Whose idea was this???

We are moving.

We weren't planning to look for a house until spring or summer- at least not until after tax season is over.
However, I decided it would be fun to move in the middle of winter, with lots of snow and while everyone in my household is sick.

We have been praying for the Lord to provide a place for us to move that will suite us well and one that we can stay in indefinitely. We prayed for a fenced yard and a basement if that was part of God's house for us.

So while driving home the other day I saw a house on Thomas Dr. here in Ashland and it had a "for rent" sign in the yard. I am good at remembering numbers if I see them. So I put the phone number to memory and called. I assumed it would be a deal where the person renting it out would have us come look at it in a week or so. Or, more likely, maybe the rent would be too high for us to consider at all.

Not so.

The lady that answered wanted me to come look at it that next day. So I agreed. I told Jon about it but he had to work that night and had to sleep during the scheduled visit. In the meantime Greyson caught Emma's cold. Emma stll had her own cold and I could tell I would be getting aformentioned cold. (Even the dog has a grumbly tummy, but I imagine hers is from eating used tissues- think "Elf" eating cotton balls).So I called to cancel the visit, but the lady sounded so disappointed and said she hated to cancel on the current renter who had made arrangements to open the house for us. So... we went.

And I loved it!

Emma went with me and my mom, who often saves the day, was able to stop over and stay with Greyson.

The house has wood floors in the dining room and living room and hallway. It has old carpet everywhere else. I'm not a fan of the carpet but figure if we get in the house and see that we will be staying long-term we'll ask the landlord to replace the carpets. In the meantime, I don't mind them too terribly.
Emma loved running all around the house. Her favorite was that one bedroom had Tinkerbell border and that there is a huge three-seasons room that would make an excellent play room.
We saw the basement which Emma also loved. She has been asking for a basement for awhile. The things kids want!
She wants to ride her tricycle down there in the winter she says.

I looked out the kitchen window to see if the back yard was an ok size, only to see, to my surprise, that it is fenced in! I was pretty much sold at that point. We have wanted a fenced yard for the dog for years now. She deserves space to run around and sniff to her nose's content.

So once I knew this was a place we'd be interested in I had to bring up the subject of the dog. I told the landlord/realtor (kind of weird situation. She isn't just the realtor but there are owners as well. They are older and we'll meet them this coming weekend). She said she wished I had told her we had a pet. I said that our dog hasn't ever damaged any of the places we have lived. That we even had built a new house and as a puppy she didn't hurt the place. They lady stopped and said "was it out in the country"? I said yes. It turns out she took people through our house (since she's a realtor) and she said how beautiful the home was and that we were great housekeepers. So I took that positive opportunity to tell her that we have offered to pay more in a deposit in our other rentals since we know Jarrah won't destroy anything and we'll get that money back vs offering to pay more each month. I said that we are very confident that she won't damage anything. Well, I did say that I can't say she won't scratch the hardwood floors. But the landlord thought for a minute and said "how about $200"? I asked if she meant $200 more per month but she said, "no, just as an additional pet deposit that you'll get back when you move out". That sounded like an answer to prayer to me!

So I made a morning appointment for us to came back with Jon yesterday morning so he could see it.

I got home and was trying to stay impartial until Jon saw the place. I liked it alot but we have been praying for the Lord to show us and I didn't want to rush into something. So I prayed that Jon would either love the place and we'd go for it or he'd any reservations. Even if he had one reservation I would take that as a sign to just wait and pass this place by.

When I told him about all of this (short of my decision that if he had even one reservation, we'd move on part) when he got up. He had all kinds of questions and kept saying how we weren't planning to move yet. That he hates to move (this coming from the man who spent his whole life moving!) and that he hates to move in the winter. (me too!) He wasn't excited about hardwood floors, wasn't sure about how we could make this happen, etc. So I just said that I'd like him to go see the place since I had already made the appointment.

While I was up with Greyson, and myself, throughout the night I thought and prayed. I had a list of questions and reservations of my own written down when Jon got home from work in the morning. So less than excited we bundled up the sick kids and trudged out in the snow, on the slippery streets to the house.

And Jon liked it. I dare say he loved it. Not for all the aesthetics, but for the functionality and size. There is more storage and space there than we feel we know what to do with. He could see potential. And the price can't be beat. So with him not having any reservations, we signed the lease on the spot! Praise the Lord!

We are very excited. We see this home as something that we can stay in for years. Many years. But since we are renting and not buying, we won't be stuck, which is just how Jon likes it best, if something changes.

So now all that's left is packing up everything we own, which is not much but a lot at the same time, organizing all the utility switches, getting renters insurance changed, scheduling the moving company, (yes, we are opting to pack boxes and let the professionals do the rest) while caring for a sick infant and preschooler, working first shift while Jon works third shift.

Nothing to it!

Oh and it's all to be done in the next two weeks.

Like I said... whose idea was this??