What to talk about!

I orginally started this blog to document the process of building our first house. We wanted everyone to be able to follow along with us. Well the house is finished and we have been there for almost a month. We have a lot to do to get it the exact way we want it but we love it. Barley has a had a difficult time adjusting but is starting to warm up to it. I think my mom spoiled him way too much while we lived with her. Now that the house is done I wondered what I would blog about...of course there is one thing that consumes my thoughts-our journey to trying to have a baby.

We actually started this journey way before we started building our house-over a year ago to be exact. It has not been an easy journey for me or Michael. It has been filled with a lot of really low lows but we are hoping and praying for the best. We know that God has a plan for us and is in control of the situation. We both have had several tests done to see what the deal is and everything always seems to come back normal-which is great but it is also frustrating because we always end up exactly were we started-with no real answer on why we can't get pregnant. I have had every test you can imagine done and have had so much blood taken I don't know how I have any left. I have not been myself these last several months but Michael has been so suppportive. I would not have been able to handle all of this without him. He will make an amazing father and I can't wait to see him finally be a daddy. We both can't wait to be parents. So I guess this is where this blog will go from here-our road to trying to conceive a little Vaughn.

SNOW

A few weeks ago we actually got snow. That doesn't happen here very often-especially enough for it to stick. They cancelled school so I got the day off. Of course by the time I woke up at noon it was all gone but Michael got up early and took a few pics!

Appliances

Michael and I are so excited about our new fridge, washer and dryer. The fridge is the one he wanted-we lucked out and shopped on the right day and got an amazing deal. The washer and dryer is what I wanted-especially red ones! Michael told me I could have them if I did his laundry-no I didn't do it before-I know I am a terrible wife :) I love them but I don't know if they are worth having to do his laundry-haha!

A Few Pics

Here are a few pics of the house. I still don't have anything on the walls or everything put away. Hopefully after we get back from our trip I can get some things done.

Name Change

I finally started the process of trying to change my name. Yes-I know it has been almost 9 months since I got married but I am just now getting around to it. Of course when you go to another country to get married it takes a long time to get your marriage certificate. 7 months to be exact. Oh and did I mention it is in Spanish-yes Spanish. They did send it to the US Embassy to have it translated into English. A few things were lost in translation-under marital status for me it said spinster-I had not idea what that meant and had to ask someone. For those of you who don't know-it means old maid. I guess Costa Rica considered me an old maid-real nice! Anyways I have been looking forward to changing my name for a long time-I always hated having the name Tolson that I can't believe it has taken me this long. I didn't realize that there are so many things I have to change. It's not just my license and social security card-it is a whole mess of things. Maybe by this time next year I will officially be a Vaughn!!

Moving on up!

Michael and I closed on our house Wednesday but did not get our keys until Friday afternoon. We waited patiently for the city of Odessa to do their finaly inspections. We are so excited to be 1st time home owners! Holly and Jim Bob came and helped us move Saturday morning and unpack a few things. Even Avery and Ella came to help :) Poor Michael had worked from midnight until 9 that morning so he was exhausted but he worked hard and got it done. It was torture for all of us not to get to watch the Tech game but Kellye gave us updates throughout the game!! Needless to say the house is a wreck so we are staying with my mom a few more nights until we can get it organized. I don't know how we had so much stuff in a tiny apartment. We had not used any of our wedding gifts because we were anticipating this move so it was so nice to see everything-I had forgotten what all we had! We are also waiting on some new furniture to arrive this week!! As soon as it starts to look better I will take more pics and post them.

Barley will have a new home too!

We thought we were going to have just dirt for a long time. Everyone kept telling us that we can't plant any grass right now but we have still had some pretty weather so we are hoping that we can get something to grow before it gets really cold. Barley will need some grass to run and play in. We finally stopped at a nursery in Odessa and they were very helpful-looks like Michael will be working in the yard the 1st weekend we move in!!

New Pics!!

Here are some new pics of the house! We are supposed to close in 2 days-there are still a few things they are working on but it looks good. Michael and I are getting so excited!!

Final Walk Through!!

Michael and I had our final walk through yesterday. It went a lot better than we anticipated. We did use almost a whole roll of blue tape marking things we wanted fixed but most of it was just minor things. They will work on fixing those things Monday and Tuesday and have the city come out and do their final inspection. If everything goes smoothly we are supposed to close on Wednesday at 11. I am saying my prayers that everything works out. We are supposed to have Thanksgiving with my family at our house so that will give me a week to try and get everything ready. It is so nice being a teacher because I will have that whole week off before Thanksgiving so I can get things done. We will take pics and post them when everything looks the way it should and before we move in.

2 weeks!

Our house sat for 2 weeks and nothing was done to it. We were both very frustrated so we went over last week to talk to them and see what the deal was. We were told that it is just part of the whole process-we did feel better about everything after we left. They finally started working on it again this week. They installed the cabinets and the interior doors. They also did all the trim work. They moved our closing date from Nov. 6th to Nov. 17th so we have 2 weeks left. There is a lot of work to be done so we are crossing our fingers that it doesn't get moved again. We have our final walk through on Fri. Nov. 13th-good thing I am not superstitious!! We are counting down the days!! Here are just a few pics-we didn't have time to take a lot because Michael had to go to work. There should be a lot in the next few weeks though so check back!!

Locked out!!

Michael and I drive over to Odessa every Sunday to look at the house. This is the only day that there usually aren't any workers so we can walk around and take our time looking at everything. We drove over there on Sunday and to our surprise the house was locked for the first time. We could see through the windows that they had put the texture on the walls and had painted-I guess that is why they didn't want anyone in there. Michael even tried to climb in the windows but all they were all locked too. We were disappointed! We are supposed to be closing on Nov. 6th which is in 16 days but we don't think there is any way that it will be finished-there has been progress but there is still so much to do. I am thinking Nov. 14th and Michael is saying Nov. 20th-the bet is on!!

More Pictures

Drywall and Brick

So Far So Good

Hey guys,

These pictures might look similar to last time but we update every week and I didn't want any of you to miss out on a step:) The frame is now enclosed so we have a better idea of space. They have also installed the ventilation/air and cut out the windows. The next step is the roofing and electrical. Once this is done, we will meet with the builders for a walk-through frame tour. I'm wicked excited now that there is some progression on the project.