my head is spinning... and we're just getting started

It's been a week since I blogged. A long week, a short week, I don't know, depends on how you look at it.

I have a bad habit of house hunting, always searching for the bigger better roof to raise my family under. After all, we spend a lot of time in our house! Do you ever wonder why Realtors make such a ridiculously huge bankroll when they close a deal? I suspect it's because of women like myself, who want to tour and critique every house for sale in the greater Hattiesburg area, searching for the perfect one for their family. My perfect home would have 4+ bedrooms, 3+ baths, a big hangout room for the girls as they get older, and be MUCH closer to Sacred Heart than our current home, which clocks in at a whopping 35 minutes!

While Jeremy was in Singapore, I had been busy touring homes and sending him links to virtual tours of ones I liked. His response was always the same, "It's a nice house, but why don't you worry about selling our house first, before you get your heart set on something that we may be gone by the time our house sells. Truth is, the housing market is in bad shape, and the average property will sit on the market for 120 days.

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On Tuesday I fell in love with a house that met and surpassed my criteria for the perfect home for us. I could go on and gush about the details, but I'll spare you and wait until it's final. I immediately ran home and stuck my "for sale by owner" sign in the yard. With the down market, I decided to also invest $400 in a flat fee broker service that listed my home in the MLS and on www.realtor.com. In less than 24 hours I had a showing. 24 more hours and 4 counter offers later, we had a contract. Mandi, if you're reading this, I'm very sorry for rubbing it in, truly.

We now have a contract for the sale of our current home and a contract for the purchase of our soon to be new home. We are scheduled to close on both only 2 weeks from tomorrow and I am scared to death. I need 2 good inspections and a good interest rate. Full service movers would be nice, but I'll be doing the packing myself. My head is spinning and it's not from the Rock and Roux Fair we were at all weekend. I planned to take the girls to Baltimore next week and I cancelled the plane tickets this morning. Please pray for a smooth 2 weeks for us!

*** a quick edit in case my husband reads this... I plan to stay in the new house a very very long time... I really think that this time we might be getting it right! ;)