#3 & #4

Well, this last spring Jer and I needed to make a major decision in our lives...after lots of thought and long conversations, we decided to let our condo go...we were having trouble justifying all of the money getting "dumped" into the HOA association and everything we did/do was on the opposite side of town 30 minutes away. We felt living where we were was going no where fast. With all of the budget cuts and such over the past 5 years in my job, our income was not increasing and the value of our condo was down DRASTICALLY from when we bought it. With the new addition coming soon, we needed to get the process started for our next "move". Luckily Kelly opened her home with open arms and so Jerret proceeded with the mortgage company to get us out of our house fast. And when I say fast...from the first time he contacted them to the last day we were there it was less than 2 weeks...it would have been faster if neither of us worked in the day time and I wasn't pregnant (there was only so much I could help with). We are now in O.C. 5 minutes from Jer's work and about 12 from mine...SOOO nice!!! We are still unsettled here in Kelly's place and taking small steps to get everything organized. I never knew we had so much STUFF until we started removing it from our condo. Let me tell you though... a move makes for great clean out. We have purged SOO Much stuff it feels refreshing. It helps me re-evaluate what we really "need". Most of our stuff is crammed in a storage unit down the road and now that we are unpacking more will be on it's way. It is such a weird feeling packing to temporarily move somewhere because you have to decied "do I need this? or can it go into storage?" Also with new little one almost here, we had to bring a lot of stuff that was "packed" away with us, to get ready for her. We still aren't sure how long we will live with Kelly, but we are keeping our eyes open for a rental house with a reasonable price for our next move. We need somewhere that will be somewhat permanent as our credit is down the tube for the time being and there are certain things we are seeking so we can continue to grow our family. We are so thankful for this decision we made, even though it is weird "intruding" on my sister. (I don't think she feels as though it is an intrusion, but it is weird living in someone else's "space".) I know God has a plan for us, and this is where it has landed us for the time being. I do have to say it will be nice having an extra set of hands when our family turns from 3 to 4...Kelly has already offered babysitting :) Which of course she has because she L.O.V.E.S. babies.

So as for #3 & #4 of my 101 list...they are no longer valid as we can't remodel a kitchen we no longer own and we can't sell a condo we decided to give back...:(

Our empty living room of our first "home that we bought" and Brynn's first home :(

Our empty kitchen

Brynn's very first bedroom

**While clicking through some of the pics of our empty house, I cry because this was "our home" All along while packing I knew I would cry, as I cried the very last night Jer and I left our very 1st apartment together, however, with all the stress this condo brought over the past few months, I didn't cry that last night we walked out...however, sitting here looking through and seeing Brynn's first ever room empty...makes me sad....looking down the hall I will never walk done again...makes me sad....seeing our bedroom I will never sleep in again...makes me sad....knowing Brynn will never get to look out the window at the geese on the pond again..makes me sad....new little addition will never know that house as her home...makes me sad....I know this was the right decision as when we lived there I "hated" it, but it's just the memories that went with it (which I know, they are memories so I will have them in my heart) but it is still difficult.