Warning! This turned out to be a very long post today so hang on!!
How’s that for a title today? 
I guess I should back up just a little bit and then explain what I mean. Josh and I have been looking to move for a little over a year now. It all really started last November (2008) when we found out we were expecting Baby LaLa. We were so excited about the new addition to our family and we just assumed that our little 3 bedroom home would not accommodate Baby #4. So we started looking and you all know how that turned out…
We lost the baby later that month – the holidays hit – and we just kind of put those moving dreams on the backburner for a little bit. Over this past year, we have looked off and on a bit. Nothing too serious but I have to admit that at times this “casual” looking did cause some frustration between the 2 of us. We just could not find what we thought we wanted nor could we really feel God pulling us in 1 direction or the other. Fast forward a little bit… We got “serious” about looking this summer with our dear friends and we even put in an offer on a home that we thought would work for us. That particular situation did not work out and with our crazy fall we just decided to take a little break with all the house looking. That is until one Sunday afternoon a few weeks ago when we went riding around town after church. We found this glorious, very well priced, 4 year old, 4,000 square foot, 5 bedroom, 5 miles away from church (and did I mention the fabulously big scrap and school room) home that we really liked. The even better part was that it was in a subdivision that we know very well (lots of friends are there) and it was listed by those same dear friends and come to find out the family that lives there actually go to our church.
So… Josh and I get to thinking. We decide that we are going to put an offer in on this home. The past several weeks we have been doing family budgets for 2010 and meeting with bank people to help us decide the best way to make this future move. Ok so here comes the frustrating part…
We cannot get a loan!! How crazy is that? These 2 young, graduate school well-educated people with a good, steady income who have no credit card debt, no car payments, no mortgage, fairly decent savings, etc… These 2 people who so many loan officers “have never seen before” cannot get a very common conventional loan. I told you it was crazy!! Oh yes… we could go out and get some weird bridge loan where we pay 2 closing costs or perhaps even get one of those ridiculous ARM loans where the rates increase over time but we are just too sensible to take those kinds of risks. Needless to say this whole thing is really frustrating to us and just goes to show you where we (as Americans) are in our whole financial, economic crisis situation right now.
Of course at 1st this immediately sent me into a planning panic. I mean…How in the world are we going to add another family member to this already full home? We just have to move. I have thought of several solutions…
- Knock on our neighbor’s door – politely ask them to move so we can rent their home and somehow join our 2 properties together. We decided against this because we like our neighbors too much.
- Beg someone we trust (who has a credit score) to co-sign with us on the loan or perhaps even ask that rich relative if we could borrow from him at a competitive interest rate. After all with the sale of our current home and the balance between the 2, we fully intend to pay off this new home in about 3 years. We went against that idea too. Just not comfortable getting others involved and the idea that we cannot get this loan by ourselves is just sooooo crazy!
- I told Josh that I would be happy to go to Target, Old Navy, or Pottery Barn to open up a few of those “Save 10% Today” cards and buy a few things for all of us or perhaps even go purchase some new furniture with “No Money Down”. All that sacrifice shopping just so we could get some activity on that silly “Zero Credit Score” of ours. Again… Call us crazy but we are just too stubborn to give in to a system that works as crazy that.
- All that to say…
Owe no man anything, but to love one another…
Romans 13:8
We have prayed, agonized, given it to Him, taken it back, given it back to Him, and prayed over this whole house-moving thing for a long time now. We are slow sometimes to learn God’s lessons but we both now realize that God has put up these stumbling blocks to show us that He wants us to stay put. We worked so hard these past few years to pay off our home and we both are at peace that He wants us to stay here just a little bit longer.
So here is our new “We Are Staying Put For A Little Bit Longer and Not Moving Right Now Plan”…
We are going to finally make this little 1st home of ours look the way we always wanted it too. Sure… We have done a few things here and there during our newlywed years. Heck… We even painted the nursery, boys’ room, and put up crown molding over time but the fact is that having had 3 babies in 3 years has just not left us with too much time for home improvement projects. Besides that… We have been throwing all of our extra money at our home loan trying to pay it off.
Josh and I have stayed up late the past few nights dreaming and trying to figure out how it will all come together. I see many weekends in the future months ahead where we will be painting, moving things around, putting tile down, looking for living room furniture (I am super excited about this one.), and the biggest project – closing in our little back patio area. Our plan right now is for the boys to continue to share a room while Emma Lee and Baby Elmore hang out in the nursery. That new little area off our dining room that we are closing in will be our new “hangout” for all things crafty and school related. I know it is going to be a lot of work so if you want to come over to help with moving, painting, give some decorating tips, or perhaps even watch the kids for an afternoon, week, or month (ha!), please know that we would love to have your help. We are really excited about these changes and our peace has returned.
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him…
Romans 15:13
I am still not giving up my dream of that huge Scrap Room, having a Grandparent Suite, or getting us closer to church in our future but for now these small improvements to our little 1500 square foot, 3 bedroom cottage will work for us. I even joked around with Josh last night that perhaps we could have a “We’re NOT Moving Sale” to get rid of some excess stuff or when all these project are done we could have a “House Re-Warming Party”. 
Seriously though… I am a very sentimental person and the idea of leaving this little 1st home of ours can be a bit much for this hormonal, pregnant lady to think about at times. What I mean is… I really do love this place. I love my kitchen with the fabulous skylight, I love all my dark cherry cabinets and the fact that this was the home we came back to after our wedding/honeymoon. This was the home that we have brought all 3 babies home from the hospital and I am excited to bring Baby Elmore #4 home this Spring to this very same place where we have made so many wonderful memories. We have given it all to God (once again) and I (we both are) at peace with our decision to stay put for now and looking forward to all the little improvements that we are going to make in 2010.
Happy New Year Everyone!! 
