We received a call last night from our agent that the sellers have signed the addendum to the home inspection. Meaning, they are going to fix everything we've asked them to. So, now we move forward with selecting a Title company and securing home owners insurance. Looks like December 29th is the big signing day! Woohoo!!

Here's a link to the house we are in the process of purchasing: http://www.homesdatabase.com/julieanderson/cgi-bin/aa.fcgi?+NzM3NTNiNTQ0.... Click on "Virtual Tour" after the page loads to see more pictures. We had the home inspection on Sunday. We had to go back to the sellers to fix a few things but nothing that should be a deal breaker. We should be hearing back today or tomorrow what they've agreed to fix. The well and septic inspections still need to be done. If all goes well there we should be closing on December 29th.

Well, the offer we placed fell through. The sellers came back with a counter offer that gave both Keith and I red flags and we decided to take the offer off the table. We're ok, though. It would have been nice to be settled into our own house by Christmas but that is not going to happen now and we just need to make the best of things.

So, I'm going to start looking at houses again. Please pray that it all happens in God's timing. This is a huge decision. We certainly don't want to rush it.

I'm sitting here pondering over this whole process and I find myself thinking that there is a lesson in all of this. I think I still need to think and pray about it more but I do believe one lesson, especially for me, is going deeper in my trust in God. So much about this is out of my control; the houses on the market right now, the houses that will be coming on the market, the sellers, etc. I really have to trust in God's direction and watch for His direction. I'm feeling now like we almost made a huge mistake and He offered us a way of escape. Thank you, God!

So, we ask for you to continue to keep us in your prayers. God has a plan, we know this, and we want to follow it.

We have been diligently looking at houses since we arrived here in Maryland. Of course, the homes I really like are mostly above our price range. We have looked at a few nice homes in our price range but they ended up being in or near less than desirable neighborhoods. So, we have decided on one house in Mount Airy, MD. Here's a link: http://www.homesdatabase.com/julieanderson/cgi-bin/aa.fcgi?+N2NiMjVhNmY1...

We wrote up an offer on Monday and we should hear back sometime today. Mount Airy is a beautiful area. It reminds me a lot of NH. I'll let you know as soon as I hear more!

The closing went well! We did close on Tuesday, 10/14 at 12:30pm. The whole thing took about 45 minutes. We grabbed lunch after and were on the road by 2:30pm. We arrived at my sister-in-laws home around 10:30pm. Keith had to work the next day and I took the next couple of days to recoup.

Friday afternoon we started shopping for houses. We went out Friday, Saturday, and will be going out again today. We found a nice house about 15 minutes away from Tammie (my sister-in-law) but it is less then 5 minutes from a "bad" area of town. Unfortunately, that has been the case with the towns closest to Tammie and Lenny. So, on Saturday we ventured about 50 minutes away to a town called Mt. Airy. I looooooooove the area! It is so peaceful and reminds me a lot of NH! We found a house we really like and is in our price range. Today, we are going to look at 3 other houses in a town about 10 minutes closer to Tammie. We'll keep you posted!

First, an update on the closing: The date is set for Tuesday, Oct., 14th. We don't have a time yet and won't have a time until sometime Tuesday morning. We're hoping for early afternoon as we will be heading down to Maryland (an 8 to 10 hour drive) directly after the closing. Either way, we're thankful to not have to drive back up just a week or two later to close. It will all be done!

We've begun packing up the 28' trailer with all of our belongings. We had some of our wonderful friends (Bruce P., Mike O., Rob and Debbie L., and my brother-in-law Mike, come and help us last night (Friday night). Today (Saturday) we will have more of our wonderful friends (my sister Rebecca and her husband Mike, Mike O., Ernie and Beth W., and Andy and Mihoko M., coming to help us finish up. We'll be leaving a few things out til Monday; kitchen table, cause we still need a place to eat at, and our bed (kids get to sleep on the Aerobed blow up mattress), but everything else is getting packed up today! Thank you, friends!!! We love you and are going to miss you sooooo much! (sniffle, sniffle)

I just looked at the last post I entered. It seems a lot longer then 1 week ago. Not much had happened since then until yesterday afternoon. Have you ever been to a horse race or seen one on tv? You see them leading the horses to the gate and they get them all lined up. You see the horses shifting back and forth just waiting for someone to open the gate doors and let them spring onto the track. Well, that's kind of how I've been feeling. I can only imaging because I've never actually been lead to a horse gate. In fact, I really don't enjoy running so I can't relate to that aspect of it at all but I do feel I can relate to the anxiety and excitement of waiting for someone else to do something so that you can take your next step.

Anyway, not sure why that analogy came to me but, there it is! So, yesterday afternoon some information came our way that we've been waiting for and we are now, officially planning our move to Maryland next weekend. Whoohoo!!! We're using an ABF moving/storage 28' trailer. It's being delivered on Thursday and we'll be packing it up over the weekend. It's very exciting to finally be at this point in the process!

We heard back from the buyers today. They have accepted our counter offer on the home inspection issues. So that's another hurdle we've passed over. The last one is the commitment letter from the buyer's bank/lender. The end is in sight!

We finally heard from the buyers about the home inspection. Of course, they requested we fix everything! When I first saw their requests I was completely overwhelmed. After talking with some friends I was feeling better. Then, my sister and her husband, Rebecca and Mike, came over to the house for dinner. One of the things that the buyers are requesting us to fix is a crack in the foundation. Mike looked at it both from the inside and out and I am feeling a whole lot better about it. I do have a contractor coming out on Monday to give me an estimate and his professional opinion of what should be done. This is definitely not a deal breaker, thank goodness!

So, we will go back to the buyers with what we feel is fair and after they hopefully accept and agree to it then next step will be for them to submit a commitment letter for their finances. They have til Monday, Sept. 30th to submit it. According to our agent, the letter needs to be submitted regardless of whether or not we are still going back and forth about the home inspection issues. After that, we are hoping to move the closing date sooner then Oct. 31st.

I spent this last week packing, and packing, and more packing! I think we are in pretty good shape! I have just a few more odds and ends but for the most part we are ready to move! It looks like we will be storing our things for now and hanging out with Tammie and Lenny (Keith's sister and brother-in-law in Maryland) for a few months until we find a new home in MD.

We'll keep you updated. Thanks again for your prayers and for tuning in!