Our home story: the beginning (Part 2)

Boy did I end on a cliffhanger. I've thought about this post many times over the last 4 months ( I cannot believe it's been that long). But I wanted to do it justice, so it kept getting tucked away for later. I'm sorry for the suspense, and I hope you'll accept lots of details and maybe even a few pictures as an apology.

When we last spoke on this subject, we had done the best we could and placed our future firmly in God's hands, resolving to embrace the outcome, whatever it may be. What happened next... was overwhelming.

We expected to hear by Tuesday night, but just a couple of hours after writing that post, we got a call from our realtor. She said, "I heard back from the sellers. They've picked you." I was dumbstruck. She continued with, "You will never believe this, but one of the other offers was for the same amount. And they picked you." I think that's when the tears started. I still can't believe it. Apparently a couple of the factors that went into the decision was our handmoney amount (we just wrote a check for what our realtor suggested, there was nothing else to it) and the type of loan we were going for (also by suggestion). We could plainly see that this blessing was not of our doing, but a gift from God. Naturally I jumped around a lot, crying and laughing and dancing and rejoicing. Jon called all of our family and friends, beaming as he told people, "So, uh, we got the house." My friend Shelby started screaming when I told her. That was pretty awesome. We spent the next few days in a blissful haze. We felt God's hands all over this and I was just floored. It was super intense and wonderful and I was too emotional to write about it.

Our house!

After that, we flew into a frenzy. We spent the next 6 weeks scheduling inspections, meeting with our mortgage rep, getting appraisals, meeting with electricians, picking paint colors, filling out paperwork and packing like crazy.

Our girls running around the backyard during one of our frequent visits to the house. Notice the mini vineyard to the left. I cannot wait for Spring!

After closing, we spent the next week frantically getting move in ready: removing asbestos, getting the carpets removed or cleaned, painting, moving, more electrical work and closing up the apartment.

last remnants in the living room

goodbye kitchen

last load of stuff before closing up the apt

Since November 1st, we've spent the last two months de-wallpapering, painting, unpacking, cleaning, building furniture, moving in new furniture, shopping for and hooking up appliances, fixing wall cracks, and adjusting to life in our new home. It has been insane, but the good kind.

Celebrating our first night at our new house with Lucianos pizza. All you can really see of the house is the er,  'charming' wall colors. The mint green of the entry way and lavender of the dining room and living room were the first things to go. Unfortunately, that bold basket-of-fruit wallpaper in the kitchen is going to be with us for a while.

Add to that the fact that we had been planning a family vacation to Florida and Disney for the last 4 years, to take place the first two weeks of December. It was awesome and crazy.

playing in the waves at clearwater beach

view as we were leaving the magic kingdom. I love that you can see the Walt & Mickey statue in the corner too. we had a blast!

Now it is January 1st and we are feeling fairly well settled in. There are still plenty of boxes, but they are in the right rooms and will be okay for now. We got the girls successfully transferred to their new school (though with our vacation and then school break, they've only been there for 4 days) and they return tomorrow. We feel so blessed every single day. This house is perfect for us. It is everything I didn't even know I wanted. We have plenty of space, we love the layout. I always wanted a fireplace, and now we have seven. Yes, you read that right. Seven. It's God's number for perfection and completion right?! We have an amazing view from our bedroom, which we fall asleep to and wake to every day.

view from our bed. we actually got to watch the fireworks from home last night, too.

Someone asked Jon if it was weird adjusting to owning our home, if it felt like 'ours' yet. He said, "Nope, it's not weird at all. It felt right from the very beginning." Which is definitely saying something considering that we were sleeping on the couch for the first month, until we got our bedroom floor and walls done! We have plenty of home projects to keep us busy for many years to come and we're actually excited about it! Thank you so very much to all of our friends and family who have been praying for us every step of the way. We are so blessed and so, so grateful.