We found out in Mid-April that Dave was offered a position
with American Airlines and that we would, in fact, be relocated to Dallas
area. Since then, we have spent most of our time
making decisions, looking at houses, getting a realtor and lender, figuring out
how to rent out our home, packing boxes and talking about Dallas to anyone and
everyone we know. Despite all the long waiting and speculation, it feels like
it is happening really fast. Of course,
once the decision was made, I was antsy to know my future and started trying to
make the many decision and planning. I
started looking at houses in the Dallas area even though I knew they would not
be on the market long. I hate the unknown
and was doing everything in my power to ‘know’ what was ahead. Many of our decisions were hinging on other
decisions, so I felt for a long time paralyzed making a decision until we
looked at houses. (although we had to
get pre-approved and know our budget well before that point.)
My parents and brother came into town for a weekend in
mid-May. We had so much fun hosting
them. We played games, BBQed in the
gorgeous evenings, went swimming, ate at Organ Stop Pizza and talked to both of
my sister missionaries on Mothers Day. Our
kids just love being with their cousins and grandparents. And of course we had so much fun we didn’t
take many photos. It was a wonderful
weekend. My dad has not been feeling
well, and that has us all worried for him.
I wish there was more we could do to help him. It helps me realize how much I love and care
for him and my mom. They are amazing
parents. I am so thankful for them.
Jackson had kindergarten Graduation the same day as Tyler
graduated law school. Tyler and Kacey
had their 3rd baby Alyssa right before my family came into town so
we weren't able to see them as much as we hoped.
My Dad drove back to Utah and my mom stayed in Arizona to help out with
my kids while we went house hunting.
Those few days planning for our house hunting trip were
filled with anxiety, stress, decision and lots of prep and homework. I was a nervous mess. So glad my mom was around to help with the
kids.
Finally, I was in the airport headed to Dallas. It was such an easy breezy security and plane
ride. I couldn’t believe how being alone
feels so foreign, freeing and also lonely at the same time. As soon as I hit the ground Dave and I headed out to
see our first home.
Finding “our” home:
I
found the home we ultimately ended up with 2 full weeks before our scheduled
house hunting trip. We had not been
approved for relocation through HR, we didn’t have a realtor, lender or
anything in place to actually buy a home, but I was browsing online for homes
just to get to know the areas and price ranges.
Dave was camping one Friday night and I found a home I loved that
matched up with so many of the things we wanted. I sent Dave a text, “I found our home, MUST
BUY NOW!” I was anxious to get it and
was scheming about getting to Dallas to make an offer (my friend said homes
were only on the market 1-5 days, so I was in a rush… plus I thought it was so
perfect, everyone else would too!).
Dave saw it and also liked it, but was more hesitant. I scheduled him a
time to see the house when he was working in Dallas the next week. After seeing it, he said he liked it, but still wanted to wait
until we saw others. At this point I was
super anxious to get the house, but tried to calm down. I said many prayers
that the house that would be best for us would be available when we went. And also that IF this house was for us, that
it would still be there.
As it turned out, the house dropped its price and was still
available when we got there. It was the
first home we saw. We liked it, but the
major drawbacks were the back yard was small with a tall retaining wall that I
thought was dangerous for kids. We liked
the layout, the neighborhood, the cul-de-sac, the school, the closeness to
work, 3 car garage and 4 bedrooms plus a den.
The price per square foot was good and we kept it on our possible
list. We chose the realtor who worked
with the sellers of that home so we would have inside info if another offer was
coming in. The next two days we spent
solely focused on house hunting (with yummy food and great hotels in
between). The first day we drove
hundreds of miles and only saw 12 homes and only a couple that were a remote
possibility. The second day all the
homes were much further away from work, but there were so many more that were
in our price range in one area. As we
bounced from house to house trying to decide which one was for us, we learned
that another offer was coming in on our first pick home. We finished looking at the homes in the
neighborhoods and drove back to the original home to look again with eyes that
had seen SO many other homes. We could
see ourselves there...for a long time.
The negatives didn’t look so bad when compared to some of the horrific
homes we’d seen and the positives looked that much better. We drew up an offer and I wrote a letter
telling about our journey with the home and included a photo. I felt very spiritual while writing and
sending the letter. We headed to the
temple and continued to feel good (albeit nervous about the finances) about the
home. Apparently, the 2 offers they
received were very similar but the letter was inspiring and they chose our
offer. I was happy, but not surprised,
as I felt it would ultimately go to us.
I felt the spirit prompt us to that home from the beginning. I feel like it is where we are meant to be. I’m not sure why or all the implications of
that prompting, but it is so nice to feel like we are in the path that God has
in mind for us.
After church, we had trouble getting out of Dallas and it made us worried for flying on American in our future. We had to fly through Portland because we were anxious to get home. 6 flying hours later, Dave left his keys on the plane and after a mad rush back to the airport and a taxi ride to our car, we made it home. It was long, but so worth it to be home.
Mariah had hand, foot and mouth disease the whole time I was
gone, but my mom was a good sport about being locked up in the house with the
kids.
A week later, we drove to San Diego. We had planned a trip with a friend, even
though the friend backed out and the flights filled up, we were still mentally
prepped for a trip and decided to go for it.
IT made me realize that driving really is MUCH longer than flying… even
with security and waiting for a flight,etc.
Driving took a lot lon
I love those fangs in this sweet girls' grin!
Ultimate Photo bomb by Mariah... she grabbed the lens as I took the pic.
We love to see the temple!
We made it back in time for a pool party with friends on Memorial Day. We truly have wonderful friends here and our kids are so happy here, too. We will miss so many people. And having so many members and friends so close to us.
No comments:
Post a Comment