The Story of Our First Home

[via Instagram]

On January 6 of this year, I wrote about my season of surrender. It was time for me to relinquish control and embrace life without a timeline. When we surrender, we give God control. We trust that His ways are always good (and better than our ways).

I did not expect this next season of our lives to come so soon. But don't you just love it when God shows up and shows off!? That's what he did for us with the story of our first home.

We are thrilled (surprised and bewildered) to announce that Mark and I will become homeowners on April 3, 2014! 

I want to be intentional about recording how this happened...because I want to look back at this in years to come to rejoice in God's faithfulness, His leading, and His perfect timing. This is our first time home-buying story. It's an unreal and unusual one for sure. I have been keeping it under wraps for what feels like so long (and super hard for an open book like myself), so I am over the moon to finally share it!

[Scroll if you prefer The Abridged Version...seriously :)]

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Thursday, February 27, 2014

Mark was out of town in Chicago for work. I was home alone...looking at houses online while I couldn't fall asleep. My frequent visits to Trulia.com (up until this point) never really meant we were seriously looking at houses. I inherited the looking-at-houses-online-is-fun hobby from my mom. It's like scrolling through Pinterest to me. (Thanks for that, Mama.)

I saw a house in our dream neighborhood that seemed attainable for us in price. And that just didn't make sense because our dream neighborhood here in Wilmington was just that to us...a dream. Not reality.

I picked up Mark from the airport around midnight that night/early Friday morning and showed him the online listing when we got home. We never thought that we could remotlely afford a house in this dream neighborhood of ours anytime soon [or ever?!]. When I asked Mark if I should text a realtor friend of ours (the dad of the kiddos I nanny for!) about the listing in the morning, Mark was quick to say, "Why not? We could at least go look at it."

Friday, February 28, 2014

I texted Matt (now our realtor!) that morning and asked him if the house was worth looking at or if it was priced that low for a reason. I was totally ready for him to affirm a bad, deal-breaker reason for the unusually low list price. Let's just say that later that afternoon, we had a viewing scheduled. Eeee! Everything was happening so fast yet so perfectly.

Our first look at our soon to be first home.
I'm sure Marky will have a miniature garden growing back here shortly.

Mark and I are decisive by nature. We looked around the house, and before we left, we told Matt that we wanted to put in an official offer. By that evening, our paperwork was complete. Signing all 25+ of those pages was a new level of "Whoa. This is what it feels like to be a grown up."

Before delivering our offer paperwork circa 10:30PM. Mark was so excited to document this grown-up moment in our life. ;)

Saturday, March 1, 2014

We got a text from Matt that our offer was in. He spoke to the other realtor, and we were set to hear something later in the day or tomorrow at the latest.

I left for Raleigh a little later for a bridal shower, calling some of my besties on the road to tell them what had just happened (so quickly and unexpectedly!). After the shower was over, I looked at my phone and saw some texts from Mark. They countered. We accepted. We were verbally under contract! (And go, hubby, go being our manly leader and pulling the trigger for us!!!)

As I got home from Raleigh later that evening, we filled out the paperwork for our new purchase price and rushed it over so we could be officially under contract. There were 3 other showings that day, so beating the clock made me a little wary...but, at the same time, I knew this was all God's doing. I trusted His timing and the way he was orchestrating this crazy adventure for us.

At 11:11 PM (Only noted because it was 11:11! Don't say you haven't made a wish and kissed the clock.), Matt texted Mark and I with the news that the other realtor received our paperwork, and the house was now officially pending...MLS status changed...officially under contract! WOOOOHOO!

Source // Ecclesiastes 3:11

The Abridged Version

In 36 hours we:
 inquired about one home in Wilmington, 
had a viewing, 
put in an offer, 
and went under contract.

How does that happen so quickly and flawlessly?! And easily?

And with a this-doesn't-even-make-sense price for our dream neighborhood?

Thank you, Lord. This one is all about You.

Thank you for showing up and showing off. :)

We are so excited to grow our roots deeper into this wonderful town.

 (...And with the ocean 2 miles away.)

Source // Ephesians 3:20

Cheers to our first home...glory to God!

 

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