A park with a house on it...

That's what my friend calls our home with a huge yard. We put our purchase contract on a house, after we looked at variety of over 50 homes. It got to the point where most home walk-throughs felt like the previous ones before it. We did have a couple, early on in the search, that stood out to us. We put an offer on one, and when that one fell through we put an offer on the second home. The second home didn't pan out either. We began to question the standards we were holding; wondering if maybe they were too high. We decided to not give up. 

We broadened our horizon but it was hard to just cast aside our wants and needs. What we were looking for was...a good sized home that was big and open, big enough to grow into; we preferred a new home but an older one, by a few years, was a possibility if it felt right. 

Additionally, we wanted large yard for the dog and kids. A yard that could provide us with possibilities for years to come. Ideally the home would also be in a good neighborhood and we were determined to get the kids into the best school in the county that we could. These were points that that we were not willing to compromise on. The icing on the cake would be to get the price down to where we'd prefer it. We knew what we can afford but strived to pay less than that.

We looked at home, after home, after home, after home....for days that turned into weeks. We crammed a LOT of house "go sees" during a 3 week period, and the kids were with us for ALL of them. :) We felt time ticking as the sooner we could get a house under contract, the sooner we could get the kids back in school.

The kids wound up being out of school for a month. Not bad at all! The third, and final house, we found, kind of like happenstance. Although, I know it was one of those "meant to be" times. We walked into a model home where were informed of another subdivision where the homes were as spacious as the lots they were sitting on. New homes that were priced in a preferable range. We jaunted over to the home in question, with our realtor, and immediately fell in love with the place! We decided this was "IT" and put a purchase contract on it that evening! That was February 3rd.

About mid-February we became residents of FL. We obtained new DLs and registered to vote. We closed escrow on February 28th, just 25 days after we put a contract on the house. For escrow, that is very fast!

We have now been in the house almost 2 weeks, as we get some necessities installed. We installed our own ceiling fans, ordered our window blinds and a fence is being installed around the (HUGE) yard this week. Yes, I said HUGE yard.

In the end, although not really the end as this is just the beginning in a new chapter of our lives, we wound up with exactly what was meant for our family. A new home that was welcoming and spacious. You should see the storage in this place, it's almost overwhelming. ;) Plenty of living space to grow into, in the years to come, and a place we can make into our own. A yard that we could only dream of. The kids wound up in A-rated schools and we (and the kids) could not be happier. The neighborhood, so far, seems just right.

We waited a loooooooooooooooooong time for this. It seems this place was waiting just for for us to find it. Thank you all for your positive thoughts and prayers. This is a new road we are paving and one that I know we have a sound and strong start to.


The nicest thing, at the moment, I get to cook in a kitchen again!!!! We spent 6 weeks in a hotel, where we received wonderful service, but we had no kitchen to cook in. I can be a full fledged cook again! Now if only our household goods would get here.