We've moved....

I cannot begin to explain the dramatic situation we encountered on Friday.  Here is the short version:  we closed on the sale of our house on Las Animas without a hitch.  Then, just hours before we were supposed to close on the Castle Rock house, we found out that we were not going to close due to some loan paperwork not being in place.  So, imagine this: we've closed on the house we are selling and are effectively homeless, we have a rental truck full of every belonging we own, including our two upset pets, we have no access to clean clothes (who knows where they are in the truck), we have nowhere to go, my friend Charity is here from Montrose to help us move in, so she has nowhere to go, and a we're facing a whole weekend of moving and unpacking lost.... Upon hearing the news, we managed to keep our composure and only through several minor miracles, 500 phone calls, and God's amazing grace, the sellers let us move in early.  Trust me- we would have been in a really bad situation if we were not able to work this out.  When I say "bad situation" I may or may not be referring to a complete mental breakdown on my part...

We spent the weekend settling in and we have been praising God ever since.  (We did close successfully on Monday.)

To tell you how we feel about this house--We LOVE it!!!  There are a million things we love about our new house, but for your reading pleasure, here are the top ten:

1. the neighborhood- there are lots of people who have lived here since they built the houses in the 50's!
2. the 'dryer' (see image below)

3. the hardwood & tile- newly refinished before we moved in
4. the kitchen- awesome retro cabinets, great space, a wonderful pantry
5. the incredible storage SPACE!- everything is almost already perfectly organized :)
6. the attention to detail and cleanliness that the previous owners had -a map in the basement with pin heads marking the location of all sprinkler heads, file folders for everything in the house, blueprints and even original photos from when the house was built in 1958!
7. having a fireplace- bring it winter! (Ok, not yet...)
8. the actual retro and vintage accents - a pencil sharpener attached to the basement wall downstairs, cool lighting fixtures that I would have picked out myself at the reStore
9. The yard- someday soon we will have a vegetable garden and some chickens, but for now there are lots of flowers already in bloom from the previous owners
10. the location- less than 1/2 mile walking distance to downtown Castle Rock and less than 30 minutes commute for either of us

Anyway, we are so excited.  We are thrilled to be settled.  And we are grateful to God for holding this place for us.  We are praying and believing for a season of rest and recuperation.  The last year has been...rough and busy and hard to get through, but we did it and I think we are seeing the beauty on the other side.

To my friend Charity- oh my goodness- I love you so much and I am so, so, so thankful for you being here this weekend!  We absolutely could not have done this without you.  Once again.

To any friends reading this, please do come visit!  There will be no tearing down of walls, installing new water lines, or any other major home improvement projects like we have just completed! You can just come and rest and enjoy life with us!