watchin' our corn pop up in rows...

It's been six months and a week that we have been back in the US.

Sure wish we would have had warning as to how tough it was going to be. I think we were so excited about getting back to our home we overlooked the fact that this would be a huge transition for us.

I have heard friends talk about how hard moving to retirement is, I just assumed we would breeze through. Boy, was I wrong!

What could be so hard about moving back? It is Kansas after all. I figured after moving to Germany- back to KS would be so simple.

Jim started a new job yesterday and though we are still struggling to get in a routine, I think we have to be through the worst of it!

The job-hiring process is brutal especially for a guy who has not ever had to go through it. This is not his dream job, but a really great offer with lots of room to move up. He is now in management at Johnson Controls in Wichita.

A few things I have learned in the last six months...

Most things in life take time. Patience.
Before we moved, our business was thriving with a demand that I could not keep up with. Even after working 10+ hours a day usually seven days a week {with Jim working weekends as well}, I was still turning away work. Putting it on hold for four years, I knew I needed time to get it up and re-launched.

It has been slow to kick in which is ok, but not when the bills are kicking in too.

Our family is incredible.
Without the support of our family, this transition would have been so much more difficult. There's no way we could have done it. Just being in the same time zone {for starters} has been really quite wonderful. We feel so blessed.

Our boys are our world.
Being able to see all four of them thrive right now is such a wonderful sight. Caden's teacher said it is as if he has always been in Mulvane- not the typical new kid trying to figure things out. Coleman has made so many friends as well. Their biggest complaint is riding the bus {which picks them up at 6:30...yikes}.

Caden just finished his football season and both started basketball this week.

We are not sure how the grades are going but Ty is having a blast at Wichita State already. He has moved into a fraternity house {with a GPA standard in order to live there}, declared engineering as his major and playing intermural volleyball.

It's only 30 minutes up the road, but he's able to do his own thing. It is nice to see him getting involved and having fun.

Along with the above mentioned positives, being able to see Justin almost every weekend has made this retirement and transition worth every fight and tear.

We have put some miles and long hours between here and Arkansas, but we have loved every single weekend.

His team is doing well {4-1 in conference} putting on some of the most exciting football you can find.

The family and friends who have supported him going to and watching games has been incredible- thank you!

A strong marriage makes it through the ups and downs.
While this has been the toughest time of our entire marriage, there is no one in this world that I would rather have by my side. I still feel so lucky every single day to not only have found the love of my life but to be so in love.

One day at a time is best.
That's what we are trying to do. Some days, it's just making it through.

Most days, it is enjoying and trying to focus on the things that really matter while letting go of the little {petty} things. Things are looking up.

W I C H I T A state for TY

And he's off! Thirty minutes up the road to Wichita State. Love, Love, Love him!

Starting classes this week, he is happy with his new school and excited to be a Shocker.

Not quite a sophomore, he has a year of classes on his transcript taken through the University of Maryland while in Germany.

It was college but it wasn't really the whole college experience. Wichita State is a beautiful college with a strong engineering program.

The basketball team has done an exceptional job the last couple of seasons bringing more money and attention to the school.

Ty has the perfect opportunity to not only enjoy school but to thrive. He has the whole college experience at his fingertips now.

It should be a fabulous year all the way around. What a change from a few years ago...

Y E A H... first day of school

6:00 came early. However, this day did not come too soon! With an extended summer {getting out of school in Germany the end of April} this mom and dad are enjoying the silence this morning!

We are experiencing not only a lot of change at this transition in our lives, but also many firsts.
The first full summer Jim has been home to see the craziness behind what makes a summer.
Today, he is experiencing for the first time the excitement of sending kids to school.

That sigh of relief knowing that for the next nine hours, messes will not be made!

As every parent does- we love our boys. They just need to be in school. We think they are in for a fantastic year.

While registering them their new principal gave a tour of the one-level grade school.
She also placed them with what seem to be wonderful teachers- ready to take them on.

What a contrast from Germany. There are six classrooms in each level rather than eighteen or more.
They will have PE three times a week.

Caden gets two recesses a day.
There is no Spanish or German.

Rather than having 55 school busses, rural route 3 picked them up in our driveway.

No more smoking or cell-phone talking German bus drivers. I think Caden is most happy to be done with them.

It is pretty special to have our first-day-of-school pictures back on our front porch.

Caden thought it would be his first picture since he started school in Germany. Actually, he used to hang with the big guys when they had their first days...

road trips and F A M I L Y

We are feeling quite blessed right now. Last night, Grandpa and Grandma arrived after making the journey from Utah to visit. For Grandpa, it has been almost five years since he has seen the little guys. Big changes. For Grandma, it has been almost a year since she spent time with us in Germany.

We have really missed them.

After losing my Grandpa in June, we lost Jim's Grandpa Behl in July. After learning he was in the hospital, we made a spur-of-the moment decision for Jim to make the drive to Mississippi to see him. Without hesitation, Caden said he wanted to go along.

They would not let Caden in Grandpa's ICU room, but Jim was able to spending a few special days with Grandpa- a man who taught him so much. Not long after Jim said his goodbye and returned home, Grandpa passed.

We miss him already but he is where he wants to be- back with the Lord.

August 2nd, we were able to celebrate Grandpa's life with the family.

It was the first day of Justin's fall football camp, but his coaches were very understanding and allowed us to have him for the weekend.

It was wonderful to be a family- even for just a short weekend.
I LOVE being close to our big guy again.

We {hopefully} don't EVER have to wait four months in between times of seeing him AGAIN!

In a weekend, we made the six-hour trip to pick up Justin. From Arkansas we drove to Granny's (another six hours) to spend the night and time with the Dickey side.

Saturday morning, we woke up early and made the two-hour drive to Girard, Illinois for the services and time with the Behl side.
Saturday night, we drove two hours back to Granny's for the night.

Sunday, we enjoyed family and a beautiful Sunday dinner at Granny's with a table set for 27. Sunday afternoon, we hit the road to get Justin back on time (another six hours) to college. We crashed for the night and finished off our trip Monday with another six hours to Kansas.

From Friday to Monday, a grand total of 28 hours in the van.It was long but well worth every single minute. While in Germany, we feel as though we missed out on so much being so far away. Driving is not always easy, but it is nice to be close enough to make these trips. Cousins need to know cousins.
Now, we really need to make it out west....

Growing up in Alaska, I always felt so far from any of our cousins. I wanted to know my aunts and uncles and cousins. I want our boys to know their grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. Play with them, fight with them... make memories with them.

Now, we get Grandma and Grandpa for a little while. I'm excited to relax and play and make memories. School starts tomorrow. The bus picks the little guys up in our driveway at 6:30. They are going to be so tired. Ty starts at Wichita State in the Engineering program. Let the fun begin.

Football is in full swing for Justin and Caden. In two weeks, we will hit the road again to Texas Tech to watch Justin play on the big field. Life is so exciting. I hope we can keep up!

the tasks are M U L T I P L Y I N G

Two nights ago, my Grandpa Burgan died. He was 99. What a long life. What a tired body.
He used to read my blog and told me the last time I talked to him how much he liked it.
Can't help but think of him as I write...

It seems for every task we complete, two new tasks pop up. Or more. Jim is the structured, disciplined, focused one in our relationship. I know I probably don't even have to write that down- it's obvious. I can focus, but am easily distracted and usually {always} take on way too many projects.  I think bigger than I need to some times. I get excited.

I like to think we have accomplished one heck of a lot in the six weeks we have been home, but there is still so much to do. I know we have forever to do it, but it's starting to bother me more and more.
Sunday, Jim made a list of all the little things bugging him.

He had even assigned tasks to the days he was going to do them.
Sunday and Monday, he was going strong and knocking off things left and right.
SO much focus. Nothing new from my man. I do love it.

Yesterday, was back to frustrating. Our Internet has been super slow. Until they update the Haysville tower we were told it will remain slow. The next town over has a tower as well that the first installer said he could not reach.

Then, we noticed new neighbors across the street had their dish going to the faster tower. It would not be a big deal except we run our business from home- faster service would save us so much time.

We had another installer come out yesterday {only because cancelling service with this company would have cost $180 since we have been with them more than a month... 36 days to be exact} to see if he could move the dish to get a signal on Clearwater.

We let him know if a tree in our tree line was in the way- Jim would take it down. Sure enough the installer said he got a flicker and one tree was the problem blocking the signal.

Jim put a halt on going back to the DMV {for the third time... to register Whitey} and picked up the chainsaw to go to work.

As soon as it was down, the installed said that was actually not the reason for no signal.
He still couldn't get it.

It couldn't have been a dead tree, or even one of the smaller ones. We now have a healthy, big tree cut down for no reason waiting now to be cleaned up.

More work done and more work to do all for nothing. He did continue in close to 100 degrees and crazy winds to find a signal from the top of our shop. Now, Jim gets to dig a ditch to bury the cable that is running through our yard from the shop to the house. Frustrating, but we have Internet.
The wind could calm down any time now.

a little P O K E Y

Any given day, I'd say my man and I are pretty fast at getting things done.
We think we make a pretty good team.  Once we get started on a project or task, we can usually crank it out in no time.

These days, I'm not feeling too fast. More like slow motion.
It's not that we are not working, or not working hard. It just seems like we still have SO much to do!

A week ago today, they finally delivered our household goods. Seeing that truck show up was a beautiful thing. We thought we dejunked {and don't consider ourselves collectors of much} but it is still too much. 16,000 pounds to be unpacked. Ugh.

We scheduled the movers to come back today to pick up our boxes. We thought giving ourselves a deadline might be a good idea.

I think if the last two months would have been a little calmer, I might be a little faster now.
Or, maybe not.

quite the TO DO list

One month later and we are still unsettled.
But, we are home.
Home is good.

SO good.

Since moving out of our Mackenbach house it's been quite a trip.

Three nights with our wonderful Germany friends.
Twelve nights in a temporary apartment on base in Ramstein.
One night in a Holiday Inn Express in Baltimore.
Two nights in Evansville, Indiana with Jim's brother and family.
Five nights in Marissa, Illinois at Granny's.

Two nights in Mulvane, Kansas with wonderful friends- the second with Justin.

May 1st, our renters were out and after three and a half years, we have our house back.
It could have been in worse shape. More than anything, it feels as if it was abandoned.

We have had a lot of cleaning to get it whipped back into shape.
We knew we would be painting to freshen it up.

While waiting for our household shipment, we decided to go ahead and rip out carpets, replace fixtures, stain/refinish our hardwood kitchen floor and put in new hardwood floors (living room).

As if this was not enough, the yard is a wreck with more weeds than grass.

Birds have taken over with what sounds to be a million new babies in nests in the eves of our shop and in the guttering. We also heard birds in the chimney.

Yes, it's a mess.

Above is four years ago, what we showed up to three weeks ago and today.
It is going to be a long process just getting it back to where we had it when we left.

Our deck which was in bad shape to begin with it about to fall apart.
That will be another project in the very near future.

Lucky for us, my little brother planned a big surprise and walked through the door the day after we arrived home.

It's been pretty incredible being able to catch up- I've loved having him around. Jim has enjoyed finally getting to know him. Having the extra help on the endless list of projects and to do's has been a bonus.

The before-and-after pictures will eventually be posted.
The change already has been quite dramatic.

I can't wait to be settled.

there's no place like H O M E

You would think having not blogged for almost two solid months things were boring around our house.

Nothing could be further from the truth.
With work and school and kids and basketball- our days have been full.

In fact, things are about to get a little more exciting.
I'm not sure even we will be able to handle it.

The bottom line: we are going home.

The Air Force {US government} is doing this whole re-shaping thing right now cutting back the military. We don't get it, we just know it's going on.

In January, an email was sent out offering an early retirement to those who qualify. We fit in the time frame that they offered with Jim hitting 19 years of service this July.

We talked about it {for about an hour} and decided to go for it.

More than anything, we are tired. We are ready to be settled. We are ready to be back in our house. We are really ready to be close to Justin and closer to family. We are ready to get Ty in college in the states.

Jim immediately submitted his packet and we have been in limbo for three months. That might not seem like long but it is when you are trying to plan your life, or even the next six months.

Last week, an article came out in the Air Force Times that all early-retirement decisions were being put on hold. More people are trying to get out than they planned on. We thought for sure that our chances were slim to none.

In fact, Wednesday night we started talking about a job in Georgia. It was actually sounding like a good plan. A path we might follow.

Thursday {March 13} around noon, Jim received his retirement orders. Not just the approval but actual orders straight from the Secretary of the Air Force. As of July 31st, his commitment to the United States Air Force is served and he is released.

He messaged me to call him immediately- we are OUT.

When he arrived home around 5:00, he let me know he had packers scheduled April 4th and 6th, taking everything on April 7th.

Just over three weeks and our lives are being packed up. Who does that?

The details will work themselves out. They always do. My non-procrastinating husband {a personality trait I actually love} reminds me daily that this is what we do.

We work well together under pressure.
We work well together.
We will be fine in spite of the stress of the next three weeks.

It will not be easy saying our goodbyes here. We have the most cherished friendships and memories that we will treasure forever.

Friendships that we would never have made had we not left Kansas. With plans of returning to Kansas, we are actually overjoyed. If I could fast forward the next three weeks, we would. I might just have to stop substitute teaching this week- I'm not sure there is time to work!

We can't wait to get back in our house with the boys' hand prints in concrete behind our shop.
We can't wait to get our business back up and running full speed- we are bursting with ideas and plans.

We can't wait to get settled and pick up where we left off.
There's no place like home- especially when Kansas is home!

R E A D Y to move, missing these P E O P L E

We have been asked a lot if we miss the United States.
Three years in Germany is kind of a long time.

Jim has been back many times and has been ready to move back for a couple years.
My answer has been the same for a while.

I really love Europe. I have not felt homesick at all. I've missed family and our close friends, but for the most part have felt fine.

The hardest part of living here now is being so far from Justin.
Putting him back on that plane after every visit is something I do not enjoy AT ALL!
We all miss him and I feel like we are missing out on a lot having an ocean between us.

I have not missed the food. German food is really, really good.
I have done fine without pay-at-the-pump gas and drive-through banking.

I've even said if Justin and Ty weren't in college, I would be fine living overseas for a few more years. I could really see living in Italy. I love that country.

Until now.

I'm ready to move back. We all are except for maybe Coleman. Jim thinks I had maybe suppressed feelings that I really was homesick to get through our time here.

I never really felt that way, but instead have just really enjoyed traveling and have been focused on experiencing all that we can while we are in Europe.

Having a dose of family and friends for a few days reminded me of how much I really do miss living close and how far we really are over here.

We got to see my parents- it's been four years since we have seen them.

Mom flew back from Germany with Ty and I while my dad met us in Kansas so we go to enjoy time with both of them.

A lot of growth has happened in four years- look at these big boys!

We got to see my little sister and her cute family including a brand new nephew that I got to hold and kiss and love on.

I love being an aunt and Germany is way too far for any aunt or sister to live.
I don't care how cool Skype is, it's not the same.

Sisters need sisters and cousins need to know their cousins. They need to play together, to get in trouble together, to know and to love each other.

We got to see my little brother- it's been somewhere around nine {9} years since we've been together. Nine years too long for any siblings to be apart especially ones that really like hanging out.

We got to see dear friends {Deb & Brian, Regan, Jayden & the Mulvane kids Jess, Tay, Chris & Jordan} who made the trip up from Mulvane to spend extra time together.

Late-night talks until we couldn't keep our eyes open along with afternoons checking out Dollar General and counting windmills were therapy for my soul.

And, we got to spend time with Justin and Ashten. To see their rooms and what this Highland gig is all about is something I should have done last year. I feel as though Highland has come to life for me now. Until now, it's all been kind of in black and white in my mind.

As small as it is, I think the days in Highland will always be a big part of Justin's life. In spite of lots of homesickness, it has been the start of his college football days.

He may never miss the town, but I reminded him that he is making friends and memories that he will eventually treasure.

While Highland won't be the small town that we settle in, we are ready and excited to get back and pick up where we left off either in our house in Haysville or another small Kansas town.

I miss it more now than ever.

twin B E D S and dogs

It was a magical twenty-four hours for us.

It is amazing what a quick escape can do for the spirit. Cologne, the Dom and Lionel Richie made for an absolutely unforgettable experience with my man.

We picked our hotel based on location and couldn't have been more happy with our selection.

It was perfect.

Just a four-minute walk {as long as you don't get lost} from the arena and a fiften-minute walk to Old Town and the Dom, we could not have had a more perfect location.

After two years Europe, we still find fun to notice the differences between Germany and the US.

We love it.

We love how clean it is here.

Somewhere between the top-of-the line four-star hotel and the youth hostel down the street, we found a cozy three-star hotel offered at a really great price.

We would go back in a heartbeat. It was clean. It was friendly. It was the typical German hotel with dogs and twin beds.

They must love their space.
Even booking a room for two, you get single beds. Full-size at best.

It didn't do me any good to add in the notes section while booking, "queen-size bed if possible would be appreciated."

Most we have slept in are connected with a nice wooden piece in between. Separate duvets, of course. Oh, and no sheets.

This time around we truly had single beds.

I was reminded each time during the night as I habitually tried to scoot closer to Jim.Each time, instead of any getting closer I felt the wheels turn as our metal-framed beds rolled further and further apart.

Dogs. Germans love their dogs. I don't think we have been to a hotel yet that did not have dogs. Big dogs, little dogs- it does not matter.

This was no exception. While in the lobby, we kept seeing them run around. Finally, the girl told us there were seven little guys total.

They just bop around while minding their own business.

We checked into our hotel early, parked the van and set off first to spend the afternoon at the Cathedral and the Christmas Market.

We have seen a few Cathedrals. None quite like this one.

T W O years in GERMANY

Today marks the day we arrived in Germany- two years ago. If all goes as planned with our four-year assignment, we are at our half-way mark.

So much has changed but mostly our love for this country.

We knew we were in for an adventure, we just weren't sure what that would entail. We heard about people who would extend over here and others who didn't want to go back to the United States.

While we will be ready when our time comes to get back, I actually finally understand what they are feeling. Someone emailed me before we moved and said, "What's not to love about Germany."
Those words rang through my mind especially during the first six months we were here. I thought she was crazy. I can now honestly agree with her. Germany is wonderful.

This is a beautiful country.
The German people are wonderful.
We love the German food.

Here's what remains on the top tier of our list while living in Europe:
Edinburgh, Scotland
Dublin, Ireland
Rome, Italy
Prague
Amsterdam, Holland
Berlin, Germany
Switzerland
Normandy, France
Greece

We have a lot more to learn and so many places to go. Our goal is to check as much as we can off our list- we'll see how we do!

Come visit us- we would love to take you around!

st J O S E P H statue

A few weeks ago, a friend in Kansas asked if I had ever heard of planting a St.Joseph's statue in your yard. It is supposed to help sell houses. They were putting their house on the market and offered to plant one in our yard at the same time.

She sent me a link to look at as well. Having never heard of it, I read up a little to see what it was all about.

A true undergrand real estate agent kit? Sounds like something we needed. Let me tell ya, he's got his work cut out for him being buried in our yard.


Hundreds of Years of Tradition

The solemn tradition of burying St. Joseph in the earth began hundreds of years ago in Europe. During those times, an order of nuns prayed to St. Joseph (the patron saint of the family and household needs) when they needed more lands for convents. The Sisters were encouraged to bury their St. Joseph medals in the ground.

I am normally skeptical of anything like this but, more than a year on the market- we'll try anything! Jim agreed. His response was, "Heck, ya she can do it." She offered to say some prayers while they were out there as well. {thanks, Carrie, Jess & Mercedes}

Why not? I think at this point, we'd try anything and are almost wondering if we should try to rent it out. It's driving us crazy and sucking us DRY.

We did have two showings this week. Maybe a little shout-out to St. Joe is in order. When we have a showing, our realtor has a great system that we get {e-mail} feedback from the showing realtor.

In the last month we've had feedback including, " Great home- too close to the railroad tracks." Another one said, "Lacking trees." Ugh- we would have knocked thousands off and they could have had trees planted.

Feedback we received from a showing yesterday said,
"More house than what these buyers are looking for.. Showed well, and good location, outbuilding is awesome."

It's a little hard to not get discouraged with comments like that. For heaven's sake- THE SQUARE FOOTAGE IS on the listing. Did they not see it? Another ugh.

We just need the right people to come along. Any day would be nice. Prayers are greatly appreciated.

Update:
Feedback from our second showing this week was a little more hopeful. They weren't happy we didn't have the AC running. Who in their right mind is going to have the AC running during this record-setting HOT summer in Kansas when they're not living there? I think our bills {from both houses} are HIGH enough.

We have another showing today as well. Hmmm... three showings maybe for the last three months, then three this week alone. Maybe, St. Joseph is working.

virtual T O U R

We are so happy to have a new realtor working on marketing {and hopefully selling} our home. Here's a link to see the virtual tour she set up. Hopefully, it works here.

Our Kansas Home Virtual Tour

Below is the new flyer she put together and actually has in the yard for potential buyers to pick up. What a concept. Already, she's gone above and beyond in doing way more than we had done before. I keep secretly thinking that it's just sitting empty waiting for us to come back... but, it's starting to sink in that we'll be stuck over here for a while.

baby P O W D E R fresh

I'm not entirely sure what lesson we are supposed to be learning at this point in life. Patience, endurance, tolerance, kindness, humility... Those are the first virtues that come to mind. Feels like we are just being tested a little right now- hopefully, it is building character in the process. The thought keeps crossing my mind how grateful I am for such a wonderful husband and strong marriage. The times we have even slight disagreements are very rare and far in between. I'm completely convinced that stressful times like these are the ones that can and do tear couples apart while filling a house with contention. It's not easy. I am just so blessed that Jim and I are on the same page- enduring it together, laughing a little along the way.

Excited to finally have a solid contract on our KS home {a month ago}, we learned yesterday that our buyers might be backing out. In the inspection that they paid for, it was found that the siding has counter sunk nails and some improper nail placement. The house is less than five years old. We bought it almost four years ago and it sat for a year before we bought it. We never touched the siding, so unfortunately it was something the builder did incorrectly. The inspector thought it would be easy and inexpensive to get fixed. Sure. He didn't even mark it as defective, but marginal.

Yesterday, we received their estimate to repair the siding- $26,000. That's repaired, not replace. Fill a few holes, add a few nails, move a few. That's not even to replace any of the boards. Unbelievable. We're more than convinced we could have the siding completely replaced {and more} at that price. It's not even completely sided- part of it is bricked. Jim's brother had his whole house re-sided a few years ago. They said it was around $8000 for the whole thing and that was from Sears- always overpriced in my opinion.

At this point, we'd almost rather they back out as frustrated as we are. This is the time that a bigger, better, simpler offer is supposed to come in to play, right? The kind of situation we can look back on and say, "Wow- things worked out so much better in the end...What a blessing those first buyers backed out... " Oh, I sure hope so! Guess we'll have to wait and see.

On another note... I'm wondering what the deal is with my kids and BABY POWDER. They drive me crazy! Even more, I think I should be past the time in my life of cleaning up messes made by little ones. Caden is five years old. Old enough to know, but apparently he hasn't caught on yet.

Justin pulled the baby powder out last night to freshen up his shoes- pretty stinky after three hours playing basketball. Didn't take Caden long to find it this morning. I walked in to my bathroom- a complete disaster. At least it's small and I was planning to clean anyway today. Pretty sure I won't be letting him clean it up- that would be rewarding him for this bad behavior.

Shortly after moving to Kansas

Reminded me of a few other baby-powder pictures I have taken. I always get so mad, I don't understand why I take pictures- every single time, but I do. Crazy, I know.

Oh, this was a horrible mess... he just needed it to play cars...



Don't think I was too happy... but he sure was... ugh!! Baby powder EVERYWHERE!

a S O L I D contract

YEAH- we finally have a contract on our house in Kansas. A solid contract. After eight {or so} months on the market, looks like an end might be in sight. We ended up coming down about {$30,000} from our original asking price, but at least we won't be making two housepayments for too much longer. I know we'll both be able to breathe a little easier once it's a done deal- should be final with a closing date no later than April 3rd.

Yesterday, we got the list of requested repairs from the buyers based on the inspection they had done. Luckily, it's only five points we have to address. It could have been a lot worse. When we sold our house in Alaska, we had a much longer list of things to do. We had purchased a new house, made a few improvements and still had a list of seventeen things to fix before we could sell it. Things that were unchanged from the time we purchased it until the time we went to sell it. So frustrating. Back then, we thought they wrote thing up just to make it look like they were there. Stupid things.

 More than anything we're wondering where in the heck do they get these inspectors from?

One of the points on this inspection:

Buyers request that the hardi-board siding on the houes be repaired to restore it's warranty. Nails/screws have been "overdriven" into the boards. Some corners were not installed properly. The inspector believes these items can be corrected {without full replacement and major expense}

and the warranty can be restored.

We're glad he thinks it can be replaced without major expense, but what in the world does that mean?

We haven't touched the siding, why is it an issue now? Apparently, the guy doing our inspection didn't catch it or let it go. But now, we're responsible for fixing it? Sure, Jim noticed a few of the screws were screwed in too far, but didn't think much of it. It's not like we turned the boards upside down and screwed the nails in as far as we could get them to go in the time we've lived there. Seriously. We didn't even realize the siding warranty wasn't valid. 

As the first owners of our house that we purchased just 3 1/2 years ago, this was the last thing we expected to come up.  Where is the consistency between inspections and inspectors? I know when we had the inspection on our shop, the inspector immediately recognize that it was Triple B's {the company we hired to build it} work. He basically told us, he could practically sign off on the inspection without even looking at our building knowing they do quality work. Is it all in who you know or who you get?

Another point:

The "cutoff" electric switch for furnace service is not located near the furnace {in another room}. For code, it must be moved closer to the furnace unit.

We bought a house with an unfinished basement. Yes, we put a wall up to enclose the furnace room and make it a shelter area. The switch is still right next to it- just on the other side of the wall, but that is not close enough? All we did was put up a wall- it's remains in the same location. Ugh. Who makes these rules?

He also said:

The gas fireplace has an apparent leak near the orifice and must be corrected for safe operation.

I think we're reasonable people and this is definitely understandable. Asking for a roof inspection for possible hail claim is legit. We get that- it's Kansas. I'm just grateful we're not trying to sell a 30 or 40 or 100-year old house- especially being overseas.

I can hardly wait for the appraisal guys to come out. I don't get them either... Is it asking too much for just a little consistency? These guys are killing me... oh, I just wish I could have a little face time with them.

seriously... an OFFER?

Picture our neighbors Steve & Tammy took for us... oh, we miss this place!

We're still working to sell our house... on the market almost seven months now is a little too much stress. With four houses on our dirt road all for sale, we know the market is slow... just can't figure out why a nice family wouldn't want to buy ours! Initially, we listed it at 259,900. We've come down to $244,900. At this point, we're definitely not trying to make money, just get out of it. Five bedrooms, three full bathrooms, 4.5 acres, 3-car garage, full-finished basement, Jim's dream shop, and the best neighbors in the world to top it off! We received an offer yesterday for $200,000 and are still a little unsure what to take of it. An offer is an offer, so it's hard to get upset but... seriously? We know that anyone looking at it sees it's empty so we're pretty sure anyone and everyone can assume we're desperate. They're fairly accurate in their assumption, but an offer of $45,000 below our asking price? Come on... Do people actually think we'd go that low and just give it away? We have a mortgage to pay off...