Happy Birthday to Me!

So... as most of you know, my birthday was on Saturday, May 28, 2011. I am now 20 years old and totally awesome! (jk)

For my birthday, Justin got me a beautiful gold necklace and a pair of gold earrings. For breakfast, Justin treated me to Papa Jake's Donuts (the only fresh donuts in Sedalia!) When I sat down at the table, I found an adorable card from the In-Laws, with  my favorite chocolate bar, Hershey's Cookies and Cream! To further celebrate this  20th birthday of mine, we made a trip to Columbia, MO. We helped Aunt Donna pack up and move to a new house, went shopping at the Columbia mall, and finished our day with a wonderful lunch at Red Lobster. For the final celebratory activity we looked at Big Lots for possible furniture for our new house! Yes... You read it right!

Justin and I are closing on our house June 30. We get possession immediately at closing and can start moving in. With both of our full-time jobs under our belts and finances coming in on a weekly basis, we will be more prepared for the perils of owning a house. Such as... Laundry machine purchases, lawn maintenance equipment, seating for several people, kitchen tables and storage shelves, and much much more!

We are pretty excited! Three bedrooms, 1 bath and a yard all to ourselves! Oh, and our soon to be puppy that we will have starting in about August.

Life is moving on at a quick pace and we are so excited!

Overall, Happy Birthday to Me!

Tornado Chaos!

As many of you know, there was a tornado that hit our little town here in Sedalia. The Southwest corner of the town had lots of devastation. The tornado ripped through the Brentwood subdivision and a trailer park. Phillips gas station on S 65 Hwy had damage to their pumps and multiple semis in their lot.

The Sedalia School District bus barn was also hit. The bus barn was housing 25 of 30 buses at the time and all 25  were destroyed. Due to this unfortunate act of Mother Nature the School District was forced to cancel the last three days of school for the year. 

LTL survived, they were miles away. The tornado was two or four blocks from the house, but we were downstairs and were safe.

Sedalia has a great tornado warning system! After hearing about the devastation in Joplin, MO on Sunday evening, Sedalia got ready for bad weather. There were some early warning sirens at about 11:15 AM. I hadn't been feeling 100% when I woke up so I was in bed until the sirens went off. So... I grabbed Suki and slowly walked down the stairs. There wasn't wind or rain outside so I thought: "No big deal. I'll just do what they want." About 20 minutes later and non-stop news coverage of the possible tornadoes in Kansas City, we lost the cable. Two minutes later the power went out.

About the time the power went out we heard what we thought was hail, for a few seconds. The Tornado sirens stopped at about 12:30PM. Justin called and asked if I was okay. I said: "Yeah, Why wouldn't I be? The power is out, but nothing as happened." To that he responded letting me know that a tornado had just landed and part of Sedalia had been hit. I was shocked! We didn't even hear a thing!

The power remained out until 12:30PM today. The only damage we encountered was a yard filled with shingles, metal sheets from buildings, and several checks and check registers. 25 Mobile homes had been destroyed.

In all of this, only 24 minor injuries were reported and no deaths have been discovered. Thank goodness for a Father in Heaven who is watching out for us!

I survived my first tornado... NO WE'RE NOT MOVING BACK TO UTAH! (All caps for emphasis!)

House Hunting

Yes... You read it right! We are currently house hunting.

Here in Missouri, it is cheaper to pay a mortgage payment than to rent. We love living with the in-laws, but our plans to move into their spare home fell through. Apartments want pet-free zones or $200 more a month. We are finding lots of good prices, but few homes that fit our rigorous criteria!

There are a lot of processes to go through when you decide to buy a home. First, you need to look at your finances and determine whether or not you will be able to pay for the house. Second, make a list of the pros and cons of your current situation and compare it to the pros and cons of buying a house. Third, talk to a loan officer and learn about the criteria for a loan. From there, you can find out how much you will be approved for so that you can qualify for the loan. Fourth, find a realtor to help find the things that you are looking for in a house. A realtor will help you and work with your best interests in mind. Fifth, look at your options and fast and pray!

The most important process is to put the decision you are making in the front of your mind and discuss it with the Lord (if you are religious). Heavenly Father will let you know if you are making the decision in a way that he would be proud of.

I look forward to this process and to all the things that life has in store for us!