Big News: We are Moving and Adopting

Yes, you read that right. We are moving AND adopting.

Ugh. Just writing the words “we are moving” up there makes my heart hurt. After four years and an insane amount of updating to this house, we are at the point of outgrowing our pretty little house.

(side note: I know I haven’t shared all of the house with you, just because it was always such a work in progress, so I guess this is the best time to do it. All photos included in this post are straight off the mls listing)

But it’s for a good reason… we are adopting! No, not more animals.  5 dogs, four cats and one bird are plenty, thank you very much. We are adopting a child! Well, maybe two, depending on if we find a sibling group that needs us. We’ve always thought about adopting, but it was never the right time. Then I saw the news coverage of Davion Only’s plea for a family. It was all over the news and social media – but if you haven’t heard about it, you can read about it here. We talked about it, and determined the time was right for us to go through with it. We decided that we would adopt through the state foster system. There are so many kids that need families in the system, and we would be honored if they wanted to become part of ours. I’ve gotten to meet a few of them through volunteering to take photos for our local Heart Gallery. They are some funny, intelligent, talented kids who deserve to have a family to love and support them.

And if all that wasn’t enough, my husband is starting a new job soon too.

That’s a whole lotta news, right? I know, it’s a lot for us to handle at once too. They say that moving, starting a new job, getting divorced, having a baby/adopting, and getting married are the most stressful life events. We like to go big, apparently.  (I think there are a few more that could be on the list, I just forget them all.)

While all three of these things are pretty life changing, they are all going to end up with positive outcomes. Will it be stressful? Yes – but nothing worth having ever comes easy.

Here’s where we stand as of today on these changes…

As far as the adoption goes, we’ve completed the required classes, had our homestudy, done all the background checks, and had our individual interviews. Now we wait for our application to be written up and approved. It’s not an easy process, but it’s not hard either, just a series of steps to follow. I know that many people think that it costs a lot of money to adopt, but the way we are doing it through the state won’t cost us anything more than time and energy. If you have it in your heart to adopt, please contact your local child services agency to get more information.

Our house was only on the market for 4 days before we had our first offer. Let me tell you, I HATED having to show people the house. It felt so soul baring. People you don’t know, making comments about how your house could be better this way, or how they would change that part… So thankful that we only had to show it a few times, and for the most part the potential buyers were all very complimentary and sweet. But still, it was an eye opener to see our house through a stranger’s eyes.

The day after the first offer came in, I was talking to my neighbor (who was out of town when we listed it) and it turns out that they were looking for a property they could eventually retire in – and our house was perfect for them. I can’t even begin to describe how happy I am that they are buying our place.

 

They love all the things that we do about it – the land, the space to put a barn/have horses, the house, the proximity to “civilization”, the upgrades and improvements we made, the pool, the screened in patio, the firepit and volleyball court, etc. It’s like I dreamed of the perfect buyers and they appeared.

The only problem is that we can’t find our dream house. We thought we did, which is what prompted us to list the house and start the ball rolling, but when we (FINALLY) heard back from the bank, we found out they will only entertain cash offers. CASH. Who has that much money just sitting in a bank? We were a little bit stunned by this news because we had just gotten the offer signed on our house. Back to the listings, I guess.

It’s going to be a tough search because, of course, we do have pretty specific wants/needs. Has to be at least 5 bedrooms, on an acre of land, with a pool (or room for one), not in an HOA community (most frown upon us having so many animals, and I don’t want anyone telling me what color I can paint my front door, etc), high ceilings, big rooms, NOT cookie cutter and most importantly, in our price range… Yeah, it’s a tall order, especially for this area.

So, that’s our news. I’m both excited and terrified, but it will all work out in the end, so that’s what I’m focusing on.

I have to say that I’m looking forward to having some projects to do. I have fallen in love with some new ideas, and a new house is the perfect place to try them out.

I’ll be posting updates periodically, so stay tuned!

Eliesa