We're Moving!

Where to begin....well, we're moving! Yes, it all happened so very, very fast!  So this is pretty much what happened.  Chris sent me a really nice home on a half acre in December and I just LOVED it but it was too expensive.  So, that was fun to look at.  A couple of weeks ago they dropped the price and it was still up there but we decided to look into it a little more. We ran the numbers and things checked out that this home would be more beneficial to us over the 5 yr term than the one we are in now. So we put in an offer, but they went with someone else's offer.  I was sad.  Like, we'd been to the home and I just was emotionally connected to it.  Not sure how to explain it...  We felt something like it was meant to be and were surprised and disappointed that we didn't get it. Meanwhile, the next few days it's almost like we felt the other offer wasn't going to happen or something. Chris said each time his phone buzzed his first hope was that it was the listing agent on that home telling us it's available again. So, then the following week their real estate agent asked if we were still interested because she wasn't sure the other person's financing was going to go through.  We were SO EXCITED!  We told her we were interested, but in less than 24 hrs the other person's financing went through and we felt so bad.  We had got our hopes up AGAIN, and were let down pretty bad. We had already prayed that if this would ruin us in any way (financially or spiritually) that Heavenly Father would hedge up the way.  So...I just let go.  I couldn't be sad anymore...but truth was, we kept hoping!  We also kept feeling like we should prepare our home to list....So I cleaned some blinds and did a little bit here and there the following week.  Chris worked on touching up paint and other items.  On Wednesday morning Chris went to the temple.  We just needed guidance for what we were feeling and he was speaking on Sunday and wanted to spend some time at the temple.  We felt very strongly that we still needed to prepare our home to list.  So he came home from the temple and we proceeded to go from room to room, decluttering and taking pictures with Terie's camera (thank you Terie!)  We figured if we needed to list, then we needed nice pictures of our home.  THEN on Weds night, Chris bolted up the stairs and said, "THEY WITHDREW!"  Meaning, the other offer withdrew their contract after the inspection due to some pretty big structural issues with the landscaping.  The home's structure is perfectly sound, it's just the retaining walls throughout the property.  That night was crazy.  Chris was trying to get a hold of their agent and we wanted to know more.  I had to go to practice with our youth for the cultural celebration, so I ran out the door and was pretty pumped.  That night we talked my brother Gregg into coming and seeing the property with us the following day.  He's great with landscapes since he does it for a living for golf courses, so he gave us great input and we decided to put in an offer.  NOW THE COOL PART...after the other contract withdrew, the seller lowered the price 40k....like A LOT.  So we put in an offer that day and accepted their counter offer that night.  So, Thursday night we were under contract!  Can't say I slept much that night!  Then Friday morning we woke up and while Chris got all of the real estate agent stuff done(like putting up the pictures to the MLS that we took Weds) to sell our house, my mom came over and helped me to clean and REALLY prepare our home to show.  *Sidenote:  I decided to potty train Libby starting Monday morning and well, that was not the best timing.  That was tough trying to make her sit on the potty every 30 min and taking 10 min until she decided she wanted to pee....ah!  Friday night my dad came to help Chris move some larger furniture into the garage and well, we can't thank my parents enough for saving our bacon!  By 11pm our home was immaculate and we were ready for the 11 showings that we had on Saturday.
Now, one cool part of the story is that the seller's agent called Chris on Friday and just had to share a bit of info.  She said that we must be religious.  She said her client was not, but that she could tell that we were.  She said because she watched the entire thing, the other offer, the withdrawal,  then watched the seller lower the price, THEN she read the inspection report and it said nothing about structural issues with the landscaping.  She said that she KNEW that was supposed to be the Watkins home and at a great price and she got the chills every time she thought about us getting the home!  She said in all of her years as an agent, she's never seen something like that happen and so beneficial to the buyer of a home.   Yes, this is supposed to be our home.  We are excited.  We FEEL it.  And we truly are EXCITED to make it our home.
We were blessed with 11 showings on Saturday and know Heavenly Father will send us the right buyer so that we can close on our home and then close on our new home.  We feel SO GUIDED and that Heavenly Father REALLY cares about us moving to this home in Payson.  The home is gorgeous and the land is great.  It has over 20 mature fruit trees and hopefully we can get a garden going too.
My parents watched our kids all day Saturday so that I could be at dance practice with the youth Saturday and so that we could have a place to hang out while the showings went on.  We so appreciate their love and support with our awesomely crazy week.:)  And we appreciate all prayers that have been said in our behalf that we will be able to identify the best offer that will close quickly and help us onto closing on the Payson home.  Prayer is a wonderful thing!  I am just bursting with gratitude to a loving Heavenly Father!  So yeah, that's been our week!

Here are a few pics of the kids:)  Ya'll didn't come to just read a boring blog...lol. :)

Panties!

Great weather!

Angelic helpers!!!

For sale!