Bringin' the Holy to Toledo

So, once we (and the Webers) moved into the ward, the RS, EQ, and primary doubled in size. Actually, it's not a huge ward, but it's pretty good. We have several residents and medical students in the ward, so transition will be good for Shelly and the kids. Orientation is going okay--PALS, ACLS, Neonatal Resuscitation, ATLS, and learning 3 computer systems. Keeping busy with that. Here's a little about the move.

It was a long drive (and for Shelly and the 3 kids, a long flight), but we made it to Ohio. My parents and I took 3 days to drive our cars out. Shelly took the 3 kids on a 6:00 a.m. flight out of Phoenix to Detroit--the kids loved getting up at 3:30. Shelly said that everything that could have gone wrong, did, but that it still wasn't that bad. The girls both spilled their drinks everywhere, Caden puked, no one took naps, and our new portable DVD player (purchased just for this trip) was a flop. The kids weren't even interested in it. Having said that, the 4-hour direct flight sure beat a 30+ hour drive across country with screaming kids, especially since the tickets were $49.

We were excited for our first home. Just hours before signing, the previous owners told us that "out of nowhere" they started getting some water leaks from a newly-repaired roof and the new tub that they had put in was leaking, causing water stains on the ceiling. I looked at the damage, which wasn't that extensive, so we decided to go ahead and get the home and hold their money in escrow until the problems were fixed. On the day of the signing, our loan dude showed up with a completely different loan than the one he had told us about, the rate was up at 6.75% instead of 6.125% he told us it would be. Between the water damage and the loan issues, we almost dropped out of the deal, but the loan dude promised he would pay the difference until he could refinance for us--no charges this time. We walked into our new home, it reaked of dog, so we have the unexpected expense of new carpet, not to mention the scare that our roof looked like it was collapsing after our first rain storm (it was the lighting, we hope. Sometimes it still looks a little bowed). Meanwhile, the Webers are paying $619/mo for their 3 bedroom 2 bathroom apartment. That may have been a good option.

We have done some painting etc. to make the home more our style. Shelly's been cleaning nonstop, trying to get the house at least presentable. Amazing how dog hair can turn up everywhere, even a few weeks after taking out the carpet and dusting/vacuuming like crazy. Caden always has 3 or 4 dog hairs around his mouth (no idea where he's finding them).

The good news of it all is that we ended up not having to pay for our move at all. We got a $1000 stipend to move, and it covered everything, pretty much. ABF worked great for the Webers and us. Of course, it's still not as good as the military move, but we're not complaining. Here are a few pics.

KSKJC