our story, part 2

the stirring i had was one for land.

we've always wanted land, but without plans to move,

what did this mean?

i didn't want to tell jason.

i knew it would stress him out if i was feeling this way.

for crying out loud it sort of stressed me out, too!
in case the lord forgot, i reminded him that i didn't want to move!

when we would start going stir crazy,
we would load the kids up in the van,
get a redbox movie to keep them quiet and drive around town.
it was during one of these drives that these stirrings came up in conversation.

he was feeling the same way...

still, neither of us wanted to feel this way.

reluctantly, we decided to search the mls listings.

i laughed when jason told me the price he didn't want to go over.

"there's no way", i told him.

oh, me of little faith.

not only did we find a house in the price range,

it was everything we needed.

want to know the funny part?

it's a ranch home.

had the lord not done the work in me that he did,

i never, ever would have considered it.

i was set on a two story, remember?

we e-mailed the owner, and arranged a time to see the house.

we told him then and there that the lord was leading us to buy his house.

he was a believer, too, and come to find out, he had told the previous owner

the very same thing ten years ago when he bought the house.

wow.

during the tour of the house, he mentioned that they were leaving the dryer.

i was happy--ours is awful. (think 3 cycles to dry towels!)

that was a blessing for sure--

and when we went into the garage,

there was a desk, a refrigerator and a riding lawn mower.

these were all things i had specifically thought that we would need if we moved.

they were staying.

he was waiting to hear from a couple that had seen the house before us.

about 48 hours later, he told us he hadn't heard from them and would proceed with us!

we happily agreed, and

soon the process was underway.

with all of the other homes we pursued, i was always fretting.
worried if someone else would come along,
afraid we would lose the house.
worry
worry
worry
i wasn't at all this time.
we committed this thing to the lord and trusted him to lead us.

the seller paid for all of the required inspections.

he put in a brand new furnace.

it really was a blessing...

but we were nervous--

we hadn't sold our current house.
in fact, it wasn't even listed.

 we had to have money for a down payment and 

we were starting with next to nothing.

it had been a really rough summer, 

and our savings had been mostly depleted.

we had given a man our word that we would buy his house,

and we were basing it on faith alone.

we had no idea where we would come up with thousands of dollars.

after much prayer and consideration,

we decided to list our car.

it meant going down to one vehicle,

but it's only a season.

less than 24 hours later,

it was sold.

less than 3 weeks later,

we had all the money we needed.

 now let me tell you something about myself--
 money terrifies me.
seriously.
i hate it.
and if you remember, we still had our other house.
the kicker is that we felt like we were supposed to wait to list it.
i don't know why.
it isn't something that we alone would have done.
we didn't understand it,
but we had the peace that passes all understanding.

finally, after two months and several delays on our lenders' part--
(seriously, if you're local and planning to move, e-mail me and i'll tell you who NOT to use.)
we closed on october 13th and moved in the same day.

this sounds perfect...it hasn't been.
there were bumps in the road and there have been lots more since we have moved in.
our other house still isn't sold.
in fact, we were told we were going to get money back at closing,
and we were counting on that money to fix the other house up.
we didn't get anything back.
actually, we were surprised at closing and had to pay almost $1,000 more
than the "maximum" the lender told us it would be.
that means we don't have any money to fix the things on the other house.
we're praying for direction and covet your prayers if you're willing to intercede.
we do have interest in the house, we just aren't sure which direction to go...
but we keep trusting and knowing that this is a growing process.
just because the lord leads doesn't mean things will be perfect.
when a baby first learns to walk, he falls a lot.
we're made to walk, but it hurts a little when we're learning...
and that's where we're at right now.
after all of this maybe i won't be so afraid of money. ;)

we won't be let down.
we are blessed.
so blessed.

thanks so much for reading our story.

did you miss part 1? read it here.

our story, part 1

our story actually starts two years ago.

we had no intention of moving anytime soon,

until i ran across the blog whatever.

meg has a gorgeous home.

old victorian homes have always made my heart go pitter pat,

and once i saw her house, i just had to check out other real estate in that area.

i found a gorgeous, affordable victorian:

actual house

 i was a goner.

our house went on the market, and we put a contract on my "dream" home.

but it was not to be.

our current home didn't sell, and not surprisingly, 

another offer came in and we lost the house.

i was devastated and angry.
i wouldn't be living in the house

with a 100 year old wooden staircase, a claw foot tub in a sunshine filled bathroom...

a wrap around porch.
i was stuck.

once it was all said and done, i could admit that i would have been settling.

it was so far away from family.
still only 3 bedrooms.

there was barely a yard.

there wasn't a fence.

it was off of a main street.

all things that should have been deal breakers--

but although i was ready to "settle" in order to have the beautiful exterior,

jesus knew me better.

we looked at one more house that was closer to our hometown,

but at that point we were used up and burnt out.

the massive amount of showings during the time of the stimulus package had taken their toll.

we pulled our house off the market and settled in for the holidays.

the next spring, the house that we had looked at was put back on the market.

we decided to go ahead and pursue it...

actual house, though covered by trees and hard to see!

just like last time ,our house went on the market
and a contract was placed on the other home.

once again, it was not meant to be.

and once again, after my tears had stopped,

i was able to admit that i would be settling.

the yard was bigger than the first house, but still too small.

the house needed *a lot* of work.

i wasn't crazy about its exterior...

it was no victorian.

and once again, although i was ready to stuff these things inside and say it was "perfect",

jesus knew me better.

by then i was bent on getting out of our house.
i was fed up, and didn't want to be there.
it no longer felt like home.
i was pregnant and wanted a new house by the time max arrived.
all of a sudden, we had an idea--
why buy an old house that needs work when we can buy a new house that doesn't?
we got caught up in materialism.
our focus wasn't where it should be.
we found yet another house, in yet another town.
this one truly was the closest thing to perfection for us.

 

it was like a modern victorian!

it had a big backyard, 

it was close to where jason parks for work.

it also had a hefty price tag.

we could afford it, 

but things would be tight.

we didn't try putting a contract on it this time,

we just continued to try and sell our current house.

it didn't happen.

i was getting close to my due date.

it was time to let it go.

even though i was wrapped up in beauty, in materialism,

jesus knew me better.

he knew the desires of our hearts,

and because we continually sought him,

he was faithful to let the things we 

*thought* we wanted fall through

in order to bless us beyond comprehension.

what happened next, to me, is a miracle.

i learned to be content with where we were.

we were living in a 3 bedroom, 1 bath house.

it was just barely over 1,000 sq. ft

and we are a family of 6.

but you know what?

we had what we needed.

everyone had a place to sleep, 

food to eat,

clothes to wear.

it was home.

so instead of being resentful and nearly embarrassed of our house size--

i embraced it.

i went crazy fixing it up, and had no intention of leaving.

it was finally as i had wanted it, at least in the main parts of the house.

i was comfortable, and happy.

but then, in mid july, i began to have a stirring that i didn't want...