We bought a HOUSE!

Well, we are officially homeowners as of January 14, 2013...that is exciting and scary all at the same time!  This entire process took waaaayyyyyy longer than we expected, but everything works out in the right timing and we now finally have the house.  Biggest purchase of my life.  Well, probably the biggest purchase of most people's lives...anyway. 

We have had to do a LOT of work to get things ready in the house, but in the long run it is worth it!  I have done an IMMENSE amount of cleaning and scrubbing (the tub, under the stove, the kitchen and bathroom floors, the fridge, etc.)...lots of long hours with my hands in my purple rubber gloves.  But things are coming together and it is becoming ours :)  I found out that Landen hates painting, so that has become my job.  Joy.  Can't you see how thrilled I am about that?  Oh well.  I'm a perfectionist so it's probably better I do it anyway.  All we have left to paint is the nursery, but everything in that room needs painted, so it is going to be a big project...I'm still waiting for the motivation to strike to do it...I just gotta bite the bullet and get on with it.  I guess the benefit of me being unemployed is that I have the time to work on the house.  It seems like when I complete a project it makes about 10 more!  I don't know how that happens!  Oh well. 

We're mostly unpacked, so I call that a success.  The stuff that isn't unpacked I don't have a place for, so in the box it stays.  One thing we do need to get going on is hanging all our pictures.  We have had this picture of the Logan temple that we got for our wedding that has never been put up...we finally have the wall space to do it!  I'm so excited!  Again...waiting for the motivation...

Trying to get all this done and being pregnant has been interesting.  I just can't do as much as I used to be able to do.  Some days I get going and then I end up over doing it, so I spend the next day or two doing nothing.  I feel pathetic sometimes, but I have to remind myself that I'm growing a human, so I guess that counts for something. 

It has been soooooooo nice to finally have our own space, completely.  We don't have to worry about someone living above us and if we're being too loud or if they're being too loud.  Not going to lie, I DO NOT miss listening to the 3 dogs running up and down the hallway at 7 am on Saturday morning!  And guess what?  WE HAVE A STOVE!  The simple joys of life.  Can't believe I lived without one for almost 3 years.  Now I have to re-learn how to cook though!  A stove cooks a lot differently than a hot plate, just in case you were wondering.  I've boiled a pan over and burnt some meat already...but it's coming back to me...  Along with the stove comes a real kitchen with counters and cabinets and a double sink!  I had no idea what I was missing apparently. 

The best part of the house?  THE SUNSHINE!  I can actually see it when I'm home!  No more living in a dark, depressing basement.  I absolutely LOVE all the windows and the natural light.  I hardly use the light switches in the house :)  The first thing I do when I get up in the morning is go around and open all the blinds.  It makes me so happy. 

Well, we still have projects to complete...some of them are much more long term than others...but it is fun to have things to do and to make this place our home.  I'm excited to welcome our little baby girl HOME in a few months!  We are truly blessed that it worked out for us to buy this house.  As my mortgage lady said when we first started, "I've been doing this long enough that if it is supposed to work out it will, if it's not, it won't."  It has definitely been a faith promoting process.  This is where the Lord wants us to be at this time in our lives, that I am sure of.  Still at times it doesn't necessarily make sense to make this move at this particular time, but I know it is what the Lord wanted and He can see the bigger picture and has a much bigger plan than I can ever imagine.  I'm grateful to know that He is in the details of our lives and wants what is best for us and if we follow that path He is guiding us on individually we can be truly happy in the life!

Here are a few before pictures of the house.  We don't have a lot of "befores" but I'm fine with that...there are just some things I don't need to be reminded of...and the pictures don't really show all the stuff that needed to be done anyway.

And AFTER!!!  Like I said earlier, we still need to hang pictures and do the nursery and some other projects (like put the vanity, that is sitting in the nursery, in the bathroom), but this is a glimpse of the house since we've been moved in and working on it!  (Just FYI, not all those couches are staying for long run...)

Happy Valentine's Day!

So, we're not really into the whole Valentine's Day thing.  Never really have been.  It works for us.  And maybe I'm just cheap.  But I was bored during the day so I made Landen a little Valentine's Day card/photo album...

Valentine's Day, Hardy Style:

And then we celebrated by opening these bad boys!  Family size...where have you been all my life?!  Love you, Landen!

Pathetic, I know.

We finally got internet hooked up at the house last week.  Is it bad that I feel like I can't live without it?!  I guess this is the world we live in now.  Today I was so tired from the weekend that I literally sat on the couch all day and caught up on my TV shows.  Glad they're online so I can do that.  And of course there was ice cream involved.  I'm pathetic.

I love these munchkins!

Jared and Megan asked us to watch the kids this weekend because they were going to be out of town.  I love these munchkins, so of course we said yes.  We had a really fun weekend!  Nathan, Rylie and Maya were sooooo good!  It was actually kinda crazy how good they were.  Both nights they stayed in their room, didn't come out once...that never happens.  I'm still a little bit in shock.  No breakdowns made for a great weekend.  Friday night we got pizza then watched How to Train Your Dragon.  Saturday we played games then took the kids to Nickle Mania.  They love it there!  It was really fun to go play!  Maya fell asleep while we were there so we took her home and put her to bed.  During her nap we hooked up our Wii and Nathan played for hours.  He absolutely loves it and pretty much asks every time we come down if we brought it with us, so he was a happy camper.  Rylie and I had some girl time and I painted her nails.  In her words, "They are sooooooooo sooooooo pretty!"  For dinner we took the kiddos to McDonalds because they love Happy Meals and the play place.  We're the funnest Aunt and Uncle :)   I like how I only have pictures of Rylie and Maya...I don't know how I always manage to miss Nathan...

I love this picture.  Maya sat there for the entire movie!  They're best friends.  Landen fell asleep though.  (Maya's not asleep, the flash was too bright)

This is a first.

Since we've moved into the house we don't have TV or internet.  Not that we NEED them, but it's hard not having either one.  We have a lot of down time.  I've been re-reading The Hunger Games series and I actually got Landen to start it!  And he's been reading some everyday!  So I had to document it.  (Landen just said, "You make it look like I never read...I just don't read as much as you!"  True, he doesn't read as much as me...)

This deserves a post of it's own...

When I was home, my parents told me to take one last look at my old bedroom because next time I come home it will be changed...that's what they say every time I am home, so we'll see if it happens :)  As I was looking around my room I saw this spot on the wall and had to take a picture for memory's sake.  My sophomore year of high school, the night of the first day of school to be exact, our house caught on fire.  One of the scariest nights of my life.  These burn marks have been there ever since and always remind me of that night. 

 

Most of us were in bed except for Bryan and Jared and some of their friends.  I remember hearing a lot of stuff going on and people running around so I got up to see what was happening.  Mom yelled at me to get outside, NOW!  I ran outside, realizing the front of the house was on fire.  I like how nobody woke me up!!!  And the fire started on our front porch...right below MY bedroom!  Luckily I am a fairly light sleeper...  Anyway, I'm over it now. 

 

We witnessed a miracle that night.  Dad was able to get the hose pulled out and start getting water on the fire and pretty much had it out before the firetruck got there.  This was a miracle because that hose ALWAYS had knots and kinks in it and took forever to pull out all the way, but that night it unraveled perfectly.  We were really blessed that the damage was pretty minimal considering the situation.  And everyone was safe.  I remember sleeping on my parents' bedroom floor that night because I was so scared.  Apparently there was a bird nest in the porch light.  The light had been left on and the nest dried out enough and caught fire, the light burst and there was a wicker chair right underneath it that the flames landed on and WHOOSH!  Fire. Bryan heard the light burst and went out to see what was happening and saw the fire and was able to get everyone up and outside.  It was a crazy night!  But things worked out and now it is just a memory.

INDIANA SURPRISE!!!

I was able to go home to Indiana January 15-24th and it was awesome!  My Dad and I schemed and planned it as a surprise for Mom...and we actually pulled it off!  It was incredible!  We can never surprise her.  Seriously.  She always finds out.  But we got her good this time. 

We had to cover our tracks big time.  Every time Dad and I talked or texted he had to delete them from his phone!  The only time we almost got caught was when she saw the purchase for the plane ticket...but Dad thought on his feet and made up this whole story about how he bought a ticket for her for after I have the baby because it was a really good deal and he bought a thing for $25 so she could change the flight if needed.  He even told her that he just wanted to make sure she would be able to come out for the baby and he saw that plane tickets were going to be increasing by 20% so they would be way ahead on the price...he did a great job covering!  Don't know how he came up with all of that on the spot. 

The other thing we pulled off was planning a baby shower.  This made things a little sketchy by telling more people I was coming home, but I wanted to make sure we had one planned for when I was home.  I got ahold of my friend Kim who put it together.  She's so awesome.  We just made sure to tell everyone that it was a surprise and Mom didn't know I was coming home...and they all kept the secret!  It was perfect.  So glad we pulled it off with so many people knowing I was coming home. 

It was such a great trip!!!  We needed that family time so badly!  It had been over a year since I'd seen my parents...that is way too long.  We spent a lot of time just visiting and spending time together.  It was just what we all needed.  We did a lot of visiting family too.  It is always good to see my siblings and their families.  We made a trip up to South Bend and then up to Michigan to see my Grandma, Aunt Carol, Aunt Ellen and Uncle Dale.  We had so much fun!  The trip was way too short, but I loved every minute of it.  It was hard leaving to come back to Utah...it seems like it gets harder every time I have to leave.

I got to spend a lot of time with my cute little nephew Jonathan.  One of my ultimate favorite things about going home is the food! I LOVE Dad's home cooking. And I always have to hit Arni's and Steak'n'Shake!!!  Yum!

The Baby Shower!  Thanks to Kim, it was amazing!!!  I'm so glad we were able to have one so that Mom could share in my pregnancy a little.  I hate it that she is so far away!