When in doubt...pray.

I always live my life by one rule of thumb, when in doubt, even a shred of doubt, pray that God make himself known. Sometimes He speaks in big major ways, sometimes in subtle ways, and sometimes I believe that God truly doesn't have an opinion and allows us to choose which path we will take. Today was one example of God speaking softly to my heart in small ways, yet I also think he gave us some big signs as to which way we should now head.

I was renewed this week in the house hunt in spirit and vigor as i got over last weeks *i visited a builder* shenanigan. I knew heading into that sitch not to get overly excited, the truth is, builders are pricey not only in a regular economy but in this one as well. The only difference is now more than ever it matters because the market is upside down equity wise. Everyone is feeling the pinch, and I see now that builders have been hit even more so because their prices truely reflect it. What upset me though wasn't so much the fact that they actually build houses for gobs of $ that do NOT include things like, window sills for example (this is no lie), it was the false (and I do say its false) advertisement they put on their website claiming they will lease your house for a period of 6 years. First of all that is subject to 1 thing...how much you spend on the house you buy from them. Ahh ha. I knew there had to be a catch, I knew it and went down that path anyway, my own stupid.

So, in retrospect I can't say that I am mad at them, just myself. The truth is, I'm desperate. Thats not a word I think I've used a lot in my lifetime to describe myself because I tend to 1. look at the bright side 2. find the good in everything 3. try and make do and all that other good stuff.

This situation though, while its not do or die, it is maddening to say the least living in a house this tiny with this many kids. It really wasn't until I got into some of these bigger homes that I realized just how tiny this one is for our size family. My house doesn't feel small until all the kids are home all day and we are all in this one room with no where else to go.

So, this past week I revisited one house in particular that has been on my mind for weeks now. I actually had a dream about it if you can believe that! So as not to confuse anyone about my dreaming/prophetic abilities...my dreams are usually about total chaos and random happenings, not anything concrete so I was a little skeptical that I should rely on that factor for anything other than coincidence.

I'm glad that is what I did too, not only did I do that, but I had several friends look at the layout of this house, asked others how big their houses were and how many kids they had and one thing I found was, this house I was considering was definitely on the small side for our size family. 6 kids...might have worked, maybe, the problem was it was only a 4BR and one of the living spaces downstairs was going to have to be made a BR, which...ok that's fine if there are living spaces to spare, and in this house it was only 1 of 2. Granted there was a basement that had a living area down there too, but it wasn't huge by any means. It just felt too small. I asked my SIL if she would come with me and check it out and thankfully she was able too. The verdict from her was the same...the kitchen was UGH TDF! But the rest felt like a tight fit. She should know, she has 7 kids so I trusted that she would shoot me straight.

The Irony here, or the eye opener here is that just before this while we were in another house...I was told that there was an offer on this one. This in my eyes sealed the deal for not even going for it. I'm sad, but excited too because while I loved that house for many reasons, I also know that its not God's best for us so bye bye nice house, love ya but see ya! LOL and that's that. God spoke, Chris heard/obeyed.


The other 3 houses we looked at...the first was a J.O.K.E. It said 2400 sq ft, I think they were counting the yard, seriously. OUT.

The 2nd was really tastefully decorated and it would have worked, it was in a nice sub with trees out the backdoor, but it was priced high,...the basement was finished and was very choppy IMHO, I wasn't impressed..not OUT but not high on the list right now unless they want to drop the price $20K.
The third though...now we might have something. It is a true 5BR, which has been my biggest complaint in this whole ordeal, true 5BR's are super hard to come by. This one had that, and a ton of space to spare, but not over the top. The basement is unfinished, (cool) and HUGE, its fenced, it has a 3 car garage that's big enough to fit my van in (which is seriously weird because you never see garage doors that tall, I have to have a 7 foot clearance, these are 8ft.) So...we shall see :) It's a really nice house...Brian is looking up the comparables on the neighborhood for us to see how the price compares. It doesn't have the grand kitchen that the last one did, but what is there is slightly upgraded and good sized. HUGE eat in kitchen (which I love because formal DR's to me are a total waste)...it will need some paint, and def new carpet, but I don't think VA will have any issues with it since its only 7 yrs old.
Schools are the same schools my SIL has her kids in,and its only 1 mile from an awesome metro park (running/hiking/biking/swimming HEAVEN!!!).

So, that's all I know for now :)

All in all, not how I anticipated the day going, but I guess thats how faith works. I knew that God would speak today and He did loud and clear to me. I can't say for sure this new one is THE one, but maybe if nothing else its for him to show us that what we need IS out there we only need be patient?? possibly, we shall see.

I'll update later when we know if we are going to really consider this one and go through with an offer or not ;) thanks for the prayers friends, it means so much to know those who love us and care for us are pinging the throne of God on our behalf. May God bless each of you extra this week in your walks with Him.