House Hunt Update

Just a quick update...the offer we put in on Monday was beat out by a cash offer. So we made another offer on Tuesday - beat out by another cash offer. Made a third offer on Wednesday, were strung out until 5:00 Friday evening and then rejected. They did not want to wait 45 days (the time we're HOPING it will take for the USDA loan to go through) for their money.

So, we are on the hunt again today. We've got 9 houses to look at, beginning at 3:00. We are praying one of these might be The One!

House Hunting

I'm sorry I've been absent for so long! Things are still going well for the Tarters down here in Florida. The reason for my pro-longed absence has been house hunting! When we moved down here we were going to rent...but in our searching, we've found that in most cases it is far cheaper on our monthly budget to buy! So we were able to get pre-approved for a loan and are now on the hunt.

I have dreamed my whole life of having my own home and highly anticipated the search as well. But I have to admit...it is totally physically and emotionally draining! We've had a few ups and downs in the whole process and the Lord is using it to draw us closer to Him. We're not really sure how it's all going to end up...perhaps our biggest unknown is the fact that we are getting our loan through the USDA (and their partnership with Rural Development) and their government funding is set to run out at the end of April. If an offer we submit were to be accepted, as with any government program, it would take time to process and in reality would not happen before the USDA money is thought to be exhausted. Many reports say that congress will make the decision to continue the funding, but we won't know anything for sure.

So for now we are just prayerful. Prayerful that:

1. The Lord would be pleased to allow congress to continue USDA funding.
2. We would find the house that the Lord wants us to be in...sooner rather than later. :)
3. We would not put our trust in realtors or contracts or government but in God and no matter what the outcome, we would find our contentment and satisfaction in Him.
4. The offer that we are submitting at 4:30pm today (3/22/10) would be accepted.
5. In all we do we would be most concerned with the glory of God and making much of Him. Our desire in moving here was to pay off school debt so that we would not be tied down and open to where God would have our family in the future with regards to ministry opportunities. Through much thought and prayer, we feel that buying a home rather than renting would help us to accomplish that goal and are praying that the Lord would be pleased to honor that!

In relation to #4...we put an offer in this weekend and found out this morning that another offer higher than ours was submitted as well. The bank is taking all final offers until 5:00pm tonight. Through counsel and prayer, we decided to go ahead and make one final offer and leave it in the Lord's hands. So we'll see what happens!

Florida NEWs

In the month or so we've been here, life has changed drastically for our little Tarter family. So I thought to fill you all in on life lately, I would comprise a list of all the NEW things that have happened since we got here! Here it goes...

1. New State - Obviously! I've never lived any where but the upper mid-west my whole life so this is definitely new for me. We are currently living on the gulf coast side in Punta Gorda.


2. New Animals - On our way to church a few weeks ago we passed a pack of wild hogs! And I'm not talking a group of bikers! I couldn't believe it! I have never seen a wild pig before! Zach and I really like seeing animals...so it's been neat to see ones we're not used to! :)



3. New Occupation - Loving staying home with Daivd all day! I'm also trying to balance about 10 hours a week of administrative work for Zach's dad's window washing company. How I organize my days between David, admin work and other necessary things like showering, eating, laundry, etc. is still a work in progress!


4. New Hair-do - You may have been able to tell by the picture above...but I got a perm while I was in Michigan. I quickly realized after David was born that I was no longer going to have 15 minutes to do my hair after I took a shower! So 60 seconds to towel dry and scrunch a little curl cream is working well! Now its only a matter of time until I chop it off! Here are before and after shots...



5. New Truck - I finally have my mini-van back! Zach was previously using it for window washing, but now he has to pull a power washing trailor when he works so he had to buy a truck. Not just any truck, I found out after the purchase, but the "truck of his dreams". haha! Well, ONE of the trucks of his dreams anyway! Apparently he's always wanted a Dodge Ram...


6. New Sleeping Arrangements - For the first time since David was born...Zach and I have our own room!! :) And David has his own "nursery" (aka - Micah's room until he comes back from college!) No more tip-toeing around while we're getting ready for bed! I will spare you from pictures of our messy room (since it's our living room, office and bedroom all rolled into one!) but here's a few shots of David's...




7. New Toy - David is like Ready. To. Move. He has had it with his immobility! If he could just get up and run he would! But alas - at 5 1/2 months that's not happening. But we did go ahead and buy him this exersaucer so he at least feels like he's standing up and doing something productive!


8. New Ways to Play! - Night time around here is Daddy Time! And David LOVES Daddy Time! Don't get me wrong, no one can snuggle and comfort like Mom....but no one plays like Dad! :)




9. New Family Dinners! - We've only done this a couple times, but this past week we had dinner together as a FAMILY for the first time! :) David is not eating solids yet so he just sat with us and chewed on his toys and then threw them all over the place! hehe! But it was really nice to all sit down togeter!


10. New Friends - We have really enjoyed getting to know people at our church and have already had a few opportunities to get together with some of them. Most recently I was invited over for a time of visiting & fellowship/play date with a group of women my age and their kids (if they had any). We really had a great time!




11. New Game - David has recently noticed himself a lot more in the mirror and interacting with his reflection! He tries to grab his hands and chew on his face...haha!




12. New Tooth!! - On Friday, February 26th David's first tooth came in! :) We've been awaiting it's arrival for a little while now and knew it would be coming soon because this boy has been gnawing with vigor!! And forget the plastic teethers, the harder the object the better! If you look close enough, you can kind of see his tooth in this picture, it's in the bottom in the middle.


Well I'm sure I could keep adding new things to the list each day...but if I do I'll never publish this post! I'll continue to keep you all posted!! :)