So, things have been crazy, crazy, crazy around here (and HOT). On Saturday, we went to the wedding of one of my co-workers, actually two co-workers (they met at work!). It was a beautiful wedding. It was outdoor on a "rent-a-farm", the kind where they do corn mazes and pumpkin patches in the fall. They rent their old milking barn (now fixed up like a farm-themed banquet hall) for events like weddings, birthday parties, etc… The wedding was great except for the fact that it was soooo hot and it was outside in the sun at 4 in the afternoon. I think a couple of the guests might have melted.   But then we got to go inside for the reception so it was a little cooler in there.

Matthew is in the process of trying to go from professional house painter to professional photographer, so they actually hired him as the wedding photographer which was very cool! He has done a lot of other types of photography, but this was his first wedding! I'm so proud of him! So, while he was an official guest, he was also working so I didn't get to spend much time with him since he was running around taking pictures. I think he sat down for about 15 minutes to eat dinner and then he was off again.

It was so hot and tiring that Brannan actually fell asleep at the table!

I was a little sad because the wedding was at the same time as the high point of our town's annual celebration. I was hoping to take the kids to the parade and some of the other things (frog jumping contests, bed racing, etc…), but we missed it all. Oh, well… the wedding was great and I'm very happy for them, so I'm not too sad!

So the rest of the weekend involved scrambling around trying to get the house ready to have a real estate agent go tromping through the house. Carpet cleaning had been on my to-do list for awhile, but with an agent coming over in a few days, it turned into a "I need to do this now" kind of thing. So, I rented a carpet cleaner and cleaned my carpets. Did I mention that it was 98 degrees? I know in other areas of the country it has been over 100, but 90 is warm for us here, plus we have terrible humidity. I've been told my countless people that our humidity makes it seem hotter/worse than it really is. So, when it's humid like that I just add 10 degrees to even it out…. So that would make it 108 degrees.    (Seriously you can feel the air touching your skin. Just imagine walking around smothered in a soggy, hot quilt.  )

Matthew worked all weekend, so while I was carpet cleaning, I was home alone with the kids, very hot and grumpy (me, not them). Thankfully, my mom came and whisked them away to the park, a horse show, and the carnival. I know they definitely had a lot more fun with her than if they'd stayed home with me and watched me clean the carpet…. And I was able to get a lot more done and not feel so guilty for being grumpy when they walked across the wet carpet for the twenty-second time.

Yesterday, I took the day off from work to try to get a few more things done around the house. I also had to meet the refrigerator delivery guy… Remember a month ago, the refrigerator door fell off my almost new fridge? (Click here for a reminder). Well, it was pronounced "unrepairable" and a brand, spanking new one was delivered yesterday afternoon (no cost, as it was under the factory warranty).  And, in case you're curious, the door only fell off for the first week  , then the repair guy was finally able to come out and get it to sort-of work. The bottom hinge which is normally three bolts was only being held in by one stripped bolt that couldn't be tightened too much or would have stripped out all the way. So, it was like that for the last three weeks. Every time you opened the door you could feel the bottom rubbing and knew it was only a matter of time before it finally gave way again and thumped onto the floor. But I don't have to worry about it any more (Yay!!)

And the final news is that the real estate agent did come out yesterday and gave us a recommended asking price. We thought it was a little low. I realize that trying to put a price on your home is difficult and can be a little emotion-driven, but trying to be realistic, Matthew and I both think it's worth a little more than some of the comps because it has a "unique-ness" factor. I know when we bought it, it was only $4K more than another similar house a block away. On paper they looked very comparable, but in person, there was a world of difference. We thought we got our house for a steal and would have willingly paid more for ours if the asking price had been higher. So, I'm hoping that's still the case. Without trying to take advantage of any potential buyers, we do need to clear as much as possible if we sell it. I'm not too worried about that though, since if we really do ask too much, then it just won't sell…  However, I just want to get the price right the first time, for us as the sellers and for whoever the buyer might be.

Trixi had mentioned the idea of doing a "Tour of Homes". It was kind of funny because I had already been planning on doing a post on our house similar to what she mentioned, since it's such a cool little house and the Lord really led us to it… To quote the real estate agent when we bought it, "I've NEVER seen a sale squeak by like this and still actually close." She went on to tell us we must have the best luck in the world, and I don't remember our exact answer, but it was basically along the lines that it wasn't luck at all, but the Lord making a path for us. It was really our little miracle house. If it sells, I am sure I will cry. I could be wrong, but I really feel like this is the Lord's will, and it's time for us to move on now. So, that makes it a little easier. I will try to post about the house on Friday as part of the tour, but with everything going on, I won't make any guarantees!

And I would appreciate prayers! This is a huge thing we are embarking on and we really want to make sure we are in His will!

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Sorry that this post is kind of rambling. My mind is going a thousand miles a minute, and my fingers don't always keep up! Hopefully everything is coherent!