moving on...

well, the time has come!

after living in arizona for five years, we have finally decided to put down our roots. it's certainly a great time to do it: this same home would've sold for $600k five years ago!

here's the {long} story...

before moving from maricopa, we were in the 7th ward, along with marc & miranda taylor. i was miranda's visiting teacher. they had two little kids, maycie and nash (now they have three, with newborn bensen). we moved to ahwatukee, and then they sold their home and moved. we lost contact and weren't sure where they ended up. then about two weeks ago, i saw that miranda commented on another friends' facebook post, so i sent her a friend request. she accepted and i caught up on what they'd been up to. she had been talking about their newborn baby and about moving to holland for two years with her husband's work. wow! a couple days later she posted that they were looking for renters for their brand new home. they wanted someone the entire time they were gone and they didn't want pets! i responded even though we have a small dog, and she excitedly replied that she would speak with marc. at that point, i emailed john about the possible opportunity and we started talking again about moving. now... we've been in this very small 1,900 sq.ft. home for two years, looking for something bigger out here in ahwatukee, and it was just not working out. the rent is way too high out here, and the home prices are not as affordable as in other areas of phoenix. we've been discouraged. there was always the possibility of leaving the area and the school districts, but kaisha was NOT going to hear about that. she at the very least wanted to graduate from desert vista, and so we promised her that she could.

back to the story!

a couple days later we hear back from miranda that they will accept lexi because she is small and totally house-trained, and she gives me the details of where they are. we needed to drive out there to see how far it was and to check out the area. john flew in that day and came straight to my office, and from there we drove out. it's pretty far east -- near apache junction! but we didn't let that discourage us just yet! we drove through the neighborhood and from that moment fell in love with it. you should see the lot sizes of these homes! the builder bought the land from the bank, and it had already been mapped out for "estate" sized homes. the builder decided to put "normal" sized homes on the lots, so there's anywhere from 35-50 feet in between the homes!! this is just unbelievable here in phoenix! the homes are seriously on top of each other, maybe 10 feet between you and your neighbor! john & i stopped by the sales office and had ernie walk us through a spec home that was just like the taylors (they were not home or they would've had us come to their place). we got a feel for what it was like, and could not believe the size of the backyards. we spoke with ernie a little bit about buying/building right now, and he gave us some good information. we had been holding off because the prices were so high at first and then the market crashed and now the prices were good and interest rates are low, but we were still scared about having a full 20% for a down payment. ernie gave us the number for their preferred lender. nancy had us complete an online application, and called us the next day with the good news ------- we were APPROVED!! we were in complete shock! we make enough money, have excellent credit (we had no idea what our credit looked like the past few years), and would only need 3.5% down! the best part: we can build the home we want, with all the upgrades we want, on a huge lot, for the same monthly payment as our rent right now!!! what??? our decision was made -- we were building. if the option to build didn't work out, we were going to move into the taylor's home and still be out in that neighborhood. so either way, we would've been happy. but now we're ecstatic!! i called miranda right away to give them as much time as we could to find someone else, and she had amazing news too: they received a call from someone in their ward looking for a rental, at the exact same time i received the call from the lender accepting our application! how is that not meant to be? we were both excited! we have since learned that their deal fell through and they're still looking for the perfect renter, but we're on track with the builder. we have signed the contract, chosen the floorplan and elevation design and colors, and have our appt. with the design center to choose upgrades. we took the kids out there and walked the model homes and spec home to give them a feel for things, and they are super excited! kam & kenners have already started packing their rooms :)

to make this work with kaisha, we've decided to let she and kerianne finish out the school year at DV. they will either commute with me, or drive themselves if they have activities/games to attend. it's going to be a little rough on our gas budget, but we're willing to make that sacrifice for them for 3-4 months.

looking back, we realize how everything has happened for a reason the past few years: there was a reason we never bought a home; there was a reason we were in maricopa; a reason we moved to ahwatukee; a reason i became facebook friends with miranda; a reason we considered their rental opportunity; a reason we drove out there when we did; a reason we considered buying/ building; a reason we are working with nancy, the lender. everything has just fallen into place -- we absolutely feel it is meant to be. we have felt like we were stalling here in arizona. before the market took a dive we were moving to chicago as fresh & easy expanded. with the collapse they decided to put it on hold. their expansion plans changed, and so did ours. we've been waiting... waiting to move... waiting for something to happen... waiting! well we've decided to stop waiting, stop feeling disconnected! i don't think anyone has understood how hard it's been for us. it's not easy to rent -- to not have something of your own. we have received so many well wishes from our friends & and loved ones. we've built two homes in the past, and loved the experiences. we're so excited for our future -- excited to be able to finally decorate and paint walls!!!!!

{the floorplan: we're keeping the guest suite as it is on the main level; getting the 4th car garage (at no extra charge); not going with the optional balcony at the master bdrm; upgrading to tile in all the right places (most of the main floor); and many more fun upgrades!}