I'm not sure when Countrywide was planning to let me know what's going on with our former house in Milford, but I'm pretty sure that the house is officially no longer our concern. I'll be calling them tomorrow to find out for sure.
It went up for Auction one week ago (last Tuesday), and there were no bidders present. Countrywide bought the house. Now I just have to wait and see what obligations I will have to them at this point....
You know the saying, "A watched pot never boils"? Well, a watched inbox produces no job offers, either!
All of that time watching the inbox did give me an opportunity to clear out the 450 messages that had accumulated there!
As some may know, our family is in for some drastic changes in the coming months.
I have told Books Are Fun that I will not be able to continue my contract on a full-time basis. I need to remain active with BAF through at least the end of this year (for contractual reasons), but it has not been profitable enough to rely on for my primary source of income. This spring, I lost money just about every day I went out. The price of gas and heating oil is up, and we had a long hard winter here in Maine. My pay (strictly commission) was down because people are not spending the way that they used to. The price of petroleum is on everyones mind, and I don't see the fall as being much better. People are already saving for the coming winter's heating bills, or investing in alternative heating methods. In addition to my sales being down, my expenses are going up. Most days, it cost me over $100 in diesel to get to my account and back. On most multi-day events, I spent nights sleeping in the truck because I couldn't justify the price of driving home for the night.
So I've been bopping around on Monster and HotJobs, among others, trying to find some kind of full-time salaried position that would give me some sense of financial (and emotional) stability for the sake of my family. There is nothing in Dexter that would be able to pay my bills, and the options in Bangor are limited. Moving to be closer to Augusta or Portland would mean a dramatic increase in housing costs. Staying here and working there would mean a long commute, and a big part of what I don't like about my job right now is home much time each day I am away from the family.
Oh, and housing plays into the equation, too. As you can see by my previous post, our house in Milford is going up for auction next Tuesday, 8/19 (I'm hoping it sells for $365,000, but not likely). The house that we are renting right now is going to be foreclosed on. I've tried to figure out what was going on with this house, but each time I talked to the bank's attorney or the landlord, I just got more confused. I don't know who really owns this house, so I wouldn't know who to offer to buy it from. On one meeting with the attorney, he asked if I could get financing to buy it, and that our "rent-to-own" was not valid - the landlord had no right to sell it since he had no right to claim that he owned it. Upon talking to the attorney later, he said I'd need to talk to my landlord, since he was listed on the realty trust and would be the one to sell it. So this thing is confusing, and we've decided to just leave this house and all of the legal baggage behind.
Next Tuesday, while our house in Milford will be auctioned off to the highest bidder, we'll be loading up two Penske trucks with all of our possessions and getting ready to head out to Ohio. I've put in 20 applications at various companies for varying positions over the last two weeks. I've had 4 email me back to let me know that they were pursuing other candidates for those positions. I'm hoping to have something full-time lined up before the end of the month. We'll be continuing with Books Are Fun on a part-time basis for the rest of this year. We'll see how that goes and determine after that if it is worth continuing into the Spring.
Most of the house is packed up. I've got a couple of major projects to wrap up here, including removing several upgrades that we made (thinking we would be staying here for a while), and putting back in place the fixtures that were here when we moved in.
Countrywide Home Loans called me today. I actually picked up when I recognized the number on the Caller ID. I asked the girl that was on the other end of the line if she had good news for me, and she said "I hope so", obviously having no idea what I was talking about.
When I asked more specifically if my deed-in-lieu request had been approved, she looked in my records and said that it shows "cancelled" status. After about twenty minutes of being on hold and being updated about what she was doing and who she was talking to (and who she couldn't talk to because they were in India), I found out that I'm at the mercy of the system. She was very nice, and very apologetic, but it's not her fault. The company she works for is just too big.
It doesn't matter that I had expressed to them my concerns last Ocotber that I would not be able to continue paying past the end of 2007. When I called then, I got no help because I was current on my payments, so they couldn't do anything to "help" me because there was no "problem". I put the house on the market in November. I stopped paying Countrywide after December (because I needed the money for petty little things like food and gas). We had a buyer lined up for the house in January. We moved out in February. Countrywide approved the sale of the house in April - too late for the buyer. The house went back on the market in April. In June I got the notice of foreclosure. The house is being auctioned next Tuesday. It takes over two months for them to make decisions that would be helpful for me, but they waste no time deciding it's time to sell the house for me.
I had asked about "deed-in-lieu" early this year, and in June I told the bank, and faxed in to Countrywide my intentions to turn over the deed, along with all other financial statements, letters, etc. that are required for Countrywide to make a decision. The fax system there is something else - they don't tell you this, but you should call the next day to verify they recieved all of the pages that you faxed. Apparently, the fax system is 100% automated, taking the documents and electronically assigning them to what it thinks is the appropriate department. They don't always get there, and no one seems to know where they really went.
I asked why the request was cancelled, and after making a few unsucessful phone calls, she came back and read me what was on my file. A deed-in-lieu request cannot be considered if it is within 60 days of a sale date. Nice. It doesn't matter that I requested consideration for deed-in-lieu outside of thet 60-day window. They didn't "open" the file until 8/4, and it was cancelled on 8/5 because it was too close to the sale date.
Because someone didn't open my file until too late, I have no option but foreclosure.
So here's a tip: If you are looking for financing, go with a small bank. Big banks may be more willing to approve you, but if you ever need any actual customer service, you're not going to get it in a company that has it's various departments spread out country-wide.
... and a new respect for lawn mower blades!
God was watching over me yesterday as I was mowing lawns for Bob. I was on a riding mower that was missing it's discharge chute. The forward/reverse speed is controlled by the right foot, just a few inches away from the discharge area. As I was trimming around the perimeter of a yard, I was caught by a thorn bush, and in an instinctive reaction, I ducked away from it toward the right, and my right foot went out in an attempt to balance myself. My foot tried to find firm footing on the mower deck, where the chute should have been. Instant pain!
I was anticipating the worst in the twenty or thirty seconds it took me to shut off the tractor, remove my old tennis shoe (which my toe was sticking out of anyway), and peel my sock down. No blood, no cuts. Even today, there's not any bruising. I've never heard of an incident where any part of a human has come into contact with a spinning mower blade where there was a happy ending.
It was not a happy ending for the thorn bush though. When Nathan came around to check on me, he fired up the weed wacker, took that bush down, and said that I was vindicated!
Lessons learned: 1) thorns in the flesh would be better than no toes; 2) wear my steel-toed work shoes when mowing; and 3) the discharge chutes are there for a reason, and the mower should not be operated without said equipment in place.
Since Matt covered the not so fun stuff, I guess I can continue on and update the fun things that have happened in the past month. 
We heard that Katherine, Josh, and Annabelle were headed to NH for the 4th of July, so we decided to head back to town to visit with everyone! We left the night before and stayed with our friends, and previous neighbors, the Remellas! We just missed seeing Jay that night, so the kids weren't able to play, but they did have a few other opportunities since we were in town until Monday morning.
The 4th was a beautiful day, we started off with breakfast with Dheeraj, Natasa, and Jay. Then we headed out for the New Boston Parade, where Hannah and Annabelle were able to gather up a bunch of candy! It was a nice parade. Then we went back to Matt's parents house for a short time until we headed over to the Poore's for a BBQ and swimming! Hannah had a ball in the water, and was able to get a quick swimming lesson with Annabelle's lifejacket! Hannah absolutely loved the water!! Later that night, we had sushi for supper with the Remellas!!
Saturday, we went to visit with Grammy, and Hannah and Annabelle had a great time feeding the chipmunk! It was rather entertaining to watch that little critter come in and eat right out of their hands! Matt's parents had a BBQ and a bonfire that night... the kiddos were really late to bed the entire trip.
Sunday, we had all intentions of heading to church, but one thing led to the next, and we stayed to let Jay and Hannah play together for a bit! We were able to have lunch at Lui Lui's with Dave and Larisa! They invited us over for dessert afterward and the kids napped there while we visited! It was great to be with them again! We are praying that their house hunt is going well, it can be exciting, but very frustrating too! That night we had planned to have dinner with The Remellas, so we headed back there and enjoyed the evening with them. We had a wonderful time with them, and are so thankful for their hospitality. We are so blessed to have their friendship! We miss them so much.
Monday morning, we headed over to the Richmond's house to say goodbye. We followed the Roots to Albany! We actually stopped at Hogback and visited the little shop there! Then we stopped for a quick peek at Bennington Pottery! It was very nice stuff, but very pricey... so we continued on our way! Got to Josh and Katherine's and they grilled up some burgers and then we got the kids to bed and were able to watch National Treasure! We had never seen it and had been hearing that it was good... it was!
We had breakfast with Katherine and Annabelle then headed to Altoona, PA for an overnighter. We had planned to spend the better part of Wednesday at Horsheshoe Curve and at the Railroaders Memorial Museum. It was a great train day! Even though we got soaked while we were waiting for trains to come around the curve! It was well worth it! That was something that Matt has wanted to do for 2 decades! When we were finished in the museum, we headed the rest of the way to Canton.
I was able to visit with Jalyn and Abby over coffee while we were in town. Visited with my grandparents, and Jimmy! We met Britt and Manny at Skyline Chili for lunch, then we were off to my Aunt Lori's house for Saturday evening. We had ribs on the grill - AWESOME!!! We were able to visit with Caleb and Zachary, what lovely boys they are growing up to be! We had a great time!
Sunday we headed to Dale Hollow Lake for the week! We had a ton of fun splashing in the water and taking rides around the lake! It was perfect weather, not a drop of humidity... and very, very warm temps!! We were able to take a ride on the Big South Fork Scenic Railway in Stearns, KY. It was a 2 hour drive, but the train ride was almost 4 hours long. It was a great week! Britt and Manny joined us Thursday morning, which was a surprise... we were expecting them Friday! So that was great to have the extra day to visit with them!! We had a great time swimming and riding the boat during the day, and games at night!! After a great week, we headed back to my Aunt's house for another overnight, a BBQ, and Dad and Matt finished putting up a basketball hoop for the boys! It was so wonderful to spend time with them. Thanks for having us, and thanks for letting us use your rooms, Caleb and Zach!! Monday we headed back to Canton for an overnight... and Tuesday morning we were able to visit with my Grandma Reel and Aunt Laura, who flew in just early enough to visit with us for a few hours!! And my Grandparents Hall came over too! We were able to talk Grandma, Aunt Laura, Mom and Dad into joining us for one more Skyline meal before we started our journey to Maine!
We stayed another night with Josh and Katherine and headed for home on Wednesday. Matt got home and jumped right back into working with Bob, bright and early on Thursday!
Unfortunately, Steven and Ashley weren't able to make it. We do hope that we get to see you both soon, but know we love you tons, and are praying for you! Ashley is also seeking new employment, hope you find something soon! We look forward to seeing you around Christmas if that all works out!
Since we got home, Mason had his first tooth pop through! He loves to feel it with his tongue... what a weird thing!! He also started eating potatoes! After 4 days, he no longer spits it all over the house... and he doesn't even make the "yucky" face anymore!! He is also learning to sit up on his own now... He is getting strong! He can hold himself up when we set him down on the floor, and if he falls forward onto his face, he is able to push himself back up into a sitting position! He is so proud when he is sitting there playing with his toys, he gets so excited! He is really growing up!! We have his next appointment in 2 weeks, I am interested to see what he weighs now, and how tall he is. He is growing so much! It is unbelievable!!! Hannah is doing great!! She had one night that she stayed dry all night, that was a pretty big thing! So we are on the right track!! I know it may take a while, but she is doing great!! Hannah was admiring my toenails while we were on vacation, so I told her we could paint hers when we got back home... she now has light pink sparkles on her tootsies!! She is always afraid that we are going to wash it off in the tub! She is so funny! She thinks it is just great that we have the same polish on our toes!!
Well, that should do it for now... we need to get the kids in the tub! Hope you are all doing well, and enjoying August so far! We will keep you posted!
The chapter in our life right now could be titled "Frustrations".
The first and probably least significant frustration is that I tried to put a post here two days ago, had a fairly comprehensive update, and as I was proofing it, hit the backspace key to make a correction (which, when no text is selected, accomplishes the same thing as hitting the "back" button in the browswer window), effectively wiping out the entire post.
We've decided that we cannot continue with the bookfairs anymore. If there is any way out of our contract, we will not be running any fall events this year. Most days that I went out this spring I was losing money. Gas prices are up, and therefore 1) my expenses are up and 2) my sales are down. It being Maine (and COLD in the winter, requring a lot of expensive heating oil for people to stay warm), I'm not anticipating a huge sales volume this fall. I have no money to invest in the operational costs of the business, and I will not put anything else on credit.
I'm putting job applications in for various positions in Maine and Ohio. It's awfully hard to change careers when most job postings require either a specific degree, or so many years of experience. I'm trying to narrow the field of options based on what is on my resumé right now, even though I want to do something completely different. I'm definitely staying away from commission-based, and I'm looking for something with benefits. It's also hard to find a job that has entry-level pay at the level that I would require to pay our current bills.
And for more frustration fun: I was on the phone with Countrywide today, trying to figure out what's going on with my deed-in-lieu of foreclosure request. Nothing I can do but wait. The auction is coming up in two weeks (August 19th, on the property in Milford if anyone wants to pick up a nice house at a good price at my expense...). If I don't have a decision before then, and the house sells at auction, the foreclosure is complete and irreversible. And I'm trying to figure it out for sure, but I believe I am still liable for the difference between what I owe and what the house sells for. It doesn't seem to matter that since last October I have been expressing my concerns about my ability to continue payments, and intentions to voluntarily turn the property over before it came to foreclosure. Countrywide is a huge, inhuman, unfeeling, money-devouring machine, and that's all there is to it.
Last week, we met with the lawyer representing the bank in the foreclosure case involving the house we are currently renting. I had hoped that the meeting would clear things up a bit and help me to understand what was going on. I left more confused than I arrived. Whether we move across town, across state, or across the country, we're planning to just ditch our lease (it's not a rent-to-own since our sales contract is invalid - we can't buy the house from someone that doesn't own it), and leave this property and all of the baggage attached to it behind.
I'll keep the site updated as things start to unfold. I have no ideas about where we'll be going or what we'll be doing, but I do know that something will be happening, and soon.
Thank you everyone for your prayers during this critical decision-making period in our life. We can't wait to start the next chapter!
Well, it's official.
I got a letter from an attorney in NH yesterday. Countrywide has commenced an "accelerated" foreclosure on our house in Milford.
And to make things even more interesting, the house that we are renting right now is also being foreclosed on. Apparently the person that I am renting from had no legal right to be renting this house out, as the previous owner did not take care of all of the obligations that he had to the bank before he left town. We will have about six months before this house goes up for auction, at which time we may or may not have to find a new place to live. And we are obviously no longer living in a "rent-to-own" situation.
Please pray for me and the whole family as we wade through these legal battles, and as I try to establish some sense of stability for the family. It is very emotionally exhausting for me, especially with sales at work being so low.
I think God must have a tremendous sense of humor. I was just getting to the point were I was certain that we were in the right place (just not necessarily doing the right thing as far as work goes). As I was talking to Nathan last night at VBS, he mentioned that God is never easy to figure out. And just when we think we've got his plan for us figured out, He'll sit back and say, "You think you know what I want out of you? Oh no, just you hold on and wait and see!" So for now, we're along for the ride, waiting and praying for God to reveal to us what we should be doing, and where we should be going.
This week is VBS and we have been having a great time! First Free does their program in the evenings, so each night we have been packing the kids up and heading to church around 5:15. The music starts at 6 and then on to dramas, skits, puppets, games, crafts and snacktime!!! Hannah is just old enough to be considered a 3 year old, so she has been able to join in all the festivities with the older kids! Some of the sessions seem a bit long for her, but she does great and has been having a blast! There is a larger than life size puppy, named Cooper, that Hannah just adores! We will take the camera tonight and try to get some pics of all the decorations and of Hannah having fun at VBS!!! Mason has been in the nursery, he does really well until somewhere around 7:30 when he is just so tired that he will not go to sleep. Then I feed him, and he falls asleep for the last hour! It has been so fun, they really go all out for the kids! This year has been another record year for attendance! Last night there were 116 kids! 9 more friends need to come and Pastor Will will get a pie in the face :-)
Tonight, Matt and I have been put in charge of Treehouse Treasures! This is the section where the kids are told the gospel message! I found a puppet script that I tweeked to coordinate with the evenings lessons and games! I am really excited about it! It has been a while since I have been able to get out my puppets, and this is about 15 minutes of just Matt and I doing a script!! I have found a couple of songs to go along with it as well!! It should be fun, and hopefully the kids will take the message to heart and if they don't know Christ as their Savior, today would be the day they accept His love for their life!!
The kids bring in their pennies for a competition to see who will bring in the most money. We are raising money for the team that is going to New Orleans in a few weeks to rebuild some homes down there. So far, the kids have raised enough money to buy two toilets, and a kitchen sink!!! It is amazing!
So tomorrow is the end of a fun VBS week! Then next week is the 4th of July already! Time is flying! If you get a chance in the next two days, pray that the kids really listen to the gospel message and come to know Christ and also that they would share Him with their family and friends! The theme for the week is God's Big Backyard, and they are focusing on Serving Family, Friends, Neighbors, and Jesus! It has been so much fun, Hannah is excited to go back tonight and get her paw print on her hand, her name tag, and her hat that she made with her name on it!! She already talked about Cooper today! Last night at dinner after VBS, Hannah looked at us and said "I Love Cooper, I Love Him, Daddy"! It was so funny and it caught us both off guard! We laughed! All I could think of after that was the scene from Father of the Bride where Steve Martin is imagining his grown daughter when she was a young girl! Too funny!
I hope you all are having a lovely week, and enjoy the 4th!!
For the past few weeks, the Richmond crew was in Ohio visiting my family!
Brittannie graduated from The Ohio State University and we were able to share a special weekend with her (June 7th & 8th)! The weather was terribly hot and humid, so Matt and I decided it would be better to skip the ceremony in the stadium on Sunday and let the kids get their naps at Britt's place! We did go to her pre-commencement ceremony on Saturday, where she was recognized as a winner of an award of Merit as well as graduating Magna Cum Laude with a specialization in Respiratory Therapy. Congratulations Brittannie! She is going into her Masters work now for Occupational Therapy!
My parents had a Memorial Day BBQ for everyone to come and visit with us and to see the kids. We had a good amount of time to visit with my grandparents during our time in Ohio. We had dinner at the Halls and the Reels, and the kids and I were able to take a drive through Amish country with Grandma Reel! It was a lovely day! The weather was just perfect while we were out there, it was very humid, but it was sunny and warm!! Beats the wet, cool, dreary, sock weather we are having since we have come home. My Aunt Laura flew in for the better part of the 2nd week we were out there! It was great to see her, and she just loves to play with our kids, who woulda thunk it?!?!! Jalyn and Abigail were able to come over to visit for a couple days, and Chris came to join us for dinner the one night! It was a wonderful visit with their family! We were so thrilled to meet Abby and see what a cutie pie she is! She is so precious and is doing great! Thanks for the prayers everyone!! I had a chance to knit a chemo cap for Mom! We got really funny tan lines while we were sitting on the deck knitting and visiting!! Britt and I made our annual trip to VDO for some great deals on clothes for the kids, work jeans for Matt and NON-maternity jean shorts for me!!
Hannah was having a bit of a problem with her bowels, so we encouraged her to take action by offering her several trips to the local park. They just built a brand new playground, and she was very excited to go try it out! She got down to business, and then was able to go to the park! We were all very happy that that little bit of bribery worked (or maybe it was the prune juice, either way!!)!!
Dad had his largest bookfair during our visit, so Matt was put to work! Dad was tired, but it was a great 3 days! Matt enjoyed being at a busy bookfair again, and he was able to spend some time with Jimmy too which he enjoyed very much!
The time went so quickly, but we really had a great time! On our way out and on the drive back we were able to visit with all of Matt's family! Hannah was able to have a slumber party (well sorta) in Annabelle's room and the girls had a great time playing together! Grammy enjoyed seeing the kids again, as did Aunt Annie and Grandpa and Grammy Richmond! It was wonderful being able to see everyone on one trip! However, we didn't make it to Colorado on this trip, so we did miss Steven and Ashley, but we plan to see them in July!! We can't wait to see them, it has been a year and a half too long. We miss you both and love you tons!
We had good drives, and now we are back at home, trying to get back into the normal swing of things around here. Matt has a never ending list of things to do, as well as running a few bookfairs, and helping Bob with whatever project might come up! I am busy taking care of the kiddos, and when there is a moment of quiet, I am reading or knitting or crocheting! Or blogging (hahaha)!!! We hope everyone is enjoying their summer so far!
Thank you to all who put us up while we were driving through. The Richmonds, the Roots, and the Halls, we had such a great time, thank you for your part in making our trip so enjoyable! And hope to see you all again very soon!!!
Update: Jalyn and Abby were able to visit with us again before we left Ohio, and Jalyn had some good news from Abigail's doctor! Abby has a chance of not needing to be on blood thinners after a few months. After 6, or 8 or 12 months, some babies are able to get off their blood thinners. We are praying this for Abby! Even to have a chance is a blessing! We are thrilled to hear this news and pray for Abby's continued healing! We love you little Abigail, and hope you had a great Father's Day, Chris!
We were able to visit with the LaPole family the other day!! Abigail was released from the hospital on Thursday the 22nd!!! She had a final skin graft on the Friday before, and the doctors were very pleased with the way her skin is healing and allowed her to go home! She turned 2 months old on the 30th. Jalyn was staying with her in the hospital, and is so happy to be home and to start to get into the routines of a family of 3!!
Abigail is precious!! She is such a doll, I can't get over what a cutie she is! She has very blue eyes, and a full head of dark, curly hair!! While we were visiting, I took her in my arms, and she got comfy and took a good nap there!! She is such a sweetie! She is a great baby girl, she puts up with so much. The doctors found that she has a gene that causes her to form blood clots very easily. She will be on blood thinners all her life, but she is a fighter! We know that the Lord has some great things in store for her life. There are many options as far as prosthetics are concerned, and she will be able to develop at the same rate as normal, so she will be able to learn to crawl and walk at the usual time!
Thank you for all of your prayers. Jalyn mentioned that there have been prayers going up for Abby all over the world! Thank you so very much! Please continue to pray for her skin to heal completely, quickly and without infection. Thank you, it means so much to this precious family!
Welcome Home, Chris, Jalyn and dear little Abigail!! We Love You!!!
