When It Rains...Flowers Grow

We've had some bad news.  My father-in-law took a look at the house inspection report from the house and found some serious problems.  It isn't hooked up to the sewer, there had been a fire in the attic, and they had cut out a major portion of the supporting beam under the house.  He then informed me that he was not going to allow us to buy a money pit (pun intended).

So...our realtor had us sign the paper work to get us out of the contract, and we are going to start looking again.  We still have to be out of our current place by June 30, so Michael's parents are going to let us stay with them for a few days until we can find an apartment that will let us rent month to month and allow the cats.  They are going to take care of the dog for a few months.

Michael and I are definitely upset, but we are trying to look at this in a positive light.  If we had bought that house, we would be dumping money into it for the entire time we lived there.  There are several other houses out there in our price range, some even nicer than that one.

We can't express how thankful we are to everyone who has helped us through this whole process.  Especially Michael's parents.  When we were still going to get the other house, we were put on the spot for our closing costs of $1800.  There had been a miscommunication with the bank, and we didn't have the money.  Michael's parents offered to loan it to us, and then we would pay them back in installments.  As I was walking out the door with the gift letter for $1800, Michael's mom calls down, "Call me if you need anything!"  I have decided that I married into one of the kindest, most loving and caring families in the world.  If everyone on earth took care of each other the way the Bunns take care of their family, we would have to rename it Heaven.  They really are wonderful, and both Michael and I are extremely grateful for everything they are doing for us.

And lastly, just to touch base, school is going fine, work is stressful, but there are flowers growing despite the rain.

Update

Well, we got the appraisal back on the house, and it came in at 95 instead of the 99 we had previously offered.  So we signed another offer, and now we are paying all the closing costs, but only paying the 95.  Which is good!  Less money for a loan (hopefully).

Anyway, in other news, I am headed down to Park City this weekend to attend the Utah Professional Florists Association Convention.  I'm super excited.  :)  It will be two days of floral design classes and tons of information.  I'll be staying with my cousin, which will also be fun.

My family has decided to continue the tradition of the Month of May, only we are doing it in July this year.  Everyone made a list of 5 things they've always wanted to do, but never gotten around to.  Then we picked one off the list we wanted to do for sure, and put the rest in a hat.  The results are:  Michael and I are going to learn Gaelic; I am going to learn to play Moonlight Sonata on the piano; and Michael is going to learn to read the runes (the Norse alphabet, used for divining in our religion).  We received our Gaelic material at the beginning of last week, along with my piano music.  Michael found a book on learning the runes when the local Borders shut down.  We have set aside Monday evenings to learn and practice together.  We will go up to campus, I will play piano while he studies the runes, and then we will spend the rest of the evening practicing our Gaelic lessons.

This whole Month of May/July deal has inspired Michael and myself to start a new 'tradition' in our family.  Whenever we come up with a new project we would like to do, whether separate or together (of which we already have many), than we would write it on a piece of paper and put it in a jar.  Then, when we are in need of a new project, we simply draw one out and start working on it.  We have also decided to start reading more, although we haven't yet set a goal as to how much.

This whole process of getting the new house has been enlightening and inspiring for both of us.  We are very excited to finally get the opportunity to start the traditions of having our own family!

House

Well, it's finally happened.  Michael and I are taking the next step in our adult lives.  We are buying a house.  We saw the house Friday, signed the offer Monday, and by 10 am Tuesday the offer had been accepted.  We are set to close July 14th, but we might end up closing sooner.  I don't have many pictures, but here is the one we took as we drove away.

I promise I will post more pictures as soon as I can.  It's a two bedroom remodeled farm house.  There is a garden and clothesline in the back, a beautiful side yard, and several mature trees including two choke cherries.  The yard is mostly fenced and we plan on finishing it next spring and adding a carport this fall.  It has a galley style kitchen, a claw-foot tub in the bathroom, a large front room (which could be separated with furniture), a laundry room/pantry and a tool shed in the back yard.  There is also a cellar, the kind you see in The Wizard of Oz for example.  It's cool.  The bedroom upstairs has a little sitting room attached and is perfect for a master suite.  As you can see, the front yard is decently big and has plenty of room for planting :).  We are both very excited and are very ready to have our own place.  We've been collecting perennials from my work (I work at the teaching greenhouse on campus) and planning our own personal landscape, which includes mostly columbine and sedum.

In other news:  I took my first chemistry exam and got an A, and my work has decided to keep me on through the rest of the summer.  My professor asked me to design a flower bed and it's allowing me to try my hand at large floral design.  I start my math class on Monday and I am desperately hoping to pass it this time.  My finance class doesn't start until mid July, so I'm hoping that we will be able to get moved before then.

I'll keep everyone posted on the house situation.  Wish us luck!