Testing, testing...

After several months of waiting (see the first part of the story here), Jason and I were getting restless in our home.  In our circumstances.  We were just ITCHING to get into a bigger space.  Jason and I decided to list our house.  Basically, we wanted to test what God's plan was for us. 

Our best idea?  Probably not.  Did it give us some clarity and answers?  Yep.

See, we were still struggling between where we needed to be looking for a home.  Should we find something in Arlington, where we wouldn't have to completely uproot from our network of friends, our church, Jack's school, etc, or should we look for a home in Aledo/Willow Park?

Well, we came up with the idea to list our home and if it sold, that must mean we're meant to stay put in Arlington.  We were ready to move.  We felt good about listing our house.  We were excited.  We knew how hot the real estate market in Pantego has been historically so we were confident that our house would go quickly.  So I got to work boxing stuff up, decluttering, and staging the house and then we listed it in mid-November.  We were SURE we'd be moving before the end of the year and we couldn't wait!

Ha!

We had lots of traffic right off the bat.  Steady showings (which with three young kids is exhausting) and good feedback.  But it wasn't just the right house for the folks that came through.

And no offers.  Bummer.

And as I look back at my prayer journal during that time I read this, one of my prayers...

Lord, I pray that we always follow you and exalt you; that your plans and our plans are the same, that we will walk with you always.

I pray for a quick and easy sale of our house and that you will show us where to live.  I ask for VERY CLEAR answers and a home that is JUST RIGHT FOR US.

By the way, does anyone else actually write out their prayers as if they're writing a note to God?  It helps me so much.

Anyway... God is answering that prayer, but not in the way I wanted it at the time.  It's better that I expected.  I asked for very clear answers.  Well, our house didn't sell.  Pretty clear that we weren't supposed to move before the end of the year, right?  So we decided to pull it off the market in early January.  There is NO WAY I could keep a house show ready during tax season with three kids.  We barely have clean clothes from January to April.

January was a month of waiting (again) and praying (always) and we were just at peace that we weren't moving immediately.  It was nice not to have to keep the place perfect and relax.  We were readying ourselves for what might lie ahead and were planning on re-listing the house in April.  Jason would look at homes online occasionally and kept seeing things he liked in Parker County, and the ONE house we loved in Arlington was gone.  Sold.  Hmmmm...

Near the end of January I was cleaning out my email inbox (ugh) and I came across an email from a McBee (builder) sales agent that we had contacted back in the summer when were considering a move to Weatherford.  I clicked a link on the email and was taken to McBee's homepage.  I noticed a sidebar that said something to the affect that they were starting a new development in Aledo and I mentioned it to Jason.  He asked me to contact the sales agent for more info.  Well long story short (shorter), the location, square footage, and price point were PERFECT.  Did you see in my prayer where I asked for a home that was JUST RIGHT FOR US?  Yeah, God is awesome like that.

So, after a whirlwind month of visiting Aledo every weekend, looking at lots, picking floor plans, deciding on decor, etc, we're in contract and are on the way to building our home!  God has given us lots of little confirmations along the way that we're doing the right thing; that we're following His will. 

Praise the Lord!