Prayers Answered!!!!

My biggest worry about our pending move to Idaho has been where we will live.  The rental home market in Rexburg is really tough, unless you are a student or young family needing only two bedrooms. Most houses rent out in no time and if they don't, it is because there is something less than desirable about the home itself.  For a couple of weeks we had been in contact with someone who needed their lease taken over because they were buying another home.  The home was a decent size, plenty of bedrooms in the basement and it had a beautiful yard.  Having only seen photos, we were going to rush to Idaho on Joseph's birthday to get everything tied down.  But the owner, who would have to sign off on us as renters was impossible to reach, so we held off(which turned out to be a huge blessing in disguise).  The next week several others homes went up on Craigs List(LOVE that site) and we decided it was time to go check them out.  We decided last Thursday morning that we would leave that night for a long whirlwind weekend in Rexburg.  Adrienne gladly agreed to take over the parental role here at home and so around 8:30 PM we headed out the door. Richard had some free car rental days from all his trips up to Washington, so we got a nice new Toyota that got much better gas mileage than our van.  We drove all night.  Richard was amazing.  Long car rides put me to sleep, but not Richard!  We arrived at 9 in the morning and our hotel was very welcoming even though we were 6 hours early for check-in.  They gave us a temple facing room on the second floor and told us to help ourselves to breakfast. (If you ever come to Rexburg and you don't want to stay with us, I highly recommend the Spring Hill Suites!  They even remembered us from our last visit.)  We slept for a few hours then Richard started lining up places for us to look at.

The first was already rented out, but she gave us the address of another home to go look at.  It was nice, but far too small for our family.  Next we went to Rigby and looked at a beautiful newer home there.  Aside from a few small quirks, it was a great house. We just had to decide if we wanted to live outside of Rexburg and commute. Its only a 15 minute drive, but the whole family had dreams of living right in Rexburg, close to the college.  The next house we saw is my dream house.  Large, spacious, in a great neighborhood, I think my heart actually ached walking through this home.  It was amazing, beautiful, perfect...well you get the idea, right?  It was being shown to someone else when we got there which immediately worried me.  We had one other house to look at, the one with the great yard, so we left and drove for a minute or two before we looked at each other and said, WE WANT THIS HOUSE!  We pulled over and prayed.  The butterflies in my stomach immediately stopped and a feeling of calmness that I had not felt in quite some time came over me.  We looked at each other and knew.  We drove back and they were STILL showing OUR house to these other people.  I was sure they were making arrangements to move in.  But we went to the door and told her we wanted the home.  She said she would discuss it with her husband and let us know.  We went to the last house and it was much older and nice....aside from the fact that we could not stand up straight in the basement.  We knew there was no way we could expect Jacob to live down there.  And there were spiders, so I knew I could not live there.  That was it.  There was nothing left to look at. My heart was still in 51 Hidden Valley Road and I was afraid it might have to stay there without me.

The family has been praying very hard about our living situation in Rexburg. I will use Joseph as an example because I hear his prayers every night.  Without fail every night he asks that we will find a home we can all be happy and comfortable in.  I was expressing my fears to Richard about living in a tiny apartment when Joseph overheard and said in a very duh-like fashion, "Mom, I have been praying and Heavenly Father will help us find a house".  What amazing faith from one so young.

We wanted to leave a deposit on the home, but the owner said her current tenants didn't have a solid move out date, but she would let us know.  We are very flexible on when we can move, so we had that going for us.  So we left Rexburg Sunday morning without a house!  I tried to be faithful and positive.  Anytime I doubted I thought of Joseph's strong, sweet faith.  Monday morning the owner called and asked when we could move in and asked for references and such.  Later in the day Richard received a signed lease agreement, which we signed, scanned and emailed back!  The house is OURS!!!  We will move in on June 15th, much sooner than we expected, but YAY!!!  I am thrilled.  What a great lesson for me and for my kiddos that prayer really does work.  The Lord is listening. I have no doubt that if this home had not worked out for us, the Lord would have helped us find something else. BUT, now the biggest worry of the move is gone and we can focus on packing and cleaning and preparing to move. 

I really love LDS communities, they know how to build a big comfortable family house!   This home is 4200 square feet.  And because the cost of living is so much less there, we can afford this beautiful home, it is actually more than twice the size of our current home, and it is cheaper to rent!  There is a large front porch and a back deck.  The yard is not huge, but it is also not fenced and is open to all the other yards and a common area behind the house. There are kids everywhere.  This neighborhood in only a mile and a half from the BYU campus and just about three quarters of a mile from the hospital, where I hope to work/intern.  The location is perfect!

 I have always been spoiled by my kitchens and this time is no different!  It is a good thing Richard and I love to cook!  There is a floor vent that flips up and sucks swept debris into the central vac system!  I love the black appliances.  I am over stainless steel and trying to keep it clean!  We are also thrilled at the gas range.  The glass cook top we have now is just too hard to keep clean.  There is a large space to the left of the fridge for our table and chairs.

 There is beautiful carpet throughout, thick and darker than anything we have had.  LOVE IT!  Because there is no wall near the stairs, the light switch for the basement is actually built onto the banister.  Beautiful stairway leading to the huge basement, which has TWO large storage rooms in addition to everything else down there!

 

This room is right next to the kitchen. It could be used as a dining area, but I kind of like is as a gathering space.  We do NOT have enough furniture to fill this house, but I am ok with open empty spaces!  The basement has two family rooms. One will be the television room and the other will be a play room for the kids and a guest area for family and friends who want to come visit.  We plan on keeping ALL the toys down there, so hopefully the main floor can stay clean.

One thing I am so excited about is that I will have my own tub again!  I have serious issues with relaxing my neck and shoulder muscles and in our old house I would take a bath every night before bed.  Since it is so cold in Rexburg, I imagine I will be taking a lot of baths.  Another interesting thing about this bathroom is the shower. It is a walk in, no sliding doors or curtains! And Richard's favorite thing about the bathroom is the high counter tops!  Great for tall people! Love this bathroom!!

Large 5 bedroom home with lots of space.

Home is like new and sparkling clean.  Upstairs has large eat-in kitchen, Pantry, Living Room, Dining area or additional Gathering Space with Fireplace. 3 Large Bedrooms, 2 Large Baths including a Large Master Suite with Jetted Tub, Large Walk in Shower and Double Sinks with Granite Counter top.

Basement has 2 additional Family Rooms, Computer area, 2 additional Large Bedrooms and 1 Large Bath.

A few amenities are as follows:

Central Vacuum system, Ceiling Fans, Large Kitchen w/ Granite Countertops & Custom Cabinetry throughout home.

One of two large kid bathrooms. Love the built in cabinets!

 

Front door, nice big deep porch

One of the bedrooms downstairs, large with two closets.  I was so overwhelmed with this house I  don't even remember seeing a room with two closets!

Looking into one of the downstairs family rooms!

Basement, looking down the hall from the bottom of the stairs.  Looooong hallway! Bathroom straight ahead, I love all the natural light that comes into the basement from the huge windows!

Second family room in the basement.

Another upstairs bedroom with a cute built in window seat.