Buying a Home...

So let me summarize our experience so far.

We have been looking for a home of our own since August this year. We have looked at about 20 places in Gold Beach and put offers on 6 of those. Here's the break down:

House #1 - Rejected counter offer. Another buyer had a higher offer.
House #2 - Rejected first offer.
House #3 - Rejected first offer.
House #4 - "Short" sale. While waiting 2 months for a price opinion, put offers on #5 & #6...
House #5 - Rejected first offer. Loan requirements {pest and dry rot}.
House #6 - Rejected counter offer.

Back to house #4 - Accepted our offer.
Now the process begins... We hope everything goes smoothly from here on out, but we'll see.

This could be our future home.

Thanks #30

I am thankful for the holiday season and buying presents. :)

Thanks #29

I am thankful for a crafty girls night.

Thanks #28

I am thankful for a job indoors.

Thanks #27

I am thankful for a God who not only blesses me, but also challenges me.

Thanks #26

I am thankful for our helpful and sweet realtor.

Thanks #25

I am thankful for the ability to see all of my family when I go home and that my friends live in that area too.

Thanks #24

I am thankful for a husband who likes to drive and will let me sleep in the car.

Thanks #23

Oops :) I am thankful for the joy of a first birthday party. I love the children in our family.

Thanks #22

I am so thankful for family. :-)

Thanks #21

I am thankful for 18 months of marriage with my wonderful husband.

Thanks #20

Oops :-) I am thankful for clothes that keep me warm... And a washer and dryer to keep them clean.

Thanks #19

I am thankful that I live so close to work.

Thanks #18

I am thankful that my husband knows how to build/fix things... like our roof.

Thanks #17

I am thankful for a wonderful husband who takes me on fun dates.

Thanks #16

I am thankful for God's word in my own language.

"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God."

~ Colossians 3:16 

Thanks #15

I am thankful for lovely kisses from my husband.

Thanks #14

Oops :-) I am thankful that God gives so much and that I can give to others.

Thanks #13

I am thankful for a warm place to sleep.

Thanks #12

I am thankful for my friends. (I know... again) But really I am thankful to have friends both near and far.

Thanks #11

I am thankful for the people who fight to protect the freedom of our country.

Thanks #10

I am thankful for technology because it keeps me connected to my friends and family.

Thanks #9

I am thankful for my caring husband who makes me lunch everyday and plays with my hair.

Thanks #8

I am thankful for the people I see everyday when I'm at work.

Thanks #7

I am thankful for my family; even though we don't talk much, I love them.

Thanks #6

I am thankful for the crazy middle school youth group kids.

Thanks #5

I am thankful for the people I work with.

Thanks #4

I am thankful for my church family.

Thanks #3

I am thankful for friends.

Thanks #2

I am thankful for a husband who seeks the Lord.

Thanks #1

I am thankful for a God who loves me.

Working Girl

I have another job! I'm a barista at Rachel's Coffee Shop (I start on Monday). As I was filling out the application I noticed something kind of funny. In the employment history section my job titles were as follows: substitute teacher, substitute teacher, substitute teacher, barista, barista.

Hmm... well, at least I've narrowed it down.

Quiet on the Set!

Sometimes I'm sad that I am not yet a teacher, but there are some perks to not having a full-time job.
Last week I was on set for a film by Christopher Munch. The movie is part of a PBS series called "Future States". It is a series of short (15-ish minute) films set in the future and just how life is going to be. He is directing one of the films and it is called "Return to Elektra Springs".

I am not in the film, but I was the "on-set teacher". Why? Well, there are two child actors (12-year-old girl & 13-year-old boy) in this film... and California state law requires a licensed teacher on set to make sure the children get in there "lesson time" and don't work too much. Basically I just get paid to hangout on set all week as an advocate for the kids. It was lots of fun. The kids were great!

Here are some pictures (you can checkout the rest on facebook):

me, Skyler, Terri-Lynn(producer), Amber, Monique(Amber's mom), Bisque-Kitt(dog), Tony(sound guy)

House Hunters: Take 3

We have looked at 13 houses and 1 condo in our search so far. These are the 3 from today...

This house is only one street over from where we currently live. It's cute and in a great location. It's been on the market this whole time during our search, but we hesitated to look at it because it doesn't have a garage and the backyard is all concrete (we still think that's kind of weird). It has three bedrooms and 1 bath which is great. It has a funny layout though... It's almost like there are two halves to the house. The price, location, and size are the most appealing things about this house.

This is a condo. Yes, a condo. It has two bedrooms and two bathrooms and a massive garage. It is really nice inside and we really liked it. There is an ocean view & a pathway to the ocean. One negative is that the garage is downstairs and the stairs are outside... weird. No, we don't want to go back to apartment living, but really most of them are vacation homes anyway. Also it could be a good investment (we have some more research to do). The realtor seems to think that we could buy it now (it's a foreclosure) and sell it for much more in a few years... then we could get a house we really really want.

Look closely at the left side of the picture. Do you recognize that bright green house? That is the house we put an offer on a while back. It's sold. This house in the picture is great too though! It just went on the market a few weeks ago. The listed price is actually above our price range, but this little old woman needs to move closer to her family... so she might be willing to go down on the price. It's very pink inside (I think it might be her favorite color). This is a little bit smaller inside than some others we've looked at, but it is still 3bdrm 1.5bath. It also has a really large yard and is in a great location.


So... there are some great options, and it just comes down to choosing what to do next.

Color it. Cut it. Curl it.

Hair.

Inspired by... Psalms

I was an RA in my dorm a few years back and lead Bible study for our hall. For most of the first semester we focused on praising God for all that he does. Each week we studied a few different psalms. One week the "homework" assignment was to create your own psalm. You could use the format of any of the psalms in the Bible, but it had to be your own words. I came across these on my computer today and thought I would share. The first one is the Psalm I shared with the girls in my hall, and the second one is another one I wrote around that same time. 2009 ~ Fall-ish.

House Hunters: Take 2

First of all I would like to apologize that I have not yet posted any pictures of our cute little rental that we currently live in. I might get to it sometime before we move... maybe.

Well, we are still on the hunt and have looked at another bunch of houses in the area. These are all "in town" and we've noticed the neighbors are closer when we look at houses "in town". Here are the top 3:

 This house is great. As soon as we walked in, we both felt comfortable and cozy. That's the thing though. It's not cozy until you walk in. As you can see the yard is quite small and there is a neighbor in the back of the house. What you cannot see is that there are two neighbors on the left side of the house and you can pretty much look into their backyards. This isn't the best neighborhood in town, but definitely not the worst. There are a lot of renters on this street so things would change over time (not sure if that's good or bad yet)... and this house is walking distance to both the elementary school and high school. We really love the house, but aren't in love with the small lot and weird neighborhood. And look, there's a flag pole! (Anthony likes it).

This house is the opposite. We like the location (just up the hill from the elementary school), but the house is kinda "eh", for lack of a better term. This is the most expensive house; it's a bigger house with a bigger yard, and a little bit of ocean view, but the layout of this house is not our favorite. There is a really long narrow hall down the entire house which makes it remind us a little bit of dorm life. We like things a little more open. It's really not that bad and we wouldn't mind living here.

This house looks quite interesting doesn't it? It is. This house is actually in a great neighborhood and has a fun backyard with a creek that runs through it. Also the inside is quite unique. It has the "vacation home" feel and it's just really interesting. This is actually the least expensive of the three houses... and here's why: This house needs A LOT of work! It needs a completely new roof, all new siding, and the upstairs bathroom has a leak that's causing damage. There are some other fixes this house needs as well, but those were the 3 big ones ($ and time). I think this would be a really fun house to raise kids in and have family come visit, but with all the work it needs we most likely won't be pursuing this house. It is also smaller on the inside than it looks.

Well... this is round two and we are beginning to run out of options. Gold Beach is small, so there aren't many houses that fit our "requirements" and our budget. Our Realtor has been great and is helpful in showing us houses we wouldn't think of. Wish us luck as we prayerfully consider our next steps.

House Hunters: Gold Beach, OR

We finally settled into our cute little one-bedroom rental house next to the park... and we decided to look for our own house. We have been pre-approved for a home loan and looked at our first set of houses today. We looked at 5 different houses in the area; we have eliminated a couple and have a few we like.

This is our favorite one so far, but also the most expensive. It has three good size bedrooms, 1.5 baths and a big kitchen. Some other positives are new wood floors, updated kitchen, new wood stove, and double car garage. The back yard is small but the front yard is quite large... and it's really close to the beach. The color of the outside isn't our favorite, but we could live with it :)

This is a cute, little house. It looks white, but it's actually light green. This is the least expensive of the ones we like so far, but it is also the smallest. It has two very small rooms (if you took out the wall between it would probably be the same as our current 1 bedroom) and a small kitchen. It's in a more woodsy/outdoorsy area with lots of trees in the back yard. It is on 1/3 of an acre of land... so even though it is small, there is room to expand in the back!

This house has the best ocean view and is similar to the bright green house in size and location. It is a little bit older, has a smaller kitchen and needs a bit more work than we would hope for, but it's do-able. Anthony loves that it has hardwood floors... they look really bad, but could be sanded and refinished. It also has a good size back yard with a shop.


None of these houses are really "in town" quite like where we are right now... but really, not everyone can live in the center of town right next to the park. Right? We do really love where we are now, but realistically we can't live in this tiny house forever. AND it is the perfect time to buy a house because it is a buyers market right now. So we have decided to take advantage of the low rates and we have started the hunt. We may look at some more houses soon... Wish us luck and keep us in your prayers!

A Day in the Office

 Today I've been hanging out in the office with Anthony... I made this youth group logo. Basically it is just our church logo, but a little different...

Run for the Hills

Since we moved to Gold Beach we have heard that if we ever feel an earthquake that there will be a huge tsunami to follow and that we need to go inland and to higher ground.

Well, last night around 9pm we felt our house move. Anthony and I stopped what we were doing and looked at each other. "Do we need to run for the hills?" I asked, somewhat jokingly.

Anthony went outside and looked around. "Well, no dogs are barking and there aren't any people outside. I think we're okay... maybe it was just a tree that fell somewhere."

Well... it was actually an earthquake. Obviously not even big enough to signal the tsunami warning, but an earthquake nonetheless. Our first coastal earthquake. It was only a 2.3 magnitude and was about 3 miles away from Gold Beach

Sorry it's been so long since I've posted... we don't have internet at our house. Soon I'll post pictures of our new little house and the things we've done.

Our Future Home

This will be our new home very soon {June 2nd}. We are renting this one bedroom house next to the park. It is really small and needs a little fixing up, but it's in a great location for a great price.

{and we're glad to get out of apartments}

A Year Gone By

The Ballots Are In

We are in Gold Beach again. Last night {Saturday} we went to an event with the youth group. It was really fun and there were a lot more students than were expected. Today {Sunday} we had a brunch before church to introduce ourselves to the congregation and Anthony answered questions. They voted this evening for whether they want Anthony as the youth pastor or not. They want him!

In the name of the Father & the Son & the Holy Spirit

I am getting baptized next Sunday...

Teacher! Teacher! Will I ever be teacher?

It’s very likely that Anthony and I will be moving to Gold Beach here in the near future, so I have been applying for teaching jobs in the area… and let me tell you there aren’t many {but there really aren’t many anywhere}. I have already been rejected for a district ESL position and await to hear about a 2^nd grade teaching position. I have had some luck with middle school though.

Walking with Maria

This is my friend Maria. We were on an RA team together two years ago and then roommates last year. And now I substitute teach at the school where she teaches!

I recently started walking with her. It is great! Not just because of the health benefits, but I also get to spend time with a good friend. It is perfect for us… since we aren’t jogging, we can actually talk and catch up on life. Sadly I won’t be able to go on walks with Maria anymore after I move, but I think I'll keep it up anyways. It's easy and healthy!

Graduation

 I am feeling so blessed with wonderful family and friends who have supported my journey through college and all of my life. I love seeing my family and enjoy spending time with them... even if they're a little crazy. Lately I have been able to spend more time with them because of graduation. 

Also... I AM SO HAPPY that my husband is finally done!!!!

Listening

Ecclesiastes 5:1-2

Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong.


Do not be quick with your mouth,

   do not be hasty in your heart
   to utter anything before God.
God is in heaven
   and you are on earth,
   so let your words be few. 

Gold Beach Visit

Fort Clatsop

These past two days I have been on a field trip with my old 4^th grade classroom {from student teaching}. They have been studying Oregon history and about Lewis and Clark so we went to Fort Clatsop. I forgot my camera at home, so no pictures of us… sorry. But I will tell you all about our fun activities!

The first stop on our trip was Fort Clatsop.

An Interview in Gold Beach

The future can be a little unclear right out of college… and that’s right where we’re at. Graduation is in a few short weeks and we are in the process of figuring out what we’ll be doing and where we’ll be next.

Anthony is currently in the interview/candidate process for an associate pastor position {focus: youth ministry} in Gold Beach, Oregon. He has had phone interviews up to this point and everything seems to be looking good. The only negative is that it’s far away from home and family.

This weekend we will be heading down to Gold Beach for a visit. On Saturday we’ll have lunch with the pastor and his wife and an interview with the search committee that evening.  Sunday we plan on going to church service and will have lunch with a couple from the church.

We would appreciate prayers for safety as we travel  {5 ½ hours one way}, good interviews, new relationships, and a fun time. God has a plan for us and we are just really excited to figure out what it is… pray that we’ll be listening.

Birthday Boys

Wally {??}                                        Nathan {21}                                     Noah {4}   

Chugga Chugga Choo-Choo

Today I had the joy of spending the morning/afternoon with my littlest nephew Nathan {5 months}. He's so cute and happy all the time!!! Even though he's been sick all week he was wonderful.

Also...

A Person's a Person No Matter How Small

Why am I posting this??

1- because it is very important to me 
2- for people who are unsure on the topic
This is my biblically-based conviction on abortion. I have done a lot of research over the past 5 years independently and collaboratively so this didn't just come out of nowhere. This is adapted from my christian ethics assignment.

When does life begin? When an ovum and spermatozoon meet {aka: conception} they create a zygote. A zygote contains all 46 genes that make up a human life. Because a zygote does have all 46 of these genes, it is at the moment of conception that life begins. The embryo is a human life. It has full moral status {personhood} and therefore has the right to live. 

Choices: Legally women have the right to choose abortion at any time during the entire nine months of pregnancy for any reason she deems fit. Biblically a woman has the right to choose what to do with her child after birth, but she has a moral obligation to protect the unborn life and carry her pregnancy to term. 

Legal choices: {abortion, co-parenting, single-parenting, and adoption}

Biblical choices: {co-parenting, single-parenting, and adoption}

Moral obligation: Everyone is to honor God with their bodies (1Pet. 2:16) and value life (Gen. 1:27, Matt. 6:26), even unborn life.

What about...? Whether the unborn child is a result of rape, incest, or is possibly going to be deformed, these circumstances do not change the status of personhood. These are not ethical reasons for abortion, and abortion should not be considered as an alternative to pregnancy.

The Bible Says: Life is a gift from God (Ps. 100:3, 127:3). He has a purpose for every life and everything that happens in life (Rom. 8:28). No matter the quality (Ex. 4:11), it is in God’s hands how long that life shall last (Ps. 139:15-16) not ours (Ps. 39:4). 

*I did not address the issue of possibility of harm/death to the mother and/or child because there is no clear biblical solution on choosing "which life to save". 

{I have many references, if you would like some let me know!}

Someday I'll be...

I've been contemplating what to do as my first post on this blog and I thought this was a fun idea. My future posts will be about actual life events and such.

Typically people only have one or two different careers in their lifetime... but I don't want to limit myself. So I have a list of jobs I want to do before I retire. The list has grown/shrunk over the years and I'm sure it will continue to do so.

I want to...