September 10, 2008 - Back to the old house....

Back to the old house….

We have now moved back into the house that we moved from. We rented both houses for the month of August, moved out of one about three quarters  of the way and into the new one, then back into the old one in a matter of 3 and a half weeks. Crazy? Maybe!! (We also moved my aunt out of the trailer that she rented and into a storage building, she stays with my mom.)

After really falling in love with the place and looking forward to it being “ours” we had to move out. We had been taking showers and Jared wanted take a bath and play in the tub so I cleaned it really, really well. I began to fill the tub up and walked out of the bathroom to get something and when I came back in I looked and the water was brown. The lines need to be replaced. We knew that the roof would have to be replaced soon and that we would have to add a new bedroom and another half bath, at the least. However, then we get into have to replace the water lines as well. I am glad that we lived there for a few weeks before jumping into home ownership. I highly suggest that if you can, stay there a few weeks to a month so you can really see the true house and what it is really made of before purchasing. I know that that is not allowed at most places but renting for a month would save so many people a huge headache before purchasing something that needs much more done than you can just see. When I did the first load of laundry I knew that the water was really bad when it began to fill up but after the first load it quit. I assumed that it had been a while since the washer had been used and it was okay because it was clear after that. We had been using the shower and I had just used a lot of water to really deep clean the tub and bathroom and for the water to be rusty was not a good sign. This was 3 weeks into living there.  ((Another note: Watch out for those “landlords” that say something but don’t put it in black and white!! – Always get it in writing.))

However, I was already having second thoughts because there were no kids for my kids to play with. When I grew up in that neighborhood there were plenty of kids but that isn’t the case now. I had also really underestimated how small the house was. We were pretty well packed in and Jared didn’t have anything there except clothes. There just wasn’t enough room, no matter what we did, for his toys or any of his things. That wouldn’t do. We also knew that it would be at least a few years before we could add on and that was going to be too long to have his stuff in storage or in the back yard in our storage barn. Oh yeah, we were moving into city limits and there is the whole business of a building permit to put our Hi-Barn on the property. We went to get the permit and found out that we had to have 4x4’s in the ground on all four corners of the skids and they had to be eye bolted and concreted in. My dad had come over and bush hogged the back (behind the yard) so that we could put the building back there and not loose any of that beautiful yard. It was a garbage pit. An air conditioner from the next door neighbors, old beer cans, old pop bottles, (which was interesting) mirror frames, old desk, and just garbage. Anything that they wanted to get rid of they apparently threw in the bushes and it was out of sight and out of mind. It looks better but there is so much glass that is down in the dirt and just all over that they will have to continue to clean up for some time. In my opinion it is such a blessing to own your own home and land and just to go in and trash it is a shame. There are so many people that don’t even have a roof over their heads, much less own such a nice piece of property. It may not be the nicest house on the block or even at the top of the list but if you are fortunate enough to have a place that you can work on and improve you can have such a nice “home” in the end. Just make sure that if there are four of you that you start out with more than 730 square feet!! LOL

Do any of you have that problem where you leap before you look? I know the old saying, “Look before you leap, still waters run deep” (and the song). However, we have a problem of getting excited and thinking things through about 15 seconds and of course that is what we have been looking for our whole lives. In 45 seconds we realize that we should have taken that extra 30 seconds to think before jumping. How do you break that habit?? Especially when your husband is just like you and you have to be the one to sit and figure it all out later and get out of the jam that you have gotten your self into yet again. How do you do it??

I am a giver, always have been. So I am now short a desk and dishwasher because they didn’t fit into the new house and I gave them to my neighbors. Now I am sitting at a table typing this out and waiting until I get internet switched back over here so that I can post. And I am once again stuck with a single sink and no dishwasher. Why do people build a house and put a single sink in the kitchen? If you ever build, even to rent, don’t do that to your tenants, they will dislike you for it!!

Anyway, I digress. This house looks like “Hurricane Gustov” has been in here. I have so much cleaning and putting back in place to get done. I know that when this post that “Gustov” will have already made land fall but I hope that you all pray for the people who are going through this horrible experience again. I watched the news and they showed an older lady who said she just couldn’t leave again. She left when “Katrina” came through just 3 years ago and said that she just couldn’t bring herself to leave her house again. I can’t say what I would do in that situation. My kids safety comes first but if I was an elderly person by myself and have been through those experiences. I don’t know. God Bless you all and may he put his hand upon you and your family and let your faith bring you through yet another test. My family has all of you in our prayers and I hope that all of America, and the world, are saying a prayer for you tonight. We love you all and wish you nothing but the best. But if the Lord brings you to it, he will bring you through it.

Many Blessing, Hugs and Prayers!!
Vicki