Settlement time =)

Got word from the realtor this afternoon. We go to settlement tomorrow afternoon. So basically we are bringing in September by being first time home owners! =) I am extremely excited to get it done and over with. I'm getting antsy and I know Paul is too. Keep us in mind tomorrow afternoon and pray that everything goes smoothly!!

Waiting on Settlement

It is so exciting to finally have a nice day, without the humidity, so I can finally enjoy my deck. I was about to write this in the house, when I realized that, thanks to wireless, I could write it outside and catch a few rays. The house is coming along really well. I took a few days off and spent time with Karen and Christina, but I have been working hard on it since I woke up this morning. I truly wish that everything would just float to where it is supposed to be, however, it doesn't look like that is going to happen.
I got a text message from my realtor this morning letting me know that the specific POA that we were waiting on showed up in todays mail!! This means that we can now proceed to the final step of the house buying process; settlement. I am very hopeful that tomorrow will be the day, and that the house will officially be ours. I just wish that Paul was here to enjoy it all with me. He will be here soon, though, and will have a home with a huge garage waiting for him.
Paul is doing good at work. His unit is on the verge of switching to 9 hour shifts instead of 12 hour shifts. This will make everyone happier, I'm sure. 12 hour shifts everyday is just too much for the guys. They need some down time during theirs days. Working nights has worked out pretty well for him. He has been able to do research on all of the fun projects that he plans on doing at the house, such as the fence and extending the deck. Oh, and I can't forget all of the toys he needs for his garage!! =)
As for me, I am just trying to get as much unpacked before I start classes next Wednesday. I am pretty nervous about them because I am not sure what to expect. I haven't really paid any attention to the books I got because of the house. Hopefully that won't come back and bite me in the butt!
That's all for now!!

New House.. New toys.. New dog... New life!?

A lot has changed since the last blog. The biggest being that I am no longer in Delaware.. I am now living in Tennessee in our first house. I got the keys on Friday, the 21st. I was able to recruit the help of awesome family members to help with the move. Mom, Daddio, Parry and Nathan arrived Friday afternoon, after I had completed all of my meetings and we were able to get the truck and trailer unloaded in good time. After everything was unloaded and the big projects were put together, we made a trip to the storage unit so we could get the futon for someone to sleep on. We were able to load of the trailer and leave in 20 minutes. Talk about hardworkers! We woke up on Saturday morning and started all over again. Mom and I went to Lowes to shop for the house. I was able to find the perfect washer and dryer, which were on sale!! Thank goodness! I also bought blinds, the curtain rods, a cabinet for over the toilet in our master bath, and a cute little mirror for our bedroom. When we got back from the store, the men were making their last trip to the storage unit. All of the furniture was moved out before noon and they were even nice enough to sign us out of the storage unit, so now that payment is gone!! We got all of the furniture and started the little projects. Mom made a list of everything that needed to be done before everyone left me and everyone worked their butts off to make sure everything got done. They left Sunday morning and I didn't mind staying by myself because the house already felt like a home. I really appreciate all of their help! It was extremely nice of them to put their lives on hold to help us move. I also appreciate all of the offers from others to help. It is very comforting to know that we have so many family members and friends that love and support us.
After everyone left on Sunday, I started unpacking more boxes and then went to the Splash Park to meet Karen, Christina, and the kiddies. I enjoyed spending time with them and catching up. It's nice knowing that I am out here for good and will be able to spend time with them.
While I was with Karen and the girls, Paul called me to inform me that he had just spent a while on the phone with a German Shepherd breeder from Chattanooga. He has been researching German Shepherd breeders and found Sequoyah Breeders. They have a perfect female and male that were recently bred and they are planning on breeding them again in September. Paul was so excited on the phone and I just knew that we would be getting one of these puppies. I sent out the deposit yesterday and I guess we will be adding a German Shepherd puppy to our family in February. Here are pictures from the last litter of pups from Tigress and Wasko.


We are really excited to add a puppy to our family!

Update on Paul ~>
Everything is going good with our soldier and he has been switched to nights. This of course leads to long, boring nights of looking up information on German Shepherds! =) The latest news is that he is number three on the list of soldiers to come home. This means that he should be on the first rotation home. They are going to start pulling the important people out in mid-October and start pulling the rest out in November. It looks pretty promising that he will be home in November! Fingers crossed that everything goes smoothly!

231 Raintree Drive =)

We are on our way to buying our first house! We go to settlement on August 31, possibly earlier if everything goes smoothly.



I'll start the two day craziness from the beginning. My mom and I left Saturday morning around 9 with Sasha in tow. Sasha was visiting the week prior and we arranged to drop her off to her parents on our way out to Tennessee. We stopped and had lunch with her parents at the Cheesecake Factory and ate plenty for our ride ahead. It was really great seeing everyone and visiting for a while. We got back on the road around 2 and continued driving. Around 9, we stopped at a hotel just west of Knoxville. I walked into the hotel while a lady was arguing with the guy working at the front desk. They were discussing something to do with the rate for that night, but I wasn't really paying attention. When it was my turn to get the room, I politely asked about a military discount and he told me that he would give me the same rate as the lady before me because I had overheard the conversation. He told me the rate would be $75. I thanked him very much for this extra $10 off of what the military discount would have been. Then when we looked at the bill, my mom noticed that he only charged me $70. It just goes to show that killing people with kindness works best! =) Anyways.. this kinda gave me the idea that it was going to be a lucky trip.
The next morning (Sunday), we woke up way too early because we did not realize that we had not reached the time zone change. We got to Clarksville around 10 and were supposed to meet Cherie (our realtor) at 11. We decided to check into a hotel room and get situated and then took some things to the storage unit. It worked out perfectly and we arrived at the office a couple of minutes early. Once we arrived, Cherie handed me the list of houses that we were going to look at on Sunday. All of our favorites were in that pile so I was pretty pleased about that. We started with two houses on Athena Drive. These were the two houses that Paul and I were really impressed with but when I saw them, I realized that there was no way that the little bit of furniture that we had would fit in those houses. There were nice but super tiny!
The next houses we looked at were on Raintree Drive. There were 4 houses that were for sale because they were new construction. We stopped at the one Paul and I picked out and looked at it first (our home!). I walked in and fell in love. It was perfect but I knew I couldn't stop there. I needed to have other houses to compare it to. We went into all of the others and each one was a little different than the one before. The first was my favorite. After that we spent the rest of the day looking at ALL of the houses that we had picked out, plus others! We looked at over 20 houses on Sunday.
When we finished, Mom and I went back to the hotel and I uploaded the pictures of the favorites and sent them to Paul. It worked out well because Monday was his day off so he was able to look at the pictures and pick his favorite house while I was sleeping. He was ready to discuss everything when I woke up Monday morning. We discussed numbers and monthly payments and down payments and all of that stuff that makes my head hurt. We both decided that Raintree was the best house for us, but that I should go back and look at it just to make sure.
We went back to meet with Cherie and I told her that I wanted to look at Raintree and this other house. We went to Raintree first and when I walked in the door, I knew that I was home. It was one of those feelings and I knew that I didn't need to go back to the other house. I walked around and decided that we needed to go write the offer.
We wrote the offer and sent it to the seller and less than 2 hours later, Cherie called to let me know that the house was ours!!! I was soooo happy and I emailed Paul right away.

Everything worked out perfectly and Paul was able to be involved in everything. He called me multiple times on Sunday, and on Monday was able to be on speakerphone while we were writing the offer. When he went to work on Tuesday morning, he found out that he was moving and that he wouldn't have internet. So it really could not have worked out any better!


Our home has 3 bedrooms and 2 baths. Its garage is HUGE! It is a new construction so we will be the first people to live there. We have a utility room and plenty of counter and cabinet space in the kitchen. Our master suite is amazing compared to others in the same price range. We are both super excited!! Here are some pictures....



Our backyard



The Kitchen



The Master Bath



Our whirlpool tub



The Master Bedroom

Shadows of the Neanderthal

I received my books yesterday for my first graduates class. I was really excited when I learned that my books were in because I wasn't sure what to expect. Since I was very curious to see what I was getting into, I opened the box immediately and the first book that I pulled out is called Shadows of the Neanderthal with cavemen shown on the front cover.


Wondering what kind of class I got myself into, I opened to the first page. This is what I found....

Once upon a time, there were five cave people.
Their names were Unga, Bunga, Oogie, Boogie, and Trevor.
They lived together in a cave.

I can only imagine what else I am going to find in this awesome book. I am really starting to question what exactly I am studying. =)

For those of you who do not know what I am supposed to be studying, I guess I should enlighten you. I am going back to school to get my Master's in Reading and Literacy. I chose an online school called Capella University so I could participate in my classes no matter where I am. This was the best choice for me due to the travelling that I will be doing in a couple of months. I'm excited to get started and a little nervous at the same time. I'm sure, however, that I will make out just fine!

On the move again

Paul is situated back in Bagram and quickly fell back into the routine of things. He says that he is pretty tired and has been going to bed earlier to try to get rested up. I guess the newest news is that his unit is moving again. No worries - He is staying in Bagram and his address will not change! In order to make room for new units to come in, they are moving Paul's unit closer to where they work. His living quarters are currently located on the other side of the base and they have to ride a bus to work. The Army has decided to move them when they only have 4 months left. Makes sense, huh? The huts that they are moving to aren't built up as well as the huts they are living in now. His unit will have to build the walls on the inside to divide the rooms. This will all need to be done in their spare time after their 12 hour shifts at work. Clearly the soldiers are not very happy about this move. Another downfall to this move is the fact that these huts do not have internet connection and will not have it while Paul is staying in them. He will have to take his computer to the MWR to check his email and keep in contact with everyone. I'm sure that he will find some spare time when he isn't working or building his new room to make it there occasionally. Poor thing!
On a positive note... He only has 4 months left! Hopefully it will fly by for him and everyone here at home. Thanks again for your support and prayers!

We're buying a house!!

Paul and I have decided to go ahead with buying a house! We met with Carol Smith while he was home to discuss our finances and what we could afford as a house payment. She made us feel so much more at ease than what we were before meeting with her. I would strongly recommend her to anyone who is looking into buying a house. We realized that we could easily afford an extra $10,000 house than what we were originally looking at.
The first thing we did after our meeting was start looking online at houses and we have found quite a few that are in the right location and that are the right size. We were still planning on waiting until Paul gets home but before he left he told me to go ahead with it. He claims that he wants to come home to our first home, but I think he is just trying to get out of the moving process. Such a smart one!
We have made a list of the houses we are interested in and have been talking over the internet about the pros and cons of each house. It has been great to still work on this together. It is proof that long distance can work. We are just as strong half a world away as we are sitting next to each other. It makes it easy when you get to work with your best friend on something like this!
The next step is contacting a realtor and making the trip out to Tennessee to find the perfect house to turn into our first home. I am planning on taking our realtor (my mom) for professional and personal opinions. We are planning on driving out on August 2nd and hopefully by the end of that week we will have signed a contract. This is alll sooooo crazy! I never thought that we would be in the position to buy a house but I am soo happy that we are.

News with Paul - He went back to work today (well, actually last night our time). He got a day off and was able to pretty much catch up on his sleep. Nothing else that I have heard of. Just trying to stay busy so the next couple of months fly by.