WE'RE MOVING!!!! TO OUR OWN HOUSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This has been a long awaited blog post!!!!!  I'm SO EXCITED to be posting it finally!!!  I wanted to document the miracles that led us to our new home.

During March, we were really gearing up and preparing ourselves financially, and vacationally (new word :) ), for the upcoming furlough.  I had pretty much written off any thoughts of getting a house until after October (which was really depressing, believe me!).  Which is why it was so strange that I thought to email myself via text on my phone, an address to a house hunting website, as we passed the billboard on the freeway.  I had passed this address a million times and thought, "I should check that one out", as I had never before.  But for some reason I thought to do it that time.  Then a week or so passed before I was at the computer to check my email and found it.  I was bored, so I looked at it.  I was so non-chalantly looking at the houses that fit our specs, and found a few that I liked.  I'm not sure why I thought to send the links to Nate, since we were "done looking for a while", but I did!  I even ended the link to one of the houses with "this is my new favorite house!"  I honestly didn't think Nate would even look at them.  As it's been somewhat depressing to look at houses we loved and have to pass them all by.  But for some reason, Nate opened the email and had time to look at them, and. did.  He too loved the one that I had, with the little stream in the backyard.  So he made a call to the realtor.  A little later, he asked me what I thought about that house, if I'd really want to live there.  Of course!!!  So he scheduled the walk through.  We were both pretty casual about it, not really thinking we could, but after one walk through the yard and then the house, we were sold!!!  It just felt like the perfect house for us!  We let the kids go through it and they were even more sold than we were :).  They especially loved the rope swing out by the stream.  It is a fun little novelty :).

We made the offer that night!!!  That's when the stress set in. Waiting has never been one of our strengths. We decided to involve the kids after a few days, and began praying for things to work out according to the Lord's Will. It's an interesting concept to teach our children that maybe what we want, and have wanted, and seems so perfect to us, may not be what Heavenly Father has planned for us. But we wanted them to know that praying about can help us to deal with and appreciate the outcome whether it's what we want or not. Anxious as we were, we survived! After almost two weeks we got the official word and could finally start plans for our new house and the move there!  We were SO EXCITED AND RELIEVED!!!

It had been so easy that it almost felt too good to be true, but I think it really is!  I have to admit I get nervous about crazy things wrecking it all, but overal, I'm hopeful and faithful that this is actually the house for us.  It really is a great house.  I love when things just fall together and work for our good.  It really is cool to think that in less than 3 weeks we will be in our own house!!!!

So to all of you who are SICK of hearing about me wanting a house of our own and being settled, you can celebrate!!  The day is finally here! (or will be shortly :) ).  I'm beyond excited!

We have been packing for a week now and plan to spend the first night possible in our new house, Monday the 29th. Since Nate works that day and the following, it will probably take us all week to move and clean.