Ok, so yesterday was GORGEOUS!! It was absolutely BEAUTIFUL and SUNNY and WARM(er)! It was just so nice and we were driving around...looking at places and it was just so...nice. We finally had a good feeling about being here. I know that sounds weird, but we figured that some of our negative thoughts could've been because of the weather, but mostly because we weren't looking in the right place for us. We drove all the way out to Painesville (about an hour out), just drove and drove and drove for about an hour or so, had lunch and then drove back through Bay Village and just enjoyed ourselves. The kids were sleeping for most of the trip, so that helped. Luke and I were able to talk and bask in the SUNSHINE!
Today we went down to Medina, Strongsville and Parma. We really like the Parma area and just had a good feeling all day. It is a nice location, close to everything and to CLEVELAND, which is important. We'll have to see what we can find, either renting or buying. Rachel was kind enough to lead us to the Church and to her neighborhood, WHICH WE LOVE! We would really like to find a place around there.
Finally, thank you ALL for your love and support. We really are so thankful for all the words of encouragement. THANK YOU!!
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Sunday, January 27, 2008
President Hinckley passes away
Well, with all of my earlier complaining posts...we wanted to dedicate this post to President Hinckley.
Gordon B. Hinckley was born on June 23, 1910. He was the 15th president of the Church and had such a huge impact on our family. He was the Prophet that we most identify with because he was the one that we have grown to know. He was set apart in 1995 to be the President and Prophet and was best known for dedicating the most LDS Church temples.
He was such an inspiration to millions and personally to us. These are some of the things we love:
He was ALWAYS so positive, he truly loved every single one of us, The Family: A Proclamation to the World, all of his quotes, his "Be's" : (Be Positive,Be Still,Be Involved,,Be Grateful,Be Smart, Be Clean, Be True, Be Humble, Be Prayerful). My favorite quote:"Now, my brethren and sisters, the time has come for us to stand a little taller, to lift our eyes and stretch our minds to a greater comprehension and understanding of the grand millennial mission of this The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This is a season to be strong. It is a time to move forward without hesitation, knowing well the meaning, the breadth, and the importance of our mission. It is a time to do what is right regardless of the consequences that might follow. It is a time to be found keeping the commandments. It is a season to reach out with kindness and love to those in distress and to those who are wandering in darkness and pain. It is a time to be considerate and good, decent and courteous toward one another in all of our relationships. In other words, to become more Christlike"
Gordon B. Hinckley - Gen. Conf. 1995 Apr.
We love him and are sad that he has passed...but also know that he is with his wife and much happier!
So much for the updates...
Ok, so the updates haven't come daily, but here's a LONG one!!
I HATE HOUSE HUNTING! It isn't fun, especially with 2 kids. THANK GOODNESS the minivan we rented has a DVD player or we would NOT be alive and kicking. Livi has been SUCH an angel and Spencer pretty much does what his sister does, so we have been very lucky.
We have been wondering if we should even buy...we can only afford so much right now, but in 6 months, Luke will be getting a pretty big raise and then we can afford much more. The real estate agents have been really nice (they are 4 older women working together) and we have enjoyed them, but if we just wait a little longer, we will have a HUGE variety of homes to look at...that don't include a huge amount of fixing up or condemning the building. ;-)
We took Friday off of house hunting and we went to Kirtland. It was such a good experience, even with 2 cranky kids and even though we didn't get into the temple (it's only open on weekends in January) we are excited by the prospect of going back when we move here. It wasn't much of a trip, so we can do it again. I had been when I was much younger...like 14 years ago?! And the Church has done a lot to fix the Church sites up and even moved a road. It was great!
Saturday we were pretty bummed. We saw two homes that we were interested in, but one needed some work done in the kitchen, bathroom, etc and the other one was structurally unsound. With that said, the last one would cost $24,000 to rebuild the foundation. That includes lifting the house up and doing some major foundation fixin'! We would be asking about $50,000 less than they wanted on the house, but who knows what would happen after they fixed the house?? It might have MORE foundation problems, etc.,etc. So, all-in-all we are ready to go home. We are just plum tuckered out and need to go home...the kids can handle only so much time away from some place they can call home. Fortunately, we found some AMAZING and BRAND NEW apartments that have 2bed/2bath/2 car garage attached!!! We signed a lease right then and there for corporate housing, unfortunately it is WAY far away from where Luke is going to be working...so far out that there isn't any public transportation to downtown Cleveland. Therefore, he has to drive 20 miles to the nearest RTA. Heck, I was all for getting a different apartment, but Luke wanted this one, so whatever works, right? He'll be home later, but at least we'll be in a really nice apartment and the kids will have their toys and we have a new town to explore. A great thing is that the ward building is about 1.2 miles from the new apartment, so we are looking forward to that too!!
Enough of the update...sorry so long, but it has been a few days. I know that Rachel will read this soon...so not too offend (because we haven't even looked in Parma yet) but we aren't really excited to move here.
As a side note: We just don't know how to feel yet...maybe we aren't even supposed to move here, who knows...but it just doesn't feel right, nothing does. Hmmm, any ideas?? It's not like we can change our minds now, but if any one has any insights, let me know! Being transferred isn't the easiest thing and if Luke wasn't in contract, then we probably would've stayed in Kansas, but with things sort of out of our hands, we are being placed here and don't feel right about it...sort of uneasy. I know that the Lord will help us, but even after praying we haven't felt ANY ease at all. Insights..please!
I HATE HOUSE HUNTING! It isn't fun, especially with 2 kids. THANK GOODNESS the minivan we rented has a DVD player or we would NOT be alive and kicking. Livi has been SUCH an angel and Spencer pretty much does what his sister does, so we have been very lucky.
We have been wondering if we should even buy...we can only afford so much right now, but in 6 months, Luke will be getting a pretty big raise and then we can afford much more. The real estate agents have been really nice (they are 4 older women working together) and we have enjoyed them, but if we just wait a little longer, we will have a HUGE variety of homes to look at...that don't include a huge amount of fixing up or condemning the building. ;-)
We took Friday off of house hunting and we went to Kirtland. It was such a good experience, even with 2 cranky kids and even though we didn't get into the temple (it's only open on weekends in January) we are excited by the prospect of going back when we move here. It wasn't much of a trip, so we can do it again. I had been when I was much younger...like 14 years ago?! And the Church has done a lot to fix the Church sites up and even moved a road. It was great!
Saturday we were pretty bummed. We saw two homes that we were interested in, but one needed some work done in the kitchen, bathroom, etc and the other one was structurally unsound. With that said, the last one would cost $24,000 to rebuild the foundation. That includes lifting the house up and doing some major foundation fixin'! We would be asking about $50,000 less than they wanted on the house, but who knows what would happen after they fixed the house?? It might have MORE foundation problems, etc.,etc. So, all-in-all we are ready to go home. We are just plum tuckered out and need to go home...the kids can handle only so much time away from some place they can call home. Fortunately, we found some AMAZING and BRAND NEW apartments that have 2bed/2bath/2 car garage attached!!! We signed a lease right then and there for corporate housing, unfortunately it is WAY far away from where Luke is going to be working...so far out that there isn't any public transportation to downtown Cleveland. Therefore, he has to drive 20 miles to the nearest RTA. Heck, I was all for getting a different apartment, but Luke wanted this one, so whatever works, right? He'll be home later, but at least we'll be in a really nice apartment and the kids will have their toys and we have a new town to explore. A great thing is that the ward building is about 1.2 miles from the new apartment, so we are looking forward to that too!!
Enough of the update...sorry so long, but it has been a few days. I know that Rachel will read this soon...so not too offend (because we haven't even looked in Parma yet) but we aren't really excited to move here.
As a side note: We just don't know how to feel yet...maybe we aren't even supposed to move here, who knows...but it just doesn't feel right, nothing does. Hmmm, any ideas?? It's not like we can change our minds now, but if any one has any insights, let me know! Being transferred isn't the easiest thing and if Luke wasn't in contract, then we probably would've stayed in Kansas, but with things sort of out of our hands, we are being placed here and don't feel right about it...sort of uneasy. I know that the Lord will help us, but even after praying we haven't felt ANY ease at all. Insights..please!
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Cleveland here we...are!
So, we FINALLY made it to Cleveland!! It was one of those CrAzY, CRAZY flight days. With all the snow in Chicago (there wasn't much, but enough to screw up the runway) and other places, Chicago ended up being a no fly zone. It was seriously ridiculous because it was GORGEOUS, very cold, but GORGEOUS in Kansas AND CHICAGO.
Anyway, our flight was supposed to be GONE at 10:50a.m. and we didn't leave until after 12:20! Most would think nothing of this delay other than we have 2 children with us and we arrived at the airport at 8:40! They were STARVING by the time we were ready to take off, BUT the food vendor BROKE down and we couldn't get anything but a cinnabon. Now, normally I don't have a problem with that, but the kids haven't eaten anything since 7:30, so what to do. We arrived in Chicago around 1:50 and by the time we got off the plane, RAN to the bathroom, we re-boarded at 2:09. Again, no food for the kids because we didn't have time. Luckily, I had brought goldfish and teddy grahams, otherwise THEY WOULD'VE been BEARS! We arrived at 3:30(4:30 Cleveland time) and found out that the airlines hadn't put our stroller on the connecting flight...so we had to go down to baggage claim and they gave us a different stroller until they could get ours. It took us 15 minutes to get to Budget and another 45-1hour to get our CAR! It was insane...BUT we are here, the kids are fed, got some swim time, got a bath, and are currently watching t.v. with their daddy. What quiet bliss. We are staying in a nice hotel and are loving the suites...very nice!
But, just for the record...Luke wanted to know if I could stay in a hotel for 50 days and I about SHOT him!! NO WAY! I mean, come on honey..there is NO WAY!!! Even if I had the whole stove, fridge, etc..what would the kids do ALL day lONG! No where for them to go, nothing for them to do and I would LOSE my mind! Ok, enough ranting..now on to the whole getting an apartment and then a home!
Goodnight and I'll see about updating daily on our CLEVELAND TRIP!
Anyway, our flight was supposed to be GONE at 10:50a.m. and we didn't leave until after 12:20! Most would think nothing of this delay other than we have 2 children with us and we arrived at the airport at 8:40! They were STARVING by the time we were ready to take off, BUT the food vendor BROKE down and we couldn't get anything but a cinnabon. Now, normally I don't have a problem with that, but the kids haven't eaten anything since 7:30, so what to do. We arrived in Chicago around 1:50 and by the time we got off the plane, RAN to the bathroom, we re-boarded at 2:09. Again, no food for the kids because we didn't have time. Luckily, I had brought goldfish and teddy grahams, otherwise THEY WOULD'VE been BEARS! We arrived at 3:30(4:30 Cleveland time) and found out that the airlines hadn't put our stroller on the connecting flight...so we had to go down to baggage claim and they gave us a different stroller until they could get ours. It took us 15 minutes to get to Budget and another 45-1hour to get our CAR! It was insane...BUT we are here, the kids are fed, got some swim time, got a bath, and are currently watching t.v. with their daddy. What quiet bliss. We are staying in a nice hotel and are loving the suites...very nice!
But, just for the record...Luke wanted to know if I could stay in a hotel for 50 days and I about SHOT him!! NO WAY! I mean, come on honey..there is NO WAY!!! Even if I had the whole stove, fridge, etc..what would the kids do ALL day lONG! No where for them to go, nothing for them to do and I would LOSE my mind! Ok, enough ranting..now on to the whole getting an apartment and then a home!
Goodnight and I'll see about updating daily on our CLEVELAND TRIP!
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