In the almost five years I have been with Dan our lives have constantly been changing. Many time we have simply had faith that as we take an unknowing step forward in life that Heavenly Father does not leave his children to wander on their own. I am grateful that I know that listening to the prompting of the spirit does bless your life.
Two kids down, Dan with both his Bachelors and Juris Doctorate degrees, we started in Idaho, went to Illinois, went to Florida, and now are back in Illinois. I feel extremely blessed, a bit strained from all the uncertainty, and completely ready to settle down for years to come- which brings us to why I am writing this little blog post.
Last January Dan and I had a serious talk about being self reliant. Not having to ask for parents help over the summer or to get by. We worked really hard over the year. Selling furniture so we could make it on our own without our parents help before moving from Florida to Illinois- my parents must have received inspiration because they sent us money to help us move- which no one in our families knew we were struggling- we are grateful- but knew we couldn't rely on people to take care of us financially for ever. Almost a year has past since we began trying to become self reliant- I am pleased to announce that Dan has found a job as a Bankruptcy Attorney- He has passed the bar and been sworn in for the State Courts- and soon the Federal Courts- We are now being the most self reliant we have ever been and....... Have found that we can afford to buy a home (yesterday I bought my own phone).
For my birthday present from Dan, we drove around Rockford to look at potential rentals (every girls dream- right?), but as we were looking nothing seemed "right" and everything wonderful was like 1100 a month to rent. Bummer!!! So it was small 900 sq foot apartment with no upgrades, probably no washer/dryer and no yard for our two girls. So Dan and I laughingly decided to look at the possibility of buying (never ever a good idea to allow me to dream-especially around my bday). As we talked about numbers that I have been crunching on the computer we start thinking it is a good idea. This is Oct 19, 2013... notice as of right now that was less than a month ago. October 21, 2013 was my bday. I was working on getting out Credit Scores, by Wednesday October 23 I was on to getting a Lender and real estate agent. We got preapproved October 24. I honestly thought 95k was out of our budget but as I crunched numbers it ended up working (taxes are the big thing in our area- they don't match the price of the home).
Saturday October 26 was our first day out for looking at houses. The first one was in a great location but needed too much work for us to handle (realtor's pick), the second ended up being the wrong address from a place a wanted to see, the third was a colonial we liked and was ready to move in but wasn't the best area. That was day one and I was so bummed- only 3 houses- because all the others were unavailable. hmmm :(
Well I knew what I wanted ( I had studied it out enough over the last 4 years of marriage!), but I didn't understand how much we could actually afford since my budget didn't calculate our total income each month- a few extra dollars makes a big difference and I like to round down. So after figuring out exactly what we could afford and still have some savings leftover we went out again on Tuesday. We looked
at four houses total. I liked them- they were in great school districts (compared to Rockford schools) but I couldn't pick- I was having a stupor of thought with the first three.
Arriving at the fourth house- I thought it was going to be in a different area. I thought it was going to be hard to afford. As we drove there I kept getting shocked. No way is it 5 minutes from Dan's work! No way is it above State Street! No way is it in the same neighborhood as the rental Dan's grandparents own- meaning Dan's grandma might live three blocks away someday, Dan's parents want a place in the same subdivision. What have I done? We cannot afford this amazing home, with a good Rockford school!!!!!
We got up to the house and Carli is loving the front yard with all the leaves. The house is brick!!!! A bay window in the living room. Hardwood floors throughout with some tile. I am in love!!! After crunching numbers and discussing we found that we can afford this fabulous place.
In the future I assume my post will be about the house and the changes we plan to make!
Here are some more pictures of the place:
Yesterday we signed the contract that begins the being approved by Lender. I am grateful I knew what I wanted, had a realistic idea of what we could afford, and have a Heavenly Father who is watching over Dan and I as we make these steps forward.
Here are a few pictures of the backyard. 
