Ok the titles a bit cheesy...but I don't care cause that is how excited I am to be going to Georgia in less than 24 hours. I have most of my list crossed off and I actually started packing last night (you should be proud, usually I wait to pack until a couple hours before) Of course that may have something to do with the fact that my flight leaves MCI at 6 AM!!! Ben and I are leaving the house at 4:30 to make it there by 5. Holy alarm clock, Batman...that is early! I am hoping that I will be tired enough that I will sleep the entire 2 hour flight and arrive refreshed and wide awake in Atlanta at 9 am (EST). Considering that I haven't flown in 7 years, I am a little nervous. Not so much about the flight itself, but getting lost in the ginormous airport in Atlanta! Thank goodness for cell phones. And then I will get to see Mindy! I am so excited to get to have 6 days to spend with Mindy, Chris and their beautiful little boy, Luke! Ok, I will get off this kick for a while.
In other news...my car is getting better. I spoke with the repair shop yesterday and so far their estimate is right on. It should be done in another week or so. Whew! I will be glad to have my vehicle, and hopefully everything is still in fully operating order when I get it back.
School is going well. Everyone is jealous that I am taking off a couple days. We don't get a spring break...but I am taking one. We just started a class called Structure and Process of Therapy. It sounds a lot more boring than it is. In reality we learn different counseling skills (or helping skills as the book calls it) and then practice them in class. Not only do we get to learn the skills, but we also get to learn more about our classmates, as we are each others mock clients. It is really exciting, and I want to apologize in advance if I start doing "that therapy thing" on you. They are actually really great skills for anyone to learn that can improve communication between two people.
So this next week Ben will be all by his lonesome. He will probably get sucked into the dark world of World of Warcraft and by the time I get back he will have to go through detox and rehab :). If you think about it, give him a call and make him come out of the haze for just a moment. He will have the dogs too, so I do feel a little bad for him (just a little). Those two pups are quite the handful.
Alright, I have wasted enough time on here. This day just can't go fast enough.
I'll post again soon!
Hugs and Kisses
3.21.2007
3.12.2007
Time Flies...
...When you're having fun, right? What about when you are just plain too busy! Our life seems to be keeping up with the break-neck pace that we have set for ourselves. In general the past week has just flown by, although there isn't anything super significant to report on.
I start a new module for classes tonight, and while that is always somewhat nerve-wracking and exciting at the same time, it makes me realize how fast the past few months have gone by for my Masters program. I started in August, meaning I have already put in 7 months of my 26 month program. Pretty exciting to me. Also, after this module we start our internship (another source of nervousness AND excitement), so we will go down to just one class per module. It really puts into perspective how quickly life just passes you by. I start internship in May and the Baby is due in August. I walk for my diploma in May of 2008 and then finish my internship in July of 2008. I will be completely done in October of 2008. I know for some that may seem forever away, but when you consider what all will happen in that time frame it makes it seem just around the corner.
Speaking of internship, my boss has approved my new schedule for when my internship starts. SO...I can keep my 40 hours a week AND get my intern hours in. It will just mean taking shorter lunches and coming in 30 min early every day. Not a biggie if that means I will be able to leave on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 2:30 to go do client hours. AHHHH! I will have clients in about 2 months. That is so unnerving (for me...hopefully not my potential clients), yet it also really makes me feel that I am making progress. I look forward to seeing my "book smarts" put to use in the real world. I also know that there will be a TON to learnt hat no book could ever teach me.
I am also working with my boss on a way to work part time while I am on maternity leave. Yes...in a perfect world it would be wonderful to take the full 12 weeks that FMLA gives me. However, FMLA isn't kind enough to pay me for 12 weeks, AND since I technically only get 2 weeks off from internship, it wouldn't do me much good. If I can take 6 weeks and work part time for the last 4 that would really help us out. Also, Ben gets 4 weeks of paid paternity, so it will give him a chance to "bond" with our little one :) All in all...it will probably be an "interesting" year as I finish up graduate school with a baby, but it is possible. At least that's what I keep telling myself.
We did have an unexpected event take place this past Thursday. As I was leaving class on Thursday night to go meet some of my classmates for dinner, I rear ended a woman in an SUV. Her car seemed to have little or no damage. Mine on the other hand wasn't so lucky. They also sent the paramedics out, being that I am pregnant, to check me out. Everyone, paramedics, police, Ben, classmates, was so nice to me...and the whole time I am thinking "Don't be so nice to me...tell me how stupid I was". I was pretty shaken up, but after checking me out everything with me and the baby seemed fine. Really all that seemed to hurt was my left knee from hitting the underside of the dash. I have come to terms with the fact that I obviously didn't mean for it to happen and that's why it is called an ACCIDENT! We have a rental car that I am driving and we are awaiting the news from the body shop on the extent of the damage. Thank goodness for full coverage.
All right folks...I must go.
I start a new module for classes tonight, and while that is always somewhat nerve-wracking and exciting at the same time, it makes me realize how fast the past few months have gone by for my Masters program. I started in August, meaning I have already put in 7 months of my 26 month program. Pretty exciting to me. Also, after this module we start our internship (another source of nervousness AND excitement), so we will go down to just one class per module. It really puts into perspective how quickly life just passes you by. I start internship in May and the Baby is due in August. I walk for my diploma in May of 2008 and then finish my internship in July of 2008. I will be completely done in October of 2008. I know for some that may seem forever away, but when you consider what all will happen in that time frame it makes it seem just around the corner.
Speaking of internship, my boss has approved my new schedule for when my internship starts. SO...I can keep my 40 hours a week AND get my intern hours in. It will just mean taking shorter lunches and coming in 30 min early every day. Not a biggie if that means I will be able to leave on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 2:30 to go do client hours. AHHHH! I will have clients in about 2 months. That is so unnerving (for me...hopefully not my potential clients), yet it also really makes me feel that I am making progress. I look forward to seeing my "book smarts" put to use in the real world. I also know that there will be a TON to learnt hat no book could ever teach me.
I am also working with my boss on a way to work part time while I am on maternity leave. Yes...in a perfect world it would be wonderful to take the full 12 weeks that FMLA gives me. However, FMLA isn't kind enough to pay me for 12 weeks, AND since I technically only get 2 weeks off from internship, it wouldn't do me much good. If I can take 6 weeks and work part time for the last 4 that would really help us out. Also, Ben gets 4 weeks of paid paternity, so it will give him a chance to "bond" with our little one :) All in all...it will probably be an "interesting" year as I finish up graduate school with a baby, but it is possible. At least that's what I keep telling myself.
We did have an unexpected event take place this past Thursday. As I was leaving class on Thursday night to go meet some of my classmates for dinner, I rear ended a woman in an SUV. Her car seemed to have little or no damage. Mine on the other hand wasn't so lucky. They also sent the paramedics out, being that I am pregnant, to check me out. Everyone, paramedics, police, Ben, classmates, was so nice to me...and the whole time I am thinking "Don't be so nice to me...tell me how stupid I was". I was pretty shaken up, but after checking me out everything with me and the baby seemed fine. Really all that seemed to hurt was my left knee from hitting the underside of the dash. I have come to terms with the fact that I obviously didn't mean for it to happen and that's why it is called an ACCIDENT! We have a rental car that I am driving and we are awaiting the news from the body shop on the extent of the damage. Thank goodness for full coverage.
All right folks...I must go.
3.05.2007
New Seasons
Well it seems that the weather has broken. We just might be seeing the end of a COLD winter!!! I am so excited to finally be able to get out of the house without wrapping up in coats, gloves and hats. I am also excited that this means I can get out of the house and go on walks. Ben and I took Olivia and Moose on a walk yesterday afternoon. I can't believe how out of shape I am! Olivia loves walks and she is already used to them since her first 6 months living with us she ALWAYS went on walks. Poor Moose though, he couldn't quite get it down. He kept walking in circles and getting tangled in his leash. Oh well, he'll get it.
I am wrapping up another module for my Masters. This has been the most challenging to date!!! One class had two assignments the entire class...both worth 100 points and both incredibly hard! I didn't do too bad, but it definitely stretched me and made me think outside the box. Though it was very hard, I found it to be a nice change from the "review" that many of the other classes and assignments had been. On to the next module...
In about 2 weeks I leave for Georgia. I am so excited to see Mindy and family AND to get a break. I will miss one class each and then 4 days of work. I will miss Ben and the pups...but it will be nice to get away for a bit and relax. And seeing Mindy is a BIG bonus! :)
When I get back from Georgia we will have three days before we find out the sex of our baby! So on March 30th we will know if we are having a little Ben or a little Amber. :) My many little siblings tried to nickname out baby Bember...but I vetoed that. So it is not affectionately called "Pinto" (as in Bean -- Pinto Bean...my 14 year old brother, Caleb came up with that). In a few weeks though he or she will have a name.
Ok...I have to start paying attention in class :) We are back from break.
-Amber-
I am wrapping up another module for my Masters. This has been the most challenging to date!!! One class had two assignments the entire class...both worth 100 points and both incredibly hard! I didn't do too bad, but it definitely stretched me and made me think outside the box. Though it was very hard, I found it to be a nice change from the "review" that many of the other classes and assignments had been. On to the next module...
In about 2 weeks I leave for Georgia. I am so excited to see Mindy and family AND to get a break. I will miss one class each and then 4 days of work. I will miss Ben and the pups...but it will be nice to get away for a bit and relax. And seeing Mindy is a BIG bonus! :)
When I get back from Georgia we will have three days before we find out the sex of our baby! So on March 30th we will know if we are having a little Ben or a little Amber. :) My many little siblings tried to nickname out baby Bember...but I vetoed that. So it is not affectionately called "Pinto" (as in Bean -- Pinto Bean...my 14 year old brother, Caleb came up with that). In a few weeks though he or she will have a name.
Ok...I have to start paying attention in class :) We are back from break.
-Amber-
2.21.2007
Quickie
Hey folks-
This isn't going to be too involved considering that not much as happened. We just returned from visiting Pat and Judy this past weekend. It was nice to see them and to get to catch up with folks at church!
In other news...we are considering opening a dog kennel...just kidding. We have been returning favors for the past couple weeks to both sets of our parents. My parents left town for over a week to go skiing so we kept their two boxers with us. It was a crazy week with their two BIG dogs and then our two plus the cat. Then this week we are watching Heidi for a couple of days for Pat and Judy. It's nice to be able to return the gesture of keeping animals now that we have our own house, but it will be nice when we go back to just OUR zoo :)
Let's see...school is school. It's busy and I am about to wrap up another module. I do enjoy it, however I find that I have much less energy now and I am working hard to keep up with everything at work, school and home.
This Friday we have a doctor's appointment. We will be 15 weeks! Hopefully at this appointment we will find out the date for our sonogram to tell us the sex. I think we have decided we will find out the sex of the baby. Yes there are so few surprises in life and it would be nice to wait, but I really want to do the nursery in something other than gender-neutral colors. That's another thing, I have begun checking out nursery items and such...so that is exciting and stressful at the same time!
Well I think that is all I have for now. More to come...
This isn't going to be too involved considering that not much as happened. We just returned from visiting Pat and Judy this past weekend. It was nice to see them and to get to catch up with folks at church!
In other news...we are considering opening a dog kennel...just kidding. We have been returning favors for the past couple weeks to both sets of our parents. My parents left town for over a week to go skiing so we kept their two boxers with us. It was a crazy week with their two BIG dogs and then our two plus the cat. Then this week we are watching Heidi for a couple of days for Pat and Judy. It's nice to be able to return the gesture of keeping animals now that we have our own house, but it will be nice when we go back to just OUR zoo :)
Let's see...school is school. It's busy and I am about to wrap up another module. I do enjoy it, however I find that I have much less energy now and I am working hard to keep up with everything at work, school and home.
This Friday we have a doctor's appointment. We will be 15 weeks! Hopefully at this appointment we will find out the date for our sonogram to tell us the sex. I think we have decided we will find out the sex of the baby. Yes there are so few surprises in life and it would be nice to wait, but I really want to do the nursery in something other than gender-neutral colors. That's another thing, I have begun checking out nursery items and such...so that is exciting and stressful at the same time!
Well I think that is all I have for now. More to come...
2.05.2007
Whats new?
Hello blogger world. Just stopping by to say hello. Not a whole lot has changed in the past week...except my growing belly. I am finding more and more need for looser fitting clothes and pants that don't "hug" my expanding midsection. But I love showing...I will really love it when people look at me and "know" I am pregnant and don't immediately think that I am "letting myself go". I made a trip to Old Navy this weekend to check out the maternity section and they had some great sales! I got 2 pairs of dress pants, a zip up fleece and a tank for summer for under $25!!! The pants are still a bit too big and the tank I can't wear for a while, but it was still a great buy! The fleece however, I bought in a small (since when I am huge this summer I won't be wearing a fleece) and have worn it all weekend...hehe. Its so warm and comfy, and with how cold it is in Kansas these days I need the extra warmth.
Well I have other news too. Starting in May, my Master's program will change slightly to where I only have 1 class a week on Mondays. Before you get too excited for me, know that NOW I will be adding a 12-18 hour a week internship to my schedule. This will include meeting with clients, supervision with MNU advisors, supervision with my internship therapist and paperwork. Pretty intense...but really exciting considering that this will be my first legitimate contact with the therapy world and I will for the first time be putting into practice what I have been learning.
Well on to the good news. About two weeks ago, I interviewed for an internship position with TLC for Children and Families. TLC reaches many children and adolescents in various capacities. One way is through the juvenile detention system. TLC has a campus where they have supervised housing for adolescents that have been put into the juveline detention system either through law enforcement or through their familes. Many of these kids come from very broken backgrounds and have resorted to a way of life that is less than desirable. TLC offers them a safe place to live and the therapy they need to get back into regular life. My internship will be working with a group of girls that live at the complex. I will be working with a licensed therapist and doing individual and group therapy sessions with these girls. I am so excited to get a chance to work with these teens and a chance to work with this therapist. I felt like in my interview that we really clicked and that I really like her philosophy and outlook on things. I know that I can learn a ton from her in observation and our supervision sessions. Eventually I will be able to "take the lead" during sessions and be the lead therapist. Scarey...but very awesome.
Ok...that is all for the news. Once again, sorry for the lack of pictures lately. We should be getting a new camera cord soon!
Well I have other news too. Starting in May, my Master's program will change slightly to where I only have 1 class a week on Mondays. Before you get too excited for me, know that NOW I will be adding a 12-18 hour a week internship to my schedule. This will include meeting with clients, supervision with MNU advisors, supervision with my internship therapist and paperwork. Pretty intense...but really exciting considering that this will be my first legitimate contact with the therapy world and I will for the first time be putting into practice what I have been learning.
Well on to the good news. About two weeks ago, I interviewed for an internship position with TLC for Children and Families. TLC reaches many children and adolescents in various capacities. One way is through the juvenile detention system. TLC has a campus where they have supervised housing for adolescents that have been put into the juveline detention system either through law enforcement or through their familes. Many of these kids come from very broken backgrounds and have resorted to a way of life that is less than desirable. TLC offers them a safe place to live and the therapy they need to get back into regular life. My internship will be working with a group of girls that live at the complex. I will be working with a licensed therapist and doing individual and group therapy sessions with these girls. I am so excited to get a chance to work with these teens and a chance to work with this therapist. I felt like in my interview that we really clicked and that I really like her philosophy and outlook on things. I know that I can learn a ton from her in observation and our supervision sessions. Eventually I will be able to "take the lead" during sessions and be the lead therapist. Scarey...but very awesome.
Ok...that is all for the news. Once again, sorry for the lack of pictures lately. We should be getting a new camera cord soon!
1.29.2007
Ehhhh....
Just when I start to think I am feeling better...BAM! Of course it can't happen on a Saturday or even a Sunday...but Monday morning! Ok...enough complaining, I should be getting my medicine tomorrow (barring any other insurance issues) and then all should be well for a while. I am hoping that "the sickness" will leave me soon and I will get to enjoy my second trimester as everyone has told me I should.
Friday was a good day. We had our second doctor's appointment and after waiting for a looooong time, we finally got to see my doctor. She had been in a tough delivery, so I couldn't be too upset :). I weighed in...no weight gain yet!!! Ben was a little confused as to how I can be growing a belly already and not have gained any weight. But the doctor said that as long as I am not losing a ton of weight (I only lost half a pound) then we are doing just great.
We then got to hear the heartbeat on the fetal monitor. It took a couple of minutes for the doctor to locate it. I was a little worried until suddenly, bah dup bah dup bah dup. It was so awesome. I know for Ben it will be great when he can SEE him or her on the ultrasound...but it was so reassuring to hear our little baby and know that he/she was doing ok.
I am trying, in case you didn't notice, to be very gender neutral. Ben and I both have gotten into the habit of calling our little one "HE" all the time. I really don't want to give my child a complex :) AND I don't want to start thinking in one way, and then it be the other. Whatever "it" is we will be happy!
In case you are wondering, I am growing a belly. I know that the term "huge" is realative to where you are in your pregnancy...but that is how I feel now. I don't mind though. Now that everyone knows we are pregnant...I don't mind looking the part. Other than "the sickness" its the only thing that REALLY makes me feel pregnant so far.
I had better get off of here and get to work...more to come soon!
Friday was a good day. We had our second doctor's appointment and after waiting for a looooong time, we finally got to see my doctor. She had been in a tough delivery, so I couldn't be too upset :). I weighed in...no weight gain yet!!! Ben was a little confused as to how I can be growing a belly already and not have gained any weight. But the doctor said that as long as I am not losing a ton of weight (I only lost half a pound) then we are doing just great.
We then got to hear the heartbeat on the fetal monitor. It took a couple of minutes for the doctor to locate it. I was a little worried until suddenly, bah dup bah dup bah dup. It was so awesome. I know for Ben it will be great when he can SEE him or her on the ultrasound...but it was so reassuring to hear our little baby and know that he/she was doing ok.
I am trying, in case you didn't notice, to be very gender neutral. Ben and I both have gotten into the habit of calling our little one "HE" all the time. I really don't want to give my child a complex :) AND I don't want to start thinking in one way, and then it be the other. Whatever "it" is we will be happy!
In case you are wondering, I am growing a belly. I know that the term "huge" is realative to where you are in your pregnancy...but that is how I feel now. I don't mind though. Now that everyone knows we are pregnant...I don't mind looking the part. Other than "the sickness" its the only thing that REALLY makes me feel pregnant so far.
I had better get off of here and get to work...more to come soon!
1.21.2007
The rumors are true...
Yes. We are pregnant. I am finding it hard to find a good way of telling that information. We have worked so hard for so many weeks to keep it a secret, and now that we can share, it seems odd. But we are. God gave us a little surprise on December 10th and in August of 2007, we will meet that surprise.
So pregnant life...very interesting. You don't feel normal...ever! I struggled with morning sickness for the first 4 or 5 weeks and finally my doctor gave me some medication to help. It was becoming hard to function with work and school and I needed a little help. It has done wonders and I just have to say I love modern medical advancements.
We are already adjusting too. Mostly just planning our adjustments, but it really does change your thinking and the way you plan. All in all we are just taking it a day at a time...and enjoying the ride.
We hope that you will join us in our excitement...and pray for our new little one, whomever he or she may be.
***Baby Weyrauch, making an appearance August of 2007***
So pregnant life...very interesting. You don't feel normal...ever! I struggled with morning sickness for the first 4 or 5 weeks and finally my doctor gave me some medication to help. It was becoming hard to function with work and school and I needed a little help. It has done wonders and I just have to say I love modern medical advancements.
We are already adjusting too. Mostly just planning our adjustments, but it really does change your thinking and the way you plan. All in all we are just taking it a day at a time...and enjoying the ride.
We hope that you will join us in our excitement...and pray for our new little one, whomever he or she may be.
***Baby Weyrauch, making an appearance August of 2007***
1.13.2007
One Year
Can you believe it. It has been one year today since we tied the knot! Where the heck does time go? I have to admit, it has been a ride. You think you know someone, but until you live in the same household and are committed to a lifetime together, you ain't seen nothin'. Over the past year we have brought the best...and the worst out of each other, and we are still standing. We have adopted two puppies, changed jobs, bought our first house, and navigated through our first Holiday season together. I am very proud of us...if I do say so myself. I can't wait for what the future holds for us!
On a personal (and somewhat mushy) note, I just want to say how much I love my husband. There are times that I look across the car, the dinner table or the room and realize over and over again how there is no one in the world that I would rather be on this journey with. I knjow that life may throw many different things at us...but I know with him by my side, we can take it :).
Thanks to all of you that have been our friends and loved ones through our courtship, engagement, and now our marriage. Without you, praying for us and teaching us along the way, we may not be where we are now. We love you all!
Here's to many more happy years!
Amber
On a personal (and somewhat mushy) note, I just want to say how much I love my husband. There are times that I look across the car, the dinner table or the room and realize over and over again how there is no one in the world that I would rather be on this journey with. I knjow that life may throw many different things at us...but I know with him by my side, we can take it :).
Thanks to all of you that have been our friends and loved ones through our courtship, engagement, and now our marriage. Without you, praying for us and teaching us along the way, we may not be where we are now. We love you all!
Here's to many more happy years!
Amber
1.12.2007
New Year...New Beginnings
Welcome to 2007 folks. Life has slowed for us, a little at least. We made it through the madness of the holidays and had our first "party" at our new house. We hosted a New Years Eve party this year and it was so much fun. It started as a small gathering, but as you know, it never stays that way. I think in total we had about 13 people in our little house. We made due with what we had and played games, ate food, and then at midnight watched the ball drop. It was tons of fun and great to welcome people into our new HOUSE! I have really been working on making this house a home over the past couple of weeks, but it has been slow going. It still hits me every once in a while "this is OUR house...we can do whatever we want to it!" I was thinking yesterday that the numbers on the outside of our house are really small and that they might be hard to see from the street. It suddenly hit me all at once "HEY you can CHANGE that now!!!". I know, kind of corny, but still its a nice revelation.
I am back in school and I decided I almost wish we hadn't had a three week break. It was VERY hard to go back. This semester I am taking Psychopatholgy and Lifespan III - Adulthood. Psychopathology is very interesting and I think there will be plenty of GREAT discussions that come out of that class. I am also beginning the process of finding an internship to start this May. It is a very stressful process and I am so afraid of making the wrong step. I think that too much rides on our internship and that is making the interview and selection process all the more tedious.
Our house could easily be named the "animal house". With our cat, Chloe, and then our two pups, Olivia and Moose, it seems like we are always chasing after one or the other. Moose is getting big and has already passed Olivia in height, length AND weight. She still shows him whos the boss on a daily basis. Is is possible to have a smaller female dog be the "alpha dog"??? Every once in a while Moose will get fed up and teach her a lesson though. All in all, the two puppies love each other and pretty much do everything together...including being lazy and laying around on the couch, floor, bed, etc. As strange as it sounds it almost seems easier to train dogs when there are two. They usually keep each other out of trouble (although sometimes they help each other into it!).
Well there is a little glimpse into the Weyrauch household...We'll write more soon.
p.s. for your viewing pleasure...This is our new puppy......MOOSE!
12.26.2006
Holiday Rounds
Well, we officially survived our first Christmas as a married couple. It was a nice Christmas and we were so glad to get to see everyone, but by yesterday afternoon we were a bit Christmas-ed out. We came home last night from our final Christmas and had planned on exchanging our gifts for each other, however we both were so tired we just crashed and plan on doing that tonight. Here was our weekend schedule:
Friday, December 22, 2006
Leave Shawnee, KS at 5 pm for Manhattan, KS
Arrive in Manhattan, KS at 7pm
Enjoy Christmas with Ben's parents and sister
Saturday, December 23, 2006
Enjoy breakfast with Ben's parents and sister
9:30 am leave Manhattan, KS for Emporia, KS
11 am arrive in Emporia, KS
Enjoy Christmas with Ben's Weyrauch side of the family (Everyone was there yay!!!)
Stay the night in Emporia
Sunday, December 24, 2006
Enjoy breakfast with Weyrauch's
9 am leave Emporia, KS for Newton, KS
10:30 am arrive in Newton, KS and go directly to church
Enjoy Christmas with Ben's Grandma and Grandpa Manes AND get to see Ben's aunt and uncle from Chicago
5 pm leave Newton, KS for Olathe, KS
8 pm arrive in Olathe, KS
Enjoy Christmas Eve with Amber's parents and siblings
9:30 pm go home to sleep in our own bed!!!!
Monday, December 25, 2006
Wake up at 6:30am to get ready
8 am go to Olathe for Breakfast and Christmas with Amber's family
Enjoy Christmas with Amber's parents and siblings
11:30 am go to Amazonia, MO
1 pm arrive in Amazonia
Enjoy Christmas with Amber's Kirk side of the family
6:30 pm leave Amazonia for Shawnee
7:45 pm drag our weary butts into bed
So as you can see it was a long, busy, exhausting weekend. BUT...so worth it.
We have a few pictures from the Weyrauch Family Christmas to post...and hopefully others at a later date.
Enjoy!
**Edit** Not sure what the problem is, but Blogspot won't let us upload anymore than this one picture. So for now...this is it.
These Pictures were taken during a long hour of standing out in the cold!!! But we got everyone!
**we are on the far left**
Friday, December 22, 2006
Leave Shawnee, KS at 5 pm for Manhattan, KS
Arrive in Manhattan, KS at 7pm
Enjoy Christmas with Ben's parents and sister
Saturday, December 23, 2006
Enjoy breakfast with Ben's parents and sister
9:30 am leave Manhattan, KS for Emporia, KS
11 am arrive in Emporia, KS
Enjoy Christmas with Ben's Weyrauch side of the family (Everyone was there yay!!!)
Stay the night in Emporia
Sunday, December 24, 2006
Enjoy breakfast with Weyrauch's
9 am leave Emporia, KS for Newton, KS
10:30 am arrive in Newton, KS and go directly to church
Enjoy Christmas with Ben's Grandma and Grandpa Manes AND get to see Ben's aunt and uncle from Chicago
5 pm leave Newton, KS for Olathe, KS
8 pm arrive in Olathe, KS
Enjoy Christmas Eve with Amber's parents and siblings
9:30 pm go home to sleep in our own bed!!!!
Monday, December 25, 2006
Wake up at 6:30am to get ready
8 am go to Olathe for Breakfast and Christmas with Amber's family
Enjoy Christmas with Amber's parents and siblings
11:30 am go to Amazonia, MO
1 pm arrive in Amazonia
Enjoy Christmas with Amber's Kirk side of the family
6:30 pm leave Amazonia for Shawnee
7:45 pm drag our weary butts into bed
So as you can see it was a long, busy, exhausting weekend. BUT...so worth it.
We have a few pictures from the Weyrauch Family Christmas to post...and hopefully others at a later date.
Enjoy!
**Edit** Not sure what the problem is, but Blogspot won't let us upload anymore than this one picture. So for now...this is it.
These Pictures were taken during a long hour of standing out in the cold!!! But we got everyone!
**we are on the far left**
12.20.2006
WE AREN'T DEAD!!!
Ok so I know its been forever...but I kept waiting to post hoping we might get a new camera cord and I could post pictures. Unfortunately, our schedule has not allowed for us to get a new cord...so this post will be very blah and boring...and for those of you that can't read a book without pictures, you should just stop reading now. :)
Well we are moved...mostly. We moved everything (minus a few cleaning supplies and misc. items) and the house is wonderful! That first week of living with the bare essentials really didn't do the house justice. I love seeing our things in the house and thinking about (once the holidays are done) what we can do with the different rooms.
On a sad note....our sink died. Not really, but our kitchen sink seems to have been put together poorly and we need to purchase a snake to clear the drains until we can have a plumber come in and "re-do" the entire plumbing for the kitchen sink. Boo! Welcome to the life of being a home-owner right? It isn't something that will have to be done right away...and fortunately we can just accomodate it right now. Still a bummer though...
We have again added to our family...no, not what you are thinking. We have adopted another puppy. Moose, is a chocolate lab/basset hound mix, however he takes almost exclusively after his lab roots. He is beautiful and very calm, which compliments Olivia's hyperactivity nicely. They both like to play and have become fast friends. Moose is about 14 weeks right now and growing FAST. When we first got him at 12 weeks he was shorter than Olivia...he has now passed her in height and just keeps gaining weight. We wanted a big dog...so that is ok.
I am currently in a 3 week break from classes...SOOO NICE! I can't believe how nice it is. I am waiting anxiously for grades to be posted and then I can completely relax. We start again on January 8th. Not long enough, but I won't complain.
We leave this Friday to "make our rounds" for the Holidays. I want to apologize in advance to all our family for the short amount of time we can spend with each of you. I know that it won't seem like enough, but I hope that it is still wonderful. We love you all, and we look forward to seeing you soon!
Ok...I am at work so I should probably get back to it. Love you all and..........
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
Well we are moved...mostly. We moved everything (minus a few cleaning supplies and misc. items) and the house is wonderful! That first week of living with the bare essentials really didn't do the house justice. I love seeing our things in the house and thinking about (once the holidays are done) what we can do with the different rooms.
On a sad note....our sink died. Not really, but our kitchen sink seems to have been put together poorly and we need to purchase a snake to clear the drains until we can have a plumber come in and "re-do" the entire plumbing for the kitchen sink. Boo! Welcome to the life of being a home-owner right? It isn't something that will have to be done right away...and fortunately we can just accomodate it right now. Still a bummer though...
We have again added to our family...no, not what you are thinking. We have adopted another puppy. Moose, is a chocolate lab/basset hound mix, however he takes almost exclusively after his lab roots. He is beautiful and very calm, which compliments Olivia's hyperactivity nicely. They both like to play and have become fast friends. Moose is about 14 weeks right now and growing FAST. When we first got him at 12 weeks he was shorter than Olivia...he has now passed her in height and just keeps gaining weight. We wanted a big dog...so that is ok.
I am currently in a 3 week break from classes...SOOO NICE! I can't believe how nice it is. I am waiting anxiously for grades to be posted and then I can completely relax. We start again on January 8th. Not long enough, but I won't complain.
We leave this Friday to "make our rounds" for the Holidays. I want to apologize in advance to all our family for the short amount of time we can spend with each of you. I know that it won't seem like enough, but I hope that it is still wonderful. We love you all, and we look forward to seeing you soon!
Ok...I am at work so I should probably get back to it. Love you all and..........
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
11.22.2006
Survivors
Hello all-
This is Amber. I am at work right now on the day before Thanksgiving, bored out of my mind. The phones are pretty much silent. I have worked ahead to cover next week. Now I just have to wait for that 5 o'clock "bell" to tell me its time to take a four day holiday.
Well we are surviving. Life has been very hectic lately. Most of it is due to the fact that we close on our house in a week and move in two. Packing is essentially not happening, school is coming to a head with the module only having 3 weeks left, and then toss the holidays in there to boot and its a big steaming pile. It is always interesting to see how everything will fall when it is all said and done. I have a to-do list about a mile long and I usually add about 3 things when I cross one off. Ok...enough complaining.
I am VERY excited to get into our new home. I can't wait to put up our Christmas tree and paint the rooms the way we want them and rearrange furniture. I love new beginnings, no matter how stressful they are at the time. I am also so very excited about the holiday season. Despite the traveling to and from and squeezing too much family into too little space, I love getting to see people that I see so seldom. I also love being with my family, both on my side and Ben's.
This past weekend we celebrated Thanksgiving with Ben's parents in Manhattan. We drove out Thursday night and then on Friday, while Ben and Pat went hunting, I had the opportunity to spend the day with my very good friend, my best friend, Mindy Scott. (and of course her beautiful son, Luke) We literally spent the day talking. We went to the mall...and talked. We went to lunch...and talked. We got coffee...and talked. Then we went back to her house...and talked. It was the best day. The best day because I am all too aware of how few I have had and how few I will have in the upcoming future. Mindy and her family are moving to Georgia for her husband to go to Captain school for the Army. They will be there for about 5 or 6 months and then after that....who knows. It was so sad to say goodbye to her on Sunday, but I am so happy for them in this new adventure and the next step in their lives. AND, now I have a reason to go visit Georgia. I am already making plans and checking out flights.
The rest of the weekend was spent with Pat and Judy (Ben's parents) and Emily (Ben's sister). On Saturday Judy, Emily and I went to see the Santa Clause 3. It was cute and put me in the holiday mood. Then Judy and I went to meet up with our husbands to watch the K-State/KU game. It wasn't a pretty sight. We can only hope that next year K-State comes out swinging!!! Plus, we still have the bowl game.
On Sunday we got to see all of our old "gang" at church. It is always so nice to see them, yet so sad too. We have made wonderful friends since we moved to Lenexa, but somehow it just isn't the same. I miss you all, Mindy and Chris, Bobby and Lindsey, Annie and Josh, Cherry, Corey and Holly (or Horey and Colly). You guys were a wonderful group of friends and we were so lucky to have to guys as our "group" while we were there. I guess the holidays are good for making you think about the old days too! That afternoon we had a delicious Thanksgiving meal with all the fixin's. It was wonderful and we were STUFFED.
Well it is time for me to sign off. This may come across as rambling and a little scattered, but just know that is how my brain is operating right now. Have a GREAT THANKSGIVING!
This is Amber. I am at work right now on the day before Thanksgiving, bored out of my mind. The phones are pretty much silent. I have worked ahead to cover next week. Now I just have to wait for that 5 o'clock "bell" to tell me its time to take a four day holiday.
Well we are surviving. Life has been very hectic lately. Most of it is due to the fact that we close on our house in a week and move in two. Packing is essentially not happening, school is coming to a head with the module only having 3 weeks left, and then toss the holidays in there to boot and its a big steaming pile. It is always interesting to see how everything will fall when it is all said and done. I have a to-do list about a mile long and I usually add about 3 things when I cross one off. Ok...enough complaining.
I am VERY excited to get into our new home. I can't wait to put up our Christmas tree and paint the rooms the way we want them and rearrange furniture. I love new beginnings, no matter how stressful they are at the time. I am also so very excited about the holiday season. Despite the traveling to and from and squeezing too much family into too little space, I love getting to see people that I see so seldom. I also love being with my family, both on my side and Ben's.
This past weekend we celebrated Thanksgiving with Ben's parents in Manhattan. We drove out Thursday night and then on Friday, while Ben and Pat went hunting, I had the opportunity to spend the day with my very good friend, my best friend, Mindy Scott. (and of course her beautiful son, Luke) We literally spent the day talking. We went to the mall...and talked. We went to lunch...and talked. We got coffee...and talked. Then we went back to her house...and talked. It was the best day. The best day because I am all too aware of how few I have had and how few I will have in the upcoming future. Mindy and her family are moving to Georgia for her husband to go to Captain school for the Army. They will be there for about 5 or 6 months and then after that....who knows. It was so sad to say goodbye to her on Sunday, but I am so happy for them in this new adventure and the next step in their lives. AND, now I have a reason to go visit Georgia. I am already making plans and checking out flights.
The rest of the weekend was spent with Pat and Judy (Ben's parents) and Emily (Ben's sister). On Saturday Judy, Emily and I went to see the Santa Clause 3. It was cute and put me in the holiday mood. Then Judy and I went to meet up with our husbands to watch the K-State/KU game. It wasn't a pretty sight. We can only hope that next year K-State comes out swinging!!! Plus, we still have the bowl game.
On Sunday we got to see all of our old "gang" at church. It is always so nice to see them, yet so sad too. We have made wonderful friends since we moved to Lenexa, but somehow it just isn't the same. I miss you all, Mindy and Chris, Bobby and Lindsey, Annie and Josh, Cherry, Corey and Holly (or Horey and Colly). You guys were a wonderful group of friends and we were so lucky to have to guys as our "group" while we were there. I guess the holidays are good for making you think about the old days too! That afternoon we had a delicious Thanksgiving meal with all the fixin's. It was wonderful and we were STUFFED.
Well it is time for me to sign off. This may come across as rambling and a little scattered, but just know that is how my brain is operating right now. Have a GREAT THANKSGIVING!
11.12.2006
Holiday Blues
Hey everyone. Well we are starting to make plans for our first holiday season as a married couple. It is HARD. There are so many places and so many people that we would love to see and spend time with, but we have only a few days. AND with the new house, we are having to get creative to find ways to afford gifts and gas money to make our many Christmas's happen. We did figure out Thanksgiving...or rather Ben's work schedule figured it out for us. We are leaving this coming Thursday evening to head to Ben's parents in Manhattan. Friday Ben will be hunting with his dad (which he is REALLY looking forward to) and then we will celebrate an early Thanksgiving with them on Saturday or Sunday. We will then spend Thanksgiving day in Olathe with Amber's parents and family since Ben doesn't have the day off after Thanksgiving (bummer). At least this means we get in spending time with both of our families though!
The house stuff is moving right along. We met with our loan officer on Saturday morning to give him all of our financial documents and to sign a TON of papers. It was about as fun as having a tooth pulled, but that step is done. We are in the process of getting our homeowners insurance taken care of AND planning with our electric and gas companies to have our utilities turned on...YAY! In case anyone is wondering, we have yet to start packing. BUT we technically don't have to be out of our apartment until the 31st of December, so it is really urgent.
Amber's school is coming right along too. She is halfway through her second module and is loving the classes she is taking right now...Lifespan I and II (Childhood and Adolesence). It keeps her pretty busy. Speaking of busy, she just started her work towards getting her internship set up. All of her classmates have to apply to the available internships just like a job and then interview for them. She will hopefully know by February or March where her internship will be and then she will start in May. At that time she will go down to one night of class a week BUT she will be putting in between 15 and 20 hours of time for her intership...on top of full time work and studying for her classes. It will be hectic, but worth it all in the end.
Friday night we helped sponsor a youth activity for our church. It was a district event called Breakaway and it goes from 6 pm to 6 am ...YIKES!!! We had a ton of fun with the kids. We posted some pictures below to check out all the fun we had...lol
The whole gang at College Church of the Nazarene in Olathe waiting for the service to start (we got there about 2 hours early...so it was a long wait).
Brad...too cool for school. This is kid is NOT camera shy...haha.
There was a group from the KC Urban Youth Center there. They had a gospel choir and then these girls were doing an interpretive dance. It was pretty amazing. The youth at this event raised over $1000 for the KCUYC that night...I was so proud of them!
Worship was very good. For the second half they used their acoustic guitars and bongos!
Brad again...definitely not shy.
Breanna and Kaitlin..taking a time out from the arcade games at PowerPlay for some TCBY.
Becki Privett, another sponsor, taking a nap on the skeeball game at PowerPlay...we were ALL so tired!
Ben and Adam Schwer, our youth pastor, playing Dance, Dance Revolution...Check out their faces...lol
Ben playing some boxing game...he wasn't very good ;)
Ok ya'll thats all for now. We love you and will post again soon!
The house stuff is moving right along. We met with our loan officer on Saturday morning to give him all of our financial documents and to sign a TON of papers. It was about as fun as having a tooth pulled, but that step is done. We are in the process of getting our homeowners insurance taken care of AND planning with our electric and gas companies to have our utilities turned on...YAY! In case anyone is wondering, we have yet to start packing. BUT we technically don't have to be out of our apartment until the 31st of December, so it is really urgent.
Amber's school is coming right along too. She is halfway through her second module and is loving the classes she is taking right now...Lifespan I and II (Childhood and Adolesence). It keeps her pretty busy. Speaking of busy, she just started her work towards getting her internship set up. All of her classmates have to apply to the available internships just like a job and then interview for them. She will hopefully know by February or March where her internship will be and then she will start in May. At that time she will go down to one night of class a week BUT she will be putting in between 15 and 20 hours of time for her intership...on top of full time work and studying for her classes. It will be hectic, but worth it all in the end.
Friday night we helped sponsor a youth activity for our church. It was a district event called Breakaway and it goes from 6 pm to 6 am ...YIKES!!! We had a ton of fun with the kids. We posted some pictures below to check out all the fun we had...lol
The whole gang at College Church of the Nazarene in Olathe waiting for the service to start (we got there about 2 hours early...so it was a long wait).
Brad...too cool for school. This is kid is NOT camera shy...haha.
There was a group from the KC Urban Youth Center there. They had a gospel choir and then these girls were doing an interpretive dance. It was pretty amazing. The youth at this event raised over $1000 for the KCUYC that night...I was so proud of them!
Worship was very good. For the second half they used their acoustic guitars and bongos!
Brad again...definitely not shy.
Breanna and Kaitlin..taking a time out from the arcade games at PowerPlay for some TCBY.
Becki Privett, another sponsor, taking a nap on the skeeball game at PowerPlay...we were ALL so tired!
Ben and Adam Schwer, our youth pastor, playing Dance, Dance Revolution...Check out their faces...lol
Ben playing some boxing game...he wasn't very good ;)
Ok ya'll thats all for now. We love you and will post again soon!
11.01.2006
House Update
Hey! This is Amber... I am at work right now on my break. Ok guys...well so far so good with the house. We have been holding our breaths for the past few days waiting for something to hit the fan or for the whole deal to bottom out (not to be negative), but so far we are still on track to have a home and move in on November 30th. ACK! That seems so close. That is exactly 4 weeks from tomorrow. There is still so much to be done...packing, buying appliances, signing papers, etc. However, we can cross one BIG thing off. We had our FHA inspection yesterday. We had to go out to the house for two hours while the inspector looked the house up and down. It was nice to get to be there though so we could get another REALLY good look at the house without the current owners there. Here are a few things we found that we either didn't know before or we didn't notice the first time we were in the house.
1. There is a lazy susan in the kitchen in ADDITION to the two pantries. Though to some this is nothing, I am REALLY excited about having a bigger kitchen with more space.
2. The whirlpool tup works GREAT! We also hadn't noticed that it is a corner tub...so its really big **wink wink**.
3. The whole front room is already wired for a pretty extensive surround sound. Ben was pretty excited about this being that he owns a system that is currently at his parents house because we can't really use it where we are at now. Sorry Pat and Judy...I think Ben is going to want it back now :(
4. The garage is already wired with electricity. This is good for the date in the distant future when we put a driveway up to the garage and use it on a regular basis. We can install an opener and even put electricity out there for Ben to work on the cars!
5. The two second bedrooms are actually quite large...we hadn't remembered them being that big. We are going to use the front room for our office (the smaller of the two) and then the back room for our guest room (Eventually when we buy a new bed for us).
6. In addition to the bathroom walls being recently redone with tiling, all the fixtures in the bathrooms are new too!
7. There is a TON of cabinet space in the master bath. I am so excited to have room for all the bathroom STUFF so it doesn't just sit out on the counter.
Well, these are just some of the observations that we made last night while waiting for the inspection to get done. I have off work next Friday for Veterans day (which is Saturday...don't ask me, I don't complain) and my mom and I are going to go back to the house to get measurements of the windows and stuff! Exciting! Ok...continue to pray that all goes well as we move along with the house stuff. Thanks guys!
1. There is a lazy susan in the kitchen in ADDITION to the two pantries. Though to some this is nothing, I am REALLY excited about having a bigger kitchen with more space.
2. The whirlpool tup works GREAT! We also hadn't noticed that it is a corner tub...so its really big **wink wink**.
3. The whole front room is already wired for a pretty extensive surround sound. Ben was pretty excited about this being that he owns a system that is currently at his parents house because we can't really use it where we are at now. Sorry Pat and Judy...I think Ben is going to want it back now :(
4. The garage is already wired with electricity. This is good for the date in the distant future when we put a driveway up to the garage and use it on a regular basis. We can install an opener and even put electricity out there for Ben to work on the cars!
5. The two second bedrooms are actually quite large...we hadn't remembered them being that big. We are going to use the front room for our office (the smaller of the two) and then the back room for our guest room (Eventually when we buy a new bed for us).
6. In addition to the bathroom walls being recently redone with tiling, all the fixtures in the bathrooms are new too!
7. There is a TON of cabinet space in the master bath. I am so excited to have room for all the bathroom STUFF so it doesn't just sit out on the counter.
Well, these are just some of the observations that we made last night while waiting for the inspection to get done. I have off work next Friday for Veterans day (which is Saturday...don't ask me, I don't complain) and my mom and I are going to go back to the house to get measurements of the windows and stuff! Exciting! Ok...continue to pray that all goes well as we move along with the house stuff. Thanks guys!
10.29.2006
BIG NEWS
Ok. So life has been just a bit busy for us lately as you can see from our previous posts. I haven't updated in a while because all it would look like was ...
Blah blah blah...we are looking at houses...blah blah blah...we are both working...blah blah blah...Amber's in school...blah blah blah...
So you ask , " why are you updating now?" Well folks...(drumroll please)
WE HAVE FOUND A HOUSE AND OUR OFFER HAS BEEN ACCEPTED!!!!
We found this house on Saturday when we were looking at another home in the same area. Our realtor said that while we were over there we might as well check it out. We didn't have all the information on the home with us but we went for it. This was the first home that both of us AND our realtor looked at each other and said "this could be it". So we thought lets check more into it. Our first concern was to make sure it was within reach of our price range. IT WAS! The next concern was to see how long it had been on the market to know what kind of offer we should make. It had been on for about 4 months. We thought we had this one in the bag...no glitches. We were wrong!!!
Glitch number one: We get home from a teen hayride on Saturday night to an email from our realtor that said there was another offer on the table for this home.
Glitch number two: The selling agent let slip that the other offer was already at full price.
Glitch number three: We didn't know if we could get approved to be able to have some working room on our offer.
We called our realtor and our loan officer (mind you this is all at about 9 pm) and they both went into the office (bless their hearts) to work on the logistics. We finally found out at about a quarter to 10 that we were approved for enough to be able to give a stronger offer. We went to our realtors home to sign the papers and left there at about 10:45 Saturday night. All we had to do then was wait until 1pm on Sunday to find out if they accepted our offer.
Easier said than done. Amber didn't sleep a wink and both of us were pretty on edge the rest of the evening and into the morning. Well when we got home from church at about 12:30 we found out that the other potential buyers had upped their offer and we had to decide in about 15 minutes if we wanted to counter back. Oh the drama!!! We decided on a little more but said that would be all. Well...it was enough. We got a call at about 2:30 on Sunday afternoon and our realtor said they had accepted our offer. We signed the final offer and, pending an inspection, we have a home. We will close on November 30 and take possession that same day! We will be in our new house for Christmas. We am so excited, nervous, anxious, crazed that we can hardly contain myself! This module will be a tough one for Amber considering that we will be moving in the busiest time of the module. But we will labor through! Ok, below are a few pictures that we have of the place. This is off the Reece and Nichols website, so the belongings in the picture are not ours.
The kitchen is quite large and opens up into the main family room. It is a dine in kitchen with room for a table. There is a lot of pantry and cabinet space so that will be a nice change from the apartment we are in now. One of the coolest things is the under-the-cabinet lighting that it has. I really liked that touch. The door in the kitchen leads to the back yard where there is a fenced yard with an additional dog run and a detached garage.
This is the front of the home. There is a driveway on the right hand side and then in the back yard on the left you can see the detached garage. Eventually we would like to put a driveway back there. There is a large gate that would allow a vehicle to get into the back yard. The front also has plenty of trees with two pine trees in the front. As cheesey as it sounds...it smells nice out there.
Here is the living room with the bay window. The window itself, although you can't see from this picture, has very pretty etching on it. This room once again opens up into the kitchen and makes it feel really open in the main living area.
This is the master bedroom. This is a king size bed that the previous owners have in it and this picture doesn't quite capture how much space is in this room. I couldn't believe how big this rooms was. The master bedroom is the only room in the house with carpeting...everywhere else it is wood floors.
These are the only pictures I have, however there are two other bedrooms, both really good sized. There are two bathrooms, one in the hall next to the bedrooms and then one in the master bedroom. The bath in the master bedroom has a whirlpool tub which is SUPER awesome!!! The master bedroom also has a walkin closet, which will come in handy for Amber's amazing cloths collection. Well this part of the search is over, however we still have a lot to do. This week alone we will have another walk through and the inspection. Then we will re-negotiate the contract based on what the inspectors find and then we will close at the end of the month. Ok...guys thats all for now. We love you and will keep you posted!
Amber and Ben
Blah blah blah...we are looking at houses...blah blah blah...we are both working...blah blah blah...Amber's in school...blah blah blah...
So you ask , " why are you updating now?" Well folks...(drumroll please)
WE HAVE FOUND A HOUSE AND OUR OFFER HAS BEEN ACCEPTED!!!!
We found this house on Saturday when we were looking at another home in the same area. Our realtor said that while we were over there we might as well check it out. We didn't have all the information on the home with us but we went for it. This was the first home that both of us AND our realtor looked at each other and said "this could be it". So we thought lets check more into it. Our first concern was to make sure it was within reach of our price range. IT WAS! The next concern was to see how long it had been on the market to know what kind of offer we should make. It had been on for about 4 months. We thought we had this one in the bag...no glitches. We were wrong!!!
Glitch number one: We get home from a teen hayride on Saturday night to an email from our realtor that said there was another offer on the table for this home.
Glitch number two: The selling agent let slip that the other offer was already at full price.
Glitch number three: We didn't know if we could get approved to be able to have some working room on our offer.
We called our realtor and our loan officer (mind you this is all at about 9 pm) and they both went into the office (bless their hearts) to work on the logistics. We finally found out at about a quarter to 10 that we were approved for enough to be able to give a stronger offer. We went to our realtors home to sign the papers and left there at about 10:45 Saturday night. All we had to do then was wait until 1pm on Sunday to find out if they accepted our offer.
Easier said than done. Amber didn't sleep a wink and both of us were pretty on edge the rest of the evening and into the morning. Well when we got home from church at about 12:30 we found out that the other potential buyers had upped their offer and we had to decide in about 15 minutes if we wanted to counter back. Oh the drama!!! We decided on a little more but said that would be all. Well...it was enough. We got a call at about 2:30 on Sunday afternoon and our realtor said they had accepted our offer. We signed the final offer and, pending an inspection, we have a home. We will close on November 30 and take possession that same day! We will be in our new house for Christmas. We am so excited, nervous, anxious, crazed that we can hardly contain myself! This module will be a tough one for Amber considering that we will be moving in the busiest time of the module. But we will labor through! Ok, below are a few pictures that we have of the place. This is off the Reece and Nichols website, so the belongings in the picture are not ours.
The kitchen is quite large and opens up into the main family room. It is a dine in kitchen with room for a table. There is a lot of pantry and cabinet space so that will be a nice change from the apartment we are in now. One of the coolest things is the under-the-cabinet lighting that it has. I really liked that touch. The door in the kitchen leads to the back yard where there is a fenced yard with an additional dog run and a detached garage.
This is the front of the home. There is a driveway on the right hand side and then in the back yard on the left you can see the detached garage. Eventually we would like to put a driveway back there. There is a large gate that would allow a vehicle to get into the back yard. The front also has plenty of trees with two pine trees in the front. As cheesey as it sounds...it smells nice out there.
Here is the living room with the bay window. The window itself, although you can't see from this picture, has very pretty etching on it. This room once again opens up into the kitchen and makes it feel really open in the main living area.
This is the master bedroom. This is a king size bed that the previous owners have in it and this picture doesn't quite capture how much space is in this room. I couldn't believe how big this rooms was. The master bedroom is the only room in the house with carpeting...everywhere else it is wood floors.
These are the only pictures I have, however there are two other bedrooms, both really good sized. There are two bathrooms, one in the hall next to the bedrooms and then one in the master bedroom. The bath in the master bedroom has a whirlpool tub which is SUPER awesome!!! The master bedroom also has a walkin closet, which will come in handy for Amber's amazing cloths collection. Well this part of the search is over, however we still have a lot to do. This week alone we will have another walk through and the inspection. Then we will re-negotiate the contract based on what the inspectors find and then we will close at the end of the month. Ok...guys thats all for now. We love you and will keep you posted!
Amber and Ben
10.05.2006
Home Sweet Home
*** EDIT *** EDIT *** EDIT *** EDIT *** EDIT *** EDIT *** EDIT ***
Ben and I put in an offer on one of the houses yesterday that we looked at on Saturday. Evidently there is at least one other offer on it, so now we wait. AHHHHH it is so nerve racking, but if it is the house God wants us to have then we will....and if not it is back to the drawing board so to speak. IF we get it I will post pictures of it, otherwise I don't want to "jinx" it. :) But it I can tell you about it. It is 3 bedrooms, 3 baths. Front to back split with a finished basement. Two car garage. HUGE backyard with a privacy fence. TWO fireplaces (one upstairs and one downstairs). Anyway, that is a BRIEF description, but I will keep you updated as we find out what is going on!
*** EDIT *** EDIT *** EDIT *** EDIT *** EDIT *** EDIT *** EDIT *** EDIT
Ok ok... A new post by popular demand. Popular if you count Teniah asking me to update. This is Amber by the way. I am home on lunch break. Well let me see what is new.
1. Ben and I have decided to begin the process of buying our first home. So far we have been electronically approved (not quite sure what that means) and this Saturday we are going on our first homes tour. Now we aren't looking to get into anything huge or expensive we are just tired of renting and throwing away our money. Another reason we are looking into this is that about three weeks ago Chloe, our cat, had to move out. We found out that the apartment we are living in requires a pet deposit for BOTH animals and since we had only paid one, AND we don't have an additional $300 laying around (nor would we want to use it on a pet deposit for an apartment we will be living in only 3 more months) Chloe moved to live with my sister and her family for the time being. She is close, but it just isn't the same.
2. My schooling has come to a head...or at least this module. Last week I had two major projects due and was working my butt off CONSTANTLY trying to do them AND do them right. Just so you know, I was home, but I STILL didn't see my husband (Sorry Ben). I guess this is what I have signed up for for the next two years. But I really enjoy it....REALLY. It is so interesting how you find yourself as you are learning. I am just trying to enjoy the process and not spend the next two years wishing it were done. Who wants to "wish" their life away?
3. I was in the hospital last week for Kidney stones. For some of you, you may recall that I went to the emergency room a month or six weeks ago for the same kind of pain. It was diagnosed as kidney stones, however they simply sent me home and bade me good luck (with pain medication of course). This time however, the pain was much more intense and had moved to my right side. Once again we went to the emergency room and this time did multiple tests and exams to find the culprit. (the teeny tiny culprit) My stone is 3 millimeters in diameter...which doesn't seem that big until you think about trying to get it out (just visualize). The other problem...it is at the bottom of the kidney, almost to the bladder, and it is blocking my kidney. So they put me LOTS of different kinds of medication (All of which either make me nauseas, dizzy or sleepy). The stone is a no show as of now, but with the medication and LOTS of fluids, I am feeling much better.
SO, now you know why I haven't updated recently. I don't have time for pictures now....but they will come soon. I PROMISE. We will try to take pictures this weekend when we look at houses.
Love you all!
Amber
Ben and I put in an offer on one of the houses yesterday that we looked at on Saturday. Evidently there is at least one other offer on it, so now we wait. AHHHHH it is so nerve racking, but if it is the house God wants us to have then we will....and if not it is back to the drawing board so to speak. IF we get it I will post pictures of it, otherwise I don't want to "jinx" it. :) But it I can tell you about it. It is 3 bedrooms, 3 baths. Front to back split with a finished basement. Two car garage. HUGE backyard with a privacy fence. TWO fireplaces (one upstairs and one downstairs). Anyway, that is a BRIEF description, but I will keep you updated as we find out what is going on!
*** EDIT *** EDIT *** EDIT *** EDIT *** EDIT *** EDIT *** EDIT *** EDIT
Ok ok... A new post by popular demand. Popular if you count Teniah asking me to update. This is Amber by the way. I am home on lunch break. Well let me see what is new.
1. Ben and I have decided to begin the process of buying our first home. So far we have been electronically approved (not quite sure what that means) and this Saturday we are going on our first homes tour. Now we aren't looking to get into anything huge or expensive we are just tired of renting and throwing away our money. Another reason we are looking into this is that about three weeks ago Chloe, our cat, had to move out. We found out that the apartment we are living in requires a pet deposit for BOTH animals and since we had only paid one, AND we don't have an additional $300 laying around (nor would we want to use it on a pet deposit for an apartment we will be living in only 3 more months) Chloe moved to live with my sister and her family for the time being. She is close, but it just isn't the same.
2. My schooling has come to a head...or at least this module. Last week I had two major projects due and was working my butt off CONSTANTLY trying to do them AND do them right. Just so you know, I was home, but I STILL didn't see my husband (Sorry Ben). I guess this is what I have signed up for for the next two years. But I really enjoy it....REALLY. It is so interesting how you find yourself as you are learning. I am just trying to enjoy the process and not spend the next two years wishing it were done. Who wants to "wish" their life away?
3. I was in the hospital last week for Kidney stones. For some of you, you may recall that I went to the emergency room a month or six weeks ago for the same kind of pain. It was diagnosed as kidney stones, however they simply sent me home and bade me good luck (with pain medication of course). This time however, the pain was much more intense and had moved to my right side. Once again we went to the emergency room and this time did multiple tests and exams to find the culprit. (the teeny tiny culprit) My stone is 3 millimeters in diameter...which doesn't seem that big until you think about trying to get it out (just visualize). The other problem...it is at the bottom of the kidney, almost to the bladder, and it is blocking my kidney. So they put me LOTS of different kinds of medication (All of which either make me nauseas, dizzy or sleepy). The stone is a no show as of now, but with the medication and LOTS of fluids, I am feeling much better.
SO, now you know why I haven't updated recently. I don't have time for pictures now....but they will come soon. I PROMISE. We will try to take pictures this weekend when we look at houses.
Love you all!
Amber
9.10.2006
What's new...
Well not a whole heck of a lot. Amber made it through her first week at her new job. She is really enjoying it, and looks forward to knowing more about her duties and what exactly she is to be doing. Other than that, there isn't much happening that is too new. Between classes (Amber), work, church, and the animals, life stays pretty busy.
However, we do take time to have fun. Last night we went to our friends, Matt and Darcie, and played game with them and another couple. It was fun. The guys first picked out the game called Shadows over Camelot. Yes....Amber thought it sounded like a spin off of Dungeons and Dragons. But, once we got into it and learned the many rules, it was fun. Then we played a few rounds of good old Revolution. If you have never played that game, we won't go into details, we will just say, your status is EVERYTHING. We figured out that the boys are incredibly competitive (not that we didn't already know that) and the girls don't really care. We did get some good pictures of the boys pouting through. Justin and Christie took those, so we will post those when we get them.
Well, the cinnamon rolls need to get out of the oven...and then its time to get ready for church. Talk to you all soon.
We know how picture hungry you guys are, so we wil leave you with a few pictures.
This is a shot into our office of Amber's desk...and most importantly her new laptop.
Another shot into our office.
A shot into our living room (it was laundry day)
This is our $25 table that Amber's mom found at a garage sale. The top is a little scratched up, but it is SOLID wood. Someday, when we have the space to do it, we will sand and refinish it.
Probably Amber's favorite part of the apartment...the walk-in closet. Yes, Ben gets a little portion there in the bottom left corner, but the rest is hers.
And this is hers...
and this. Pretty much all the clothing storage space in the house is Ambers.
Something we do share.
Ok...Gotta run now. Hopefully next time we have more interesting news so we don't bore you to death! Love you all
A and B
However, we do take time to have fun. Last night we went to our friends, Matt and Darcie, and played game with them and another couple. It was fun. The guys first picked out the game called Shadows over Camelot. Yes....Amber thought it sounded like a spin off of Dungeons and Dragons. But, once we got into it and learned the many rules, it was fun. Then we played a few rounds of good old Revolution. If you have never played that game, we won't go into details, we will just say, your status is EVERYTHING. We figured out that the boys are incredibly competitive (not that we didn't already know that) and the girls don't really care. We did get some good pictures of the boys pouting through. Justin and Christie took those, so we will post those when we get them.
Well, the cinnamon rolls need to get out of the oven...and then its time to get ready for church. Talk to you all soon.
We know how picture hungry you guys are, so we wil leave you with a few pictures.
This is a shot into our office of Amber's desk...and most importantly her new laptop.
Another shot into our office.
A shot into our living room (it was laundry day)
This is our $25 table that Amber's mom found at a garage sale. The top is a little scratched up, but it is SOLID wood. Someday, when we have the space to do it, we will sand and refinish it.
Probably Amber's favorite part of the apartment...the walk-in closet. Yes, Ben gets a little portion there in the bottom left corner, but the rest is hers.
And this is hers...
and this. Pretty much all the clothing storage space in the house is Ambers.
Something we do share.
Ok...Gotta run now. Hopefully next time we have more interesting news so we don't bore you to death! Love you all
A and B
9.06.2006
Let's Go Royals, Let's Go!
Ok, we said we might post about the Royals game last night...so here it is. It was a lot of fun. We got there and then ended up on the complete opposite side of the stadium as our seats, so we didn't get seated until the bottom of the second. However, when we go there the Royals were up 1-0, and they kept that momentum throughout the rest of the game. Jeter struck out a grand total of 3 times, and then had a pop fly on another at-bat and got out that way...needless to say, not a good day for Derek Jeter of the mighty Yanks. The Royals ended up winning 5-0 and even though it makes no difference at this point in the season, it is always nice to beat a team like the Yankees at home. Anyway, here a few pictures of the game for your enjoyment.
A shot from left field where our seats were. There actually was a homerun hit right to our section by a Royals player...it was caught about 7 rows down from us.
A shot of the score board and jumbo screen. because of our seats it was hard to capture the score and whatnot.
Us...about the top of the fifth
The fountains were pretty awesome. I got pretty obsessed with trying to get a really good picture of the fountains.
Amber took this picture, right before Ben called her a freak...really sweet huh?
Ok guys...thats all for now. Love ya!
A shot from left field where our seats were. There actually was a homerun hit right to our section by a Royals player...it was caught about 7 rows down from us.
A shot of the score board and jumbo screen. because of our seats it was hard to capture the score and whatnot.
Us...about the top of the fifth
The fountains were pretty awesome. I got pretty obsessed with trying to get a really good picture of the fountains.
Amber took this picture, right before Ben called her a freak...really sweet huh?
Ok guys...thats all for now. Love ya!
9.05.2006
New Beginnings
Hey guys, this is Amber again. Well last Friday was my last day at JCDS. It was pretty awesome. I would love to say that I will miss that place, but I can't. I will however miss some of the people there, and I will miss my consumers. I had gotten pretty connected to those guys. Anyway, today (Tuesday) I started my new job at Johnson County Human Services and Aging. I am really going to love it. I have a boss, however he is the director over the entire Area Agency on Aging...so I am somewhat autonomous. And my mentor, Barb, is awesome. She is the coordinator of volunteers for Catch-A-Ride, the area that I will be working in specifically. She has a great personality, and you can tell she sincerely cares about people, both the clients and the volunteers. I am looking forward to getting to know new people and also getting the hang of what I will be doing.
Well here are some pictures of my last day, and then after work when my co-workers took me out to dinner.
Lynn and me towards the end of the day.
John, on the rare of occasion that he sits at his desk.
The happy couple, Chris and Becky
Charlie...a.k.a. ladies man
The whole gang at Fox and Hound
Me...just happy to be done.
Ok folks, thats all for now. Ben will be home soon, and then we are going to see the Royals vs. Yankees at Kauffman Stadium. Maybe you will get some pictures of that later...we'll see. Adios.
Well here are some pictures of my last day, and then after work when my co-workers took me out to dinner.
Lynn and me towards the end of the day.
John, on the rare of occasion that he sits at his desk.
The happy couple, Chris and Becky
Charlie...a.k.a. ladies man
The whole gang at Fox and Hound
Me...just happy to be done.Ok folks, thats all for now. Ben will be home soon, and then we are going to see the Royals vs. Yankees at Kauffman Stadium. Maybe you will get some pictures of that later...we'll see. Adios.
8.28.2006
I Got The School Blues
Ok, this Amber guys. Its Monday evening, 7:45, and I am sitting in class with 2 and a half more hours to go. I am bored out of my mind, and I thought, what the heck, I might as well update. I don't really have an pictures to go along with this, and even if I did they would probably bore you. So I will leave you with some other fun, random pictures.
This is my best friend, Mindy, and me. We were bored at who knows what time in the morning and decided to try on her husbands military gear. Interesting...
While this picture is hard to see, it has a very funny story behind it. Right after Ben and I moved to KC, one of our lovely neighbors drove their car into the man-made pond in our apartment complex...right outside our building. It was December and it was iced over. They couldn't get the car out at first because it kept catching on the side of the pond which was concrete. It was awesome to see all the wonderful neighbors out there snapping pictures of this guys misfortune.
This is a picture of Mindy and my mother-in-law Judy at one of the infamous Holy Terror Softball games in Manhattan, KS. We were the best cheering section in all of Annaberg Park!
Ok guys, break is over...back to the grind.
Amber
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
