Sooo... lots has happened since the last blog. My last day with my
current job is today! YAY!!!!!!!!! Charlie and I are heading to Indy
tomorrow to get his "new" commuter car. Well, not new, but new to us.
:) Its a VW Jetta... TDI - just what Charlie has wanted for a while.
Its very cute, and yes, I know a "mans car" shouldn't be cute - but it
is! :) I have one more form to sign for the house today, and closing
will occur sometime in the next two weeks. Next week will be spent
packing/moving. We should be completely out by Saturday. Then, I
start my new job on the following Monday. It has all worked out
perfectly. I feel God has really been with us, and it is truly meant
to be. I feel blessed beyond what I deserve! Gotta run for now... I
will try to update more later!

Tarah

I haven't posted any updates, because there really hasn't been much to update about. Everything has been done and we are now waiting on the banks.

I did find me a car and right now it looks like we are going to make a trip next weekend to go pick it up.

We should be moved out of the house in the next two weeks. It's going to be nice to get to see my family more often once the move is complete.

Charlie

It has been two weeks since the house went under contract, and some
days it seems like it has been an eternity. The house inspection and
survey are both complete. Charlie is calling today to schedule the
termite inspection, and the only thing left is the appraisal. Then,
we shall wait some more… Let me remind you that I am not a patient
person. Charlie catches most of my frustration with the length of the
process. I do realize the amount of time it takes is out of our
hands, but it just makes me feel better to vent my frustrations. My
apologies to Charlie for all of my complaining and questions during
the process… please bare with me. I am looking forward to this whole
process being over, which makes the days seem to drag on. Closing
should occur sometime during the last week of October, but we haven’t
been given a specific date yet. Even if we had been given one, we all
know those are not set in stone… so my estimate is probably as good as
any date we could be given right now.

Charlie and I discussed houses more this weekend, and we are now
leaning toward an A-Frame. His cousin has one, and we went to visit
her this weekend to take a look at it, and I really liked it. Charlie
really wants a house out of the norm… and A-Frame’s are not
excessively common in the area. So, as of now, that’s what it looks
like it is going to be.

Ok, now that I have bored everyone to death, there really are no new
developments to share… but this entry has possibly saved Charlie from
a gripe-fest this evening… so I am sure he appreciates it. 
Until next time…

Tarah

Yesterday was the home inspection. We haven't got the final report yet but from talking to the realitor he said there were no major issues and he thought there would only be a few minor things in the report.

Every thing seems to be moving along. It won't be long now.

Charlie

Quick Update: I just talked to the realitor and the home inspection is scheduled for Wednesday so it looks like things are moving forward.

I didn't really do anything with the house site this weekend. I worked on fixing my utility trailer which needed a new deck. Dad and I managed to finished at all up. This weekend depending on weather I might get back to clearing the drive way.

Charlie

I spent yesterday morning and this morning making sure the house is ready for the home inspection. I just wanted to go through and double check everything and make sure there isn't anything that could hold up the process. We are waiting to hear when they are going to send someone out to do the home inspection.

I'm trying not to get to excited yet and I can tell Tarah is doing the same. It will be nice when this is done and final.

Charlie

Quick Update:

We are under contract on our house. After the guy looked at the house this evening he decided to put in a offer. After a little back and forth we came to an agreement. Closing is supposed to be in 45 days if everything works out. I know we have been waiting for this but it's hard to believe it's really happening.

When I was on the phone with Tarah making the deal it didn't really hit me. Then a few minutes later all the memories of our time in this house started flooding in. I'm happy to be taking a step forward in our lives together, but at the same time I'm a sentimental person and I'm a little sad inside leaving our life here behind.

Charlie

We made this weekend another 3 day weekend and took Friday off. I was able to get some more trees cut and cleaned up for our future house site. I still need to clear the road coming in to the site and install some culverts. The picture is the future view from our living room.

Friday we spent time with friends watching the Marsahll vs WVU football game. I think Tarah was a little crushed that Marshall got so close but ended up loosing it in the end. But it was nice to spend the time with friends and Alex got to play with his little friend Chloe.

We are getting more and more excited to move all the time. It seems like it's getting closer. We are hoping our house sells soon. We have another showing tonight and at least one other couple still interested.

Charlie

…and… we wait! Just when we thought the waiting might be over… bam!
No such luck! We got an offer last Thursday. It was a great offer
(minus the 60 day until closing)… we didn’t even need to counter
offer. This was it - our house was under contract!!! Well, all of
that lasted for approximately 45 minutes! No sooner did we find out
we were under contract, did we get the call telling us we were NOT
under contract. Talk about disappointing. It felt like someone
realized I was getting too much happiness, and decided to come steal
it away. It broke.my.heart. Charlie recognized immediately that I
was GREATLY disappointed, so he came along with some encouraging
words. He knows I do not take disappointment well, so thankfully he
put his disappointment aside, and focused on trying to cheer me up.
To Charlie: Thank you for that – I love you! We do have another
person who is very interested, at least from what we are told. I
mean, she has been to look at the house 3 times in a 5 day span. She
just can’t make that final step. Apparently the idea of change is
holding her back. I am hoping that for whatever reason, she makes an
offer this week. That would be WONDERFUL. I do realize our house has
only been on the market just over 2 weeks, and that some people wait
months and months for even their first offer. I am trying my best not
to get discouraged. I am trying to be optimistic. I am really
trying… its just hard. As mentioned previously (and likely to be
mentioned again) – I am just not a patient person.

On to better things… Charlie worked to clear several trees off our
house lot this weekend. It already looks much better! There are
still 3-4 more we need to clear before any excavation is done, but
every step is progress made. We also have a house plan that is likely
to be “the one”… assuming other factors work in our favor. Only time
will tell.

Well, just wanted to give an update, since neither of us had posted in
over a week… until next time.

Tarah

The waiting game... I have always hated the waiting game. Those who
know me will agree that I am not a patient person. Now I have no
option, I MUST wait! Our open house was yesterday, and from what we
have been told it was very promising. There were eight groups who
attended, and a typical "good" open house usually has three groups. Of
those eight, four seemed to be very interested. To me, eight doesn't
seem like a lot (of course, I want TONS of people, because that means
more potential buyers), but I have been assured by more than one
person that it is way more than normal. So, I will take their word
for it. Now we must wait to see if anyone wants a second look, or if
the first look was enough for someone to make an offer. I am trying
to be optimistic, but trying to keep myself from getting too excited
at the same time. A difficult task for me, but I am trying
nonetheless. Lots of prayers, and crossed fingers that something
happens soon.

As a side note... I had a wonderful weekend of celebrating our
anniversary with some friends, and celebrating my birthday with
family! Love all of you guys!!

Until next time...

Tarah

With the realitor holding an open house this weekend I really needed to get the garage cleaned up. Thursday before work I drove to Ripley and picked up my utility trailer. So this morning I got up and started loading it for a trip to the dump. I also managed to load the back of the 4runner with some smaller things that need to go to Ripley. All that's left is to load the trailer up with the bigger things from the garage I'm not going to need any more and take them to Ripley in the morning.

I'm hoping this weekend is relaxing. Tomorrow evening Tarah, some friends, and I will all be going out to eat to celebrate our 4th Anniversary. It just so happens a couple we are good friends with were married on the same day as Tarah and I. The only bad part is we didn't get to go to each other's weddings.

Also this weekend we will be having a cookout Sunday to celebrate Tarah's birthday which is actually today. Happy Birthday Sweetie.

Really hope the open house goes well this weekend and we get some interest in the house.

Until Later,

Charlie

It's been nice to finally have the house finished for the most part. I have been taking the last couple of days off from working on the house. The last big hurtle will be getting the garage cleaned out. It is a bit of a mess since it has been my work shop while working on the rest of the house. I'm going to try and get up in the morning a run to Ripley to get my utility trailer so I can make a trip to the dump and so I can haul some of my tools I won't need any more back to Ripley this weekend.

I got some good news from the Realtor today, he wants to have a open house Sunday because it seems like the house is getting some interest.

It's hard I find myself getting very excited to move and getting started with our new life, but at the same time I have to be logical and tell myself it could be a while before we sell the house and I don't want to get let down if it doesn't move fast. I guess all I can really do is have faith that things will work out.

Charlie

Hi all - it is Tarah. This is my first entry on our SimplyPetersen family blog. Please bear with me, as I am new to this, and have never been great at things of this nature. As Charlie posted in his previous entry, I met with the realtor yesterday evening. I got all of the paperwork completed and signed, he took pictures inside and outside the house, and then he put the FOR SALE sign in the front yard. He is coming back this evening to put the lockbox on the door, and give me copies of all the paperwork. At this point I have lots of emotions. I am excited to start a new chapter in our lives, and build our own house. I am nervous about making changes, because as those of you who know me will agree - I am a worrier. I am a little sad, because as Charlie mentioned - this was the first house we lived in together, and it was Alex's first home. Lots of good memories were made here, but I am sure we can make more good memories in our new home too! I will be moving farther from my family, but it is only a little over an hour away. So, that part doesn't worry me too much. Yes, I will miss being so close to them, but at the same time I will not be too far away. I am hoping the process is a quick one, but you never know when it comes to the housing market. It could be under contract in a matter of days, weeks, months, or dare I say - it could take years! The realtor seems to think things will go quickly, but even he cannot know for sure. Lots of hoping and praying that it goes quickly, and we can move on to the next chapter in our lives together. Until next time...

I just wanted to write a quick update. Tarah just meet with the realitor and the house is on the market. This is just the first step to our new life.

Charlie

This weekend was productive and tiring. It started Saturday morning with Alex going with Daddy to pickup the U-haul trailer. The GPS took us astray but we managed to make it there a little later then we intended.

When we got home with the trailer Tarah had already started moving stuff, getting it ready to load. Tarah and I packed as much stuff as we could in the trailer and headed up the road. We had to stop in Point Pleasant to drop Tarah off to do a little shopping with a friend. Then Alex and I made our way to Ripley. Even though it was just driving in the car it's still really nice to have some guy time with my little man. It won't be long and we will be going on little adventures together just the two of us.

Once in Ripley we had some fresh home made pepperoni rolls for lunch. Then Dad help me unload the trailer. As we were setting on the porch taking a break after all the hard work the rain set in. Lucky for me we had managed to get everything unloaded before the rain started because it keep raining off and on the rest of the day and into the night.

That evening Tarah caledl after she finished her shopping trip and we all meet in Ripley to have some dinner. We had planned on going to the dirt track races that night, but with all the rain we decided against it. So instead we headed to Tractor Supply and Walmart to pick up a few things.

Sunday we had dinner at my parents. It was nice to spend the time with family because I knew as soon as I got home I was in for some cleaning. We left after Tarah and my sister cleaned up the kitchen for mom after dinner.

On the way home we dropped the u-haul trailer off. As soon as we came in the door the cleaning started. I have to give it to Tarah because about half way through the evening my back just couldn't take it any more and I had to give up and lay on the couch, but Tarah just stayed with it.

So this morning I had to get up and fix a few little things and clean some more but I think the house is now ready to go on the market. If everything works out Tarah is going to meet with the realitor this evening and sign all the paper work.

Today I made good progress on a lot of little things. I didn't get everything I wanted done, but there is always tonight. We are getting so close to listing the house. I talked to the Realtor today on the phone and if everything goes as planned the house should be on the market Monday.

In some ways it's going to be hard to leave. This is the first house Tarah and I lived in together. It will always be my son's first house wither he remembers it or not. But at the same time we will be able to start our lives anew. Leave behind some of the bad habits and hopefully pickup some good ones moving forward.

All we can do is make the best of the time we have left in our current home and hope who ever ends up with it can make as many good memories in it as we have been able too.

Charlie

Didn't get much done in the way of work on the house today. Instead I went to the court house to renew the license on the 4Runner. Since I was already in town I called up some friends I used to work with and we had lunch.

Before coming to work I was able to reserve a U-Haul trailer for this weekend. We are planning to move some of the bigger items we don't need at the house to clean it out some to get it ready to sell.

Lucky Tarah has been more productive then myself this week and has been getting things packed and cleaned up in the evenings after work.

We are really hoping to have the house all cleaned up and on the market at the beginning of next week. Then we just have to hope and pray it sells in a timely manner.

Charlie

It's been a month or more now since my wife and I decided to make some changes in our lives. One of the first steps is going to be selling our current house. I have been working on the house getting it ready to sell for the last few weeks. Right now it's looking like we should be able to put it on the market by next week.

Once the house is sold we will be moving back to stay with my parents until we can get a house of our own. I'm really hoping during this whole process we can simplify our lives. I'm going to try and document our efforts on this blog.