Monday, March 23, 2009

A home of our own...

Front of house

Playground in the backyard

Future art studio

This weekend Nate watched the girls while I flew to Utah to check out some house leads. I stayed with his parents because mine were in Baltimore for the Masters National track meet. The Starleys took me to the Joseph Smith Memorial Building for dinner at The Garden (so yummy!) and we walked along the Salt Lake Temple grounds (Nate and I were married there in 2002).

Saturday was a busy day. My mother-in-law, Colleen, walked through 8 houses with me and was a big help in pointing out pros and cons about each one. As we walked through one in particular it really seemed to fit the ticket. In fact, my in-laws are good friends with the owners. As we were leaving another couple came to walk through and my stomache just dropped. Colleen knew them as well (so popular). My realtor said the market has really changed and it's extrememly rare to be in a multiple buyer situation and feel comfortable taking my time going over everything with Nate.
Saturday night was filled with visiting the Wade's new baby girl Cassidy, prepping Anne for Prom (Nate's sister), and watching Twilight with my neice and sister.

Early Sunday morning as I was boarding my flight home, I received a call from my realtor. Bad news. The other couple put in an offer. A long story short today we put in our best offer and a few hours later the sellers accepted. We are in the process of buying a house. I am still in shock but feel very calm and peaceful. I am just so grateful that things seem to be positive and that our family on both sides have really rallied to guide us. I am even grateful to the awkward relationship with our neighbors below us because otherwise we wouldn't have had that extra nudge to plunge. I guess our trials really can be blessings. We're praying everything goes well in the next few months with closing protocols. We'll keep you posted on the developments.

Updates on the Girls:
**As we were climbing the steps to our apartment this morning Katelyn called up, "I'm coming to rescue you Mommy." I am not sure where she picked that line up from but it's nice to know my toddler has my back.
**Katelyn's experimenting with potty training and we spend a lot of time near the toilet. Sarah was so curious what the big deal was she pulled her little body up and was about to fall head first into the bowl...

**Baby dolls just seem to be the toy of choice these days. Sarah has loved them since birth and Katelyn has followed suit just recently. It does make life a little easier other than the days that they each want both dolls...
**Sarah emptying the measuring cup drawer, climbing in, and attempting to close the drawer while crouched inside...

33 comments:

Kyle, Tiffany, and Kaiden said...

Are you moving to Utah then? Where?

adventure knitter said...

wow! you guys are almost real grown-ups now!

Amy said...

Congratulations!!! That house is a dream. *screams* YOU'RE GOING TO BE HOME OWNERS!!!!! AAAGGGHHHHH!!!!

That is seriously cool. Can't wait for more updates.

Starley Family said...

Not until the end of June but yes. We are moving to the East Bench in Ogden close to the dental practice. That is if everything goes through with the loan, inspection, etc.

heather said...

congratulations!! that is so exciting :)

Angela Hill said...

congrats on the house!!! hope everything works out perfectly!!!

kate said...

go great! i'm so happy you'll have your own place to love and decorate to your heart's content!

Trichelle said...

oh what fun!! After all goes well I'll share my home owner woes with you. LOL just kidding it is totally worth it, I love my home and don't ever want to trade, for now anyways.:) I can't wait for you guys to get your cute bums back here.

erin said...

oh stace, that's so exciting! i hope everything goes smoothly for you... i'm jealous. home ownership seems like a distant dream. :)

Cait and Ben said...

Wow, its adorable! Good luck with everything. It can be a really stressful process but at least you already got an accepted offer.

Katie said...

Oh wow Stace! That is so freaking cool! I LOVE the yard and the inside looks really great too. And if it's the one you told me about - then the location is going to be perfect. I'm so happy for you guys. And for your kids cause they are going to love that yard! (and no crazy neighbors....hopefully)

HeatherB said...

Sorry about all the phone weirdness today. It was a hectic evening. I LOVE the house and can't wait to hear more. I will call you tommorow.

April said...

OH my it is the cutest house. LOVE IT!!! Thanks for calling me, it was so fun to talk with you and I am so excited for you. Now we can play. And the backyard is amazing.

kate said...

i meant SO great. :)

Holly said...

Congratulations! We hope everythign goes well with the house.

Shannon said...

Look at that backyard; how fun! Congratulations to you guys; what a great find. All this, and you didn't mention a thing at church. Look at you go!

Sjauna said...

Congratulations! That is awesome! I'm so excited for you guys! Especially the art studio!

Nanci said...

That is exciting! I hope that the playground comes with the home. The mountains look so beautiful behind the house.

Dawn said...

Happy Day! We're excited to have you back close to us. :) Hope everything goes smoothly. Sure do love you!

Jared and Taralie said...

Congrats on your new house. I am so excited for you guys. I can't wait until it's our turn. Good luck with everything!

Colette and The Chickenwings said...

Yea for you guys! Congratulations!!

Rachel said...

congrats, what a great feeling that must be to be moving on and settling down! i wish. :)

Amber said...

Hooray! I am excited for you guys. It was soooo fun to see you this weekend. I thought the house looked really great from the pictures you showed me. I hope everything comes through for you guys. We are really looking forward to having you close by again.Oh- and I can't believe how grown-up your girls are getting.

The Long Family said...

Stace - I am so glad it worked out! I have been dying to hear how it all went!! I am so excited for you guys!!

Olivia said...

Wow a house that has to be really exciting. And scary at the same time. Best of luck. We will all miss you here in CA.

Jessica D. said...

Congratulations to you guys, how great! The backyard looks fantastic for your girls. Hope all the paperwork goes smoothly for you, that was the worst part for us.

Heidi said...

Yeah, that's so exciting that you're moving back to Utah! Having a house will be great, we should definitely get together when you move back!!

Sarajane said...

So exciting. We are thinking about buying a home as well. It feels scary but it will be so nice to have our own yard- the play set looks so fun. Where is the home? Ogden? We will be in South Ogden, we'll have to get together for some play dates when you move back.

Liz said...

Congrats guys! Hope everything goes through as smoothly as it can!! I love Sarah's hair. :) What a charm!

Anonymous said...

Congratulations. The backyard looks amazing. That'll be so great for your kids.

Heather K said...

Hooray for you guys! Congrats!

James and Amy said...

How exciting! Hope everything turns out as planned.

Justin & Erin Linton Family said...

Congrats!! I love the yard!! It is so fun to buying a house, and great tax incentives for you guys!!! Way to go!!! We will have to come and visit sometime. I am also jealous you got to see the Wades baby!! Miss you all.