Thursday, October 20, 2011

Mi Casa Update

Several of you have asked how our house search is going, so I figured why not just update ya'll at the same time! If you're ready to READ (sorry, no pics on this one!) than dive on in. And if this looks rather long and boring to you... well, I understand! :)

Before we got married Jon bought an acre of land in a small community then moved an old farmhand's house onto it. Though this is FAR from common practice in Ohio, it's actually done pretty often up here. I guess it's that whole "don't let a good thing go to waste" mentality put into action! The house was put on a new basement and we spent the first year (who am I kidding... TWO years!) renovating the house from top to bottom. We're not talking a couple coats of paint either! Envision lath and plaster, dry walling, plumbing, wiring, wood shavings (which was what our house had for insulation), new insulation (and lots of it!), flooring, trim, siding, windows, paint, etc. and you get the picture! Our intention was to live here for two years (TOPS!) then find a bigger place. Sounds easy enough, right?

Well... 6 years of marriage and 2+1 kids later, we're still here! We have been actively looking for a different place for the last 3 years. No stone has been left un-turned type looking. BUT... we have a very specific list of what we want, we're not willing to settle for less than God has for us, and we have not felt God's release on any property thus far. Except ONE.

When we first moved to this community I wasn't the most impressed. I mean there's nothing fancy about it... at all. It's a 5 minute drive to town (which believe it or not, people here actually contemplate if they want to MAKE THE DRIVE to come see us... can you Ohio-ians believe that? It's ridiculous...) and we were the newbies in a community where people stay "forever". I thought it would be NO problem to move on without looking back. Turns out that's not the case.

The truth is, I have fallen in love with our little community. I have ZERO desire to move to town and even less of a desire to head east to the "big city" surroundings. It's safe here, the people are friendly without being nosy, everybody knows everybody but not every bodies business, some of our closest friends (our MB family, we call them!) live here, and we LOVE not having traffic, noise, or too many people to deal with! Of the current options before us, I simply want to stay HERE the most.  And that's where the problem comes in. No one moves away from this community. I take that back... one 80 year old lady moved to town to be closer to her family in the whole time we've lived here. So yeah, turnover is low to say the least!

We heard rumor that a family was wanting to move to town and talked to them about buying their place. As soon as we looked at their house both Jon and I felt that it was the one. We had complete peace about it, we were willing to wait for it, we felt God's head nod of approval... and so our search was "over"... kind of. We kept looking at other options, but arrows constantly pointed back to the "Z place". Their plan was to move to town by this winter, and our plan was to renovate their house ('cause boy oh boy did it need it!) and then put our house on the market after the renos were complete. We had verbal yes's, but they still needed to find a place before all the puzzle pieces could fit together. Over the summer we got more and more excited and couldn't wait to check back with them this fall. And sadly enough... that's when they broke the news to us, that after much searching they had decided to stay put. They too felt like our community was the best option.

It honestly took me a few days of grieving to get over that one. I was so angry with the Lord for "not providing." We had waited for almost TWO YEARS for this place, just to have the door slammed shut. But... after a while of wrestling and growing I have been reminded of a couple of things...

1. God has a plan for us that is GOOD and it's timed PERFECTLY

2. The Lord gave us a specific list of what we needed to do before we could find a new place... and all those items have been slowly checked off. We have been obedient ... and obedience is better than sacrifice. (1 Sam. 15:22) We have done what we can do and it's often in the waiting that depth and growth can occur!

3. As believers we feel that we are to live BELOW our means and that debt is not God's plan for His children. We refuse to go for more than the number God has given us... and even in this crazy high priced market, we are fully confident that God will honor the decision we've made to live in freedom.

So... all this means that we will be spending another winter in our little cozy abode. Not only will our current four be getting close and comfy, but we'll be adding a fifth member to the fun! At first that thought overwhelmed me, but God has really brought me to a place of peace. We have made small changes to make this house work better for all of us, we've tried utilizing every inch of space available, and we've chosen to be THANKFUL for what we do have instead of what we don't! Like the the lack of a dishwasher!! :)

We haven't stopped our house hunt, per say... but we're definitely more content to be where we are until God gives us a very clear sign to do otherwise. Yes, we're bursting at the seams... but "love grows in small houses" right?!

So there ya have it... at this point you still know where to find us. And just a plug... our house may be small but visitors are always welcome! Just think of our house as a hotel suite... minus the maid service! :)

2 comments:

  1. The Ohio family is excited to take you up on that offer in December. We don't need a fancy hotel suite or anyone to clean up after us....just big hugs and good ole Canadian hospitality! We can't wait!!! Love, Mom/Gramma

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  2. Funny how I was thinking about your hopes to relocate yesterday and praying that you would have peace about staying put for the winter. Being debt-free is a wonderful freedom that many young families don't experience and money is the cause of most disagreements. You are blessed and we're happy that you're at peace with being cozy for a season.
    Love/Mom & Arnie

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