Aahhhh!

The offer is accepted, the closing date is approaching. Emmett and I are spinning every spare brain cell imagining and considering the order and method of executing various updates, how much to spend versus pay off mortgage with out of the equity from this house...

This is the Place

On a plane again! Went to see the Princeton house. Definitely needs some serious work, but it is so gorgeous, and I think I love it. We even got the chance to speak in person with the owner and seller of the house. His grandparents and parents lived in that house, as well as himself and his first wife, and he has alot of love for the place. I told him how beautiful I think it is, and the plans we we're already imagining to repair and restore the old charm of the place. I hope I made a good and convincing impression. We're putting in an offer. 

On a Jet Plane

Tonight I'm on an airplane headed off to Kansas City, MO, to meet up with our realtor Michelle Anaya and take a look at that Princeton house. I sure do hope it lives up to our expectations, and the seller agrees to our offer, and we both come away happy with the deal.

On the one hand it feels a little extreme hopping on a plane and flying halfway across the country just to visit one house (though who knows, maybe we'll squeeze in another one or two...); but on the other hand it also seems extreme to buy an entire house over the internet, even with a good realtor who's willing to do video call walk-throughs for us and otherwise take good care of us. So, whatever. A little crazy either way, and this way is more exciting. 😉

Fenwick is jealous that he doesn't get to go on the plane, but I reassured him that he will no doubt have many opportunities to go on plane rides once we're living out there, because we are not going to want to make a 3-day road trip every time we come back to visit Grandparents!

I have taken several pictures out the window that I hope make up some of the difference for them for now. 🙂

"Make Haste"

 "Make Haste"

I just popped open the Gospel Living app, and one of the featured scriptures was the story of Passover, and how they were told to eat standing up and not use leavening, to symbolize their willingness to act immediately and without hesitation to follow God's instructions, and be ready to leave Egypt in the morning. 

I was specifically thinking about and hoping for some kind of hint about where in Missouri to focus our house search. I didn't get anything about that, but I did get... Make Haste. So, we'll keep pushing to get this move accomplished as fast as possible. 🤷‍♀️

House Search

The first house we put an offer on was in Lexington, MO. We just found out today that it didn't go through. So now I'm browsing the real estate listings again, and pondering a large house in Princeton, right at the top of the state, close to the border with Iowa. There are several things I like about that house.

One is the size. It would be as large as my parents' house, if not larger. 4 bedrooms currently completed, with room for more in the attic or basement. Emmett's office might be really nice in the attic...

Another is that, being up north, the summers would be more mild than further south. Somewhat? I don't know by how much.

My browsing on Facebook has shown are only a handful of groups or pages focused on that area, but what there is gives the impression of an active community that's looking to grow.

They look like they have great internet, based on an internet company office being there, and participating in local facebook groups. They look like a company interested in investing in their community.

It's a small town, which I hope would be lots of fun. But it's also the county seat, so the county library is right there in town. Their facebook page also looks pretty active, they have community activities and story times, etc.

Someone on FB mentioned those small towns being really welcoming of newcomers. Several people have said that of Missouri, overall.

It's only 30min from the nearest hospital, Walmart, or LDS chapel. (30min from a chapel will certainly be a change, but I think I'm game for it!) 😉