Enjoying Time at Mamaw & Papaw's

The kids have been at my parent's house since April 16, to give me a week to finish packing and cleaning our house in Raleigh before we closed on Monday April 26. It was also supposed to have given me a week to get our house in Roanoke Rapids ready before we went to pick them up. According to that plan, we should be just getting home tonight from mom and dad's house, introducing Lacey and Lawson to their new rooms. Unfortunately, since we haven't closed on our house in Roanoke Rapids, we haven't moved in, and therefore we haven't gone to pick them up. We're going to get them this weekend whether we've moved in or not! So they've got one more week to live it up at the grandparents house before the party's over! :)

Limbo

Since my last update, we have gone through some pretty dramatic changes! Our house in Raleigh sold! Hurray for that! Considering the current economic state of our country, selling a house in less than 2 months is worthy of celebration! We have found the perfect house for us in Roanoke Rapids! Hurray for that too! It was not an easy feat; we looked at EVERY house on the market, which is about 10 total, at least twice each, until we found out that this one was 'going to be' going on the market soon. We ended up checking it out before it ever hit the market and fell in love! Our grand plan was to close on both houses in one day, for a quick, painless, seamless move! However, that plan hasn't happened! We successfully closed on our house in Raleigh on Monday, April 26. Our stuff is stuffed like sardines into a 26' uhaul truck, parked in an undisclosed location until further notice. We are living like college students in Brian's sparsely furnished apartment with a suitcase that was only packed for three days, until further notice. The children are happy as clams spending some time at mamaw's and papaw's until . . . next weekend. We had wanted to have the house all set up and ready for them before we bring them 'home'. However, if something doesn't happen soon, we just can't wait any longer! I MISS MY KIDS!!!

The problem we are having is beyond our control, which makes it even harder to swallow. The aforementioned 'economic state of our country' has also cause lenders and mortgage insurance companies to do a complete 180 from the housing boom, where they would give a loan to anyone with a pulse, to being freakishly cautious with everyone, including well qualified buyers! Everything on our end is fine, great actually. However, since we're not putting 20% down, our loan will require mortgage insurance. Unfortunately, since the market has been sooooooooooooo slow in Roanoke Rapids and there have been very few sales to compare the house to, the PMI company 'doesn't like' the appraisal, which is actually right on target for the area. Part of our problem is that we went with a loan company that Brian found online that is based out of Chicago. They're not local, so they don't understand the market. They're not local, so we can't show up at the office and demand that our questions be answered. They're not local, so we're at the mercy of voicemail. And they apparently really want our business, because the broker has been stringing us along since Monday, saying that he's got 'one more thing' to try. We should have probably went ahead and gone with the local bank that we met with 'three more things' ago on Tuesday, but we thought if we just wait a little and let the original lender pull through, it would go faster. At this point if/when we end up using the local bank, it will be seven days from the time we sign before we can close. So if by some miracle, our original lender pulls through, we may be able to close/move in at the first of next week. If not, this will most likely push us two weeks from now. My patience is running very thin, but I believe God has a plan, not sure what it is, but I suppose I'm along for the ride!

Look Who's Turning One!

It's been a while. . .

I was reminded recently that it's been a very long time since I've posted anything on the blog. I realized it's been even longer since I've REALLY 'written' like I used to do. There was a time when I thought I would keep 'our story' updated much more often than I do. And then life happened! There have been sooooo many exciting, wonderful, hilarious, crazy, sad, happy moments that I really meant to 'preserve' but somehow I never find the time to just write. I don't beleive in resolutions, but I promise myself I'm going to try and update more often!

Speaking of resolutions, 2009 couldn't possibly have been any crazier in the Levering house! January was mostly normal, besides me being ridiculously hugely pregnant at only 5 months. In February, we flew to Florida to see my best friend Danielle and her family (imagine hugely pregnant woman in a baithing suit-Yikes!). In March, my world was rocked when my little man arrived 6 weeks early, not by his choice, but doctors orders. From there on, it was full throttle! We spent at least 3 hours, usually more, at the Duke NICU every single day for 78 days. In April, we watched our little man battle for his life and finally have a very risky surgery to remove half of his lung. In May we watched him get better and better as I struggled with trying to breastfeed him. On the last day of April, we finally brought our little miracle boy home! June was filled with non-stop doctor appointments and saying goodbyes, both to my Kindergarten class, which I hadn't seen since March 11 and to my mom, who had been with us while Lawson was in the NICU. In July, I cleared out my classroom and 'offically' became a stay home mom. In July, I also got the awesome news that Lawson had grown out of his swallowing problem and so we could begin breastfeeding, only to find he wouldn't do it, so I continued to pump. In August, Lawson went on his first vacation to Carolina Beach. I was still pumping religiously, but ended up running out of milk because of an unfortunate power outage/freezer debacle. September was definitely a Lacey month; she got her first ever haircut, started a new preschool, and celebrated her 4th birthday. In October, we had our world rocked again . . . Brian lost his job at the company he had been with for 13 years! November brought even more drama. What we thought was going to be a quick visit to family turned into an extended stay with Brian's elderly, ailing grandparents in New Jersey, a visit to my sister in Alexandria, VA, a few days New York City, and then Thanksgiving in my hometown, Honaker, VA. Seriously, of the 31 days in November, we slept in our own beds two nights! By December, Brian had been offered a job in Emporia, VA. We spent the month researching online and traveling to visit possible places to live. Brian accepted the job and was set to begin in January. And so we closed the book on 2009 with CHANGE being the only thing certain for 2010!!!!