Hi all, thanks for your patience. I meant to post last Friday when Luke's midline came out.
His last dose through the midline was 3 pm last Friday. The nurse graciously came out at 3:30 to take it out. Luke was really glad he didn't have to wait until Saturday. He couldn't wait to get it out. I wonder if it was just a bad reminder or if it just bugged him being in his right arm...
I filled his prescription at CVS that afternoon. The pharmacist raised her eyebrows on 60 mg of Prednisone in one day for an 80 pound 12 year old. She said it was very aggressive. I agreed and asked her if we could move it down, what would she suggest? She said try 20 mg in the morning and evening, that would be 40 mg.
When I got home, Mark said the 40 mg per day is the highest dose that he ever took with his colitis when he was in flare up... and now I can see the beginnings of the "moon-face" roundness on his face...he just doesn't look like himself...
So much to catch up on...
My mom and dad were here last week. Dad was working on the basement room for the girls. We only have some painting, trim and carpet to finish and they can move in. it has gone fast and we are excited to be this far. And Mom made meals and did 12 loads of wash in one day! Catching up after Luke and I at the hospital so many days...and I had told Luke we wouldn't have maid service at home! We appreciated spending time with both of them and for their labors of love.
Then we left on Sunday for Pokagon Gateway retreat weekend. It was a nice getaway until Tuesday night.
Today Mark & I took Luke to a naturopathic doctor in Spencerville. She identified the trouble areas to be Luke's small and large intestines and his liver. She identified several contributing problems and Luke is beginning a treatment regimen today which over time will include (in my simple understanding): removing the contributing problems, healing the tissues, reprograming the attacking immune system and then building up his immune system again. (Crohn's is an autoimmune disease which means that his immune system is attacking a part of his body--his intestines mostly.)
Part of the treatment includes diet changes--not sure at this point if they are only temporary or will be permanent. They include gluten-free, dairy-free, and low sugar. (One of the findings today was candida, which is systemic yeast overgrowth which feeds on sugar.)
We feel blessed to be able to explore several options and our desire is to get to the root of the problem rather than just attempting to manage the symptoms. So we have an appointment to meet with a pediatrician tomorrow at noon. (We have met with a GI doctor and a surgeon, but we want to be established with a pediatrician who knows Luke and can check his whole body.) We also have a referral into Riley Children's Hospital in Indy. There are only two ped GI doctors in Fort Wayne, and after dealing with one, we asked nurse and doctor friends in this area, and they are all recommending that we get established at Riley and work with GI doctors there if needed.
We so appreciate your continued prayers. We know that whatever any of us decide to pursue for our health, the Great Physician is the one we must ultimately turn to for healing. We continually remind ourselves of this.
We feel your prayers and praise "the God of all Comfort."
Julie
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Saturday, February 25, 2012
We are Home!
We got home last night...
The gastroenterologist who did the scopes says no surgery. The lump was inflammation and infection in and around the small intestine. He said there is no way to know if there is any permanent stricture until everything is calmed down and that may take a couple of months.
In the meantime, Luke is done with the antibiotics. The midline was put in his upper right arm so that he could come home and still receive the steroids he was getting at the hospital. It is a line that goes into his vein about eight inches or so, up his arm, across his shoulder and ends somewhere by his collarbone. It delivers meds right into his body quickly. They use a midline instead of an IV because an IV must be changed every three days, while the midline can be in much longer. He is going to get steroids like this for 7 days, then switch to oral.
Yesterday, the nurse told me the name of the home health agency that would be sending a nurse out. At that time, I thought they would be coming every day to administer his meds. When I called the agency on the way home from the hospital to let them know we were on the way home, I was exhausted and looking forward to being home. Luke was in good spirits and wanted us all to play a game together. (Steroids are working...)
Then the nurse told me that she would be teaching ME how to administer the medication and that she would be at our house for 2-2 1/2 hours.
She arrived around 8 pm and didn't leave until 10:30. She changed the wrapping around the midline. She showed me the four step process: first give saline flush, then the steroid slowly over 5 minutes, then saline flush, then heparin to clot the line.
She helped me do the first dose at 10:30 last night. Now he will get it at 7 am, 3 pm and 11 pm. This is until next Friday.
Then we have follow up appts with gastroenterologist in the next week which includes small intestine barium contrast. (Yum, Luke's new least favorite thing...) and then decisions on what longterm treatment. Steroids are only good for short term.
Luke's new favorite number is 8787--the number to dial for room service. "Yes, this is Luke in room 341 and I would like to order my dinner. I would like a grilled chicken sandwich with 10 packets of ketchup, steamed carrots, two Activia yogurts peach and strawberry, and angel food cake with strawberries." Ahhhhhh.
As I mentioned though, we are home now. And even though there is no room service, he and I are very glad to be here. Things are good now. He has no pain, just the nuisance of the midline which has to be in the right arm because the line can make a gradual turn up the arm toward the heart.
We are overwhelmed by the love and care and prayers. Luke kept shaking his head whenever we got a text, phone call, email or message of someone who was praying for him. He said, I never knew that many people cared about me. I can't believe they are praying for me.
Luke told me he wants to make sure he is acting how God wants him to act and that God gets the glory for everything. He said he is glad it is him and not his little brother. He knows this is long term and we've had lots of talks about what that means, both physically and spiritually. It is a lot to think about.
We appreciate all of your prayers. We feel them every minute.
Time for the 3 pm dose!
The gastroenterologist who did the scopes says no surgery. The lump was inflammation and infection in and around the small intestine. He said there is no way to know if there is any permanent stricture until everything is calmed down and that may take a couple of months.
In the meantime, Luke is done with the antibiotics. The midline was put in his upper right arm so that he could come home and still receive the steroids he was getting at the hospital. It is a line that goes into his vein about eight inches or so, up his arm, across his shoulder and ends somewhere by his collarbone. It delivers meds right into his body quickly. They use a midline instead of an IV because an IV must be changed every three days, while the midline can be in much longer. He is going to get steroids like this for 7 days, then switch to oral.
Yesterday, the nurse told me the name of the home health agency that would be sending a nurse out. At that time, I thought they would be coming every day to administer his meds. When I called the agency on the way home from the hospital to let them know we were on the way home, I was exhausted and looking forward to being home. Luke was in good spirits and wanted us all to play a game together. (Steroids are working...)
Then the nurse told me that she would be teaching ME how to administer the medication and that she would be at our house for 2-2 1/2 hours.
She arrived around 8 pm and didn't leave until 10:30. She changed the wrapping around the midline. She showed me the four step process: first give saline flush, then the steroid slowly over 5 minutes, then saline flush, then heparin to clot the line.
She helped me do the first dose at 10:30 last night. Now he will get it at 7 am, 3 pm and 11 pm. This is until next Friday.
Then we have follow up appts with gastroenterologist in the next week which includes small intestine barium contrast. (Yum, Luke's new least favorite thing...) and then decisions on what longterm treatment. Steroids are only good for short term.
Luke's new favorite number is 8787--the number to dial for room service. "Yes, this is Luke in room 341 and I would like to order my dinner. I would like a grilled chicken sandwich with 10 packets of ketchup, steamed carrots, two Activia yogurts peach and strawberry, and angel food cake with strawberries." Ahhhhhh.
As I mentioned though, we are home now. And even though there is no room service, he and I are very glad to be here. Things are good now. He has no pain, just the nuisance of the midline which has to be in the right arm because the line can make a gradual turn up the arm toward the heart.
We are overwhelmed by the love and care and prayers. Luke kept shaking his head whenever we got a text, phone call, email or message of someone who was praying for him. He said, I never knew that many people cared about me. I can't believe they are praying for me.
Luke told me he wants to make sure he is acting how God wants him to act and that God gets the glory for everything. He said he is glad it is him and not his little brother. He knows this is long term and we've had lots of talks about what that means, both physically and spiritually. It is a lot to think about.
We appreciate all of your prayers. We feel them every minute.
Time for the 3 pm dose!
Friday, February 24, 2012
Update 5
Luke went in for the scopes around 12:30 on thursday afternoon . He was feeling okay. The painful lump in his abdomen seems to be pretty much gone. He is on two antiboitics and a steriod. We will update again after we talk to the doctor. Thanks for your prayers. Luke has been overwhelmed to see how many people care about him and are praying for him.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Update 4
Well the Doctor moved the scope to Thursday at noon. Today they inserted a mid-line catheter in his upper arm so he can get his meds. It is like a more efficient I.V. He should be released after the scopes tomorrow. A home health nurse will come to our house for five days after he is released to administer the medication through the mid-line so he doesn't have to be at the hospital, and after that he will probably be taking oral meds. At the hospital now he just moved to a private room. The doctors are using liquid meds via I.V. to bring down inflamation & infection. Luke says if you're eating supper tonight, whatever you're having, it's got to be better than miralax!
Thanks for the prayers!
~Rachel
Thanks for the prayers!
~Rachel
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Another update
This is Rachel now. They got the CT scan results back and talked to the Doctor. It looks like he has the classic symptoms of crohn's disease. He will be at the hospital over night and in the morning he will have a colonoscopy and an upper endoscopy. The painful lump in the lower righ abdomen is inflamation and thickening of the intestine. We'll hopefully find out more after the scope about where to go from here. Thanks for all the prayers!
~Rachel
~Rachel
Update
Hey everyone here is another update on Luke. The Drs office called this morning and said that when ever we could show up they would fit Luke in. So my parents and Luke left around 10:00 o'clock this morning. They had to wait almost all morning though before Dr. Smith could see them. When he looked at Luke's charts he said that he wanted another CT scan done with an I.V. contrast. So about a half an hour ago Dad, Mom and Luke headed over to Luthern Children's Hospital for the CT scan. The results are going back to Dr. Smith and he is going to read them. They are probably going in for surgery tonight. If the Dr see anything on the CT scan it is going to be a surgery to fix what ever is wrong. If he cant see anything it is going to be exploratory surgery.
Please pray for Luke. He had to have a CT scan before and when you have a CT scan done you have to drink something called berryium(?). He had a lot of trouble getting it down. So pray that it will be easier this time.
And that our family can just be peaceful with knowing that God is in control.
Miranda
Please pray for Luke. He had to have a CT scan before and when you have a CT scan done you have to drink something called berryium(?). He had a lot of trouble getting it down. So pray that it will be easier this time.
And that our family can just be peaceful with knowing that God is in control.
Miranda
Monday, February 20, 2012
Update on Luke's Health
Hi everyone. Just a quick update on Luke's health. As many of you know, he has been dealing with various infections and stomach aches since around September of 2010 and we just haven't gotten to the bottom of it.
In December of 2011, he had blood work, CT scan of abdomen, ultrasound of groin and liver. All clear. Still dealing with infection and pain in abdomen.
After the ski trip last weekend, Luke showed me where he has been saying it hurts. There is a lump I can feel there now. Then his groin area swelled up again. Our family doctor saw him and said probably a hernia causing pressure in the area and referred us to a pediatric surgeon and called for an ultrasound.
So today, he had an ultrasound. The tech could feel the lump, but does not think it is a hernia. She said the radiologist would read it tonight, send results to the doc and tomorrow morning, we should get a call. Then we see the pediatric surgeon, or he calls for a CT scan first. then possibly exploratory surgery.
Luke is in good spirits but just moving a little slow and is tired. This is not at all normal for this boy, as many of you know...
We appreciate all of your prayers and will try to update tomorrow as soon as we know something.
Julie
In December of 2011, he had blood work, CT scan of abdomen, ultrasound of groin and liver. All clear. Still dealing with infection and pain in abdomen.
After the ski trip last weekend, Luke showed me where he has been saying it hurts. There is a lump I can feel there now. Then his groin area swelled up again. Our family doctor saw him and said probably a hernia causing pressure in the area and referred us to a pediatric surgeon and called for an ultrasound.
So today, he had an ultrasound. The tech could feel the lump, but does not think it is a hernia. She said the radiologist would read it tonight, send results to the doc and tomorrow morning, we should get a call. Then we see the pediatric surgeon, or he calls for a CT scan first. then possibly exploratory surgery.
Luke is in good spirits but just moving a little slow and is tired. This is not at all normal for this boy, as many of you know...
We appreciate all of your prayers and will try to update tomorrow as soon as we know something.
Julie
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
A Special Thank You
We want to make a special post to thank Philip & Lana for their time and energy and help during the last 15 months.
It was hard not to be able to be there and be able to take care of things ourselves, but they went above and beyond in helping us. Many times, we felt so guilty for asking them to check on yet another thing at the house or help fix something yet again. It was a helpless feeling, and we so appreciated their love and care.
We love you guys and appreciate all you've done more than we could ever express.
It was hard not to be able to be there and be able to take care of things ourselves, but they went above and beyond in helping us. Many times, we felt so guilty for asking them to check on yet another thing at the house or help fix something yet again. It was a helpless feeling, and we so appreciated their love and care.
We love you guys and appreciate all you've done more than we could ever express.
Friday, April 1, 2011
We Are Closed
We got a call at 3:35 pm today from our Realtor Mark Darby in Atlanta that our closing was final. We praise God for helping us find Mark who has been an amazing help through these last few crazy months. God Bless You all for your Prayers and Support.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Closing Date and Time Set!!!!!
Our closing is set for tomorrow at 2 pm!!
Yesterday we had to sign a 7 day extension on our offer because they were not going to get their loan paperwork finalized in time. Thankfully we will only need one of the seven days.
We received a text from our realtor at 3:11 this afternoon--that's a text we've been waiting for!!
Thanks for all your prayers!
Yesterday we had to sign a 7 day extension on our offer because they were not going to get their loan paperwork finalized in time. Thankfully we will only need one of the seven days.
We received a text from our realtor at 3:11 this afternoon--that's a text we've been waiting for!!
Thanks for all your prayers!
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Getting Close
Today is Tuesday. The new basement carpet went in on Monday. So that is done. We are now waiting to hear when the actual closing will be scheduled. It might be on Thursday, but could be on Friday.
As soon as we hear, then we can schedule the final walk through with the buyers.
It is still a waiting game, but it does seem like we are getting close!
As soon as we hear, then we can schedule the final walk through with the buyers.
It is still a waiting game, but it does seem like we are getting close!
Thursday, March 24, 2011
One Week
Mark here... Well - the good news is that one week from today our closing should be over and done with. The bad news is that our water heater died and needed to be replaced - after dumping water into the basement which doesn't have a drain! Once Duane + Philip replaced the water heater (thanks, brothers!) the water cleanup began. At the request of our realtor, this evening Philip + Bruce (thanks, brothers!)went to pull the carpet back to dry the pad and found that the pad and carpet were basically ruined in about half the main room of the basement. Long story short we are going to have to replace the carpet in that room - and before the new owners do their final walkthrough before closing (probably next Tuesday or Wednesday). Please Pray that God will work out all of these details in time.
Friday, March 18, 2011
12 Days of Closing and Other Stuff...
Today is March 18. Closing date is March 30. That's 12 days to go. We are praying that the buyer's loan goes through and everything goes okay.
Miranda came through her wisdom teeth removal well. She is eating normally again and thankful to be on this side of the surgery. She has been working at a dentist office a couple of hours each day, and it was handy to have the dentist there be able to peek in her mouth a couple of times when she was concerned.
As you saw in our last post, we had a birthday boy here yesterday. Grandpa Gary and Grandma Mary came through on their way to Illinois and were able to celebrate with us. Tonight, Luke has five friends over to continue the celebration! Cooper, Conner, Braden, Brecken and Beau, along with Reed all played football and basketball before eating burgers that Mark grilled. Then Luke's ideal birthday cake--a pyramid of glazed doughnuts!
Tomorrow morning, after the boys go home, Luke's best cousin Clint is coming from Ohio to stay overnight and go with us to Bluffton for church on Sunday. James and Susan are going to be at Julie and Jarin's and we will be with all of them on Sunday evening.
And Yeah! Good News! Jarin and Julie are expecting a baby! We are so excited for them. It is going to be fun to have a baby on the Maibach side again!
Miranda came through her wisdom teeth removal well. She is eating normally again and thankful to be on this side of the surgery. She has been working at a dentist office a couple of hours each day, and it was handy to have the dentist there be able to peek in her mouth a couple of times when she was concerned.
As you saw in our last post, we had a birthday boy here yesterday. Grandpa Gary and Grandma Mary came through on their way to Illinois and were able to celebrate with us. Tonight, Luke has five friends over to continue the celebration! Cooper, Conner, Braden, Brecken and Beau, along with Reed all played football and basketball before eating burgers that Mark grilled. Then Luke's ideal birthday cake--a pyramid of glazed doughnuts!
And Yeah! Good News! Jarin and Julie are expecting a baby! We are so excited for them. It is going to be fun to have a baby on the Maibach side again!
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Heat Pump "Take Two" -- Almost
Well the other day our heat pump was almost stolen again. Thankfully, Uncle Philip pulled in and interrupted the robbery. He found it with all the coils cut and on an appliance cart ready to be taken away. He locked it in the garage.
So now, for another $1100, it has been reinstalled with a metal cage around it. We are hoping and praying this discourages any more robbers.
We also have someone living at the house. He is a friend of Uncle Philip and Aunt Lana's. Maybe having someone living there will help too. Meanwhile, it is March 3--only 28 days till we close!!
Miranda is scheduled to get all four of her wisdom teeth taken out at 10:15 am tomorrow. She would appreciate your prayers that the sugery will go well and she will recover quickly.
Luke would also appreciate your prayers. He found out that when you shoot a pop can with your airsoft pistol at close range--you'd better have your safety goggles on! The plastic bullet came back and hit him on the right eye lid. It is swollen up and watery and he is sensitive to light so he is wearing his sunglasses to do his school work. Luckily, he had an appointment at the doctor's today for his sports physical, so he can get it checked out.
And last of all, we are glad to have Mommy back!! She flew up to Aunt Bonnie's house in MN last week to help paint on their new addition. She was gone from Wed-Sun. Before she left mom organized a dish system so we didn't argue over who would do dishes. I (Rachel) did the breakfast and lunch dishes and Miranda did the supper dishes. We found this to be incredibly efficient and decided to make it our regular routine. I would also make supper and Miranda would make sure the boys had breakfast and lunch. But now with Mommy back she wouldn't have to do anything and that would be a shame (hehe) so she is taking care of the meals most of the time.
Mommy also got a Thai cookbook for Christmas and we have discovered that Thai food is amazingly scrumptious!
Oh and some very important information, Luke's birthday is coming up on the 17th!
Thats all for now!
Rachel
So now, for another $1100, it has been reinstalled with a metal cage around it. We are hoping and praying this discourages any more robbers.
We also have someone living at the house. He is a friend of Uncle Philip and Aunt Lana's. Maybe having someone living there will help too. Meanwhile, it is March 3--only 28 days till we close!!
Miranda is scheduled to get all four of her wisdom teeth taken out at 10:15 am tomorrow. She would appreciate your prayers that the sugery will go well and she will recover quickly.
Luke would also appreciate your prayers. He found out that when you shoot a pop can with your airsoft pistol at close range--you'd better have your safety goggles on! The plastic bullet came back and hit him on the right eye lid. It is swollen up and watery and he is sensitive to light so he is wearing his sunglasses to do his school work. Luckily, he had an appointment at the doctor's today for his sports physical, so he can get it checked out.
And last of all, we are glad to have Mommy back!! She flew up to Aunt Bonnie's house in MN last week to help paint on their new addition. She was gone from Wed-Sun. Before she left mom organized a dish system so we didn't argue over who would do dishes. I (Rachel) did the breakfast and lunch dishes and Miranda did the supper dishes. We found this to be incredibly efficient and decided to make it our regular routine. I would also make supper and Miranda would make sure the boys had breakfast and lunch. But now with Mommy back she wouldn't have to do anything and that would be a shame (hehe) so she is taking care of the meals most of the time.
Mommy also got a Thai cookbook for Christmas and we have discovered that Thai food is amazingly scrumptious!
Oh and some very important information, Luke's birthday is coming up on the 17th!
Thats all for now!
Rachel
Monday, February 14, 2011
We Have an Offer!!!!!!
Hi Everyone! Yes, we finally have an offer! It is for the current asking price less closing costs. That is about the best we could hope for right now.
And right after that offer came, another came that is $20,000 below it. So we are really hoping that this all goes through without any complications. The close date will be March 31, Lord willing.
As for the heat pump, we contacted the insurance company as soon as we knew it was stolen. The lady told Mark that if we had not been living in the house for longer than 90 days, then the insurance wouldn't pay for it. They said we needed to have vacant house insurance, which is a lot more expensive. Mark has talked to their agents no less than four times in the last year switching other insurance like vehicle insurance and they never mentioned the housing stuff.
Then when he talked to the agent who processed the whole thing, she didn't ask and he didn't offer that information. So they covered it and sent the check to our house in Indiana with no questions asked.
About two weeks later, we got a postcard in the mail that said, we've noticed your address changed and that might affect your premiums and your coverage. We were so glad that didn't happen before they covered the heat pump!
So now Mark has the heat pump lined up to be installed this week before the inspection. We are just praying that it doesn't get stolen between now and March 31.
Miranda is scheduled to get her wisdom teeth out March 4. She has been having some pain off and on, but so far not too bad.
Winter so far has probably been the busiest January and February I can remember. The kids all got to try snow skiing on a homeschool ski day. They all did very well and enjoyed it. Rachel has been accepted to drama camp and is excited to audition and see which part she gets. The play will be about Adoniram Judson, first American missionary to Burma. Luke is going to run track at Leo Jr. High and Reed is going to play soccer again this spring. Miranda has a new job, working from 3:30 to 5:30 at Grabill Family Dentistry, sanitizing tools and closing down rooms after use. She is filling in for Raquel Sauder during track season, and then they will job share for the summer.
We appreciate your prayers for the house situation. It is so good to finally have an offer! We are praying that God will clearly show us the direction we should take on whether to buy or rent and where.
Oh, one more thing! We have heat in the sunroom now--it is like we added a room on the house! It is beautiful to sit out there and feel the sun. And it will be nice to have the extra room when we have company.
We feel so blessed and thankful for so many reasons.
And right after that offer came, another came that is $20,000 below it. So we are really hoping that this all goes through without any complications. The close date will be March 31, Lord willing.
As for the heat pump, we contacted the insurance company as soon as we knew it was stolen. The lady told Mark that if we had not been living in the house for longer than 90 days, then the insurance wouldn't pay for it. They said we needed to have vacant house insurance, which is a lot more expensive. Mark has talked to their agents no less than four times in the last year switching other insurance like vehicle insurance and they never mentioned the housing stuff.
Then when he talked to the agent who processed the whole thing, she didn't ask and he didn't offer that information. So they covered it and sent the check to our house in Indiana with no questions asked.
About two weeks later, we got a postcard in the mail that said, we've noticed your address changed and that might affect your premiums and your coverage. We were so glad that didn't happen before they covered the heat pump!
So now Mark has the heat pump lined up to be installed this week before the inspection. We are just praying that it doesn't get stolen between now and March 31.
Miranda is scheduled to get her wisdom teeth out March 4. She has been having some pain off and on, but so far not too bad.
Winter so far has probably been the busiest January and February I can remember. The kids all got to try snow skiing on a homeschool ski day. They all did very well and enjoyed it. Rachel has been accepted to drama camp and is excited to audition and see which part she gets. The play will be about Adoniram Judson, first American missionary to Burma. Luke is going to run track at Leo Jr. High and Reed is going to play soccer again this spring. Miranda has a new job, working from 3:30 to 5:30 at Grabill Family Dentistry, sanitizing tools and closing down rooms after use. She is filling in for Raquel Sauder during track season, and then they will job share for the summer.
We appreciate your prayers for the house situation. It is so good to finally have an offer! We are praying that God will clearly show us the direction we should take on whether to buy or rent and where.
Oh, one more thing! We have heat in the sunroom now--it is like we added a room on the house! It is beautiful to sit out there and feel the sun. And it will be nice to have the extra room when we have company.
We feel so blessed and thankful for so many reasons.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
New Realtor and other stuff
Hi all, finally writing for the first time in 2011...sorry it's been so long.
We finally fired our realtor and hired a Dave Ramsey Endorsed Local Provider named Mark Darby. He says our price has to be lowered again, so that pretty much means there will be nothing left. We are hoping to be able to cover closing costs. We are competing against many many foreclosures in the area, some around the price of $39,000. No one forecasts the market there to get better any time soon because it's such a depressed area.
In other bad news today, our heat pump was stolen. Because it can still get cold enough to freeze the pipes, we have to replace it. And the possibility of having it stolen again is probably pretty high. Our insurance should cover all but the deductible which will be $1000.
Miranda needs all four of her wisdom teeth taken out. She is having pain on and off. We haven't scheduled it yet, but will have to do that soon.
We appreciate your prayers.
We finally fired our realtor and hired a Dave Ramsey Endorsed Local Provider named Mark Darby. He says our price has to be lowered again, so that pretty much means there will be nothing left. We are hoping to be able to cover closing costs. We are competing against many many foreclosures in the area, some around the price of $39,000. No one forecasts the market there to get better any time soon because it's such a depressed area.
In other bad news today, our heat pump was stolen. Because it can still get cold enough to freeze the pipes, we have to replace it. And the possibility of having it stolen again is probably pretty high. Our insurance should cover all but the deductible which will be $1000.
Miranda needs all four of her wisdom teeth taken out. She is having pain on and off. We haven't scheduled it yet, but will have to do that soon.
We appreciate your prayers.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
All the News that is News (but no house news)
Hi everyone! Hope this finds you all well.
We are excited to be able to share that Brent and Janelle welcomed their first little one! Grey Daniel arrived on November 29th and we can't wait to meet him at Christmastime when we go visit my family. So glad that he arrived healthy and that things are going well.
We are wrapping up school activities, getting ready for a much needed Christmas break. Today was Miranda's last literature discussion, Friday will be a zoology class/field trip for the boys--where else but at the zoo! Sunday will be our Sunday school program.
Today, I've been reading to the kids while they clean up the house. It's a great deal--they clean up one room while I read and then I move to another room and they clean up there while I read and so forth. Most of the house is clean now and we are pausing to finish getting dinner ready.
We baked a turkey that Mark's mom got on sale and gave to us. Mmmm! Does it smell good! Rachel's peeling potatoes to go with it and Miranda is peeling apples for apple crisp.
There's only a scattering of snow left outside and today was clear and bright. We have a new batch of hot chocolate mix made and all of the ingredients for chocolates for the Christmas parties. Luke and Reed have one with their zoology group, and each of the girls have one with girls their ages.
Next week we plan to do lots and lots of not much. We have a couple of new puzzles that I bought at Dove's Next Thrift Shop, so maybe we'll do those and drink hot chocolate. Maybe we'll even stay in our jammies all day so we don't have to do much wash. Then we'll wrap presents. Play games. Read books.
Just one week. It's going to be glorious. And at the end of it, we'll leave for OH and IL to start all of the wonderful Christmas festivities with our loved ones.
We have so much to be thankful for!
We are excited to be able to share that Brent and Janelle welcomed their first little one! Grey Daniel arrived on November 29th and we can't wait to meet him at Christmastime when we go visit my family. So glad that he arrived healthy and that things are going well.
We are wrapping up school activities, getting ready for a much needed Christmas break. Today was Miranda's last literature discussion, Friday will be a zoology class/field trip for the boys--where else but at the zoo! Sunday will be our Sunday school program.
Today, I've been reading to the kids while they clean up the house. It's a great deal--they clean up one room while I read and then I move to another room and they clean up there while I read and so forth. Most of the house is clean now and we are pausing to finish getting dinner ready.
We baked a turkey that Mark's mom got on sale and gave to us. Mmmm! Does it smell good! Rachel's peeling potatoes to go with it and Miranda is peeling apples for apple crisp.
There's only a scattering of snow left outside and today was clear and bright. We have a new batch of hot chocolate mix made and all of the ingredients for chocolates for the Christmas parties. Luke and Reed have one with their zoology group, and each of the girls have one with girls their ages.
Next week we plan to do lots and lots of not much. We have a couple of new puzzles that I bought at Dove's Next Thrift Shop, so maybe we'll do those and drink hot chocolate. Maybe we'll even stay in our jammies all day so we don't have to do much wash. Then we'll wrap presents. Play games. Read books.
Just one week. It's going to be glorious. And at the end of it, we'll leave for OH and IL to start all of the wonderful Christmas festivities with our loved ones.
We have so much to be thankful for!
Monday, December 6, 2010
Update From Our Realtor
We are currently talking about switching realtors to one of Dave Ramsey's ELPs--Endorsed Local Providers. But in the meantime, we just received this email from our realtor:
The latest updates for this week so far are as follows:
1. The agent from Atlanta continues to ignore me. Very frustrating situation but I am not giving up until I talk to him.
2. I got another call on the house and the prospect went to look at it from the outside. He then called back and said he wanted me to refer him to a mortgage consultant as he was very interested. I sent his information to our in-house mortgage broker. He sent me an email late last night: Credit issues involved, not a buyer at this time. Maybe in about six months.
3. I am trying to get more information on the lady that wanted to rent. If we could at least get her in there as a lease purchase with a big down payment it would be something worth looking into.
Interest is there now, we just got to find a buyer with no credit issues. That has become a huge problem these days.
The latest updates for this week so far are as follows:
1. The agent from Atlanta continues to ignore me. Very frustrating situation but I am not giving up until I talk to him.
2. I got another call on the house and the prospect went to look at it from the outside. He then called back and said he wanted me to refer him to a mortgage consultant as he was very interested. I sent his information to our in-house mortgage broker. He sent me an email late last night: Credit issues involved, not a buyer at this time. Maybe in about six months.
3. I am trying to get more information on the lady that wanted to rent. If we could at least get her in there as a lease purchase with a big down payment it would be something worth looking into.
Interest is there now, we just got to find a buyer with no credit issues. That has become a huge problem these days.
Monday, November 22, 2010
House Activity
Latest email from Ana:
The house was shown by an agent from Atlanta over the weekend and I have already requested feedback from the agent. Most agents do not respond to feedback over the weekend so I am hoping to have an update for today. I also offered to buy a home warranty at closing.
My buyers decided to wait until after the Holidays due to too much going on and having company coming from out of town. I will follow up with them after Thanksgiving.
Audrey's buyers were not able to qualify because of some credit issues they are going to have to work on and it will take about six months to get them off their credit.
I also received another call over the weekend from the new minister of the Hispanic mission at the First Baptist church. We are going to meet after the Holidays.
The activity will pick up again after this week. Everyone is so busy now for Holiday celebrations.
I will continue to request feedback from the showing this weekend and get back to you ASAP.
The house was shown by an agent from Atlanta over the weekend and I have already requested feedback from the agent. Most agents do not respond to feedback over the weekend so I am hoping to have an update for today. I also offered to buy a home warranty at closing.
My buyers decided to wait until after the Holidays due to too much going on and having company coming from out of town. I will follow up with them after Thanksgiving.
Audrey's buyers were not able to qualify because of some credit issues they are going to have to work on and it will take about six months to get them off their credit.
I also received another call over the weekend from the new minister of the Hispanic mission at the First Baptist church. We are going to meet after the Holidays.
The activity will pick up again after this week. Everyone is so busy now for Holiday celebrations.
I will continue to request feedback from the showing this weekend and get back to you ASAP.
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