Scroll Down for Christmas & Move #5

I finally added a Christmas slide show. I started it long ago, so scroll down or find the link in January 2009 to see it.

Amazingly, move #5 to the Grand Rapids area is right around the corner! The packers will begin on Monday, February 23rd and work until completion to load the truck on the 25th. We close on our new house in Michigan on the 26th and hope to have all of our stuff delivered to us on the 27th! I am so thankful that Leslie and Mary have offered their helpful services while the movers are here. Brian has been hard at work in Michigan and it is still up in the air if he'll be able to make it back for the transition. So, the help is MUCH APPRECIATED! There isn't a whole lot I can do in preparation because I'm not supposed to pack anything (or it won't be insured) so it is primarily about organization and getting rid of stuff.

I'm trying to avoid lots of posts without pictures and that has happened a lot recently, so I thought I'd add house progression pictures. This is move #5, but look where we started.....

#1 • MARYLAND
September 2003–June 2006

#2 • GERMANY
August 2006–July 2007

#3 • VIRGINIA
December 2007–June 2008
(just the bottom!)

#4 • OHIO
June 2008–February 2009

#5 • MICHIGAN
February 2009–a long time from now!
(my favorite!!! We'll stick around for a while!)

Our new address beginning on February 26th is:
7086 Nantucket SW Drive
Byron Center, Michigan 49315

Connor is growing so fast and can do more and more each day! My dad is doing business in Ohio now and has been keeping us company this week. My mom flies in tonight and I think she'll be surprised at how much Connor can do! We've been out to eat several times with my dad and Connor is a champ at restaurants! He just hangs out in his carseat and plays with his toys...YAY! I need to take some movies of him laughing and playing to post here.

Connor's Swank New Swing

My grandmother, "Granny" wanted to get Connor and Torin swings after seeing how much both of them loved the hand-me-down swing at my parents house. Target's in-store selection wasn't very good and we aren't very close to a Babies 'R Us, so we just got the swing here in Michigan yesterday afternoon! Brian put it together and it is an INSTANT success! It doesn't even have batteries in it yet, we just give it a push every now and then with my foot (we will be getting batteries today). Anyway, I wanted to post pictures of the happy guy in his swank new swing. :)

By the way, I PROMISE that the fact that his outfit matches the fabric of the swing is a complete coincidence....Brian bathed and dressed him....I had nothing to do with it! :)

I JUST took this sleeping picture....he is still asleep in this exact position....

New House in Michigan!

It is very late, but I just had to write something.

After a submitting an offer on a house in Grand Rapids on Sunday afternoon (Feb. 1 pre-Superbowl) we finally reached an agreement this afternoon (Feb. 4) and will once again be new homeowners. We could not have done it without our amazing realtor, Dave, who worked so hard for us and is actually Allison (Oertel) Barton's uncle! Thank you so much for getting us together!

Brian and I both fell in love with the house as soon as we set foot inside. It is a ranch style with a walk out basement on a 14 acre swimming/fishing/canoeing/ice skating/ice fishing/hockey lake. Our house is right on the lake, so we'll even have a beach! The house has wonderful attention to detail, lots of charm and is really my dream home. It is brand new and in phase 1 of the development itself.

Amazingly, of approximately 15 homes that have been completed, there are about 6 babies under 1 year of age! So, we look forward to making new friends and having a great neighborhood for Connor to grow up in! We are also thankful that the school system is awesome....National Blue Ribbon awards! Yippee! AND it is near interstates so Brian has easy access to all the hospitals he needs to frequent.

Enough jabber...here are a few pictures.

Family picture from our new living room (I'm looking ROUGH!) Oh well....

side/back view....I need to get another better one of the back, but Connor had run out of patience

I just love that it is blue and is cheerful in the winter!

Today is a GREAT Day!

I promise I will post pictures soon....especially after today.....

We will be signing a Lease to Purchase contract with a wonderful family here in Stow that absolutely loves our house and will be purchasing it from us within the next two years! We are oh, so thankful!

Prior to last night we weren't really sure what "Lease to Own" meant, but a lady called on the phone asking if we would consider it. They sold their condo (FSBO) and have to hand over keys on March 1st, but can't be approved for a loan in today's financial market. So, after some good conversations, things are going to work out GREAT!

Very briefly, the way Lease-to-Purchase works is that the tenants pay a % of the price of the house up front, then they make a normal rent payment and in addition to that, they pay a rent premium. Ours is for a 24 month lease, so at the end of 2 years, if they have not purchased the property from us, then they forfeit the % up front as well as the premium that they paid each month. If they do purchase the property (which is the goal and I feel more than confident that it will happen) then the % and premiums are credited back to the buyer toward the purchase price of the house. That price is agreed upon now and the Embrys are actually giving us our asking price! So, their rent payment will cover our mortgage and HOA fees, plus we aren't having to pay any realtor fees and we are making $2500 on our house! Considering the slow real estate market and the fact that we will only have lived here for a total of 8.5 months, this is fantastic! And of course all the money that they pay on our mortgage that goes towards principle is just like cash as soon as they buy the property.

In addition to the financial stress relief that this provides, it is a wonderful feeling to know that Brian is not going to have to commute to Grand Rapids for months, we can be together as a family, and finally get really settled for the last time (in a while!). The only glitch at all is not really a glitch. We will turn over the house on March 1st. That is not much time for us to find and close on a new house in Michigan. We are hopeful, but also don't want to rush into anything. If we have to pay for our stuff to be stored with the moving people for a while, then so be it. If that is all we have to worry about, then I think we are sitting pretty!

So, all of this is just wonderful. We just got back from a celebratory dinner (at Rockne's) with Matt and Ann. Not only do we not have to worry about the house anymore, but Connor also turned 5 months old today!!! We are so blessed to have such an amazing little boy. He is really starting to enjoy and explore eating solid foods. So far green beans and apples are his favorites. He is growing and maturing every day and is really starting to be a lot of FUN!

Overall, I couldn't be happier today, we have SO MUCH to be thankful for!

If you want to see pictures of the house, I made a blog to help sell it...it worked!
www.5055LakePointCourt.blogspot.com

God Bless Walt, and others!

I know I promised this would be a Christmas post with pictures....oops. Instead it is another "Shower Fiasco" update!

Yesterday, despite temperatures in the teens, Connor and I just needed some fresh air. So, with Connor in the front pack, we shoveled snow off the sidewalk and driveway (even though the driveway is cleared by our H.O.A.). While we were busy at work, one of our neighbors, Walt was headed out of his house and stopped to talk.

A little background information on Walt....
• Brian refers to him as "Doc" (from Back to the Future) because of his longer white hair
• When we moved in, he and his wife Gwen were some of the first to introduce themselves
• We soon found out that we were the only ones on the street that don't have a problem with him
• He is the one that calls the cops on the 4th of July parties every year and complains about campfires around the mailbox gazeebo.
• They are the only house NOT invited to neighborhood functions like clam bakes, Christmas parties, etc.

We've chosen to not take sides because Walt and Gwen have never done anything ill to us specifically. Boy am I glad!

During our little talk yesterday I told him about our little winter water leak and he suggested writing the mayor of Stow, Karen Fritschel and giving her all the details. He said he was sure she would forward the e-mail on to others and maybe something would come of it. In addition, Walt said he was having lunch with the mayor today and he would mention our situation again! Turns out Walt is on some sort of City Board! So, I wrote the e-mail with all the details as soon as we went inside. I got a personal response from the mayor within 4 hours telling me she was working on it.

Another hour later I got a call from the Water Department basically asking if I was requesting a credit or a payment plan (for water...sheesh). Of course I said credit and once again, our story and information was going to be passed around.

Well, this afternoon I got this e-mail from the Finance Director of the city of Stow:

Mrs. Nealon,

The mayor’s office forwarded your request to my office for credit on your 184 unit usage of water. You should be receiving a call from our utility billing department verifying our adjustment to your account to show a usage of 5 units for the period of the leak. In addition, my supervisor will be contacting the Department of Environmental Services with our adjustment of your usage and hopefully they will adjust their billing for sewer charges to reflect the adjustment. Sewer charge adjustments are up to the Department of Environmental Services.

Sincerely,

John Baranek, Finance Director

City of Stow

So, YAY! God Bless Walt, the mayor, the finance director, the water department and all others who had a hand in saving us over $550!!! I guess we will just wait and see about the Department of Environmental Services, but this is just a HUGE blessing!

So, another lesson from this whole situation is it never hurts to ask. The worst thing that could of come from my e-mail to the mayor was complete inaction all-together, but instead look what came of it all! It is also a lesson in following through with things I guess....what is that quote about good intentions?

Ok, that is all for this post. Today has just been a great day. Despite that Brian is in Grand Rapids (coming home tomorrow), he had a great work day too. Now, if I would only get a call about someone wanting to look at our house, this might be one of the greatest days ever! (I'm not holding my breath....it is 10º outside, snowing and getting late....maybe tomorrow. :)

Christmas 2008

Ok, this is way overdue....I started it on January 1oth though, so that is when it is posting....it is actually February 13th now...oops.

The slide show below has lots of pictures from our Nealon Christmas in Avon Lake, the drive down to Georgia, Christmas Eve yard work for a couple in need, and Christmas in Macon. Fun times! (I'll try to add captions at some point, but I'm behind enough as it is!)

Shower Fiasco and Connor UPDATE

I talked to the water company this morning and unfortunately (for us) they don't give any sort of exemptions for situations like ours.....we are just going to have to deal with a ridiculously high water bill. Basically, we are figuring out that the knob must have busted right after we left because from December 10th until the present we used 136,384 GALLONS of water! That brings our bill to date to over $600 for 1 month.....and we weren't even here for 13 days of that! Basically, that is about 5 years of water consumption. So, the big life lesson here: if you are going out of town for very long at all TURN OFF THE WATER!

In addition, as I mentioned in the last post, our gas bill was very hefty because the water gushing out was not cold, but slightly warm to the touch...thus our water heater was working overtime the whole time we were gone...awesome. So, our next gas bill will also be gynormous because the last one stopped on the 29th. Oh joy. Considering we are some of the cheapest (or most environmentally friendly) people we know, this is tough to swallow. In addition, in Summit County, we also have to pay the Department of Environmental Services a fee based on water consumption....awesome. I called them this morning too and I have to write a letter explaining everything and hope that they will give us some sort of average...otherwise we are possibly looking at about $750 on that end too.

The good news is that hopefully our electricity bill will be low....we'll just put that money toward the gas and water bills...sheesh.

Now I just need to get the bathroom painted and the carpet in our bedroom dried out. It is starting to smell musty...just what we need right when we are trying to sell our house! So, our bedroom is currently blocked off because we have fans on and the windows open even though it is 34º outside.

The plumber is on his way over as I write this to fix the shower. He got it done part way on Saturday, but had to get a part. Let's hope his bill isn't ridiculous too!

——————

On a much happier note: CONNOR GROWS!

If you've seen the kid lately, you know he is huge. Well, his doctor's appointment today confirmed it. He is weighing in at 16 lbs, 3 oz. (75%) and is a whopping 27 inches long (90%)! The doctor was very impressed with the fact that he rolls back to front and said his head looks wonderful....so no physical therapy for him! Anyway, among all the drama, we are MOST THANKFUL for a happy, healthy, baby boy that melts our hearts with every smile and laugh.

——————

Ok, I'm done. I know I broke my promise and said that this post would be about Christmas with pictures...sorry. I will add soon.

The Big Blue Mitten Awaits — and a few twists

I know it has been a really long time since I posted....I'm really sorry about that. I'm sure you were probably expecting Christmas pictures and you will get plenty in the next post. We've just had a lot going on.

First, let me explain the title of this post: The Big Blue Mitten Awaits. Translated, it means.....we are moving to Michigan (the state is shaped like a big mitten and this time of year, on the weather channel it is pretty much always blue in color).

Let's see if I can make this story short....

When we moved to Ohio last June we were hoping Brian would be promoted and be able to stay in this area. That is why we bought our house in the middle of the region, so wherever he had to go within northeastern Ohio, he could make it work. However, despite assurances (but not promises) there aren't any openings in this area and it is time for Brian to move up in the world of medical device sales. He needs his own territory. So, we are on our way to Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Once we get passed the next 6 months we both think it will be a great move for us. Grand Rapids is a really beautiful area (especially in the summer....very close to Lake Michigan), all the schools have outstanding test scores, and it seems like an outstanding place to raise a family. On the job side of things, it is a very healthy business environment and Brian should do well in the health industry. Perhaps the best part is that we will finally have a sense of permanence....at least for a while. To this point, we've really had to go where the company has asked us to. Once we get to Michigan, the ball will be in our court. We can finally really settle down, make new friends and not feel like we might be picking everything up again in a year or so.

The primary downside is leaving our friends and family that are very close-by here in Ohio. We've become spoiled to having loved ones less than an hour away. We are also going to have to try to sell our house during a not-so-appealing time in the real-estate market. We are going to try to do it For Sale By Owner, but might have to rent it out if we don't get lucky quickly. And of course we will be on the search for a new home in Grand Rapids. On the upside, Grand Rapids is only a managable 4-5 hours from here and it only adds 2 hours of drive time to get to Macon. Another upside is that Air Tran flies into Flint, Michigan for cheap. Grand Rapids has an airport, but from what we've seen it is pretty pricey. Flint is less than 2 hours away, so we'll just make that little trek to head south.

Brian's start date is technically February 1st, but I don't think they can expect him to be there and working by that date. We hope to find out more in the next few days, but that gives you at least an idea of our time-frame....sooner, not later. We'll keep you posted on what it is like moving from a cold place to an even colder place in the middle of the coldest part of winter!!!

In the meantime, we are trying to get our house show-worthy. As an added bonus, when we arrived home this morning at 5:30 am after driving through the night from spending 12 days in Georgia for Christmas we quickly discovered water gushing out of our shower knob. (The part you pull out and turn to hot or cold.) We are extremely thankful that our drain worked well and the thousands of gallons of water when down and not into our home.....it could have been absolutely horrific. Instead, the plumber that came today said he's never seen it happen before, but part of the knob broke and will have to be replaced. It is just unfortunate that it happened while we were gone for almost 2 weeks. We aren't sure when the bust happened, but the water wasn't freezing cold that was coming out and we have already seen part of the effects of the water heater working overtime in our gas bill....well over $200, and the last day was December 29th....we didn't get it shut off until this morning....4 more DAYS of gushing. We just THOUGHT we would save money by being gone 2 weeks in December. I can't even imagine what the water bill will look like, but I'll be calling first thing on Monday morning to see if there is some sort of protocol for issues like ours. It is unfortunate that it happened, but as I said, it could have been MUCH worse. We will have to fix the knob (part will be ordered on Monday) repaint the bathroom, and dry out the carpet in our bedroom. It didn't flood the room, but the moisture in the air made everything a little wet. Hopefully this is our only house challenge.

At least we know we are pretty good at moving. This move will make 5 moves in 5.5 years. Sheesh. Brian has been really sweet and doesn't want me to feel like he is dragging me around all over the place. I am so proud of him, his job, and his commitment to our family, how could I be anything but supportive? I hope it doesn't appear that we take moving lightly...we do not, and it sure is a pain, but practice makes perfect, right? Lord knows, we should know what we are doing....this time we just get to try it with a baby! Once again, I am extremely thankful to be able to work from home....wherever that may be. My profession is not only a passion of mine, but has been such a blessing as well!

So, please think of us in these next few weeks/months as they are sure to be stressful. Please pray that we find an excited buyer for our home and that we find a home for ourselves that is just what we need. I also ask for peace and a sense of calm. We know it will all work out, we just hope the journey getting there is smooth and with as few curve balls as possible!

Love, hugs, and here's to a wonderful 2009!