New plans

Boy a lot can happen in two weeks. First of all let me say that this has really all happened in two weeks we have not been planning this for months...I promise.

Last Monday Jeannie and I decided to look at houses in Durant, Oklahoma. We took all four kids and looked at six houses in one afternoon. It was an adventure and we found a house that we were told was getting ready to go into foreclosure and it was perfect for our blended family. Each child had a room and their rooms were away from the rest of the house. There was a pool and a one car garage next to the pool that could be used for a game room for the kids.

The real estate agent gave us the run around about putting in a offer for two days. I talked to my long time friend Dawn and she looked up the property and it was not in foreclosure so the next day I called a different agent and ask her to put in an offer for us. She informed me that the house was under contract with a closing date of the following Monday. I was really upset because we REALLY wanted that house. We broke the first rule and fell in love with that house. It was SO hard to let it go. The new agent looked up about ten houses that we might be interested in and showed us four that day. The last house was the best and we realized why the other one was taken away from us.

The house is the kind that you pull into the driveway and IMMEDIATELY think, I can't afford this. But that was not the case with this one. The house sits on 2.2 acres and the house itself has 5848 sq. ft. The listed price was 194,995. That comes out to 33.34 a sq ft. So I know you are thinking what's wrong with the house? Well we haven't had an inspection yet but it doesn't seem like there is anything apparently wrong with the house.

We decided to put an offer on the house the following Monday. In the meantime life kind of fell apart. My van broke down, and needed a new engine. Thank goodness for the lifetime power train warranty. It was completely free. We decided to put the house in Garland on the market and called my friend to see what we needed to and started packing. Then we took Chris to look at the house and Jeannie found out her dad had a stroke. That night I also found out that we had a broken pipe leading into the house had broken and would have to be fixed. When we finally made it home on Tuesday night we found out that our house was re-infested with fleas and we couldn't stay there, so we went to a hotel. I called an exterminator the next day and they worked us in and got the fleas out of the house and the yard. Then we found out the plumbing was going to cost $3500.00. I am hitting my knees to pray for the whole thing. Are these obstacles there because we shouldn't move forward.

Early afternoon on Friday I heard from the agent. They had countered our offer and it was higher than we wanted to go. Not that it wasn't a great deal but we still only have so much money and resources. I hit my knees again. Prayed for a clear answer, unmistakable. What should we do Lord? I fell asleep. I mean dead asleep. I slept for four hours. I got up to go to Ada with Jeannie and the kids to get Chris something for Father's Day.

We were going to Burger King to get something to eat and Chris sends me a text to tell me his mom has decided that she might want to buy our house. I think to myself this is my sign. Just twenty-four hours before she was not interested in seeing the house at all and was upset we were moving. But now she was interested in buying our house to help us. So I ask Chris what he wants to counter with and he says 189,000. I call the agent and she is skeptical but I hold my ground and ask her to counter with 189,000.

This morning I was getting up to fix breakfast for the kids and it was about 9:00am when my phone rang. I saw it was the real estate agent and I didn't really want to answer. I was afraid of the answer. The first thing she said was I have some good news for you, girl! I was still holding my breath, but she continued and said they accepted our offer. I was SO excited. Now we are in the next phase. Chris is at dinner with his mom talking about the house in Garland, and we are scheduling the inspection on the new house.

It is scary, it is a risk, and we are taking a step in faith. There are lots of teaching jobs in Sherman, Tx and Durant, Ok which are very close to the town we found the house in, Colbert, Ok. I have more opportunities to find a job and I will need a job to be able to afford the house we are buying. There is enough room for all of us and when Chris is gone I won't have to be a single mom and Jeannie won't have to be a single mom. Our kids can grow up together and we can be sisters to each other.

Please pray for us. We are trusting in Him to shine His light on our way so that we know we are on the right track.