Buying our house

It has been a long while since I have written here.
I certainly have things to share but little time to record.
I've been taking online classes and trying to forge a path through life.
Since November 2015, we've moved from another city, bought our first home, my husband switched jobs, I've earned 28 school credits, got pregnant and lost a baby, tried to raise our kids, all while trying to make dinner, tackle laundry and dishes, and try not to go crazy.
That last step is a pretty crucial one that gets left out sometimes from the daily "to-dos".

Well, in the midst of all of these things which I will certainly address in another post another day,
I want to tell you about our house.
This is important for a few reasons.
First, moving into our home was our 7th move in almost 8 years of marriage.
That's a lot of moving and a lot of packing.
I would say I've packed at least 1000 boxes in my life.
Second, it was really hard to find a home.
For months, our full price offers were outbid or there was always a cash offer on the table.
It was becoming a really frustrating and unappealing part of our life.
Finally, once we got a home, we definitely weren't crazy about it.
But that was okay.
As long as it had 3 bedrooms and a backyard, we were good.
We REALLY learned to not be so picky.
Actually, we were okay from the beginning not being so picky.
We can make do.
And anyone who has had a family of 5 in a two bedroom apartment with no laundry, no dishwasher and no AC with rent that cost more than double what you've ever paid before
Learns to be okay with ANYTHING that they can call their own.

We feel very grateful for our home.
We are relieved to have something that is ours.
I'm VERY happy we could paint some walls!
And there were many things not on our list that we ended up with.
We got a master bathroom, walk in closet, and a garage!
(Garages were pretty uncommon in our price range)

Once we moved in, we were feeling good.
And housepoor.
Our savings were wiped out and I think we had maybe $700 in our bank account left over.
We had some furniture but not a lot.
Beds for us and a love seat and a kitchen table with folding chairs.
I remember thinking how we didn't have a washer and dryer.
And a family of 5 accumulates some laundry if you didn't know.
But my parents lived in the same town and they were kind enough to share.
I remember saying a prayer one night and saying something like
"We don't have a washer and dryer. It would be really nice if we did. But thank you for having my parents so close by. Please bless that we can save enough to get a used set at some point and that we can know what would be best for us".

Not a week later, someone knocks on our door.
I answer it and it's our next door neighbor.
Her name was Lynda and this was our first time meeting.
She said "Hi! I live next door to you. I dont normally knock on neighbors doors but I saw you moving in last week. I was wondering if you needed a washer and dryer? I'm giving mine away and they aren't new but I thought if you didn't have any, you could use them until you could buy something nice."

I was absolutely stunned.
I told her, probably quite surprisingly, "You know, we do need a washer and dryer. We don't have a set and we were just going to go to my moms house until we could buy some. You are exactly who we needed to meet. We would LOVE them!"
She then asked if we needed anything like dressers and asked me if I wanted to take a look.
She had just sold her home and had some extra furniture she was trying to figure out what to do with.
So we ended up with a large dresser, a vanity, a love seat and a washer and dryer.

I shared with Lynda how I had just prayed about a washer and dryer.
I told her she was an answer to my prayer.
She was so kind to us. One of the nicest neighbors we've ever had.
She also gave us some flower pots and plants she couldn't take with her.

To this day, I can't believe she knocked on our door.
But then again, I can.
This is not the first time we have prayed for something and someone happens to be giving one away or knocks on our door or we find it super cheap at a thrift store.
When I walk around our home, I see that almost all of our furniture were gifts from other people.
It may not seem like much
But for us who have struggled to make ends meet
And drained our savings to pay our rent
And relied on the church for food for our family
And who budget and scrimp to get by,
it means a great deal.
I feel thankful each day for those people.
There are many angel friends and family members of our life.
And when I walk around our home, I am reminded of their kindness
Because without them, we wouldn't be where we are.