Coming to you from Crystal Lake, IL (Part 1)

Wow, what a week. That might have been the fastest week of my life. The movers, myself, and my best friends dad, Steve, had a great time with golf on Thursday. I was able to comp the golf for the movers (thanks Jeff!!) so they bought Steve and I beer. Like Homer says with the donuts, mmmmmm......beer..... As for the moving of the goods, the movers finished loading the truck at about 5:45 on Friday afternoon. The then had to print off the inventory sheet, all 13 pages of it. Something like 300+ line items. Sheesh. It was a 53 foot trailer and they still had plenty of room to trailer a car. The picked it up in Modesto, CA and are taking it to Milwaukee. The company is in Racine (semi-suburb of Milwaukee) so it was easy for them to do.

We then went to Elijah's last baseball game. We think that all of the stuff being packed, the house being empty, and him knowing how far away we will be, all finally caught up to him. Plus, he wanted to pitch really bad, and did not get to. He does not have much control right now, so it is not a good time for him to pitch. This added to everything and he spent about 10 minutes crying. Man he is an emotional kid. Still love him to death, though. After the game they game him his trophy and the coach gave him the game ball. This really cheered him up and he was pretty jazzed about it.

Afterwards, we headed to dinner with my sister, a couple of friends, and Elijah's coach and his wife, Tony and Elizabeth. We went to Mikuni for sushi. Had to go one last time before we moved. I ate waaaayyy too much, but did I care? Heck no. We then went and picked up the boys, and eventually made it to the hotel at 1:00 am. Got up at 6:30 am (thanks Malachi), went to breakfast with Amy's family, and then went back to the old house. It was strange to walk into it and see nothing there but our bags we took on the plane, and Josh already painting and making the house his. So it goes.

Well, I think this is kind of a boring read, but wanted to get it out there. This is only part 1 of at least two parts. I still plan to regurgitate everything that happened over the last 12 hours, which covers leaving the house in Sacramento to this point right now in the hotel where I am going to finish my glass of wine and crawl into bed.

Quick Relo Update

So the movers showed up this morning at 7:25 am. We gave them a quick tour and told them what was staying and what was going and they promptly began. Those of you who know us know that we are a little bit of a pack rat family, and also a little prone to procrastinating. Needless to say, we figured that they would need A LOT of time to pack everything.

Well, it turns out that they did not. It is only two guys, and the only thing left for them to pack is our office, the kitchen (anything in cabinets or on countertops -- everything else around the kitchen is packed), and the hall bathroom. Even the garage is packed! They are good. So good that I am taking them golfing tomorrow afternoon. The will have half the house loaded by the afternoon, and will still have all of Friday to finish loading. I will try and dig out the camera to take a picture. Realy big trailer in front of our house too. Goodnight!!

Off to the Races

Well, I am back home (came back last night) and we are now one week from moving. The next 7 days will be a complete blur by the time it is done. Here is the understood schedule for the next week, which is bound to change 27 times before it is over.

Sat - Work around the house and prepare for yard sale. It is raining so it will be inside work. Pack a few things.
Sun - Yard sale, then more house work. Going to get a jackhammer to break up the posts that were holding up the deck in the backyard. Pack a few things.
Mon - More house work, jackhammer, and a little packing. Don't want to pack too much, that is what the movers are for.
Tue - Pack my desk at work. I know, that should have been done already, but oh well. Also going to hang out with the sis, then Elijah has a game.
Wed - Movers show up and start. I am sure I will need to break down some stuff, like the desk.
Thurs - Movers still doing their thing
Fri - Movers finishing their thing. Elijah has his last game this night. Trying to also go to dinner at Mikuni with freinds. Gotta have the great sushi one last time.
Sat - We fly out in the afternoon.

I was talking with my boss yesterday, who has relocated five or six times, and I told him I had originally planned to work from home Wed-Fri, but decided otherwise and will take the time off work. He said there is no way I would get any work done. The are going to be asking questions all the time and I will have work to do, etc, etc. This should be an interesting week.

My Last "Commute"

Before anyone (Becky) says anything about the gap between posts, I know it has been a while. As you can imagine, a lot has been going on. While we really have not done any packing (the moving company is doing everything) we have been doing a lot of other stuff around the house, not to mention still having baseball practices and games. So there is my excuse. Not a good one, but it is what it is.

So, anyway, I am sitting here at Chili's in the airport having a quick breakfast. Each time I head out, my father-in-law takes me to the airport, but he has to be at work by 7:00, so he always picks me up EARLY. Since I have time, I figured I would get a quick update in. I am waiting for a flight to Chicago. This is my last "commute" to the new office before our move. This also means we are less than two weeks from moving. I am glad that this will be my last trip away from my family for a while (I hope). Things are progressing along and we are just trying to make sure we have our berring's straight.

I was able to spend a little time with my sister yesterday. She bought a new TV (thank you stimulus package) and it would not fit in her car. So, I took the van over to pick it up and then helped her set it up real quick at her house. It was nice to hang out for a bit and goof off. The TV is nice, and I am sure Ty and Jeff will like it.

Anyway, it is 7:27 and my plane leaves at 8:15. Need to go through security. Another post soon (I promise).

A New Place to Call Home?

Okay, so I have been reluctant to put anything out here about the house we are trying to buy. I keep telling myself not to talk about it or go into any detail because I might jinx it. Well that is just stupid. We are big believers of what is meant to happen will happen, so whether I talk about it or not, God will decide if we really get to buy this house or not.

So the house we found is in a town called Lake in the Hills. Kinda' funny actually when there really are no "hills". This is the Midwest, and if there is a hill, it is more of a slight elevation in the road. There are small lakes, or big ponds, depending on how you see your glass. So here is a front view of the house. This was pulled off a website, and was taken when it was snowing, so not the best picture. I will get a better one up sometime.

It was quite the whirlwind to get this into contract. We were first going to go with a down payment assistance program so that we could keep cash in our bank. Everything was agreed to by everyone. Then we decided to switch gears and go with a 3% down conventional loan. We originally thought we could not do this, and then found someone who would do it. Everything was agreed to, again, and it was going fine. Then I got a call on Monday evening (Apr 21) and found out that the house was in a "Declining Market" which meant we had to come in with another 5% down, or go some other route.

So, we decided to switch to an FHA loan. Still only 3% down, but we did not have to deal with a declining market. Also, we did not have to deal with a higher sales price for the down payment assistance program. Well, everyone agreed to the third change, and we are now heading down the perverbial road. Home inspection has been completed and we have asked for them to fix a few things, but not everything on the report. I can do some of them, plus we want to look reasonable. We also asked for a change in our closing date from May 29 to June 2. The request was sent off yesterday afternoon, and hopefully we will hear something by tomorrow afternoon. We will give more details on the house in another blog.

Hurry up and wait. Wish us luck!

The 4th Biggest Decision of My Life

So who titles something the 4th? Wouldn't you talk about the #1 biggest decision? Well, that was not why I decided to start this blog. The set the record straight, the biggest decision of my life was choosing to marry my wonderful wife. The 2nd and 3rd was the decision to have kids. Those of you who know about Josiah might wonder why there is only 2nd and 3rd. Well, I lump "having kids" into one big decision. The 3rd biggest was choosing to try again after losing Josiah. Before you ask, another blog in the future will shed some light on those who need it.

So, the 4th biggest decision (and the reason for starting up this blog site) was to accept a new job with the company I work for. That in itself is not that big of a deal. But, it is when the acceptance comes with relocating to the Chicago area. Yes, moving your family 2000 miles from your "support staff" can be the biggest decision for some, but I still think it was easier than the other three. In any case, I began my new position on Feb 18, 2008, and there is no looking back! This is a crazy time for us, but exciting as well. Amy was able to land a transfer (we work for the same company) and she started her new position this past Monday, April 14.

This is the short version of what has transpired over the last few months, but hopefully we will be able to stay on top of things and keep this updated. So, for now, happy reading!