Friday, December 30, 2011

Christmas Time = Family Time









































In God's Time

Many things have transpired lately, and I feel the great need to share for Avery to read one day. Jake and I have had our house on the market for at least a year now. With it being a two bedroom needing some work paired with the market today, we didn't have any luck. We put a lot of time, effort and money into fixing it up when we bought it, but couldn't spare to do any more because it wouldn't benefit us in the long run. We hoped to have a yard for Avery to play in and room for a brother or sister in the near future, so it was just time to move on. We've been through a lot in our little house, and I think we are both ready for a fresh start!
With no luck in selling, we discussed refinancing to lower our payment/interest and continue with repairs. We thought we could just make it work with another child sharing a room with Avery! I had been praying over the past year for our house to sell in God's time and for everything to go smoothly. I changed my prayers and asked for either something to work out with refinancing or for someone to "pop up" and buy our house (still adding in the part about it all going smoothly). When we were approved for the refinancing, I assumed that it was God answering my prayer. Little did I know, He had other plans.
Our contract with our realty company did expire, so we pulled up the sign, and went on with life. As I decorated the house for Christmas after Thanksgiving, we received a phone call from our neighbor. A lady who lives down the street from us wanted to bring her sister over to look at our house. I will admit, I was a bit frustrated that Jake said it would be okay- the house was cluttered with Christmas decor! She came right over, and really liked the house. She mentioned she had a 3 bedroom she has to sell first, so I figured then it was just another waste of time. Once she left, Jake asked if may be she was thinking we could trade houses, and I told him to call and ask. He did, and she was keen on the idea. I didn't get too excited because we really didn't know anything about her house rather than its location. Jake went by the next day and was impressed. It's not a huge dream home; however, we aren't looking for one of those. Since Avery came into our lives, our priorities have really changed. Jake was excited about the large fenced in yard and deck, and wanted me to go check it out. She came and looked at ours on a Monday, and I went to look at hers on a Tuesday. It's perfect for us, and would give us an extra room for a new addition to our family. No work is needed, other than the personal touches we'd want to add, so I was happy about that. Before I knew it, we were gathering paperwork, ordering inspections, and all of the other things that go along with buying/selling houses! As this was going on, I began to pray for it to work out if it was what was best for us. Early on, we learned our mortgage would be lower than our current one due to interest rates, and we were pre-approved.  I thought, "Wow, God is this you?" Next, our inspection came and went with few issues other than our retaining wall. Our broker relayed worries about the bank financing the house without fixing the retaining wall before selling which stressed us out a bit. It is an expensive task, and one we couldn't afford to tackle at the moment. Remember, I had already been praying for months that if we had a buyer that the process would go smoothly. The appraiser came, and never mentioned the wall. Jake stopped to ask him before he left, and he said it wasn't a problem! Our house also appraised for more than we expected which gave us wiggle room for what we would and wouldn't be able to repair. Everything worked out to the last dime with money, and we were able to move in this week!  Now, we are getting settled and counting our blessings!! We are now residents of Brandon, MS.
Bye-Bye old room!
Hello new room! 

This may not sound as grand written down as it has played out in my mind, but to me, this is huge. I used to have trouble knowing what was from God and not from God, and I wondered how I could learn to tell the difference. I think it is amazing how He has begun to use my exact prayers in his answers. He tells me everyday, "Just trust me, Megan, I won't let you down."  I am learning and doing my best to do just that. That is a big change Avery has brought to my life. I look for Him all the time in everything, and He reveals Himself to me. Now I think about how this lady buying our house will be close to her aging parents. Did I mention they live one house down from us? She will also be two houses down from her sister. She is single, and she will be in a smaller home with no yard to take care of as well. In turn, we will be in a home with a yard for Avery (who would live outside if we let her) with an extra room for baby #2 (not yet but may be in the near future). I know in my heart that God is doing this. This is a specific answer to a specific prayer. While we are ridiculously impatient,  God asks us to patiently wait on Him. There is something about His timing that we will never know or understand.

Saturday, December 17, 2011

In the Christmas Spirit!

Burnie likes to hang around. 
 Just Believe!
 Parent's Magazine Christmas Fest 




 Be Merry!

 Canton Lights