Thankful

So Everyone has been doing posts a day for things they are thankful for, I am Thankful for many things but I will never be one to blog every day, so in wanting to express my Thankfulness I give you my 30 days of thankfulness in 1 post… yup no need to check back every day you get it all NOW! That you can be thankful for.

1. Seth- I know its kinda clique but I am so Thankful for my husband, he loves me unconditionally and is always there when I need him the most. He has been an amazing partner to go through so many life changes in 1 year with. Although we have only been married a little over 7 months he is totally my rock and the one I love with all my heart!
2. My Mom- My mom has taught me so many great things, she taught me to cook and to be the great wife I am aspiring to be. We have had our ups and downs but what mother/ daughter doesn’t have those? My mom is always there to help all her kids when they need help and she doesn’t ever let them give up on their dreams.
3. My Dad- My dad has truly shown me what hard work means, he has done so many great things and has always worked so hard to give me and my family everything we ever wanted. He is my hero and someone I truly look up to. He has helped me grown and learn in so many ways and for that I will always be thankful for. I know I will always be daddy’s little princess.
4. My Brothers- I am grateful for the teasing and playful times we have had growing up, I am thankful for the different qualities each of them bring to my life. Jesten is awesome in figuring out techy stuff and is someone I can always count on to give me good opinions of gadgets, he is also awesome with cars. Jesten has taught me how to take care of those things that are important to me whether that be my car or loved ones. Kasey- is kind of a jack of all trades, he is very handy and does amazing tile and construction type work, kasey is someone I can go to when I am not sure how to fix things. He is also someone who has taught me no matter how hard things get, you gotta keep moving forward. Presten- is crazy! I think that’s a great word to describe him, he is all over he has many friends in many different types. He has so much energy and is so fun to be around. Presten has taught me to go with the flow, and have fun don’t worry what people think about you.
5. My In- Laws- I really am pretty lucky with my in-laws, they are always there for us and willing to help in any way they can. They don’t ask much of us and understand that we still adjusting to married life and working out the kinks of having 2 families to include in life now.
6. My Friends- I am so thankful for all my friends the ones who live close and the ones who live far away. I am thankful for them always being there for me and picking me up when I need a boost, for giving me a kick when I needed a fixing. I am glad that with so many of my friends that even though we don’t talk every day or even every week, that when we find the time to talk that its like we never missed a beat. I really do have the best friends
7. Zoie- I truly love my dog, she is a great pet. She has quiet a personality and is very jealous, but she has always been there for me when I just need her to be. She has been by my side through so many ups and downs and has been very loyal to me.
8. Huk – He is a new addition to my family, but we are so happy he is with us. We weren’t really planning on getting another dog when we got him but he is perfect for us. I love seeing how happy Seth is to finally have a dog of his own that he gets to raise from a puppy. He is great to play with and is always there to give loves. He is full of energy and always wants to play. He is a good dog.
9. The Lakes/ Wave running – I am so grateful that every winter I have something to look forward to. I have told many people I feel most like me when I am out on the lake alone than anywhere else. It’s a very special feeling and place for me and I am so thankful for that.
10. Running Water / Flushing Toilets – I think this goes without saying much… So thankful
11. Prayer- I am so thankful that I know the power of prayer, and although I probably don’t pray as much as I should, I am thankful that I learned at a very young age the real power of pray and that he is listening.
12. Life Lessons- I wouldn’t be the person I am today or doing the things I am doing today with out the trials I have been through. I am so glad that I was able to look at the lessons and learn as much as I have. To look back 10 years and see myself just graduating high school and look at where I am at in life now I am so thankful for all the hard times that built me.
13. Dr. Pepper- I love this stuff, I am so thankful for it and the boost it gives me when I need it.
14. Education- I am thankful for my education and all that I have learned, not just in text books but the underlying knowledge from doing my homework and attending classes. I am thankful to know how to do many things and be able to problem solve, to think clearly and to understand what I read. I am thankful that I was able to attend college and push to get my degree.
15. Facebook- I know this seems kind of odd, but I love facebook not because I can stalk people I went to high school with or see what so and so is up to now. But I am thankful with all my friends throughout the world that even though we don’t talk because of costs, time zones and busy lifes that I am still able to know what is happening in so many of my friends lives, even if it’s just a snapshot.
16. Lotion- I have such dry skin especially this time of year that I am so thankful that there is something out there to soothe my dry itchy skin.
17. My Job- My job is just like any other jobs, I have good days and bad days, but in the end I am so thankful for what I do and knowing that I am here to help the employees with their questions.
18. Insurance- Yes I hate paying it, but I am thankful for it when I see doctors bills or claims. I am glad that I can make someone else pay for the majority of my medical bills or car accidents.
19. Music- Sometimes there is nothing better than cranking up some music and just jamming out. It can help with so many emotions and to clear my mind.
20. Family Vacations- I am so thankful for the many great times that I have been able to spend with my family, not having to deal with the hassles of everyday life and being able to see and do new things together. To learn the best type of history lessons and to test our nerves on new and thrilling rides. I have so many great memories of vacationing with my family. I hope that I am able to give my future children some of these great memories as well.
21. Online Banking- I am so thankful that I don’t have to go to the bank anytime I want to know something or pay a bill. I am glad I can manage my life with just the click of a mouse and know where I am at, at all times financially.
22. My Sense- You know Sight, Hearing, Touch, Smell, Taste… I am so glad that I am able to do them all, that I can take in all that is around me and the beauty that comes from that.
23. My Health – I am overall in good health, yes I could lose some weight and would be better, but I am thankful for where I am today. I have no major medical issue and I am able to live a normal day to day life.
24. Heat- I am so thankful that on cold days I can be warm.
25. Electricity- I use so much of it every day and it would be so easy to take it for granted, but from the time I wake up in the morning until I go to sleep at night, and even while I sleep it’s there making my life run smoother.
26. Sleep- I am thankful that I am able to re-energize my body to keep it going, as well as the many fun and interesting dreams that happen while sleeping.
27. Those that serve our Country/ My Freedom- I am so very grateful for those that serve and protect us, for the sacrifices they, the family and loved ones make for our freedom. I have many great friends who are in the military and I appreciate them so much. I am so thankful that I can go
to sleep at night and not worry if my home will be under attack in the night.
28Sunsets- I love them, they are BEAUTIFUL .
29. Water- I am thankful for something so pure and natural that we all need on a daily basis, I am thankful to be able to drink it, play it in, and clean with it.
30. Life- I am so thankful for this journey, though its truly just beginning I am thankful that I am here and that I am able to enjoy every minute of it.

Home sweet home

I tell you once you get your hearts set on a house you fight to get it…
This time fighting paid off. We got our House but it has not been without many hoops and obstacles to overcome. I have 2 other posts on here describing some of them but let me tell you the rest of the story of us getting our home.
After the house went to foreclosure Bank of America bought back the house then gave it to Fannie Mae, I started to think that this might be nice because the majority of fannie mae homes we looked at were newly painted (one less thing I would have to do J ) and in some cases they replaced the carpets, the carpets in the house are not bad, they need a good deep cleaning though. So I thought, maybe that’s why we are going to have to wait even longer to get our home, because that’s they way life works right??? Not so much…
Our Agent had set up a search that tracked any changes on the address of the house we love, every hour of everyday so that when it did come back on the market we could know ASAP. Well it came up one Monday night while Seth and I were relaxing at home, I didn’t have my phone on me for a few hours and as soon as I looked it I saw the email “ Something has changed with 2288” I quickly clicked on it to see if it was true. It was, the price was still in our price range and we were super happy. We logged onto the computer and read the description and looked at the new photos to see if they had done anything else to the house, all they frantically calling and texting our agent. We didn’t want to risk not getting our offer in as soon as possible.
In reading the new listing we didn’t notice anything that said they were accepting offers for x amount of time, so we assumed it was the first good offer would be accepted…
While talking to our agent he said that we could get our offer in that night, but that he didn’t think anyone would jump as quickly and we would probably be okay sending over all the documents in the morning. I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep so I instead that it get done that night. While our agent drew up the documents Seth and I ran to my parents house to use their printer / fax machine.
We got the documents and printed, signed and tried to fax them back, my parents fax machine was not working and kept faxing blank pages (yes I had the pages the correct way.) So we ran to Office Max and faxed them there.. I still can’t believe it cost $18.00 to fax 12 pages. Whew it was in and we should hear back in the next day or so on whether it was ours.
The next we found out that the listing agent had decided to accept all offers on the house until Friday at noon and then they would choose the Highest and Best offer, rather than doing what 99% of agents do and just accept the 1st acceptable offer. So again we got the lame agent who wants to complicate everything, I was so bummed! We had done everything right and yet still more hurdles to jump over.
We talked to our agent and he told us about what’s called an escalation clause, basically we say our offer it $1000 over the highest offer received. With that in place we felt good but scared that the price would go over what we really wanted to pay for the house.
On Thursday the listing agent came back and asked for Highest and Best offers from everyone, he asked us to resubmit our offer with our escalation clause with and up to amount, something like we will pay $1000 over highest offer up to XXX dollars. This became more scary in the fact that we has to name an up to amount, we didn’t want to go too high for fear it would drive up our price, yet not low either cause we wanted the house to be ours. We submitted our offer and was told that on Friday at noon the listing agent would choose the offer he would submit to the bank.
Mid morning Friday I got an email from our agent telling me that all offers are being submitted to the bank and they will choose what offer they are going to accept, so we weren’t looking to get an answer back until Monday or Tuesday the following week at the earliest.
Around 4pm, I was with Seth at a Chocolate Festival that ColdStone was participating in at South Towne Mall, it was noisy and I didn’t hear my phone. Something told me to look at it and I have a missed call, voice mail and a text from our agent saying CALL ME!
I quickly called our agent to see what was going on. WE GOT IT! Well that’s if we wanted to pay the higher price on the home… it was something that we weren’t sure we wanted to do and it was very stressful/ heartbreaking to deal with. On one hand we GOT IT! It was ours if we choose to accept the offer from the bank, no one else could get in the way and we should have a REAL approval letter early next week if we accepted. On the other hand, the price came back higher than we had thought we wanted to go, not much but a little, we worried if we could afford it (then again I worry about money crap all the time). We talked to our mortgage loan officer and asked a lot of questions and realized that it wasn’t that much different than when we thought we had it a few months ago. We knew this was the house we wanted, great location, and great house!
We called out agent and told him that we were pretty sure we wanted it but would let him know 100% Monday morning.
On Halloween we officially signed and accepted the banks offer. We are set to close on December 1st and move December 3rd.. We thought!