The children saw and loved the house on Saturday, a much better reaction than we received to the first property, so all in all this whole experience has a much more positive feel to it.
Monday, 29 November 2010
Monday 29th November 2010
Prelim reports are in and so far so good. Meeting with a plumber at the property tomorrow to discuss updating boiler system and some minor plumbing issues and then hopefully the solisitors can start the searches and we will be well on our way to exchange.
The children saw and loved the house on Saturday, a much better reaction than we received to the first property, so all in all this whole experience has a much more positive feel to it.
The children saw and loved the house on Saturday, a much better reaction than we received to the first property, so all in all this whole experience has a much more positive feel to it.
Thursday, 25 November 2010
Thursday 25th November 2010
Mortgage offer has been made (and gratefully accepted), surveys are complete and looking good so now just waiting for the prelim reports from the solicitors (the documents that derailed us last time) and we will know if this little house is meant to be ours. Taking the children to view it on Saturday and will take some more pics then.
Tuesday, 23 November 2010
Tuesday 23rd November 2010
Received a phone call from Halifax today to tell us that they are sending the Chartered Surveyors round to the house tomorrow to carry out the valuation and home buyers survey. Means we have passed all the credit checks and are that much closer to actually getting our home.....starting to feel just the tiniest bit excited.
Friday, 19 November 2010
Friday 19th November 2010
The offer is in and has been accepted, the mortgage has been approved in principal and once again my parents are the hero's of the situation......now just the surveys and all going well this may just be a done deal.
The house is a 3 bedroom semi-detached on a corner plot (with room for renovations) in Burgess Hill a town about 10 minutes drive from where we currently live. The garden is gorgeous and I have already filled all the rooms with our furniture in my mind and have fond daydreams of Si and my mom enjoying a brandy and coke together in the conservatory next summer.
More photos to follow as the sale progresses.
The house is a 3 bedroom semi-detached on a corner plot (with room for renovations) in Burgess Hill a town about 10 minutes drive from where we currently live. The garden is gorgeous and I have already filled all the rooms with our furniture in my mind and have fond daydreams of Si and my mom enjoying a brandy and coke together in the conservatory next summer.
More photos to follow as the sale progresses.
Thursday, 18 November 2010
Thursday 18th November 2010
I was woken in the early (and very dark cold) hours of this morning to the sound of my littlest calling "Pip, Pip" (silence) "Pip Piiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiip" and then nothing....now due to the afore mentioned cold I think Si and I can both be forgiven for not venturing out of bed to investigate once silence returned.
The resulting sight that greeted us this morning was just the sweetest ever and I am glad we didn't investigate....it would appear that Nick gets cold in the early morning and is well aware that the most snuggly place to be is in bed with his brother with the covers pulled up almost over their heads. My darling Phil is clearly obliging and the calling we heard in the night must have been when Nick was ready to switch beds.....I just LOVE that my children LOVE each other so so very much.
The resulting sight that greeted us this morning was just the sweetest ever and I am glad we didn't investigate....it would appear that Nick gets cold in the early morning and is well aware that the most snuggly place to be is in bed with his brother with the covers pulled up almost over their heads. My darling Phil is clearly obliging and the calling we heard in the night must have been when Nick was ready to switch beds.....I just LOVE that my children LOVE each other so so very much.
Monday, 15 November 2010
Monday 15th November 2010
I have seen inside more English homes in the last week than I think is good for ones sanity....I have literally laughed at the way some people live and cried at the thought of how our rather modest budget may force us to live.
All has not been in vain however, I have found a house which Simon and I both adore, it has a few quirks which may end up being deal breakers but for now we are cautiously optimistic and waiting for the bank to let us know if we will be eligible for the bond we need.
Learned my lesson last time, that just because you see a house you like it most certainly doesn't mean you will own in...so this time am keeping emotions in check and dealing with everything from a very good "head" space.
All has not been in vain however, I have found a house which Simon and I both adore, it has a few quirks which may end up being deal breakers but for now we are cautiously optimistic and waiting for the bank to let us know if we will be eligible for the bond we need.
Learned my lesson last time, that just because you see a house you like it most certainly doesn't mean you will own in...so this time am keeping emotions in check and dealing with everything from a very good "head" space.
Wednesday, 10 November 2010
Wednesday 10th November 2010
So much has been happening yet strangely nothing really significant at all, time just seems to wizz by in a myriad of domestic duties. I have been for my first midwife appointment and all is well in the world of babe, have my scan booked for 25th November which is the first time we will see or hear a heartbeat, so always a very precious moment.
We are all well and settled back after our holiday and the children have returned to school and their routines like they were born to it. Si is still blissfully happy in his job which makes it so much easier and me, well I am quickly back in the swing of washing and cleaning punctuated by much needed and much appreciated coffee / playdates with my wonderful friends.
Have spent the week house hunting in earnest but after seeing the tiny little boxes on the market in our price range I think it all may just go on hold for a little while....the difficulty is that the homes we can afford in order to get onto the property ladder just don't suit our growing family and the ones we need are way off in the land of pink clouds and bubblegum as far as our budget is concerned. So for now, or the immediate now at least, I think we will sit tight in our very large Victorian home and enjoy the benefits. I am, as always, a firm believer that when the time is right we will be blessed with just what we need, we just don't know when the right time will be that is all.
We are all well and settled back after our holiday and the children have returned to school and their routines like they were born to it. Si is still blissfully happy in his job which makes it so much easier and me, well I am quickly back in the swing of washing and cleaning punctuated by much needed and much appreciated coffee / playdates with my wonderful friends.
Have spent the week house hunting in earnest but after seeing the tiny little boxes on the market in our price range I think it all may just go on hold for a little while....the difficulty is that the homes we can afford in order to get onto the property ladder just don't suit our growing family and the ones we need are way off in the land of pink clouds and bubblegum as far as our budget is concerned. So for now, or the immediate now at least, I think we will sit tight in our very large Victorian home and enjoy the benefits. I am, as always, a firm believer that when the time is right we will be blessed with just what we need, we just don't know when the right time will be that is all.
Thursday, 4 November 2010
Thursday 14th October - Sunday 31st October (Our time in South Africa)
It has taken me a while to post this entry as to be honest I just didn't really know where to start and what I wanted to say, we had the MOST AWESOME, INCREDIBLE, SPECIAL, MEMORABLE holiday ever and I simply haven't been able to decide whether to blog it day by day or just to touch on some of our thoughts and experiences and how they have left us feeling about England, Africa and the journey that we are on.
What comes below is a rambling of thoughts I think, punctuated by some of the photographs I took, I hope that one day they will serve to jog our memory about one of the best family holidays we have ever had.
Only hours after arriving in South Africa Simon looked at me and said that no matter how wonderful it felt to be amongst family and how good and familiar everything was he was glad we lived in England and that it was now his home.....in saying this my ever wonderful husband unwittingly released me to embrace our experience and live each moment without the fear that he was going to tell me he wanted to return.
I LOVE South Africa and saw so many improvements since my last visit, I was blown away by the development of RDP housing and how there seemed to be a dramatic reduction in squatter camps lining the freeways. The World cup certainly seems to have had the impact everyone talked about and I witnessed with my own eyes some of the dramatic improvements in infrastructure especially along Durban beachfront. We ate in restaurant and experience world class service, friendly and efficient and it was so much improved from the same experience a year ago that at times I was simply stunned.
Time spent with family and friends was like gold, precious and sadly now for us a great rarity.....Our first night in the country was celebrated by the ENTIRE Robertson family, a mere 28 of us in total and we were so touched that EVERY single member made the effort to be there to be with us. I watched my husband flourish in his family love and I think that those couple of hours meant more to him than even he had thought they would.
Once in Durban being with my dad again was like water to my thirsty soul, I have been blessed to spend a total 20 weeks with my mom since leaving SA but apart from 7 short days in November last year I have had to settle for skype and telephone conversations with my dad and it was wonderful to sit and watch him do the normal things, hang washing and feed his dogs, tinker with his aeroplanes and play cards on his computer - these are the little things one really misses when separated from family for long periods of time.
My parents blessed us with 3 glorious days down the South coast and although the weather was not perfect the setting was and I think we all benefited from the alone time away from the pressures two short weeks in a country puts you under. I watched my mom interact with Nick and the older children and my heart swelled as my littlest got to know his Nanna again - separating the children from their grandparents is my only sadness in this whole adventure we are on....I was raised in a family where grandparent where very much a part of my day to day life and I saw the benefits that Megan and Phillip had for the first 10 and 7 years of their lives respectively and it hurts me to know that because of our decision Nick and the baby will miss out on this amazing privilege.
Our children thrived under the hot African sun and were reunited with friends so special that no matter the years the connection was as strong as it was the day we left the country. Watching Nick Nick love our dogs, Skye and Tara as Megs and Phil once had and lying with them in their kennels was a gift hard to describe....this time with my parents in their home was one of the most special of my life and one I found hard to articulate at the time. Their grace in giving us the trip and doing everything in their power to welcome us was not unnoticed and I will be forever grateful of the 14 days we spend together.
During this period we were also able to reunite with special friend, people who have been in our lives for a long time, and who I hope will continue to be a part of our story even though we now live so far apart. With them time melted away and it was as though we had never left.....both the Stemps and the Dolloways welcomed us into their home and reminded us of a time of much laughter and fellowship. Coffee with my girls at the Beat was an obvious highlight of the trip and one I don't know if we will ever be lucky enough to repeat - my connection to these girls and the time we spent as the "bratz" is one I will never forget and I don't think will ever replace and it was wonderful to be together again if ever for just a little while.
Overall as I have said before the holiday of a LIFETIME filled with love, happiness and friendship beyond compare but it was with an easy heart that we said goodbye and returned to our home...to the new friendships and people who have made our lives here undeniably better....to the calm, gentle island that has given us security and freedom before only dreamt of.
I think that I can now officially say that we have emigrated and that South Africa is in our past, a very beautiful, very passionate, very wild and vibrant past, but all 4 of us are ready to turn and face our future here and it is with such gratitude that we thank the people who we have left behind for wishing us only joy and keeping us in their hearts and prayers, this holiday showed us that no matter where you live their are some ties that will bind you together forever.
What comes below is a rambling of thoughts I think, punctuated by some of the photographs I took, I hope that one day they will serve to jog our memory about one of the best family holidays we have ever had.
Only hours after arriving in South Africa Simon looked at me and said that no matter how wonderful it felt to be amongst family and how good and familiar everything was he was glad we lived in England and that it was now his home.....in saying this my ever wonderful husband unwittingly released me to embrace our experience and live each moment without the fear that he was going to tell me he wanted to return.
I LOVE South Africa and saw so many improvements since my last visit, I was blown away by the development of RDP housing and how there seemed to be a dramatic reduction in squatter camps lining the freeways. The World cup certainly seems to have had the impact everyone talked about and I witnessed with my own eyes some of the dramatic improvements in infrastructure especially along Durban beachfront. We ate in restaurant and experience world class service, friendly and efficient and it was so much improved from the same experience a year ago that at times I was simply stunned.
Time spent with family and friends was like gold, precious and sadly now for us a great rarity.....Our first night in the country was celebrated by the ENTIRE Robertson family, a mere 28 of us in total and we were so touched that EVERY single member made the effort to be there to be with us. I watched my husband flourish in his family love and I think that those couple of hours meant more to him than even he had thought they would.
Once in Durban being with my dad again was like water to my thirsty soul, I have been blessed to spend a total 20 weeks with my mom since leaving SA but apart from 7 short days in November last year I have had to settle for skype and telephone conversations with my dad and it was wonderful to sit and watch him do the normal things, hang washing and feed his dogs, tinker with his aeroplanes and play cards on his computer - these are the little things one really misses when separated from family for long periods of time.
My parents blessed us with 3 glorious days down the South coast and although the weather was not perfect the setting was and I think we all benefited from the alone time away from the pressures two short weeks in a country puts you under. I watched my mom interact with Nick and the older children and my heart swelled as my littlest got to know his Nanna again - separating the children from their grandparents is my only sadness in this whole adventure we are on....I was raised in a family where grandparent where very much a part of my day to day life and I saw the benefits that Megan and Phillip had for the first 10 and 7 years of their lives respectively and it hurts me to know that because of our decision Nick and the baby will miss out on this amazing privilege.
Our children thrived under the hot African sun and were reunited with friends so special that no matter the years the connection was as strong as it was the day we left the country. Watching Nick Nick love our dogs, Skye and Tara as Megs and Phil once had and lying with them in their kennels was a gift hard to describe....this time with my parents in their home was one of the most special of my life and one I found hard to articulate at the time. Their grace in giving us the trip and doing everything in their power to welcome us was not unnoticed and I will be forever grateful of the 14 days we spend together.
During this period we were also able to reunite with special friend, people who have been in our lives for a long time, and who I hope will continue to be a part of our story even though we now live so far apart. With them time melted away and it was as though we had never left.....both the Stemps and the Dolloways welcomed us into their home and reminded us of a time of much laughter and fellowship. Coffee with my girls at the Beat was an obvious highlight of the trip and one I don't know if we will ever be lucky enough to repeat - my connection to these girls and the time we spent as the "bratz" is one I will never forget and I don't think will ever replace and it was wonderful to be together again if ever for just a little while.
Overall as I have said before the holiday of a LIFETIME filled with love, happiness and friendship beyond compare but it was with an easy heart that we said goodbye and returned to our home...to the new friendships and people who have made our lives here undeniably better....to the calm, gentle island that has given us security and freedom before only dreamt of.
I think that I can now officially say that we have emigrated and that South Africa is in our past, a very beautiful, very passionate, very wild and vibrant past, but all 4 of us are ready to turn and face our future here and it is with such gratitude that we thank the people who we have left behind for wishing us only joy and keeping us in their hearts and prayers, this holiday showed us that no matter where you live their are some ties that will bind you together forever.
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