Wet, Wild, Weekend

Last weekend, Patrick and I had our first "party" at our new home. This "party" was in conjunction with the first football game for USM. We were so excited to see all of our friends and watch the Eagles play. We decided to have the party at our house instead of a traditional on-campus tailgate because we thought it was going to be miserably hot!!!! Well, it was not so hot, but it was WET.... Tropical storm Lee brought us a lot of rain over the weekend, and Saturday was no exception. It worked out well for tailgating because it was cool enough for people to sit outside in the garage. That was a relief because I was worried about where everyone was going to sit inside. And I'll my worrying was pretty much for nothing.. It turned out to be a great tailgating party, not too wild..., and I think everyone had a great time. It was a lot of fun to catch up with friends that we had not seen in awhile, and make a few new ones. We were thankful and happy to share our home with friends and family. We had plenty of good food and fellowship.

The house is tailgate ready!

We bleed black and gold!

Waiting for everyone to come!

Wonderful cheese ball!

Ready for lunch!

Samantha and I ready for some football! Or, maybe just some food!

Have I mentioned that the game did not start until 9:00PM! Yes, you read that right. The original plan was to go to Eagle Walk at 7, but because of all the rain it was cancelled. Therefore, a little before 8 it was time to suit up and go to the game. We all got our rain gear out, and were set. It was a little wet, but thanks to my rain jacket and poncho, the only thing that got really wet was my bottom. The rain let up a few times, and it was nice to take a breather. We were so excited to see the Eagles play, however, the game was as pretty as the weather.. ha! But, in the end the Eagles pulled it off. I was so glad! I was going to be seriously upset if I sat in the rain to watch us lose. This weekend we are gearing up to watch the Eagles play Marshall on TV. Hope we can pull off a win, we are hoping for a big season from the Eagles. First conference game is important! ***It's not looking good for the Eagles against Marshall... so disappointing..


***And a funny side note to share: Right before we got out of the car at the stadium, I handed the tickets to Patrick for easy access. He looked at them, and said, "where is the rest of the ticket?" I looked at him, like what are you talking about, this is the ticket. Then he compared them to his parents' tickets and I realized I had torn them where they are suppose to be torn at the gate... uh oh.. I was a little panicked.. I wasn't sure what we were going to go. Patrick said we would play it cool, so we got to the gate (I was holding my breath), Patrick handed the lady the tickets and said the guy up there tore them, and she said okay. No harm done! Thank goodness... Now, my brother comes to the stadium a little later, and told my dad and I, "I wasn't sure if they were going to let me in." So, of course I ask why, and he proceeds to tell us that he did not have all of his ticket... hahahahaha!!! He did the same thing I did... Too funny.. I guess we really are related. And don't worry, Patrick will tear the tickets from now on!!

Trying to stay dry, but still smiling!

Hope you all have a great weekend. We hope to rest some too because next weekend will be wild again with USM playing at home, and our good friends CT and Kara are coming to stay with us for the game!

A New House, A New Beginning...

Well, I finally got around to taking some pictures of our house. We do not have everything done yet, but it is very comfortable and feels like a home. In time, we will finish getting everything done (maybe). Patrick and I will never be bored again a day in our lives because there will always be something to do. But, that's not a bad thing. We have enjoyed working on our home, and making it ours. This has definitly opened a new chapter in our lives. And we are excited about all the memories to be made in our new home.

Font of the House

Side view of the front of the house

Our yard would not be complete without a Go Gold Sign

Front Doors

Entry Way

Living Room (looking from the front doors)

Living Room (looking from the kitchen)

Kitchen Table

Kitchen

Island in Kitchen (and yes that is the microwave, our children will learn early! )



Master Bedroom 1




Master Bedroom 2



Master Bath

Guest Bedroom 1.1

Guest Bedroom 1.2

Guest Bedroom 2.1 (We have done the least in this room)

Guest Bedroom 2.2 (If you want to rent a movie let us know!)

Guest Bathroom

The back porch and deck

We are Homeowners!!! (Part 2)

The Journey of Buying a House

Continued

(Scroll down to read part 1 first.)

After our contract was accepted, we had to deal with the money side, or so we thought. We did have to deal with the money side, among other things as well. There was countless papers to be signed, documentation to provide, letters to write, a refrigerator to pick out, and money that was needed. Who knew it was such a process. In the meantime, we had to get a home inspection and do a walk through on the house. Since we were buying a new house we wanted to make sure everything was perfect (or as perfect as it could be) before we closed on the house. The builders were pretty much willing to fix anything before we closed on the house. That was a blessing. So after several times through the house we had our list. I now know what to look for in the process if we had to do it again. The first time, we were not so sure, and just so excited to be buying the house. Of course after you move-in, you are like, "man, I should have had them fix that." But oh well, all major things were done. Oh and did I mention that we were packing the apartment during this time and working full-time. I was reminded why I hate moving so much. We were set to close on June 13th. I was not sure if were going to make it by then. The bank part was very stressful and often gave me a headache. I just did not realize how much went into it, and it's harder when you do not understand everything. And it's even harder when no one you are working with is on the same page: banker, Realtor, builders, etc... However, thankfully on June 13th, Patrick and I officially closed on our house!!!! Can I get an Amen!!! We were so excited!!! It had been a process, and we were so thankful to finally call it our home. Closing actually went well. I was  very anxious because we had heard a lot of stories, but I think it went as smooth as it could have. Thank goodness!

The fun didn't stop there.. oh no, when you buy a new house it normally does not come with window treatments. Fun, fun... We spent the rest of the afternoon hanging window treatments in the OUR house. Let me say, a BIG thank you to Patrick's mom, and grandparents. If it weren't for them we would never have gotten them all up. It was a miracle. I did not like that part, it was stressful to me especially having to get the blinds cut at Lowe's. But, in the end everything turned out perfect and we had almost all the window treatments up. Woohoo!

Now, we had the house and apartment for a little over a month. We didn't have to be out of the apartment until the end of July. We had some time to finish getting everything packed up and everything moved. Seemed easy... however, it was a tedious task. We started taking boxes over there a little at a time. It ended up working out because we had time to unpack as we went, but it was a tiring process. I had a conference in June and was away for a few days. Bless Patrick's heart... he took boxes over there every night. Our cruise was also fast approaching so we had to take a break for a little vacation. And there was the debate over the furniture. We knew we wanted and needed new living room furniture (everything we had, had been given to us when we first got married). Luckily, Patrick's mom came to help us measure and debate on the perfect pieces for the living room. We are so pleased with how everything turned out. And if you come to our house, most of the accessories came from TJ Maxx... love that store.

I digress... when we returned from the cruise it was go time. We needed to finish getting everything moved. Thank goodness for my parents. They came over one night to help us finish packing the kitchen, and other odds and ends. I had no motivation for kitchen stuff. We were so thankful for their help. Then came the dilemma. We didn't have a lot of big furniture to move, but our bed is a beast. We had several family members and friends offer to help, but trying to coordinate everyone's schedule was near impossible. Patrick and I decided it would be best to hire some movers to finish moving the big stuff. And let me say that was the best decision we could have made. Have I mentioned how hot it has been here this summer. 

On July 15th, the movers came and finished getting everything. We had done it... we had gotten everything moved (almost). The apartment needed to be cleaned, but we didn't care. We wanted to be in our house. That Friday night was the first night in our house. Everyone asked how it was, and to be honest it was okay.. We were exhausted and Patrick was very sick with a cold/allergies. However, don't worry we have enjoyed every night in our house since. We are so thankful and so blessed. We spent the weekend unpacking and getting a few more items for the house. It was starting to feel like our home. 

We eventually got the apartment cleaned.. thanks again Mom and Dad for your help. Turning in the keys felt so good. We were glad to only have one home now. 

So, there you have it... that is how we became homeowners. It was definitely a journey, but we learned a lot and grew closer together. I have to say we are so blessed and so thankful for this house. God has truly blessed us. We can't wait to make many memories in this home. And for the record we are living here for a long, long, long time. :-)

And lastly, Patrick and I was to thank our parents and the rest of our family and friends who helped us during this process. We are so grateful for each of you, and appreciate all your help. We wouldn't have been able to do it without you. Thank you very much!

As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord

-Joshua 24:15-

***Pictures to come soon. 

We are Homeowners!!! (Part 1)

The Journey of Buying a House

Wow, I know right... We have grown up and bought our first house. I did not really talk much about the home buying experience on our blog, for fear everything would not work out. However, I kind of wish I would have documented all the emotions. But, I remember most of them quite well. 

Let me take you on this journey.... Our lease for our apartment was up in July, therefore, we wanted to look around and see what our options were. We had already spent a lot of money in rent. I do not regret living in the apartment at all. It was the best decision for us when we got married, but we were a little eager to see if buying a house would be possible. The first few months of the year flew by, and we didn't do much. May got here, and I knew we needed to get moving if we were going to buy a house before our lease was up. I had been talking to a Realtor through e-mail, and had got in touch with a mortgage officer at a bank that I actually knew. Patrick and I had ridden around a lot looking at houses, and had browsed online. We sent a list to the Realtor and along with his suggestions one Monday evening we started looking at houses. We probably looked at 8 to 9 houses. It was very overwhelming, but luckily Patrick and I have similar taste. It was pretty easy to decide which ones had potential and which ones did not. At the end of the night... with a late night walk around the track, a few tears (it was overwhelming), and a lot of prayer we knew it was between two houses. Can you say moving fast!?!?!

The next day, we decided we wanted to see both houses again. Patrick was in love with house A, and where I loved house A, I was really leaning towards house B. We went to house A first, and could really see ourselves living in it. We played pretend for awhile, looked around, talked about everything, and at the end Patrick was pretty sold on it. I liked it too... I could have been happy there. However, I begged him to have an open mind going into House B. We eventually reached House B, and we walked in, it was like we both had a peace. It really did feel like home. After a little looking around and comparing the two houses, we know that we wanted House B to be our home. It had almost everything we wanted. The design work was spectacular, and it really felt like a home. House A would have been great, and it did have a 4th bedroom, but it would have needed some painting. And when buying a new house who wants to do any painting right away?
We thought the hard part was over. Then came the words, "If you want this house we need to put an offer in tomorrow." WHAT!?! Tomorrow.... It was like my head was spinning. I needed time to process, but there wasn't much time. We had no idea who else might be looking at the these, and if we wanted to make an offer we did not need to waste much time. Boy, was I a little nervous.

Side note: Patrick and I were doing this on our own. We had talked to our parents, but neither set had seen any of the houses, met the Realtor, NOTHING... We grew up a lot in that week. Patrick and I were proud to be walking this journey together, but I have to say it made me a little nervous knowing we were making all these decisions without any other opinion. However, at the end of the day, it was ours to make. I can  say, we made it through, and I think we did a pretty good job.

Back to the story, nn Wednesday morning we ran the numbers with the loan officer, and by Wednesday afternoon we were sitting in the Realtor's office getting ready to make our first offer. My heart was beating out of my chest, and I was very anxious. Patrick being Patrick was calm and cool, and just wanted the house to be ours. We talked things over, and shot for the moon in our first offer. We knew it was low, but it was worth a shot. We put the offer in and gave them to 3:00 (I think) to respond. The afternoon was long, just waiting for a phone call. Finally, Patrick called me and said they made a counteroffer and it was advised that we take the offer if we want the house. Well, I wanted to counter again... just sure we could get them lower. But, after some advisement we realized it was a great offer. We got them below the asking price that had already been reduced, we got them to build a fence and deck, and put in a refrigerator. Wow, we had done it!!!! The contract was in on our first house! We went to bed smiling that night, with our fingers crossed that everything would fall into place.

To be continued....