When I got pregnant with Arilyn, we knew it was time to move. We were fine in an apartment when it was just Brandon, the boys, and I. Now we would be five. Five isn't meant for an apartment. It was time to start looking for a house. I had always wanted to raise my kids in the country like I was raised, but I had given up on that dream since my oldest was 9 and we still lived in the city. This might be my chance to actually get us out into the country. Let me say ahead of time that we do not own our house. We rent. If God wants us here for good, then he will provide the way to buy. Until then, we are content in the waiting.
So I start looking online. Any website I can think of. Even asking a certain wonderful redhead realtor. I was on every newspaper 'for rent' ad I could find. There are a few places we looked at. Most of them aren't worth mentioning. Some were so bad, some were okay, but lacking one important thing or another. Then we found two houses in Milford Center. The first I liked, but it was out of our budget, and had the smallest living room I had ever seen. I still liked it. It had wooden floors, and had a room off of the kitchen like a little mudroom. Then there was the one Brandon liked. It was down the road. It had a wrap-around porch, which was great. It also had an upstairs, which my kids loved. The backyard was basically straight down, so it would be difficult to mow. The most important defect this house had, was that the bathroom was literally right off the kitchen. Can you believe it? I have two stinky boys, and a husband. I don't want a bathroom right off my kitchen! Brandon still liked it.
We tried for both, although I believe we both secretly hoped we wouldn't get the other's choice house. Although if he didn't, I look like a jerk because I just admitted I did.
We put in an application on the house I liked. After that, they didn't return our calls. I drove past the house on multiple occasions and the sign was still out. You know, we never heard from them. Someone eventually moved in, and I gave up on wishing. It was too expensive anyway.
We put in an application on the house Brandon liked. It came down to us and another family. She said she would give us both calls, and let us know. We waited a few days. I can't tell you what Brandon was thinking in these few days, but I was anxious. I was longing for a place to call home, however I really did not want this house. Finally she called me. She apologized a lot, told me they went with the other family. That she really liked us so much, and she felt bad. I thanked her, reassured her that we would be okay, and hung up. I felt bad telling Brandon we wouldn't get this house either, but I was also relieved.
After this time, we decided the spring just wasn't a good time to look for houses. We would wait and try in a few months. It's a lot of stress, and it takes a toll. Time to take a break. Keep our eyes open for the perfect one, but not search. Well, time got away from us. Before I knew it, we were bringing Arilyn home from the hospital, back to the apartment. She would be 3 months old when we finally moved.
One day my mama called me. Said she just spoke to a nice lady that she knew. The lady had a house that would be for rent soon, as the tenant was moving out. The lady didn't want to advertise the house because she was out in the country, and didn't want people just coming out to see the house, and possibly causing trouble. The only problem is that the house was way out of our budget, but the lady said she would come down on that. Really? Okay, I said I wanted to see this place. I believe it was about a week later that I finally went to see it. Even as I pulled up, I thought "nope." It was out in the country which was great, but it looked kind of run down. I pulled off the long driveway and I saw this little wooden well in the yard. I thought surely that was the only cute thing about this place. I get out of my car, I walk into the dirty garage and onto the couple steps to get into the house. I haven't even stepped foot into the house, I'm getting my pleasant 'I'm interested in this house' fake smile ready. I stepped over the threshold.
I'm sure my eyes almost bugged out of my head. The tenant hadn't moved out yet, and did I mention he was a hoarder? There was stuff everywhere. Every surface was covered. That's not the reason my eyes were open in shock. This place was it. This was home. I knew it the second I walked in. I could see under all of the mess. I saw the beauty there. This house had everything I forgot I wanted. When I was a kid, I was terrified of tornados. I always said when I grew up I would have a house with a basement. This house had a huge basement. I said back when I was 18, and my parents sold the pizza shop, that someday I would move to plain city. This house was just outside of plain city. It didn't have a little mudroom off the dining room. It had a bigger sunroom. It was out in the country, and far from the road. If I could build a house for myself, this would be it. The nice lady lowered the price twice, so that we could afford it. I just knew this is why the other places didn't work out. God lined this place up for us. This is where we are meant to be. There's nothing as incredible as knowing a small part of God's will for your life. I remember after seeing it all, I walked back out, looked at that little wooden well, and smiled.
We moved in about a month later. It took a lot of work, a lot of paint, and a lot of repairs, but there is nowhere else I'd rather be. Now, when I come down the long driveway, and I see that little wooden well, I know that what's inside is even better. Inside is home.
So I start looking online. Any website I can think of. Even asking a certain wonderful redhead realtor. I was on every newspaper 'for rent' ad I could find. There are a few places we looked at. Most of them aren't worth mentioning. Some were so bad, some were okay, but lacking one important thing or another. Then we found two houses in Milford Center. The first I liked, but it was out of our budget, and had the smallest living room I had ever seen. I still liked it. It had wooden floors, and had a room off of the kitchen like a little mudroom. Then there was the one Brandon liked. It was down the road. It had a wrap-around porch, which was great. It also had an upstairs, which my kids loved. The backyard was basically straight down, so it would be difficult to mow. The most important defect this house had, was that the bathroom was literally right off the kitchen. Can you believe it? I have two stinky boys, and a husband. I don't want a bathroom right off my kitchen! Brandon still liked it.
We tried for both, although I believe we both secretly hoped we wouldn't get the other's choice house. Although if he didn't, I look like a jerk because I just admitted I did.
We put in an application on the house I liked. After that, they didn't return our calls. I drove past the house on multiple occasions and the sign was still out. You know, we never heard from them. Someone eventually moved in, and I gave up on wishing. It was too expensive anyway.
We put in an application on the house Brandon liked. It came down to us and another family. She said she would give us both calls, and let us know. We waited a few days. I can't tell you what Brandon was thinking in these few days, but I was anxious. I was longing for a place to call home, however I really did not want this house. Finally she called me. She apologized a lot, told me they went with the other family. That she really liked us so much, and she felt bad. I thanked her, reassured her that we would be okay, and hung up. I felt bad telling Brandon we wouldn't get this house either, but I was also relieved.
After this time, we decided the spring just wasn't a good time to look for houses. We would wait and try in a few months. It's a lot of stress, and it takes a toll. Time to take a break. Keep our eyes open for the perfect one, but not search. Well, time got away from us. Before I knew it, we were bringing Arilyn home from the hospital, back to the apartment. She would be 3 months old when we finally moved.
One day my mama called me. Said she just spoke to a nice lady that she knew. The lady had a house that would be for rent soon, as the tenant was moving out. The lady didn't want to advertise the house because she was out in the country, and didn't want people just coming out to see the house, and possibly causing trouble. The only problem is that the house was way out of our budget, but the lady said she would come down on that. Really? Okay, I said I wanted to see this place. I believe it was about a week later that I finally went to see it. Even as I pulled up, I thought "nope." It was out in the country which was great, but it looked kind of run down. I pulled off the long driveway and I saw this little wooden well in the yard. I thought surely that was the only cute thing about this place. I get out of my car, I walk into the dirty garage and onto the couple steps to get into the house. I haven't even stepped foot into the house, I'm getting my pleasant 'I'm interested in this house' fake smile ready. I stepped over the threshold.
I'm sure my eyes almost bugged out of my head. The tenant hadn't moved out yet, and did I mention he was a hoarder? There was stuff everywhere. Every surface was covered. That's not the reason my eyes were open in shock. This place was it. This was home. I knew it the second I walked in. I could see under all of the mess. I saw the beauty there. This house had everything I forgot I wanted. When I was a kid, I was terrified of tornados. I always said when I grew up I would have a house with a basement. This house had a huge basement. I said back when I was 18, and my parents sold the pizza shop, that someday I would move to plain city. This house was just outside of plain city. It didn't have a little mudroom off the dining room. It had a bigger sunroom. It was out in the country, and far from the road. If I could build a house for myself, this would be it. The nice lady lowered the price twice, so that we could afford it. I just knew this is why the other places didn't work out. God lined this place up for us. This is where we are meant to be. There's nothing as incredible as knowing a small part of God's will for your life. I remember after seeing it all, I walked back out, looked at that little wooden well, and smiled.
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