First of all, this post feels like I’m writing a dream. While this news has been shared with so many of our close friends and with family, it feels surreal to write these words:
We bought a house!
It feels silly to call it just simply a house, when in fact, it is so much more than that for our family of three.
Because God does all things better than we could ever imagine, we are now going to be next-door neighbours to my parents! We own the house on one corner, and my parents own the other. Next door to my family home, filled with memories.
This is how it happened.
Since Samuel was born, Isaac and I have been dreaming of buying a home of our own, with a large yard for our children to grow up playing in. We went looking in the area, with limited options presenting themselves. Either they were way out of our price range, needed costly repairs, or were 30-45 minutes away from my parents. We knew we wanted to be close in distance to them, and we were not willing to budge on that.
We found one that was within our budget, had potential, and was only three minutes’ drive away from my parents, but needed various repairs done before we could even think about moving in. One inspection later, and the house was in much harder shape than we had imagined. Nothing seemed to work out with the deal, and while I was so disappointed in the fact it fell through, we continued looking. I remember telling Isaac, “We will never find anything that close to my parents.”
We spent the next few weeks praying together for God’s will. In my 26 years of life, I have found that whenever I’m at a loss of what to do, praying for God to reveal His will to me is the very best thing I can do. Isaac found a house–within spitting distance of my parents’ home–which seemed out of reach for us. I didn’t even want to look at the photos, because I was afraid to get attached to a house that we couldn’t own. One month after the first deal fell through, we went to see it. It was everything we wanted: an older home with character, rooms for our family to grow into, and a beautiful yard with mature trees for our children to play in. It made me forget the first home–there was no comparison between the two.
We had looked closer at our finances just before the viewing, and knew that this house was within reach. Still, I didn’t want to get my hopes up after feeling such disappointment the last time. We decided to put in an offer to the sellers, along with a note explaining just how much this home would mean to our family. Then we waited.
Soon we found ourselves at an agreement with the sellers, who very willingly compromised with us to reach a deal. An inspection was done, and our beautiful home passed with flying colours. The homeowners have taken such care with this property, and now our family will enjoy the fruits of their labour for generations to come.
So, now we are starting this new journey as homeowners and we are over-the-moon thrilled to be neighbours with my parents. I imagine Samuel and his siblings going next door to snatch cookies from Nanny’s cookie jar. We know this was–beyond a doubt–a God thing. We are so thankful for His guidance & provision. I can’t wait to raise our babies in this beautiful home!
