The Situation...

I feel it is important for you to understand the situation we are in.  It is nothing serious, it is nothing drastic or anything to fret about.  Even if it was something to be alarmed about that is for parents to do.  Kids should not be concerned with matters such as these.  But since you are old enough to read this you might as well know.

In 2009 the country learned that we were in a recession.  Nothing as bad as the Great Depression my grandparents went through, but still basically the most serious financial downturn since that time.  I have been fortunate to have good employment and good health benefits since I graduated college.  Really good benefits since starting to work at the City of Tukwila.  The City has been really good to our family.  But with the economy slowly pacing towards recovery lots of belts had to be tightened.  Budgets have been cut everywhere.  People are losing jobs and if they are lucky keeping health care by paying a lot more for it.

Now when I say the City has been good to our family I mean it because despite some early scares in thinking that I may get laid off or put to half time and lose health coverage, I have survived all rounds of budget cuts and health care hasn't changed.  And that is a phenomenal blessing if ever there were one.  So count us fortunate there.

The other thing to note is our housing situation.  When I got home from my mission I lived with your Aunt Nicole while finishing school.  We started out in an apartment in Kent, but with apartment prices going up Nicole thought it may be a good idea to buy a condo we can share.  That way the price wouldn't go up from year to year and we wouldn't have to move every year to get a good deal.  Homes generally go up in price so even if we eventually did need to move or wanted to get out we could sell it and make money.  So I co-signed the loan to help buy the place and thought nothing of it.  Until recently.

With the economy dragging and house prices falling your mom and I wanted to buy a house.  So we ran our credit and tried to get pre-approced for a home loan.  Then it came up that because I had co-signed Nicole's loan it was basically my loan and my mortgage as well.  Even though I hadn't paid a dime on it since 2008 and it is now 2010 I was still locked into it.

Meanwhile your Aunt Nicole was wanting to relocated to somewhere a little more affordable and a little bigger since she had your cousin Bryson.  But, as I mentioned, home prices went down and she has yet to be able to sell the condo.  It has presented as a sticky situation to say the least.

Fortunately no one is in dire straights or anything of the sort.  Everyone is getting by and doing OK.  We all would just like to improve our situation and it is impeded by the down housing market.  It is a two edged sword.  In a low housing market your mom and I can afford to buy a decent house at a good price.  But because it is so low we can't get out from the mortgage I had inadvertently signed (with no regrets).

So that is where we are at as 2010 is coming closer to an end.  Happy to have a house and job that provides for our needs, wishing there was a little more money (for everyone!) and wishing for a home.  Maybe Santa can bring us one in a few months...