The Story

Most of you know we are moving. And for those of you who don't know, here are the deets.

Last summer after Jacob was born, Mike got the idea that we should put our house on the market and buy an investment property (like a 4-plex or small apartment complex) and live in one of the units. That way we would be able to have other tenants pay our mortgage and we could save some money and make some extra money outside of Mike's regular income. We figured we would be around Great Falls for the next few years. So in September we listed our house and looked around Great Falls for various real estate possibilities. We had several people look at our house in the beginning, but as the weather got colder and winter began approaching, people stopped showing an interest. All winter we had no calls on the house. It wasn't frustrating for me, necessarily. I had faith that it would all work out in the Lord's time and I didn't feel rushed to sell it immediately.

As the months passed, things started to change. There was more talk about Mike being moved to Portland for work. But the time frame was never really discussed. For all we knew, it could've been a couple years from then, or it could've been a few months. Nothing seemed certain. And in the field that Mike is in (finance) he is constantly up to date with the latest news concerning the stock market, the economy, the housing market, etc. All the stuff he had been reading about lately from all the financial gurus who predict stock market trends and housing trends were saying things were going to get real bad again real soon. So spring came and we thought, we need to sell our house a.s.a.p. in case things hit rock bottom again and we aren't able to get out of our house when we need to (because at that point, we didn't know when we'd need to since everything was so up in the air.) We made some necessary repairs on the house and put some fresh paint on the walls. Eventually, with the change in the seasons we started to get more calls on the house. And before we knew it, we got an offer and we took it. This was April 14th. The closing date was set for May 16th, only a month to find a new place to live, find a storage unit, pack, and move. And the process began...

We started looking for a place to rent, but guess what? There aren't a lot of options here. Most of the rentals in this town are dumps. And those that aren't, are more expensive than our mortgage for a much smaller amount of space. But, again, I had faith it would work out. Of course I was stressed though. And nervous about what was going to happen. We didn't know if we should be looking for a place with a year lease or something less. We had no idea how long it would be before we moved to Portland. So it was hard to know where the right place to live was going to be. But I can attest that prayer really works. I know Heavenly Father answered my prayers, even during a time when I felt like I didn't deserve to be listened to. Within a day or two, Mike's head boss in Portland called him to do his bi-annual evaluation over the phone, and he told Mike he wanted us to move to Portland in September. Bingo, now at least the uncertainty of "when" had been resolved. That helped us narrow things down a bit, because we knew that we had a find a place that we could rent month to month. I ended up talking to an old friend who lived here who was in the same boat as us and she gave me a few numbers to call. I ended up getting a hold of an apartment manager that happened to be a member of our church and she said she had an opening in the complex she and her husband managed. Right then I went to look at the apartment and we took it! It's only a two bedroom, but we can make it work until we move in September. At least it's not a dump, and it's sooooo cheap it blows my mind. We rented a storage unit and will be storing pretty much everything we own and only taking the necessities to the new apartment (beds, table, computer, couch, dishes...) I don't even plan on hanging up pictures or decorating the place.

We were kind of cutting it close with the closing date so soon, but it all worked out. I just needed to trust the Lord. And as usual, everything fell into place. I just think about how impeccable the timing was for everything. Mike wanting to put the house on the market when he did (even though it was for a different reason, he still felt inspired to do it.), being able to sell our house before the housing market dropped again, being able to find a nice, affordable rental so soon, etc. etc. I could go on and on. I have seen the Lord's hand our lives as he's directed and guided us in our choices and in this whole process. And even though life for me (for several reasons) has been a struggle these past couple of months, I can't deny my blessings from a loving Heavenly Father who knows my needs and understands me personally.

Anyway, now we are just a week away from when we need to be out of here and I feel like I have so much to do. I just hope my body and mind cooperates and lets me get something accomplished this week. It's been a battle to get everything done that I need to with being incessantly tired and sick . My poor kids probably feel neglected as well. I will be happy when this move is over and I can just try to have a carefree summer before we move to P-town.