You All Knew This Blog Was Coming :)

Wow, can I actually write this blog? After all of this time and tears and worrying and trusting and then worrying again. I feel like this blog is so surreal, like I shouldn't be writing it, not yet, not until we are physically moved into our new location. Yet, I will because I need to give God the glory.

As you all now the emotional roller coaster we have rolled ourselves up and down on for the past couple of years just figuring out what to do with our home. It's over, Praise God it's over! We transitioned our thought process from buying to renting after much time and hours spent with our realtor. After hundreds of houses screened, and probably close to 50 houses viewed and 2 unsuccessful offers made we realized maybe this is not the direction God is desiring for us at this moment. Sooo, letting go of my need and desire to feel "instant" stability in a much larger home relinquished and Ben and I just prayed, " God, if you want us to rent, that's fine. Please take us out of the renting rat race, the competition, I don't think we can handle much more. Please God, just give us atleast 1400 sq ft so I can hopefully have  school area and a decent location. In Your name Amen".

At one of our lowest points we were searching a rental site and found this house, funny it resembled the house that I wanted more than anything in the beginning, the house that would have had AWESOME neighbors ( you know who you are). It had come on the market just that previous day. I called the property management company ( armed in my possession a " check list" of what to ask for to ensure our 'representation'). They said, I can't meet for the next couple days, I said, " I can only meet today" They made it work.

Ben had taken the boys to see Cars 2 and spent the afternoon with them enjoying some much needed Daddy time after us being gone so long.  I had the girls, we prayed. I drove through the previous neighborhood that I for sure thought our rental was going to work out and didn't notice any apparent rental signs, jumped on the highway and drove to this new neighborhood.

We drove in and Riah goes, " This is my neighborhood, I like this neighborhood". I'm thinking, well that's a positive sign. It was a very cute neighborhood, very midwest feel but newer. I met the girl at the door, the house has a front porch and a peak! Two things I so desperately wanted in my permanent home. We walked in oh wow, two living spaces! Score, one can be a school room! Three large bedrooms- ok, how do we sign the application and get this moving? I literally looked at the house for 1.5 minutes. The girl told me the investor just closed on the house the previous day, I was the first to look through it and here was my application.

I sat in the car, filling out as much as I could, faxed it over and waited until Monday. I called on Monday and the property manager said that she recommended our application and was waiting on owner approval. So we waited but felt encouraged. Yesterday, we received a phone call. Apparently I wrote down the "wrong" amount on the application but the owner approved MY monthly rate over hers!!! I know that was God. I did not even mean to write the wrong amount down and yet rushing through the application it was like totally Holy Spirit driven. THEN! because it had been a foreclosure and just closed on I stated that it needed to be cleaned, carpeted, painted and all new window coverings ( kind of a tall request I felt). The owner approved every last request! Things that we would have had to put money into a home that we were buying are now being done for us without our added expense!!! Praise God!!!! Also, at the rate we are paying most of the homes we were looking at were between 1200-1600 sq feet.....ours is 2100!!!!!!! Never, EVER before in our lives have we had this much room, EVER! Our first apartment was 795 sq ft, our second 900, our 3rd 1000 sq ft and now our home is 1100- to us it feels like a mansion!!!

To say we feel blessed with this temporary home is an understatement- I am crying with tears of relief that this journey is over. I am ok with it being a rental, that give us time to just get out of "mls" world and set up my school room and live life for a little bit. This burden is lifted and I am so thankful, thankful to have this opportunity in a safe location. I can't explain why God allowed every experience to happen to us- I think in the end of my life it will make sense,  because I could have handled without much of it. However, the answered prayers of God literally seeing we were at the end of our rope emotionally and Him moving through this was such ease with many simple "yes"s is just humbling.

I emailed our wonderful realtor  on Monday which probably sounded more like an insanity letter stating that I couldn't do "it" anymore, looking at homes. My brain could not handle short sales, loan modifications, refinance, traditional sale, foreclosures, auctions, etc. any more. We needed a break from looking and prayed God would provide a rental. She emailed me back, in short, with such a sweet email and that she would be ready for us when we were. We are so thankful. Thankful for God for providing this temporary relief, thankful for people that He put in our lives to help us and guide us through this process. Thankful for family and friends that spent countless hours praying- this is part of our testimony. Life, will not EVER  ( let me just say EVER from now on) look how we planned it to look or even think, but I am slowly learning that as long as I cling to God's strong hand, I will make it. Praise you God, thank you God with tears welling up in my eyes and gratitude overflowing from my heart, thank you for providing a place for my family. Thank you!!!!