Downsizing

So, not sure this post is going to be as entertaining as others. Sometimes, I just don't feel funny and this is definitely one of those times. Baring the buyers house not selling (which we have been assured is definitely happening) and the home inspection, we have sold our house. I keep referring to us as "homeless" and Richard keeps telling me I am being melodramatic; however, I disagree. I think it is completely justified of me to feel homeless since I have no idea where we are moving when we are no longer the owners of this house. We have considered many options like renting a house or an apartment or buying another home. We have definitely ruled out buying again because we just aren't sure where we want to buy. It seems foolish to buy a house that we might not want to live in in two years when we want to move to another town. But, renting seems really foolish to us also because it feels like we are flushing money down the drain. Plus, most of the rent houses we have found only have about 1200 -1400 square feet and cost around $1000. We are leaning toward our third option - using cash to buy a mobile home and live behind my mother for a while. That way we don't have a mortgage or rent and can save a lot of money. Once we decide where we want to settle for an extended period of time, we can resell the mobile home and get some of our money out of it. The logical part of me understands the opportunity and common sensibility of this plan, but the "big girl" part of me feels like I am moving backward instead of forward. I guess I am having a hard time seeing the far future for the shade created by the near one. I keep telling myself I can do anything for 18 months or so, and in the end we will a large amount of liquid cash available to buy or build a dream home, but in that 18 months the five of us plus Cera will be seriously making some sacrifices. Are they worth it? Can we do? Just how much do we really like each other? Guess we might find out!!

Sabotage

It would appear that Reagan has a plan to sabotage the sell of our house. The realtor brought the contract by Saturday morning and left it for us to sign and return to her office on Monday. So Saturday morning we get the contract in hand and Saturday afternoon Reagan went into action. She was coloring using the cool crayons made for coloring on the glass door, when I turned my back for two minutes and she took off to her room with the crayons. In a matter of moment, she managed to color three walls in her room, the door, her chair, her mirror, and the walls in the hallway and den on the way. I guess the new color on the walls didn't blend in with the carpet, because then she colored large red stripes on the carpet too. After cleaning this mess up as best we could and reminding ourselves we took the lesser bid because the buyers are planning on replacing the carpet, we settled down and decided it wasn't that bad. We then realized Reagan had been quiet for a few minutes too long. At this point we realized she wasn't in her room, but in ours. She had played in my makeup using my mascara as a crayon and flushed many a sunder items down the toilet. I say many a sunder because the plumber hasn't come out yet to get most of them out of the toilet that would not flush at this moment if life depended on it. We did manage to fish out two of my headbands, one of my small trinket boxes that did contain all of my stud earrings (but no longer does as they are still missing), shoe laces, and my favorite lipstick (no, I didn't try to salvage it, although I was tempted to - it cost $11)! Still unaccounted for and assumed lodged in the pipes somewhere is my concealer and my purple amethyst ring that bought for myself as a present when I graduated with my bachelor's degree. Seriously? What did Richard do as a child for me to deserve this? I know it wasn't anything I did! I know I'm not paying for my raising, so I must be paying for his.

Plumber comes tomorrow - can't wait to see if he can retrieve my ring!

Big Change

Wow! That's about all I can say about what has been happening in our lives lately. Sometimes God sends you a message, sometimes God gives you a slap, and I guess sometimes he just punches you in the face. For a while now Richard and I have been contemplating moving, but the mortgage and house note looming over our heads in the present economy has always pushed the idea from our heads pretty quickly. We love our house and we love Lufkin, but we aren't really sure it's where we see ourselves five years from now; however, we probably paid a little too much for our house five years ago before the economy crashed. That being said, I could not believe my ears when I answered the phone Wednesday afternoon at 2:00. I didn't recognize the number, so I am really surprised I even answered the phone, and even more surprised about the conversation.

Her: Emily, this is _____________, the realtor who sold you your house five years ago.
Me: Yes. I remember you. What's up.
Her: Well, the people who owned you house previously just walked in my office and want their house back.
Me: Did you tell them it's not really theirs anymore?
Her: Yes, but they said they want their house back and wanted me to make it happen.

Fastforward 48 hours and we are extremely close to signing a contract on our house. Seriously?!? In this economy and this housing market, we are selling our house without even putting a sign in our yard. No open houses. No random walk throughs. No trying to keep a house showing ready with three kids and a dog. And, we are actually making money. I know this sounds too good to be true, and I am still holding my breathe, waiting for the next shoe to drop, but we have chosen to believe this is God's way of saying it's time for a change. Now for the Q&A I have been facing lately.

Q: Where are ya'll going to live?
A: I have no idea.
Q: Does this mean ya'll are leaving Lufkin?
A: I have no idea.
Q: Have you throught this through?
A: Of course not, it only happened 48 hours ago.
Q: What are you thinking?
A: I am thinking anything I own but for my children is for sale, and they are available for rent at the right price.

When you are standing in the school library and receive a phone call that the want the house, God is sending a message. When thirty minutes later you find out someone you know has a rent house just sitting there waiting for you if you need it, God is slapping. And when 15 minutes later you are being given 25 good, sturdy, cardboard moving boxes, God is punching you in the face.

Of course that other shoe could drop at any minute, but I guess that will be a sign from God too since we are putting this in his hands.