It makes me giggle....

....when I have to bob and weave to navigate around our current bedroom/living room/office.

....that all 3 of my children are sharing one half of a closet, yet no one is running around naked.

.....when I reach back to stretch and accidently bump my hubby's foot while he's asleep.

.....that I haven't missed the rest of my shoe collection, or really anything we've had packed away for the last 4 months.

.....when I hear our kids ask Marmar to play poker, or chess, or rummy for the 5th time today. 

....when the kids roll out a homemade tortilla, and they are better at it than I have EVER been.

...that I've only made dinner half a dozen times during our stay with Papi and Marmar.

....that I keep collecting books for school when I haven't a square foot to spare.

...as I think of all the fab people who have helped us along this journey.

.....that our wait could culminate in claiming this little slice of roominess:

I think that makes all the giggling worth it ;)

Feels like the home stretch...

It's after midnight on Wednesday morning, August 18th....so I guess it's fitting to say good morning.
Though I'm body weary from a long, full day....I'm also excited in so many ways.

So much has happened and so much is resting on the horizon, ready to peak around the corner at us.  It's a tad mindboggling, really.
I don't mean to be cryptic, but I almost don't know where to start.
I'll just reiterate what you already know, this has been a long journey...though not as long as some have taken.....and it seems we may be nearing the finish line.
To that I say Woo Hoo!

We started off this journey 4 months ago, not knowing WHERE the Lord wanted to take us, only that He was ready to 'move' us.  So we obeyed, and soon we had wonderful tenants living in our very first home, and we were moving our things into my parent's home.  We went on to view dozens of homes, make numerous offers and be turned down more times than we could imagine.  Now, mind you...we are still NOT SURE where exactly the Lord was calling us....either in location or in service.  We just knew we needed to press on.  If the doors continued to open up for us to buy a second home, then so be it...otherwise, maybe we were meant to rent another home and pay off debt before we entered the market again.  Our second step was a bit hazy......and at times the road has caused us to wonder WHERE to go next.

But we never doubted there would be somewhere else to go.  It was just not time for us see HOW to get there.  In the meantime, we met with wise counselors, financial gurus, and other trusted advisors, all seemingly heaven sent to give us wisdom.
We've never felt unprepared for the 'next' step. 
So when we walked into the sales office and toured a newly constructed home, I wasn't totally surprised at how perfect the situation was for us.
The size of the home, the design and upgrades on this finished house, the lot, everything seemed just right.
So we jumped on board and waited to see if we qualified.
If we could get a brand new house for the same mortgage as buying an existing home that was NOT move-in ready....well why wouldn't we?
That was almost a month ago now and we've been in constant communication with the sales office and financial gurus for this company. 
We've been told 'maybe' more times than we can count.
Jumped through paperwork hoops like some eager gymnasts.
Our hardest thing to accept was the lack of a solid answer....yes or no.
So we waited, and explored all our options, and waited some more.
The entire time being told that this one home, which had already been built, was still being held for us.
Still, we lacked confirmation whether this deal was even possible.

In the meantime, we took a quick roadtrip to Oregon, and didn't talk about this house for over 5 days.
We came back with a solid peace and a few final decisions to make before we gave up altogether and started exploring nearby rental properties.

In the back of my head I wondered where and if I should begin school with the kids if we might be moving in a matter of weeks.
Still we pressed on.
Then yesterday we were given the call we had been waiting for....The hundred-thousand dollar question...
would you accept this rate....you have 4 hours to decide.

We fell on our faces praying for wisdom.  
Actually, we were on the phone with each other praying....me while pounding a flank steak into submission, and he while driving home from work.
We were confident that this was the deal with which we should move forward.
Then today we signed the contracts to get the ball rolling.
We are now looking at a mid-fall, move-in date.
It all seems surreal.....practically anti-climactic.
But the finish line is in sight.....and THEN the real fun begins, right?
Setting up house just before the holidays, and mid-school year.
Sigh*  I never was one for a slow paced life!

Thank you for following alongside us....and for the prayers which have sustained our family.
I owe my sanity to our God who knew how long this would take....f.rom the beginning.....and He still loves us so...no matter how hard we fumble around along the way.
Amen

Over and over, You Prove....You're so Faithful!

Our beloved Auntie Joan let us adopt her worship cd the other day...and two songs have really stood out....but this one is a favorite for even the kids....which leads us each to request it every time we get into the van.

Tonight it's my battle cry:

The darker the night the brighter the day
the fiercer the fight the stronger the faith
so i place my hope in You

the deeper the sin the stronger the blood
the more to forgive, the more reason to love
so i place my trust in You

in Your ways oh God
redemption is so much better than perfection
in Your ways oh God

over and over
You prove You're so faithful
over and over
You prove Yourself a redeemer

so i place all my hope in You

The artist is Kristene Mueller and this song, Redemption rocks like a SixPence None the Richer song.

More importantly it stirred up the promises of God deep down in my heart.
I love the second line....."The Fiercer the Fight...the Stronger the Faith"
What's truer than that?
The harder we need to fight....the more our faith is challenged, and proven to be failing or better yet, proven to be strong!  God let my faith be proven true!  I DO believe you have spoken into our lives and we LONG to follow Your voice.  Let that be able to be said of us...that we followed you, we believed and didn't give up...not for the prize of another house....but for You Lord.  For our faith challenge. 

I really could write a novel about the ups and downs of our househunt......but most of it seems so inconsequential.
Not to discount the daily miracles....but I just don't have time to write ALL of them down!
 
Truly God is in the details, and those are exciting....the glimpses of Him that we see throughout this process....the lessons I'm learning in patience, in submission, in obedience, in humility, all that 'good stuff' ;)
We seem to have found favor in so many avenues.....and yet, physically, we have not 'moved' in the past 4 months.
So in the end my heart quickens at the thought of the finish line.
Yet, even when it seems to be peeking around the corner.......and then the next day another detour is introduced.....I hear this song...

Over and over....You've proved You're so Faithful.
Over and over.....You've proved Yourself a Redeemer.

Amen and Amen...
not only has He redeemed my fallen soul, my imperfect natural, sinful ways.....but He promises to redeem the time.  This time of dryness, of what sometimes feels like 'wandering' through the wilderness.
It's all redeemable.
Because He is true, and these things are NOT happening without reason.

So we sit back and agree.....

Yes, Lord
We place our hope in You.
We place our Trust in You.
Thank you for being trustworthy......and so much more.