Selling our first home

Last post Jonathan shared that we listed our house for sale on the market Thursday, June 25th and immediately got positive responses with several showings on day one and day two. Friday night our realtor met us after the kids went to bed and shared 3 offers!! We were overwhelmed with God's provision. The offers were good, with varying degrees of price difference and contingencies. We made a plan to call for "highest and best" by 5pm the next day to give an opportunity for things to shake out, knowing it was possible that some offers could walk away. But being only one day in, we felt confident that something good would come. Saturday morning I prayed that whatever offers came or didn't come, that it would be clear- that we would have no regrets over which one to choose. Saturday our realtor was in a little communication with us, enough to say an offer came in strong, and that things were getting crazy but good. So Saturday night we gathered again in our living room and she presented the news that we had 6 offers to review! SIX! All of them were offering list price and above.

There was one very strong offer, not just in the offer price, but in what their agent described as 'the strongest offer package he has ever written.' It was a cash offer, no potential hiccups of bank financing or appraisal; it waived all contingencies- no home inspection, no radon inspection, no termite inspection; it offered an aggressive closing date of 21 days to sign on July 17th- our last day at VT, with a seller's agreement attached to allow us to continue living at the house through July 31st at no cost.

Our Virginia Home, a first in ownership

Even in snow covered winter- LOVE!

It was clear. My prayer was answered beyond measure in a way that I didn't even know was possible. As I've thought about other times in my life where I have felt this kind of blessing, I reflect on my 'perfect man' list that I drafted at age 18. Jonathan Manz does not align with this list on every single point, but I am humbled by God's provision to give more than I could even dream in what I considered 'ideal.' (humorous example: it turns out not having a husband who loves black licorice as I do is quite alright- in its place are qualities like cooking breakfast for me nearly every morning of the week!) God is so good to show faithfulness in provisions, better than what my human lens can muster. And so as we pack up our first home in Virginia and feel all the emotions of transition and change, I am reminded to find rest in this provision and faith in a God will continue to provide for our family.

July Recap- Bathroom Updates!

Since we are now in the home ownership category, projects around the house are envisioned on a daily basis. The budget for them is something else. We are saving for two must-have updates on the house, new windows and a new roof. Jonathan has graciously hosted three different companies for a quote on the windows and where we thought we were going to have to do one half of the house at a time, one company actually made us a great deal and we can afford to replace all 11 windows at once. So that is coming this month!

But last month, when you don't have a lot of project money the quickest and most transformational updates are done with paint! Our main hall bathroom that we all three use was screaming out for an update. The Before Look:

I've kept my eye out at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore for hardware replacements and stole a deal of new toilet paper holder, hand towel ring, and two towel racks for only $15 !! So excited. My father in law donated some leftover bead board requiring us only to buy one sheet. And Walmart gave us a good price on our gallon of gray paint. Our friend Carl from church has been a wonderful sage in guiding Jonathan through the steps of a redo like this and loaning us many tools to get it done! Next month my father in law will be up to help us replace the linoleum with leftover tiles that we inherited under our house and then it will be complete! In the meantime, here is a sneak peek:

Other exciting news in the bathroom arena this last month- Heath is wearing big boy underwear! He has transitioned to the 3s room at school since he is not in diapers and has done really well at telling us when he needs to go and using the toilet at school during their regular potty visits. That doesn't mean we haven't had some setbacks as the last two days he has pooped a little in his underwear. But we feel like we can say he is potty trained. We are not taking diapers out with us in public, only a change of clothes as backup. He has stayed in underwear for nap time and woken up dry. He has even had a few overnights where he woke up and his night time pull up was dry and he asked to go potty right away. I think we can call this one a success! So grateful that my worry about taking him to college with a stash of his cloth diapers will not be a reality!

Way to go Heath! Mama is so proud!