God sold our house, moving part 2

February is going to be an exciting month! It's my birthday, and it will be our last few weeks here in Snyder for certain! We are moving in with my parents, moving to amarillo, starting a new school, new church, and hopefully new small group and new friends soon!!!! Oh all the new---yet all the old I"m leaving behind(I'll not go into that now, because I do not want to cry right now)

to pick up from my last post...

So we listed our Snyder home on 11/21, right before Thanksgiving weekend, I knew Jeremiah was about to go to Lubbock for a week of training, and then the next week start his new job and I wanted to get this thing listed ASAP. I totally called in reinforcements. I have two sweet friends who are really good at this stuff. I got the best advice on how to declutter and stage my house---and they even came and did a ton of it!!! MY FRIENDS ROCK! Our realtor was very upfront with us about the current market here in Snyder being extremely slow, as in she hadn't sold a house in months, everyone was saying OH man, that's gonna be tough to sell right now, I knew that, BUT GOD knows my needs, and I kept praying that HE would send the RIGHT family to us. I prayed over our home, inside and out. I had many people praying,  LOVE MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN CHRIST!  I knew the odds were against us, and I wasn't sure what God's plans were exactly, but I trusted Him. And I kinda liked my very clean, decluttered, home--why didn't I get rid of this stuff sooner? ( I will have to elaborate on decluttering another time--but I will say this, when you walk into your home and everything has a place, and you don't see "stuff" out everywhere, its such a peaceful place to be!)

NEW JOB
December 12th was Jeremiah's official start date in Amarillo, (the week prior he did training in Lubbock), we packed and moved him to Fort Amarillo RV park the Sat before, the 10th. As far as RV parks go, this one is super nice. It has a game room, a heated pool, very nice showers(super important during the freezing weather), and a very awesome store Lizzie Mae's Mercantile. You should totally go check it out if you are in town, NOT JOKING. Anyway, my parents graciously allowed us to borrow their RV temporarily, what a blessing!
I am so thankful my husband had agreed to brave the FREEZING WINTER in an RV for our family! It has been an adventure for sure, learning all sorts of new things, and figuring out our new normal for the time being.

Our first family trip to Palo Duro Canyon, Amarillo

WE DO NOT DO WELL APART....
We decided it was best for me and the kids to stay here and keep the their lives as normal as possible because like I said who knew how long it would take to sell our home. Also we kinda love our people, and Emmalyn has the BEST teacher and the idea of leaving her still makes me sad....In our minds we thought we can do this at least until spring break, maybe?  Jeremiah and I really do like each other. I mean we need our space at times, but not much, and we had never really been apart much over a 2 day span. This is seriously the longest we have ever been apart from each other. In ways it has strengthened our marriage, our respect and appreciation for one another, and in ways it's brought out things that are even harder to discuss now...for another time---- SATAN loves to attack and he is always on the prowl, but satan you can't have my marriage!! in JESUS NAME. take that!
I can say I have prayed so much! I've learned to talk to my husband more, like when we were dating and talked for hours--not really hours now, but you know, actual conversations about real life things. I really do like him, he's funny, and such a hard worker.  He really loves me A LOT! I am so thankful for Face Time, especially for the kids sake. They love to see their Daddy. Tristan usually lasts all of 10 seconds in front of the screen, then I hold it and make sure Jeremiah can see him playing cars, while he tries to talk to him. Emmalyn and Daddy still read the Bible every single night(pretty much), however now she is reading her Jesus Storybook Bible to Him!
I totally rocked this whole partial single mom thing the first two weeks, and then I was like oh LORD--HELP!
Every weekend I would go to Amarillo to look for houses, all except one time I brought the kids with me, so I was keeping the house show ready, and trying to take care of our normal over here, while trying to look for something new to us over there. Then "weekending" in an RV was........IT WAS NUTS! Thankfully we have some coaching friends who live there! They hooked us up with an amazing realtor, and offered to help us out so many times with the kids, let us come over. They even let us go on a dinner date ALONE, IT WAS AWESOME!!! I am so thankful for them!

HOUSE FOR SALE

So for 30 days I kept my house spotless, (with a toddler at home OH GOODNESS), picked everything up all the time just in case someone wanted to come see it. For 29 days, NO ONE CAME, but on day 30-potential buyers came. I tried to not get too excited, I mean we have been looking at homes too, and many a time it was okay, this one is not it. So I just prayed!!! 

Now like I said in my last post, we knew we were supposed to move to Amarillo, as much as I did not prefer to move away, we knew God had said GO. However not everyone thought this was a good idea for us. I remember telling my parents(mom don't kill me, because I know Dad will never read this, but this is such an important detail of how God has worked in our lives), It was hard to say. Mom responded in the proper way, "who am I to tell you what God is asking you to do, but I don't want you to move" Dad just got quiet, then later told me what he thought. Then I swear it was like radio silence for the next 3 weeks or so---IT WAS HARD!!! I mean who wants their grandkids(lets be honest they are more important than us now HA) to move 3 hours away?!!!!! And when you are a parent and you are not sure about your kids choices(even if said kid is  say married and 35 years old) it's hard not to worry, and wonder if they are making the right decision, especially such a BIG, LIFE CHANGING ONE! I just told God to please let my parents in on what He had already told us so we could all be on the same page PRETTY PLEASE!!! I prayed so hard for my house to sell, for Jeremiah and I being apart, and I also prayed the Lord would give confirmation to my family that we weren't crazy, and this is exactly what God wanted us to do.

In 2011 I remember a similar feeling of uneasiness,  telling my parents God told me to quit coaching and be a stay at home mother. They weren't too sure about that one either, but had watched Jeremiah and I walk in faith and obedience through all of this--They've seen the fruit from it! Now it was hard,  I'm sure to watch us go through the tough parts...you see God doesn't say "hey come follow me and it will be sunshine and rainbows and smiles 24/7" He does promise however to supply all our needs. that was NEEDS, not wants! NEEDS!( I have to tell myself this often).

anyway--similar situations--I thought surely they know by now that we prayed about this and seriously heard the Lord say GO---but apparently they needed a sign. (see below) Which is okay, I love my parents fiercely!!

You see that family that saw our home, the 1st time it showed, they were the family we had been praying for. I'll never forget the realtor calling and telling me about them. She said when the wife walked in the door she said(as close as I can remember exactly, but you get the point) "Oh my goodness, do you feel the presence of the Holy Spirit in this place, and as she went through the house she kept saying OH I love this, Oh I feel the presence of the Lord here, I love this house, this is the one!" I was driving home from Amarillo, and I had to pull over at this point, my eyes were filling up with tears, my entire body was tingling. God had answered my prayers. You see I had just left my husband, and I told him I didn't know how long I could keep doing this, spring break seemed like an eternity! And we prayed that God would make a way, to calm me and give me strength and perseverance, or he would sell our house quickly, whatever His will was. I couldn't believe it, and yet I really could. God knew I was weary and needed some confirmation, He knew Jeremiah needed it too. He also knew exactly how to answer my parents prayers, in a way they would without a doubt know it was Him. I love how God does that in our lives sometimes. Things happen and there is without a shadow of a doubt only one way to explain it and that is that our Almighty Father is on His Throne, and He does what is best for us, in His perfect timing! Our buyers were moving back due to a job transfer and they told them it would be anywhere from 30-90 days, so we agreed on 60, and our house was set to close February 28th. This was totally okay with us with the holidays going on, and us not really knowing where we were going to live yet in Amarillo!!!

So here's the sign, exactly 30 days after we listed our home! 

We have a contract on our home! 12/21/2016

WE FOUND A HOUSE

We celebrated Christmas, and then we had to get serious about finding a home quick! The market in Amarillo is the exact opposite of Snyder's. It is SUPER HOT especially in our price range! Again I could go on and on for days about our realtor, I will say this--God had set this divine appointment up a long time ago!! I felt like I was going into this new place completely blind! I knew very little about Amarillo, knew Canyon ISD was stellar and that's about it! Thank God for our realtor! Our home buying went about like this--we had a number we weren't willing to go above. We maxed it out on 2 homes we loved and we got outbid on both homes, each time there were multiple offers. It was getting very frustrating. It seemed like our best option was to get a 1300-1400 sq ft home move in ready.  Our current home is 1685 and the idea of these smaller bedrooms in those homes and smaller living rooms made me cringe. We are home a lot! I kept bucking the idea of buying an older home with more sq ft because quite honestly the entire thing terrified me. I kept saying we do not have time to remodel! We are not Chip and Joanna Gains, or anything even remotely close to them!!!! We have no idea how to fix things, make them new, or pretty, or even where to start. And it is so not ideal to buy a home and have to renovate right off the bat, where to do move your stuff, etc? HOWEVER God kept working on me on that one, like making me swallow my pride a little. Getting over my idea of what type of home "I deserved". Most of you know when I quit coaching it wasn't because we could afford to do it, it was because God said to, and there were many sacrifices- and thankfully Dave Ramsey's financial planning was a HUGE help for us in making this happen!!!! So Jeremiah and I were both very set on not getting a home at a price we qualified for, but for what we wanted our monthly payment to be!!!! I am glad when it comes to finances we are both typically on the same page, and determined to stick to it! We see the big picture. 

So Jeremiah is up there working, I'm totally discouraged, and he is looking at houses on his lunch break, during the week, and then on the weekends I go look if he thinks its a good one, or another listing comes up our realtor thinks I need to see. NOTHING SEEMS TO BE RIGHT! He calls me and Face Time's me into a showing and the house is totally livable, but it needs some work, especially to the kitchen. but it's almost 1800 sq ft! and it has this ginormous back yard, side yard, front yard. We like to be outside so this is important to us. It's on a corner lot but it's built in 1968, and currently in a trust, empty, and we aren't sure it would even pass inspection. What we can see looks good, but what about the electrical the plumbing and things like that? This all makes me so nervous!!! 

We decide to make an offer and long story short we have a contract on this home that morning! I am excited yet kinda ready to see the inspection report already before I really start seeing myself in this home, and making plans! 

BUT GOD, once again answered my prayers--No JOKE, our realtor here in Snyder calls us the same day  we made the offer and says "The buyers got their transfer notice and they want him here in 2 weeks, so you are in the drivers seat, but if you want to move the closing date up you can" SERIOUSLY GOD!!!! I knew were were going to be getting this house and that it would all work out at that moment. God has seriously taken what has seemed impossible and just made it happen! It isn't what I expected at all, but it's so good!

So this is no fairy tale- I've hit a few walls recently, not literally HA, but I've been pretty weak at times. I keep feeling overwhelmed and discouraged and have to refocus my attention, get in the WORD, turn on my christian jams and belt out "you are good, good, oh" and search for an attitude of gratitude. I am so thankful for everyone who is praying for us, taken time to listen to my craziness, cooked, cleaned, packed, stopped by to talk for a minute, and so much more!!! I am so blessed beyond what I deserve ! I wish I could be out living life, having lunches, last dinners with friends, hanging out at the library story time, playdates, etc....but I have so much to do!!!!

(I wrote this one day on my facebook page)

If you want to test your marriage.

have your husband move into an RV to start a new job in a new city, while you are at "home" getting everything ready to move/buy/sell. You are leaving your hometown, family, and so many amazing people and friends, and sweet girls God has had you surrounded with for over 10 years(or more)---
I AM SUCH A HOT MESS THESE DAYS

BUT GOD
I prayed he would expand my territory, I just didn't know he would do it this way...but His ways are always best!

I will continue to walk in obedience, through faith. =) let the adventures begin! This is so not about me, it's 

about Him!

NOW WHAT?

So our current plan is this: We move out of our Snyder house this SATURDAY THE 4TH @8AM if any of you are available to load up a trailer we would be super happy you stopped by(SERIOUSLY TEXT ME FOR OUR ADDRESS PLEASE 325-721-7881)!!!! WE are moving our stuff into a storage unit in Amarillo.(I am not kidding, isn't this so ideal and super fun).  We close on our Snyder home Monday the 6th, Amarillo home Tuesday the 7th. Head to the house to meet the contractor, and they will get started. It all should be finished in two weeks! I'm super pumped about my new kitchen!!!!

In the mean time, the kids and I will live with my parents(thank you thank you thank you Mom and Dad), and Jeremiah will continue to work in Amarillo! If it all works out I'll get to spend my birthday here in Snyder! =) 

So none of this is ideal- it's been extremely hard, and we aren't finished yet- however I am so excited about what God is going to do next! It has been, and will continue to be an adventure for sure, my faith is being stretched and I am growing closer to my sweet Jesus, oh how I am thankful for Him!! 

I am so glad that we will all be in the same place very soon and can be TOGETHER! I know this is going to strengthen our relationship with the Lord, as well as each other. When I get all worked up about the remodel or what we can afford to do first, second, and what we will have to wait to save for, I keep reminding myself that we will have a super low mortgage and although its tough right now, it will be worth it later. We won't be strapped to our monthly payment!! We are one step closer to being debt free! Student loans we are tackling next, then it's the mortgage!!!! 

I'll post on the new house and remodel later. For now I have to finish packing this house up, pack for the three of us to stay 10 days or more with my parents. pack an overnight bag for our trip to Amarillo Saturday. finalize plans with our contractor, and I'm sure a bazillion other things. 

I DON'T KNOW WHAT I WOULD DO WITHOUT MY MOTHER! She has been here all week, and part of last week and we have tacked my to-do list like champs! I love you Momma! You are the BEST!!!

I will leave you with this song- the kids and I blast it in the car, in the house. We have impromptu jam sessions where we worship and sing and dance. "mom I think we need a good moment!", "yes sweet girl we do!" And we play this song(turn it up friends)!!!

"Rejoice in the Lord Always, and Again I say Rejoice!" I read Philippians 4 over and over and over! Our life is super crazy at the moment, but soon, very soon it will all be a little smoother, and I will say How did we do this? GOD, that's how, He is doing all this through us! He is so GOOD!

King of My Heart

John Mark McMillan & Sarah McMillan

[Verse 1]
Let the King of my heart
Be the mountain where I run
The fountain I drink from
Oh-oh, He is my song
Let the King of my heart
Be the shadow where I hide
The ransom for my life
Oh-oh, He is my song

[Chorus]
You are good, good, oh-ohh
You are good, good, oh-ohh
You are good, good, oh-oh-ohh
You are good, good, oh-ohh

[Verse 2]
Let the King of my heart
Be the wind inside my sails
The anchor in the waves
Oh-oh, He is my song
Let the King of my heart
Be the fire inside my veins
The echo of my days
Ohh! He is my song

[Chorus]
You are good, good, oh-ohh
You are good, good, oh-ohh
You are good, good, oh-ohh
You are good, good, oh-ohh

[Bridge]
You're never gonna let
Never gonna let me down
You're never gonna let
Never gonna let me down
You're never gonna let
Never gonna let me down
You're never gonna let
Never gonna let me down

|2x|

[Chorus]
You are good, good, oh-ohh
You are good, good, oh-ohh
You are good, good, oh-ohh
You are good, good, oh-ohh
You are good

[Bridge]
You're never gonna let
Never gonna let me down
You're never gonna let
Never gonna let me down
You're never gonna let
Never gonna let me down
You're never gonna let
Never gonna let me down

[Instrumentals]

[Outro]
When the night is holding onto me
God is holding on
When the night is holding onto me
God is holding on