Ted's Choir

Choir
Originally uploaded by J. Philip Graham.

Yes, that's what it is called, Ted's Choir.

I drove down to Decatur, IL, on Tuesday evening to listen to them and to take some pictures. So I took some pictures and listened. they sounded very good. So did the church. I sat/stood in the balcony and their sound seemed to be coming from all around. I really enjoyed it. And it was nice to see Ted too, even though it was only for a short period of time.

I took a bunch of pictures, though all from the balcony. A few of them can give you an idea of how beautiful it is in the church. I also added a few abstract type photos just for fun. You can see them in Flickr.com when you click on this photo.

Moving Along!

May 12, 2007
Originally uploaded by J. Philip Graham.

Well, work on the new house is progressing nicely and much quicker than originally expected. We now have a roof and windows! Closing is beginning to look more and more like it will be in July instead of August. This is fine by me. Unfortunately we will not be moved in in time to hold Zachary's birthday party there, but I don't think he will mind.

Christie has been offered and accepted a part-time position with a company in Roselle. So this removes our worries about qualifying for the mortgage loan. Also, the location of the new job works quite well with Zachary for daycare. The daycare provider is in Roselle too!!!

Living Space

First Floor Panoramic
Originally uploaded by J. Philip Graham.

We had not been out to see the progress on the new house in over a week so we took a ride out to Geneva after Zachary's baby sign class Tuesday. The house now has a second floor, though no roof yet. The builder tells us that work on the house is ahead of schedule and, barring bad weather, the projected completion date has been moved up from mid-August to mid-July. Normally this would be a good thing but a July close would cost us $3-5k in savings! I guess it is a toss up between extra savings and getting out of Christie's parents' house. While Ray and Angie probably enjoy having Zachary around, I would have to assume they would like their quiet house back. Well, they'd still have their two dogs, so how quiet can that really be?

I took another handful of photos including a few of the kitchen/nook/family room area of the house. The picture you see here includes six pics that I stitched together for a panoramic view of those rooms. Of course since the walls are only studs you can also see (from left to right) the den, garage, dining room, foyer, and living room. I know, this means nothing to you. That's OK, it's not your house.

The First Floor!

April 21, 2007
Originally uploaded by J. Philip Graham.

Well the house is now starting to take shape. The first floor has been framed (no, not like, "I was framed!" more like it was given a frame). They tell us now that our projected close date is sometime in the middle of July. This would be a month earlier than what they had originally told us. Let's hope the weather holds up and we are able to move in sometime in July.

The Secret Project

Not to be a secret for too long, the cat has been let out of the bag (figuratively!). Kathe was right on track with wondering if the project involved Christie or not. Yep, it does. She's pregnant again!!!! Yea!!! Child number two is on the way. This week she'll be 11 weeks along. Due date is November 2nd. I think it's a girl. Just because. No reason.

The odd thing about this is that we're living with her parents while our house is being built. Talk about uncomfortable!!!!

The House: Week Two

Well not too much going on, but some progress. The garage has been filled in and they've built up the basement walls (where needed). Since I have never built a house before I can only assume that the first floor is next. Or maybe they first have to give the basement a floor. Hey I don't know. Take a look at the photos I stitched together below of the basement.

Where's My House???

OK, so we've been waiting for the folks at Mill Creek to tell us that the permit has arrived from the city and that they will begin building our house. It has been almost two months since we signed the contract and we were led to believe that the "ball" would be rolling by now. So on Thursday Christie called them and asked, "What's up?" Turns out there was a mix up and they forgot to call us. They received the permit on March 19th and broke ground on the 23rd. Cool!

So on Friday we decided to take a drive out there and see exactly how much progress they actually made. I figured that there might be a shovel stuck in the ground and that was there way of breaking ground. Well guess what? The foundation is there!!!



See that house in the background? The one on the left. That is the same model as ours.

The Secret Project and the Bad News

What do you want first the bad news or the secret project (yes, I said secret project, Eric... you aren't the only one who works on secret projects!!!) OK, the bad news first...

Christie is looking for a new job. Her previous employer, whom she had only been with for about six months, had a bad year ('o6 I assume) and let a bunch of people go. She was one of them. She's OK with it though, since she really didn't like the location, she really didn't like the company, and the people there were ridiculously stupid and rude. We're OK with too because we really had not planned for her to be working there after we moved into the new house. Will it cause a problem with finances for the new house? Nope. A slight dent, more like a door ding, but nothing we have to really worry about. Even if she doesn't find a new job somewhere soon, we're doing OK.

The Secret Project...

Yes, I am working on a secret project. What it is, is a... Whoa! I almost let the cat out of the bag. Well I really don't have my cat in a bag, that would be cruel. I've put him in a box before. He actually kind of enjoys that. He plays in there for a while, chasing his tail. It's kind of fun to watch. Though not as much fun a watching Pinot and Livvie when they used to play. But I digress... I'm sorry, I really can't talk about the secret project. I mean, it's secret!!! If I were to tell you all about it, it would not be secret anymore, right? I can say this though... No, actually I can't. Sorry.

The Stewart, El. III

We're building a new house in Geneva, Illinois. To be more specific, it will be in the Oakmont neighborhood of Mill Creek. The model we will be having built is the Stewart, elevation III, and after all of our additions (or bump-outs as they call them), it will tip the scales at roughly 3000 square feet. Nothing spectacular compared to everyone else we know, but hey, it will be plenty big for the five of us (Christie, Zachary, Gonzo, Pinot, and me). If you look at the website, elevation III of the Stewart model more closely resembles the Remington model that they have pictured, though it will have a front porch.

We signed the contract and selected all the structural upgrades at the beginning of February. The last few weeks we've been going back and forth trying to choose all the non-structural upgrades we'd like. We're still not done, but at least the plans were drawn up and they were sent to the city (county?) for permits. Hopefully they will break ground by the end of March, and if so, they say we'd be closing in the beginning of August (we'll see about that).

Chicago Bears

Well, well, well. Ron Rivera has essentially been fired! Good news for the defense. I think they will drastically improve next year on the defensive side of the ball. On the offensive side? Well Ron Turner is not going anywhere, but Wade Wilson is out. I mean really! Wade Wilson was the QB coach? What was he really going to teach Rex Grossman?