Sad, Sad, Sad Part 3

Actually it is not so sad anymore. When we finally gave up and said we want out of the contract and give us our earnest money back the seller gave in some what. He said he would go down to to the appraisal price if  we give him an additional $3,000 cash, pay our closing costs along with our minimal 3.5% down so he gets the same amount of money as he would have from the original contract of $240,000 we put $12,000 down and the seller pays the closing costs. This is very tough for us to come up with really about $5,000 extra in just a few days. We sold the car we bought from John's brother back to him for the $1440 we had paid him and his wife. They needed the car and we needed the money so that worked out all the way around. Then we are just using our entire months pay for the rest. We will still have to pay our bills, but we will have no money for food or anything until May 1st. We probably would not have accepted these terms if interest rates hadn't suddenly risen and are predicted to continue to rise. If we went with plan b and built a house to be completed in August our payments on the same loan would be $120 more per month over 30 years. So we felt like we needed to go ahead even though the terms of sale from the seller are awful, awful, awful for us.

John has asked me if I am excited that I am getting the hose that I wanted. I'd have to say this whole things has been really hard emotionally and a LOT of work, so I don't feel excited. Plus, the month of April is going to be really hard. However, I am sure that once we are moved in and unpacked, I will be very happy with the house. I really love the floor plan. It could not have come up with a better plan for the same amount of money if I had designed it myself. So in time, I know I will be happy. Right now I just want to make it through the closing and the move and get to May with out too much on credit card.

Oh, I should also mention that I heard from the loan consultant and underwriting has approved us and we are closing for sure on Friday. We weren't sure how long that was going to take, but it actually took less than 24 hours. I am glad about that. It is nice to know it will really happen.

Ruth turns 12

My oldest child, Ruth, turned 12 last Monday.

We had a birthday party for her with her cousins at Grandma's house last Sunday, and then another little family party on Monday. Ruth has not yet gotten her present which will be her choice of a Nintendo Wii, and she will receive that this week. 

Ruth is such a good girl and a big help. She believes in the Savior, Jesus Christ, and she is making good choices about serving, praying, and reading her scriptures. Ruth works hard in school and gets straight A's. She is learning to play hymns on the piano. Ruth seems to make good choices with who her friends are, about what music she will listen too, and about health and exercise. She is happy to have her email delivered to her Dad's inbox and she talks to us freely about herself and her life. There is nothing negative I could say about Ruth. When John comes home and asks how my day was and how the kids are, I can always report that Ruth has been pleasant and helpful. As she enters the early teen years, I do not think Ruth could have prepared herself better for the temptations ahead of her. If Ruth continues to stay on the path she is following now, I know that I do not need to fear for her happiness and safety. I just know that I need to be present and to know where she is and what she is doing to help her continue on her way to becoming a happy, productive person. Our entire family has been blessed to have Ruth a part of our home and such a good leader and example for her younger siblings. Ruth, we love you!!!!

Sad, Sad, Sad Continued

Right now, it seems very much like we will not be able to get the house. The reason is the laws. We went to do another appraisal and found out that as of Jan 2010 it is illegal to do a second appraisal for an FHA loan. We tried to redo the entire loan and keep it an FHA but our name is attached to the property and that cannot happen too. One of the big reasons the appraisal came out so low was that the laws have changed for appraisers and things are calculated very differently. I am going to talk to the appraiser and his supervisor tomorrow to see if we can turn things around. If we do not close by Apr 1st we lose our good interest rate and interest rates are rising. It is very likely we will have to buy a smaller house that appraises for more because of say a 3 car garage which gets a lot from an appraisal where granite counter tops and number of bedrooms do not count any more. A 3 bedroom, 2000 squarefoot house with a 3 car garage is apparently worth more on paper now than a 5 bedroom, 2300 squarefoot house with a 2 car garage. That is really bad for a family like mine. We need a big inexpensive house and a 2 car garage helps to drive the price down. We will consider building a house, but there is no way we can build a house with the same upgrades and the same divisions of space for close to the same price.

Having said all of that I need to record a few personal experiences relating to our difficulties in finding a suitable home for our family:

Last night, after a good 24 hours of tears and as I began my personal scripture study, I found theses two scripture:
               John 14:27, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you...Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." and
              John 16:33, "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."
I know that the Lord was speaking directly to me through the scriptures last night. So I will be of good cheer starting right now.

Through this all John has been reminding me not to be critical of the realtors, the sellers, and the appraisers. It is very nice to have a husband who helps keep me Christlike when it is especially hard not be angry.

The last personal experience happened  nearly a year ago, when we took our family on a vacation to Nauvoo, IL, just before we moved from Wichita, KS. Nauvoo  is a really beautiful city where the early Mormon saints lived happily before they trekked to Utah to escape the mobs. In Nauvoo you get to take tours through the restored homes of some of the saints. There was one house that particularly touched me. It was the home of Brigham Young and his wife, Mary Angell Young. The home we went through was a fairly nice frame home with four bedrooms and a nice large kitchen. Mary had this home for only about 6 months before the family had to leave Nauvoo. Before this, Mary and her 6 children lived in a one room log cabin. After they left, Nauvoo, Mary did not have a home of her own for 8 more years. She was kicked out of her home with her 6 children by mobs and had to walk across Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming and through the mountains to the deserty Salt Lake Valley. Then it took a long time before she was able to have nice framed home again. As I was listening to the story of this good woman, I had a very strong impression that it would be a lot longer than I was thinking before I had a home of my own again. I quickly dismissed this (not wanting it to be true.) But, oh, how I know that this was the whisperings of the Spirit preparing me for the difficult time we are having finding a good home for our family. First, we tried to get this town house and later we were very thankful how it fell through. Now we are trying to get a very nice home and it seems as if it will fall through. But I know that the Lord is watching and guiding us and at some point we will be blessed with a nice home of our own again.

Sad, Sad, Sad

We were supposed to be closing on the house today, but that is not happening, nor do we know if it will happen. The appraisal came back $20,000 lower than our offer. We gave the appraiser new statistics and he came back at $230,000. The owner will not sell the house below $240,000. It is illegal to get a home loan for less than it was appraised for. This was the cheapest 5 bedroom house in the area that was built after 1978. We know the appraisal is wrong because there are no other 5 bedroom houses (even the ones with same floor plan for less than $250,000). We can't go up that high in price. We have ordered another appraisal from a different person. I really pray that his will go through. The loan consultant doesn't really think so, but the owner who had the house appraised before he put it on the market thinks it will. I really really want this to go through. We are not planning on moving again. I love this house. The floor plan, the yard, the fact that it is fairly new (2006) are all perfect for our family's needs. I love that the bedrooms are all together on the same floor. I love that the laundry room is off the kitchen in a decent sized room rather than in a closet up near the bedrooms. I love that the kitchen and living room are all one big room. I love that the house is completely surrounded by a cement patio. I really want this house. But if this next appraisal does not go through, then we will have to get a smaller 4 bedroom home without all of these things because there are no other choices. Then I will always feel really sad about not getting the house I feel like was made for us and wonder who got it instead. 

Frightening Sexual Education Laws in Britian

This was posted on the United Families International Blog. It is certainly something we as Americans need to be concerned about as this is starting to happen in our own nation.

 

Mandatory sex-ed in Britain to override religious liberty

In Religious Freedom, Sex Education on March 24, 2010 at 1:36 pm

The British House of Commons recently passed a new mandatory sexual education bill that would require all schools—public, private, and religious—to include “non-judgmental” information on homosexuality, contraception, and abortion in their sex-ed courses. According to proponent’s of the bill, the new legislation does not violate any religious liberties, but only ensures students get all the necessary information.
The government’s education minister, Ed Balls, explained that the new legislation still allows faith schools to identify their position on an issue but simply requires them to present both sides of the argument. “They can explain the view of their faith,” he said, “but what they can’t do is say that they are not going to teach children about contraception, how to access contraception, or how to use contraception.”
He further explained teachers will be required to teach “different views on homosexuality, they cannot teach homophobia, they must explain civil partnership and must give a balanced view on abortion. They must explain both sides of the argument and how to access an abortion. The same is true on contraception as well.”
Faith schools, therefore, will be able to say they are opposed to abortion but they must do so without sounding judgmental and while also educating students on why abortion is acceptable and where and how they can obtain one. As one observer so adequately pointed out, “It is facilitation under the guise of information.”
It is another clear case of the push for sexual rights overriding religious rights. Under the auspice of neutrality and education, the government will be forcing faith schools to teach and reinforce within its own walls a secular view of sexuality that directly contradicts its own. Such an imposition on any person’s religious beliefs should not be tolerated by anyone who believes in freedom of religion.
The bill passed the House of Commons by a vote of 177-68 and is currently under debate in the House of Lords.

Conversation About Names With Rachel

As I was preparing her bath water the conversation went as follows:

Me: Rachel, did you know that Dad wanted to name you Joy? Do you wish your name was Joy?
Rachel: No. I like Rachel. RAY--CHEL.
Me:Your water is nice and hot now, Rachel.
Rachel:I hate hot water. I want it nice and warm.
Me: Okay. It is perfect. Come here Miss Merry Rachel.
Rachel (not coming): Don't call me that.
Me: (picking up Rachel and undressing her): Merry means happy. You are happy, aren't you Rachel.
Rachel: No. I am mad because you called me that. I am getting very, very mad.

A little while later while washing Rachel up, and after hearing the earlier conversation.

John: Are you mad at Mom?
Rachel: yes.
John: You shouldn't be mad at your mom. She loves you.
Rachel: I am just a little bit mad now.

I Really Wish This Was Not True

House passes health care reform, the most sweeping social legislation in more than four decades.


!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!YIKES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Oh, and I am not just lacking in compassion. We do not have health insurance coverage right now.