Our big news!

Well I have been so eager to share a picture of our new house, and every time I go to do it I remember the pregnancy that I blogged about and lost...But I suppose that is a silly reason not to share our excitement. First of all I want to say, we have loved most everything about our current house. That is until they cut our greenbelt down and put up an 8 foot fence. They had told us when we moved in that there was a wooded flood zone behind our house and that nothing would ever be built back there. When we first moved in we had acres and acres of trees for the kids to climb, vines to swing on, a creek to play in. Then 6 months later a nursing home was built, a fence put up, and we have had a TINY back yard ever since. It may not be considered a tiny yard to most people, but to a homeschooling family of 7, I'd say it is pretty tiny. So we basically just needed something with more room for the kids to run and play soccer, do somersaults, ride bikes, chase dogs....whatever. Factor in, now, a child with a disability. We don't know when or how well she will walk (thus the need for something with bedrooms downstairs), how well she will understand "don't go in the street" (thus the need for something on a culdesac or in the country), not to mention finding a school district that will be able to meet Ava's special needs....we have really had our work cut out for us to find the "right" house.

So a couple of weeks ago I was on the verge of tears, (actually I was in tears) feeling like we would be here forever. John sensed my frustration, and came over to me (I was once again browsing real estate sites) with a pen and a pad of paper. And he said, "Make a list of what you need in a home". I did. He did the same. (Of course they were TOTALLY different things..he was more concerned about the neighborhood, resale value, etc, and I was looking for something homeschool friendly and safe). So then we prayed ever so sincerely, giving it to the Lord and asking HIM to help us find the house, no matter how long it took. Literally the next click of the mouse, this house came up. It had just been listed. It has 3 bedrooms downstairs, 2 bedrooms upstairs, a HOMESCHOOL room, a large eating area. And the best part is, it's on 10 acres! It will be closer to John's work and closer to relatives. John is particularly excited about the STOCKED fishing pond, and Liesel is particularly excited about the BARN, she is already looking on Craigslist for a horse. And I am particularly excited about the great special ed program that is literally across the street. There is a library down the road, a skate park within a couple of blocks, and a Wal-Mart just 5 miles away. Also, my dear friend Delahne will just be a couple of miles from me. I hope I'll get to babysit Hannah when she comes home from Eastern Europe!

Anyone who has known me since high school will know that I always wanted to marry a farmer. John confessed to me before we were married that he always wanted to be a farmer. A perfect fit. When I wrote on my list "a big yard", never did I dream that the Lord would give me 10 acres and my dream wraparound porch!!!! Well, today when I drove by, there was a big SOLD sign out front, and I thought, that is good enough reason to blog about it. We almost wondered if the deal we got was too good to be true, but inspections went great, and we are closing on August 27! Can you picture the Urbans here?