House Hunting

Over the spring/summer, I really didn't blog as much as I intended. One of the obvious reasons was Francis' arrival. However, we were spending a significant amount of time looking at houses. One of my goals for 2014 was to begin house hunting. And what a hunt it has been. Since the beginning of the year, we've probably visited more than 50 homes. We put offers in on three of them, which for one reason or another did not pan out. So, to say it's been a bit stressful & time consuming is an understatement!

But, the search came to a halt when we laid our eyes on this beautiful brick home.

 Although it was a bit cluttered & had way too much furniture, it was obvious that this house had ample space & storage for our large family. By this point (this being our fourth offer on a home), I was not allowing my heart to get invested in any further properties. There were three homes before this that I really liked & had started getting excited about when negotiations ended. So, it was hard for me to judge if I really loved this home at all because I was not emotionally hanging on to it, in case this one also fell through. After praying & considering our options, we put an offer in on this home.

We ultimately came to an agreeable contract & set a date for closing. But even then, I would not allow myself to get my hopes up...just in case. Each time I visited the house or flipped through the pictures I took, I could feel myself getting more & more excited. It was hard to believe the entire thing was actually happening. Then, the closing date came & everything actually happened as planned. We signed on the dotted line (actually lots & lots of signing), agreed to a mortgage & became homeowners!

As part of the agreement, we agreed to wait two weeks after the close to take possession, allowing the previous owners time to move into their new home. That's the time period we're in now...waiting (anxiously!) until next week when we finally get keys! We've been packing like squirrels readying for winter & trying to get as much done ahead of the big move. But, as the days count down, I still can't believe it's really happening. We actually own this beautiful home! Looking back now, I realize we are exactly where God wanted us to be, but in order to get here, we had to go through the process of all those other homes & offers.

I will try to blog about the move as much as I can, but we're getting ready to head into a couple of crazy weeks, so I'm not sure how much free time I'll have. But, rest assured, I have some great posts planned & also want to try sharing some decorating posts as we get settled in our new digs.

As for me & my household, we will serve the Lord. Joshua 24:15

Bank Account Fears

I have a confession to make...I hate logging in to check our bank account balances.  It's a stress-filled event and (unfortunately) I usually put it off until I have to pay bills.

"But Jessica, you have an accounting degree, an MBA & work with finances all day at work?"

I know, I know, but it's a different beast to deal with your own finances!  Goodness knows, no one ever gets financially rich working for the Church.  Add to that some debt from Jesse's college days, rent & other bills...it adds up.  Not to mention, we've recently started the process of looking for a house & although we've never done it before, I guarantee that won't be cheap!

I've tried several different formats for managing our finances, most of which I copied from others.  But I was never able to stick with it.  So, I think it's time for me to come up with my own system.  Something simple, that doesn't require a lot of fiddling.  Jesse has given me control of managing our accounts, which I appreciate, but it's also intimidating to try & manage, so it's up to me to figure out what works.

My short-term goal is to get to a point where I don't cringe every time I log in to our online banking.  Long-term, I'd like to get more tucked away into savings & pay off some debts.

I'm posting about this not because I want pity for our financial state.  It's more like an accountability thing for myself.  If I post about it, I feel that I need to follow-through & even provide updates along the way of our successes!