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!

All Smiles

Will was all smiley today, because he has been keeping a

very BIG SECRET!

 

He's gonna' have his very own bedroom in our NEW HOUSE!
When we walked in, it just felt like our home, and by the time we reached the master walk-in closet,
I started jumping up and down, grabbing Billy saying
"Can we get it? Can we get it? I LOVE this house!"

We close November 6th. Just in time for all the fun holidays! It's so crazy, we just started the looking/loan process about 2 weeks ago...I guess "we came, we saw...and we conquered"!

"Movin' on up"

After 27 great years in our home, my parents finally moved! Many have asked, “So did you get something smaller?” I could understand this assumption for parents of a 21, 27, and 29 year old. It would only make sense to, you know, get something cozy, a smaller place for retirement, and something easy to clean. They couldn’t really see this happening since we are ALL LIVING AT HOME. So they actually upsized!

Although we’d love to take credit for their decision on a bigger place, they really had grandkids in mind (smile).They know pretty soon (hopefully), all three of their grown children will run off with the loves of their lives, and make beautiful mini-me’s. At this point, they will have plenty of space to run and play with the dog and cats and fish and…

It’s a nice 5 bedroom home, and when we’re gone, there will be offices for both mom and dad, and a couple of nice guest rooms for US! So, I’m the only lone ranger downstairs. Mom, Brian and Aaron will all office out of their own rooms, and dad will now have his very own space to watch the sports games, or millionaire…

We are still working on getting the remainder of our 27 years of belongings out of the old home. It may take a little while, but eventually Loddington Street will only be a great memory in all our minds. We’re gonna’ miss ya’ little squirrel feeder with the lid that slams shut, and overgrown pink oleander, and birds nest in the fireplace, and bistro set where we had nice neighborhood kids tea parties on late Saturday mornings, and street-wide cookouts, and hoe downs during the hurricane…or where Brian is usually found out in the street playing with the kids, or we're all involved in hide-and-go-seek games in the pitch black dark, or combined car-washing efforts.

I learned how to ride my purple bike on that street, and scratched my knees up trying to roller skate (and wet my pants on the floor when I couldn’t get my skates off in time to get to the bathroom). We home-schooled in that house, and learned how to make peanut butter and banana boat sandwiches while mom had morning sickness with Aaron. Aaron and I threw Brian’s CD’s over that fence like frisbees when he was in rebellion, and Brian got his first yellow VW Bug where he learned how to drive a standard in the back streets of that neighborhood. We had plenty of holidays and Christmas open houses there, where dad was always worried about the parking situation outside…and the love of friends and families was always very much present inside. It was a great place and we’ll have those unforgettable moments etched in our minds forever.