I was optimistic!
I was excited!
Until we got there.
"What are we DOING?" was ringing in my ears... And a migraine was ringing in my head (never my best moments).
I wanted to do NOTHING, but Jason convinced me to let us drive around to look at some of our top contenders from the listings. We drove to a couple and immediately said NOPE. Rough looking neighborhoods, or just generally somewhere we wouldn't prefer to live. 😁
Near the end of the evening I started to feel better (though we did have to pull over once so I could get sick. Sorry. Just being real.) Then it was off to bed so we could start our first real day of house hunting with our realtor Josh.
We looked at probably 10-12 places that day (July 4th), and by the end, there were 3 that "weren't no's". Nothing had stood out to us as THE ONE. Oh yeah, have we told you that the market in Denver is NUTS?!? We had saved 14 houses to go look at when we got there and by the Saturday before, 12 of them were already under contract. If something doesn't go under contract within the first weekend out there, it's surprising.
So that night, realtor Josh, who happens to be one of Jason's good friends from college, invites us to join them for a 4th of July party! It was WONDERFUL to meet his wife Katie (seriously, she's amazing!) and two other couples who go to church with them - and all their kiddos! We really felt welcomed by their group and it gave me a better sense of what good things are to come for us out there.
Also, one of the three homes that "weren't no's" went under contract by the end of the night. 😐
So the next morning, Josh had two properties to show us, but by the time he came to pick us up, 1 of those 2 was already under contract! Remember how I said it was crazy?? So with one house on the docket, we headed that way.
It wasn't love at first sight for me, but by the time we were in the huge basement and then walking out to the big backyard, I was starting to feel flutters. Jason made the point that it "felt like our house in Chattanooga", and he was right! There were a lot of similarities. It needed some updating and personalization to make it feel like home to us, but it was completely livable "as is". The carpet in the basement was so clean, I even let Grace down to crawl.
Oh, yeah. Did I forget to mention that we brought our sweet and wild 15 month old with us? The one who twisted, talked, squirmed, and fussed for 2 hours on the flight there? (And who fussed the WHOLE flight home... 😭😭😭 <--- that's me crying, not her.) While she was pretty "not good" on the flights, she really was amazing the rest of the time. ☺️
Soooooooooo... We left there and decided to put an offer in on that house. Eeeek!! Josh encouraged us to write a short letter to the sellers to include in our offer, which is common in Denver because so many houses have multiple bids and a letter can set you apart. (He said some people even make videos!) So Jason wrote one and we prayed for God's will.
That night we got a call from Josh saying that the sellers wanted to choose us and, long story short - we are under contract and the (almost) new owners of a great house in Denver!!!
It is only 10 minutes from Jason's work, a 13 minute walk (3 minute drive) to the neighborhood playground/park which has a community pool and splash pad, and 20+ acres of walking and riding trails!! It has a big fenced in backyard where we will be putting a swing set ASAP, and a great deck where Jason and I can relax and watch the kids play.
The only drawback to this 3 BR/2 BA house is that the 3rd bedroom is in the basement, and we aren't ready to be that far from any of the kiddos. The boys already share a room, and at first we will set up the crib for Grace in the boys room and also a pack n play in our room, and just see how it goes. 😄
We are getting SO EXCITED about the new house, and guess what? Exactly one week later, we got TWO OFFERS on our house and accepted one!! God is so good and so faithful to continue to show us that this is the path He has for us. 🙌🏼
(isn't it crazy how similar they are??)
I still get nervous from time to time about this huge life change, but I have a peace from God that transcends all understanding, and I know we are doing His will.
(Remind me that when I have my freak out moments, okay?)
