You Are My Sunshine

I've been a bit down since we found out the news about that house.  Sage & I were so certain it was going to be ours & just like that, we got shut down.  That's what we get for getting our hopes up ha! 

Anyways, yesterday Anelia had come home from a baby shower & sat next to me.  I was looking for potential homes on my phone & she sat & said "Mommy, you're the best..." I smiled & told her SHE is the best.  She then began to sing "You Are My Sunshine" to me.  

In Ane's 4 years she's never sang this song. She's listened to me sing it on occasion, like once every 6 months? I rarely sing it because it makes me emotional.  Just a little back story, my Grandpa Toa used to sing it to my cousins & I when we were kids. He passed away in 2007, long before Anelia was born. 

Ane sang the song & I immediately thought of my Grandpa. I definitely think it is his way of telling me that we didn't get that house for a reason or maybe that he was thinking of my little family & has something better in store for us?  Regardless, I believe in tender mercies & that our loved ones on the other side are mindful of us & what we're dealing with on this side.  

Whether it was a sign or not, I'm going to just try trust the journey & remember to not have my heart set on a home until we close lol! 

The hunt continues...

Whoever said house hunting is fun... Lied!  This has been such a stressful, nerve wracking, roller coaster ride & it's only just begun.  Sage & I found a house last weekend that we thought we loved. It was almost 1700 square feet, 3 bedrooms, 2 & 1/2 baths, granite counters, tile floors, upgraded appliances, a loft, a community pool, a park nearby, and close to his parents. It checked off everything on our list so we went for it.  Unfortunately, two other offers came in after ours & the sellers chose them over us.  

Then, we found "the one" it was perfect it every single way. It didn't have a community pool & was a few more minutes farther from his parents but this home was absolutely gorgeous & big too! Hardwood floors, dark cabinets, a cute backyard with a cute little orange tree. It was stunning and had all we wanted and MORE.  Sage & I offered over the asking price but there were two offers in against ours. I'm so sad to say that today we found out that the owner chose yet another offer over ours.

When you find a home like that & you can afford it, you feel immediate regret & wish you would have just went in with an even more aggressive offer.  I'm so regretful but I'm trying to focus on the positives in the situation.  Like we have time to save even more, that home was at the top of our budget & we would have had to sacrifice vacations & such, etc.  

Everything happens for a reason... I just hope we find a home that we love & don't have to settle.  There's seriously so much competition out there, it's so frustrating! 

We've been praying like crazy throughout this process & hope that we find our "home sweet home" soon! 

Anyways, in other news.  This weekend we decided to have a staycation just to relax & get away.  We've been stressing so much over finding a house so we took a breather & had a day out with our girls. We visited the Secret Gardens at the Mirage.  Sage & I went together years ago so it was so fun to go back with our girls.  They have a dolphin habitat where the dolphins are within hands reach. It's so neat! They also have an area with lions, tigers & cheetahs.  Anelia has recently fallen in love the Lion Guard on Disney Jr. So the entire time she kept asking to see the "lion guard."  She really enjoyed it & so did we.  It's nice to just get out & experience everything this city has to offer.

Welllp, I'll continue to update as time goes by. Let's cross our fingers that my next post will be about our new home! 

Home Sweet Home

Here we are just 15 days into the new year and already off to a great start!  Today was a big day for my little family.  As I've mentioned in previous posts, we've been saving and preparing to purchase our first home. Well, today we were pre-approved and can officially start looking!  To say I'm excited is an understatement... I'm beyond it.

We wouldn't have gotten to this point if it weren't for our families.  Sage's parents welcomed us into their home to live rent free for a second time.  This time there were four of us, which meant more madness and craziness.  I can't say enough how thankful I am.  This entire process would have taken twice as long if it wasn't for them allowing us to live with them while we save up.  My parents and older sister have also guided me through the loan process.  When we first started this process everything was so foreign to me.  The last thing I want is for someone to take advantage of us.  Thankfully, my family has steered me and provided me with such helpful advice.

There's ALOT of competition out there in the market right now.  I'd be lying if I said I didn't get a little discouraged while looking today.  Anything in our price range that I liked was either pending or recently sold.  The nice ones go quick and by quick I mean, an offer is placed within days of a nice house being placed on the market.  We were introduced to our realtor today, not formally, but via email.  We look forward to meeting her and I pray that she's fast and find us our dream first home.

I'm so grateful that we're finally here and starting this journey.  I know our patience is definitely going to be tested but with lots of prayers, I'll keep the faith and trust the journey!

Here's to our journey of becoming homeowners...

xo.

2016.

... is going to be amazing, just watch.