Fri Feb  7 09:24 EST 1997
The move

We were in the Pepperell house last night taking measurements.

We've move the closing date up a day and plan on moving Thursday
and Friday.  I don't think there is much you can do to help us
move from Nashua; we will have a number of helpers moving our
stuff.  However, you are invited and welcome to come to the new
house Friday or Saturday.  We'll be settling and you can help there,
but I'd just like to have you there to rejoice with us over what God
has given to us to use for Him.

If you want a soak in the hot tub, you have less than three weeks left
to do it.  We hope that we'll be able to buy another, bigger, better
tub in a year or so.

When we began this house search, you will remember that we looked for
property that had the potiential for two houses, looking ahead to
your future years.  Well, we didn't get two houses, but the parcel
we have is roomy and the house we have is huge - 3500 square feet.
It's on a "busy" street (relative term) in a rural town.

In a little more than a year, Miranda is off to college.  Two
years later, it's Jessica.  We are not sure of all that the Lord
will have us do with the house but we're open to many possibilities.

By the way, the appraisal on the Pepperell house came in at $214,000
which means we start out ownership with over $10,000 in home equity.
If the interest rate drops a half a point, our banker will call us
and we will get a zero-zero (no points, no cost) refinancing - an
automatic lower mortgage!  And the equity will be applied (somehow)
to make our situation sweeter.

The bank has sent our paperwork (finally) to the underwriters and
we should had the final approval answer by Monday or Tuesday.

Mark
  ,          Mark Metcalfe  ,d88b.d88b,  O love that will not let me go
  \_0__,    (508) 446-6451  88888888888   I rest my weary soul in Thee
    M                       `Y8888888Y'  I give Thee back the life I owe
   .|\. metcalfe@cadence.com  `Y888Y'   That in Thine ocean depths its
  Cadence Design Systems, Inc.  `Y'   flow may richer, fuller be.


Fri Feb  7 14:08 EST 1997
Update on the Pepperell Purchase

Several of you asked separately, so I'm sending out a blanket update
and thank you for your concern and support.

I'm sure Seward had an easier time buying Alaska from the Russians
but the good news is that we have regained most of our confidence
that things will progress towards closing on Thursday February 27.
I say "most of our confidence" only because after this past weekend,
I won't have complete confidence until the keys are in my hand.
But we are moving forward with moving plans.

Joy is supposed to call the schools today to begin the transfer of
paperwork for the children.  We've already begun investigations into
things like auto insurance, home owners insurance, and we need to
contact the telephone company, the electric company, and the gas company.

We got into the house last night to do some measurements and to have
our plumber check out the laundry off the master bedroom to see if he
can put a 3/4 bath in there.  He thinks he can and will be working up
an estimate on that.  In retrospect, going over to the house last night
was more of a psychological move on our part.

We are still unclear as to who did what with whose complicity over the
shiftiness last weekend.  Some people have suggested that the other
real estate broker might be liable for some legal action.  I said that
it was unlikely that we would pursue any.  Anyway, there is indication
that this broker has been misinforming her client (the sellers) and
playing these games to line her pocket.  She could get 6% instead of
what she's getting if someone else bought the house through her.  In
addition, she informed her client that we had not listed with a real
estate agent (giving them the impression that we weren't serious about
purchasing their property) but did not tell them that the reason we
had not listed was because we were working out an agreement for the
sale of our house!  She then proceeded to show the house like mad for
the past two weeks coming up with the alternate PSA.

Since the week began, we have had a few items to iron out.  The inspection
on our Nashua house revealed some insect damage, but no signs of activity.
Well, duh, that's because the activity was long before we moved in.
We had the house deloused when we came in, and a year later followup
and have been spraying the foundation ever since.  The bank needed a
little clarification on this but we think it has been cleared up.

The bank needed proof of my employment because Cadence erred on our
year-end checks and made up for the error on the year-beginning checks.
These were the checks we gave to the bank and they got baffled by the
differences in the checks.

Our loan officer assured us again that things look great and now we should
know by Monday or Tuesday about the final word and the closing time, date,
and place.  So give me any empty boxes (if you're in the area) you have
and continue to pray for the rest of the ride to be uneventful!

And one more thing: please don't tell me any of YOUR horror stories
until after I'm safely unpacking in the new house.  Then we can trade
them like mothers who relate their pregnancy and birthing adventures.

Thank you for your love and prayers.

Mark
                                  @       Mark Metcalfe, Sr. Writer
               (__)    (__) _____/         Cadence Design Systems, Inc.
            /| (oo) _  (oo)/----/_____      270 Billerica Road MS04
  _o\______/_|\_\/_/_|__\/|____|//////== *- *  * - Chelmsford, MA 02184
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[_____/^^\_____\_____|_____/^^\_____]     *- * - metcalfe@cadence.com  M
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