A NEW YEAR - A Fresh Start & A New Place to Call Home

Nothing like a new year to wipe the slate clean and take another stab at all that life has to offer. Nate and I are nearly crawling out of our skin as we countdown the days until we move out of our rental house and storage shed and into our new home - 17 to be exact! The feeling is all too familiar as its the same way I felt when trying to conceive a second child and healing a very broken leg. I hate when I want to fast forward life because I know it goes too fast the way it is and that each moment is truly precious, but the process of buying a new home started so long ago and we are so ready to settle in.

For months, we checked the listings daily, arranged multiple showings, looked at over 15 homes, made three offers, two counter offers, and prayed that we would find the perfect home. The day finally came! When I read this in my Jesus Calling devotional on December 21st, I couldn't help but smile. God has been teaching me to trust in His ways and in His timing in several of life's situations over the past five years and this housing dilemma (adventure) has been no exception...

"My plan for your life is unfolding before you. Sometimes the road you are traveling seems blocked, or it opens up so painfully slowly that you must hold yourself back. Then, when the time is right, the way before you suddenly clears - through no effort of your own. What you have longed for and worked for I present to you freely, as pure gift. You feel awed by the case with which I operate in the world, and you glimpse My power and My glory."

It all happened so quickly. It came on the market on a Thursday. We looked at it that evening and there had already been one showing and several lined up for the next day. We knew that we had to make a quick decision and that there was potential for multiple offers. So, we put our offer in on Friday evening knowing that at least one other would be submitted the next morning. Our realtor called us around 11am on Saturday to inform us that we had the better offer and that the sellers wanted to negotiate with us. We were not expecting that to be the case at all and we had a couple of other properties in the works that we had planned on looking at. So we got in the car and drove by the other properties to cross them off of the list and then we drove back to the property to take a quick walk around since it was dark the night we were there. Nothing like being forced to make a quick decision but our Realtor was worried that another offer may be submitted before we signed the counter offer and he didn't want us to lose out after all we had been through.

Nate and I have a tendency to take a long time to make decisions but when we have to make a quick one, it usually goes something like this...

Me "Is it what you want?"

Nate: "I think so, how about you?"

Me: "Yea, but I'm not sure. I want to make the right decision."

Nate: "Let's just do it."

Me: "Okay"

And that was about how it went. Afterwards I was worried we didn't make the right decision and Nate didn't seem as excited as I would have expected or wanted. After all, we had been talking about buying a new home for at least three years now and we were suppose to be happy! I think we both felt better about it when we went for back for the inspection and were able to take a better look around. From that point on, we've been dreaming and making plans for the home that we'll be calling our own very soon! We also learned that a third offer was in the works which made us feel like it was really meant to be ours.

After you look at 15 houses, you start to get a really good idea about what you want. From day one, I really longed for a master bathroom. I have long, dark, thick hair and shed like a dog so it would be ideal to have a separate bathroom for guests to use. Nate really really wanted a whirl tub. He grew up in a house that only had a bathtub and loves taking baths (and I didn't argue with him on this request either). I really wanted an updated kitchen with decent appliances and a nice place to do laundry. Nate wanted a large garage (our last house only had one stall and we outgrew that years ago) and a minimum of 2 acres of land. I didn't want to live in the boonies. I wanted to be just outside of town with some "close" neighbors. We wanted to stay in the Alexandria school district and of course had a budget to stick to. We didn't want to be house poor. We had looked at several that were inside and outside of those parameters and this house truly a perfect blend of all we had been hoping for. We're feeling blessed and excited to get settled in and begin another year and chapter in life.

Wishing you and yours a Blessed New Year!

Gavin is pretty excited about the tub too!