Buying a House. T-Minus 15 Weeks

Oh, the pains of selling a house! The number of hours it takes to get a house ready to sell just from a packing standpoint is massive, but then you factor in all the "punch list" items- those things that you walk by everyday and think, "I need to fix this soon," and continue to walk past, day after day, week after week until suddenly you can't wait anymore because strangers are going to walk into your house soon and wonder if they really want to deal with that. And there are so many thats. 

We have been so lucky to have close friends who've volunteered their time and energy to helping us with our punch list, much of the work including heavy lifting that would otherwise be left to Logan to complete on his own.

Even as headaches arise, like our dishwasher randomly throwing a leak error code, the list of mercies has continued to increase with every day that passes: the Samsung service tech confirming we would not have to pay for the $200 replacement part or the window company not charging us to replace a pane that has been broken since before we bought the house 3 & 1/2 years ago. These unexplained gifts are sweet reminders that God is good. We'd love it if He'd heal our son, but we won't discount the small breaks that allow us to get our home buyer-ready, either.

This week we learned what our house will likely sell for and we felt humbled. Yes, we've worked hard on this home of ours, but the equity we will pull from all that sweat will allow us to buy the home we want, not the home we can just afford. Like all home buyers, we'll compromise on a thing or two, but we can purchase a home we'll love right off the bat and for that we count our blessings.

This weekend, we begin the exciting and nerve-wracking adventure of house-hunting in earnest. Not just surfing Realtor.com ("house porn" as one friend accurately described it), but seriously walking into homes wondering if this is the one we'll call home- likely for a decade or more. Next week will be filled with doctor's appointments and Friday we'll tour the pediatric cardiac ICU, but this weekend we'll put all that melancholic worry aside and focus on a hopeful future.

Also, you wanna buy a house?

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