Tomorrow Douglas will finish his last final and be done with all of his school work. Friday he will graduate. On one hand, it seems like we have been here forever, and on the other, it has flown by. We are excited for the next chapter in our lives in St. Louis. We went down there a week ago to look for a house. I didn't realize what an exhausting event that would be. We found a house that we really loved. It will provide us some growing room and seems to be in a good, family neighborhood. The school district is good and the neighborhood has a pool, tennis court and playgrounds which will be especially nice during the hot, hot summer. The only tricky part is that it is a foreclosure. That shouldn't be a problem except that the bank has an asset management company managing the property. This company knows little about the house except what the bank owes on it. By way of the neighborhood comps, and our inspection of the house, there is work that needs to be done on it and it is overpriced. So, we made an offer to which the management company told the realtor that they don't work with offers going back and forth (what??) and just want to come to an agreed price and then draft up the contract. The company has proved to be a little difficult to deal with. So, we upped our price a little, but we are unwilling to go up much. There is a lot of work needing to be done and it is just not worth much more. We are still waiting to hear back. This happened last Tuesday. I am starting to feel really anxious! We really want the house, but we also trust that God knows what is best and it will work out for the best. I just want to know. We heard from our realtor on Friday and she said the listing agent had called and told her the bank has the offer, so hopefully that is good news. If they don't accept this offer, we will have to find something else. We can't afford to pay more for this house. The property taxes are really high and the association fees are high. Most of the neighborhoods do have association fees, but the taxes, especially are what really increase our payments. We just do not want to get into a situation where we are house rich and money poor. We will be tight, even with the payment we will have, for the next year or two, but in the end, it would really be a good house to grow in. One of the best parts is the unfinished, walk out basement! We would eventually put in a cool studio for me, maybe a theater room (in the distant future), storage etc. It has been so fun to dream!
This will be a crazy week for us. Everyday is full of activities. We are hosting a section 2 (Douglas' school "section") pancake breakfast on Tuesday. There will be about 60+ people here to eat breakfast. Tomorrow we will be prepping for that, I might fold all the now wrinkly laundry from last week, shop for food for Tuesday, and have a teacher conference. Tuesday I have enrichment in the evening. Wednesday we have MBA kids graduation, P has preschool and dance. Oh, and it is our anniversary. I almost forgot. Nine years! Thursday we have a fairly calm day. George and DeEtte will arrive. Friday is graduation, and something else. Hmmm...need to look at the calendar. Saturday I will take pictures and then we will get ready to return to St. Louis. We will either go for the home inspection or to look for a different home. So, it is going to be a very, very busy week!!
Douglas finally got his start date. I had hoped to make it out, with just Bennett, to Santa Clara for a visit before he left, but he starts on the 14th and there just won't be time to do it. I have a lot of photo sessions this next month which makes life a little crazy too. I found a great deal for a hotel by Niagra so we are taking a family trip to Niagra Falls and Palmyra next week. We are really excited for that. We are too close not to do it!
Douglas is so excited about his first rotation at Peabody. He will work in the Global Analytics group. He is excited to work with the director of that area.
Well, off to get a couple of things done and go to bed. I need energy to make it through the week!!
