It's Official (Almost)

Well, I know nothing is "official" until announced on Facebook, but...

It's official to us! We got the results back from our inspection today and our house has no MAJOR thing wrong with it. That's right, we have a contract on our house and we are closing in two and a half weeks! We actually signed the contract on December 20th, but have been holding it to ourselves until we knew it wouldn't fall through.

Most of the details are all smoothed out and we are ready to go! My last day at work is two weeks from today, the 16th, and we move on the 18th. (above is my calendar at work).

It is hard to believe that everything has fallen together, but God, in His perfect timing, has been so obvious that this is the right thing to do, no one can argue.

On Wednesday December 19th we had three viewings in one day. It was annoying because we hadn't had any showings in a week, so we were starting to enjoy NOT having to constantly clean. That night we set the date. If our house hadn't sold by May 31st, we were taking it off the market. We couldn't keep living like this and we were just constantly on edge. Well, dadgummit if Thursday we didn't have TWO more showings. The problem was I had a babysitter from the youth group at our church watching the boys. So this poor teenage girl had to deal with two babies in the garage and at the kitchen table while people walked all through our house.

Well, that evening (Thursday) we had TWO offers come in at 5:33pm, within 30 seconds of each other. We rejected both offers and at 6:45 (within 48 seconds of each other), they each countered with the EXACT same offer (aka, almost our asking price). So, we were up really late talking and talking and deciding and deciding and negotiating. Around 11 that evening (I'll never forget), I was folding clothes out of the dryer and Matt was standing beside me talking to our realtor on the phone. He hung up and said "Ok, it's official. We're done, we'll sign the contract in the morning, our house is sold." (we actually right now have a contract from the couple we chose, and a back-up contract from other offer, in case the first falls through, isn't God so good?)

And I started weeping. There were and are just so many emotions involved in this move. And honestly, I've cried almost every day. This past Saturday was the perfect example. Every two weeks I go grocery shopping at Aldi. I was talking to Angie on the phone as the boys and I drove to Aldi for our last trip here in Birmingham. We were talking about how the next trip I go on we can go together and how nice it will be. And I was honestly so excited! Angie has never been and I love introducing people to how awesome Aldi is.

As I pulled in the parking lot, Sarah's van was there. We go inside and Sarah and her boys are shopping as well. It was so much fun shopping together. Levi was so excited to see everybody and we all kept talking across the aisles. Once we were finished and buckled up and headed down the road, I cried all the way home. That was probably the last time I would ever see Sarah out in public again. How can I leave this friendship that has become as close as family, how can I take Levi away from boys that he honestly sees as brothers?

That is how I feel every day. Something will happen and I will get so excited about moving and starting over and getting to see family much more often. And then something else will happen and I can't see myself anywhere but Birmingham.

And then I think back to elementary school when our school would have grandparents day and a close family friend, Sharon, would come sit with me, or my mom would come. And then I remember we are doing this for the boys. We are doing this so they know and are known by their family. So we can be there for our family, to help and love and serve.

I have written my list of goodbye cards to write to a few people here that I know I will not be dry eyed as I write. It is going to be an emotional and busy next two weeks. We are doing something we have never done, which is move our whole family to a brand new, well, EVERYTHING.

I really do want to remember all the roller-coaster emotions we are going through right now, so that means you are going to have to read all about it, lucky you!