Little Miracles

I'm still a bit in shock about how quickly our house sold. We prayed that the house would sell quickly, but left the timing in God's hands. We got an offer last Monday, countered with a higher price and later closing date. They countered with the same closing date but accepted the higher price. That means that after we pay closing costs, the realtor, and replace the money we used to buy new carpet and paint, we still make money. Really. And it's more than half of what we need to pay off Jared's remaining student loans. WOW.

The new owners want to move in before the end of May, so I was praying we could find a rental that had everything we needed [3 bedrooms, fenced yard big enough for dogs, garage, and storage space] in the time we had. I also had to work around Jared's TDY- he left today and will return late on May 22 [a Friday]. As of yesterday, we are the proud new renters of a 3-bedroom rambler with an unfinished basement [lots of storage space], and a fully grassed and fenced yard [and they had dogs, too, so the door to the garage has a doggie door installed in it]. Plus, the yard has a sprinkling system already installed [have to water grass 3+ times per week in the Utah desert], AND the owner told us we could dig up a corner of the grass in the backyard to plant our garden. How cool is that?!? Oh, and she will let us move in on the 23rd, which will give me a few days to clean up our old house before the new owners take possession.

I didn't really want to leave my neighbors and friends. My dream [in a perfect life] is to stay in one house until I die, getting to know neighbors and watching our kids grow up, get married, and bring their own kids back to 'the neighborhood.' But what I most want is to have a home filled with love and warmth, and I can move every 3-4 years to follow Jared's career, since he is an integral part of that loving home I'm working towards.

**I have our new address. You can email me [ jgailey4@hotmail.com ] and I'll send it to you :) but we won't actually be in the house for another 13 days.

Gratitude List:
* God knows me and loves me. Over and over, the events in my life speak this truth to me.
* Music, especially music that lightens my soul.
* Having easy access to that music through Itunes :)
* Good neighbors and friends who have come up to me quietly and offered their help in our move, even though they don't want us to go.
* Keeping a journal.
* Our house sold quickly :)and we found a rental that will meet all our needs.
* My husband goes out of his way to cherish me.
* Kids were good almost all day today.
* Time to play card games with my kids today.
* The beautiful tulips and irises growing outside my front door.
* Memories- good and bad, pleasant and painful- I am so grateful to have all these experiences as part of my life.