HOMELESS and CAR-LESS

More correctly, we are really just HOUSE-less and only 1 car less. 

Long story short: We did NOT BUY THE HOUSE. We backed out after the inspection report came back to us. We started feeling worse about it anyway after getting the Flood/Wind insurance quote back for it- which is on an Island the was destroyed 4 years ago by a hurricane. Being in a flood zone is no good for the price of house insurance, and we weren't prepared for the "high-risk" flood zone price- at all. We also would not have been prepared for the possible risks that the inspection report posed either, had they ended up being real problems.

We sold our 2nd car, the Civic, two days after putting it up for sale. It drove away from us on the 4th of July, the same day we decided not to buy the house. Suddenly, our "home" no longer existed and we were back at square one, with less than a month to figure out from Kansas City where we were going to live in Galveston, and having already made the trip down there. It was quite depressing. I felt so helpless because now that we sold our car, we weren't guaranteed to live close to campus anymore. The housing options down in Galveston were slim-pickings when we were there in person- it's even worse from almost 800 miles away.

But, as promised, THINGS WORKED OUT. I was relieved of that desperate, helpless feeling after only a day and a half. Everything came together in a way that we couldn't have planned better ourselves. Instead of being tight on money and in a house, we are going to be tight on space (about 1/2 the space of the house) in an apartment, but have a little more money. I'm grateful for that circumstance because sacrificing space is more worth it to me than sacrificing so much more money- that honestly, we didn't really have. There's still no doubt that it will STILL be tight for us until he finishes in 4 years, but we will be much better off financially this way.

It's a little 3 bedroom apartment, the same place where the people lived that we stayed with when we went to Galveston to look for a place- So only by default did we get to check the place out that we otherwise would have never seen. We are so lucky to have called the very day we did, b/c the 3 bedrooms are almost never available. It was perfect timing. The exciting part is that it's a nice place in a nice area, really good price for the island (all utilities included in the rent) and it's only 1 mile away from campus (located at the north end of the neighborhood we were going to buy in).  So the fact that we sold our second car became a blessing again, Scott's bike and the free moped we inherited from a friend a few months ago will be very useful again, as well as the city bus that comes right by (and is free for students).

We feel very blessed, grateful and relieved that things are working out the way they are. I know we will be much happier in this situation, however long it may last for. For more reasons than I have mentioned, it has been a good learning experience, with only a minor price to pay for it.

Just for some viewing pleasure, here are some 4th of July pics- mostly of Syd in her cute garage sale dress ;) Call us ghetto. I LOVE (good) garage sales!! :)

 Playin' a little Croquet- A Fourth of July TRADITION in our fam :)

An overdue THANK YOU

This is far overdue, but as I said in the last post, and as you keep reading in this one, there are reasons it's overdue. I want to thank everyone who reached out to me in various ways after the blog post about my recent pregnancy. It was very helpful to have that support and it was good to know so many care! So thank you, even just for reading my blog and listening to what I had to say. Just like it took a little courage to write that blog post, I know it takes courage to reach out in uncomfortable situations so thanks for your courage and kind words, no matter how they came- even if they only came to me through your prayers. I sure felt them~


HOUSE UPDATE
Not to be cliche' or anything, but Wow, life is sure a RoLLeR cOasTer for Scott and I right now, a very tall one with STEEP drop offs. At first I'm pregnant, then I'm not. At first we're buying a home, and now we may not be. There is a lot that's going into it and hopefully by the end of today we'll have more answers, but when everything's said and done, hopefully we'll still end up getting to live in this cute little house that we found on Galveston Island, only 1/2 a mile from UTMB campus.

Because we are going to be SO close to campus, we've decided to sell our Honda Civic. (Click here for more info). We just put the ad up yesterday and have had several calls already. I have high hopes that it should go fast, but you never know- this may be another high point in this coaster that we're on where the next direction is down again. That seems to be the trend with anything good happening in our lives right now. BUT, that is the logic of a puny, pessimistic and temoral perspective.
I KNOW everything will work out; Our home, our future baby/s, selling our car. As I see how things are coming together, not as I would have them but as God would, I can see how His perspective of our past, present, and FUTURE are determining how His hand is playing in our lives today. I didn't want to sell our 2nd car, but if we kept it, it would sit in our driveway eating up insurance money and depreciating in value until it's time to upgrade to a family size car in a few years anyway. Over the last few months Scott has gotten a free bike, and a free moped, and we've found a place to live only 1/2 mile from campus. Also, we need the $3000 that the car is worth to help us with some of the upfront costs of buying a house. It's all coming together and it all is making sense.

At this time, I'm going to keep my mouth shut as far as what is happening with the house because things can and have been changing like THAT and I don't want to speak too soon before I know the outcome. But however it does work out, the point is that it WILL work out. And when it all comes together, I will be able to see why it did work out the way it did and why it's for the best for us.

As far as the ups of this roller-coaster, I have lot's of PICTURES to post from the last 2 weeks of being MIA- from our trip to Texas/Galveston, to being a mom of twins for a week to the Color Run etc.. but I'm going to create a separate post for all that fun stuff starting now..

THANKS AGAIN!