The jungle on our south wall

After some serious contract-signing and cookie munching,

we became homeowners!

Said jungle.

"Like sin when you give it a foot hold." -Our associate pastor's wife upon viewing the above.

So there IS a house under there!

Annie here. Well, we officially checked out at the cash register yesterday. Our real estate agent, Stacey from McGraw, has stuck with us since last September, through a terminated contract, five offers, and too many home viewings to count. Needless to say she's our realtor for life (as long as we're in Tulsa anyway). After the closing, hugs were definitely in order.

Then it was straight to the house to deal with the trees and ivy covering the south wall and growing into the southwest bedroom via the window trim. We gave this job first priority because limbs obstruct access to the AC compressor which needs to be serviced. It took us about twice as long as we'd expected, but we got it done with our sweet new ladder and our friends' hatchet and clippers.

After one and a half deadbolts, many ounces of pesticide and nine strategically placed bug bombs, it was 9:45, and we were thirsty and beat. A cold refreshment from Quik Trip finished off the day nicely, and I am grateful to the employees of that fine establishment for serving two very bedraggled and malodorous patrons.

Our next big job will be drywall repair which we will try to knock out Friday morning. More to come.

Verse o' the day: Come to me all you who are weary and heavy-laden and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28)

Closing Time, Revisited

Two quick items.
1) We are now homeowners. Hooray!

2) This is how last evening's schedule really turned out:

4:30 - Close on house.
6:00 - Hack down trees and ivy obstructing access to AC compressor. (Thanks for the tool loans, Millers!)
7:45 - Install deadbolt lock on front door (back door is messed up, will revisit later).
8:55 - No circular saw procured, just covered crawlspace opening with plywood sheet.
9:00 - Spray the perimeter of the home with pesticide.
9:30 - Set up foggers throughout the home and run like mad away from the structure as the spider/insect genocide begins.
9:50 - Get cold drinks and sit outside QuikTrip for fifteen minutes, recovering. :-)

All in all, a pretty good day.

House Pics!

Thought you might like to see the place we're buying.

Above is the front! It's facing East!

And here's the back!

Lots to do! We'll keep you posted.

Closing Time

Hello, I'm the wife. You can call me Annie. The momentous day has arrived. Lord willing, as of 5-ish this afternoon, Justin and I will be the proud owners of what we like to call "the claim shanty". The claim: a quarter acre of sandy soil edged by (supposedly) pecan and plum trees that lie above a septic tank of unknown age and capacity. The shanty: a 1032 square-foot, 1953 wood frame "bungalow" with two bedrooms, one bath, and a converted garage. As complete and utter newbies to home renovation, many adventures of daring and discovery lie before us.

Verse o' the Day:

Psalm 127:1a Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it.

Today's objectives:

4:30 - Close on house.
6:00 - Hack down trees and ivy obstructing access to AC compressor.
6:30 - Install deadbolt locks on front and back doors.
7:00 - If circular saw procured, make a door onto the crawlspace opening.
7:30 - Spray the perimeter of the home with pesticide.
7:45 - Set up foggers throughout the home and run like mad away from the structure as the spider/insect genocide begins.

A Chronicle of Home Ownership

Hello! My wife and I are buying our first home. We've been married for nearly four years now, and we have been in the same apartment almost from the start. Our hope has been to find a home in our price range in the Tulsa area, where we currently live. After looking for about a year now, we may have found the right place. We are scheduled to close on Monday.

The place is a fixer-upper, to say the least. We've already been through the inspection process, which provided us with a long "to do" list. We don't know what we are doing, but God has blessed us with many friends who have offered to help us along the way.

Dear Reader, we plan to take you with us as we begin the grand adventure of Home Ownership. As we go, we'll post pictures, explanations, and stories about each task. We'll also provide some backstory to give you a more complete idea of how we got where we are.

Whether this blog ends up showcasing an example to follow or a curse to avoid, it ought to be fun!