From House To Home

We still haven't moved. Still. The closing got pushed back to January 31st.

Yep.

"We are gonna close this thing by December 15th" (that's the lender talking) didn't happen.

I have harassed my realtor. I have harassed the title company. I have even harassed the loan officer in St. Louis (hi Nick!) and I am the seller, not the buyer.

I have dubbed myself The Squeaky Wheel. I just feel like if he (Nick the Lender) gets annoyed enough then he will want to get rid of me quicker, no?

So I haven't bothered to pack anything because I am afraid I will jinx the sale (what am I, a sixth grader?) but that hasn't stopped me from spending every waking moment decorating our dream home in my mind.

No, we aren't buying another house when this one sells.

We are renting...gasp...and we couldn't be more excited.

I know, it won't be ours in the sense that we make a mortgage payment every month (doesn't that kinda make it the bank's house anyway?)...but it will be our dream home because of a few other reasons:

For one thing, it is our dream home because when the roof leaks - we call the landlord...when a faucet drips - we call the landlord...when the A/C goes out...you get the picture.

Also, it is our dream home because at about 1700 square feet it's roughly 2,800 square feet less than our current house.

The Rental is at once Less and More.

Less to clean. Less to heat and cool. Less trouble when you leave something back in the bedroom and you have to decide if you have the time or energy to walk aaaaalll the way back to get it (or is it just easier to buy a new coat when you are out?)

I jest.

More cozy. More money to pay off debt at the end of the month. More togetherness because there aren't 72 rooms to choose from to hang out in. More of a chance for our furniture to all get together again in the same room because its within 50 yards of each other, not spread out across a football-field-sized house.

Is it weird I am less embarrassed to tell people that we are moving to a cozy 3-bedroom rental than I've always been to tell them I live in a sprawling 4,500+ square foot 1958 Ranch?

I always felt a little ahamed, like I was living a lie. We have this big ol' house with no money to spare and we haven't been in to the dining room since Bush was in office.

House Poor + Too Much House = Not My Cup o' Tea

Its true we had no business buying this house three years ago.  Just the two of us. Newly married.

The things we said we would "do in 6 months" just never got done. New flooring to replace the carpet that literally crunches when you walk? Never got done. I could go on...

But now...Now it is finally going to become a home. The couple that are buying it have 6 kiddos and they are so very excited.

I just know they are going to fill this beautiful, "they-don't-build-em-like-this-anymore" house with laughter and memories...they will make it Their Home.


We have learned so much through this process. Mostly about patience and God's timing but also that we will now appreciate a lack of closet space and instead focus on what we do have...which leads me to the biggest reason The Rental deserves the honor of being called Our Home...

Because these fellas will be there with me...