Time for Change...a BIG one.

We have some news. 

At the moment, I feel like a chicken with it's head cut off with all the stress that has been piled on our shoulders now due to this big change - and on top of working, I am just - a -tad - Stressed!  I'll fill in more later, I promise.  Just let me get past this next week. 

We have bought a house - well, technically, it's in the purchasing process as our offer was accepted this week.  We will be putting our house up for sale asap since we aren't really keen on two mortgages, so we'll spend the next week in a mad-dash getting our current house up-to-snuff for the real estate photographer and future showings.

It has been a whirlwind of a process, a testament that this new (well, not new, but new to us) house is meant to be ours, as the house came on the market just this past Monday.  We weren't allowed in to see it until Tuesday, (along with all of the other people trouping through the house at the same time as us - so not fun).  We put in an offer immediately after looking at it, amidst 3 other offers that came in at the same time. 

We got a call the very next day - yesterday - saying our offer had been accepted. 

I am still astounded that our offer was chosen out of all the offers, because we've heard they were all in the same ball park, so why us then?  Well, from our perspective, I can tell you that the moment John and I walked through the cape-cod style house built in 1977 (and entirely updated and beautiful), and then saw the luscious .5 acre yard filled with mature trees, we knew it was our house, and had everything we were looking for (this coming from two very extremely picky buyers). 

From the sellers perspective, this is what we were told.  "We just have a really strong feeling that this family is supposed to have this house."  Oh, and the fact that she had seen my minivan drive by no less than 5 or 6 times, gave her a really good indication that we were more than just a little interested. 

We are only moving 5 miles east of here, and the girls will mostly be in the same schools (junior and high school stays the same, but the elementary will be different). Anyone who knows me knows I have a really difficult time with change, but the Lord has been preparing us for this, and I know this is our time.

Remember my posting several months ago about finding a dream house?  Even though I loved it, we still had great doubts, but I knew at that moment that it was time for us to start looking (not in several years, like we had originally planned).  We began half-heartedly looking at houses here and there, actually liked a couple, but they just didn't feel like "our house".  I began to have doubts about that feeling we'd gotten that it was time to move. 

Looking at houses became a hobby for me - I'd check the listings every so often, that is until a few weeks ago.  I felt the urge to check every day, sometimes several times a day.  I thought I was being ridiculous, because we have a fabulous house here, of which we have made some beautiful upgrades, not to mention the best neighborhood anyone could ask for where I have made some very dear friends.  Why would we leave all of that? 

That is, until I just happened to find this listing the very morning it popped up.  Because we were prepared, having started this process several months ago - everything was ready to go i.e. our financing approval letter, my emotional state, and having looked for several months, we knew this was the deal of a century, confirmed to us by our astounded real estate agent that such an amazing property was going for a steal-of-a-deal. 

I feel no nervousness, and coming from me, you know that is saying a lot.  This is truly meant to be, and this is truly the house we need to be living at for the next phase of our lives.  We are excited, but now the stress of getting a house ready to sell, on top of our other daily duties like our jobs and raising children, is very much overwhelming, but I know when all is said and done, we will be where we are supposed to be and will truly cherish the moments we have had at this house and neighborhood for the last 14 years.