That silly house in Ohio...

Before I begin about Ohio, let me reassure all readers that new pictures will be coming soon. We took some great shots on Elli's last day of school (hooray for summer!) and a recent trip to the zoo. So they are coming eventually!

People have been asking us what the deal is with our house in Ohio, so I thought I would recap all the details. Back in March the house got broken into again (previously broken into in Jan. 09) and the remaining pipes in the basement were stolen. With no pipes there is no water to the rest of the house - so it is unlivable at this point. We had just started proceedings with our mortgage company to work toward a short sale when this happened. After loads of paperwork, the company decided that they would officially let us do a short sale but we had to fix all the damages first. Luckily we do have home owners insurance, but since it is for "unoccupied dwellings" the deductible is super high and they paid us $800 to fix a job that will end up costing several thousand. My thought is fix the house and get it sold just to be done with it. But our fear is that if we replace all the pipes, the people who broke into it before will just come back and do it again. So we've discussed the details with our lawyer who said that we should put in a contract that the work will be completed only with a firm offer on the table to buy the house. In the mean time, we will fix the back door that was busted in and clean up the debris that was left. Luckily no damage was done to the rest of the house, which makes me suspicious about who the vandals were. I believe it was a local person who is looking to buy the home for cheap if they scare us enough to where we want to drop the house fast. Their only flaw was that we couldn't care less about the house now and if we simply walk away and foreclose they get nothing either. But I don't really know who did it, so I guess it doesn't matter.

The mortage company is hoping to get $65k out of the sale, way below our current mortgage, but some money. So I guess if you were looking for a home for cheap, this is the time to buy. If you don't mind living in Cleveland!

This month marks two years that Ruston has been out of dental school. That went fast!! His office is still open three days a week, some days are busy - some aren't. We are sad that we don't live closer to friends in Nyssa, but very happy living in Vale too. We really can't go anywhere with our home still in Ohio, but even if it did sell I think we might stick around for another year or so. Eventually, we'd like to be in Nyssa to be closer to Ruston's office - but while I am pregnant and when the baby is still young I think we'll be able to manage the crowded circumstances. I think next summer will be the breaking point, but maybe not? We've enjoyed ourselves this long, maybe it could work longer. That is if we are still welcome. Who knows?

By the way, for those keeping track - I am 16 weeks pregnant and feeling much better these days. Not really sick (most days) and not quite as tired, but certainly showing! I brought out my maternity clothes from storage and had fun looking at all the cute things I have left-over from Elli and Addison. I'll be due a few days before Elli's birthday so still a while to go, but getting very real and very excited. My ultrasound will be next month, but I'm still not planning to find out what we are having. Sorry Mom!

Have a great week! And if you have a blog listed at the right and haven't updated it in several months - do it! I miss reading new things about friends and family. I'll try to do better too!

Yes!! It's a baby!!

Hello and thanks to my four faithful blog readers who commented on the previous post. It's nice to know I have a few friends! There are still some members of our family I haven't heard a congratulations from - but then they didn't remember my birthday either. Oh well, I guess that's life.

Anyway, we are proud to announce that after trying for almost a year and a half I am finally pregnant! I'm due November 11th (right before Elli's birthday) which puts me about 10 weeks right now. I'm feeling good, pretty nauseous (is that how it's spelled?) but not much throwing up - not that it makes it any less annoying to be sick. People like to throw around experiences of how many weeks they threw up every single day...it doesn't make me feel any better. Sick is sick!! But knowing how long we have wanted this baby makes every miserable moment worth it and I try not to complain too much.

We told Elli and she was excited. But then we mentioned that Grandma Tracie might be coming to visit too when the baby was born and she literally got up and started dancing and singing. She was so excited I almost wondered whether she even caught the part about the baby. But later she informed me that if it's a boy it will be named Max and if it's a girl it should be Ruby (Ruby & Max cartoons are her favorite right now). I told her Daddy would choose as always, but that she could give him as many ideas as she wanted.

This does bring up some interesting details about where we should be living in 7 months. Somehow three kids in one room seems awful tight. I know, I know, people have done it before and Joseph Smith shared a bedroom with his whole family - but that doesn't mean I want to! I'm still evaluating my feelings to see what will be best for our family - along with feelings I have to counteract all the raging hormones and then add in a pinch of praticality. So, needless to say this might be a hard decision to make.

So what else can I write about? The weather is getting nicer and my flowers are starting to look really nice. I'm anxiously awaiting the arrival of a new nephew - check out Aaron and Becky's blog to see if thier little baby Max (his real name - not named after a cartoon bunny!) has arrived. I'll post new pictures soon. I'm too tired for now and I think I want a little icecream...and maybe some pickles! Hooray!! I'm pregnant!!

New Family Photo

I took this idea from my friend Rebecca's blog. I wanted to you all see our latest family photo. Leave me a comment when you figure it out!

Love,
Alesha