Here's the Story...

This is the short version (but you might want to grab a cup of coffee first):

We had been looking for about 15 months in a specific school district for a house. 15 months, people- with 2 kids. That's a long time. Remember, 10 of those months, we were either living with family or in various condos in town with mostly ALL of our stuff in STORAGE. (Read: no winter coats, clothes, or winter shoes, etc.) We had NO IDEA when we moved out of our old house that it would take us this long to find a new home. We celebrated both of the kids birthdays(Ava -2, Noah- 5), Thanksgiving, and Christmas without my stuff and a home. There was a lot of stress involved, lots of real estate internet searching, even more driving around just to see if there were any FSBO (for sale by owner), and definitely some depression on my part in the mix of those 10 months.

Finally enough was enough, so we decided to look in the town next door and figure out where Noah would go to school later. We put in an offer on a house on Good Friday and went out of town the following week. While out of town, we found out that not only had they accepted our offer on this house, but also our offer on a short sale that we had put in weeks before. Can you believe, after 10 months, that we got 2 houses in 1 day? (Just for those of you that are curious- we weren't obligated to the short sale as the date on our contract had expired weeks prior.)

We had a decision to make and we had to make it fast- and complicating the matter was that we were out of town!! The decision was tough- Nathan and I were almost split down the middle due to various issues that I won't bore you all with. The short sale process had been quite frustrating as their real estate agent had been stringing us along for WEEKS. In the end, we chose the house that was NOT the short sale. While I was saying prayers with Noah one night after this, the verse that God is not the author of confusion, but of peace came to mind and it truly confirmed to me that we had made the right decision. We later found out that they had accepted our offer the day we made it, but we didn't find out until 4 days later.

Anyway, our contract had us set to close April 22- only 2 weeks away. On top of that, Nathan was scheduled to take his Oral Boards in Chicago on April 26. So, we only had 2 weeks to find insurance, schedule the movers, and all the other busy stuff that goes along with a move. Did I mention that Nathan is still trying to study during all of this? We ended up closing on schedule- April 22- Praise the Lord! and then the movers deliver all of our stuff from storage on the 23rd. We basically walked out and closed the door after they were done. Not one box unpacked.

Nathan and I then fly out for Chicago (where Nathan's exam is scheduled) on the 24th (my mom & dad kept the kids). While sitting in the airport, I realize that I scheduled us to fly into the WRONG airport. We get it changed quickly, but our luggage does not make it. I sleep in my jeans and wake up the next morning unable to put my contacts back in after leaving them in cups of water overnight. We didn't want to risk not getting our luggage delivered, that in the meantime had arrived at our originally scheduled airport, since it was IMPERATIVE that Nathan wear a suit for his exam. So we basically spend the whole day riding the train from O'Hare to Midway and back again to secure our luggage with me being half blind for one portion of the ride. It wasn't fun, but thank goodness we had that extra day built into our itinerary to handle this.

Nathan took his exam Monday morning the 26th- his birthday!- and then we went downtown for the rest of the day and enjoyed a little time away. We had lunch on the 105th floor of the Hancock building and loved the magnificent views. It was quite nice to finally relax after so much stress.

I tell you all of this just to say that the Lord is truly faithful. This transition was NOT easy for me and I was quite unhappy for awhile. I can tell you now, though, that I am happy and content. One thing I learned is that I can live with a lot less "stuff" than I think I can. Also, I cannot tell you how much more I appreciate having a house now after waiting for one for so long. This house is perfect for us and we are enjoying living here even though for 10 months we focused solely on a different city. Noah's schooling situation is still being worked out, but I know the Lord will be faithful in that as well. I can't wait to pass on how He works that out. And the best part is that Nathan PASSED his exam! Even in the midst of all that stress- the Lord allowed Nathan to complete this final step in his education and training. Nathan is now completely official- board certified. It is remarkable to look back on our journey and see how He has walked us through each step of the way.

If you are still reading, then thank you for letting me share our journey called life with you. It's not always pretty or the way we have it planned, but I guess sometimes, it takes some lows to appreciate the highs. I do promise this was the short version... there's one whole big section that I left out. :)