Still no update...

We still have no update regarding the loan verdict.. and the Patience part of me is getting hard to maintain. Here are some quotes I have been reading myself to keep sane

I'm absolutely positive all of these are true, accurate and frankly great advice but jeez it is hard telling myself to keep waiting these days..

 

We are nearing the end of packing we have a bit of the kitchen left and then the bathroom. We have to break down the crib and get the last of the laundry done. Tomorrow my friend is going to watch Jack so I can deep clean the apartment, deodorize the carpets and throw out the couch, bed and the final stuff that didn't make the cut. Sophia can clearly tell something is up, Jack's been restless over teeth, Casey's stress is high and Ender remains wild...me I'm just going insane. 

 

I've hardly come to the reality that we are leaving in less than 48 hours, leaving my friends, my comfort zone, a place I build a life and this time it is for real. 

 

These last few days I have said see you later to some great friends and I know that is corny but I refuse to say goodbye! I will travel near or far to see them once again someday soon whether that be San Diego or Italy!

 

Our PLAN B is coming along quite nice  just in case it is needed; I found a great layout for a pole barn house that was near what Casey and I had drawn up and have been reaching out to my family since many of them have experience in construction. I have also been reading a great blog about a shipping container house just in case we go that route but it seems unlikely at this point. We are going to look at some land in Flagstaff IF we haven't heard about the loan or if it gets denied and there are a few options in Texas as well but the down payment is a little steep. 

Just wanted to get a quick blog in while everyone is napping before we head out to dinner stay tuned for more updates.

Brittany-

Here a few lost pictures for your viewing from our trip to Laguna Beach before Disney Land (double click photo to enlarge)

 

Itinerary Planned

Today marked the start of official packing around this small apartment; we didn't receive the much anticipated update regarding the loan Friday so we figured why not pass the weekend quickly...although Casey is now done reporting to base so we will be heading out soon! (see bottom for travel details)

This is what the house currently looks like...

We taped off an area the size on our trailer inside so everything that is packed goes there!

 and of course those wooden puzzles that are missing one piece! UGH hoping to find them soon and be done with Jack's toys and clothes.

Of course we gathered some cute pics of the man himself!

Oh and some of the lazy non-helping dogs...

Travel Itinerary:
Leave Wednesday  29th a.m. stay in Flagstaff
Thursday 30th stay in Flagstaff check out some land and hopefully see Jami and Brad
Friday Halloween we will be visiting Tucson for Casey's nephews homecoming/football game!
and of course enjoying the company of everyone!!!
Saturday heading to Casey's moms house and the rest is to be announced once we hear about the loan.

Until next time ...and with how busy my schedule is it may not be until we get to our destination in Flagstaff that I have time to blog again.. UNLESS of course we get the update about our loan.

Those of you who have talked to me recently know that I will be quite glad to hear the results of the loan whether we get it or not.... I have just had to let it go for now. To much weight on myself. Time will tell.

Brittany-

End Goals

Yikes these last two weeks have been rough for those of you who don't know or are feeling slightly out of the loop we were? are? in the process of buying a house. Since well January...YES THAT LONG. We had a lot of credit issues to work through and have been quite active on fixing them; we weren't trying to go about this alone or do some major surprise but were trying to navigate through the process with as little stress as possible. That has completely back fired; we have a diligent wonderful real estate lady in Texas who has been helping us every step of the way but unfortunately she doesn't have a magic wand to make our loan go through even though we had a pre-approval. Yes people you can still be DENIED ugh I hate that word after all my hard work...yes you can be denied even with a pre-approval.

We haven't lost complete hope yet there is still one lender working on our loan and we should hopefully here back tomorrow..Friday...10/24/14 the hours are slowly passing and I am almost certain that tomorrow day will take forever to come or more than likely forever before we hear the "verdict" from this lender. 

On a better note regarding the POSSIBLE house it did pass the VA appraisal and private home inspection. The foundation needs some work and we had a great company come in and inspect further and give us an estimate. The house is quite cute just over 1500sq ft with a potential guest house on one acre. 

Oh and another side note.. BANKS ARE SO CORRUPT I read an article today which I had known this information early on and through tons of research but seeing it after this loan was denied made me so incredibly angry. Banks get to choose who they lend to AND they make an astronomical amount of money off interest in the first 1/4 years of your loan! See this blog post: http://livelikeyouarerich.com/3-secrets-to-save-102533-35-on-your-mortgage/#_a5y_p=1820796

(the information given is true and disturbing to say the least)

Makes me slightly more okay with our Plan B if this falls through.

There is absolutely no doubt that Casey has been handling the stress better than me. I am hardly making it through the day with out at least one mental break down. Maybe it is the lack of ME time or just the stress of house buying, moving, working and not being able to plan etc. but either way I have decided to take a step back and realize a few things due to this:

1. Things happen how they are meant too

2.  As long as our family is happy and achieving the lifestyle we want I'm fine with any outcome regarding the house

3. Be flexible there is always more than one way to get to our end goal

4. LET THIS BE A JOURNEY and ENJOY IT!

I think there was plenty more to this post but my brain is so fried after this ever so long week...

ahhhh yes!

Everyone is curious as to our plan and what is Plan B

Well our plan is to leave California no later than Halloween (that's when our lease is up)but hoping for sooner like the 28th!

 We will travel to Carrizozo New Mexico where Casey's mom lives we have not yet decided a route, the length of our trip/stops but we will be heading that way. Depending on the how tomorrow goes we will either be there for quite sometime or we will be leaving to head to Texas to close on the house.

PLAN B

 Oh boy. Where to start. Well like I said we will go to New Mexico which is conveniently located between Flagstaff (where my heart may still be) and Austin area (where Casey's seems to be) we will probably venture to both locations and scout for land. We plan to buy a chunk of land (over one acre) and live in something temporary not to sure what that will be yet or where and during that time build something slowly whether it is a shipping container house or a pole barn home has yet to be determined. We have been for a long time researching and thinking of both as a viable option to living the life we want which is slower, more family oriented, possibly off grid and debt free! When we find out the news we will have more details on this plan for sure. I am off to enjoy some time with my husband while the dogs and baby are peacefully asleep... prepare for another long blog post tomorrow! 

 Brittany- 

    

Some sayings that have got me through this week:

         

Dustin: A Brave Soul

This blog goes out to a wonderful guy I had recently blogged about on the Urban Street Angels website if you missed it here it is http://urbanstreetangels.org/meet-an-angel/. He recently re-homed his wonderful dog, came back to San Diego from San Fran and became single. He is ready to start his new life and end the many years he has spent on the streets. This weekend he was in invited into someones home with two of his best friends he enjoyed some guy time watching football, eating dinner, taking a shower and enjoying what most young adults don't think twice about. When I met them at church this morning his smile lit up not only the room but my heart. He was so happy today... the happiest I have seen him since meeting him! I took them to Ocean Beach in the back of the jeep wrangler for a program meeting and I could hear them talking and laughing amongst themselves. It made my entire weekend. These young men have decided that it is the time in their life to take the next step; Dustin is clean and Rob is on his way but that is not all this journey entails. This is the part where you find out who are you are! We will be assisting them with finding a program that fits their needs; housing, GED help, job opportunities, detox etc. 

They think that myself and a few other leaders have inspired them but really they inspire me. They inspire me to not only love and accept people more openly but to find who I am and want to be as a wife, mother and person. I am blessed to have met Dustin many months ago and now his friends and I am even more thankful that I am part of their journey in self discovery. Whether near or far I am always a text, email, or phone call away. I will be thinking of them and blessing their paths every step of the way.

Brittany-

Patience

Today has been quite the test of patience. 

I realize that we are so close to the end of this journey and that we need to hang on twenty more day but this week was suppose to be exciting as we locked down some key details in our plan but of course things don't always go as we would like. So for now we must be thankful that we have the opportunity to go through this process and that we have an amazing group of family and friends to support us. The right moment has come many times in this journey and we are just waiting for one last one; which will come soon! Right now we are going to accept whatever happens and when and turn it into something good instead of stressful. 

So until the last right moment of this journey comes...

Brittany-

Living Life

Last night as I sit on the couch finishing my last final of the quarter I hear Casey in the kitchen asking Jack "what is daddy cooking?" and then extreme bursts of giggles! My heart was melting and it was nearly impossible to finish this last assignment when they made an appearance in the living room like this! It was the cutest thing ever and Jack could not stop laughing. I quickly finished my final assignment and enjoyed the evening with these two amazing boys.

 

Earlier yesterday I had the pleasure of seeing our great friends in Coronado and their stunning little girl for the second time. My heart is sad that I will probably only see them once or twice more before we go; but I know whether near or far they will always support us & we will to them as well.

 

Today Casey and I both have off so we are going to do something as a family maybe the Zoo? since my pass expires soon or possible the park..who knows! Anything to get out of the house; amongst finals and kitchen laughs we purged the house yesterday! Dropping off a ton of donations and discarded so much unneeded junk; we are moving as little as possible and starting from ground up in our new home which is just what we need; a fresh start.

 

So as the days pass us by and you as well just remember

"When you live and laugh abundantly you live a beautiful life"

 

Brittany-   

She believed she could so she did...

 

I have lived in California for nearly five years and every year that passed I said that I would try to surf..and by try to surf I mean get the heck in the beautiful yet cold Pacific Ocean. Well today I believed that I could so I did! My wonderful friend Maren & I had planned  a beach day a few weeks back and I joked about her husband teaching me to surf (he builds/shapes surf boards for a living..so clearly he's experienced!) and the joke became reality! He was willing to put up with my not so great swimming, not so great paddling and absolutely no experience in the ocean...unless you count dipping my toes in and further more no skills regarding surfing! But he believed in me and I believed in myself the waves were quite large...well to my standards but he was really great about being patient and trying to catch me the right one to attempt to stand. We will just say this IT IS NOT AS EASY AS IT LOOKS! After a few failed attempts I finally some what stood up and it was awesome! The whole day was awesome. Being outside getting vitamin D & enjoying good conversations, laughs and waves was more than I could have asked for on this wonderful Saturday. 

 

 After our beach morning came to an end I met up with Casey to go purchase a trailer out in Santee; it is a little bigger than we had originally wanted or needed but for the money it was great quality and one of the better deals we were able to find on a budget. The whole experience was kind of "surreal" I was thinking...wow I'm well were actually leaving this place for good in less than a month. A place were we became part of who we are & the place that we met. We have made many great friends and memories here and we will hopefully do the same during our next adventure. San Diego will be dear to my heart for along time but I'm ready to raise Jack in the "country" and let him enjoy and learn the things we did as kids; having a yard to run around in, playing in the fall leaves, fishing in the summer and learning to ride a bike down a gravel road. Memories. 

Brittany-

Enjoy the little things

Today I enjoyed watching my son interact with three beautiful kiddos.

Today I enjoyed conversation with one of my favorite ladies!

Today I enjoyed reading Mini Farming: Self-Sufficiency on 1/4 acre.

Today I enjoyed making special tuna sandwiches for the homeless. 

Today I enjoyed the little things and it felt great.

In addition to all the little things I enjoyed in the moment i've started a list of things we need to do once we get moved.

1. Gate or fence area (for dogs)
2. Fridge (frame and chalkboard it)
3. Get washer and dryer 
4. Get COUCH & BED
5. Get and setup Rain barrels (off clist)
6. chicken coop and chickens
7.  New bee equipment/suit and smoker & rehome bees from this ladies house!
8. Start garden for spring
9. Tank less hot water heater & toilet setup (Surprise to come)
10. Install 1930s stove/gas
11. Paint and create dream kitchen!
12. Add a brick wall in house Living room (?) 
13. Add claw foot tub & old vanity!

The list will to continue to grow I'm almost positive...
But most importantly through all of the projects we must 

ENJOY THE LITTLE THINGS!

Brittany- 

The first of many...

If you're reading this then you must be someone quite special; as a family we have decided to slow life down a bit starting with social media. Casey had deleted Facebook months ago and I was still lingering about "oh I need for the nonprofit, oh I need it to connect with moms, oh I need..." nope defiantly do NOT need anything besides what is in front of me and in my heart. So today I took the "plunge" and deleted Facebook well the OLD Facebook I forgot to look at the exact number but a few hundred friends..how does that happen? My new goal is to remain under 40 people that includes family and under five groups!Facebook will be more of an avenue to link to blog and allow CLOSE family and friends whether near or far to keep up with our adventure.

This month will be nothing less than insane before our big move which is still under wraps until we get everything figured out. But I can tell you there has been some major changes around here as far as mind set & goals as a family.

1.  Casey will be focusing on his doctorate degree full time 

2. I will only be working enough to pay our bills and work 

towards our debt the rest of my time will be spent at home! 
I will remain in school online. 

3. Be completely debt free of Credit cards & Auto loans by 2016 

4. Start our hand in homesteading (Garden, bees, chickens..etc!)Hopefully generate income from this down the line. 

 5. Raise a smart, respectful, spontaneous,loving, adventurous little man! 

6. Work on our relationship as a couple & our faith as a family

 7. Make our house into a HOME 

8. Change our mind set: SLOW DOWN AND ENJOY 

Thank you for accepting our request to watch, guide, and aid in our future and new endeavor. 

The Thompsons