Its Official

Escrow closed, we got our keys. We are officially home owners.

First, I have to say that this is a true blessing from God. I never thought in million years that we would be homeowners while in ministry (and to tell you the truth, there was part of me that was totally ok with that, realizing that owning a home is small in comparison to the blessings of being able to serve others), but here we are after what seemed like forever, officially homeowners. God kept swinging the door open and orchestrating for us where we were going to live. It was all in His timing and under His control (which always works out for the best despite my dragging my heels).

The house was a foreclosure, which needed/needs a lot of TLC, but honestly I don't think that we'll ever have to move again due to lack of space. It has everything that Phil and I wanted. Its a two-story, four bedroom, 2 1/2 house, three car garage, a large back yard that overlooks uninhabited rolling hills with a view of the delta and the city below. Its in a great neighborhood, with a community pool and park. AMAZING!

The house needed a new roof deperately, which the bank "sellers" agreed to pay for, which was a miracle in itself. It needed a good carpet cleaning and a new coat of interior paint which we've spent the whole last week doing. The yard is dead and the HVAC system is on its way out along with the water heater, but that's all stuff that we can manage (as long as they don't all decide to die at the same time). :)

We love it and feels so, so, so blessed to be homeowners. We move in on Saturday... I will post before and after pictures of the house soon.

The Ward Elf Family

Our friend Lisa did this for us and emailed it to Phil and I and I thought I would die in laughter after I watched it!!! Check it out!

http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/0g3WHUhPifQTEiH7oL7k

We've Made It

To my parent's house, that is...after a very busy weekend, we managed to pack up our old house and make it to our temporary one. We are staying with my parents while our new house is getting a new roof and finishing up in escrow...we're hoping to be in by Christmas.

Our things are packed into my parent's garage and we're invading their house with toys, diapers and baby food, but I think we're all hanging in there.

I'm not sure where my camera is at at the moment, but as soon as I find it in the sea of boxes, I will be sure to post some pictures.

I'm realizing that alot of how things go in life have to do with your attitude. I've learned that if you have a positive attitude in general then life seems to be a lot less stressful in typically stressful situations. Ok, enough of my thoughts...back to work. I'll post pictures of thanksgiving soon...