It was a 60 degree day in January, we were playing at the park with our kiddos and struck up a conversation with neighbors we'd never spoken to before (they're not outside much:). We noticed their house was for sale and just asked how things were going. They said they were having showings just about every day and told us the realtor they were working with had just sold a home in our neighborhood in less than 30 days, and they were really excited about working with her. Well, long story short..she ended up selling their house in less than 30 days too. And then we called her...on a whim...not even planning on listing...but couldn't help ourselves. We wanted in on some sweet 30 day action. Have I mentioned we've listed three times already? Starting back in 2010...then in 2011...then in 2012. We never left it on the market for more than our 6 month contract. It was discouraging...we didn't get much interest, we didn't get many showings, and the feedback was always...blah. But here we were...February 2013...meeting a new realtor. It was way spontaneous. I loved her instantly...of course. The next week...staging. The next week...photography...a professional real estate photographer. This was all new to us...so serious. The next week we were listed. In those three weeks, we had this overwhelming feeling that it was going to be different this time...we were so filled with hope. And we did something we had never done before. We started looking at houses.
Okay...back to the listing...the very day we went on the market, we had a showing scheduled. What?! Scheduled for the next day at 7:00 pm. However...that showing never happened. We had a call from our realtor around 3:00 that day and we had an offer...an OFFER. No one had even seen our house...aside from online. Okay back to the offer...the OFFER. It was a full price cash offer. Yes, you read that right. Our realtor has been in the business for 15 years and she said she has never seen a full price cash offer made within 24 hours of listing a house. We were freaking out...trying to believe this was real...but it was really so unbelievable. We couldn't wrap our minds around it. It seemed too good to be true. But in my conversation with God following my conversation with our realtor, I felt guilty for feeling doubt. I felt like I was shortchanging an amazing God who can do amazing things. So I recanted the doubt and let the joy take over. I sang and danced and sang and danced. I was in the middle of preschool with my four year old when our realtor called so he was the first to hear the news. I said "Someone is buying our house! We're going to move!" And he said "but it's too heavy mama." Love. That. Child. The next to hear was the hubbers...and although he was excited, he too was tempted to be a doubting devin. After trying for so long...this really was unbelievable...unbelievably COOL!
So in his offer, our buyer gave us 30 days and then he would get the keys at closing. 30 days is not very much time when you have no idea where you are going to live. So our realtor talked to him and he also said he would rent our home back to us if needed. Seriously. Thank you Jesus! Cause although we had the option of splitting our family up between various member of our life group...this was great news:)
To sum up the awesomeness of this situation...our house sold within 24 hours of listing...crazy. We had a full price cash offer which eliminates a lot of financing fees...super rad. We didn't have to have a single showing...YAY! With three small children and a house that is impossible to keep clean, showings were a huge source of anxiety for me. Our buyer is going to let us rent from him while we search for our new home...SO helpful! Oh...AND this move is coming at the perfect time. In hindsight, we are so glad it didn't come in 2010, or 11, or 12:) Our oldest will be going to kindergarten in the fall and now we're going to move in the direction of the school we want our children in...a great time to transition.
This is really happening. We're really going to leave this teeny little love filled house that has held so many of our beautiful memories. God has really blessed this crazy family...and I can't wait to bless Him back with the perfect home I know He has planned for us. My God is good people!
In His amazing love,
Crazy Mama Crook
Here you will find the chronicles of the crazy crook crew...enjoy!
I want to live in each season fully, celebrate the chapters as they end, and anticipate the next with only joy! God gets all the glory for the story He's written for our family! A family designed and defined by Him through foster care and adoption. If you've got some time, stay a while...and grab a kleenex;) Each chapter is beautiful and heart wrenching and breathtaking and God is ALWAYS good!
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Human encounters...
Dinner time on a cruise ship...very interesting...people are interesting. Cruises are SO diverse...like in every sense. And at dinner time we experienced alot of diversity..,some of it was wonderful, some not so wonderful. Some dinners were spent observing and some were spent investing. I would call myself a people person...but some people...well I'll just let you read;)
Dinner night #1...we were placed at a tiny table in between two other tiny tables, approximately 6 inches away from each other. The night could be summed up with one word "awkward"... no one broke the ice. We did not converse with the other tables, yet we could all hear each other's conversations...awkward. Night #2...we were seated at one large table, again, between two other couples. I think it helped that we sat at the same big table and not at separate little tables that weren't really separate. Todd from Michigan broke the ice with a good old "well this is awkward", which was good enough for me to get chatty:) We talked about this and that and I told them the story about the birth certificates and getting on the ship which inspired Todd and his wife to ask if we were considering adoption (remember the part about how my friend from DCS saved the day?). So you know his question opened the door for me to tell our story which opened the door for them to tell their story. Five years ago, they adopted a 7 year old out of the foster care system. They went on about the blessings and the struggles and we understood each other. We all love Jesus and adoption...and a friendship was formed on the ship 'Destiny'. I forget their last name, but I wish I could find them on facebook and be friends forever:) It was a lovely evening...I liked that table. Night #3...another tiny table in between tiny tables...why do we always have to be in the middle? This dinner was rough:( We sat beside a perplexing couple...the man was probably in his 50's and rather large. The girl was 20 something and her dress was not covering much. One would assume she was his daughter, but she was very, VERY rude to him...belittling him in a voice that screamed 'I want everyone to hear how I talk to him'. She treated the waiter the same way. She spoke demeaningly, like they were less than her. I literally felt sick to my stomach...and as I get older, I find it harder to bite my tongue, but I did and I prayed for her three times throughout my dinner. We left without ordering dessert or even finishing our food. We couldn't sit there any longer. I smiled at our waiter on our way out, trying to communicate with my eyes that he was fabulous and that girl is a jerk...I think he may have read me right;) Night #4...another big table...again in the middle, This time we were between a family of four from Finland and a couple from Ireland. The Finnish family was made of 4 beautiful blonde people...the two little girls could have stepped straight out of a magazine:) They were also very nice. The Irish couple had been married for over 50 years, they were a lovely couple...full of stories, advice, and encouragement... lovers of Jesus and loved to talk about Him. Kath (that's what her husband called her) felt like my mamaw. She touched my arm every time she spoke to me and the way she spoke (apart from the accent) reminded me alot of my mamaw. They loved looking at pictures of our kids (yes, they're always with me and ready to make an appearance) and telling us stories of their children and grandchildren. We soaked in their words and traded addresses before dinner was through...they may not be on facebook, but they'll be our forever friends the old fashioned way. I adored the evening we had with them. That was our last dinner and it ended on a high note.
Overall we had a lovely time. It was a great way to celebrate 10 years of wedded bliss and how incredibly in love we are. I'm thankful we made it on board and made it back home. And I think it may be another 10 years before we leave our kids again...just saying:)
~One very crazy cruisin mama Crook
Dinner night #1...we were placed at a tiny table in between two other tiny tables, approximately 6 inches away from each other. The night could be summed up with one word "awkward"... no one broke the ice. We did not converse with the other tables, yet we could all hear each other's conversations...awkward. Night #2...we were seated at one large table, again, between two other couples. I think it helped that we sat at the same big table and not at separate little tables that weren't really separate. Todd from Michigan broke the ice with a good old "well this is awkward", which was good enough for me to get chatty:) We talked about this and that and I told them the story about the birth certificates and getting on the ship which inspired Todd and his wife to ask if we were considering adoption (remember the part about how my friend from DCS saved the day?). So you know his question opened the door for me to tell our story which opened the door for them to tell their story. Five years ago, they adopted a 7 year old out of the foster care system. They went on about the blessings and the struggles and we understood each other. We all love Jesus and adoption...and a friendship was formed on the ship 'Destiny'. I forget their last name, but I wish I could find them on facebook and be friends forever:) It was a lovely evening...I liked that table. Night #3...another tiny table in between tiny tables...why do we always have to be in the middle? This dinner was rough:( We sat beside a perplexing couple...the man was probably in his 50's and rather large. The girl was 20 something and her dress was not covering much. One would assume she was his daughter, but she was very, VERY rude to him...belittling him in a voice that screamed 'I want everyone to hear how I talk to him'. She treated the waiter the same way. She spoke demeaningly, like they were less than her. I literally felt sick to my stomach...and as I get older, I find it harder to bite my tongue, but I did and I prayed for her three times throughout my dinner. We left without ordering dessert or even finishing our food. We couldn't sit there any longer. I smiled at our waiter on our way out, trying to communicate with my eyes that he was fabulous and that girl is a jerk...I think he may have read me right;) Night #4...another big table...again in the middle, This time we were between a family of four from Finland and a couple from Ireland. The Finnish family was made of 4 beautiful blonde people...the two little girls could have stepped straight out of a magazine:) They were also very nice. The Irish couple had been married for over 50 years, they were a lovely couple...full of stories, advice, and encouragement... lovers of Jesus and loved to talk about Him. Kath (that's what her husband called her) felt like my mamaw. She touched my arm every time she spoke to me and the way she spoke (apart from the accent) reminded me alot of my mamaw. They loved looking at pictures of our kids (yes, they're always with me and ready to make an appearance) and telling us stories of their children and grandchildren. We soaked in their words and traded addresses before dinner was through...they may not be on facebook, but they'll be our forever friends the old fashioned way. I adored the evening we had with them. That was our last dinner and it ended on a high note.
Overall we had a lovely time. It was a great way to celebrate 10 years of wedded bliss and how incredibly in love we are. I'm thankful we made it on board and made it back home. And I think it may be another 10 years before we leave our kids again...just saying:)
~One very crazy cruisin mama Crook
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