Home Tour

So today the home tour for our home listing was finished, and the seller's agent sent it to us for fun. We thought you might like to see it.

Check it out!

Brigham spent the day sending them more and more paperwork that they requested, so we are still not officially under contract, but we still expect to be-- hopefully tomorrow if all goes well.

Mission Accomplished!

After almost nine years of marriage, Brigham and I are finally about to join the home-owners club! We spent the last week in Utah and looked at EVERY house on the market that fit our criteria. I'm sure that we saw more than 50 homes. At the end of 3 days, we had 4 that met most of our criteria (though not all), and we knew that it was time to make an offer. I was disappointed that there hadn't been a single home that had made my heart sing, but time was running out. The home we liked the best was overpriced (as determined by comparables sold in the neighborhood) by about $100,000, but we decided to make an offer to see if the owners would see the light. They didn't. I really struggled with the idea of making an offer on our 2nd choice for some reason, so I asked to see it one more time. When our realtor (Brigham's dad-- he was extremely patient with us-- thanks, Dad!) tried to make an appointment, he was told that there were already 3 offers on the house and that one had been accepted. The other two homes that we had at the top of our list were good homes, but we just didn't feel like we should spend that much money on a home that was missing several key elements that we wanted. We were discouraged and started talking about the possiblity of renting when we moved and continuing the hunt then, but the thought of pulling our kids out of their schools again after who knows how long made me miserable. As I looked back on events, I felt strongly that we were being guided to somewhere-- I just had no idea where. When we got back to where our kids were, I felt strongly that I didn't want to give up, but the only thing I knew I could do was look at the new listings from the previous 2 days that we hadn't checked. We literally had seen everything else. So I jumped on the computer and looked, and lo and behold-- there was a new listing that met our criteria. It had been listed only 2 days earlier, and it looked great from the 5 pictures they had posted. I immediately shouted to Brigham, "I've found our home! We need to go see it now!" His dad got on the phone right then and set up the appointment, and away we went. To make a long story short, we saw it a couple of hours later, and it was love at first sight. It had everything that we wanted and more. It was located in northern Sandy-- almost exactly half way between the two hospitals where Brigham will work, had a big back yard with a basketball court, a great play structure, and plenty of grass for a soccer game. It has a beautiful kitchen and a large family room in the basement. We could hardly contain ourselves as we walked through it-- we knew it was our house. We also knew that it wouldn't last, so we stayed up to midnight filling out all the paperwork to make an offer. First thing the next morning we sent it off, and it is a good thing because the next morning it had two more showings-- one of which was a second showing for someone who intended to put in an offer afterwards. Fortunately, ours was already in and had been accepted (verbally)! It really was a blessing that it all worked out the way it did. It was such a great house in such a good location for a good price that our broker said that there's no way it would have lasted through the weekend. Had it been listed before we arrived or even a few days later, we would have missed it. Had I not seen it right when I did, we may not have gotten our offer in first, and we might have lost it. We are verbally under contract until tomorrow when it should become official, and we have been giddy with excitement ever since Friday when we got word that our offer had been accepted. How grateful we are for the many blessings that have been poured out on us!

A Prayer Answered

Ty came down with croup last Saturday and has been a pretty miserable baby until today when he seems to finally be feeling a little better. I mentioned previously that Ty has his bear, whom he loves fiercely. Well, the day before yesterday, Bear disappeared mysteriously. We usually try to keep him in the crib, but we were being more relaxed about it because Ty was so miserable. I searched high and low for Bear and even offered to pay Benjamin a dollar if he could find him, but with no luck. Finally, I said a prayer in my heart to ask Heavenly Father to help us find Bear because I thought it might help cheer Ty up. Not long afterwards, I had the feeling that I should check in the garbage. I brushed it off, but awhile later I had the same thought come into my mind that I should check the garbage. I reluctantly went over to the garbage and opened the lid. It was almost completely full, and pretty gross. I poked around in it for a minute, but I didn't see Bear, so I let it go. But I kept having the same feeling, "What if Bear is in the garbage?" So when the time came to take the garbage out to the dumpster, I poked around more thoroughly, and low and behold-- there was Bear! Bear had a bath, and then he and Ty had a happy reunion. I don't always get answers to my prayers so quickly and so obviously, but it was very touching to me to know that the Master of the Universe loves Ty enough and me enough to help us find a silly stuffed animal that would have been lost forever without some intervention. How humbled and grateful I feel!

Benjamin-- MVP

As dictated by Benjamin: I had a soccer game yesterday. I scored 5 goals! My previous record was two. My team had got 12 goals all together. The other team only got one. I had a really good game. I had about six steals. Isn't that amazing?

He's not exaggerating-- he was on FIRE! It was really fun to watch. The weather was perfect (low 60's), so it made for a great day. If only Ty had been well, it would have been the perfect afternoon! Benjamin looks forward to playing for his adoring fans in Utah soon!

So Precious

Our little Tiger is one busy baby. The kid never stops! He loves adventure and danger and certainly NEVER takes the course of least resistance. The more challenging something is, the more he wants to do it. He plays hard and then he sleeps hard. I can never resist peeking in at least once per nap to see my sleeping baby-- maybe because it's the only time that he holds still long enough to get a good look! He LOVES his bear, and he always cuddles with it when he sleeps, which I think is adorable.

From Ty Sleeping

From Ty Sleeping

PS--Ty makes a "raaah!" sound whenever he sees a bear or a lion-- so cute! Today he started roaring in the foyer at church, and I didn't get it until I followed his gaze to a picture of a lion and a lamb!

Crazy Days

We are now only weeks away from house hunting in Utah, and I am so excited that I can hardly stand it! Brigham and I spend most of our free moments looking at homes online, reading "Home Buying for Dummies", and doing everything we can to try to find the perfect home for our little family. There are so many things to factor into the decision-- it's just crazy! We welcome all tips from those of you home-owning veterans out there.

Our kiddos are as cute as ever. Benjamin's soccer starts back up this week, so that is exciting. Jacob is showing more interest in writing, and his teacher called me yesterday to say that he can write his own name with just a little support under his hand!! She's been trying to email me a video clip of it, but has been having trouble with her email account, so as soon as I get it, I'll have to share. I've seen him write what looks like a "J", but then it turns into scribbles-- probably because I don't support his hand. I'm excited to learn to do it right. Ty spends his days unloading cupboards and drawers and strewing the items all over the house. Our house is far from a model of cleanliness. Good thing we don't have to worry about trying to sell it-- I think I'd go crazy trying to keep it clean all the time!

Partners in Crime

Ty and Jacob are quite the dynamic duo. In some ways they couldn't be more different (Ty is a total outdoors boy and Jacob prefers being inside), but when it comes to making messes, they really make quite the team. Ty pulls everything out of cupboards and drawers, and Jacob chews on it. Both boys currently have an obsession with flushing the toilet. Thankfully, Ty is still too short to get into the bathroom without help, but Jacob is a big boy now and can do it himself. Once he's in, his little side-kick is not far behind. Ty likes to splash in the water and drop things in, and Jacob LOVES to watch things go down, so teaming up is really a win-win situation for them. On many occasions I've found the two of them having a ball in the bathroom: Jacob's put one end of the toilet paper in the toilet and they are having a great time watching in go down and splashing. I console myself by thinking of all of the brotherly bonding going on as they work their mischief together.

Benjamin, thankfully, has moved beyond flushing the toilet. He is so preoccupied with sports these days (especially BYU basketball) that it's amazing he can function in any way that isn't sports-related. Many of you probably remember his obsession with dinosaurs when he was three. Well, the same passion and fervor that he had for dinosaurs back then is what he feels for basketball and football now. Every spare moment of his life is spent throwing a ball of some sort right now. He bombards me with all kinds of detailed sports questions throughout the day, no matter how many times he hears the same answer: "I have no idea. Ask your dad!" I have a feeling that all of my knowledge about Pretty Ponies, Jane Austen novels, and ballroom dancing is not going to be appreciated much in this house.