In the blink of an eye ;)

Well, so much to tell here...

Not quite in the blink of an eye, but things have changed so much in two months, it's just amazing.

We've been working like little bees trying to get the house looking PERFECT, because we saw there were several (and I mean, SEVERAL!) homes in this subdivision for sale. So we were keeping an eye on the market, as well as the house. In two months, the value of our home has dropped about 20 grand! And to make it even worse, the base price of our new house has dropped 30 grand! Of course, the builder doesn't even want to begin talking about it AT ALL!

We had to think about this long and hard, and we had to come to the decision of not buying the house after all. We are so disappointed, but at the same time, we know that we cannot sell our home for less than a certain amount. And we can't get the house sold as soon as we had planned because of it. We have seen MANY homes taken off the market at this time. And the fact that two homes just like ours, right down the street, are down on a price war is not helping. We are afraid by the time they do sell, they will drive the home value around here to the dumpsters.

Now, we are trying to see if the builders will negotiate, but they have been a bit tough. I am pretty sure we will be losing the down payment, and although it's not a lot, it was our very last penny. My sister also decided to back out of the deal, but my sister is the SMART sister when it comes to money, so they signed with several reservations, so they can actually back out of the deal. I have to admit, I was very devastated about losing the money. But thankfully, I have a great family and friends that are always, ALWAYS reminding me of all the blessings I have.

First of all, I felt embarrassed praying to God for money. One of those days, as I was opening my computer at the wee hours of the night, because I couldn't sleep, I was praying to God to please help us get that money back. And as I did, I saw an email from a friend. She keeps us updated of the progress her little girl is doing in her battle against leukemia. She's 6. She was diagnosed last October. I saw the hairless pictures, and the beautiful smile, and I just could not keep praying for money. I had to change my prayer to, please help us find a solution to this dilemma, and please help me accept the outcome. My worries really seemed very, very petty at the time.

Then I talked to my dad about it, and was telling him I am very stressed over it. And dad very, very wisely told me: You know, honey? The GREAT part about the ordeal is this: IT'S ONLY MONEY! And he is absolutely right! It dawned on me, it really is ONLY money. Then, my dad reminded me of one of his favorite Bible passages Romans 8:28 - DILIGENTIBUS DEUM, OMNIA COOPERATUR IN BONUM. It is true. Everything works for good for those who love the Lord. But even better, the Lord loves me a whole bunch more, and I know he will help me get over this rather quickly.

And then, Brian. He is my rock! one of those days I was very down and desperate, I was telling him: I'm tired of us making bad decisions! His response? "You know, Paula, when it matters, we have made the best decisions. We chose to say welcome to Nicole when we didn't expect her. When the minister asked us, we chose to say yes, and here we are, going strong. We chose to have another baby, and Connor is now filling this house with joyful noise. We decided to say yes when your dad needed us, and we took out whatever money we could to help him. No, I think you are wrong. We mostly make good decisions, Paula". Isn't Brian AWESOME? I absolutely love this man. Yes, when we put it into perspective, we've made the right decisions when it has come down to it.

And then Coco, this past weekend, came back from Noni and Papa's. She came in so excited, she ran into the kitchen and told me: "Mommy, mommy! I just saw a wishing star for the first time in my LIFE!" Of course, I asked her what did she wish for, and she said: "I had a very hard time deciding, mom, because I REALLY wanted to have two wishes. My first wish was that I get EVERYTHING I want for my birthday. And my second wish was that everybody in the whole wide world has a happy life. I thought about it, and I thought, 'well, I have lots and lots of toys already'. So, I chose that everybody in the whole wide world has a happy life. Do you think God can grant me that wish?"

Wow. I could not ask for more. I am ever so grateful it is only money that we could (almost certainly will) lose. God blesses me in so many different ways, He surely makes up for every penny!

It may sound like I'm very easily ressigned to this, but believe me, it's been hard. It's just that my friends and family makes it a lot easier for me. My dear friend Carlos said to me the same as my family. It's just money. All you have to do is get to work, and eventually you will have it again. That simple, Paula. So get back to work! (he also happens to be my boss :) I know, I know I sound corny... I guess my life gets pretty corny, even when we are having a "major" crisis.

But in any event, since we had started so many projects, now we are stuck trying to finish each one of them! I finished the chairs, and I got the slipcovers for the couches, so I started some of the pillows... I'll get to the rest SOON! Not sure when will I finish the curtains, it's been a little crazy trying to get the kitchen floor, too! My BIL came to install it (Thanks, Mike!!!). It's just vinyl, but it looked sooo cute! We (ok, ok I, not we, just I) wanted to grout it so it would look more realistic. Now, you may think grouting looks sooo easy on those tv home improvement shows, it's a piece of cake: WRONG! We still can't get the haze out of it, it's been a little bit frustrating. And now we still have to finish painting furniture, and painting Coco's room and ours... the list doesn't end.

In the meantime, I'll leave you with these pics of the few things we've accomplished...





These are the two colors we chose for the house. The yellow is the main color, the burnt orange is just the accent color...



Our new slipcovered chair with one of the pillows ( I LOVED the glittery button!)


One of our dinning chairs,



And finally, Connor trying to find out how to operate mommy's undergarments (I just HAD to take this picture... it's a classic blackmailing photo for our "I'll-embarrass-your-teenaged-highschooled-behind-off-if-you-don't-clean-your-room" photo collection...)



Hugs to you all! May you have a great Easter, Passover or just plain and simple great couple of days!