hang tight!
getting settled
life has been like a tornado over the past 5 days...finishing packing, moving, shuffling kids around as we unpacked, having jason's mom here to help unpack before christmas, UNPACKING and feeling like the boxes multiplied in transit because there is no way we had all this stuff at the last house - wait we didn't, we had a storage unit, christmas with the slopsema side, christmas program at swee's old preschool, seing santa, making peppermint bark with grandma pat, lil man learning he can climb up and into the dryer - trying to get swee's clean undies out - dragging blankie around the house like he's linus, and saying goodbye to some great friends. wow, can't believe that was all crammed into such a short period of time.
please cut me some slack if i didn't get a christmas card to you this year - i promise to do better next year!
i don't advise doing it...
owning TWO homes that is. as of 1:30 p.m. today we are the proud or crazy, i haven't decided which yet, owner of two homes. we are relieved that all went well on the first closing because even as i was driving there today it didn't look very promising. the gas had been turned off in the house since august and it has been below - way below- freezing around this part of the world. the gas was to be turned on tomorrow but we changes it to today to make sure the furnace worked and the pipes hadn't frozen. as i was heading north my realtor called to ask if the gas company had arrived yet so the gentleman could go and un-winterize the house but he wouldn't turn the water on until the furnace was up and working. i was supposed to do a walk through on the house before closing but the thermostat had to be replaced and so the furnace and de-winterizing wouldn't be completed before our scheduled closing time. so we closed on the house before we knew the furnace worked and there weren't any leaks. as it was jason found a pipe leaking in the basement but the contractor was willing to come back and fix it. the furnace did work so when we took some items over to the house it was 45 degrees in the house - very brisk but we got a brand new thermostat out of the deal. we are so glad to have this finished today! now just two more nights in the old house and no more day trips up north for me! YEAH!
also while in i was up north i:
-took swee to meet his new preschool teachers and to see his new school
-took priss to see her new school, get a tour of it, and for her to be assigned to a class
-picked up christmas items that had been shipped there to lessen the number that would need to be transported during the move
-ordered cupcakes to take to priss's school on friday as a good bye gesture to her class and teacher
crazy day but so productive!
doubt crept in...
and trust rushed it out. over the past week we have had the privilege of having extreme highs and equally extreme lows. we found out the house we are selling is closing 2 weeks earlier than expected and the one we are buying, no closing date in sight. causing us to be close to being HOMELESS. it was our understanding that we would be closing dec. 15th on our new home and the 29th on our old home. this apple cart was completely overturned when the dates switched. after spending what has felt like millions of minutes on the phone, forgetting about the house and at times what is going on around me, i as of today have a tentative closing date of the 15th at 1 p.m. this is following a phone call to the loan processor, the timeshare company (that has caused all the issues because of incorrect information provided by them to the mortgage company) and then a credit bureau that i believe is located in cali. i am now a completely ANNOYING client with more people than i care to admit. so much so that we are certain that our name will get around and no one will want to deal with us in the future. i have decided that i am never moving again and that my grandchildren one day will visit me in the home we have purchased/are purchasing.
thanks to a lot of prayer and realizing just how capable heavenly father is the doubt left and the trust moved right back in where it was always lingering in the shadows.
our life in a nutshell 15 days before christmas this year!
thanksgiving weekend
we hosted a thanksgiving breakfast for both sides of the family. we had tons of food and lots of fun visiting. and were very grateful that both jason and priss were feeling much better after having had the flu on wednesday. we attended my aunt lana's thanksgiving dinner and it was one of the best. lots of great food and even more great company. friday found us at our yearly haunt of picture people getting our slopsema family pictures taken. they turned out so good! saturday was the day to get our tree. jason's dad left after we got back from picking out our tree. we got the tree put up and i went to put the lights on since i am very picky about how i want them done. as i was putting the lights on i realized that out of the 5 strands i had only 1 worked. i raced off to good ole wally world to pick up 4 new boxes. thankfully those 4 boxes worked and the tree had lights. we had decided that this house's tree would only have lights and candy canes on it and the tree at the new house would have ornaments on it. the christmas tree nazi said so...aka priss. sunday found both priss and lil man sick. jason's mom as of today has the stomach flu. swee and i are keeping our fingers crossed that we don't get it.
we have begun packing and it is quite strange to see all our things in boxes. 15 days until we get possession of the new house and 30 days until we close on this house.
got the tree - check
saturday we headed out to the christmas tree farm with jason's parents in tow. they were troopers and we managed to find the perfect tree for us this year in record time. we had them all prepared to be hiking up and down the hills for hours on end and we found it in under 45 minutes. the older two helped cut the tree down and yelled "timber" as it fell.
without making you wait any longer....here is the tree...
that time of year
Usually by now I have already chosen my Christmas cards and have them ready to mail but not this year. I even had considered with our upcoming move just not to send any then as I was looking at Shutterfly's website I found so many cards that I fell in love with. How could I not send out Christmas cards this year when all I have to do is find a picture I like and they will do all the rest? They will even address and mail them for me. With the upcoming move this will turn out to be a great blessing for me. Also this way I won't feel guilty for not sending out cards when I am receiving ones from friends and family who probably used shutterfly to make theirs. So I have changed my mind and will be sending out Christmas cards this year...thanks Shutterfly for the inspiration!
Why don't you head on over to Shutterfly to find your Christmas cards this year.
50 free christmas cards
okay, so as I was reading a blog that I follow they had a post about shutterfly
giving away 50 free christmas cards if you blog about the offer. so here I am blogging about shutterfly and their offer for 50 free christmas cards. from what I can tell you fill out a form and they will send the required link or promotional code to you so you can get the cards. it is worth a try. good luck!
continuation...
well, as of Friday, November 19th @ 11:36 a.m. WE SOLD OUR HOUSE! yes, in under a week's time a home was purchased and a home was sold! we are speechless about both! it was an amazing, stressful, trust developing, faith executing and family bonding time...all thanks to a mindful Heavenly Father. we are so blessed and have felt so much love this past week that we can't express it to the fullest.
this holiday season finds the slopsema family with a lot to be THANKFUL for.
where to begin?
how about three months ago when Jason took a new job that would have us relocating closer to my family. we were very excited to have the kids closer to some grandparents and to have him use his degree as an AD/Asst. Principal. the week following him accepting the job we listed our house and began the search for a new home. we have had some lookers over the past three but most people have chosen a different home. due to not getting any offers we decided that we would just rent ours out if it didn't sell before we found a new home. fast forward to last monday when we put an offer on a home and started the bidding war. the home was everything we wanted but never thought we could afford this time around but we gave it a try. we put an offer in and they countered back better than we could have asked for. we countered back and hope that they would counter back at a particular figure. without either Jason or I knowing we had decided independently that if they countered back at said figure we would take the offer. AMAZINGLY they countered back at what we had hoped so we TOOK IT! last friday we purchased our new home not knowing HOW the Lord would take care of us but KNOWING that he would. now this monday I spoke to our listing agent because our house had been shown over the weekend and I couldn't wait to hear how it went. the gentleman who looked at it liked it the best. we decided to entice him to choose our home by dropping the price for him alone for this week only. he bit and looked at it again on monday evening. yesterday evening we received an offer...very low offer so we countered back and are eagerly awaiting to see what he does with our offer. our realtor and his say that he really wants the house but wants to play the bidding game. we will see how Heavenly Father works this out and in the meantime we will just begin packing since we are moving a week before christmas.
moral of this post:
trust in the Lord and he will never fail you in your time of need
oh, here is a picture of our new HOME
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lots of pictures and a little commenting
what a gonglomerate of pictures...huh! we have been busy and enjoying a lot of time with Jason home over the past couple of days. they have been packed full and thankfully we have been on the ball enough to take the camera with us. the highlight would have to be the older two learning to ride their bikes all on their own from stopping to starting theirselves and everything else in between. Priss took her training wheels off all by herself and then took Swee's off to. they are so proud of theirselves and can't wait to take a bike ride as a family of "two wheel bike riders".
bathtime
he is completely CRAZY during bathtime. i am just waiting for him to hurt himself while he is splashing up a storm.
game night and oreos
the older two and i played games and had treats. it was a lot of fun and i enjoyed getting to do something simple with them and to listen as they talked to each other. yittle enjoyed a few of the mini oreos while watching the boardgame action. he is wondering if finners wants to join his dsl team, he thinks they can take the manning brothers!
I think he might grow up to be a fireman
Yittle (our new nickname for the youngest Slopsema in the house) and I went on Swee field trip to the fire station this morning. It was a perfect morning to walk to the local fire station. Swee was so excited that he got to do a field trip that Priss did when she was in preschool. He got to hold the hose and fight a pretend fire, sit in the fire engine, watch a movie about the fire station, and he got a fireman's hat. And he was full of questions and comments whenever the fireman giving the tour gave him a hint of attention. He even knew to call 911 for any type of emergency. I guess he has been listening when we have been talking about things around the house...what else has he heard:)!?
Pumpkin Patch and No Extra Batteries
The kids had a blast at the pumpkin patch. Lil Man seemed to enjoy the experience more than last year when he was only a few weeks old. Swee and Priss each rode the ponies again this year but I only was able to capture Swee because they were allowed one lap around the arena and Priss was off before I snapped a picture. As we went on the trolley to the pumpkin patch the camera battery began to die. I babied it so that I could capture a few pictures but I was unable to take as many as I would have liked. But it is what it is! Memories from the pumpkin patch 2010.
A Very Good Friend
As the kids and I were driving to see Jason this past weekend I was talking with my Mom and she said...you will never guess who just walked through my backdoor...he is tall, dark and handsome. I wasn't sure who to guess but when she told me our neighbor who had moved away I said don't let him leave I will be there in 10 minutes. It was so good to see Tristan. I really enjoyed getting to visit with him and only wish my sister could have been there too.
Harvesting Supervisor
Swee supervised the harvesting of the soy beans this year. He took a lawn chair out into the yard so he could have a front row seat to watch the combine harvest the beans. It was so cute to see him watching so intently as the combine drove past our house and then turned around to make another pass.
Zoo Trip
learning the difference between a cheetah and a lion
I got the wonderful opportunity, thanks to Jason's mom, to accompany Priss on her field trip to the zoo. It had been about 5 years since I had been so it was exciting to go back especially with the new cheetah exhibit. I had a group of 4 girls and they sure were spunky! They wanted to see everything and were starving the entire time we were there which was only about an hour and a half. We did have enough time to see the cheetahs, the dolphin show, the meekats, the polar bears, the seals, the lions, the baboons (the youngest baboon shares a birthday with our Lil Man), and we saw the giraffes (which Priss had done a research paper on). The teacher instructed us that each of us needed to learn 5 new things while at the zoo. We read a lot of signs and enjoyed the zoo not being very busy and the weather was perfect. I think the boys would enjoy going, especially since we have never taken them. That will have to be on our to do list for next summer - for sure.
Typical Morning
A typical morning here finds the two older kids getting ready for school. This morning we were ahead of schedule so they had time to make some creations with Swee's snap blocks. They were very excited when I said I would take pictures to post on the blog. So without much ado, here they are...
And the Lil Man is usually hanging out in his highchair...which he loves to sit in and eat snacks!
Disappointed
To say the least this is what I am. Since having had the house on the market we have shown it a couple of times and last week I guess the showing went really well. The people who looked really liked it but decided to put an offer on a home identical to ours just more money...and one they couldn't afford. I have been waiting all week to find out if they were able to make a deal on the other home hoping that they didn't and would then be making an offer on ours. In my mind the timing would have been perfect since we are looking at home once again and really, really, REALLY want to find one. Well, back to the point...they made an offer on a completely different home, a foreclosure, and they got it. Yeah for them. BOOO for us. Back to showing the house and doing my best to keep it as clean as possible with 3 kids running around. I know it will happen when it is supposed to...just practicing that patience I have learned,ONCE AGAIN!
we PARTIED like it was his birthday
Lil Man finally had his first birthday party this past weekend. He loved the cake and seemed to literally dive head first into it. He even complained when we tried to wipe his hands off and clean the new highchair off...he wanted every last bit of his Concannon's cupcake. We had a very small celebration but it was filled with excitement and tons of love. He really enjoyed the gifts he received and the older two were very good to help him open his presents. It is hard to believe he is one but he truly is TONS of FUN!
These Shoes Are Made for Walkin'
Priss participated in her school's second annual walkathon on Friday. This is her school's only fundraiser for the year and last year it brought in $40,000. She had set a goal of reaching the highest prize level and THANKS to some AWESOME family members and friends she made her goal and then some. We appreciate everyone's generosity this year in helping her make her goal!
Off He Went to Preschool
Swee was up and ready about 2 hours before he needed to be. He was so excited to go to school like Sis Girl. His backpack was packed about 3 weeks ago. His outfit was picked out and shoes were laid out last night.
We even took time to snap some pictures before we dropped him off at school. Sis Girl went to school late so that she could go with us to take Swee to school. I thought it was important for her to be there since Jason is gone and unable to be there. Grandma Pat also was there to wish him a great first day of preschool which was something extra special. Swee raced right in and kissed us good bye and he was off...didn't look back once! It was a little harder dropping him off today because I am so used to having him around while Sis is at school. Now it's just Lil Man and me.
ONE Year Really!?
It truly doesn't seem that long ago that we added a tremendously, wonderful addition to our family of four. I can scarcely remember what it was like to be a family with an even number. HE is a pure delight and pleasure to have as a part of our eternal family and we thank Heavenly Father daily for the three amazing spirits that we have been blessed with here on Earth.
Let me tell you for a minute about our Lil Man aka Too, Thatchie Drew, Tooney...he giggles like no child I have ever encountered when he sees his Sis Girl and Swee Man. His eyes truly twinkle when he is happy, WHICH IS ALL THE TIME! He is a human vacuum cleaner, if it is on the floor it is making its way to his mouth. He eats anything you give him so we are careful with what we feed him knowing two sets of eyes are watching and waiting to help us feed him. Tooney is practically bald if you don't look closely but if you do you see a TON of toe-head blond hair all over the place. He now has 5 teeth and knows how to use them. He likes his whole milk warm NOT cold. I just learned this yesterday! And he gabbers all the time and loves to yell at the top of his lungs to get a reaction of out you, which makes him giggle.
If you can't tell our house is still completely SMITTEN with him!
Surprise!
While taking care of my Mom this weekend she surprised me with my favorite cupcakes from the local bakery. She had the kids sing Happy Birthday to me. Since Jason is living with her now he won't be home for my birthday this year so to ensure that I got sung to she did it this weekend. The kids thought it was great singing to me...they kept calling it my pretend birthday.
He is Mr. Personality
Swee wanted to take tap lessons like Priss so I signed him up this fall. He is adorable and so excited about having tap shoes. Jason made me promise that next spring I would sign him up for baseball and I promised. I can't wait to see Swee on stage at the recital next spring.
It's Official
We are selling our house and moving north about 1 1/2 hours to make Jason's commute shorter to his new job. Now if the house will just sell quickly! Any takers?
Off She Went
Priss was up and dressed before I even made it out of bed this morning. She was so excited for school to start. We had found out last week who her teacher was so armed with that information she was ready to tackle the day. It is a struggle for me this year to think that she is in SECOND grade. Kindergarten and first didn't bother me but for some reason second is. She was excited and that made it all better.
She posed for the required pictures and then the boys and I loaded up the car with her and were off. As we walked into the school and down the hallway towards her classroom we couldn't walk more than 10 feet without a teacher saying Hi to her and commenting on a change they noticed in her. She just beamed and I could tell that she was so happy to be back in school and ready to face the challenges that it will hold this year. I am very grateful to know that so many adults know who she is especially when she is 1 in 1100 at her school.
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