Home Inspection

This is the last house update before we actually move in! We had the home inspection on Friday. There were a few minor things that need to be fixed, but we are meeting with Bobby Anne tomorrow (Sunday) to do an amendment to the contract to have those things fixed before we close. I am really glad we had the inspection done, even though it's a new home. Inspector Homes from Staunton did it, and I think they did a great job. The only major thing left to be done is the grading and seeding of the yard. Along with the small things that need to be fixed, I imagine it should only take them a couple days this week to be completely done. Here are some pictures.


The living room with the beautiful hardwood floors. If you can see, there are 3 electrical plugs along the front wall. The one under the window is something that most builders don't usually do, unless asked to, according to our inspector. It is on a separate circuit that is connected to a light switch. So when Christmas time comes around, we'll just have to flip a switch to turn our Christmas tree lights on and off! The 2 bedrooms on the front side have that feature as well.




My wonderful kitchen! I am so happy with the way it turned out. It was really kind of hard to pick out everything just based on a tiny sample swatch of whatever it was, but we are both very pleased with the kitchen.




The main bathroom. Of course we love the double vanity, and both bathrooms have little linen closets in them, which will be very nice.



We should be closing this Friday and hopefully all moved in on Saturday! I can't wait to update with pictures once we get there.

Update - Just for Amanda!

Hello-- sorry for the delay. What can I say? I just got lazy. But by request of Amanda, here is the latest. :)

At our latest trip to the house, we found the shutters are up, carpet is down, and the inside basically seems to be done. They still have to do the landscaping, but as far as we can see, that is all that is left. We have a home inspection this Friday at 2:30. Everything should be fine, since it is a new build, but we just wanted to cover ourselves, just in case. We close next Friday, the 15th! We reserved a moving truck today, so that was exciting. Things are moving along, and we are more excited than ever.





Sunday was really fun at Mom's house. We got our little kitchen down from the attic that Ashley and I played with when we were little. Zoe definitely loved it and was playing with it all afternoon. She has more kitchen accessories than any one child needs! Mom also got a bunch of my stuff down out of the attic since I will soon have my own attic to store them in. I went through some of my old dolls, animals, and books. There were some that I just can't bring myself to get rid of because I loved them so much. Did anyone else play with Magic Nursery dolls? Those were the best! Also, we went through a box that was some of my "special" stuff I have gained or made over the years. There was one autobiography that I must have written in the fifth grade. I read it out loud and we were absolutely rolling - I was crying from laughing so hard.



Anyways... only 2 more days of school left. I am going to be working at Staunton Foods starting this summer, and it is going to be semi-permanent. I'm not going to teach again next year, which I still have mixed feelings about, but I think this is the best thing to do for now. They know I only plan to work until we have a baby. I would love to teach at Ridgeview, but I just feel like it's not enough money to get rid of enough of our debt in order to be able to have a baby, which is the desire of my heart, more than any career. I'm not exactly sure of my job description yet, but I'm excited for a change. Teaching may still be an option for the future, but for now, I'll be at Staunton Foods. That's about the latest I have to offer. Hope that will suffice, Amanda! :)

One Year Anniversary!

Well- it's not quite one year yet, but close enough. I did somehow manage to squeeze into my wedding dress... I have put on a few pounds in the last year, probably most of those during our honeymoon during which we ate like royalty. Anyways, tomorrow evening, we are staying at the Comfort Inn in Staunton, where we stayed on our wedding night last year. We're also going to get Chili's takeout, just like we did last year. We are definitely looking forward to it. Here's a picture to commemorate our no-longer-newleywed-stage. :)

Major Progress & a Neighbor

Hello! We made the trip out to the house for our weekly visit today. We were pleasantly surprised yesterday to learn that Pam Sipe, the other realtor, would be out there from around 11 to 1 today so we could get in the house if we wanted. All the cabinets are installed, bathroom and kitchen, linoleum in the kitchen, bathrooms, and laundry closet is down, and all the appliances are there. Here are a few pictures.


This is the master bathroom.



Left-hand side of the kitchen, door to the deck is just to the left.



And right-hand side of the kitchen.



We were also pleasantly surprised to meet our new neighbor, who will be moving into her house at the end of June. Not sure if she has a husband or boyfriend as well (she was there by herself), but she is expecting, so hopefully we will be able to get to know her/them. I was also encourage by the fact that she is going to have a baby. It weighs somewhat heavy on my mind that once we have children, I may have to find something to do to bring in a little extra money. A great possibility would be to babysit for a mother who works but I worry about finding someone that would be close enough to make that work. So not that I have it in my mind that I am going to babysit this lady's child, but I kind of feel like that was confirmation from God that if that is what he wants me to do, he can certainly make it work. Faith comes in funny ways, doesn't it? Here I am worried about finding someone with a baby, and God gives us a next door neighbor who is having one! So today was a great encouragement. Apparently they are far enough along that we can go ahead and schedule the home inspection, which will be our next step, hopefully this week. Our excitement is growing!

Here is a link to ABC 13's website with a story about graduation today - watch the video!

http://www.wset.com/news/stories/0507/424534.html

Liberty Graduation 2007

We went to Liberty Graduation today, and stayed with Matt & Amanda (and soon-coming baby) last night. They held it on the football field this year, and it was absolutely a beautiful day. It was, of course, different this year in that Dr. Falwell is no longer with us. But I think the beauty of the day, for me at least, represented what Jerry Jr. said - "I know dad would want us to be upbeat, excited and happy and celebratory today." He also said "All is well at Liberty. We prepared for this transition for 15 years or more. The right team is in place here. None can replace dad." at which point he proceeded to tear up which caused me to do the same. It was very touching to see the tender heart of a man like that. Even while there is mourning and sadness among the family and friends of Dr. Falwell, we can rest assured that the good work that God began through him will continue. I feel so blessed to be a part of his legacy and am extremely thankful for the impact he has had on my life. Even though I can honestly say, I complained through many Wednesday convocation services, listening to him preach one of his overused messages :), I still know that he was a great man of God and really has "turned the world upside down" for Christ. I can't help but think of the fact, that were it not for him, it would be quite possible, even likely, that Anthony and I would never have crossed paths. So besides the thousands of lives he has spiritually impacted, he has done so much more than that. I will always be grateful for the role that he, and Liberty University, have played in my life. Here are some pictures of the beautiful day.





Jerry Falwell Jr., Chancellor of Liberty University - very well spoken today



"The girls" - Vicky and Kim graduated today, very proud of both of them, and look at that little belly on Amanda!

Lights

Here are some pics of the lights at the house!

This is the light on the front porch. We spent a little more on the outside lights than I had planned on... but there are a lot of UGLY outdoor lights! I think it was worth it to get what we liked the best. Theresa Martin told me that we should get what WE like, not worry about what it will look like for potential buyers in the (hopefully very far away) future when we ever decide to sell. I think that was some great advice.




This is the ceiling fan in the master bedroom... love it!




And finally, the light on the back deck, which matches the front porch light. Obviously, there are more lights, but the doors were locked so we couldn't really get anymore pictures. We were able to see some of the others, and I think we are very pleased with our choices.



It seems like there is not a lot left to do... kitchen and bath cabinets, appliances, flooring... that's about it really. So needless to say, we are so excited about getting into our very own house soon!