Blessed

I feel very blessed today. I am blessed everyday. But today is a day I feel spoiled-blessed. Our frustrating house hunt has come to an end. An "I can't believe how awesome this is" kind of end. I know it seems a week is no time at all to be looking and finding a place to live, but the search has been going on much longer. I like to do lots of searching and lots of research so that I really know what the "market" is and what we can get and where and for how much. All that. In our price range, in the area we need to live since we only have one car, the pickins have been quite slim. I was mostly looking at tiny little townhouses or really (really) junky little houses without yards. I kept looking and wondering how I could do this with 3 little boys who are getting kind of big for "active" playing inside, especially inside something as small as I have been looking at without the option of playing in a yard or something. Well, it was frustrating. Frustrating, but we kept going back to a word Rand felt God had given him at the very beginning of this little part of the journey. "Patience". We have reluctantly said no to a few properties because they just didn't feel right, knowing they would get snatched up if we waited longer than a minute to think about it. They were too far from work, WAY too small, zero yard, too expensive, etc.
After a full day of driving around on Sunday with the whole fam. we came home a little defeated. Brendan asked on Monday during school when we might have our own place. Not knowing what in the world to say I said, "We just need to keep praying about it. We're having a hard time finding a place we can afford, close to Daddy's work, where we will have enough room for all you boys." He suggested we pray right then. I said, "Great idea." He prayed (doesn't usually want to, but did this time). His prayer was precious and went like this...almost verbatim:
Dear God,
Please help us find a house where me and Wyatt and Easton can have lots of fun.
And where Mom and Dad will like being there too.
Amen.

I gave a big smile because children's prayers always make me smile and I thought it was perfectly perfect and very sweet.

After school I got back on the computer to check out listings and find all the new stuff and start my little process. I found a couple. I sent some emails. I got a couple emails back and I arranged to go look at one with Rand that night. (You have to move FAST on rentals we've learned.....more times than one). Anyway, we drive to it. GREAT location. Great! Perfect actually. Close to absolutely everything. Kids stuff, Rand's job, shopping, church, etc. We drive down this long driveway, through a gate (awesome! it's gated!), onto a 140 acre estate. 140 acres! The house was great. A little small, but good and literally on 140 acres. The owner lives on the property and also 2 other rental homes with tenants who have been there for the last 6 years.

Side note: Did I tell you all that I got rid of my chicken coop because we were moving? Well we were going to put it on craigslist and I got on to see what they were selling for just to get a feel and I found an ad from someone who wanted to trade a canoe for a chicken coop with 3-4 chickens. Rand and I were like, "Hey, let's get a canoe!" And we did. It's pretty much awesome, but we did feel a little silly strapping it to the roof of the mini-van and driving from Phoenix to Olympia not knowing exactly how we were going to use it. My brother-in-law even said, "What are you going to do with a canoe?" "I don't know. Take it to a park or a lake or something and paddle around" Whatever. Anyway, we have a really sweet canoe!

Back to the story....
So we are talking to the lady (who is really cool and just opened an art gallery downtown Oly. by the marina) about the house and the property and she says this: "You can't see it right now because it's dark, but just beyond the backyard here there is a stream and you can canoe in it right down to Black Lake." Rand and I looked at each other with our mouths open. "No way! We have a canoe!!!"

Needless to say we jumped on the opportunity to rent this cute little house on a private 140 acres right in Olympia. And we had a signed deal in just a couple days. I just still can't believe it.

The property has an established orchard with apples, plums, pears, etc. It has a private lake that is fenced that we get to use in the summer with a sandy beach and a dock. It has woods and fields. It has a sport court (tennis and basketball) and a little kids play house/cabin. There is a beautiful pond and a meandering stream. And did I mention 140 acres for all the walking and exploring one could wish for? The road to the home is paved so there is great bike riding for the kids. It is like living on our own private county park. There are lots of birds, owls, deer, otters, eagles, etc. She even said when you are canoeing on the stream beavers will swim next to you and fish jump right out of the water!

It is beyond an answered prayer and we are just dreaming and imagining of all the fun we are going to have there and how perfect it is in every way. God answered our prayers about location and price and size and space for our kids to play. And then went over and above and gave us something that we will LOVE, where we can use our canoe for goodness sakes! I keep telling Brendan, "look how God has answered your prayer! You and your brothers are going to have so much fun, and Mom and Dad are going to like being there too!"

For as fast (and unwanted) as this move has been, God has answered our prayers in such obvious, kind of over the top ways, that we can't even stop and wonder if this is what He wants us to be doing. From the job, to our house getting rented in less than a week, to money concerns, to finding a place to live here, it feels like God has taken all our worries and answered all our pleas and then some. It's the "then some" that has left us speechless through this process over the last month or so and we are so grateful!

We feel very blessed and can't believe we got it. And as my mom said, I can't believe there was even something this good (that we could afford) to be got! Another part of the story though is that the owner had listed it for rent a month ago. It's been available since Nov. 1. She told us it always rents super fast, but this time she hardly had anyone come look at it. She reposted her ad that day, and we showed up. It literally feels like it was just for us!
So we will be unpacking our stuff now and moving in this weekend. And soon, there will be pictures. Lots of pictures!