A Series of Fortunate Events

The last two months have been rather exciting and full of changes for us. The way things have come together goes far beyond mere coincidence, many including us would call it the favor of God. Allow me to explain in further detail.......

Two months ago Jeremy put his resume up on career builder to see whether any better opportunities in his field (Engineered Wood Specialist or EWP) were available. In less than 24 hours he received calls from 3 recruiters, all drilling him with the same questions and giving him the same blah-blah-blah schpeel. The 3rd recruiter, let's call him Chris, is by far the worst and goes on to tell Jeremy he will never be able to find a job making as much money as Jeremy thought he deserved with the few years experience he had. After hanging up the phone with Chris, Jeremy decided to call it quits and took his resume off the internet.

The very next morning Chris calls back saying he has found a position in High Point with Builders First Source (BFS) and would Jeremy be available for an interview that week? It turns out the day before Jeremy posted his resume, the head of BFS's Engineered Wood Department put in his two weeks notice. Within the week Jeremy has an offer on the table to be BFS's next EWP specialist with a base pay increase and guaranteed commission.

Jeremy designing floor systems on houses all day does not help the case of "house fever" he has had since we have been married. We've lived in some pretty interesting places (cottage, professor's basement, apartments, his grandparents', more and more apartments and currently a beautiful home we are housesitting/renting) all for which we are extremely grateful. God's provision of homes has never stopped Jeremy from continuing to look for land to build on or for homes for sale. Within the last few weeks I have decided to get on board and entertain the thought of getting a place of our own.

Three weeks ago while visiting friends we noticed a small house for sale (House A) just across the street from them. We peeked in and though it needed work, it was reasonably priced. Already the cost had dropped $10K since it was first listed, what a deal! We decide to drive around the neighborhood to see what it was like and came across a nicer home still in our price range (House B) that was having an open house that Sunday. After church we pile the kids in the car and convince Barb to come with us. Well, House B was cute, cute, cute - but just not right for us. As we are heading back to the car Barb flags me down - she has walked two houses down to the neighbors (House C) who happens to be selling as well and asks if they too are having an open house. No, they were not, but we were invited in to check it out anyway. House C was by far my favorite but a little too expensive. Nonetheless, I walked through the house admiring the less-than-3-year-old appliances, great fenced in backyard with playground, huge bedrooms and so forth. Barb comes to me and says, "I've just given your contact info to the owners, would you like theirs as well?" Sure why not, I don't want to seem rude.

Five days later House A has dropped another $10K. At this point the house is listed under 100K and investors/flippers are likely to snatch it up and flip it. We get in for a showing and put in a bid that Thursday afternoon. Two offers are to follow that day and a bidding war has begun. We decide not to get carried away - if this house was meant for us, great. If not, we can't wait to see what better offer is awaiting us. The weekend rolls around with no word from the agent. Sunday afternoon Maude (the owner of the home we are currently renting) stops over for a visit. Maude is home for 6 weeks from China where she teaches English. She informs us that she is going to be putting her house on the market come October. Not to worry we tell her, we have some things in the works and hopefully House A will be ours within the month.

Monday morning rolls around and still no word on the deal. I come home mid afternoon and there is a message on the machine - it is our new friend, the homeowner of House C, saying they will be taking the house off the market and would we be interested in renting or perhaps buying for $7K less than they were asking? Basically all the owners wanted was to pay off their current mortgage - they weren't looking to make a cent off the deal. Later that afternoon we are informed that House A went to a higher bidder. We get to thinking- hmmm, what if we rent House C for one year at which point we decide whether we want to buy it, and if so have all our rent $ go towards the cost of the house? This will give us the opportunity to get our feet wet with the whole "home ownership" deal, find out just how much we like the house and the neighborhood without making the commitment of buying. Jeremy calls and the owners agree to the win-win deal. Last night we signed the contract and plan to move in September 1.

And there you have it folks, a series of fortunate events! We have truly been blessed.

Our first house.... almost.

Last night we signed a 1 year lease with option to buy. We will move in September 1st and hope to purchase the house in 2008. Details to come.

Michigan June 07

Last month the girls and I took a trip to Michigan to attend my cousin Beth's wedding. Moriah was the flower girl, wearing Beth's dress from when she was a flower girl at the age of 3. This was Moriah's first debut and we were proud that she made it down the aisle, regardless of the fact that she forgot to throw the flowers (oops!). The plan was for Jeremy to fly in midweek to attend, but his flight was canceled and therefore could not make it for the festivities. So, I was left to fly both ways with the girls with a connection in Chicago. People looked at me as though I were crazy for taking on such a task with two young ones. Those of you with kids know what I'm talking about when you walk onto an airplane and everyone gives you the look, "Man, I sure do hope she isn't sitting next to me with kids who are sure to cry and interrupt my less-than-comfortable nap." The girls ended up doing great, surprising me and all the fellow passengers on our flights.

Above is a slideshow of the wedding and the week we spent with family. This was the first time in over 4 years that my parents, three brothers and I have been together since my wedding. Moriah was a little confused at first and called all of my brothers "Uncle John", unable to differentiate between the three. I must give credit to Kyle Bultman, the photographer of the first 33 shots of the slide show. He is my cousin Katie's boyfriend and an excellent photographer. He managed to capture great shots and I can't thank him enough for sharing his work with me (and you). Be sure to check out more of his work or order prints through him at: Bultman Photography & Bultman Blog

Long Overdue....Memorial Day Weekend at Meme and Gichan's

Jeremy did a great job putting together this slideshow - be sure your volume is on

Fun in the Sun

Life in the World of Momo and Maddie

*Moriah has been "poop-trained" for nearly a year and a half...as of last week she is now fully potty trained. It turned out to be easier than I expected, making me wish I would have exerted the effort far sooner. All it took was one day of wetting her pants outside multiple times and having to stop playing, come inside, get washed up, and change clothes before returning to play. Moriah figured out real quick that if she went potty on the toilet her playtime would last longer.

*Moriah-isms: i did it all-my-by-myself; what is that color is that?; what are you are doing?; mom, what are you thinking about?; play-doh = "clay-doh"; moriah still tells me once a day "Happy Mother's Day"; the only color she never mistakes - brown; restaurant = runtaurant; "i can do anything i need"; after Moriah has had a time out, she will say "I am ready to be sweet now"; if it seems like we are arguing or if we raise our voices, she will interject "hey, be nice to each other"

*Moriah's favorite things to do: playing the piano and singing made-up songs, gardening, emptying the dishwasher, reading books while going potty, running (preferably with you right next to or behind her), singing Barney songs, going to church "to go see Jesus," and of course playing with the aunties.

*When Madelyn is tired there are two things that will always satisfy her: a good swaddle and sucking at least three of her fingers (we have Jamie J to thank for that).

...more to come soon for Madelyn. Right now her days are filled with eating and naps. She has become much more responsive and smiles quite a bit. There are times when she looks as though she wants to belly laugh but hasn't figured out how to. Instead, she just gives us a big cheeser and kicks her legs as fast as she can.

A few images for the Farmsick.

Montreat College Class of 2007

On Saturday, May 12th, we all went to Grant's Graduation in Black Mountain, N.C. Congratulations Grant, we look forward to having you home this year.

life is beautiful...

This past Saturday after our breakfast ritual I got Moriah dressed and took her outside to play and take pictures. Out of 150 shots this is my favorite. Looking back I can't really remember an intentional decision to capture this moment. To me this picture illustrates everything wonderful and great about youth. When I look at this picture it makes me happy.

Angel

Family Shoot...

Madelyn

Two weeks in pictures...

Mo Knows Baseball