Home Hiccups

When something's right, challenges always seem to occur.  We've already had 2 issues come up with our home.  We got a pre-approval for a home loan through M&T Bank and even though they don't have banks in Columbus they assured us they had a footprint in Ohio and it was no big deal......uh huh....... so, after we had our offer accepted and began all the paperwork to finalize the loan before closing, she calls us and says...."Oopsy, did I say that we could give you a loan in Columbus?  I was just kidding- there is a new law I didn't know about."  (Chuckle, Chuckle.)  I didn't find it quite so funny, because we could have lost the house, because we were no longer approved for a home loan.  Well, Joel got straight on the phone with the realtor and she got us connected another bank in Ohio.  A couple hours and much sweat later we were pre-approved again.  Geez.

One hurdle overcome and now on to the next........ we got our home inspected for Radon (a naturally found gas that happens to be the 2nd leading cause of Lung Cancer) and our basement readings were a 13 (normal levels being a 4).  Ok- so it's over three times the recommended levels!  Ouch.  Apparently it's a common problem in the Columbus area that they fix by installing a pump/fan in the basement.  No big deal except for that it costs $800 to install the stupid thing.  Joel tried to cheer me up by saying, "When you're in debt a couple hundred thousand for medical school what's another mere $800?"  My response was, "The amount of current debt we owe is why another 800 is so painful." :)  We're looking into options and possibly having the owner pay for part of it- I feel bad for the guy.  He's been working out down in the basement for 10 years without realizing he was breathing in a potentially harmful gas.  That's the real ouch!

Next Project times 2!

Project #1 in importance and when it needs to occur- Tara's Wedding Song!  Yup- her wedding is May 14th and she's dancing to my song.  Sigh- it's a tall order and I'm of course a perfectionist and I want it to be perfect for her........(Note to reader: I'm pulling my hair out as you read this)

Project #2- Mya's Toddler Bed Quilt.  Mya is Mike's daughter (the Band director I work with at school).  I decided to go with a scraps quilt to match her room.  I cut out all of the squares, but it may be a couple weeks before I get to sew any of it together, because of the need to finish the song.

In Contract

How fun- two counteroffers later we're finally in contract and we're sighing a huge sigh of relief.  We got quite the steal of a deal.  We in no way deserve this house- it's far too nice- it's twice the size of anything else we looked at and much newer and better than all the others- he was just desperate to sell, so we got REALLY lucky!!!  We feel really blessed- now on to all of the paperwork, inspections, yadda yadda.  It's supposed to close by the end of May, so we're in pretty good shape, and just feeling so totally excited!

House Shopping

This weekend Joel and I journeyed to Columbus in search for our new home.....it started out a bit bumpy (I had a rough time being away over night from Nathan for the first time, we got a flat tire 75 miles outside of Columbus, went on a bit of a backwoods hunt for an auto shop, and arrived 2 hours late hot and sweaty without air conditioning in our car on an unseasonably warm day).  However, things brightened up quickly for us, because our Realtor was able to work wonders for us and switch around the showings and get us to the majority of houses we had planned to look at.  We fell in love with one home and put down an offer yesterday.  We're waiting to hear back the counter offer (by 5pm tomorrow), but hopefully it will work out.  I feel a little sheepish putting up the pictures before the offer is officially final, but the Realtor insisted on taking our picture in front of the house (I consider that a good sign when she's confident enough about it).  We'll keep you posted........

The Good 'Ole Days

Tee hee- Here's a little flash from the past:  If you're an old-timer from the Hershey Ward you'll recognize a lot of these kids- we've got Meilstrip, Giles, Aldous, Bailey accounted for- just to name a few.  After looking at the young Joel in these pictures I have to say that I now know where Nathan's ears come from!  I love it! (Joel's not too thrilled with my posting of these pictures, but I couldn't help myself - we all know the love for drama and the theater the Harrisburg Stake and Hershey Ward are known for).  It makes me smile.

The Medical Crew

I stole this picture this from Kelley Flint's blog, because I realized that after 4 years of medical school I still didn't have a picture of our whole group together.  It's from our celebration dinner on Match Day.  People are headed all over the country, so this was one of the last times we'll all be together.  In the 4 years of Medical School there have been 3 marriages (including ours) and 11 children born (Nathan being one of those), and quite a few lasting friendships created.  It's been a good 4 years in Hershey.

Wahooooo!

It's official- We're going to the Buckeye State for at least the next 3 years: Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, OH!!!  Joel got his first choice- I'm so proud of him!

Phew.....

I knew today was going to be a good day when I stepped out of my house and it smelled like I was swimming in a huge tub of milk chocolate.  Yum!  It's a good way to start the morning- one of the advantages of living in Hershey, PA.  Later Joel got the email that said, "Congratulations.  You've matched."  We were pretty sure he would match, but there's always that little nagging question mark until you actually receive the confirmation.  At least now we know we don't have to go to Akron.  The rest is mere details.  We're guessing 80% chance we'll go to Ohio State and then if we don't get in there then we're thinking #4 Rochester, NY is the 18% (2% somewhere else), because #2 & #3 are technically "better" programs and have more name recognition than Ohio State.  Who knows......you never know.  The countdown begins until Thursday @ Noon.  You can take the poll up above.  We thought it would be fun to take a vote.  Why not?