So if you read in earlier posts, I quit my job almost exactly one year ago. What were you thinking, you might ask?!?!?! We live in Southern California, in Orange county, no less. It's expensive to live, and the hubby doesn't make that much money! But, you know what? By the grace of God, God has provided miraculously for us throughout the past year! So we're on to our next jaunt in our journey... looking to buy a house. "What?!?!" you say. "Are you crazy?" You say. "Are you going back to work so you can afford it?" Well, the answer is no. (mostly.) :)
We have thought long and hard about this decision. We have prayed like crazy. We are not that typical couple that is looking for a house because we want to own something and prove something to everyone around us. (1) We've have lived in 6 different apartments in the past 6 years. That's been rough, to say the least. We literally have boxes that we have been moving from house to house because maybe we'll need the stuff once we do "settle" down. What's the point in getting rid of a perfectly fine bathroom set, only to have to buy a new one when we need it? Anyways, that's one point. It's been rough not knowing if we'll be able to stay in a place once our lease is up, due to raised rent. (2) We have no debt. (3) When my father-in-law passed in December, (Yes, I know. I skipped that blog post.) we received an inheritance since my hubby was his only son. We decided that the money was not to be touched unless it's for a house downpayment.
So, now that you know the reasoning behind our decision, here's where the fun begins. I'm not going back to work full time, so that we can afford a house payment. That's not for us. So, with that being said, our house budget is based on one-income... not the highest budget, but doable. We've been researching houses and condos in all kinds of areas, trying to figure out the best situation for us. We have a real estate agent that is great and has been working around the clock, sending us info on a plethora of different options.
So enter today... our first "real" house-hunting adventure. Meeting with our agent, using the lock box and everything. We met after church... our first mistake. Our little man always has a long morning on Sundays, going to the nursery for two services. He usually needs to head right to nap time when we get home from church. Our goal was to just look at one place. Long story short, the place was okay, needed a lot of work, but was workable. The main storyline in this all is the major meltdown our son had in the house. All he wanted to do was go bye-bye when we were in the house, that our agent suggested that we go down to the park close by for him to play while she was able to talk more with my husband about particulars. Well, once we got out of the house, all he wanted was to go back in. Yep, a full blown meltdown ensued. My husband said later that he had never seen our little guy so upset or heard him scream so loud. We made it to the park. I hopped up and down on the (too old for a 19 mo. old) equipment, trying to keep the little dude safe, while we was apparently bored and nothing was going to make him happy. Finally, he broke free, trying to run to a little slide (on someones second story patio across the street). He made it to the grass, where I was able to catch him... another major flop down, where I decided to flop with him and wrangle him back to the equipment. That's when I felt it... yep, my first bee sting since I was eight, right on the side of my calf. At first, it just hurt, but trying to be calm and making sure that the little man didn't get stung too, I called to Carl to help me out. Getting little guy off the grass was my first successful goal. Everything else I was doing as a mom felt completely fruitless. After a few more minutes of discussion between the agent and my hubby, the little guy and I decided to start walking to the car. They got the hint and followed. Finally, we got our once again upset child in the car, ready for nap time. He kept saying "Let Go" which means we listened to our favorite song of the century "Let It Go" two and a half times before getting home and putting the little one down. Yikes. Carl then ran to the drug store to get aspirin for my sting and I laid down on the couch, contemplating the exhausting day we had just had. A little nap followed and then lots of talk about seeing more houses. My hubby and the agent had been emailing and texting about other houses we wanted to look at and she got the approval to look at a few that evening. Do we dare try it again?
Well, after a three hour nap and a much cooler outfit for the little man, I armed myself with books, cars, and snacks and the three of us headed out the door for another adventure. Looking at two new places this time, our experience was much more mild. We went back to the first place, took a look, then went on our way to process this huge 30-year decision. :) You like how dramatic I just was? It was actually funny, because on the stairs of the third place, our agent pulled the... "Okay, without looking at each other, you have to tell me which one you like." I totally felt like I was on HGTV's House Hunters, or My First Place or Property Virgins. :) I was stuck between the first and third, finally deciding on the first. The hubby chose the first and then changed his mind to the third.... At least we were on the same page! Next, we headed to Chili's to have a family dinner and enjoyed ourselves, talking about our future, loving on our sweet son who had a blast coloring, eating and playing with his trucks.
I know the rest of our day was rather anticlimactic, but the first half was such an overload, that I don't think I could have handled more. We basically decided at the end of it all, that we'll keep looking and try it all out another day. (That led to staying up past 11 with my hubby exploring other houses online.) This is going to be quite the process, but we know that ultimately, God is going to put us where he wants us and we hope to learn through this adventure to trust wholly in Him. He hasn't let us down yet! Stay tuned for more adventures to come!
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