We Missed Something!!

Becky here. As I was reading though our blogs I realized we have left out some recent events.

Nathan and I are in the car now, driving in raining weather, to Winnebago, IL to spend the week of Thanksgiving with Mama and Papa Holland. I thought, what could be a better time to catch everyone up than during a 4 hour car ride. So, here are a few recent happenings and some pictures for your enjoyment!!

MOVING AGAIN.

Just a few weeks after we found out I was pregnant, I went in to our rental office to pay rent. As normal, a conversation struck up with the ladies that run the place, Trina and Marlene. I have formed a great relationship with them. I am a talkative gal and they are as well, so they have always known what is going on in my life and I in theirs. They knew me as a single lady when I moved in to my one bedroom apartment. Then, they watched me change my name on the lease and add Nathan’s as we got married. And now, only 2 months after our wedding, here I am at the office telling them I am pregnant! They were very excited for us and immediately asked if Nathan and I would be moving into a 2 bedroom apartment. I told them that we would LOVE the extra space, but we surely could not afford the rent. At the time we were paying $540 a month for our one bedroom and that plus our other bills was expending our money each month just fine. We didn’t think it was wise or necessary to stretch ourselves with a much bigger rent (2 bedrooms generally go for $700-750 in our building). I also didn’t want to be moving in the 8th month of my pregnancy when our lease was up, then have to repaint and nest in a new place. I told them this and Trina thinking out loud said, “Well, we normally charge around $700 for a 2 bedroom because it is two students sharing the rent. Then they are only paying $350 each, and that’s a good deal.” I agreed with her there. Then she said, “But you and Nathan are married and expecting a baby. So, how does $595 sound?” I nearly jumped up and down. But thought an answer of, “I will have to run that past my husband, but thank you so much for the offer,” was the best thing to say. Then I thought to ask if there were even any 2 bedrooms open. They said they would have to check. I mentioned that when I was walking from one side of the apartment building to the other to do laundry I noticed an apartment on the second floor that was empty and looked like a 2 bedroom. “Is that one available?” I asked. Marlene said, “That one’s not empty. They have their lease until February.” I told them that it has looked very empty for a few weeks or so and remembered watching them move all their stuff a while ago. So, we went over that apartment to see what was going on and it WAS empty. The people who had lived there just picked up and moved out without telling them anything! I bet they are in trouble. But this was working out well for me. The apartment looked great except the carpets. They were really old and dirty yellow shag with brown speck that I could not be sure were supposed to be there or were just filth. There were also holes warn into the carpet or burnt into it. Whoever had lived in that apartment had not been very nice to it at all. Trina told me the apartment was ours if we wanted it. I was excited, but the carpets were a deal breaker for me. I explained this to her and asked her if they could replace them. She said, “Well, a baby couldn’t very will crawl on THESE carpets.” We painted the apartment that weekend. Thanks to Ma and Pa Cantlon for funding the repaint and to our great friends Dale, Amanda, Becky, Devin, Joel, and Jessica for helping with the labor and Grandma Dorothy for funding dinner for the laborers!! ☺ Maintenance replaced the carpets the next week and we moved in the week after!! We have lived for a month or so now and LOVE it. It is so much bigger than our old place. AND the baby has it’s own room!!!! We are so excited to meet our little Holland. Here are some picture of the place.

Here is the living room:


And the other half of the living room:


Our messy dining room/office area. As you can see I am not done organizing this part. :)


The kitchen:


Bathroom:


The baby's room - a work in progress!


Our bedroom:


The other half of our room:


Hope you enjoyed. Much love.