Farmer Ava

We started looking for houses eight months ago. We decided to look for horse property, not because we want horses, because we want to raise a few small farm animals for the kids. What a roller coaster! I think it was a roller coaster for many reasons. First, we've moved a lot, and we're really tired of it! Second, we've done some major house projects and don't want to spend our kids' childhoods fixing houses (so that ruled out any major projects). Third, moving nine months pregnant AND with a new baby...ouch. Plus, Miguel had to work a ton at first, and I started feeling pretty isolated. Fourth, I miss my friends in Colorado, though it has been more wonderful than even I imagined to be near our family again. Fifth, we almost struck out three times. The third house we put an offer on went under contract with someone else before it fell through and gave us a chance. Sixth, the kids had a hard time in their new school, with Isa's selective mutism returning en force.

Lastly, about 4-5 months ago we started receiving foreclosure notices addressed to the owner of the house we're renting (we didn't open his mail, much of it was in postcard form). We even received a hand-written note on the door from an investor wanting to buy our "distressed" property. Of course we have dutifully paid our rent each month, even though we didn't know if we would be evicted any day and not have anywhere to go (with four kids and way too much stuff!). When I asked the property manager, he said he hadn't heard from the owner for months. Just a couple of weeks ago, our neighbor, who works for the government, looked up our rental property on the internet and it is indeed in foreclosure. Eventually the owner also admitted this to our property manager, who told us to get out as soon as possible.

Of course we had been looking for a place for months already, with no luck. We had a really difficult time finding horse property, even a half acre, in our price range. I started to get desperate and kept expanding my list to include things I previously refused to. We looked at a couple major fixer-uppers, tried looking further away (but the commute is just too long!), looked at going through a builder, even considered other counties.

I reached a point a couple of months ago when I was experiencing all sorts of anxiety relating to our housing situation. Conference gave me some much needed perspective and peace-- I appreciated all the talks about hope in the face of uncertainty. One day in particular I had to ask for some extra help and Heavenly Father really helped to ease my burden emotionally. Things also started getting better from that point on.

I had really been resisiting looking at certain new homes because of their size. I would really rather spend time with my family than cleaning a massive house (though we don't have a small family any more and some homes aren't practical because they are just too small or only have a couple of bedrooms). I was also thinking that the larger the house, the larger the price tag and energy bill, and we really want to be out of debt as soon as possible.

That said, a home popped up on our search one day that just seemed too good to be true for the price. (I've discovered that if the price seems really good, its usually a bank deal) Our poor realtor, who has been hanging with us through thick and thin, agreed to show it to us. It is new, and big, but the price was quite a bit better than the old, small house we almost bought in January. It is also built with a special kind of insulation that makes it twice as energy efficient as the average home. It was a bank deal, and we offered less than the asking price (half of what the original owners paid) and got it (after it went under contract with someone else then fell through)! I kept praying that if it wasn't right, it wouldn't work out, but it did.

So, I guess we are homeless no more!

We were so excited that we bought some fruit trees and aquired some "pets" before we even closed! We've been keeping them in our backyard at the rental until we move in to our home next week. Our neighbors have been really patient with our "pets" escaping their enclosure while we are gone or occasionally bleating early in the morning or late at night. :)



The home we purchased was really dirty, so we've been cleaning it (and I have been remembering my sweet friends who helped me clean our Colorado house...thank you, thank you!) and trying to get ready to put in a yard. We've also been moving things into the basement. Our dear parents have been helping at great personal cost-- we appreciate them so much. Couldn't do it without them! Its been another difficult move. I really don't know what I'd do without the help we've received.