What God did for us

Well, I am still holding my breath, but we did sign the papers selling our house yesterday at 4pm. We are going to remain in the house for 6 more days. During that time we are responsible for anything that goes wrong or right. So, please hold your breath for us also. :)

As you all know selling this house has been one crazy ride. I was thinking yesterday, and Wes and I talked about it last night and the entire process was filled with everyday miracles. The types of miracles most people don't realize are happening unless they are seeking God first. So while many of you know the story, I want to recap the way this wonderful web was woven for the good of all and glory of God.

We received a contract on our house after 6 days of being on the market for $86, 000. This was a young couple who was going to have a baby. (remember our house is 99 yrs. old and needs lots of TLC all the time.) An inspector came to assess our house and told this couple that our house had lots of problems and was beyond repair. The couple backed out of buying the house to my tearful dismay. Wes and I believe that this was a miracle because honestly, from our understanding the couple did not have much money. Buying an older home comes with risks that involve spending money. Second, we then had to come up with a plan to save about $5000.00 dollars or we would not be able to buy the house in Gulfport.

Fortunatley, the inspector was wrong and house only needed a few (at the time) plumbing repairs. We had these done. We went out to eat dinner with a friend of Wes's from his fraternity that was also trying to sell their house. He said we are praying that God is preparing someone for our house. I was like OMG, that is the pray I should be praying. So, I started. 10 days later, we had another offer. PRAISE GOD! Because of the money we had saved earlier, we were able to sell the house at a much lower cost. We had another inspection, but this time we were better prepared and things went, well. The buyers only requested a few repairs. Those included replacing some rotted boards and some other bathroom adjustments. Then we found out to replace the boards involved removing our entire bathtub and basically remodeling the entire bathroom. We were told that this was going to cost $5000 or more. Enter God. I tearfully called Wes at work and he found an old yellow pages and found this guy (who is not in the current yellow pages btw) named Mitch Moore. Mitch came over and gave us an estimate of $1634 to replace all the tile, a new bathtub, the plumbing, paint, replace the rotted wood, and rotted beams. PRAISE GOD! We had him do the work, and he did an excellent job and was very amiable during the entire process.
So, then we had the appraisal. The appraisal came back at $80, 000 which was (if you remember from above) $6000 less than our original first offer. So, if that offer had remained we would not have been prepared to buy the house in Gulfport because we would not have planned to save our money in that way. PRAISE GOD!
Next, was the termite inspector who discovered a few more leaks. God has been quite determined that we would learn to trust him more during this process. Again, a call to Mitch Moore repaired the leaks and saved us a little money.

From this point, we only had 24 hours left before the closing. I began to breath a little easier and was not feeling sick to my stomach at all yesterday until the text from my realtor that said, "We have a big problem." The problem was that the termite inspector put in the report that the house had had a prior infestation. BTW, not while we lived here. The loan company wanted an official letter stating that this infestation had not cause any structural damage. The inspector was refusing to write the letter because he did not want to put his job on the line. It appeared that we were going to have to pay yet another person to come out and crawl under our house and inspect the structure. Enter God who used a lady named Wanda Touchstone to convince the home inspector to write the letter. PRAISE GOD! The letter was sent to the underwriter at the loan company at 1:20pm. We were suppose the close the deal remember at 4:00pm. So, at 3:30 when I still had not heard anything, I felt that it wasn't going to happen, and we would be back at square one. Yet, I continued to pray and beg. At 3:35pm, I got a text from the realtor saying the letter was accepted and we were clear to close. I tearfully PRAISED GOD!

Miracles still happen, today. Look around you and see what God is doing for you, rejoice in what God did for us, and please continue to pray for us.

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If you are in the Hattiesburg area and need some work done, contact Mitch Moore Contracting, 601-408-0728

On the road again, just can't wait to get on the road again. . .

WOW! What a busy week. The career center has the been a hopping place this week at Hattiesburg High School. The library closed for end of the year inventory, the computer lab techs get to school late, and their printers don't work. So, all of the students are coming in here to do the work they waited until the last minute to do. It is wearing me out, so many students, so much noise, so few computers. . . I have actually started counting down the days; 7 more to go. 

So, we are so close to closing on both of our homes, but it has not been without much drama this week. The lender needed a copy of our Gulfport contracts to clear us for closing. Gulfport was being difficult about giving these to us, so I had to drive to Gulfport after school on Monday to pick up our academic contracts. Then, I had to bring them home, get Wes to sign his, and take them back to Gulfport, Tuesday, after school at which time, I picked up Wes's supplemental contract. 

In the meantime, we found out that the inspection to inspect the work we had done was scheduled for Tuesday morning at 9:30am. So, Monday night, Wes and I had some cleaning and toilet repair to do. We discovered that our toilet was running constantly so we decided to put our handy skills to the test and replace its insides. This actually worked out great. We worked together, and we got it done in an hours time. We both felt successful because most of our handy man projects don't go that well. We also discovered another small dripping leak underneath our bathtub on Monday. To no ones surprise, the inspector doing the re-inspection on Tuesday, said, hey, there is still a leak. So, it's return of the plumbers. One plumber came, but was too "big" according to the contractor to fit under the house, but he did; however, diagnose the problem which someone hopefully repaired, today. The good news is that the buyer is still going to buy the house, and we are going to close on Friday @ 4pm. No more inspections, no more plumbers, no more worries. HAHAHAHAHA... don't fool yourself. Just last night while I was cleaning the dinner dishes, the kitchen sink just stopped draining. Well, we were looking and thinking and kinda of tapping on the pipes, when Wes took a jab at it with the flash light and the pipe came loose and a water/drano mixture sprayed into our kitchen at 11:00pm. I am chuckling just typing this ludicrous story. We found the clog, removed it, put the pipes back in place, tightened them down, and off to bed we went. Who knows what adventures the final days in our house hold, but heres hoping they are completely uneventful. :)

So, Dawn's and Josh's wedding was fantastic. Big Cedar Lodge was so nice and peaceful. It was a great getaway for Wes and I even though it was very short. Of course, Wes is still fishing it up, and unbelievably, we pulled over on the side of the road on our way to Branson beside a lake. He dropped his hook in the water and out came a fish. He was so excited. He threw the fish back in, and we hit the road. He fished a lot and I mean a lot at Big Cedar, but didn't catch a thing. :( I got to spend a lot of time with Dawn over the weekend, and I was so excited. I love hanging out with her. We enjoyed seeing Wes's mom, Ron, and grandmother, too. Of course, I forgot my camera so I don't have any pictures. But, there was a photographer and maybe those photos will be posted on Dawn and Josh's website, and I will copy some from there to share with you all here. 

Until next time. . . 

XOXOXOXOXO

Road trips for weddings

This is my latest art project and my favorite so far.

This past weekend Wes and I took a road trip to Atlanta to visit his family and to attend Kyle's wedding. We were glad to get the chance to visit with everyone and to check on Wes's dad. He seemed to be doing very well, I am happy to report. The wedding was very nice and the reception was fun. The ceremony and reception were held at a nice winery about an hour from Wes's parent's house. I had never been there, but think Wes and I might pay it a closer visit the next time we go to Atlanta.

This weekend, we are hitting the road again to attend Dawn's wedding in Branson, MO. It is going to be a long drive, but we are looking forward to the excuse to get away. I will miss Mother's Day with my Mom, but I am sending her an awesome gift. Can't wait to surprise her again! Speaking of getting away. . . .

The termite inspection started today and will finish tomorrow due to rain. So far things are looking good. This is the last hurdle in selling our house, and I am just praying that it goes smooth. We are 13 days away from closing, please pray that things continue to progress in this endeavor.

I am going to start packing up our house this week. Does anyone know were I can get some boxes for free?

I want to leave you all with this picture of Lillie in my suitcase. She loves sleeping in tiny places and hates it when we leave for trips so she tries to always get in the suitcase. It is so cute to me.

Not marketable, but FUN!

Here are a few pictures of a new hobbie I am starting, PAINTING! It kinda of comes out of nowhere, and I am not pretending to be an artist. It is fun to create things, and actually, I am pretty happy about how my first 2 pieces turned out.

Yesterday, I had a great time with my dear friend, Josie, visiting the Anniston Elem library and its current librarian, Mrs. Collins. I learned a lot of things, and now I have a mountain full of ideas in my mind of fun, exciting, and new things that I will bring to Anniston. I am looking forward to working there.

As I type this, Ivey is pressuring me to cuddle with her. She keeps putting her paws on the keyboard and meowing. How sweet.

I know most of us are heading into SATP testing next, so good luck to you all. Have a great week.

Until next time. . . .

XOOXOXO

Celebrate Earth Day!

Happy Earth Day to you all! Little things make the biggest differences, and we all can do small things to help save energy and in return save our planet and its inhabitants. Most of us already do things that save energy without even knowing it because it also saves MONEY! 

Please read the following article for a few small things that are easy to do. 

Pick your green battles

By Lori Bongiorno

The sheer number of "green" choices we can make is astounding. And, since it's totally overwhelming (not to mention impossible) to try to do everything, it makes sense to stop worrying about the stuff that ultimately doesn't matter.

Instead focus on the areas where your actions will make the most difference. Making changes in what you eat, the way you get around, and how you use energy at home (and work) will have the biggest impact on the planet.

That's not to say that small things don't add up. They do, but some count more than others.

Don't stress!

Instead, focus your time and energy on these more important actions which will benefit the planet and save you money:

Eat less meat. Raising livestock is one of the most significant contributors to a long list of environmental problems from climate change to deforestation to water pollution. No one is suggesting you go vegan, but anything you can do to cut back on meat will make a big difference. Start by trimming down your portion size to about three ounces (the size of a deck of playing cards), suggests Aaron Huertas at The Union of Concerned Scientists.

 Take good care of your car. Tuning up your engine, replacing your air filters and motor oil regularly, and keeping your tires properly in flated will improve your car's fuel economy by 8% to 20%, according to Jenny Powers at the Natural Resources Defense Council.

 Make changes in how you do your laundry. Wash your clothes in cold water. Up to 90 percent of the energy used for washing clothing goes to heating water, according to the Department of Energy. Rack up even more savings by air-drying some of your clothing.

 Want to do more (or something different)?

Anything you can do to drive less or more efficiently will make a difference. Bundle errands, shop online, walk, bike, and take public transportation whenever you can. Try carpooling or telecommuting once a week. When it's time to buy a new car, purchase the most fuel-efficient vehicle in the class of car you need.

 There are countless ways you can save energy (and money) at home. Here's a short list of free and low-cost ways to make a difference  (in order from least to most impact): Turn out unneeded lights, unplug an extra fridge, use the energy-saving mode on appliances, install a programmable thermostat, seal large air leaks, or add insulation to your attic.

 

Environmental journalist Lori Bongiorno shares green-living tips and product reviews with Yahoo! Green's users. Send Lori a question or suggestion for potential use in a future column. Her book, Green Greener Greenest: A Practical Guide to Making Eco-smart Choices a Part of Your Life is available on Yahoo! Shopping and Amazon.com.

Flew the Coop

The baby birds flew out their nest safely. I believe they left Friday afternoon or night. To my knowledge they survived the kittie cats. They left behind an empty nest with one lonely egg that did not hatch. It was so wonderful having them so close and being able to watch them grow. The process went so much faster than I was expecting. Here are a few photos of the 4 baby birds 2 days before they left the nest.

Wes and I had a great relaxing and much needed weekend. We started off by going to a concert in the park Friday night. Saturday we went to Rock N' Roux festival and had fun at the gumbo tasting. All the gumbo's were wonderful. We then went to a art exhibit titled Storybook Look. It featured southern illustrators, but left somethings to be desired. We stopped by Walgreens afterwards to buy some Easter candy on sale. We got lots and lots of candy for only 4 bucks! :) Our friend Sarah and her new baby, Charlotte, were in town visiting from Prattville, AL, and they stopped by for a few hours of fun. Charlotte was so precious and it was great to catch up with Sarah. Then, we headed to the Black and Gold spring game to watch USM play USM. It got kinda of boring, but then our friend, Lacey, joined us and we headed over to her house to watch some WGI drumline finals. It was great day, but boy were we tired by the end. Sunday, we went to church and then headed to Gulfport to share Wes's marching band show idea with the head director. They loved it, and everybody is so excited about what is to come. The title of the show is going to be "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness".

Thank you all so very much for your prayers and thoughts. Our home inspection went well. The buyers only asked for a few minor things to be taken care of. We were so relieved; especially, after the first inspection was a bust. We are all set to close the deal May 15 @ 4pm. We still have two hurdles to overcome, but I feel good about them. They are the termite inspection and the appraisal. Continue to pray that things go smoothly.

Yesterday, our paster and his wife went before a judge in Ukraine to determine if they were going to get to adopt the 4 children they are quickly falling in love with. The verdict was YES! They are super excited, and so am I. I saw pictures of the kids for the first time, today, on their blog. I cannot imagine going from having no children to 4 who are school age. Their journey is just beginning so pray that they will all make the adjustments with as few bumps and bruises as possible.

Thank you for the being the best!

Until next time . . . .

XOXOXOXO

New News

I just wanted to give everyone a quick update on the things that developed yesterday. We got a very good offer on our house that was accepted by both us and the buyer. We are hoping to close on May 15. The home inspection will happen within the next 7 days so please pray that this goes well and that we can move forward with the sale. 

We finalized the offer on the house in Gulfport, finally. We hope to close on it a few days after our hattiesburg house closes. 

Thank you all for your prayers. They worked! 

On another note, Wes's dad had a heart stint put in yesterday. He is doing well and is expected to come home today. He had a 99% blockage. This came as a surprise. Donna and Gene, we are thinking of you.

And finally a fun thing, I discovered TWITTER yesterday. I am so excited about the possibilities in may offer for my new library position. Twitter allows users to post messages or announcements to the twitter site either by web or text message. Then the user can feed those announcements to their webpage for everyone to see. The people who want to can subscribe to the feed and have the announcements sent straight to their mobile phones. What a great tool for schools. Parents can get updates about school closings, upcoming events, anything sent right to their phone. Another very cool thing is that you can feed your blog to twitter. I think it would be so exciting to have a book review blog. The students can write their reviews and then they will be automatically sent to the school's webpage through twitter. AWESOME! If you want to follow my personal twitter page go to www.twitter.com/abrooke8, sign up, and click follow on my page. I don't see much use for twitter personally, but definitely for businesses and schools. Enjoy it.