Hooray!

I'm happy to announce that we finally purchased our land and should begin building as soon as we close and have our construction loan. Hopefully that will only be about 10 days. We'd like to be in our new house by Spring, like May at the latest. Naturally, things will go other than how we have planned and it will take longer, but we're optimistic. It was quite a process of choosing where to buy land. We had actually even decided to wait until Spring to buy and start building. But while we were on vacation Jake felt strongly that we should just go ahead and start. I agreed! We were all ready to make an offer on one lot when we learned the development with the other lot we were considering was going up for auction. Great, we thought! Now we'll get a great deal on our land. Not so much. While we were actually the only bidders that showed up, the developers were not willing to go less than $2,500 off their original asking price. Strange for an auction, but we left really confused and not knowing what to do. After lots of phone calls, emails, prayers, and thought we finally made a decision and now own a lot in Evans View. The city is supposed to be passing a tax abatement that we are really excited about: 7 years of 100% taxes. Meaning, for 7 years we pay NO property taxes. :)  Because of this, the price of land is going to go up because the tax abatement is only for new construction. We're really glad we went ahead and purchased when we did. There are only a handful of houses in this development so far, but from what I can tell (peeking in their garage) it looks like the people right next to us have little kids and that the mom stays home during the day. I'm really excited to get started and even more excited to be done and in our own home again. Living with Jake's parents is going well, but I'm sure we're really going to feel crowed in 2 bedrooms with 5 people and all our stuff. Plus, I'm sure Jake's parents won't mind the peace and quite that comes with not living with 2 crazy toddlers (and soon a newborn!). Oh, and in case you're wondering, we still don't have a name for this little boy. We'll take pictures soon of the land, but in the mean time, here's a link to the website for the development. We bought lot 11 in phase 2. Ahh...progress!!

For Real...

Alright, I really am going to be making our blog private next week. Just another reminder to email me or leave me a comment if you'd like to keep up with our little family. Also, look forward to an update next week about the home-building status. I think I've sent an invite to everyone who has requested one so far. If not, just email me again-sorry!

And a picture from our trip-it wouldn't rotate...oops! This and me and Leah as we were waiting to take off to Orlando!

Since they're sleeping

I was just uploading all the pictures from our camera and thought I'd post a few cute ones. Jake and the kids are still asleep so it seems like an ideal time to do some posting. :)

First up, we headed out to a parade nearby. It was a bit of a rainy day so there were hardly any people there watching. Because of that, we left with a boatload of candy. And we got to try out our new double stroller we had just bought the day before. I've been waiting months and months for this baby to finally get to the stores. It's the only one that will fit our infant carrier-which will be helpful in a few months! (Yes, that means Isaac will have to walk, but what can you do?)

 

Next up is our trip to Branson that mentioned a while ago. I finally am getting the pictures posted...

The kids spent literally hours in this little wading pool. Isaac ripped open the bottom of his foot from it being so soggy. Poor guy!

The next several pictures are from Silver Dollar City. Where we roasted. Because it was hot. REALLY hot. 

Lastly is a picture from the fish hatchery. Isaac and Jake probably enjoyed it the most. We all would have enjoyed it a little more if it hadn't been so incredibly hot and humid!