Here's a Start. . .

I feel bad that I haven't given much of an update on our search for a home. I also haven't been very good at keeping in touch with people about how things are going, so hopefully this update will satisfy some curiosity.

I can't believe we're at the end of July already! What a month! I asked Grant what we did with our entire month, and both of us agreed that it felt like all we did all month was search for a home. I haven't been blogging as much because every time I open my computer, I just can't resist but search for new listings of properties. It's very addictive once you get started (and once you no longer have a home and are nearing 8 months pregnant).

I have loved hearing all the support we have from people in our (previous) ward. So many people have made suggestions to our in-laws about houses or situations we might not have known. It has really felt good to know that people want us to come back, and they are trying to look out for us. I'm amazed at how many people have tried to help. I wish I could say any of that help had led us to our dream home, but so far, none of it has.


We've searched West Salem with a fine-toothed comb to try to find something suitable and affordable for our growing family. We even looked at houses out of our price range, hoping we could negotiate something lower because of the poor market right now. Our offer on the foreclosed house (the one that wasn't the only back-up offer) didn't work out. No big surprise. The person who made the first offer closed the deal. Then, we made a long-shot offer on a house asking for more than we could pay (but a great house), hoping to find a desperate seller. That was fruitless, but we figured we had to try. About a week and a half ago, we went out to view another batch of houses in West Salem, basically the last ones left to look at in our price range that we felt were worth seeing. It felt like a huge waste of time. The houses/yards were either way too small or they needed way too much work. Some of them, we wished we hadn't seen at all; it's amazing how some people can abuse a house! And don't get me started on cat lovers!!!


Eleanor started out being really good about looking at houses. She would tag along pleasantly, and run circles in the houses that weren't occupied. We tried to let her play at Grandma's when possible to give her a break from it, but she still has gotten really sick and tired of viewing homes. Her sentiments on the issue have made it rather difficult for me to wrangle her and take in all the details of the homes. I can't say I blame her, though.


I have certainly had ups and downs. It's hard not to with all the hormones and my ticking time-bomb of a belly. After that last batch we viewed in W. Salem, I was discouraged. We never wanted to consider that we might not be able to find a place in West Salem. It's our home. It's where we wanted to stay. I started to cry as I was getting Eleanor out of the car. She asked me what was wrong. I told her, "I just wish we could find a nice house."

She reached up with her little hands and wiped my tears away. Then she said, with all her two-year-old wisdom, "Let's just wivv at Gwamma's."

There's more to tell, but I'll have to finish this later. I'll try to post the rest of the update soon, so check back.