Wrapping Things Up

We have just been able to settle the closing dates and times for our homes! We are so excited that things are finally coming to a neat conclusion.

We will be able to close on the Saco home at 12:00 p.m.(in Saco) and on the NH home at 4:00 (in Portsmouth).

Thank you for praying.

Gas Removal

We told the kids yesterday that the man was coming today to install our radon removal system. Shaylen asked what radon was. How would you explain it? I said it was a gas that we couldn't smell or see that was bad for us. They've never heard the term "gas" before so we knew it was safe from snickering.

This morning when I woke the kids up, I told them that the man was already here and working in the basement.

So, at breakfast Marshall prays, "Dear Jesus, thank you for this wonderful day. Thank you for the man who is here to take the gas out." To which Taigen replied under his breath, "Maybe he could do that for Shaylen." It was hard to contain the laughter.

Hallelujah!

Marshall and Shaylen love listening to the various Classical Kids' CD's during quiet time. They play quietly in their rooms and I place a CD player in the hallway for them to be able to listen. The past couple of times that they have listened to "Hallelujah Handel", they have sung along at the end. Of course, we can hear everything that transpires upstairs because we have the monitor on. This is what I captured today. The high voice is Marshall and the low one is Shaylen. (She can sing on pitch, but she has to flip her voice up into her higher register.) It's so cute to listen to them try and sing this classic!

New Dictionary Entry

mooner clips- formally "lunar eclipse"; noun. the obscuration of the light of the moon by the intervention of the earth between it and the sun.

Today Shaylen and I were singing "The Wonder Song" which says,
"Oh who can make a __________? (you get to fill in the blank),
I'm sure I can't can you?
Oh who can make a _______________?
No one but God 'tis true."

I had taught it to the kids a couple of Wednesday's ago while we watched the lunar eclipse. We had come home after church and it watching it only added about ten minutes before I got them in bed. I figured, "Why not?" I was emphasizing that it was God who made the sun, moon, earth and stars move the way they do.

Marshall came down the stairs today and heard us singing. He said, "Mommy! I know that song! We sang it while we watched the mooner clips!

New Dictionary Entries

flablulous- adj. formally "fabulous"; def. exceptionally good or unusual; marvelous; superb. Shaylen said tonight, "Mommy, this dinner is flablulous." (We wondered if flablulous is what you get when you eat too much of the fabulous food)

inside and out- idiom. formally "inside out"; def. with the inner side reversed to face the outside. Marshall was putting his pajamas on all by himself and was having difficulties putting on his shirt because they were "inside and out."

neighbor's hood- noun. formally "neighborhood"; def. the area or region around or near some place or thing; vicinity. Shaylen was making up a story about her favorite stuffed animals: "Brownie" and "Snoopy". Snoopy found his way to his "neighbor's hood". Fortunately for Snoopy, he asked for directions (not your typical male dog) and ended up back in the suburbs safely.

The Silent Enemy

Many of you have probably read that the inspector found higher levels of radon in our basement here in Maine. Apparently, a "safe" level of radon in a home must be lower than 4 pCi/L (pico curies per liter).The EPA recommends that you do something to reduce your home’s indoor radon levels if your radon test results are 4.0 pCi/L or higher. Our levels were at 12 pCi/L. The levels of radon can be adjusted through what is called "radon mitigation". I am not a radon specialist, but then, neither are any of my readers, so you'll be more willing to forgive the laymen's terms, right?

I guess radon is a silent, invisible and odorless enemy that creeps into basements and crawl spaces and increases your chances at lung cancer. Before you all panic, our lives are not in jeopardy. It is after years and years of exposure to higher levels of radon that cause the problems. Another thing to keep in mind, winter is a time when radon levels are usually higher, according to the radon specialist that was in our home on Tuesday. So, our levels are most likely lower in the summer when the home is aired out, the snow pack is gone from off the ground and our heat is off.

Like I said in a previous post, we are waiting for our radon mitigation to be done on the 24th and are on a short list in case they have cancellations.

We had the inspection of our home down in NH and surprise, surprise, they found high levels of radon in that basement too! So after numerous phone calls from us to our realtor and from our realtor to the buyers' realtor, we came to an agreement for them to pay for our new basement to have the radon safely ventilated out as well. That can be done after we move in though.

Until then, we are packing up the house and wrapping things up. My house is not spotless. In fact, it looks kind of bare and our guest room looks like a cardboard jungle. This too shall pass. Only 30 days!

Surprise Surprise...More Snow

We have throughly enjoyed having a very snowy winter this year. We were concerned about still being in Maine when winter hit and having to commute down to NH, but thankfully, most of the major snowstorms have hit on either a Monday (Taigen's day off) or Saturdays (a day when Taigen is able to do stuff from home). I just looked at the local news website and found out that Portland has gotten almost 100 inches of snow this year! The piles on the sides of the road (I believe true Mainahs call them "snow-combin's") continue to rise. I have no idea how high they are, but they were above my waist as of the last snowstorm.

We got hit with another snowstorm today starting at midnight and it has been snowing all day. I'm loving every flake.

The Latest

Here is the latest news on everything. It has been a flurry of activity here lately.

We had an inspection on our house and everything looked okay except a loose bannister outside that needs to be fixed (which, by the way, we cannot find out which one). The one thing that was found that couldn't be seen was a high radon reading on our test. There is nothing posing a threat to us at this point, don't worry. I guess readings tend to be higher in the winter because of houses being closed up, snow pack that doesn't allow radon to escape normally through the earth and heat being on that forces the radon up through the foundation. Unfortunately, that remedy means money from our pockets, but if that's what fixes things and makes the sale go through, we have be to okay with that.

Taigen went with both realtors and an inspector to the Somersworth home today. Things look pretty good over there. We're hopefully going to be getting those results tomorrow morning or even tonight! Taigen came home informing me that there are 15 drawers in the new kitchen. We currently have 1 and an itty-bitty one. How nice will that be?

We are still waiting on a definite closing date. Our buyer is wanting to close early, but we are now waiting to see when the radon mitigation will be (currently scheduled for March 24th) and whether or not they want that done before closing. If they are flexible with us paying for the radon mitigation and it being completed after the closing then maybe we could close in a couple weeks. If not, then the closing will most likely stay scheduled for the 31st. We are able to close on the Somersworth home whenever because it is vacant.

Please be praying for a low interest rate. That is the all important detail for us at this time.

The kids have been praying for so long for our house to sell that it is difficult for them to remember to thank the Lord for our sold house and for helping us find the new one. They saw the house for the first time on Sunday just from the driveway. They asked if we could go in and Taigen told them no because we didn't have the keys. So now now they are praying that we will "find the keys so that we can get in." Too funny.

All of the pictures are off the walls here at home and a ton of stuff has been boxed up. The house looks so bare and our guest room looks like a pit of cardboard! We have a good head start on being ready to move. We're just waiting for all the puzzle pieces to be put together.

Thank you for your prayers for us. We are sad to leave Hemlock House (it has been perfect for us!), but are excited for what God has for us in the future.

My Cup Runneth Over

I cannot believe that I am able to post this already! God is overwhelmingly good to us...but you already knew that! We have found a house and our offer has been accepted. We are praising the Lord that we have been able to complete this last puzzle piece of our transition down to the Dover area.

We looked at this house yesterday, put in a low offer at around noon. They countered back within two hours (from Oregon), we countered and they accepted, and all by about four o'clock. It went so fast. We got a great deal on the house!

Thank you so much for your prayers. As of right now, we close on March 31st for both homes.

Good News!!!

After a whirlwind weekend of showings and offers and counteroffers, we finally have a Purchase and Sales Agreement on our home. The contract is getting final signatures today and we should sign it either tonight or tomorrow. The only contingency is an inspection of our home (Thursday), which is normal.

We praise the Lord for His working in this situation and for making this offer happen at this point. Now we can pray for the last piece of our transition puzzle and pray for a home which we can purchase down there and that things could happen in an expeditious fashion.

Thank you so much for your prayers. It means so much to us that you helped us share this burden.

Two Extremes: Mortification & Relief

Stop. Think through your Sunday morning ritual. Did you hurriedly get ready for church? Did you leave your house spotless?

We didn't. Now, the house is clean. You know that. I've been scouring and scrubbing this past week for the three showings we had. But! The house was in a bit of disarray as we left on Sunday morning. I won't bother you with the details. Let's just say that the house looked lived in. It looked like someone had hurriedly gotten themselves and two kids ready for church and left without a second glance around.

So imagine my mortification when Taigen checked his voicemail (from 10:00 a.m.) after church and told me that Craig said we had a showing at 12:30! In a second I thought through every detail of our house that was out of place. Curtains were not opened. Pajamas not folded and put away. Toothbrushes on the counter. Beds not made. What!?!?!? I was mortified. That's probably the understatement of the century. I went throughout the rest of the day thinking about how awful our house looked for the showing. I went to bed thinking about it.

Can you imagine how you would have felt? Taigen, of course, laughed. He's a guy though. Women think differently.

So, if you can imagine my mortification, you can then imagine the huge wave of relief that washed over me when Craig called this morning and said that the couple did NOT come in the house because they had already seen the house. Whew! I was so relieved!

Take Two Showings and Call Me In the Morning

I know you all just love to clean when you're sick, right? I got the flu bug on Thursday and it hit me like a Mack truck. Bletch. Taigen was a sweetheart and put me to bed as soon as he got home and made me stay there all day yesterday. Today, I wasn't so lucky. I had to clean.

Friday, we got a call from our realtor. We got a low offer from the guy who looked at our house on Tuesday and we countered. He wanted to come back with his family today before they accepted or rejected our counter. That's good! Shortly after that call, Craig called back and said that he had another couple wanting to look at our house today.

After Taigen attended our church's Valentine's Day banquet (by himself, poor guy), he came home and cleaned. I got up this morning and cleaned a bit more. We had a showing at 11 (this lasted about 20 minutes) and a showing at 1:30 (which lasted about a half an hour). The second couple and their realtor split to go and get some lunch and will reconvene at 3:00 to hopefully agree to our counter. Wouldn't it be nice if we sold our house today? It would sure make me feel better! I am currently sipping my glass of 7-Up and thinking to myself that I might need to disinfect the computer. Yuck.

Well, if all else fails, my house is spotless (but maybe not germ free) once again!

Auntie Janelle Scores Again

Auntie Janelle has a never ending resource of ideas of things to get for Marshall and Shaylen. She also has an eye for a bargain.

Her recent shopping adventure allowed her to discover a new hit and Thomas the Tank Engine has officially moved into our basement. Janelle came over today and brought it out for the kids to enjoy. They spent the majority of the day inside Thomas playing Go Fish, reading books and taking many of their stuffed animals for a train ride.

Fortunately for me, Thomas can also be folded up and tucked away neatly at the end of the day. The thing is HUGE.

Winter Weather

Today offered all kinds of weather. We woke up to about 7 inches of fresh snow on the ground. Taigen had planned ahead of time and brought home stuff to work on so he wouldn't have to drive the interstate all the way down to Dover.

Just as Taigen got out to snow-blow, the freezing rain started in. This lasted the majority of the day. Eventually it turned into rain and then, of course, flooding was beginning to be an issue in parts of Maine and New Hampshire. Our mid-week service was cancelled. (I must admit, I was leery of driving on ice all the way down and all the way back.)

I looked out at the street this afternoon and realized that half of our "For Sale" sign is buried in this winter's snow offering. Thankfully you can still see the pertinent information, but if we get much more, we're going to have to go and dig it out.

Another Showing...Hooray!

We had another showing today that was scheduled for 2:45. Taigen called me at 12:00 and said that they had bumped up the showing time to 1:30. We blitzed through lunch and hurriedly cleaned up.

The house was ready and we (the kids and I) were walking through checking everything before we took off when the realtor showed up with her client. It was 1:00! Gasp! They were early! I'm so thankful that I was done picking things up.

The realtor insisted that we stay. She didn't want me to have to take the kids outside on such a cold day.

They (the realtor and one guy) stayed for about 15 minutes and commented on how nice the house was. The guy said he had two young children (2 yrs. & 4 yrs.). The house would be perfect for him then, right? Hopefully he could see that the house has lots of room to play. He asked about where the property boundaries were. (Maybe he was thinking of the nice backyard that would be perfect for his two kids!)

I thought the showing went well. They seemed positive. When they went outside the realtor took out our disclosure sheet and the client took a brochure from our box. They chatted briefly before they left. Hopefully we'll get an offer or at least good feedback sometime soon!

If all else fails (you knew this was coming...) my house is spotless AGAIN.

Special Weekend Guests

Uncle Jason, Auntie Joni, Enzo and Julia came up this weekend! We are always so delighted when they come. Marshall and Shaylen were really looking forward to playing with Enzo. The basement always looks very much lived in when the kids have been down there for a while. You definitely have to watch your step. I love it that we have a basement that the kids can have a blast in.

It's always so much fun to have a house full of good friends. Having the Pileggis come up means that we get to "make" Mike and Brenda Bowman andAuntie Janelle over. These friends are good medicine for us.

This time we managed to convince Mike that he had to bring red meat (read that: steak) for dinner on Friday night. He obliged us and we savored every bite of steak (and chicken) that had been marinated in his magic marinade. (Are you drooling yet?)

Marshall and Shaylen took even more interest in Julia this time and offered to help Auntie Joni feed her. It was hilarious to see Auntie Joni, Marshall and Shaylen all opening their mouths to encourage Julia to take her bite of baby food.

On Saturday the guys were gracious in offering to watch the kids during naptime (Enzo and Julia) and quiet time (Marshall & Shaylen) so that Joni, Janelle and I could go and visit at Starbucks. What a treat! This is starting to become a tradition with us girls. I'm certainly not arguing!

Jason and Joni visited Cornerstone on Sunday morning and then attended Heritage on Sunday night as they started their trek home to Mass. It was so good to see them there in the congregation and get a one last ounce of fellowship with them before they had to head home.

The "Gideon" Song

Marshall and Shaylen entered our Patch the Pirate Pee Wee Club shortly before they turned four. Every so often, the Pee Wees sing in church at the beginning of the Sunday evening service.

This last time they sang a song about Gideon, who with God's help conquered Midian way back in Old Testament times. It's a cute (but long) song for our kids to learn about trusting in God.

The Pee Wees have sung a few times already in church, but this time, we remembered to bring our camera and caught some of the action. We thought you might enjoy watching it too! Shaylen loves to sing and, as you can tell, has few inhibitions when it comes to singing. Marshall on the other hand is probably thinking about Harrier Jump Jets.

(Regardless, we know the Grandmas are going to eat it up!)

Airheadedness Has It's Advantages

Sometimes I can be a bit airheaded. We won't digress on that subject. Due to my airheadedness, I wrote down that Joni's birthday was January 29th. (It's actually February 28th...don't ask me how I got the date wrong...I have no clue. Does that make me clueless as well?)

Taigen and I decided that it would be a wonderful birthday treat for me to travel down to Massachusetts and spend a chunk of the day with her. I called the day before and said, "What are you doing tomorrow? I know it's your birthday and all, but..."

"Well, (long pause) nothing."
"Would you mind if I came to visit?"
"No! But (long pause) you know it's not my birthday!"

We went down anyway and had a wonderful time together. Shaylen wanted to hold Julia this time (so we got several dozen pictures of that). We got to play short games of softball, soccer and football in their living room, and I even pretended to be Enzo's horse. (May I say that Joni's tile floor is VERY rough on the knees?)

It was too short a visit, but it was chatting face to face instead of email or the phone and letting our kids play together. It was worth it!

House Update

We have a showing today at 2:45! Please pray that we'll either get a good offer today/tomorrow or at least get some decent feedback. We're thankful for the activity in the dead of winter.

Outside Fun

It's hard to believe on a day like today (snowy) that just last week the kids were able to go outside after a grocery run and ride their scooters in the driveway for a bit. My dad and stepmom got these for the kids for their birthday.

Until last week they have only been able to ride around in the kitchen and basement. They are a huge hit. They work so well for the kids because of the three-wheel feature. It makes them feel like big kids even though their balance isn't quite where it needs to be for "big-kid" scooters.