I'm counting my blessings today...
1. Mom came and spent a couple of days with us, and that made all the difference in the world to a crabby, teething toddler and his tired mama.
2. The home inspection went through, and there isn't much wrong with the house! It looks like, from the racks of neat tools in the storage shed, that the husband of the house is Mr. Fix-it. They have been doing good home maintenance all along. Our realtor said she's seen much, much worse from houses built in '86. Praise the Lord! But pray that they are willing to make the necessary repairs to rotten hardboard siding, etc.
3. After some ups and downs with the home loan process, it looks like the state financed first time home buyers loan is still the best deal, potential caveats notwithstanding. Thank the Lord for an amazing husband that understands finances. And...
4. Congress just passed a bill, for this year only, for first time homebuyers. It's a $7,500 interest free loan that you pay back slowly by getting less in your refund for the next 15 years. And we qualify. I laughed with joy when we figured this out. There is no down side for taking it, and it will give us more wiggle room for emergencies with making a larger down payment.
5. God is changing my heart, and I'm willing to make less changes to the house before moving in so we'll have more money to put down. I saw the house in a new light when we went for the inspection. We can wait to replace carpet. Being a better steward of what God has given us is more important. I'm thankful for any progress I'm making in learning this lesson now.
6. Mom and Dad have offered to fly a paint crew down from Minnesota to give our house an extreme home makeover. It's time that Isaac learned how to wield a paintbrush. We're getting an estimate on a local guy, but I'm suspecting the family discount may still be better. =)
7. Seth is taking a fabulously long nap today. Ahhhhhhhh.
8. I have cold Dr. Pepper.
1. Mom came and spent a couple of days with us, and that made all the difference in the world to a crabby, teething toddler and his tired mama.
2. The home inspection went through, and there isn't much wrong with the house! It looks like, from the racks of neat tools in the storage shed, that the husband of the house is Mr. Fix-it. They have been doing good home maintenance all along. Our realtor said she's seen much, much worse from houses built in '86. Praise the Lord! But pray that they are willing to make the necessary repairs to rotten hardboard siding, etc.
3. After some ups and downs with the home loan process, it looks like the state financed first time home buyers loan is still the best deal, potential caveats notwithstanding. Thank the Lord for an amazing husband that understands finances. And...
4. Congress just passed a bill, for this year only, for first time homebuyers. It's a $7,500 interest free loan that you pay back slowly by getting less in your refund for the next 15 years. And we qualify. I laughed with joy when we figured this out. There is no down side for taking it, and it will give us more wiggle room for emergencies with making a larger down payment.
5. God is changing my heart, and I'm willing to make less changes to the house before moving in so we'll have more money to put down. I saw the house in a new light when we went for the inspection. We can wait to replace carpet. Being a better steward of what God has given us is more important. I'm thankful for any progress I'm making in learning this lesson now.
6. Mom and Dad have offered to fly a paint crew down from Minnesota to give our house an extreme home makeover. It's time that Isaac learned how to wield a paintbrush. We're getting an estimate on a local guy, but I'm suspecting the family discount may still be better. =)
7. Seth is taking a fabulously long nap today. Ahhhhhhhh.
8. I have cold Dr. Pepper.
2 comments:
I like #5. :) I haven't weighed in on the whole improvement thing, but here's my take, for what it's worth. By waiting until after you move in, you're giving yourself time to really get to know the house, and really decide what you like/don't like about it as-is. Does that make sense? That way, you're not rushing yourself (and your finances) to do it all at once, and you're able to take on projects along the way that best support your schedule and finances with any day-to-day changes that may arise. This way, you find that you really can live with "that paint" or "those fixtures" while you itemize improvements by priority. Perhaps you'll see that you can live with the carpet but what you'd really like to do is focus on the room that will be Seth's first, or to add extra shelving to closets and storage rooms, etc. Who knows?!And, in my experience, you'll be daily reminded to remain thankful for it, even when it's "as is"! Just my two cents! :)
Being thankful is good. I need to do it more.
Love
Henrietta
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