Old House, New House

You may have wondered why I haven't been blogging much these past few weeks. Well, we have been swept up in a whirlwind of inspections, negotiations, packing, painting, and more. Yes, we are moving!

Old House

New House

We aren't moving far. Two blocks to be exact. So many people have looked at us like we are crazy, but we really do just love our neighborhood! The short answer to why we are moving is that we thought we would take advantage of the lower interest rates to buy a house that has more square footage and the ideal layout.

The longer answer is this: We have talked for a long time about doing some renovation to our house to make better use of the space we do have. Down the road we wanted a place for the kids to do homework, a place to eat, and a better kitchen layout. We have been saving with that in mind, but as we looked into it further, the costs to renovate were quickly multiplying. We then just barely thought - "is it better to move than renovate?" I was really skeptical as I just love our neighborhood and really didn't want to move to another area of town. We thought that finding the house that met all that we wanted (cul-de-sac, master bedroom apart from other bedrooms, formal dining and breakfast nook, big windows, nice yard) would never be available here. Homes rarely come on the market and their aren't many cul-de-sacs to choose from. But, the weekend we sat down to figure this all out, we decided to check out har.com. The home we made and offer on, which was eventually accepted, had only been on the market 3 days. We knew that this couldn't just be a coincidence and went and saw it. The rest is history and now our house is on the market!! (anyone interested in moving to Spring Branch West?)

It has been a different journey then other big decisions we have made in the past. In the past, when we come up to what feels like a wide chasm we don't know how to cross, God makes a bridge clear through prayer and His word. This time it has felt like He has asked us to take a step that seems out into thin air, saying "trust, trust", and then at the last minute, a stepping stone appears.

We still have a long ways to go to get across this chasm, but it has been exciting to see the stepping stones appear at just the right time.

I can't wait to show you more pictures of the house once it is officially ours. I am really excited about all the decorating options this house will allow me to try out. It will be a work in process as it needs lots of updating too (but no walls moved!), but it should be manageable and a fun on-going project for me as this time we really do plan to stay for the next 20 years.