Whew!!

Well, we worked very hard this week - but its done! Our house is officially for sale and is sparkling clean and somewhat sparsely "furnitured." We took a ton of stuff that we would not need to use in the next little while, as well as half of the kids toys, and stored it all at my in-laws so the house would look as big as we can make it and somewhat staged. As we have been house hunting, I have taken note at what I first notice when I walk into a house - cleanliness, smell, decor, etc. I know that people are not buying our furniture or belongings, but how you decorate and such can greatly influence what a person's initial impression is of the house. They say that a person is either sold or turned off of a house in the first three minutes, so I want people's reaction to be "Wow! This is really nice!"

We truly have been blessed to have such a nice home. We joke about being "trailer trash" and stuff like that, but really, we have a very nice home. Once you walk inside, you don't really feel like you are in a trailer. Almost everyone that comes into our home for the first time always makes that comment, as well as says, "This is not what I expected." That is exactly what our realtor said the first time she came in. So we are hoping and praying that will work to our advantage when buyers come in.

We worked so hard this week, put in long days and are very tired, but I think the house looks great. Matt crack-filled some cracks that occured during the winter in the hallway, then painted it. When you live in a trailer that is just sitting on concrete blocks and not a solid foundation like most houses, in the winter, when the ground freezes then thaws, the house shifts and moves quite a bit, which causes cracking and such. This happens some in "real" houses, but much more often in a trailer. It is not a major structural thing, just looks ugly.

I scrubbed the house basically from top to bottom, in order to make everything sparkle. Don't get me wrong, I clean my house regularly, I just wanted everything to be extra shiny and look almost new so it would appeal even more to buyers. Now I just have the "fun" job of keeping it up so that it will be ready to be shown at anytime. That can be a little hard with a 1 year old and almost 3 year old who are messy eaters and such!

If I think of it, I may take some pics so you can see what the house looks like. I don't think I have ever really put pics on here of the house. Plus, it will be nice to have them for future "memories." I will admit that my sentimental side is starting to come out in me. I know we need to move to have a bigger place to accommodate our growing family, but I really do love this house. This is the first house that Matt and I purchased as a married couple. This is where Liam learned to walk and talk. This is where we brought Leila home from the hospital and she is now learning to walk and talk. Its only been two years, but so many memories. BUT, we do want a bigger place. And are praying that God will provide it. We have our eye on a couple houses, just waiting to sell this one so that we can move forward on placing offers on another one. Please pray that this house will sell quickly - if it is God's will. We definitely have it "priced to sell" and there seems to some interest in it, so we shall see.

As for us as a family, we are doing well. The kids were sick last week with colds, but are doing much better. Matt is busy this week painting the church. I wish I could help, but am not supposed to paint while pregnant and everyone at church keeps telling me to stay away so I won't "inhale all those fumes!" Hehe. Its funny. I appreciate all the concern, but it is funny how people in the church seem to see the pastor's kids as their kids too, hense, they make sure I take care of myself and the unborn baby.

I am feeling MUCHO better. I have been taking less medicine and plan to stop taking it in a couple days. I think I am over the worst. I am 11 weeks, almost to the 2nd trimester and can feel that "2nd trimester energy burst" coming on. I always love that time! It is when I feel almost better than I do at other times - even when I am not pregnant! I have energy, sleep really well, and just enjoy the feeling of being pregnant.

Next week we will head off to our first week of camp. Matt is really excited. I am too - mostly. Although I think it will be a little challenging as the kids will be in a different environment and we will all be couped up in one room the whole week with not much to do or many places to go. This is not a huge camp, and sorta"rustic" (not like TWR by any means!) But, it will be good, I am sure!

Well, that's all for now! Have a great week!