The Back Story

I shared with you all our big news but I think the story of how this whole move came together is even more exciting.

Andrew and I had been discussing moving closer to home for awhile...honestly, probably since we found out we were expecting Gabe.  We felt there were things the boys were missing out on, there were things I wanted to have in my life and then having three boys so close in age, the idea of doing that all way from our closest friends and family just didn't seem like something we wanted to do.  We began to pray about.  We tossed around where we would move to, when that would take place. But ultimately we knew we just weren't prepared to move.

Fast forward to August and we were bringing Gabe home from the hospital.  Our conversations of moving were still happening but the idea of moving to Decatur and the possibility of Andrew working from home some and commuting some began to be discussed as an option.  I mean, what is another half an hour if you can work from home some? I began to jokingly say during those first couple of weeks home, wouldn't it be great if we could put our house on the market this spring and be closer to everyone before Gabe's first birthday?  That time frame sort of became our "plan."

Andrew jokingly asked a co-worked (who used to live in our neighborhood) if she wanted to move back.  She said she wished she would but couldn't but knew someone who was actually looking to move and who had looked at our house years ago when it was for sale. Andrew's co-worked contacted her friend, who contacted Andrew.

Long story short, before Gabe was a month old, we had a contract on our house!! This is huge because houses don't always sale quickly in our new town. Houses that were on the market when Andrew and I began looking over a year ago are still on the market.  God thing #1

With a fairly quick closing, Andrew and I came to a conclusion on some things pretty quickly.  Here is what we knew:
-we knew we had to move in at the beginning of November since our November calendar had something every weekend after the 1st
-we knew the area we wanted to move to
-we knew that our options we a bit limited since we had just purchased some investment properties to flip

All of those things, plus we had to find a house we actually LIKED! All in basically a weekend.

Andrew set up some showings for us to walk through on our weekend home. One home was a for sale by owner.  From the pictures online I could tell I liked it.  {If there is one trait about me that hasn't changed, I make decisions quickly.  I can pretty much tell you instantly my thoughts and they don't typically change. My gut is usually what I stick with}

That particular house was the last one we looked at.  It was in a neighborhood we wanted.  In fact, it was just minutes away {WALKING DISTANCE} from two of my closest friends. Homes in this neighborhood are rarely on the market long. I'm talking like within a couple of weeks they often are sold. It had amazing bones.  It is move in ready but of course, unless you build, you can always find ways that you want to change a house to make it your own.  The couple selling the home, actually went to the same church we attended before moving.  Wondering why it hadn't already sold, the owner told us they listed in July but then vacationed all of August so weren't home to show the house. God thing #2.

We were open about our situation and time frame.  They said those restraints weren't an issue.  We drove home Sunday, Andrew made an offer and it was accepted. God thing #3

There is still so much about how this new future looks {Andrew commuting, Hudson switching preschools, etc} but I am so grateful for how it has all worked out. I honestly can't wrap my head around it sometimes but the boxes remind me that it is happening! I love how 1 can see God's hand throughout this entire ordeal.