Lost a buyer, found a buyer...

So--after all my ramblings, the sale fell through. :(  I have a list I'm going to ask Heavenly Father about when I get to heaven, and this situation is on that list.  It doesn't make sense to me why something that seemed, to my brain, to make so much good sense all around went south, but south it did and we re-vamped.  After hearing the news that our buyers backed out, we went right on with plan B and hired a realtor.  When we started this whole process we made a plan and it included a timeline for hiring help--we had met that deadline and so we made the jump.  It's a bummer, seeing how it is going to cost us extra money, but it's also efficient and somewhat of a stress relief knowing we've got someone to go to bat for us if things go wrong again.  We signed on Wednesday night and were back under contract by Tuesday morning (with competing offers!), so I guess it was worth it. * $7,000 worth it...? The jury is still out! ;) *

We had a roofer come out and verified that we did indeed need a new roof. Lame-sauce.  So grateful for handy and helpful family members who came over and spent the weekend with us roofing.  Mike got it all done yesterday, and we had an appraisal done, so we are one step closer to being done. It's no fun living in limbo-- I am hoping for some quick resolutions on any appraisal issues and some concrete evidence that the new buyers will actually buy our house.  We are a bit gun-shy after the last ones backed out after investing so much, and the VA loan that the new buyers have has a clause that lets them get out at any time.  Bummer.  We need to start moving towards temporary housing and storing our junk--but don't feel like it's smart to put any money down yet. In the meantime we wait. :)

I feel blessed that we were back under contract so quickly. It is no small feat to keep the house 'show ready' with all these kiddos, and my pregnant body doesn't seem to really want to cooperate either.  It is nice to let go of the stress a bit and not worry about the state of the house every second. We are never farther then 30 minutes or so from being able to put the house back together, but I no longer make sure the house is perfect every time I leave.  Bonus of being under contract, even if it falls through again. :)

Out for breakfast one of our show-mornings.

We have been making some movement towards our final destination-! That HAS been exciting!  We walked our lot with the builder this week and had a long chat about his thoughts.  We meet with the lender next week and, although we haven't actually put money on the lot yet, we are in constant contact with the owner and she assures us she considers it sold and won't sell it to anyone else.  Ernest money should go down on the lot soon and we are looking for architects to help us draw up our house plan.  We are stoked.

We're moving!

We have been daydreaming about building our own *dream* home for years now. We've got houseplans and we play with them all the time--move walls, add garages, pinterest light fixtures.  It's been fun.  We knew that our current home would not be our forever house, but didn't think we were quite ready to take the jump until the first of this year. It's amazing how things have just sort of fallen into place--totally, totally, blessed.  The financing is working out (darn our Texas foreclosure!), we found an incredible builder, we have our eye on a great lot and our house is under contract.  I can think of no other experience in my life where I have felt so led by the hand of the Lord in the direction he wants us to go.  It's been very humbling and thrilling.

We started to prep our home to put up on the market in January.  I am shocked and amazed at the work it takes to get a house ready.  It took us a full month--true, I was operating as pregnant Mindy, but a full month!  Bless my parents, their help was incredible.  It was such a huge blessing to have my Mom show up day after day to help me get things done, and Dad helped Mike with all the heavy lifting. So grateful. Our shed is PACKED full of stuff (and I'm amazed at how much of it I actually don't miss...shhh! don't tell Mike!) and our house doesn't totally feel like ours.  Our pictures and decorations are down and we had crazy mornings making sure everything is spiffy for potential  buyers...but it all payed off!  Like I said, the Lord has a plan.  For Sale By Owner and we were under contract in 2 1/2 weeks. That is crazy~!  The family buying our home is young, LDS, active, and cute.  Just the type of people I prayed would move in here.  I was so hoping for someone my neighbors could borrow an egg from, someone that would have kids to play with, someone safe and kind and helpful.  I think the Lord answered that wish. I am so grateful.

At this point, we are keeping our prayers focused on the home inspection--hoping, specifically, that our roof will not be an issue. It's original, and in great shape, but old.  Everything else, unless we have an infestation of bats we were unaware of, should go smooth.  Crossing our fingers and bending our knees--inspection day is Wednesday.  After that, we are home free!

The family who is buying our home is going to rent it back to us through June.  What an additional blessing!!  We will get Little Miss here while we still have our neighbors and friends around.  We don't have to have all of us shoved in a tiny apartment for 6 months. We get to take time to finish packing and cleaning and playing.  I am so grateful.

This week we think we will make the final decision on the move--build or buy, build or buy.  It's all we talk about and all we think about.  We should know this week if all our ducks will be in a row and if we can buy the lot.  Fingers crossed and knees bent!! :)

The link to our website...as my sister said, "I've never seen your house look like that before!" Ha! True!

www.laytonlocation.blogspot.com

Happy LOVE Day!!

How does your Valentines go? Does it include a hot date with you man, or a quiet night at home? What are your traditions?  

Pregnancy years don't usually include a date or dinner or dancing--pretty much I'm feeling the love with come ice cream and the chance to sit on the couch and watch TV--ha!  This year I had the chance to help with both kids' school parties and we had friends over for a 'fancy' (read tablecloth and colored plates) dinner and an evening of games. It was great for the kids, and great for us.  We sure love being a family and being together!