Update

*okay* (deep breath)...
Within a few weeks of my last post, we found another house that we thought we could live with... it was near that first house, but in a slightly better area.  Same floorplan, but situated a little better (one room had the door in a different spot - amazing the difference it makes!).   Backyard was better, and included several fruit trees.  We made an offer... and in mid-March, we closed... which means we're now officially homeowners.
The lengthy escrow time was due to the house being a short sale.  Not a fun process (although definitely better for the buyer than the seller), but it was one of the things that brought the house into our price range.
After scraping the ceilings in the living room, hallway, and all three bedrooms (including closets), having the house fumigated, painting all of those rooms, and having new carpeting installed, we are all moved in!  Still lots of work to be done, both inside and outside, but we are SO blessed!
We have also added a new "member" to our family... an adorable Golden Retriever named Ruby!

I am most certainly biased, but I am convinced that she is one of the cutest puppies I've ever met!  She's also pretty darn entertaining. ;)  She's doing well with house-training, and she's just about mastered "sit" ... but anytime she sees her reflection, she believes that the appropriate course of action is to bark and growl... I try to distract her, but it's hard when I'm out of breath from laughing.

And reality sets in...

Even before we'd submitted the offer, we find out that it's already been bid up - in an attempt to win, the other offers have gotten higher and higher, and so pretty well taken it out of our price range.  No suprise in this market, but a sad reality check that affordable housing is pretty scarce, even with the gov't incentive.

EEK!

Found a house we think could work... putting in an offer on said house... trying not to get hopes up, as we know we're not the only offer... now it's just pray and wait and see!

Where is HGTV when you need them?

House-hunting - at least in this market - is an endurance sport. It's also an educational experience.
It's funny, how when I was growing up, I always thought of buying a house as a very grown-up activity. Now that I'm engaged in said activity, I quite often feel like a 10-year-old. ;)

Happy Birthday, Zach!

Happy Birthday to my "little" brother... 29 years ago, my life became a lot less quiet, and a LOT more interesting! I'm glad I got to share growing up with you! Love you!

Just wondering...

We've all had songs stuck in our heads. Over the weekend and well into this week, the song in my head has been "I L.O.V.E. my C.U.B.E. Nissan" ... no, I'm serious. It's a Canadian thing - and no, I'm not claiming to be a Canadian, but I have a good friend who is, and she sent me a youtube link to the song... and.... well.... it's catchy. (Just go to youtube and search C.U.B.E. Nissan)

Anyway, the point here is that early last week, I found myself extremely grieved/heavy-hearted over some things going on with people close to me. In the midst of it all, this period of time when I couldn't think or pray coherently, when it felt like all I could do was cry, I realized that there was an old hymn stuck in my head. It was there without my realizing it - I was singing it almost before I remembered it.

The hymn? "I Must Tell Jesus!"

Verse 1:
I must tell Jesus all of my trials,
I cannot bear these burdens alone;
In my distress He kindly will help me,
He ever loves and cares for His own.

Refrain:
I must tell Jesus! I must tell Jesus!
I cannot bear my burdens alone;
I must tell Jesus! I must tell Jesus!
Jesus can help me, Jesus alone.

Here's my favorite part: I have not sung, not discussed, not thought about this song in years - and by years, I mean at least fifteen years. And yet in a heartbeat, I remembered it perfectly!
Coincidence? Perhaps. Or maybe you'll agree with me, that it was the timely reminder of a faithful God that He's big enough to handle everything weighing me down, and that I didn't need to try deal with it on my own!

This experience then led me to start thinking about that idea of running to Jesus, casting our burdens on Him... but then I started to wonder, in this self-help era, have we forgotten how to do that? There are "Dummies" books for nearly anything you might want to do/learn/accomplish (within reason, of course). We've worked so hard to equip ourselves to be healthy, functional human beings, but I'm afraid that in doing so, we've lost sight of the reality that the Wholeness we're seeking is found in the only One who is truly whole!

You Know... When

* You know a family Wii tournament has gone on too long when you have to pass around the Ben-Gay.

* You know it's been too long since you cleaned out your fridge when it seems more like cleaning up after science class experiments gone wrong.

* You know it's truly a girl movie when there's a joke about laughing so hard it makes you pee.