Buying a home

is very stressful. We were going to build a home but with interest rates at an all time low (and many other factors) we decided we would be taking too many risks if we built. After walking through several existing houses, we finally found a home. It's a new house that has been sitting for a few months. The people who built it couldn't qualify for financing after the home was built. Here it is. We close on it next month.

EXTERIOR




ENTRANCE / FAMILY ROOM






KITCHEN








LAUNDRY ROOM


MASTER BED/BATH




KIDS BED/BATH



BASEMENT

2008 Highlights

I can't believe we only have 15 days left in 2008. It sure seems that the older I get the faster time slips by.
I want to take a moment and highlight the events in our life during the past year.
The good and bad of 2008:

I started the year off by joining a new company, Aculis. This company has definitely been a good step for me in my career and I have made some good friends in the process. UPDATE - I was laid off 6 days before Christmas. :-(

We lost my grandma (my dad’s mom) early in the year and we continue to mourn the loss of Grandpa Pauline. Although grandma was ill and her passing was not a surprise, we weren’t ready to say goodbye. We love and miss her deeply.

We were able to take a family vacation in March and we headed to California. We went to Disneyland, SeaWorld, Universal Studios, Ripleys Believe it or not, The Pirate Show and dinner theater and spent time at the beach. We all had a fabulous time and can't wait for our next family vacation.

We sold our house and moved in with my parents this year. That has been a little stressful on all of us. Not because we are living with my parents but because their house has been in construction mode for months. We were living out of boxes in the living room (all 5 of us) until we could finish remodeling the basement. Now we are remodeling the main bathroom and finishing the basement bathroom at the same time. We have been without a shower for 4 weeks. Needless to say, we have become frequent members at Magna Rec (ugh…public showers…not a fan). I can’t thank my parents enough for allowing us to burden them. I am also grateful for Terry and his family for helping us with the construction…they are wonderful.

We recently learned that my sister was diagnosed with heart failure at age 35 and now my brother has been experiencing heart pains along with an extremely low heart beat and we are waiting for his test results. We continue to keep them both in our thoughts and prayers and hope for the best.

TERRY has had a busy year…He got a promotion at Kennecott and has moved up the chain rather quickly. He has worked very hard and has proven his dedication over the last 3 years. I’m glad Kennecott has been a good venture for him. Terry is one of the hardest working people I know. When he is not at Kennecott or training on the ERT then he is working for his dad, helping his siblings, my parents, his friends and neighbors. He is always dedicating his time to help people and he continues to amaze me with everything he can do. Terry has tried to take a break once a month or so and hit the dirt/sand/hills /mountains with the guys. He loves his toys! Oh, and I have a surprise for all of you….Terry just purchased a new truck. LOL Are you surprised? He still can’t kick the habit of buying vehicles. He has owned more vehicles then anyone I know. He even talked me into buying a camp trailer this summer (not that I complained…(grin)).

TREVOR finished 7th grade and moved on to 8th grade. He lacks the motivation to do his homework but with a little push from mom and dad (mainly dad) he has kept his grades up and has a 3.4 GPA. Trevor had a rough football season this year with too many scares. He injured his neck in the 3rd game of the season. We were told so many different things such as he had a fractured disk (3 weeks later they determined that was not the case and told us he was fine to play football again. He was finally released for the last two games of the season. The last game of the season he tackled a kid and ended up on the bottom of the pile and reinjured his neck. The EMT’s recommended he go to the hospital via ambulance. The ER doctor told us he tore several ligaments in his neck and that he needs to be seen by a Nero-surgeon and an Orthopedic Specialist. After appointments with them, they determined he didn’t have any torn ligaments and that he just has really weak neck muscles and is having muscle spasms and recommended physical therapy. Unfortunately this problem has extended into wrestling season and he has been unable to wrestle. On a good note, Trevor has continued to be our family traveler this year. He has traveled to California, Nevada, Arizona, Idaho and Mexico this year.

ALYX continues to excel in school and remains a straight “A” student. She is only in 3rd grade but she continually has 100% on her spelling tests, she reads at a 5th grade level and she has nearly mastered multiplication. Alyx is in her 4th year as a member on TipToe’s dance competition team. She competes in Jazz and hip-hop. We have also signed her up for ballet for the first time (it’s not a competition team) but she isn’t sure if she likes it or not. She complains about standing up tall and straight and sucking in her tummy. LOL Alyx continues to spend half of her time with us and the other half with her dad. She really has adapted well to the juggling routine. She is very active and always on the go. She has had a good year and loves life. This is the first year that she has really shown interests in her “friends” and it seems she wants to have sleep over’s most weekends.

THATCHER is growing up so fast. I can’t believe he turned 4 this summer. He attended an in-home day-care for 3/4ths of the year and started pre-school this fall…he absolutely loves it. Partly because he has joined the “big kid” world like his older siblings. Thatcher has talked about sports all year long. He only wants to play the “big” sports like baseball, soccer, & football. He cracks us up all the time. We signed him up for soccer for the first time and he was the happiest kid on the field. He would just run up and down the field following the other kids and he had a permanent smile on his face the whole time. After the season was over we signed him up again but there were not enough kids his age so they didn’t have any teams for his age group. He is excited to learn baseball this spring.

Last but not least....We are grateful for all of our family and friends and we wish all of you a Merry Christmas. Cheers to 2009!

Merry Christmas

From our family to yours!

The BLUE BEAST is gone!

Whoohoo! I purchased a 2009 Accord and I love it. I drove it in the snow this morning...I was a bit nervous about driving it in the snow since I've been spoiled with all-wheel drive vehicles...but it did great in the snow. Not only am I saving on the gas but the monthly payment as well. Talk about a win/win.

AMERICA IS READY FOR CHANGE

We are homeless

Well, I haven't told too many people because I didn’t want to jinx anything. About 6 weeks ago we put our house on the market and we got an offer after 2 weeks. We closed on the house this morning and have 30 days to move out so the new owners can take possession of the house.

We wanted to stay in Magna but we can’t find anything in Magna that we like. We extended our search south and found a builder and a .27 acre lot in West Jordan (approximately 6400 West and 9000 South. Here is the house we are building.




Once we finish the basement, we will have a little over 4000 sq ft. gulp… I hope I can keep it clean. Anyway, we are excited and nervous at the same time. The third car garage is double deep so Terry is getting his 4 car garage. I’m getting my knotty alder cabinets and granite counter tops (you know…since I spend so much time in the kitchen). We will have 4 bedrooms on the top floor so no one will be sharing a bedroom. Eventually, I will have a scrapbook room in the basement but I’m not holding my breath. We are now in the process of trying to select the upgrades and man, it’s a hard decision. If I get everything I want, then we are 60K over what we want to spend. I’ve cut the list as much as I feel I can but we are still 14K over. This part bites. Now I’m going to have to let go of my 9 ft ceilings and 8 ft doors. That’s 8K right there. That still leaves us 6K. I can’t think of anything else I want to cut. This is so hard. Terry suggested the tile which is 7K but man, I HATE vinyl. I wish I didn’t have expensive taste. Anyone want to help lay tile for us? J/K. We are still figuring out the details but we both want this house. Anyone know anything about DR Horton? That is the builder we are looking at. They have cut the base price of the home 16K and are giving us any/all our upgrades and modifications at a 25% discount. I think we are getting a good deal but if you have any suggestions or information on DR Horton, let us know.

My poor son, Trevor

A few weeks ago, Trevor hurt his neck during a football game. He didn't complain much at first. As the day passed he started to complain a little about his neck hurting. We were thinking he pulled a muscle or something and that he would start to feel better soon. The next day he was in a lot more pain and it was getting worse. I gave him some Motrin and sent him to school. That night he was in a lot of pain and the meds didn't seem to help much. I still didn't think much of it. The following morning I still sent him to school but he called me around 10 AM and wanted to go home. I left work and took him to the doctor. The doctor immediately put him in a neck brace and sent us to the hospital for x-rays. The doctor was/is worried he has a fractured disk in his neck. We have now been waiting 8 days for results and today we learn that they need to take more x-rays and possibly an CT scan. Ugh. I want to scream! Trevor is still in a lot of pain and we just want answers. Terry just took Trevor to the hospital again and we are waiting to hear from the doctor. I am on pins and needles. Is it more then a fractured disc? Will my baby ever play sports again? Will he have any side effects? Will it heal on it's own? so many questions and I don't feel like we are getting anywhere.

Please keep Trevor in your prayers and lets all hope for a speedy recovery and that he will not have any limitations once he heals.