It's a Miracle!

It's a MIRACLE! We are going to be homeowners in CALIFORNIA! I really didn't think that this would be possible. It's like a dream come true. Ben laughed when I suggested we try to get on a game show and see if we could win a million dollars so we could buy a house in California. He thought I was kidding but I was being serious. . .

Earlier this year, a friend from church bought a house in Concord. She had told me that house prices in the area were alot more affordable than in Alameda and I thought, "Wouldn't it be cool if we could afford one of those?" I didn't want to pursue anything because I was about to have a baby in a couple of months and that was all I could think of at the time.

I never stopped thinking about it and after Zoey was born, I decided to see if it would be a possibility for us. We got pre-qualified and used the same realtor as my friend. Then the house hunting began. After awhile we thought all we could afford were junk houses. In our price range it was very competitive. All the good houses that showed well, instantly got offers. Most offers were way above asking price.

Then about a month ago we looked at a house in a great neighborhood. It was in a cul de sac and had a great big backyard and a garage (yay!). We decided to put an offer on it. Later we found that it had 2 other offers and that ours wasn't accepted. In fact, our realtor told us we were "Number 3" meaning we were the lowest offer. We were SO sad!

Then two weeks after all of that, the house came back on the market and our realtor called us as soon as he found out. Ben and I put another offer on it, this time offering more (as much as we could, which I thought wasn't much). We were the first offer in this time and we heard there was at least another coming in and possibly one more after that.

I didn't want to get my hopes shattered again, so I tried not to think about it. We prayed and felt good about our decision and our offer. A few days later, our realtor emailed and said we received a counter offer which really wasn't a counter offer it was just the bank (the house is a foreclosure) stating things in their terms and adding disclosures. We hired an attorney (boy they make the bucks!) to look over the documents before we signed them. We signed them and sent them back and then just had to wait. . .

Three days later our realtor called and told us that we were under contract. We just finished the inspections today and if things go as planned we will be closing November 24 which just happens to be 2 days before Thanksgiving. I don't know what it is with us, but we like to buy houses around holidays. With our townhouse, we closed on Christmas day!

So here is our house. . .


We've never had one of these before. . .


Or one of these all to ourselves. . .


It's also got one of these. . .

The Lord has truly been mindful of our needs. Everything has gone so smoothly from Day1. It almost seemed too good to be true. Things just worked out in the end. We just feel so blessed that we are able to get this house and feel grateful for support from family.

Our kids are excited! Poor CJ is in 5th grade and will be moving to her 5th school. I'm a little worried about Mia because she struggles with new surroundings, but I'm sure she will make lots of new friends. Xander's clueless, but I'm sure he will do fine.

What's first on my list when we move in? Letting my kids scream,run, jump, and dance all through the house! It's going to be a party and you're all invited!