The Rest of the Story...

We're IN!!!

MORE PICS TO COME! :)

The past 3 1/2 weeks have been a whirlwind of packing, moving, and unpacking! The day before we closed on the house, my FIL Larry called asking "can I come over?" Billy jokingly answered "sure dad, you can come on over"(from Cali)....but to our surprise he was serious, and was in the middle of purchasing a ticket to come! He and Billy had so much fun working on projects like "packing the moving truck" or "taking off the faucet fixtures" or "replacing the ceiling fan". They also enjoyed a few trips to Home Depot and Lowes. Then again, what guy doesn't? :)

My Aunt was such a big help, organizing, unpacking and basically helping me find a place for....
almost everything! Mom completely took care of Will so I could be in other rooms working, which was a HUGE HELP for me :)

Court and David took their turns feeding the boy, playing with him, and "homeschooling" him with lessons on coloring and reading (Courtney was so proud of Will that she gave him a sticker :)...then when they wanted to play, they just went out to the backyard and made forts out of our fridge boxes or sat in front of the washing machine to watch it work! Brothers Brian and Aaron joined in the efforts, and they were so great actually putting the boxes in the room they were marked with! That was SO HELPFUL. I officially have 2 more boxes to go through, which feels WONDERFUL to me.

and here's the rest of the story...

A few months ago, the Lord laid it on my husbands heart to pray for our son, Will. He was born growth restricted and due to slow g.i. motility, he had a hard time growing at first. We had been very concerned for his health, and felt it was time to truly lay it all down at Jesus' feet. We didn't know how long we would continue the fast, and waited for a release when God spoke it was time.

One day during the fast, the Lord reminded Billy of a small piece of unfinished business concerning our finances. Because of the time we had been dedicating to prayer, my heart was prepared to hear what Billy knew we needed to discuss. We had a productive talk, and felt released immediately from the fast. Billy told me that night, "I think God is about to do something very BIG and very FAST with our finances, because we obeyed and are taking care of business".

Who would have guessed that within a month, we would find and purchase our first home?!

During our meeting with the salesman, to turn in our earnest money, we were told the original discount on our home had been DOUBLED! The salesman didn't even understand it, especially since we were prospective buyers, and usually they wouldn't feel the need to discount in that circumstance. He said "they didn't ask if I had any serious lookers, and therefore I didn't feel the need to tell!".

That's not the end of it....

Over the past year, we had been experiencing some foundational shifts in our townhome, that kept us from closing some of our doors...we had asked for them to work on it, but it was going to be a big job, possibly re-locating us. Our lease wasn't ending until the 31st of January, 2010. When we bought our home, we expected to be bombarded with re-letting fees, IF they even decided to let us break lease. Billy spoke honestly to the manager about our situation, about finding a good home in our budget and the timing of our buy. The manager said "it's funny you are telling me this now, because the contractor is ready to start demo, and we've been trying to figure out what we were going to do with you". He said we could go early FREE AND CLEAR!!

For those in the apartment business (like my mom), you know that is UNHEARD OF!

We know God has opened all the doors for us to buy this home! We don't understand it all, but we know there is a purpose for us here. In the years to come, as we make new memories with our family gathered around, we will see and understand the unraveling of God's perfect will in this.

My cousin keeps teasing that now she needs to fast for a new place too, lol! I'll just say we know and have tested that it's true what God's Word says: Some things come ONLY by prayer and fasting. For us: a healthy son, financial freedom, and a new home! What more could we ask for? We are truly blessed and what a more fitting time to be here than this season of giving and thanks!