We bought a house.

WE BOUGHT A HOUSE.

WE BOUGHT A HOUSE.

 

Did you catch that?

 

WE. BOUGHT. A. HOUSE.

finally.

 

This whole weekend has been amazing, and this process has been a long one. Some of the first houses we looked at left me crying in frustration later. 

(We COULD have easily been "A crooked little man in a crooked little house with a crooked little cane and crooked little mouse" if we went with the first few....)

Then, as we went to put an offer in on one we decided we liked, it turned out it was already under contract..as of three days after viewing it. The only consolation we had was that God knew what He was doing.

And He did.

Our realtor was awesome and fun and made the whole process easier. It was nice to feel like someone was truly on your side, understanding what you wanted and trying their absolute best to provide that for you. She would agree when one was 

too small

too crowded

too crooked

too awkward

too much not right..

When we walked into the house that was soon to be our home, it was the first that was too good to pass up. Travis started planning how he could make it our right off the bat.. it just felt right. 

You betcha we jumped on it quick.

They accepted our first offer. 

We got set up for a loan.

We got all the "fun" stuff out of the way.

I had words with the loan lady with a serious attitude problem.

We waited.

We prayed.

Closing time came. 

Thursday, we signed the papers. 

Apparently this home had been built by the family of the man who sold it, a very kind looking gentleman with a honest smile. He was emotional but very glad we were the ones purchasing it. In fact, as Travis and I were walking to the car, he rolled down the window of his jeep and smiled with the observation:

"You're floating."

As we pulled in the driveway, Travis leaned over and kissed me, "Welcome Home."
 

Friday, we left for Indiana.  

The time at home with family and friends to pack up and catch up was well worth the several hour drive. Realizing that this was "it" and we were finally settling somewhere is still somewhat surreal.

I made a point to drive fast on a back gravel road, through the cornfields, blasting country music and smiling like a contented fool. Moments of happiness (like that, and deep conversations with close friends) left me feeling bittersweet.
 

Tuesday, we closed the gap between our old home and new.

As we pulled into our new driveway, reality struck. A smile crept across my tired face.

Within five minutes, I managed to lock us out of the house and crazy life began again. 

Some of our wonderful new friends came to help unload the U-Haul, we had fun, and all the months of waiting were worth it when Travis and I laid down to sleep the first night in our home. I woke up and it wasn't a dream.

We bought a house, guys.

We're Tennessee residents.

It really happened.

"God dwells in His creation and is everywhere indivisibly present in all His works. He is transcendent above all His works even while He is immanent within them."

- A. W. Tozer