I'm Back!

I've been inspired to start blogging again. It's only been 2 years, it's about time right!! I guess I stopped because I didn't feel like I had anything cool to talk about. Well.. now I do!!! I'm pregnant! 

Here are the stats:
Due Date: November 18th, 2013
Current: 18 weeks
Gender: GIRL (we just found out today!)
Weight: 11 ounces
Heart Rate: 148

I found out I was pregnant at 4 weeks. I felt pretty sick and rotten weeks 5-7 but since then i've been feeling great! I really popped out and felt big at week 11, but since then I don't feel like i've grown a lot. I think i'm just filling out. Here are a few belly pictures:

 11 Weeks

 12 Weeks

 15 Weeks

18 Weeks

And a few ultrasound pictures from today! 

Basement Progress!!

We've been working hard on getting our basement finished the past few weeks. We're getting closer and closer every day! I wanted to post some pictures to show our progress!!

The shower was the first thing that was finished. Next was the plumbing & electrical for the bathroom!

Next the tile was put in!

Then the drywall (the new wall that is between the shower & the vanity)

The bedroom is the only room that didn't need the drywall fixed or replaced.. so I was able to get it painted right away.

Our new hardwood flooring!! It will go in the hallway & back 1/3 of the basement living room!

Our deck before...

Our deck after I stained it!!

We've got a lot done, but still have a lot left to do... Landan is working on getting the rest of the drywall hung.. and he has a friend that is coming to finish it for us tonight and tomorrow. When the drywall is finished and dry, I will be back to painting. All of the ceilings will be first; they are the worst! I will be very excited to have them finished! Then i'll be on to the bathroom, hallway and living room walls! When I get the painting done, Landan will be laying the hardwood floors. Then carpet!! We got the carpet ordered today, and it should be in next Thursday. We're hoping to be ready for the carpet when it gets in!!

It's a lot of work and very expensive to finish a basement! But we're so excited to have it done and to have another living space!! :)

Lots of Updates!!

I've been slacking on the blog in the last couple of months!! And SO much has happened!!

The first thing I need to update you on is the new addition to our family!!

Berkley Grace

We got her about a month and a half ago... Landan was working nights at the time, and I was pretty lonely. We had been planning on getting a dog this summer all along, but figured that this would be the perfect time. Landan was able to be home with her all day.. she was in her kennel for a couple of hours and then I was home with her all night. She is a Weimerainer and was 8 weeks old when we got her. She was so small.. weighed maybe 10 lbs. She was also sooo sweet! She slept a lot and was very needy! She wanted to be on our lap all of the time, and she wouldn't take a nap on her own, she had to be on a lap or right by you! I didn't mind my naps with little Berkley :)

As I'm sure you could guess.. She's grown a lot! When I took her to her 12 week appointment, she weighted 18 lbs! I'm pretty sure she's at 20 now, or above it at 14 weeks. As she's gotten bigger, she's gotten more and more independent. She still stays very close to us. We don't tie her up when we're outside with her and when we tie her up and leave her outside alone, she isn't usually a huge fan!! She's a very good dog except for one thing... puppy biting!!! It is SO annoying! We know that puppies just bite because they're teething but we're so ready for this stage to end!! We're starting dog obedience classes with her on Sunday nights, and we cannot wait! It will be great learning for her and us!! I'll attach some more pictures at the bottom on this post!

My second piece of big news is that I got a job!!! I will be teaching Kindergarten in Carlisle next year! I am soooo excited!! I know that it is going to be a lot of work, but I'm ready for it! :)

We're also starting work on our basement!! We made a trip to Menards last night and got all we think we'll need to get the basement bathroom finished.. Shower, lighting, tile and all of the other good little things that come with finishing a bathroom. Lucky for us, when we bought the house there was already a toilet and vanity in the bathroom... Not having to buy those made it a little less expensive. Landan is planning on getting started right away and is hoping to have it finished in a week or two. Next project will be fixing the hole in the ceiling.. Then will come paint and finally carpet!! We're hoping to have it finished this month! We're very excited to have a basement we can actually use! I'll post pictures of the progress as it happens!

Here is more Berkley:

This picture was taken in MO, where we got her from. She was getting her stitches snipped from her tummy

On the ride home... nice and comfy!

Playing outside! Berkley loves being outside.. especially now!

Such a little thing!

This is a more recent picture of Berk. She loves to lay in the sun! As you can see, she's gotten a lot bigger!

New Adventure

Wow, SOO much has happened since I last blogged! Most of you know, that we have now closed on our new house!! So exciting, but this was no easy task! Here is how everything happened.

Our original closing date on this property was supposed to be February 18th, and no later than the 25th. About a week and a half before the 18th, we found out that their were liens on the home, or money owed against it. We found this out on a Monday. It wasn't until Friday that we learned that it was $11,000 in credit card debt. Our realtor had contacted the attorney's office that was holding this debt, and they told her that they would not negotiate this amount. At that point our realtor told us that she thought that if we could get the right person to talk to someone at the attorney's office, we could get the debt reduced. This was all very foreign and confusing to us, and we were really unsure of anything at this point.

This is when Landan's amazing mom, Kathy, got involved. She works in the Warren County Attorney's office. It turns out that her old boss knew someone at the Attorney's office that was holding the credit card debt. He was able to get that reduced to a much more reasonable amount! This is just about when we learned that there was more money owed against the house. Court Costs, Child Support and Divorce Fees. At this point we were very overwhelmed!! Kathy kept working on it and with people she knew and we also got those reduced some. We also learned that the seller (who is in prison) had parents who may be willing to help. They were contacted and had agreed to help by paying a large amount of their son's debt!! This all happened between when we found out about the liens and this past Tuesday, February 22. So, as our final closing date was approaching our realtor again contacted the seller's bank. She asked for a extension on our closing date and also asked for the 3rd time if they would be willing to cover any of these costs (they had said no the 1st two times she had asked).

On Tuesday Evening, I was sitting in a Premier Training, checked my phone and saw that I had gotten a call and text from our realtor telling me to call her right away! I walked out and called her back. She had awesome news!! The bank had gotten back to her and said they would cover a big chunk of the remaining debt balance, but we HAD to close on Friday, the 25th. This meant everything had to be final and signed and submitted to the bank on Wednesday (the next day) in order for everything to be ready for closing on Friday. We brainstormed Tuesday night how we were going to get this all accomplished and decided it could be done! The seller's parents were contacted right away on Wednesday morning and were asked if they would be willing to split the new (much less) remaining balance with us. They agreed to do this! :) They got their check in the mail right away, and we got all of the papers saying that everything was paid off signed!

We closed on our house on Friday morning at 10:00am. This was so exciting, especially because of all of our obstacles! Our banker and the closer both said that they didn't think we would be able to close. We got our keys and started moving and working that evening!

On Saturday, my parents and sisters came down and we started working! Landan, Shawn & our dad's worked on moving; my mom and Kendra painted; and Katie & I cleaned!We also had other wonderful helpers throughout the weekend that we are so thankful for!! Once the nasty carpet was out and the walls were painted, the house already looked sooo much better!! This week we are working on little projects and cleaning to get the house ready to move into while we live at Landan's parents house for the week. Our carpet is going to be put in on Friday sometime and we will be moving in after that!! We are so excited! I will post some pictures of the progress soon!

Our New Address:

402 N 15th Street

Indianola, IA 50125

New House!

Here are some pictures of our new house currently. As you will see, it is going to take a lot of cleaning, clearing out junk, painting, carpet and just TLC!

Here it is!

This is the living room looking into the Office and our Bedroom

This is part of the Living Room

Front Entry (Kitchen on the right//Bathroom on the left)

Kitchen

Bedroom

Bathroom

Bathroom

Office (this is supposed to be moved out before we move in... but Landan won't be heartbroken if it isnt :) But it will be moved into the garage)

Laundry Room (in the basement)

east end of the Basement Living Room (bedroom on the right)

west side of the Basement Living Room & stairs up

Basement..

(hallway bedroom on the left, bathroom in the middle & laundry room on the right)

Garage

Garage

There is is! As you can see.... a lot of work!! But we're very excited to move in and have our own home!! :)

MOVING!!

About a week ago we found out that CitiBank accepted our offer that we put on the house as written!! We are soooo excited, we got such a great deal!!! :) Our closing date it set for February 18th or no later than February 25th. So, we have a lot of work ahead of us!!! But we can't wait!! :) I'll post pictures when I have some!

Christmas 2010 // NYE

We had such a great Christmas with family this year!! Our first Christmas was the weekend before. We spend it with Landan's Family at Stoney Creek Inn. It was a lot of fun! Angela and I got to get Manicures & Pedicures, while the boys went and did some rock climbing. Here is a picture of Landan and I that night...

On Christmas Eve we headed to Jewell to be with my Family. My mom's side of the family all came over that night. We had a lot of fun playing games and talking! Here is a picture of my girl cousins on that side! :)

Faith, Mary, Katie, Kendra, Jenny

Grace, Kellie

On Christmas morning we opened presents with my parents and sisters. It was great to be able to be with them on Christmas this year (last year we were snowed in and couldn't go). Then after lunch my dad's side of the family all came over for the day. Here is Landan and I on Christmas Day.

This is one of my favorite Christmas presents that I received this year!!!! My own sewing machine!! My mom has a sewing machine and surger and has made us clothes and things since we were born. I grew up always having it around. Not living with her has made it hard to get things hemmed or fixed. I was very excited to get my own sewing machine!! :)

My first project: Landan's jean holes. I will say that jeans are hard to sew because they are so thick! Of course I broke my first needle on my first project..... but I got some great tips from my mom on repairing jeans... :)

(Can't say it was the prettiest job i'll ever do ;)

Here are a couple of pictures from New Years Eve! First one of the girls, then Landan & I! We went down to Raleigh's. As you can see, it is like a Barn Bar. Other than it being a little cold, it was a fun night.

Happy New Year!! 2011