Blogging Vacation / House update

warning: SUPER LONG POST!!

A little more than a year ago, I started this blog and am so thankful I did.   Some of my favorite pictures are captured here along with stories and ramblings that I likely wouldn't have written down anywhere else.  And, although at the time I probably thought "I'll never forget _____", I almost surely would have.  There are times I go back and read through old postings and it instantly takes me back.

So, all of that to say I guess it was time for a blogging vacay.  It wasn't really on purpose, but happened at a time when quite a bit else was going on.  A few weeks ago, Patrick took a new job (yea -- we love it!!) and we finally got a legit offer on our house.  Don't misunderstand me.  When I say legit, I mean we got through the option period without the buyers bailing.  We practically gave away our house.  But we were resigned to selling no matter what it took so we could move to a better neighborhood with better schools.

Be thankful I didn't give you a play-by-play on all the craziness surrounding this whole house mess.  I jumped the gun back in May when I wrote a post about an offer on our house and Patrick and I both had a  "feeling" this was the one.  Boy, were we wrong.  Those people bailed and we were back on the market.  Note to anyone reading this who thinks they want to sell a house when you're home all day with a baby and a dog:  DONT!!  Granted, most people probably wouldn't have their house on the market for close to a year, but you should know in advance that it's a total beating.  I don't want to sugar coat it or anything.

I really should put the next bit of this into a timeline, but I'll spare you.  Here's a brief recap of the past year when dealing with this dump of a house.
*  Sept 2010      Found a model home in Frisco that we liked and decided to put our house on the market
*  Oct        Got first offer on our house and a few days later the buyers bailed when they found out we needed some foundation work done
*  Nov       MAJOR foundation work completed.  Scheduled to take 2 days and it took 2 weeks!
*  Jan 2011       Decided to find a new real estate agent since the first one was hardly ever taking our calls
*  Feb        Went back on the market after about a week off.  Re-listed with a new agent.
*  May       Second offer on our house was made, and we went under contract.
                  We began working to see if the original house in Frisco was still available.  It wasn't.
                  Looked at some pre-owned homes and couldn't find anything we liked
                  Found a builder and decided our best route was to build in Frisco.
                  Before the option period ended, the buyers bailed.
* June        We decide to go ahead and build the house in hopes that by the time it's finished we'll have another contract.  Building starts and we spend quite a bit of time choosing tile, granite, etc as well as other structural choices.
* July         Third offer and contract on our house is written.  We're totally bummed about the price, but understand that most people selling in this market are taking a beating on price.  We make it through the option period and set a closing date for Aug. 25.
                  We won't be able to move into the new house until Sept / Oct, so we make arrangements to move to Midland in the meantime and stay with my mom.
* August     Around the beginning of the month, I tell Patrick I'm not too sure about the house we're building in Frisco.  It's a "new" build with everything you'd expect in a 2011 home.  SUPER open, and when I got to thinking about it, there wasn't much room for furniture to sit against the walls.  I like a cozy feel in a home and was having a hard time getting this feel about the house in Frisco.  For the first time in this process, we were the ones who bailed.
                  We began searching again for a pre-owned home and this time broadened our search criteria to include surrounding areas.
                 We find a house in MCKINNEY of all places and decide to put an offer on it after only seeing it once - (Patrick had seen it once before me).
                So, we're thrilled with the house we found and are anxious to move in!  Closing is set for the same date as this one, so we'll move into the new place Aug. 26th.

 WHEW!!!!!

When I look back over the past year and think about all the showings, contracts, open-houses, and conversations about why in the world this was taking us FOREVER to sell our house, it all comes down to this.  The house that was meant for us wasn't ready for us yet.  And we obviously weren't ready to find it either.  Everything fell into place perfectly at the last minute.  Interestingly, at the beginning of all of this, I prayed for patience, and man did I learn some patience!  What I really think I ended up learning though was trust.  Trust that your life will work out how it is supposed to.