I guess I'm pretty overdue on an update for my family and friends. On one hand it seems like I don't do much of anything while in this holding pattern. On the other hand it seems like I manage to keep busy enough.
Mouse had her 9th birthday. It was a small family affair...as usual. Big brother came through with a horse for the American Girl. He gives the best presents.
I've done so much quilting that I finally broke down and purchased a quilting sewing machine. No. Not the 10K babies that are all the rage. I just couldn't go there. Luckily I learned about a simple Brother that is nothing but a quilter. Straight line - no fancy stitches. Large throat -- the thing I really needed so I don't have to fight the quilt so much while doing the actual quilting. Needle down, leg lift. Its amazing how much time I save with these little features. And well under one thousand. Very very happy with that. Really, I don't know if I ever would have broken down and paid the big bucks for the fancy machines.
Hubs and I made a quick trip into Texas as the preliminary house hunting start. It was time to get our feet wet. We looked in three different areas with three different realtors. 21 houses in 5 days. I was DONE by the end.
We looked at Tyler first. LOVE the area. We didn't find anything to offer on with what we are looking for but had one strong possibility. We left with some questions on that house which the realtor was too get back to us on. (In the end it was overpriced and I didn't like the house.)
On the way to our next areas we had pretty much decided Tyler was it. Its about the same size as Waco but more upscale.
Once in Waco we spent the evenings with our son and our friends....and Tyler pretty much lost appeal. Why in the world would I go anywhere but straight back to all the friends and family right there where we left them??? After all, with Hubs gone half the time, I need a built in support network. And it just doesn't get better than 10 of my favorite friends and a grown son. Duh.
We found the perfect house. Well, I didn't love the house but I loved the property and could imagine a long and happy life right there. We offered. The owner pulled it off the market. Hubs was crushed. It had all we were looking for and more in our price range.
The only other one we were about to offer on ended up being in foreclosure and we would have had 12 days to close on. With a VA (government) loan. Hah! The government does not work in 12 days. They would probably take 12 months just because we asked. So we let that one go. It was missing some of what we were looking for and was in Waco school district which is a big no-no anyways.
So we came home exhausted with two strikes. (And as a side I must say I'm glad we didn't offer for the houses in West -- dodged a bullet on that one. A massive explosion in your new town is not the kind of welcome most of us look for. And a big shout out to all my friends and family that are either first responders, medical staff, volunteers with the Red Cross, proving shelter or meals.....you guys are my heros. Can't wait to get back to living with you!)
And now Hubs is back in Saudi and I am starting to unravel our lives from this area. Starting to get rid of the winter clothing and eat all the stuff in the pantry. Funny. We came for Thanksgiving.....and stayed until May. LOL. Our life never goes according to plan. But that is okay.
We anticipate the move in mid May. Yes, I am pulling Mouse out of school early. She will live. We will be staying in a long term slot at a RV park for however long it takes to find and close on a house. Two kids. Two dogs. It will be painful. There will be short tempers. I hope to find a camp for Mouses summer days and a job for the teen.
Hopefully the next news will be good news with a new home in the works. Or maybe it will be the woes of living in a travel trailer with a family and pets. Surely that will bring some humorous events.
Remember us in your prayers. Its not tragic but its not easy being us!
Mouse had her 9th birthday. It was a small family affair...as usual. Big brother came through with a horse for the American Girl. He gives the best presents.
I've done so much quilting that I finally broke down and purchased a quilting sewing machine. No. Not the 10K babies that are all the rage. I just couldn't go there. Luckily I learned about a simple Brother that is nothing but a quilter. Straight line - no fancy stitches. Large throat -- the thing I really needed so I don't have to fight the quilt so much while doing the actual quilting. Needle down, leg lift. Its amazing how much time I save with these little features. And well under one thousand. Very very happy with that. Really, I don't know if I ever would have broken down and paid the big bucks for the fancy machines.
Hubs and I made a quick trip into Texas as the preliminary house hunting start. It was time to get our feet wet. We looked in three different areas with three different realtors. 21 houses in 5 days. I was DONE by the end.
We looked at Tyler first. LOVE the area. We didn't find anything to offer on with what we are looking for but had one strong possibility. We left with some questions on that house which the realtor was too get back to us on. (In the end it was overpriced and I didn't like the house.)
On the way to our next areas we had pretty much decided Tyler was it. Its about the same size as Waco but more upscale.
Once in Waco we spent the evenings with our son and our friends....and Tyler pretty much lost appeal. Why in the world would I go anywhere but straight back to all the friends and family right there where we left them??? After all, with Hubs gone half the time, I need a built in support network. And it just doesn't get better than 10 of my favorite friends and a grown son. Duh.
We found the perfect house. Well, I didn't love the house but I loved the property and could imagine a long and happy life right there. We offered. The owner pulled it off the market. Hubs was crushed. It had all we were looking for and more in our price range.
The only other one we were about to offer on ended up being in foreclosure and we would have had 12 days to close on. With a VA (government) loan. Hah! The government does not work in 12 days. They would probably take 12 months just because we asked. So we let that one go. It was missing some of what we were looking for and was in Waco school district which is a big no-no anyways.
So we came home exhausted with two strikes. (And as a side I must say I'm glad we didn't offer for the houses in West -- dodged a bullet on that one. A massive explosion in your new town is not the kind of welcome most of us look for. And a big shout out to all my friends and family that are either first responders, medical staff, volunteers with the Red Cross, proving shelter or meals.....you guys are my heros. Can't wait to get back to living with you!)
And now Hubs is back in Saudi and I am starting to unravel our lives from this area. Starting to get rid of the winter clothing and eat all the stuff in the pantry. Funny. We came for Thanksgiving.....and stayed until May. LOL. Our life never goes according to plan. But that is okay.
We anticipate the move in mid May. Yes, I am pulling Mouse out of school early. She will live. We will be staying in a long term slot at a RV park for however long it takes to find and close on a house. Two kids. Two dogs. It will be painful. There will be short tempers. I hope to find a camp for Mouses summer days and a job for the teen.
Hopefully the next news will be good news with a new home in the works. Or maybe it will be the woes of living in a travel trailer with a family and pets. Surely that will bring some humorous events.
Remember us in your prayers. Its not tragic but its not easy being us!
