"Barring any unforeseen and unlikely catastrophes..."
Aaaand we will NOT be getting the house I blogged about.
From the start, we had problems with the sellers and/or their agent. They lied on the full disclosure statement and exhibited a lot of questionable behavior, but we decided to move forward because the house (or rather, the 1.2 acres it was on) was such a fantastic deal. There were a fair amount of repairs that needed to be done, and we agreed in writing to contribute a specific amount to said repairs. Until, that is, the final bid came back. It was several thousand dollars more than the estimate we signed off on, and we were suddenly expected to pay up.
In addition to the added expenses, our patience for shady behavior ran out.
We submitted the paperwork to back out, and then waited. Because we requested our earnest money back, both of our brokers had to review the situation and come to a decision.
Both agreed that we deserve to have it returned in full. Now, we wait again. Though both brokers agreed we should have it back, we're now in the sticky process of seeing that through. We're cautiously optimistic, but there's still a chance that it's gone forever.
We're temporarily homeless now. The closing date on that house was set as July 16, which has long since passed. I flew home ahead of Donald nearly 2 months ago to secure housing, yet here we sit in my mom's house as perma-guests. We put so much time, energy, effort, and money into a house that we expected to be living in by now, and now we get to start the process again from scratch.
The worst part is that Donald leaves for Arizona on August 20th, and there's no way we'll be in a new home by then. What's the significance of that? No home means no adoption home-study completed before he's gone for 5 months.
I'm beyond grateful that Donald has a steady and reliable job, but sometimes the sacrifices we make for the Army reach so much further than either of us ever expected. Starting our family will happen eventually, but from here it feels like it's always a day away...
Monday, July 27, 2009
Saturday, July 4, 2009
An Overdue Update
A lot of exciting things have happened since March, and now that I (Katrina) am back in the good ol' U-S-of-A, updating our blog with something interesting is no longer the tedious job it once was. You see, the internet in Germany was very expensive, so their standard"high speed" internet took ages for us to upload pictures.
So yes, I am back in Washington. The last I reported, our remaining months in Germany were coming slowly to a close, and we were scheduled to be PCSing (Army lingo for moving) to Ft. Lewis, Washington sometime in the Summer of 2009. That time has now arrived!
On June 1st, Moroni and I kissed poor Donald goodbye and headed off to Seattle in hopes of securing housing before he accompanies us on July 8th. For the last 4 weeks and 3 days, that's what I've been doing. While Moroni has been enjoying unrestricted and unleashed access to a yard for the first time in his life, I've been hard at work! We submitted an offer on "our" home on June 7th and it was quickly accepted! Luckily, we were smart and had a home inspection done. The findings were crushing. Unnoticeable to the human eye, there was substantial was water damage beneath the bathrooms. Rather than giving the house up, we spent the next 3.5 weeks negotiating the repairs. It was a long road, but two days ago we came to a final agreement on all terms. Barring an unforeseen and unlikely catastrophes, the house will be ours. Or closing date is set for July 16th, but it's highly unlikely that the date will be met. An August closing is looking more realistic.
A bit about our home:
It's in the rural town of Yelm(by Roy and McKenna), which is about 45 minutes south of Federal Way, and is 15ish minutes south east of Fort Lewis. It's a bit of a fixer-upper, with a LOT of potential. It has 3 bedrooms, an office, a decently sized spare room/family room, and a small sun room. In total, it has 2150 square feet, which is a lot more than we expected to get on our budget. Built in 1979, it's not very regal or majestic looking, but it's very "us", and we love everything about it.
Okay, almost everything. It's brown, and a previous owner had the audacity to paint the exterior trim ROYAL BLUE. there must have been a very alluring sale on ROYAL BLUE paint, because nothing else could justify such horror.
Don't worry, folks, white paint will be our first home-related purchase. When people pull into our drive way, I don't want a visual assault of ROYAL BLUE to be the first thing they experience.
It's a rambler, which I love. They can be harder to find in the Pacific Northwest than other places, so we lucked out. I didn't always like ramblers, but time has changed me. Part of that is because we love giant breed dogs. Due to potential joint problems, they're not supposed to go down stairs during their 1st year of life.
Ask me how much I loved carrying a 50 pound puppy down the stairs every day... Yeah. Glad we got a rambler!
Our other favorite thing about it? It's on acreage! Well, technically. It's on a 1.21 acre parcel, so we can honestly toss the term acreage around without lying, lol.
It totally has a hot tub. Big bonus.
The two-car garage is detached. Kinda odd, but it's an old house. We're coping.
A couple pictures, for your viewing pleasure:
living room
hallway leading to bedrooms
back deck & hot tub
back deck & hot tub (notice the lovely ROYAL BLUE trim)
back yard
When I initially went house-hunting and viewed this one, I took heaps of pictures. What I didn't take was an exterior picture of the house from the front. Why? Well, because I was taking the pictures for Donald to check out, I knew he would already have a picture of the outside from the MLS listing online. Silly me, I didn't think ahead. When our offer was accepted, the MLS listing came down, and the pictures went with it.
Here, however, is a short video-clip I took of the outside for him:
We're very excited to be home owners. I can speak for both of us when I say that Heavenly Father has really blessed us with this house. We got a fantastic deal, and if it's the place that He wants us to be, then everything will go as it should and the house will close when it needs to. If something goes wrong, then it wasn't meant to be.
On an unrelated note:
Donald comes home in FOUR DAYS. He was lucky enough to go to Prague with some friends of ours yesterday (I'm way jealous!), so when he gets home I'll upload the pictures from his trip.
Life is good!
So yes, I am back in Washington. The last I reported, our remaining months in Germany were coming slowly to a close, and we were scheduled to be PCSing (Army lingo for moving) to Ft. Lewis, Washington sometime in the Summer of 2009. That time has now arrived!
On June 1st, Moroni and I kissed poor Donald goodbye and headed off to Seattle in hopes of securing housing before he accompanies us on July 8th. For the last 4 weeks and 3 days, that's what I've been doing. While Moroni has been enjoying unrestricted and unleashed access to a yard for the first time in his life, I've been hard at work! We submitted an offer on "our" home on June 7th and it was quickly accepted! Luckily, we were smart and had a home inspection done. The findings were crushing. Unnoticeable to the human eye, there was substantial was water damage beneath the bathrooms. Rather than giving the house up, we spent the next 3.5 weeks negotiating the repairs. It was a long road, but two days ago we came to a final agreement on all terms. Barring an unforeseen and unlikely catastrophes, the house will be ours. Or closing date is set for July 16th, but it's highly unlikely that the date will be met. An August closing is looking more realistic.
A bit about our home:
It's in the rural town of Yelm(by Roy and McKenna), which is about 45 minutes south of Federal Way, and is 15ish minutes south east of Fort Lewis. It's a bit of a fixer-upper, with a LOT of potential. It has 3 bedrooms, an office, a decently sized spare room/family room, and a small sun room. In total, it has 2150 square feet, which is a lot more than we expected to get on our budget. Built in 1979, it's not very regal or majestic looking, but it's very "us", and we love everything about it.
Okay, almost everything. It's brown, and a previous owner had the audacity to paint the exterior trim ROYAL BLUE. there must have been a very alluring sale on ROYAL BLUE paint, because nothing else could justify such horror.
Don't worry, folks, white paint will be our first home-related purchase. When people pull into our drive way, I don't want a visual assault of ROYAL BLUE to be the first thing they experience.
It's a rambler, which I love. They can be harder to find in the Pacific Northwest than other places, so we lucked out. I didn't always like ramblers, but time has changed me. Part of that is because we love giant breed dogs. Due to potential joint problems, they're not supposed to go down stairs during their 1st year of life.
Ask me how much I loved carrying a 50 pound puppy down the stairs every day... Yeah. Glad we got a rambler!
Our other favorite thing about it? It's on acreage! Well, technically. It's on a 1.21 acre parcel, so we can honestly toss the term acreage around without lying, lol.
It totally has a hot tub. Big bonus.
The two-car garage is detached. Kinda odd, but it's an old house. We're coping.
A couple pictures, for your viewing pleasure:
living room
hallway leading to bedrooms
back deck & hot tub
back deck & hot tub (notice the lovely ROYAL BLUE trim)
back yard
When I initially went house-hunting and viewed this one, I took heaps of pictures. What I didn't take was an exterior picture of the house from the front. Why? Well, because I was taking the pictures for Donald to check out, I knew he would already have a picture of the outside from the MLS listing online. Silly me, I didn't think ahead. When our offer was accepted, the MLS listing came down, and the pictures went with it.
Here, however, is a short video-clip I took of the outside for him:
We're very excited to be home owners. I can speak for both of us when I say that Heavenly Father has really blessed us with this house. We got a fantastic deal, and if it's the place that He wants us to be, then everything will go as it should and the house will close when it needs to. If something goes wrong, then it wasn't meant to be.
On an unrelated note:
Donald comes home in FOUR DAYS. He was lucky enough to go to Prague with some friends of ours yesterday (I'm way jealous!), so when he gets home I'll upload the pictures from his trip.
Life is good!
Friday, March 20, 2009
Our Third Anniversary!
3 years
36 months
1,095 days
26,280 hours
since we became Mr. and Mrs. Donald Winn.
Due to the war in Iraq, we have only had the pleasure of being together for half of those three years, so we cherish every day we have in each others presence.
36 months
1,095 days
26,280 hours
since we became Mr. and Mrs. Donald Winn.
Due to the war in Iraq, we have only had the pleasure of being together for half of those three years, so we cherish every day we have in each others presence.
Outside the Frankfurt, Germany Temple
They've been the best three years of our lives!
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Where We're Moving!
For months, we have both (okay, mostly me) been on pins and needles awaiting the official word on where we would be moving this summer. Would we be going to Fort Carson in Colorado Springs, or back to Fort Lewis? Maybe they'd give a 3-year-vacation with Hawaii! Then, there was the less likely options of Maryland, Alaska, or North Carolina. But, with the Army, we wouldn't have been surprised to end up in the Deep South or Asia!
Well, rest assured... we've been stationed somewhere decent - one of our top 3 choices, in fact!
Are you ready for this?
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Well, rest assured... we've been stationed somewhere decent - one of our top 3 choices, in fact!
Are you ready for this?
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Fort Lewis, Washington!
Yup, we're coming back home! YAY!
We'll be moving this summer. No specific dates have been given, but we'll get more details soon!
We'll be moving this summer. No specific dates have been given, but we'll get more details soon!
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Adam and Mom's visit - Pt. 2 - The Epic Battle
I still have no idea how this wrestling match started, but it lasted a good 15 minutes.
(notice the Go-Gurt and frozen can of Orange juice. The fight started while they were in the freezer, apparently.)
...Moroni was very worried.
(notice the Go-Gurt and frozen can of Orange juice. The fight started while they were in the freezer, apparently.)
...Moroni was very worried.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Adam and Mom's visit - Pt. 1 - Thanksgiving w/ the Sr. Missionaries
On November 21st my mom flew in to visit us here in Germany. A few days later, on the 26th, Donald's best friend Adam arrived.
The following day was Thanksgiving, and dinner with the missionaries was only the beginning of our adventures!!
The following day was Thanksgiving, and dinner with the missionaries was only the beginning of our adventures!!
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Critters in the Hood
Twenty minutes ago we received a knock on our door from a woman we go to church with. Apparently she's had an odd smell in her car for the last several days, and traced the scent to the hood of her car... and found today that it was, to her worst suspicions, a dead animal. She doesn't "do" dead animals(and either would I!), she told Donald, and with her husband being in Iraq she desperately needed help extracting him from the top of her engine. We stood several feet away while Donald did the dirty work. The whole process took under 2 minutes, and it was absolutely hilarious.
Gross as it seems, it was definitely the highlight of my weekend.
Oh, and Donald deemed the creature to be chipmunk. Or maybe a squirrel? It was hard to tell, I guess, and I certainly wasn't going anywhere near the thing to make a positive ID on the species.
RIP, Mr. fluffy rodent thing.
Friday, November 7, 2008
Spider in the Cupboard!
The storage in our kitchen is limited, to say the least. The designers of our military housing unit managed to make some the most awkward kitchen space I've ever encountered. One such storage nook is directly to the left of our dishwasher. I'll spare you the confusing verbal mapping, but suffice it so say that we have one very LARGE storage area that extends along/behind the dishwasher and has one very small cabinet door as an opening. What results is a complete lack or organization and me just throwing objects back in there, and then blindly groping around for what I need by feel.
Yesterday afternoon I needed the ceramic bowl/insert for our slow-cooker, so I could pop in a pot roast. After a full minute of groping, tugging, and maneuvering with my hand gripping the inside of our HUGE slow-cooker dish, I was able to pull it out and swing it up onto the counter.
What I found (pictured above... with hand at spider-level to illustrate just how GINORMOUS THE STINKER WAS) made me scream. Loudly. A lot. I quickly grabbed the lid and slammed it on top.
I still can't figure out what scared me more... the spider itself, or knowing that my hand was shoved inside that dish right next to it, recklessly fl0pping about, just asking to be bitten. I very well could have TOUCHED that beast and not have known it. Terrifying, right?
I left it in there until Donald came home from work several hours later, at which point he bravely took it outside and dumped it into the grass (and, against my very loud and adamant wishes, he did NOT step on, and grind it to bits)
I cooked the pot roast in the oven that night.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
He's Home He's Home He's Home!!
Okay, so he's actually been back for 11 days, but a lot has happened between then and now... so it definitely still feels like I just picked him up!
The ceremony was held at midnight on the 26th, and as of 2am-ish Sunday morning, he was back home!
...more pictures to follow!
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Halloween
Our first holiday back together was fantastic!
He, true to character, went as a devil. I was his fallen angel. Not creepy at all, I know... but we sure looked cute, right?
With so many people having only been in town for a few days, all plans were very last minute. Ultimately, we ended up having a casual BBQ at our house. A handful of people came over with their kids and we stuffed our faces while playing Rock Band.
He, true to character, went as a devil. I was his fallen angel. Not creepy at all, I know... but we sure looked cute, right?
With so many people having only been in town for a few days, all plans were very last minute. Ultimately, we ended up having a casual BBQ at our house. A handful of people came over with their kids and we stuffed our faces while playing Rock Band.
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