoothly. The buyer and her realtor had been by the house and had verified the repairs (that had just been completed the night before). She was excited and positive about moving into our - now former - home. All ended on a good feeling. At 2:00 our seller arrived at the same office for the closing on the home we were purchasing. All went well there too, and our conversation was light and calm. We left the office as new homeowners of a perfect 4 level, split level, with 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, a half acre back yard, and a great neighborhood with some of the best schools in the county. We had some extra funds to pay off nearly all of our credit cards, and buy a few new pieces of furniture. Moving day was the following day, September 9th. We were thrilled and surprised to have about 15 people come to assist us in clearing out the townhouse, as well as a storage shed - and pick up a 5 piece bedroom suit that I'd purchased from a lady moving to CA. We treated them all to lunch AND dinner, and expressed our thanks over and over for giving up their day to work hard just to help out a friend. So now, we are living in "box city." I took off Monday from work to at least get the kitchen organized and a few of the clothes sorted out. We've enjoyed a few dinners together this week in our kitchen, and managed to empty a few more boxes, but our evenings are short, so we have learned not to try to do too much. We've sacrificed so much, and put a lot of stress on our relationship. We've gone through incredible ups and downs with the whole house upgrade, and still can't believe we've actually accomplished our goal. The children seem happy, the dogs are comfortable, and we know that soon that sense of order will return. We hope to get the rest of the boxes either unpacked or stored this weekend, but have decided to hire a babysitter tomorrow night so we can go out to dinner. Our realtor gave us a nice thank you give of a gift certificate to a new Japanese Steak House in town, so we're looking forward to trying it out. We need to rekindle some lost time, so what ever boxes don't get unpacked will just have to wait.