I THINK I BOUGHT A HOUSE ROUND 2

It was about the time that Dale started using the word "fellowship" that I decided that I couldn't possible live in our current house/neighborhood/school district any longer. If, in fact, Dale does do a fellowship, we would spend another 3 or four years here in Temple. Pyper would spend the larger part of her middle school years here... and I'm not okay with the middle school that she would go to. I have hated her elementary school as well- but I figure you can get away with an inferior school/peer group in elementary school. NOT in middle school. I remember middle school. Yikes. I want her to have the best possible chance to have some good friends... she currently has none.

Anywho- I met a realtor in my favorite neighborhood one morning before work. I looked at 3 houses. Two were resales and one was new. They were all the same size and all the same price. ??? Duh. I'll take the new one please. And I did.

Then I sent Dale a text message... "I BOUGHT A HOUSE"

He texted back- "COOL"

So here we are the day before our (my) final walk through. I feel good about it. This time last year I thought we bought a house. It never quite felt right. Too many hoops to jump through. We put in our offer the same week as government changes on student/mortgage loans changed and they wanted us to forgo the 6 months that we were given to not have to pay on our loans to prove that we could forbare for a year. It would have meant thousands of dollars. We couldn't do it. A year later the kinks in the system have all been ironed out- and it was easy this time.

I love this. It's the view out my bedroom window. I especially love the tractor. I feel so very Little House on the Prairie. Yes, I know they are building more houses... but for now I'll enjoy my tractor. This is not our dream house. Not even close. But it's cute, and clean, in a fantastic neighborhood, with a great school district, and a neighborhood pool, and awesome people close by. It's small- maybe 1550 square feet. BUT it has 4 bedrooms! It doesn't have everything we want in a house- but it absolutely has everything we need. AND our mortgage payment is less than our rent payment! Boy are we getting good at moving. We must like it. I have learned a few things- when you buy a house spontaneously without your spouse... said spouse doesn't have much sympathy when you have to pack, and run paper work all over town, and work and take care of 4 kids alone. If I have learned anything this last year it has been Independence. A LOT OF IT. You better believe I'll drive the moving truck and unload it solo if I have to.

P.S. Due to the fact that I was terrified Dale would freak out- I turned into a pretty good negotiator. I got closing costs, wood blinds, a fridge, a microwave, and a moving date in August instead of July so that there was no overlap in money between my rental and my new house. That cost the homebuilder and extra $1,500. Yes. I'm patting myself on the back.