I have to say, Gregory made one hecka-cute giraffe!
I have to say, Gregory made one hecka-cute giraffe!
I haven’t given a house update in a while, mostly because I didn’t know what to say.
We tried to rent a house, as I explained in my last post, but they turned down our application for sketchy reasons (our FCN worker explained that we shouldn’t have put down Caitlin has a foster child, because that makes people run for the hills, depending on the person….my bad 🙁 ).
Our “bedbugs” house has been all over the map in terms of timeline. We were told last week that we were set to go and that once the tenants moved out, we could occupy it as a rental and carry out the best bed bug treatment. Our fear with that was we wouldn’t have a lot of leverage if anything went wrong in the transaction, (the seller would have the upper hand since he knows we don’t want to move again), and we weren’t getting anything in writing. Then, a week ago, I was told that the bedbug infestation was a lot worse than they thought, and might take multiple treatments and weeks. There was a good possibility we wouldn’t even be in there by the end of the year!
So, I may have had a sobbing meltdown last Friday night. I told Jesse I felt that God had deserted us! Raising a foster child who’s been through a lot is hard enough, but having to do it from afar, while juggling 2 other kids and basically living out of our cars as we go back and forth between my parents’ house and ours? Crazy and insane!
And then, it happened. On Saturday, a short sale that was previously being listed for $291k, just out of our price range, got reduced by $25k, after only 1 week on the market. Jesse knew that this probably meant one thing– the bank was motivated to get it off the books. The listing already stated that one of the lien holders had already approved the purchase price (a major hurdle, if you’re familiar with short sales).
We went to the open house on Monday and LOVED it, despite the funky colors (it’s all maroon and crazy puke orange, with BLACK, I repeat, BLACK baseboards and trim! Who DOES that???). The neighborhood is super cute and well maintained. There is a playground 10 houses down from the house, and even though it has a Paso Robles zip code, it’s in the Templeton school district (a plus for rental or resale value). And, even though it’s not in the same town as our job, it’s only 10 minutes away– 4 exits on the freeway, to be exact.
And….as of a few hours ago, our offer got accepted! We had to beat out someone else, but apparently they liked ours better!
We know it’s a long road ahead, as short sales can be a very difficult, so we could definitely use prayer. Hopefully, an end to this year-long saga/nightmare is in sight!
(Note: here are pictures of Gregory’s Barnyard Cake and Train Cake, along with AJ’s Dump Truck Cake).
It’s really hard for me to believe that a year ago, we were celebrating G’s first birthday! I was 14 weeks pregnant with Anthony, and just beginning to come to grips with what things were going to be like TWO children.
Now, a year later, I have THREE kids. How weird is that?
Very soon I know he will be tired of such house parties and I will be visiting sites like https://www.thebraggingmommy.com/what-can-i-expect-in-an-escape-room/, to find out how I can make his birthday even better.
This party was definitely a lot more low key than last year. I don’t feel bad about this fact, mainly because last year was our first birthday party for our first kid. It was more about us surviving that first year than it was about his actual birthday. ‘Nuff said!
I did all the grocery shopping the day before and made all the decorations while the cake was baking– so, basically, most of this was done in 30 minutes. It probably shows, but who cares?
As I briefly brainstormed his party theme about a month ago, I kept wanting to go for something cutesy, like Noah’s Ark or Dr. Seuss. I really didn’t want to do something generic like SPORTS, for heavens sake. But you know what? In the end, I just had to realize that this was GREGORY’S party, and his two favorite things in the world are icons and balls. So, rather than have an Orthodox themed party, we went with balls, specifically, basketballs. The orange/black color theme right before Halloween made everything a whole lot easier! Score!
The Guests:
Both of our families, Tess, Jerad and Stephanie + their two kids Marshall and Baby Miller, and 3 of Gregory’s older buddies from church.
The Basketball Menu:
Apple “Turnovers”
Carrots for “Dunking”
Watermelon “Balls”
Orange Cuties made to look like basketballs
Orange Gatorade and Balloons for centerpieces
“Shred the Defense” Shredded Pork (okay, that one was a bit of a stretch!)
So, basically, I should probably get out my “typing fingers” and fill you all in on a little secret the Cones/Honeycutts have had brewing for a few weeks….
No, we’re not pregnant. I will probably have to use that as a prelude a million more times before I turn 40.
We are going to be permanently foster-parenting a 15 year old girl!
Yup. And if you’re thinking, “How was THAT even on the radar for them?” great, so were we!
But that’s definitely how this thing is going to work. We’re never going to look back and think, deep down in our hearts, we always knew we wanted to be foster parents, because we’ve never even had a conversation about it!
I’ve always dreamt of adopting kids, but they were always babies, from another land. But never fostering American kids, least of all a teenager!
That’s what makes Caitlin so special. We love her enough that she was able to change and turn around all those “not us!” and “what if?”s that happened along the way. God convicted our hearts and changed them. She went from being one of our students at school to being someone we look forward to seeing every day, someone we love and want to protect. We want to raise her into a Godly young woman, then help her get her first car, go to college, and eventually have a family of her own!
Yes, we have 2 kids under the age of 2. Shhh. We know it will be hard.
But Love is always hard!
Because Caitlin has been in the “system” for a little while, we will have to undergo some special training in order to be better parents for her. We are hoping to eventually become certified as a therapeutic foster home instead of just Non-Family Relatives. It will take a few all-day Saturday classes, including one that starts tomorrow.
It also means that I will probably begin to cut back on teaching so many piano lessons so that I can be more available for her appointments and after-school needs. Jesse, of course, is always home by 3:15 or so, but we would both like to be there as much as possible.
But wait, you say, they live in a 2 bedroom townhome? How’s that supposed to work?
Well, remember our “maybe” house? The one that deviated from “The Plan”? That was our attempt at speeding up the process. Of course, we only did this because we thought that we had found the ONE house in Atascadero that wasn’t a short sale or REO, therefore making the process as quick as any house-buying process can be (45-60 days).
BOY were we wrong! In fact, we were informed a few days ago that we don’t know if the deed of sale will EVER be released from this lawsuit. There is no timeline at all right now– March? December? May? No one even knows.
Big Bummer, right?
Except for God has a huge sense of humor. Remember the house we wanted to buy, back in April? The one that is within ear-shot of where we work? And it all fell through at the last minute?
Well, the one next door, which has a bigger yard and faces a side street instead of the busy road, is available for IMMEDIATE rental!
Yeah, seriously. God just did that.
We still haven’t received official confirmation that we got it, but as far as I know, we’re the only applicants (as of yesterday).
The only thing we needed to do was terminate our current lease. The way they do it is they charge $350, and then make you pay rent until they find someone to fill your spot.
Luckily, I just happened to mention all of this to a co-teacher! Her brother’s family has been looking for a place with a yard and garage, and we started emailing about the possibility of them taking over our lease. As of this morning, they’ve filled out applications and official paperwork to take over at the end of October! Hooray, right? We’ll only be paying a WEEK of rental overlap– perfect for moving in to a new place, a 90 second-drive away!
Isn’t it crazy how when God wants something to work, He opens all the doors?
Until our place is ready and we’re all settled, Caitlin will be staying with my parents and little sister. My mom has been to all of the meetings with me, so we have developed this plan with all of her social workers and care providers. She’ll be sleeping at their house for the next couple of weeks, but we’ll be “parenting” her, so to speak– taking her to appointments, helping with homework, setting the rules, etc.
In fact, the social worker is dropping her off at my parents’ house in less than an hour!
So, I should probably go….and later, start packing…!
Please pray for our Cone family as we go from being “little” to “big”!
My “HOLY CRAP” moments of the week:
1. We’re going to have a teenage daughter.
2. I’ll be 26 with THREE KIDS. When did that happen?
3. My little sister will be an “aunt” to someone a year older!
4. We’re moving again! Noooooo!!!!!!
5. Great, we’re going to need a mini-van sooner than I had thought….