Sunday, July 29, 2012

Closing one chapter, beginning a thrilling new story...

So, I vowed not to become one of those bloggers who disappeared for more than a few days without providing any updates. Well, as loyal readers can tell (and thanks to all our followers for your interest), it has been a while since our last post. But, don't worry, it has all turned out with really terrific results. I apologize for not providing an update sooner, but we were without Internet for a week, and we've been crazy busy the rest of the time. Anyway, here is a much overdue update on what has been going on.

- We closed on July 19th, but not before a little excitement. I had blogged a while back about the fact that we were doing a loan through USDA, and everything seemed to be going well. But, it took a while before we got the final green light from there (there were no issues, they were just really slow), so we didn't know until two days before closing that we had the go-ahead. That meant a lot of last-minute shopping for things (hello ceiling fans!) and we hadn't even packed because we were afraid closing could be delayed a week. But, it all worked out in the end.

- We have a resolution to the rock issue. I'm going to do a separate blog post on this in the next week or so (I promise to do better with the blogging updates), but the final verdict is, we're keeping our unexpected find. I'll get into more of the details in that next post, but the cliff notes version is that the rock could not be removed without major issues, and that Ryan Homes has gone out of their way to make sure we are satisfied with the end result. The transformation isn't complete yet (it should be done in the next week or so), but we are actually quite happy with the end result. Kudos for Ryan for making a difficult situation turn out for the best for everyone.

- Since closing, we have been quite busy with work inside the house. You don't realize how much work it is to unpack until you start doing it. But we are making progress. Lauren, my super wife, has already installed six ceiling fans and only has four more to go. We have most of our garage unpacked, and even have the kids' rooms nicely done.

Ah, but I know what you are thinking. All of these updates are nice, but where are the pictures? Here are some of the photos to show just how well things turned out for us.



We recreated the scene we've seen on other blogs. It was such a special moment to open the front door for the first time as a family. 


Six months ago, we never thought we'd see these so quickly. But since then, we sold one house (in three weeks!) and bought what is truly our dream home. We are blessed so much by all of this - words can't even express what it has been like. 


Our happy kids. They spent their first day at our neighborhood amenity center Saturday, soaking up the first of many fun days there. We haven't been able to have a lot of those kinds of adventures lately with everything going on, but soon they can look forward to many more days like that. 


A little surprise we had in store for the kids. We put their names on their doors, with a sign that showed a little of their character (guess what Hannah is interested in). 


McKenna shows how happy she is with her new room - now she won't have to share with her sister anymore. 


Alden is becoming my sports buddy. We can't wait to play NBA Jam and cheer on the Panthers in our new home. 
  

Our last look at our kitchen before we moved everything in. Much of the house doesn't look this neat right now - there are still many boxes left to go, but we have made a lot of progress in just over a week. 


What better way to celebrate than to break out a little Rock Band? Alden and Hannah prepare to sing "21 Guns" by Green Day with me on guitar and McKenna on drums. We look forward to many more "concerts" in our newly created bonus room

I'll try to post more pictures soon, including the final version of the rock. (you won't want to miss that one). Thanks again for reading, and we hope everyone's experience with Ryan Homes turns out as well as ours did. 





9 comments:

  1. I'm so happy for you! I look forward to continuing to read your blog posts :)

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  2. Congratulations! The photo of you all opening the front door together as a family brought a tear to my eye. What a special moment! Thank you for sharing. I'm looking forward to sharing that moment with my family in just a few short months.

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  3. What an awesome family! Congratulations! You made this so special for the kids -- they are truly lucky to have you and Lauren as parents. Look forward to reading many more blog posts, and can't wait to see what they did with the rock!

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  4. So so awesome! Congrats and best wishes on a happy new home!

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  5. Awww very exciting congrats!!!!!!!!!!!

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  6. Yay! Can't wait to see more pics!

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  7. Congratulations! I am going to have to borrow/steal the picture idea of the family opening the front door and the names on the kids' doors.

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