Under Contract

After 6 months of diligent house hunting, Gabe and I are happy to say that we are under contract to purchase a house!

The house is in the Fairview area. It is a foreclosure and we think we got a pretty good deal for it. Its in  good condition, though it needs some updating, mostly cosmetic. Its on almost 2 acres and is about 1700 square feet. There is a small finished area in the basement that will be our homeschool room and a huge detached garage with electricity that will be Gabe's workshop.  The lovely large living room has a fireplace, big windows and nice hardwood floors. The bedrooms are small, but the common spaces are spacious and the yard is huge. The majority of the property feels private and enclosed with nice trees.  There is a little swing set for the kids in the backyard and plenty of space for gardens.These are all the good things about it.

There are a few downsides, too, because nothing is perfect in house hunting. We learned that quickly.  I blogged a while back about being prepared to make compromises; we did make a few. But, I am still satisfied with our decision. One down side: the exterior of the house was recently painted a deep "marinara sauce" reddish-orange from top to bottom and we hate it. It will take a lot of time and money to repaint, so we will have to live it with it for a while. We have an interesting neighbor situation, too. Its not terrible; though it will require a bit of landscaping to carry the private feel around to that side of the property .

There are many hoops to jump through before the house is officially ours, but we are hopeful that everything is going to work out. Especially because we had to give the required 60-day notice to the lovely Eastwood Village Apartments that we will not be renewing our lease. In other words, 60 days from today, we have to be out of here. Closing on a house can sometimes take 60 days or more. Therefore, we are praying for a speedy, smooth closing process. Ideally, we would close a couple of weeks before we have to be out of the apartment giving us time to paint and clean the new house before moving in.

Here is a link to the listing... notice the lovely chocolate brown and orange paint inside! We have our work cut out for ourselves, but hopefully, it will pay off.

Hilton Head Island, SC

Vacation 2010: 

Resting, Sunning, Swimming, Biking, Hiking, Sanding, Kite Flying, Nature Watching, Recovering, Forgetting, Remembering.

Dickinson Family Gathering

We had the opportunity to see all of Gabe's brothers and sisters together this weekend along with all of their respective spouses and children. I have so much I could say about the dynamics of such a big family. But as with all things lately, I just don't have the energy to put it into words. So I am going to keep with my trend and post a few pictures instead.

Barbara (Mom, Nana) with all of her children ( listed from the oldest who is 36 to youngest who is 23): Jessica in the red dress, Hope in the white shirt, Leah to the left of Barbara in grey, Jacob with sunglasses on his collar, Noah with sunglasses on, Gabe in the Piazza shirt, Micah right behind Barbara. (Gabe looks a little weary here; there were LOTS of pictures taken.:)

Barbara with almost all of her grandchildren ( We are missing Hailey, Micah's daughter who is in California). There 19 in all, with 2 more on the way. Gabe and I are expecting another baby in March and Hope and her husband Raul are expecting their first in December.  The ages of the children range from 5 mos to 16 years old. Cute family, huh?

  ♥The Dickinson that matters the most to me.♥

Blueberry Pickin' and a Splash in the River

Happy Birthday Elijah Gabriel!

Yesterday was Elijah's birthday! My family drove up from South Carolina to surprise him. We all took a trip to Fun Depot for some birthday chaos. After the Fun Depot, we returned home for cupcakes and presents. We rested for a bit then drove to Hendersonville to have dinner with Nana (Gabe's mom), Aunt Hope and a few sweet cousins. I think he had a very fun day! In the midst of all the action, I only took a few lousy pictures.  I do have this short video clip to remind us of the day:

Happy Birthday Sweet Boy! On the day you were born, my ability to love grew one thousand fold. Suddenly I was needed and had a purpose in life:  to protect and love this tiny life. And though you're not tiny anymore, my purpose is the same. Being a mom, your mom has brought me so much joy and fullness. Over these last four years, I've learned what true sacrificial love/ agape love is... the love that loves despite what the other person does or says, how they treat you, what they do or don't do for you. And because of that, I feel like a better person. Being your mother has made me a better person. You make me laugh, cry and scream. You may make me happy and I am so thankful to have you in our lives.