All Grown Up

For the past few years Stu and I have become forever indebted to a few wonderful families. The Howard's, the Young's, the Randolph's, the Greenleaf's, and the Howard's again, each opened up their homes to us and allowed us to live there while we were in ministry. They took us in as one of their own. Even after we got married, the Howard's basement was still our home. It was an awesome opportunity to build relationships and extend my family, I'd do it again in a heart beat if I could. 

Last August we started feeling guilty for letting all of the great wedding gifts we recieved just sit in another basement....so we finally got our apartment. It's been so perfect for us this past year. It's homey, close to church, close to our other Georgia families, and affordable. Our favorite part is having the extra bedroom for guests to come stay whenever they need to.  However, as August looms around the corner holding our lease its hand, we knew we'd have another decision to make: what do we do now? Sign on for another year? Move back in with the Howard's? We never, in a million years, would have predicted our final choice...LET'S BUY A HOUSE!

I say a million years, because I thought it would take that long to save up for a nice down payment. Right now we're looking at heading to Cape Town for Christmas with my family, and paying off my car, and all of the other expenses in life, with little to show for in our savings account. It wasn't until we started talking with some friends (a little less than a month ago) that we realized how "first-home-buyer-friendly" the market is right now. We talked to a friend of ours who is a real estate agent, Amber, and she graciously gave us the 5th-grade education of buying a house.

We were onboard, unfortunately missing the tax-rebate deadline, but onboard nonetheless. We got pre-qualified for a loan, told Amber what our ideal house might be like, reviewed some that she found online, went looking at those that she found...and came across a townhome that has 99% of what we're looking for in a house! The kicker was...it had just opened up again from a lady who bought it but then lost her job...so we had to act fast before it got listed again. We were making one of the biggest decisions we'll ever make and only had a day to think about it!  However, we decided to go for it. This of course, came with lots of prayer and trust that God has paved the way. We kept looking for that closed door from Him, but it never came. Thus, two days later we gave the seller an offer...and they counter offered...and we counter offered...and they did again...and we did again...that's where we are currently!

I'm sorry to leave to you hanging for now, but I will come back when I have some more concrete news. This will hopefully be over within the next two days, but until then...you'll have to wait in suspense....