Whirlwind of a week!

Have you ever had so much happen in a short amount of time that you can hardly believe only a week has passed? Our emotions went up and down. We were ecstatic and then disappointed. We stayed up late one night and crashed at 9pm the next. So much happened, and so much reveals how God's plan is perfect, that I really want to record it here for future reference. When I doubt God's plan or my faith or trust is tested, I need to remember that God has ordained every day in my life. He is not surprised by anything. Nothing catches Him off guard.

Last Friday Bill and I made the decision to not go on spring break this year. Every year we go to Florida to visit friends. However, this year we decided to stay at home and head to Florida early summer when it's a little warmer.

That same day I got the mail. The state of Illinois has been behind in payments for the past year. I am always wondering when the next paycheck will come. Up to this point in time, they have been about three months behind. When I opened the mailbox, I had ELEVEN paychecks!

On Friday the kids and I were at homeschool co-op. My phone rang at 11:15 while I was teaching a class to 5-7 year olds. At noon I set the kids up with their lunches and then checked my voice mail. There was a message that someone wanted to see our house (that was for sale) at 1pm (just 45 minutes!). Friday co-op mornings are rather stressful so I did not leave our home in top showing form. I had a friend watch the kids at co-op while I RACED home, picked up quickly, and raced back for the kids' 1pm class.

Saturday afternoon I am teaching a seminar on pediatric physical therapy. We had a second showing that morning and in the middle of my third lecture I get an email that we had an offer on our house.

Sunday morning we verbally countered the offer and they refused, stating they would just find a different house. We were looking at houses that afternoon and made the decision that if we found the perfect house, we would accept their lower offer.

We saw 10 homes and "liked" them all, but didn't "love" any...until we saw the last house. It was perfect for us, and just 5 miles from school and church. We accepted our buyers offer and they are closing on March 24....right in the middle of Bill's spring break!

Monday we put an offer on our new house.

Tuesday we found out that the house would not appraise high enough, the buyers would not take a lower price, and we had to walk away. We now had a contract on our house, but no idea where we would be moving to.

Wednesday, we went to to look at 2 more houses, with the understanding that if we didn't like these at all we would "fight" for the first house. We liked the second one we saw better than ANYTHING we have seen! Offer was placed, we countered a few times, and we now have a contract on our new house! We move in on March 21!

This house has a huge yard, some great landscaping, 4 beds, 3 baths, an office, a workshop, and some area of growth in the basement. It is on a cul-de-sac with lots of great neighbors and lots of kids!

In one week we received the money from the state needed for a down payment, we sold our home, we bought a home, and we arranged all the moving to take place over Bill's spring break.
What a whirlwind, but what timing God has! Wow!! We can't wait to see what God has planned for the next month!