Long Overdue Update...Part 3

Now that we had a contract on a new house and a new little one on the way, we knew we had to get our house in tiptop shape to get it on the market.  We decided to go with the same realtor that we were using for the new house (who works with the builder) because we got a great feeling about her and we felt like she wanted our house to sell as much as we did, so we could keep our contract on the new house.  She did an amazing job!  She worked SO hard, and we had a showing almost every single day.  The house was under contract in just about two weeks and went to closing with absolutely no issues.  So if you're in the market for a realtor, Terri Kerr is your girl.  Can't say enough great things abouth her...

And then we were homeless...well, not really.  But I did wring my hands about this one little detail for quite a while.  We had not expected our house to sell quite so soon, and while we were thrilled, we now had to find a place that would let us do a 5 month lease with a dog and not charge us an arm and a leg to do it.  I checked apartment complexes, I searched for rental homes, I drove around town looking for "For Rent" signs with not much luck.  I did the only thing I knew to do when I'm in over my head...I began praying.  I asked for guidance and clarity and begged God not to use this moment to teach our family that we really could get by in just a one bedroom apartment for 5 months.  And I then I found this random house on this random website...called the landlord and he really was okay with just a 5 month lease and a dog and didn't even want a pet deposit or anything!!  I had seen some sketchy places and was almost convinced that this was too good to be true...but I'm pretty optimistic so we went by and checked the house out and it was actually okay!  We decided it would definitely serve our purpose for the time we needed it.

The landlord worked hard for the next month getting the house ready for us (it had been vacant for a while...), and it was just such an answered prayer and another way that God provided for us when we were losing hope...we were this close to being in a tiny apartment with no storage and paying ridiculous amounts of money for deposits and a short term lease...and all of a sudden, we had this 3 bedroom house with a yard and a two car garage for storage, and we were saving well over $2000 over the course of 5 months. 

And why is this story important?  Well, we soon found out after we moved in that the house was, get this...going into foreclosure!!  I was all, uh-uh, no way, this CANNOT be happening!  But the landlord assured us it was okay, and that he was working out the details.  Turns out, the landlord had fallen on some hard times, and we were as much a blessing to him as he was to us!  It's always amazing to me when I take a step back to see how much God orders our steps and works things out according to His purposes and plan.  This landlord, who will likely lose this house at some point, has gone out of his way to make sure we have had everything we need.  He has taken care of every single problem and every issue we have had.  What a blessing this house has been for us (even when we don't realize or appreciate it at times).

So now, here we are, just a few days from closing, and we could not be more excited or thrilled or anxious to get settled into what we hope will be our home for many, many years to come.  We (and by we, I mean Matt) will be spending the next couple of weeks painting, hanging window treatments, closet organizers, and those kinds of things, and we will be officially moved in on October 8.  Just in time to get that new nursery all set up!  Which reminds me that I included almost nothing in all of this updating on the kids, so stay tuned for the next post...an update on the boys (and girl).