Today was also Kris' last day at Coca-Cola. That was where Our story started, so what a gift his time was there. Even though we're both excited for his new opportunities, it's a rather melancholy time for us. So many emotions! But boy, at the end of a long, emotional day it feels good to be home with our family and a glass of wine!
That being said, here's how we ended up back home...
Just in case you didn't read my posts over the last couple of years about trying to sell our home and eventually moving, here's a quick synopsis of our story over the past few years...
We moved into our dream home right when we were married. Both my husband and I made decent money, and I always assumed I'd be a working mom. I loved my job in banking, and was pretty good at it.
All that changed when I got pregnant with Keegan. I suddenly realized that I couldn't stand to be away from Keegan those long hours. My bank was open til 6:00, and quite frequently I didn't get home til darn near 7:00. Babies go to bed at 7:00!
The opportunity arrived for me to switch companies and industries and work part time at an insurance agency for the greatest boss I could ask for. But great bosses and work environments sometimes come at a cost- and ours was a pay cut. We put the house on the market and agreed that we would downsize because focusing on our family, and living within our means was important.
After a year and a half on the market, and one offer that fell through due to financing, we finally decided to give leasing it out a shot.
We quickly found tenants that more than paid the mortgage and we moved across town into a small rental. It was fine, and we adjusted to our smaller space and made sure to save, save, save. We figured that since we so quickly placed tenants, we could continue to lease it out until the market turned around.
When the lease came up for renewal I was 7 months pregnant. They showed it multiple times, and within that month, determined that they'd need to drop the monthly lease payment down substantially- so much so that it would no longer make sense to rent it out.
We had assumed that since the lots in our neighborhood were filling up we could try selling it again... But then they expanded the neighborhood by 70 new home sites... So, that was off the table.
We prayed about it and decided that we love our home. It was and still is our dream home. I literally had a dream of a little blond haired-blue eyed boy wearing a plaid shirt getting his picture taken on the front porch on his first day of kindergarten before we bought it (the little boy in my dream looked eerily like Keegan FYI. I'm kind of psychic).
I remembered a sermon at our church from while we'd been trying to sell our home before when he said that God has us in the exactly place, the exact street, the exact home where He wants us in that moment. If it was His will to have us elsewhere, we'd be elsewhere.
We decided to move back.
With perfect timing, Kris was offered a new job that he's starting soon, and we've adjusted our lifestyle to focus more on eliminating debt and saving than spending and acquiring more.
And it feels good to be home.
It feels really, really good. To ALL of us.
Keegan cheers every time we pull into sight of the house, "Yay, my 'new' home!"... And we've lived here for almost three months again already...
And it was so good to bring my second baby home from the hospital to the same home that I brought my first baby home to.
I am so thankful for the home we've been given, and continue to build together. I'm thankful for a husband who works his butt off for our family, and takes risks because he loves us.
God is good.
And just for another remind of how good God is... here's my sweet tiny boy sleeping in our bed this morning before school...
How Big-Boy does he look already?
Thankful for comfort and an early Friday night in bed. Enjoy your weekend with people you love, I hope!
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