Countdown to Closing!

Last night Travis and I met met with the mortgage broker (again) to continue slogging through all of the paperwork that needs to be done. Things are picking up speed now, and we're finding ourselves meeting or otherwise communicating with crowds of home-ownership related people every day! If it's not a meeting with the mortgage broker than it's emails with the realtor or phone calls to homeowners insurance agents or the appraiser or the inspectortheelectriciantheplumber...the list goes on and on! And hopefully soon we'll be shaking hands with our neighbors-to-be! (The plan is to try to meet them before it's too late to back out of buying the house...just in case they're ax murderers!). Just kidding...I know they're not ax murderers because I've already looked up the crime stats and registered sex offenders in our new neighborhood! :)
We LOVE this house. It's funny because I fell in love with this house the same way that I fell in love with Charlie...Like Charlie, I saw the picture and just felt my heart skip a beat (kind of like the first time I saw Travis down the aisle of the horse stable, for that matter!). Then we "met" the house and everything seemed like a perfect fit, but also a work in progress (a lot like Charlie!). We love the house because it's a good size, it's a block away from the daycare we're signed up for, and it's close enough for me to walk to work every day. It's in an older neighborhood with big, beautiful trees and it's a quiet part of town and it's close to the river (but not in the flood plain!) and close to downtown and the grocery store. We are IN LOVE with the house because it's still got a lot of it's 1950's charm...original hardwood floors, cute ranch style and adorable nooks, built in cabinets, etc. And we are in love with the house for all of its modern updating...such as a dishwasher and central air conditioning! But, the moment that we knew this house is the perfect one for us was the moment that we saw the nursery! Right next to the master bedroom is a nursery that is decorated with the jungle theme that Travis and I were interested in! We couldn't believe it!
Of course, there are some things that need work. We need to shore up the firewall in the garage and do some landscaping around the house to make sure that water doesn't ever come into the basement (a common problem here in below-sea-level-land). We need to put batteries in the smoke detectors and replace/re-glaze some windows. We need to caulk the downstairs bathtub and fix a shoddy door in the breezeway. There are loads of little projects! But, that's kind of how we operate (if you know Charlie then you know the truth of this!). We fall in love and then we get to work! So, as we go through this complicated closing process keep your fingers crossed for us...at this point Feb. 1st is our move-in date! Yay!