selling our dream home for simpler dream | pt. 1

In 2016, I wrote a blog post on my personal blog titled “Our 2016 Yearly Goal.” Feel free to read it, but the summary is that as a family we set goals versus resolutions and in 2016 we decided to Live Intentionally. We want to make sure we fill what precious time we have on Earth following God’s callings, investing in certain relationships, and making sure we are fulfilled in our careers. With that goal set, we went to Alaska for our first mission trip, I reduced the number of weddings I book, and Vincent left a job he loved for another to allow for more time at home.

Which leads me to the reason behind this post.

At the beginning of 2017, unbeknownst to each other, Vincent and I started looking at houses. One day I confessed that I had been searching and he admitted he had been too. We were in such shock and decided to sit down and figure out WHY we were both feeling led to look. We love our neighborhood and our neighbors are some of our closest friends. We have a brand new construction home with lots of square footage. We were living the dream!

Or so we thought.

I started to feel so frustrated with all the cleaning I was doing on a daily basis and my pride would not allow for me to get someone to clean for me. Vincent was growing tired of his long commute. We felt like we were missing out on life because of what this perfect dream home was costing us – time together as a family.

So we listed our house. We were so excited and optimistic that it would be easy to sell & we even fell in love with the perfect house right in downtown Greenville. But then crickets…. for over a month. The perfect house went under contract. Stressed, heartbroken, and confused were just a few of the feelings running through me.  The emotional rollercoaster of home buying and selling is the worst. What makes it even harder is that we chose to do this! The last two times we moved we had to because of Vincent’s career, but this time we were consciously wanting to move. I wanted to trust in God’s timing and we both really felt like this was what He was leading us to do. But were we really doing the right thing?

But FINALLY,  on May 15th a showing! We spent hours cleaning and preparing. Afterwards, I was sitting in our bedroom and thought “how cool would it be if we had one showing and they made an offer?”

Crickets.

Now y’all, I believe God has a sense of humor because sure enough, one week later I got a call from our realtor. We had a full ask offer. From the couple from our 1st showing!

He hears us. He knows the fears in our hearts. He speaks if we listen. And by golly, God has it under control.

Now I’m in a whole new type of panic as we negotiate and try to find our next home. I’m sad because this was the house we brought Mila home from the NICU too. This is where we became a family of five (yes, my boys are included) and this is where all of Mila’s ‘firsts’ happened. This is where we made our roots in Greenville, SC. I love this house. I love the people in my neighborhood – they are my village. But, I keep having to remind myself that we are giving up the big house in the suburbs for a better life for our little family. Shorter commute, less square footage to clean, and more time together.

I will always be grateful that we were able to purchase such a beautiful home and I will always cherish the memories we made here. I am so excited for our next adventure and I can’t wait to share it with you.

I want to say a HUGE thank you to my amazing friend Ally at The Journey by Ally for coming to our home and photographing us. Ally, we will cherish these forever <3