Day 26 - A picture of something that means a lot to you.

This picture was a long time coming.

I have actually lived in "our old house" since I was in the 10th grade...so that would be '91, I think.  In 2003, my mom got a new house just a few minutes away but in the pre-process of moving, it was discovered she had major heart issues, she had a quad-bypass, and moving halted.  So we continued to "live" in both places [geesh, as I am doing now!].   Then when John and I were going to get married, she offered for us to take over the payments..so we did when we got married in September 2004.

Fast forward 5 years, we now have 2 kids, this stifled Stampin' business due to space, the neighborhood has gone downhill and become a random renters area..nowhere I would ever let my kids out to bike or play...so mom & grandma set out to find a new place since they had the spare time to roam around.

They would drive through local areas, call realtors, make the appointment and then I would show up for the walk through.  Of course, they never drove more than 5 minutes from either of their homes...we did have a maximum distance we could move.  haha  Honestly, I relied on both them a lot, and they on us, so it was for a real reason.  ;)

In one of the first houses we really liked and bid on, we got connected to our realtor, Lana Burke.  We lost that house to a cash offer and would go on to create another 8 contracts that would fail as well.  I do have to say that she stuck with us and showed nothing but integrity.  In fact, we were going to bid on a house that frankly was going to strap us financially.  It was nice, new, & enticing, but she knew it was going to be difficult for us.  We had the contract drawn up & signed and I was going to drop it off to her to send in for the bid process.  She called that morning and told us another house had come on the market overnight and we should go see it...and it was $20,000 LESS.  Pure integrity.  I would recommend her to anyone.  Of course, we didn't end up getting that house either and the saga continued for a total of 14 months.

But on December 26th, WE FINALLY GOT OUR HOME!  What a Christmas gift from God!

I wish Grandma would have been able to see this house.  I viewed it after she went to Ohio for the summer.  But she was praying we would get it and all of our prayers were answered.

Funny enough, a friend lives across the street from this house and was telling me about it for around a year but it was not yet on the market.  It came up while we were in a short sale [that fell through] so went to look finally.  As we pulled up John said, you know we have been here, right?  Ironically, we actually knew the previous owners and had been in it for a party 4-5 years ago.  Very strange.  So thanks, Katie, it's great to have friendly neighbors!

Our journey to get this house is a little longer than most probably.  Perhaps if we had got the first one we looked at, we wouldn't have appreciated it as much. 

Some things are worth the wait.

~The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness;his mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him! Lam. 3:22-24

Just 4 more to go in the 30 Day Photo Challenge..Day 27 - A picture of yourself and a family member.
Day 28 - A picture of something you're afraid of.
Day 29 - A picture that can always make you smile.
Day 30 - A picture of someone you miss