I believe them when people long past the baby/toddler years of parenting tell me, "This time will go by so quickly," or "Treasure these moments." It's true. John Paul is already 3 months old! Where does the time go. And so, a memoir 3 month blog post coming your way...

(Disclaimer: Sorry to bombard you with pictures (well, not really). This post is meant for the grandparents).

Size him up.
We visited the doctor yesterday for John Paul's 3 month check-up. I'm happy to report he's a good, chubby 14 Lbs. This means he's gained 3 Lbs of fat in the past 6 weeks and, hopefully, I've lost more than that in fat (haha!). If my memory serves me right, Joseph weighed about 15 Lbs at his 3 month. It's interesting to compare as they both happened to be exactly the same weight at birth. John Paul lost a bit more weight afterwards than Joseph and hasn't been such a constant nurser.

Here they are: Joseph (left) & John Paul (right) at approximately the same age (Joseph a week or two older). Definitely looking like brothers, right?

A sucker for hands.

Yep, this boy is a sucker. For the first two months of his life he was frequently calmed during the evening or at sleepy-time by sucking Dan's pointer finger. (We don't worry too much about germs, obviously). He has a good little suck and often Dan would complain that he had a sore and skinless finger after such episodes. Dan's finger must have been the perfect size, as far as John Paul was concerned, because no matter which of my fingers I would offer him, he refused to be satisfied with them. But now he's discovered he can suck his own finger(s) and you wouldn't believe how happy we are (I know, usually parents don't want their kids to be thumb/finger suckers... not us!).

Brothers and best friends.

Babies are resilient. I believe God made them this way to survive their doting older siblings. Joseph loves his little brother, obviously, but his preferred mode of showing his love is often bear hugs or climbing on top of John Paul to "talk to him" while John Paul is sitting in his baby chair or squishing his hand/feet/cheeks. It's hard to believe that after such treatment John Paul not only doesn't cry, but often smiles as though he's really enjoying it. 

Action seeker.

John Paul has to be where the action is. Every night when Dan or I are getting Joseph ready for bed in the bathroom, John Paul fusses and gets upset (even when he was happily smiling just seconds before) until we take him into the bathroom to watch the night-time routine. He just loves watching Joseph get washed up and brush his teeth. Sometimes John Paul's usual preferred mode of constant movement all evening long is assuaged by listening to the bedtime stories too. 

Attention grabber.

Despite loving the noise, hustle and bustle that is life with Joseph around, John Paul also likes to enjoy his parents' undivided attention long after his older brother is in bed. In fact, sometimes he opens right up as though he was just waiting for his loud older brother to get out of sight. This can mean requiring us to do a constant house pace or lap-bouncing session for 2 hours straight. Or, more recently, some quality parental-baby conversation time. We, of course, are delighted with the evenings that involve lots of smiles and conversation. Here I thought it was just the first-born child that was ooed and ahhed at by parents for hours on end, but I've learned that even second-borns will make sure they get their fair share too. 

A talker like his mother.

Our little man is really starting to use his own voice. Yesterday, as we were taking our evening Rosary walk there was a constant "Oooo, Oooo, Ahhhh" coming from the Ergo carrier on my front. "He's praying, John Paul is praying," Joseph was thrilled to tell us. Part of John Paul's evening bedtime routine involves a long chat in the bathroom. He loves to talk to himself and me in the mirror. Or just hang out on the counter chatting while he prepares himself for a near-future rollover (hopefully not off the counter). 

And if you're inclined, here's a short video clip (not the best quality or talkative-ness) to hear the evidence of our cutie: John Paul at 3 months

Disclaimer: If you're wondering why John Paul is almost always wearing a hat, it's not because he's bald (which he is) or has a deformed head (which he doesn't), but to protect him from the sun and wind and to get my money's worth out of a ridiculously expensive purchase when we needed a hat and had very little choice in type or cost.

The Father at Night

I certainly don't need an excuse to talk about how wonderful St. Joseph is. But giving him a little praise is long overdue....


Authour Michael O'Brien has an excellent book, really a collection of personal stories, ominously titled Father at Night. What is it like to be father at night? O'Brien sheds some great insight on the subject. Crying babies. Unpaid bills. Broken vehicle. Sick toddler. Injured back. Roof caving in. Yet even O'Brien can't fully recreate the vulnerability and insecurity experienced by the father at night. The sleepless dark is vacuum-sealed with anxiety and a sickening crushing weight. In it the so-called provider of the family comes face to face with the reality that he cannot, in fact, provide. He cannot heal. He cannot comfort. He cannot even tread water. It is an inexplicable weight. A seemingly hopeless weight.

Enter St. Joseph.

Why do so many Catholic fathers have a special devotion to St. Joseph? Because he is the pure and genuine father at night. He is its conqueror. He's been there, but with literally infinitely more to consider. He was the provider for Jesus and Mary, after all. So when St. Joseph listens to the prayers of the father at night, he is quick to answer.

Life in the Millette family has certainly been one of change and challenge this year. Facing the prospects of being jobless? A novena to St. Joseph later a full-time permanent job is secured. Worried about the impending birth of a child? A safe and healthy child is soon born. Need a place to live? A novena later a house purchase is agreed upon. Now the next challenge will come from fixing this slightly-tired house, all before the unceasing rain gets the better of it. Nothing too severe. Certainly there is much more suffering in other homes. Nevertheless, there's always something.

But St. Joseph is not really there for the material and physical well being. He helps. Yet his sole concern is always spiritual. In St. Joseph one cannot help but experience trust. Trust in him. Trust in what he can intercede. Trust ultimately in God. And that really is the crux of life. Trust in God. The father at night is in a physically dark place perhaps, but should never be in a spiritually dark abode. With St. Joseph unpaid bills become gratitude for what is already possessed. Crying babies become life singing praises. Broken vehicles become a road towards repairing one's reliance on God. In St. Joseph, the darkness becomes an occasion for light.

That is all. A little bit of long overdue praise for this amazing yet humble saint.

To the true father at night, thank you.

Snippets: It's Been One of Those Weeks

It's been one of those weeks. One of those weeks in which we're tired and grouchy and everything takes a concertedly more amount of time and energy than normal.

1. We're still waiting for our house sale to get through it's final stages and, I tell ya, it takes a good long time, even though it's a private sale and we're already living in the house. Apparently, in the Realty sector things have been really, really busy all spring due to our cold winter and homes going up for sale later than usual. This means that the banks are backed up with mortgages, the lawyers are backed up with sales, etc.

We went to hash out the lawyer details on Tuesday and were completely floored when he suggested August 15th as the earliest date for a closing on our house. What? It takes 2 months to do a private sale? We left wondering how the heck we were supposed to jack-hammer and relay concrete on our house this summer to regrade it and make it water resistant. 

I called the lawyer back to see if there were any possible way we could change that date. Apparently, he made a mistake. Apparently, he thought THIS was JULY. He's very sorry for the trouble and can have it done for sure by July 15th. Phew! Our closing date is July 15th. We can fix our house after all.

2. Just in case we didn't think that regrading our property away from the house was that important, the weather has decided to show us just how important it is. It was pouring, POURING rain all. day. long. on Thursday. Dan and I spent much of his lunch break outside dislodging leaves and such from our eaves toughing (that was just cleaned a week ago), making trenches for water to go away from the house, and getting completely soaked through.

Why are we buying this house, you ask? Well, we know that with some hard work (who's afraid of hard work?) we can really increase the value and make it our own. More on that in the months to come. You will likely be subjected to lots of DIY and "before" and "after" pictures of our projects.

3. Speaking of increasing the value of our house, the bank sent by a Realtor on Wednesday to do a quick appraisal. The appraiser told me what he'd put the house at on the market and congratulated us on getting it for such a great price! Yay! I told him we offered the owners what it was worth to us (true) and are very aware that it's got some stuff to be done. 

4. We met with the bank on Friday to hash out the money details. Our buying price is about $10K less than what it could probably well sell for. Also, we're getting all the appliances! Basically this means that we could put a week or so of work into the house getting it salable and already be making money.

You're bored, aren't you?! Want to hear about the kids?

At Grandma and Grandpa's, "I want to play Barbies, mom!" means getting rid of the Barbies and riding their car.

5. Apparently, some of us were also fighting some kind of bug this week too. Our first indicator was when we changed 8-10 dirty diapers on John Paul on Saturday from 3pm onward. Other than dirty diapers it seems the bug didn't affect much but our sleep. Of course. John Paul was up at least 4-5 times a night for a few nights there at the beginning of the week. Not getting even 2hrs of sleep in a row for a few days is exhausting, I tell ya. 

Then one night, and I can't even remember which, Joseph woke Dan up saying he was all wet. After noticing the bathroom light on for a good long time after I fed John Paul (again), I noticed his bedroom light on too and went out to investigate. Everything wet. So we stripped the bed, sprayed some good old Melaleuca, and an excited little Joseph got to sleep on a sleeping bag.

6. Check out this picture. If it had a time caption, it would read: "10:30am, nobody dressed".





I think this was the morning after the wet bed. John Paul got his diaper changed, but was left in a sleeper, Joseph didn't get his diaper changed because I figured he'd last a couple more hours since it was new at 1am or so. Just hanging out!

7. We made it to the library on Tuesday because our books were due. As we were walking in, Joseph eyed up the little kids playing in their fenced in day care playground across the parking lot. "I have to go see my kids," he told me. "That's day care," I informed him. And he wanted to know all about it.

I told him it's where kids go when their mommies and daddies have to work. Apparently that sounded pretty cool. "You go to work, Mommy!" he told me. All week he kept bringing it up.

Dan later informed him that these kids couldn't see their moms and dads all day. He would miss us, he told him. Joseph thought otherwise. He wanted us both to go to work so he could play with those kids.

Then I went for a walk one night, with just John Paul, while Joseph watched Dan mow the grass. He cried because he missed me. "Do you want to go to day care now?" I think not, little man.

Photo: In Flight

Move over John Paul.

Yes, even move over Joseph.

Here is the photo of the year thus far, hands down (and bottoms up):

That's Rider QB Seth Doege during the preseason game last Saturday. Taj Smith's (#88) reaction is priceless.

La Fleche

I'm not sure exactly how to begin writing about a friend getting murdered. In some ways it hasn't sunk in at all yet.  I was breezing through some Catholic news sites on Thursday morning and saw a headline that a priest had been murdered. Instantly saddened, I quickly learned that it was a FSSP priest. But then my head started spinning when I saw the name in the story. I am speaking of our dear Kenny, Fr. Kenneth Walker, who tragically was murdered Wednesday night in Arizona.

I still remember when I first met Kenny. It was at an opening day BBQ at the Academy. This was my first year there, and I didn't have a clue as to what to expect. So I was sitting around quietly at this BBQ when a skinny boy with thick glasses and a comb-over hair cut came trotting in. Instantly all of the girls in the place jumped from their seats and starting screaming and running over to see the boy. They were giddy and excited to say the least. "Gee," I thought, "is he the Big Man On Campus here?... Where am I? What am I doing here?!" I soon learned that Kenny was a returning student, the only male returning student from the previous year, and he was essentially a brother to all the girls there. And that was all he would ever be, because I think after less than a minute from the first time I met him I already was informed that he wanted to be a priest for "the Fraternity."

It didn't take long to get to know Kenny. There were 11 of us guys living in the upstairs of the Academy. Kenny loved to talk (especially in Latin), play sports, serve Mass (especially for dear Fr. Kennedy), study, and to stay up late talking about anything philosophical or theological. One day some people, I will call them hotshots, came from nearby Dominican College in Ottawa to check out the Academy. They were either in their final undergrad year, or even possibly in a Masters program. It didn't take long for Kenny to get in a conversation with them about some Thomistic topic. I sat in amazement that night as Kenny, barely in his second year of studies, ripped the hotshots apart left right and centre on the subject they were discussing! Yet he did so with a gentleness and kindness that seemed almost like he was apologizing. Like, "sorry, but since I must defend truth, I must now destroy your arguments." What a brain!

He was quirky. He seemed like a Catholic from some past generation. One who genuinely sought holiness, "cost what may." But though he seemed from a past generation, he most definitely was aware of the world around him. His love for the Extraordinary Form Mass was not born out of wanting to stay in the past, rather it was for him simply the best possible way to become close to Our Lord. He loved beauty, and chant, and praising God the way the Church has for centuries. To him the Mass was to foretaste heaven, and he famously called the workings of the then parish contemporary choir (i.e. hippy music): "theologically ghetto." He would frequently repeat the story of how once at a Mass in a "modern" parish the priest, for the homily, simply played a violin. He would shake his head. But soon his face would return to its always smiling way.

I remember choir lessons with Kenny. Now he was one of those people who struggles to sing on key. Actually, he didn't struggle at all. He just belted out the key that he was in. It was the rest of the choir that was off key! But we discovered one day that when he sang a Latin chant on his own he indeed had the most beautiful and sincere voice around. Almost like a child. And same too when we frequently prayed the rosary together. I always remember that his voice changed when praying a Hail Mary. It was if he was speaking with his most precious dear Mother, and he wanted to let her know he loved her. Which of course was exactly what he was doing.

I think I remember most one night when Kenny and I, and a van load of other students, drove to Pembroke to watch a movie (more like to get out of Barry's Bay). Both Kenny and I weren't much for spending $10 to watch a garbage movie, so we walked around and talked for two hours instead. That's when I really go to know him better. He loved learning the faith. He thought about his family a lot. He couldn't understand why people spent so much time loving this world when we were to work for heaven. He worried and prayed for certain people. Most of all, he just wanted to be a priest. A holy priest. A St. John Vianney. Kenny was ordained in May of 2012. The first Academy priest.

So that gets me to la fleche. "Kenny La Fleche!" That is the nickname given by a French Canadian friend and myself for Kenny. "Kenny La Fleche!" La fleche means "the arrow." Why the arrow? Whenever Kenny walked, or ran, or walked and ran, he did so with a driving force. He put his whole self into it. He moved with purpose. He was like a driving arrow. Wherever he had to go, be it out for a walk, or even to get that soccer ball, he was on a straight path, and he was going to get there as quickly as possible, "cost what may." Well as we live, we die. Kenny's main focus was always heaven. It is fitting that Kenny La Fleche, the arrow, was called to leave this world so quickly. He knew his destination. There really could be no stopping him on his path.

And Our Lord always fills His quiver with the best.

requiescat in pace

Snippets: June 13, 2014

1. We enjoyed a great little visit last Sunday from the Rogals. Catherine and Joseph are the best of friends and we hope with a little time Michael and John Paul (1 year apart) will also be great buddies.

We took them to our favourite little park, the site of the old Catholic hospital, and the swinging bridge by the golf course. We weren't even trying to, but somehow we convinced them Tisdale is a great place to live. And, of course, we'd love to have them here if they decided to move!

2. On Tuesday we finally got our home inspection done. It seems like the whole process for buying our house is taking a long time, but, in perspective, it's been just one week since we made an initial agreement with the owners. Joseph and I loved tagging along with our home inspector and learned a lot. We got to see how gadgets like thermography tools work and found out that Mike Holmes doesn't use one on TV anymore because he's actually not certified. The inspector was really thorough and we benefited a lot from the pictures and advice he had to give. Joseph even made it into the home inspection photos!

3. We spent a few days in Nipawin recently. When we got the phone call that steaks were on the menu for Sunday's supper earlier this month, we just had to go even though we'd be turning around and returning just a day later for some archery training for Dan.

Rio, the horse, is back on the acreage after a long winter at a neighbouring farm and Joseph was delighted to see her again. In addition, Grandpa Millette drops whatever he's doing to entertain his little buddy Joseph and so it's always a good time. They drove the lawn mower around, filled up the swimming pool (yes, Grandpa made numerous trips with hot water from the house so it would be warmer), and played toys. John Paul hung out and blew bubbles...

4. We're going to Ontario!! Flights have been booked - hurrah! We'll be visiting my family from July 5-12. Unfortunately, it's going to be a short trip because we have some really necessary work to get done on this house this summer. If I could fly on my own with the kids we would stay longer, but at this stage it would be way to difficult with these two little boys. Nevertheless, we are so excited to be visiting and will party it up for a week.

5. On a similar note, my parents have just sold their house, the home I grew up in from age 5 onward. We are happy and sad, of course. They will be moving (to where, we do not know) sometime in September, so this will be our last summer visiting at the good ol' homestead. We're going to soak it all in and swim, fish, run like crazy, and generally have a good time. Then, hopefully in September, my parents will make a trek out to visit us!

6. Our little John Paul isn't so little anymore (he never was, really). He's not even 3 months old yet, but has been sporting cute little 6 month outfits for over a week now. We have been given so many little boy clothes from friends and co-workers of Dan's that I have to wash them as soon as they come and get him into them before he outgrows them. 

John Paul is still on the fussy, high-needs baby side of the scale, but certainly much better than his colicky little self of the first month or so of his life. He has gorgeous, striking dark blue eyes and a smile and "ahhgooo" to melt your heart. Of late, he is the biggest bubble blower and drooler. One lady at church asked me if he was teething, since he's sucking his fingers and drooling all over. Um, yeah, not my 2 month old, please. No teeth yet! But his clothes get pretty messy so maybe that's his way of wearing them all before he's too big.

 7. I'm always on the lookout for beautiful weather and happy kids to practice with my new camera. It's difficult because the time frame is always short and good smiles rare. At this rate, I will never be a photographer in any shape of the word (I never bother with edits and don't really know how), but it's a lot of fun and my camera makes up for many areas where I fall short.

Josephisms

Joseph, Joseph. He's quite the little kid these days! Before the time just flies right by and I forget all the cute and funny and awful things of this stage, I wanted to make a post devoted wholly to our two year old.

All grown up (sort of).
Before John Paul was born people kept telling me that I'd be shocked when the baby came along at how big Joseph would suddenly seem by comparison. It's true. All of a sudden your idea of small people drastically gets readjusted with a new baby. 

And with his huge growth, Joseph has gained a wonderful amount of independence. He can now take off his own shoes (we're still working on putting them on), open the door to let himself in and out of the house (sometimes not a good idea), and go around fetching things for me while I'm otherwise busy nursing. 

He now even puts himself down for his own naps (sort of). I stick him in bed with some books and give him an half-hour to read. If he falls asleep, great! If not, remove books and leave him to sleep. I love when I go in to find him surrounded on all sides and laying on books. Or, the best, the time he fell asleep with his book on his face!

When my mom was here after John Paul's birth she let Joseph help her wash dishes. Then when my sister came to visit she let Joseph wash dishes. The idea that he is big enough to wash dishes has now been firmly engraved in his mind, whether I like it or not. Let's just say I have a permanently dubbed "floor towel" drying somewhere at all times.

Now... if we could just convince him that he's so grown up he can ditch the diapers forever and poop on the toilet...

Little athlete.

Just like his dad, this boy of ours. He loves, loves, loves all things sports related. If you're trying to walk through our house to get anywhere at all, you have to watch out for tennis rackets, balls, hockey sticks, baseball gloves... you name it, it's in the way.

I grew up thinking it was just a mom's job to tell everyone not to play with balls in the house. You know, something might get broken. And, like all kids, I generally ignored this rule. Now that I'm the mom, I still think it's a mom's job to tell everyone not to play with balls... I'm not exactly sure why we always have this rule and I still break it myself, but somehow that rule just has to be said. Sure, that makes sense, right? Currently, we don't really have too many breakable things in our living room, but as I now finally begin to make it our own there's stuff I want to put there that is breakable and it's just as hard convincing a certain dad as it is his son that balls should be somewhere else.

One of their favourite ball games in the living room is tennis. They stand at opposite ends of the room and Dan gently hits the ball to Joseph. Joseph aims and when he's on the money (which is definitely more than half the time) he lets it fly and you hope you and the baby are out of his line of fire. I should also mention... his aim has much to be desired.

Another favourite sport is baseball. Joseph has gotten it into his head that your ordinary baseball cap is for playing baseball. Obviously. He likes to argue that he doesn't need to wear it to keep the sun off his face and neck, unless he's playing baseball. But if he is playing baseball, you'd better believe that we need to find that cap, right now.

Dan brought home a little foam bat from school for Joseph to try out. With a Frisbee acting as first base, Dan pitches and Joseph tries his darndest to connect with the (big) beach type ball they use. When he hits it he gets so excited that he either forgets to run altogether or, when prompted, runs to first base with his bat.

Developing conscience?
"Are you happy, mom?" I hear this a lot. Usually right after Joseph has done something wrong and been disciplined for it. "Are you happy with me? Are you happy with John Paul?" He'll compare my responses. 

Of course, I'm so glad that he wants me to be happy with him. It's just so hard to decide which answer is best in the circumstance. "Yes, I'm happy with you when you listen (put away your toys, are gentle with you brother)."

He's learning, too, that tears are for when you're hurt, NOT when you don't get what you want. Sometimes, it's a hard lesson to learn and he has to go to his room to get a hold of himself. Sometimes he's able to suck them back.


  
Budding comedian.
You might remember our attempts to teach Joseph some jokes. For a good long time, whenever we asked him to tell us a joke he'd say "Goby goby go." His cousin actually called him Goby Go because she thought it so funny. Then, he graduated to simply saying "Joke" and, of course, everyone laughed. Finally, we thought some Knock, Knock jokes might work for him. But he gets them all mixed up.

One goes like this: 
"Knock, knock"
"Who's there?"
"Boo"
"Boo who?"
"Don't cry John Paul!" (instead of "don't cry")

Then he elaborated:
"Knock, knock"
"Who's there?"
"Orange (or yellow or whatever colour he wants)"
"Orange who?"
"Don't cry John Paul!" (right... that banana joke he still can't figure out how to tell)



Quotables:
Anytime, to announce his arrival:
"There my are."

When John Paul nurses loudly:
"John Paul's making noisies."

"My birthday's coming up!" 
(it's not until September, he's been saying this for months)

When Dan bites off Lego pieces with his teeth:
"Don't eat the Lego, Daddy!"

Saying good-night to Jesus:
"Have a good night on the cross, Jesus."

Looking through our greeting card box and finding a card with a dog on it:
"We'll give this one to a dog!"

Home Sweat Home

Did we tell you about the week John Paul was born? How I was in labour for almost 4 days? How Dan got an interview request with the Saskatoon school board where we thought we wanted to be? How he had a surprise interview at the school here? How he got offered that job and had to decide right away if he wanted it, putting aside all hopes of Saskatoon? How I was still labouring through all this, visiting the hospital regularly and putting off induction three times because, well, we thought labour meant imminent baby? How John Paul was finally born? Yes, that was a crazy week!

The week during our house hunt and buy felt similarly insane, minus the pain. 

We saw House #1 on Wednesday. We knew before we saw it that it was unlikely we'd actually buy it. Viewing it simply confirmed that! Too expensive for the cost of the upgrades it needed. Also, on a very busy street.

That night we started a novena to St Joseph... And he took it from there. Things just started happening.

On Saturday, Dan walked in with a growing list and budget of what would need to be done on House #2, our house. It was just boggling our mind how houses in this town could be listed at such differing and high prices and we wanted a real breakdown of why some were selling and others sitting there for a year or more. Our Realtor later confirmed that some sellers are completely ridiculous in their asking price and not really that serious about wanting to get rid of the house. It shows.

We asked Dan's dad, an engineer with a special love for all things concrete, to look over our house and see if we were insane to consider buying it with all the work it needs. He thought it a good idea, actually.

On Sunday morning our landlords called, wondering what our plans were for the future. Up to this point they had no idea of our intention to buy a home. 

On Monday we met with our landlords and discussed an offer. Surprisingly they actually told us what their lowest price would be. Still, we had one more house we wanted to view.

During this time Dan had one or more meeting every night. We took two trips to Nipawin. We were back and forth with the Realtor, waiting for the owners of House #3 to be ready to show their home. We were talking and dreaming more and more about what we would do with the house we're in if we actually bought it. 

We couldn't see House #3 until Thursday night. And when we did, well, we liked almost everything about it. But of course, we were comparing it to House #2, our house. There were many, many things that were much nicer, but also less space in some areas where we really liked our house better. 

In the end, we drove and drove and drove after leaving House #3, knowing we had to make a decision that night and let our landlords know what we were doing. It was hard, really hard. 

Have you figured out where this is going yet? Yes, we bought our house. We still have an inspection along with all the legal and money stuff to deal with, but we're in agreement with the owners. 

And here's the thing: We got a great deal on this house. We know with a lot of work we can, as Dan said, make this house "kick the crap out of" the other house we liked. We also know that when that's all said and done, we will have greatly increased the value of this house and likely be able to re-sell and make a profit.  

We've been living here for a year and a half. During all that time, we'd sworn we would never ever buy this house. But, we still talked very regularly about what we would do to it if it were our house. During our most tense decision making, I asked Dan at one point, "How long has it been since the last time you swore you'd never buy this house?" "I think it's been a couple weeks," he laughed.

We have a long, long road ahead of us to make this place our home. A lot of crazy renovations and fix-its. Probably lots of sweat (mostly Dan's) and tears (most likely mine). But we're really happy with our final decision. It is our Home Sweat Home!

When we pulled into our driveway last night after Mass, Joseph suggested, "Let's buy this house!" "Do you want to live here?" we asked him. "Yes!" he said, with a huge grin.

House Hunters Tisdale

You've watched the HGTV show House Hunters, right?!

Here's how it works: Couple gives Realtor preferred vicinity, budget, and list often differing realistic and unrealistic expectations in a home (e.g. man cave, jet tubs, "character" home, 6000 sq ft). Realtor works to find 3 homes meeting some or all of the criteria. Couple views, complains about, and finally chooses 1 home, vowing it is just right in the end.

As we like to say, Tisdale sports either the mansion or the crack-shack in the Realty sector. The mansions, to the tune of $350,000+ we can't afford. The crack-shacks, starting at $40,000... well, we also can't afford to tear down and rebuild. Anything in the middle ground is quick to sell, often overpriced, and sometimes still needs updates. It's a hard market!

Enter the Millette family as House Hunters. Vicinity: Tisdale, SK. Budget: never you mind. List: 2+ bedrooms, 2 baths, north side of town, no flooding in basement, good backyard (hopefully with a fence).

House #1:

Source

1982 special. 1084 sq ft. Not many updates. Big brown shag carpet. Archways leading into the shower. Sloping back deck. Fenced backyard. Small bedrooms. Small main bathroom. Gas fireplace. Huge south-facing windows.

Asking price $219,000. 

We decided to view it last week because it looked structurally sound and seemed to have some potential. It's true, it does have potential. But for $219K and needing some significant updates, including windows, in the near future???

House #2:

1970 something. 1100 something sq ft. Updated windows, siding, uneven flooring, one-coat painted walls. Broken, sloping concrete needing immediate care. Old shingles. No-closure-falling-over fenced in backyard. Great location. Nice layout.

Asking price $make-us-an-offer. 

Wait, you say, isn't that your house? Yes, actually, it is. This is the house we're living in and renting right now. We never considered buying it until last Saturday. Too many updates, we thought, too much work. But, it would be a private sale. We might get it for a steal of a deal. Hmmm. But we really don't want a fixer-upper for our first home!

House #3:

So sorry, no picture. I forgot to bring our camera and it's not yet up on the Realtor's website. Picture simple house with picture window, wood steps to front entrance, white siding, grey roof, attached garage covering front right of house. Nothing terribly eye-catching, but nice.

1980 something. 1000 something sq ft. Beautifully, fully finished. Nice, spacious backyard with walkout deck from kitchen. No fence. Large kitchen walk-in pantry. Huge main bathroom. Attached garage. Across the street from trashy trailer park with troublesome kids.

Asking price $219,000.

The difference between this house and the first, both listed at $219K, was incredible. We were the first potential buyers to view it (the Realtors are still finalizing the details, like sq ft) and it doesn't even have a For Sale sign out front yet. Basically, it had everything we were looking for in a house, some really crazily decorated kids' bedrooms, but very nice, nonetheless. I swooned over the pantry, of course.

And now it's time for that commercial break to heighten the suspense. Which house will they choose??? Oh, the suspense. Leave us your best guess in the comments.