Hello it's me again. Back again from my regular hiatus. Usually, I become resistant to journaling when I have plenty to write about. In fact too much to actually sit down and document. I have so much to report and say that I usually get overwhelmed and quit for awhile. My guilt eventually gets the better of me as I contemplate the volumns upon volumns of journals that my father has painstakingly kept over his now 68 years of life. You'd think I could blog a consistent word here and there instead of post silly pictures of my face on different famous people. Anyway, I feel compelled to share a huge blessing and answer to prayer that will drastically improve our families' quality of life in the next year to 6 years. We have spent this last year crammed into a tiny 720 square foot home. We have been very grateful to have a roof over our heads that was affordable as the cost of living on the east coast came as quite a shock from the slow-paced mid-western state of Indiana. But this home was much less than ideal for our growing family. Now that we know that Rob has some long-term stability with his job, we have been praying for an opportunity to purchase a home that we could stay in for awhile. I think in our 7 years of marriage we have moved almost 7 times! I have gotten very good at moving but I'm ready to settle down. When we went about getting pre-approved to purchase, we quickly realized that until Rob received his first real pay increase at the professor level (it happens when he officialy has his doctorate degree in hand) we would not be able to afford anything suitable for our family. I was very discouraged and had resigned myself to the possibility that we would never grow up and have a home of our own. That we would always struggle month to month to make ends meet. Just when we had decided that we would just stay in this tiny house another year, I checked craigslist out of auto pilot habit and came across this ad that seemed too good to be true. There are many scams on craigslist, but when I saw the pictures I had the distinct feeling that I had found our home. As it turns out, we have found the perfect set up for our current situation. The couple had decided to rent for one year to someone that was interested in buying the same home at the end of that year. The market is terrible out here so this is really the ideal. To rent a home this size, location, and quality, you have to pay at least $1350-$1600 per month! Crazy hugh! They are renting to us much lower than the normal market value so we feel very fortunate to have just found it to rent for the time being even if we don't buy. We are 99% certain that it is exactly what we would want to buy for our first home, so we are planning to purchase the home which is currently listed at almost $10-15,000 under the current market value at the end of this next year. We found our home! We signed the lease tonight so it is official. I can't tell you how excited and blessed I feel! Today as I was cleaning my tiny corner of a kitchen and watching the ants march across my table that we have learned to coexist with, I smiled to myself because I could now have peace in knowing that we will be in a much better situation than we are now. I will no longer have nasty moldy caulking in my shower that I can't scrub clean no matter what powerful chemical I use. All the windows will actually lock! I won't have stray dogs and cats roaming into our yard and tearing through our garbage and pooping in my yard later to be transported into my house on the bottom of a little boy's shoe. I'll have a dishwasher! After 3 years without one, I will cherish every moment I spend filling that machine! I will have a place for everything! No more trecking out to the storage unit to retrieve everyday used items. My boys can play without falling all over each other in their tiny bedroom/playroom. Can you tell I'm excited? Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure so you can share in my excitement.
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