Stressin's & Blessin's

The past week or so... WOW. So much going on. Moving is always such an ordeal, is it not? Even when you are only moving 5 minutes away. The de-junking, the packing, the cleaning, the can-we-live-without-this-until-we-move questions, the sheer amount of STUFF. It's enough to make a person NEVER want to move again.
Lots of moving stress. We had to be out of our rental by the 5th because of the foreclosure - and there ended up being some last-minute issues with our move into the new home.
Let me talk about this home we moved into. It's not my ideal home. It's on a hill. There is no landscaping in the backyard and even if/when we DO come up with the money to finish it, the backyard will be very small. The kids can't really even GO in the backyard right now until we can put a fence up. It's way too steep. Unfinished basement. Tile. ACRES of tile. Have I mentioned I have a hate-hate relationship with grout? Bigger home than I want to clean. Oak cabinets everywhere. The ward/neighborhood is almost completely made up of older families - many of whose kids have moved out.

OK- I think I've covered the stressin' part. Let's get into the blessin's. For they are plentiful. I mentioned it's really not my ideal home - not what I would have chosen for my family - but I am pretty certain this is where the Lord wants us. The timeline of us getting "kicked out" of our rental and being able to purchase this home was pretty amazing. We had put offers in on some short sales with no luck. There was a home further west that I thought would have really suited our family & been just what we want. In fact, we almost rescinded the offer on this home because we really thought the other home would be better for our family - huge, finished yard, 6 bedrooms, etc. I'm so glad we didn't back out of this home. The other family wouldn't really budge an inch on their price & there's no way we would have been able to afford it. SO - here we are. What a blessing. Getting kicked out of our old place & feeling rushed was stressful, but we were able to get some cash for keys from the bank. BLESSING! We also got our deposit back. BLESSING! And - as many things as I don't love about this home, there are just as many that I do. Big, beautiful trees out front. Very open & welcoming. Gorgeous view. 3-car garage. Big kitchen. Bonus room! We're able to have the girls all sleep on the other side of the house from our master bedroom. Master is huge & master walk-in is unbelievable. The girls get to go to South Elementary. We're so close to Walmart, the Aquatic Center, and Discovery Park. BLESSINGS!! We had SO much help from friends - and from my AMAZING parents - in getting into this new home. WONDERFUL BLESSINGS!

So - even though the stresses still surround me, the blessings surround me more. I'm so thankful to be here in this home with people that I truly love. I'm excited for this new adventure & still grateful we're close to our friends on the other side of the freeway.