The Longest Move...The Shortest Month

We closed on our house one month ago... but we wanted to get work done before we moved in... painting, cleaning, preparing.

I was the longest/shortest month... we kept saying "oh we have time" but you can't forget that in the midst of all the packing painting, cleaning, preparing.. there was LIFE. Clothes need to be washed, dinners needed to be made, school and work had to be attended to... so, it was a whirlwind of getting it all done. And that is what I kept saying "it will get all done."

And it has...

As of this past Sunday, we are FULLY, 100% moved in! The boys slept in their new rooms Sunday night... we all woke up on Monday and headed into LIFE leaving through the front door on Ivy Lane together. Tonight we will have our first (of many) meal in the house together... mind you it will be on the patio table since our dining room table is buried under boxes. But we will hold hands and we will give thanks to the Lord for this blessing and we will enjoy LIFE...together.

Closing Day... a little recap

No one ever tells you how exhausted you will be the day after your house closing! I am so glad that we have 30 days until we have to be completely moved out of our rental house... I could not imagine having to move right now.. all I want to do it sleep... and redecorate in my head! :)

But I could not let the excitement of CLOSING DAY go by without sharing some bits and pieces:

1) The Hubby and I brought LC to my cousin's house and handed her the booster seat and the car line pick up sheet so she could get LG at 2pm. Thank you Cuz!!

2) Kid free, we met our Realtor at the house and did our final walk through. Saw lots of cobwebs that The Hubby will have to take care of this weekend.

3) We headed to the title offices and moved into a large room with an even larger table. I was so nervous I had to use the restroom right away!

4) The sellers walked in and it was a bit awkward at first, but soon we warmed up with each other. I informed them that my first order of business is to change that orange & blue key. Laughs all around!

5) Papers.. and lots of them were passed around the table. I felt like I was part of some crazy signature assembly line!

6) As we waited for the 1750 sheet of paper to be copied, we talked about the house and the seller's offered us some stories that THEIR sellers passed onto them at THEIR closing:

* The son of the previous owner was in boy scouts and every year he would get a tree to plant int he community for Arbor Day... but he always planted it in their backyard! Which is why there are (at one count) over 40 trees!

* The previous owner was part of a group that would go into buildings that were being demolished and would salvage bits and pieces. Some of those pieces he used in his house. The front door was a table that was in a cigar rolling factory; the stain used on it is a tobacco stain!

7)Once the keys were handed over to us and we walked out (I practically skipped!)... we headed right over to OUR new house and used OUR new key and walked into OUR living room and I did a dance on OUR hardwood floor! It was awesome!

After, we headed back to my cousin's place to get the boys and then we all went out to dinner to celebrate! We then returned home to the rental house and passed out from the day.. it was only 8pm!

I am looking forward to this weekend, when we can get in there and start making memories... the first being The Hubby removing all those creepy-crawlies!

a HUGE blessing...

Today, we will walk into the office of the title company and sit at a long table.. we will sign paper, after paper, after paper.
We will initial this and initial that.
I will sneak glances over at The Hubby... with a secret smile in my heart.. and quietly jumping up and down in my seat.
At the end, we will walk out of the title office, with keys to our FIRST HOME!
(my first order of business is to change said key.. did I mention it was orange & blue.. yuck!)

Bless This House

Bless this house, O Lord, we pray,
Make it safe by night and day;
Bless these walls so firm and stout;
Keeping want and trouble out;
Bless the roof and chimney tall,
Let thy peace lie over all;
Bless this door that it may prove
Ever open to joy and love.

Bless these windows shining bright,
Letting in God's heavenly light;
Bless the hearth a-blazing there;
With smoke ascending like a prayer;
Bless the folk who dwell within;
Keep them pure and free from sin;
Bless us all that we may be,
Fit, O Lord, to dwell with Thee.
-Helen Taylor

Who Says BIGGER is BETTER?

As I type this, I am sitting in our rented 1,784 square foot house..and I feel swallowed up. This house is SO big! I think I have "mentally" already moved into our new home.

I look around and I see "stuff" that will probably not make the move with us, and it doesn't sadden me... I'm excited! I feel like this is a new start for our family...a fresh beginning. Where we are in control... not the materials in our life.

Our culture tries to push the "bigger is better" attitude on us.. and so many people buy into it! They need the HUGE house, and MASSIVE car, the LARGE combo meal and the ENORMOUS bank account.

Where have our priorities gone?

What about the simpleness of being.. just being. The joy of family together...laughing, dancing, singing. The love that each one of us can be filled with if we just would allow it. I think that removing the "layers" of unnecessary would give room for so much more.. more than we can imagine.

My hearts sings as I glance into the future..of what we are going to be giving to our boys, of what we will experience together because our lives are simple, joyful and full.

We will not be packing our rooms with "stuff" but with life and love.

A BIG journey begins...

Earlier this year, The Hubby and I decided that we were ready to take a BIG step... we were ready to purchase our first home! It was a scary and exciting decision. We contacted all the appropriate persons needed to start the journey.. we signed our names, gave out our personal information and practically gave blood to get the ball rolling.

Soon, we were given a wonderful Realtor and told her what our "dream house" would include... a big backyard for the boys to play in, a friendly neighborhood, good schools, and all under $XXX (I feel odd really giving out of price... but lets just say that we're in the mid range, ok?)

Afterward, The Realtor sent me a thousand home listings to peruse through...and I had to vote "yay" or "nay" on each one. After a while, each home started to look alike to me.. and I had yet to set foot in a single one!

Then came the first "showing" day... I dropped the boys off at school and met The Realtor at 9:15am... we were going to see 10 houses in under 4 hours! I had to strap on my battle gear and plow head on into fight.

And some of these houses looked like war zones... it was difficult to try to imagine my little family in some of these homes. Some were empty and had been for months... the pictures that I looked at mere hours before were nothing like what I was standing in. Like the saying goes, "crystal clear blue pool in the photo, green slimy pool in reality"... or something like that.

For every Thursday after that, we met... my weekly date with The Realtor and at least 10 other "possible" homes. And before each home, I would say a prayer, "Dear Lord, if this is the home that You want for us, please let me know. And if it is not, please show me." I would set foot in the house and see about 15 things wrong with the home or I would get "that feeling" and know that it just wasn't the right house.

After about the one millionth (or 25th) house, I was starting to get discouraged. I thought that maybe "our house" was not out there. But, I still had more to see and so, as I sat in the driveway of the house on Ivy Lane, I said my prayer and walked in.

My first feeling was warmth.. could it have been the real wood flooring all throughout the house? Was it the beautiful dark wood and glass front door? Was it the cheery yellow paint that reminded me of The Hubby and I's first "real (rental) house"? As I walked through the house, I could "see" us there... I could hear the boys laughing... I could smell cooking. I could feel the wind in the backyard during family parties...with twinkling white lights in the trees. Was this "it"? Was this OUR house? There was only one.. teeny..tiny thing.. the house was small... 1260 square feet to be exact. About 500 square feet smaller than the house we are currently living in. But there as something about this house...something that I couldn't turn away from...something that I had to show The Hubby.

So, he met The Realtor and I there one afternoon... with LC, our youngest son. We walked around the house...my son stomped his little feet and laughed at the echo it made. It all felt right... I remember thinking, "All we're missing is LG." But... as we all know in making very big decisions (house buying, wedding dress shopping, etc...) you have to shop around until you start to compare all the others to a certain one.. and then you KNOW, that certain one is "THE ONE"

So... I met The Realtor the following week, and we preceded to visit more houses.. and with each one, I would say my prayer and walk through the front door...and with each one, I would think to myself..."This house has carpet... but THAT house has hardwood floors...This house has that but THAT house has this..." I kept comparing every house with THAT house... so.. we had found THE ONE!

Our next step was to put in and offer and pray... we have done a lot of praying during this journey. The sellers accepted our offer... but it didn't stop there. The house was a short sale (i.e. the LONGEST possible process in the world... aka hurry up and wait) So, we waited to hear from this person and then that person and then finally we were given a closing date... but then that dates came and went and then it was round two...and then three...and now we're at the fourth times the charm. But, I know that this is all happening for a reason... and we have laid it all down at the foot of the cross and we have given it all over to the Lord.

So, with our closing date (#4) approaching... I am excited for this new journey to begin. A journey that will bring my family into a 1260 square foot 1950's block home, with hard wood floors, Mexican tile, great climbing trees and lots and lots of LOVE!