Y’all told me.
And while I knew you were right, it certainly didn’t feel right at the time.
At the time I was wiping back bitter tears at having lost two houses that would have been good candidates for purchase. They both had a bedroom on the first floor that Travis could use, the hallways and floor plan were decently open enough to get a wheelchair around, and we had figured out a way to build ramps and install lifts in the garage to get him into the house without having to carry him.
And y’all told me, “God’s got something better.”
But I had looked at 30 houses in the last two weeks and there wasn’t anything better.
And then I got an email about a new listing this past weekend and thought about dismissing it because there weren’t any pictures of the interior of the house posted but Craig said we could at least drive by and see what we thought of the neighborhood and if that was okay, maybe it would be worth the time to at least try to get inside. Since it was only 5 minutes from our current house, we hopped in the car to take a peek and as we slowly rolled by it, I told Craig “I think I saw a ramp in the back.” Sure enough, just barely peeking through the bushes we could see a wheelchair ramp.
Hmmmm.
We scheduled a showing on Tuesday and when I walked in the door, I started to get a little excited. The foyer was wide and spacious – perfect for scooting around in a wheelchair and not bumping into walls.

I walked through the foyer and took a peek down the hallway and noticed it was a straight shot into the ground floor bedroom.

I started to walk down the hallway and realized that there was also a master suite off the hallway.
That’s right, not one, but TWO bedrooms downstairs.

And in the master bath? A roll-in shower.
The living space in the downstairs was open and airy and the floors were all hardwood, perfect for maneuvering a walker or a wheelchair.

The kitchen had an eat-in area plus a little keeping space/den plus a little desk that was perfect for sitting at and blogging.




On my list of wishes for a house? I had been looking for one that had a back set of stairs so that we could install a chair lift for Travis but not have it visible when you walked in the front door.
Wish granted.

I had hoped to have enough space for the boys to have a room of their own and a bonus room/craft space so that I wouldn’t have to clear a project off the kitchen table so that we could eat supper.
Check.

Check.

Check.

And check.

Craig had wanted an office.

I had wanted a pretty dining room.

Item after item we were discovering on our wish list. And just when I thought I had seen enough signs, I opened a door and saw the proverbial writing on the wall.
Except it was on the garage floor.

A ramp.
Already built.
All ready and waiting for us.
Go ahead and cry. I already have.
And still, God had one more surprise in store for us.
The house was well-priced to move, below market value for the neighborhood, but because it was still at the absolute tippy-top of our price range (hence staying awake all night wondering how we were going to afford it), we took a deep breath and sent in a very low offer hoping to move the owner even a fraction off her price.
She took our first offer without batting an eyelash.
Y’all – we just bought a house that is beyond what we could ask for or imagine or think we could afford and once the dust clears on our closing date of June 30th, our house payment is not going to be any more than what we’re paying now.
I can’t even begin to formulate the words of gratitude for your prayers on our behalf through this process and for God’s goodness and kindness toward us. We’ll still need those prayers in the next few weeks as we get through inspections and then pack and move.
I might need to throw in a special request that y’all pray for the relationships with the new neighbors who are going to hate us for dropping their property values.
And one of those neighbors? Blog Lurker Rachel!
Eek.
Sorry about tanking the comps, Rach. Will you still speak to me when we pass each other in the cul-de-sac?

Have a nice day.