Addition to our Family

I can't believe it has been since November that I posted last.  So much has happened.  I will begin with the addition to our family.  We decided to take in and foster Lance's great-niece.  We will eventually move toward adoption.  She is 6 years old and her name is Brianna.  It has been quite an adjustment.  We are used to me being the only female so none of us are used to all of the drama that comes with little girls.  She's a beautiful little girl. 

On a sad note, this past June my mom passed away after a 3 and a half year battle with colorectal cancer.  It still just seems surreal that she is gone.  She was an unbelievable, strong, brave, loving, giving, Godly woman.  I can only pray that I will be like her.

Cruise News and More

Besides the fact that Lance was sick the whole time we were on our trip to Europe we had a really good time.  We saw so much and learned so much that there is no way that I could possibly tell it all in a blog.  I took lots of pictures and we had a great time with Steve and Kim Nealy.  I have to say that Italy was my favorite out of Italy, Spain, and France.  It is so beautiful and rich in history.  Pompeii was unbelievable!  It is hard to believe it has been there for 3000 years!

Now that we are home it has been hard to get back into the groove of real estate.  However, I have had two closings and got an accepted contract on another one of my listings.  I need to start drumming up some more business!

Nick tried out for his school basketball team and he made the team!  I think I was more excited than he was.  He surely does not lack for confidence.  I don't think he had any doubt that he would make the team.  I, on the other hand, tried to be more grounded.  He also got hurt in football practice last week and his back has been bothering him.  We had a doctor look at him and he feels like it is just a pulled muscle.  He didn't get hit, it happened when he tried to catch the ball.  I'm pretty sure he just twisted a weird way.  Anyway, he didn't get to play much in the big football game this past Saturday.  We still won, though.  He was bummed that he didn't get to play more.

Logan had fun trick or treating on Halloween night.  We went around with our cousins: Alexa and Mikayla Haman, and Bella and Brenlee Messer.  Logan was an alien.  He looked so cute.  However, he is now sick with a bad sinus infection and an ear infection.  He started feeling bad on Saturday and by Saturday night he was done with the festivities after a little while.  I took him to the doctor today so he is now on strong antibiotics.

Well, I am going to close and finish watching the second half of the Falcons/Saints game.  I like both teams so I really don't care who wins.

News on the Homefront

I can't believe that we leave for our cruise in 3 weeks and 1 day! I am so excited I can't stand it. We have arranged for my in-laws to stay here at the house with the boys. (So, anyone thinking they can come break in to my house cause the house will be empty you need to think again.)

I am so thankful that my business has picked up like it has! I now have 6 listings and a few that I will be listing in the next couple of weeks. Please check out my website to view these listings and if you know of anyone that might be interested let me know. My website address is http://www.melissasells4you.com/

The boys are keeping us very busy! Nick has been playing football for the Prairieville Broncos. He is the starting wide receiver and has caught several long passes for 35+ yds. He also plays tight end and safety. He is really enjoying it.

Logan has stated tennis lessons. He loves it! I am so glad that he has found a sport that he likes. He actually looks forward to his lessons. I think I am going to sign him up for a tournament that will be taking place. My neighbors children are in the same group so she has more info that I have to get from her. This tennis thing is new for me so I just go to her for help.

Navigate Graduation

Nick has been involved in our church's intern program this summer called Navigate. Last night, they had their graduation. It was quite the event. The setting was like the Emmy's. The gave out "Golden Glove" awards to the top boys and girls from the junior high and high school level. The winners even had to go up and give their acceptance speeches. The boys and girls were dressed up and I loved it! Nick wore nice pants, a dress shirt, and yes, a TIE! He hated every second of it, but I was basking. Here are some pics of the event.

Nick was not happy about having to wear a shirt and tie.

Nick and two of his buds: Dylon Maggio (far left) and Austin Wright (middle)

Nick receiving his "diploma"

Nick and one of his female friends, Megan.

Nick and Dakota

Early Christmas Present

I am so excited right now because Lance and I have decided to give each other an early Christmas present. Goodness NO! I am not pregnant! We have purchased cruise tickets. Neither one of us have ever been on a cruise so this is going to be awesome! Our cruise is on Royal Caribbean International. We are going with the Nealys so it is sure to be a fun trip. The trip is in October (hence the early Christmas) and we are flying to Barcelona, cruising to 3 ports in Italy (I can mark this off my bucket list), and 2 ports in France before heading back to Barcelona! It seems surreal that I am actually going to Spain, Italy, and France. There is lots to do: create a will, get passports, lose weight, decide what clothes to take, etc. I will probably buy a memory card for my camera just for this trip. I can't wait! 93 days and counting!

Perdido Key, Navigate, Blue Sushi = Busy Summer

It has been a long time since I have updated. Since Facebook has become all the rage I pretty much update there all the time.

The family went to the beach in Perdido Key a couple of weeks ago. We were joined by our friends, the Nealys. We had a great time of laying out, eating, playing putt putt, riding go karts, and riding around in the boat. Going out in the boat was great because we got to see many dolphins up close and personal. We also anchored at a little island and got out and looked for shells, threw the football, and Logan found lots of hermit crabs.

Nick is involved this summer with our church's middle school intern program called Navigate. He's having a great time going to classes 3 days a week, serving in outreaches, and playing. Logan goes to Blue Sushi camp one day a week. Blue Sushi is an intern group as well, but geared for younger kids. He went to Vault Kid's Camp last weekend and had a blast.

Just an update on Mom. She is on a pretty serious chemo treatment and it has been making her so sick. The doctors feel very optimistic that the chemo is working, however, because she has been so sick she was admitted into the hospital yesterday because of dehydration. She will be there until Thursday. She will receive one more treatment and then will have another scan done to see about the cells that are remaining. We are praying and believing that they are dying out. We are going to Georgia to visit them in July.

Well, I have lots to do today so I better close out for the day. By the way, if you or anyone you know is looking to buy or sell real estate please let me know. I'd love to help out!

Easter and More

Well, we went to Georgia for Easter to visit my parents. We enjoyed being with them and the time seemed to fly. We were pretty busy during our visit. We arrived late Thursday night and pretty much went straight to bed. Friday, Lance had to do a little work from the house and Nick and I had to go shopping for Easter clothes. The boys were surprised by their Nana and Papa with a Wii to play with while we are there. No, it didn't come home with us (we have enough game systems here), but it stays at their house so they will have it to play every time we visit them. Everyone, including Mom and Dad, spent a lot of time playing that.

We went to Chili's for lunch on Friday to celebrate Mom and Logan's birthday. Friday night we stayed in because the weather was terrible. There were tornado warnings and the county's warning siren was even activated. We had to go downstairs to the basement and everything.

On Saturday, we went across town to visit with my grandmother for a bit. We also had lunch at an incredible Puerto Rican restaurant. I loved it! That evening, the guys went to an Atlanta Braves game. They had a great time! While they were doing that, my mom and I had a girl's night out and went shopping and went to dinner and shared baby back ribs.

Easter morning was really nice in that we went to Mom and Dad's church. It went well, service was good, and Grandmother ended up coming. After church we went back to the house, took some pictures, and packed up the car to leave. The trip home wasn't too bad, but about halfway it started raining and we drove in rain the rest of the way home. We got home around 10:00 p.m.

Servolution

Since our church, Healing Place Church, and hundreds of other churches around the world is involved in Servolution right now I thought I would get the family involved. For those that don't know, Servolution is a 7-Day event of serving our community in some way and for this event to become a lifestyle of being a servant just as Christ said we should be.

So, I thought that it would be nice to serve our neighborhood. Since our trash runs on Monday, when the boys got home from school that afternoon we put on our Serve shirts, got in the car, and I drove them around the neighborhood. What they did was they picked up the empty trashcans from the ends of driveways and pulled them up to the garage of the people's homes. There were a couple of people that were outside when the boys got out at their house so we just told them we wanted to pick up their trashcans for them.

The boys enjoyed doing it so hopefully it will be an experience that they won't forget. I want them to want to help others. Hopefully this is a start.

Gym Member

I am officially a member of Anytime Fitness! I finished the 4 week boot camp and I lost 1.5% body fat. I couldn't decide if I wanted to do the boot camp again or join a health club. Well, the health club won out. I really enjoyed the boot camp, but it was smarter financially to join the club. I am actually excited about it. I'm trying to get a couple of friends to join with me (ahem: Cindy, DeLin, and Kathy). Come on! You know you want to!

New Listing in Walker

I have just listed a 3 bedroom/2 bath home in Walker, LA. This home is 1,551 square feet living area and has an open, split floor plan. The sellers are offering up to $3,000 toward buyer's closing costs for flooring or paint allowance. You can visit the property website to obtain more information about this listing at http://www.28040foxfire.com/. If you or anyone you know would be interested in this or any other home please contact me at 22-284-8264.

"Reality" TV

You know, it's really sad that reality tv isn't really reality anymore. I have been reading spoilers about the finale of The Bachelor, but I was hoping that none of it was true. I thought it was very wrong what happened last night on The Bachelor: ATFR 1. It just makes you wonder how many of those other reality shows are real. So, now that sitcoms have been replaced with "reality" shows and we now know that "reality" shows aren't real, what is left to watch? I guess I'll just stick to Fox News.

Now, on to reality. For real. Fitness Boot Camp was tough on Monday. It was about 40 degrees out there, but by the time we had finished warm-ups I had already taken off my jacket. We worked our tummies quite a bit and I'm feeling it today. I certainly need it! We were told that tomorrow we will be working our arms alot. Need that, too! I will probably do boot camp again when she has the next one.

Long Time No Blog

Wow, it's been a long time since I've posted anything. There really hasn't been that much to post.

However, I decided to just update what has been going on.

First of all, I have to make this quick because I'm about to walk out the door to go to Day 5 of Fitness Boot Camp. After Day 1 I really didn't think I would go back. It was rough! I was so sore the next day! However, after the second time I realized it wasn't going to be as bad as the first day. Don't get me wrong! It's rough! However, Daurie is making it more enjoyable. I actually find myself looking forward to it. Hopefully I will see results at the end of the 4 weeks.

I'm anxiously awaiting the finale of The Bachelor. According to all of the spoilers it's going to be pretty interesting. If you want to know what is going to happen check out this website: www.realitysteve.com.

We finally got the inside of the house painted. I will post pics later of what it looks like. The color was a gold, but now it's brown, but not yucky brown. The color is called Cardboard, so I can literally say that I now live in a cardboard box. Haha.

Well, that's about it for now. I've gotta go get my butt kicked at boot camp.

I've Decided on My Goals for the Year

You know, every year I say, "I'm going to work out and I'm going to lose weight." Well, I do pretty good till about, um, the end of January. I would say that every year I am pretty much setting myself up for failure. What exactly makes up what is required to exercise and lose weight? I would say that two main ingredients are self-discipline and determination.

Therefore, this year I have decided that I am going to be more disciplined and more organized this year. Discipline encompasses so many areas. A couple areas that I am going to work on are my Bible reading and spending. I also want to be more organized in my record keeping. I've already bought the file organizers to get started.

Yes, I will make the attempt to lose weight and exercise. I will make the attempt to make wiser choices when it comes to eating. Am I setting that as a New Year's Resolution? No, I'm going to just try and make the change, regardless of what time of year it is. Good luck with your goals, as well.

Nick's First Band Concert

Last night Nick participated in his first band concert. For those who don't know, he plays the tuba in his 6th grade band at school. Last night was their Christmas concert and they did really well. I wish I knew how to upload the videos from my new video camera, but until I learn, pictures will have to do. So, here are just a few of them because my camera doesn't take good pictures and most of them were blurry.

This is the first time I have seen Nick dressed up this much in a long time. He is so handsome!

Nick is supposed to be warming up.

You can see Haley-Bop in the foreground and Nick behind her. This was after the concert.

My buddy Regina and I made the kids hold their instruments so that we could take these.

Snowy December 2008

It all started around 5:00 this morning. I could hear Lance getting dressed and opening the front door. Then I heard Nick already awake. Then, I just knew what was happening. We were witnessing the beginning of an early Christmas gift! We kept telling Nick that it wasn't going to stick, the ground was cold enough, it wasn't going to keep it up long enough. Before we knew it, we could see the snow accumulating little by little in the flowerbeds and on the leaves. By 6:30 a.m. we had real ground cover! It was so beautiful! I felt like I was in the middle of a Christmas card! We took lots of pictures and videos. I would upload some of the video, but I haven't figured out how to do it yet. Anyway, Lance even stayed home from work this morning for a while because the streets were just too scary. Everytime we walked out the door we could hear sirens.

After playing in the snow for a while we decided to take a break and go eat breakfast at Franks. It was a great morning for all! It definitely got me more in the Christmas spirit. I even turned on the Christmas music. Check out some of the pictures:

This was when it first started accumulating on the ground and plants.

The snow was pouring and really sticking.

Our neighborhood looked so pretty.

Our house looked pretty as well.

Logan tried a snowball. Mmmm, yummo!

Nick and Logan hated stopping to take a picture, but they humored me.

Here are my angels making snow angels...

We attempted a snowman. Our hands were so frozen that we didn't take the time to dress him.

Nick decided he wanted to make another snowman, so this one we dressed up a little.

Happy Birthday, Lance!

Today is the birthday of the most wonderful husband and greatest dad! Lance is 39 today. We will probably have lunch somewhere and then we will go to dinner with the boys and have presents and cards.

Buying and Selling in Today's Market

Due to the current economy people are very unsure whether or not to buy or sell real estate. The thing is, it is a buyer's market right now. If you are currently renting or leasing and you are about to come up on the end of that contract you may want to consider buying. The market is overloaded with homes and because of that sellers are reducing prices to try and get their homes sold. Sometimes you will find that a house note is even lower than a rental note. There are so many financing programs out there to help buyers. (Now, here goes a shameless plug) My husband, Lance, is a mortgage lender and he could help in that financing process. Also, many people don't realize it, but a buyer doesn't pay a real estate agent to help them find a house. The agent is paid by the seller. So, my service would be free to you, the buyer.

As far as selling your home, that is a little tricky right now. You want to find an agent that will do more than just stick a sign in your front yard. Your choice of real estate agent is important because you will need to trust their advice. Pricing your home correctly is crucial! The value of your home is not determined by how much you owe on it or how much you think it's worth. A good agent will do research on what other homes in your area have sold for (not what they are currently listed for) and price your home based on that. A good agent will also market your home in many different ways. For instance, I provide my sellers with a website for their home where people can look at their home on the internet. I also hold open houses, put their home in real estate magazines, just to name a few. Your agent needs to provide as much exposure for your home as possible.

Hopefully, our economy will be on an upswing now that the election is over and the housing market can begin to rebound. With that said, don't be afraid to buy or sell. (Here's another shameless plug.) If you are at that point, give me a call and I'd love to help you out. If someone you know is at that point, please give them my name and number or just let me know and I'd be glad to call them myself.

I've Made the Switch

Well, it's official. I have made the change from Keller Williams to Tiger Town Realty. I just feel that this is a good move for me right now for many reasons. You know, the rest of the country is slow right now as far as real estate is concerned. But, I counted this morning how many deals I've had go to closing since I started a year ago and the count was 12. That's more than I could have ever hoped for. I know that this is where I'm supposed to be right now. With that said...I could always use more business so if you or anyone you know needs an agent to help them find or sell a house please put them in contact with me! I know, I know...shameless plug, but hey, whatever works! Oh yeah, and here's my new sign.

What's Your Opinion?

Okay, I'm making a company change in Real Estate. I've been offered a great package at Tiger Town Realty that I just can't pass up. With that being said, I have to order new signs. I can't decide which one I like better; the one with the picture or the one without. I might not mind the one with the picture if it were smaller and the black area was larger. What do you think? Seriously, give me your opinion in my comment section because I have to order them by tomorrow preferably. Please be aware that the top portion of both signs are white so that's why it looks like my name and number are just floating above the black portion.

On this one, I would like for my picture to be smaller, the black portion be larger and the words "For Sale" be larger.

On this one, I would like for my number to be a little smaller so that the black portion can be larger with the words "For Sale" being larger.

Busy Weekend

It was definitely a busy weekend! It started with me and my buds Lana and Jen going to Kona Grill for some pizza and to see The Women. The movie wasn't that good so I felt bad because I chose it. Saturday was busy with working on the patio, LSU football and Logan's first time representing Cub Scouts by selling popcorn at the Walmart in P'ville. Today was church, lunch, and then working some more on the patio. We now have the concrete around the edges to keep the brick in place. So, the patio itself is done, we just now have to fix the yard. That could take a while. The boys had friends over today and unfortunately, the upstairs looked like a tornado had come through. Bed sheets and covers off the bed, toys strewn EVERYWHERE, etc. N and L were mad at us because we made them clean it up. Hopefully next time they won't let it get to that point. Anyway, kiddos are in bed and I'm ready to settle in with a book. Nite all!

Jamie Foster actually came by so she kindly purchased some popcorn from Logan.

Lance's boss gave us his tickets on the 30 yd. line so we gave ours to some friends. Nice view!