UPDATE...Warning.....It is LONG!

First, let me say that I HATE the fact I can't post pictures! A good blog needs photos in my opinion. But I don't have my own computer and the computer I do have is a MAC and I have NO idea how to download and post pictures. Hopefully, that will soon change. Until then....please don't go away!

Update #1 Our house in Idaho....As far as we know things are progressing as they should. I guess you can never get too comfortable in these economic times especially when it comes to someone purchasing a home. The couple was pre-approved for the loan amount but I don't think I will celebrate just yet. We are however going to Idaho this weekend to go and pack up the house. Dallan and I will fly up Saturday morning. Dallan will fly home Monday night and I will follow on Thursday. That means three whole days by myself!!

Update #2 Where we will move our things to....We put an offer an a home in West Phoenix a couple of weeks ago and it looks like that is going to go through. Now I am not an experienced home buyer but the last two homes we purchased were a piece of cake compared to how things are handled now. In the "good ol' days" you would go house hunting, you would find one you loved, you perhaps negotiated a little on the price, you then signed your life away, and wham the house was yours. This is NOT the way it is done now. At least here in Arizona...Foreclosure capital of the country. Unless you are buying a home directly from a builder (people aren't selling their houses right now so don't count on buying an owner occupied home) the process is EXTREMELY frustrating. You go and look, you make multiple offers because the chances of a bank coming back with an answer in a timely manner is near impossible. And then you wait....and you wait....and you wait some more. During this process I have become even more confused at the government bailout for these banks who are in trouble. I mean you would think if they were hurting for money they would respond a little more speedily to someones offer to purchase one of their properties! Sorry I will get off my soapbox. Anyway, we had the home inspected yesterday and everything looks good. It is a beautiful house. In fact Dallan keeps saying we don't deserve to live a house this nice. I am not sure what that means exactly but....I will take it whether I deserve it or not. It is a single story home (very nice for the summer heat and your electricity bill) and is a little over 3000 square feet. It was built in 2007 and has never been lived in. Yes, someone had it built, paid for every upgrade imaginable and then couldn't pay for it. We were very fortunate to have found it. Although there are good deals out there finding a house that hasn't been trashed by an angry home owner who is being foreclosed on is also near impossible. Again, nothing is set in stone as of yet but we are once again crossing our fingers that things will continue to go smoothly.

Update #3....the rest of the Lott's....Dallan is still loving his job especially since he heard Basic American Foods laid off a ton of people after Christmas. It looks like our decision to move was a good one. Madelyn is loving school and we love watching her little mind grow. She is reading now and tells me very matter of factly to "sound it out mom" when I tell her I don't know what something says. Good advice! She also thinks her beautiful curly hair is "ANNOYING". She asks me every morning if I will straighten it which I tell her no. It takes a long time and she won't get up early enough for me to do it. So she insists on wearing it in a ponytail on the weekdays and straight on the weekends. She is only 5! She shouldn't care YET! Jackson just continues to get bigger and cuter. He is a smart little guy. His favorite show is SuperWhy on PBS. Madelyn has taught him how to count and he is almost to twenty now. He loves going to class on Sundays and asks if he too can go to school when we drop Madelyn off in the morning. We can't wait to get into our own house so we can start the adoption paperwork. Madelyn keeps telling us she wants a baby sister and that our family needs 5 people not 4. I hope she is right. Well that leaves me....I am just trying to survive the final days of not being in my own house with my own things. I have learned many things during the last 6 months. I have learned that I only need a few simple things in order to feel happy and whole. They are....
1. My own space (I already knew that but I didn't know it would cause insanity if it were to be taken away from me).
2. A church calling. Neither of us have served in any capacity since leaving Idaho. I remember there were times when I thought it would be so nice NOT to have a calling. How wrong I was.
3. Friends. I have lots of friends. Friends who are irreplaceable. Friends who will be a part of my life forever. But I need friends who live close. Friends I can go hang out with. Friends I can go to a movie now and again with. Having our families close has been so nice but I miss having friends.
That's it! That's all I need. And with any luck all those things will be MINE!

I know this is already pretty lengthy (my fingers are telling me they are tired) but there is one last thing. My family is in need of some prayers. I hate writing this, hate what it means, hate that there is even a need but there is and I am thankful to have so many faithful friends who care about me and therefore care about my family. Growing up there were two people who were constants in my life. My nana and beba (those are the names they were given by some grandchild long before I came to be) have been more like a mother and father to me than grandparents. In my mind I knew they were getting older but for some reason I thought they would be around forever. I guess that is because I can't imagine this world without them. Anyway... after several weeks of thinking he had a sore throat he finally went to the doctor. He has a large mass in his throat which is cancerous and from what we were told yesterday is inoperable. He goes in for another biopsy this week which will tell us what stage the cancer is in and how fast the mass is growing. Just pray that he will be comforted. He is so worried that at some point his airway will be blocked. He is consumed by this thought. And more than anything hopes that he will somehow know that things will be okay.

Thanks for hanging in there the last several months and for reading my often times negative, boring and pictureless blog! It will soon get better...I promise.