We learned that lesson during the process of trying to buy a house. I never, ever want to have to go through this again! But in the end, we did learn some good lessons:
1. If possible, don't buy a house from a bank.
Banks are not people. They are banks. They don't care if you have to move out of your apartment and be homeless for anywhere from 1-3 weeks before they let you move into your house. They don't care that the sod they put down and promised to water because they wouldn't fix the sprinkler system (and then didn't water) is crunchy and brown. They don't care that you don't have anywhere to put your moving truck (because you are technically homeless), so when you put it in your new driveway after closing, they chew out your realtor because they haven't received the last $900 check from the title company, and they make you move your truck again until the check clears. They don't care that, when you move the truck out of the driveway, all of your bookshelves break into pieces because you moved some of the things supporting them out of the truck already, since you thought it was YOUR house and YOUR driveway.
Yeah, I needed to get that out. For a much better experience with buying a house, I would highly suggest going the normal route with a homeowner selling their own house. There is so much more room for reason and understanding, and for getting things fixed before you move in - like the sprinklers, and the dishwasher, and the fridge, and the A/C, and the washing machine, and . . .
2. God will still find ways to take care of us, even when others' choices affect us negatively.
So, that was my complaining rant. But the truth is, even with all the craziness the bank put us through, God still took care of us. Many of our friends and several young men from church came and helped us pack up our moving truck in 45 minutes. Jon's brother, Ryan, and my mother-in-law, Lucile, came over and helped us clean. Our bishop said we could keep our moving truck in the church parking lot, and since he's a cop, he had the local police patrol periodically to make sure our stuff was still there.
Our wonderful friends, the Nietos, allowed us to stay with them for a week. We had a super-comfortable bed to sleep in, amazing food to eat, their 5-year-old daughter to entertain us, and scripture study with their family in the evenings. There was no better way to be homeless. :)
We had friends invite us over for dinner, help us unpack the truck (in only 30 minutes!), and share mangoes from our very own mango tree. All in all, for the trial that we had to go through, God inspired many people to help us and support us in what could have been a really awful time. It brings to mind a quote from Elder Jeffrey R. Holland:
"When we speak of those who are instruments in the hand of God, we are reminded that not all angels are from the other side of the veil. Some of them we walk with and talk with—here, now, every day. Some of them reside in our own neighborhoods . . . Indeed heaven never seems closer than when we see the love of God manifested in the kindness and devotion of people so good and so pure that angelic is the only word that comes to mind."3. Slow-burning coals burn longer.
Moving is a stressful situation, no matter what the circumstances are. For me, when I combine the stress of moving and the dust of moving with my allergies, I get problems. Add to that being around several people who were sick, and BAM, you've got Kristen writing this post from the couch she hasn't left in 3 days except to go to the doctor.
Well, that's not entirely true. I left the couch on Saturday when I got impatient from being on the couch for a full 24 hours. I spent half of the day Saturday unpacking, priming the mailbox post, buying a drill, changing the locks, and generally wearing myself out. By 6pm I was back on the couch with a fever and feeling worse than ever.
With all the time I had on my hands on Sunday, since I could barely get myself off the couch for water refills, I spent time pondering on something that my very first bishop, Wayne Brockbank, told me a few months after I got baptized. I was so excited about church, and I wanted to do everything all at once. I was taking 16 credits in college, working 2 jobs, serving in a calling, and taking extra religion classes at church - four, to be precise. He sat me in his office one Sunday and said, "Kristen, slow burning coals." I had no idea what he was talking about. He then explained to me that coals burn longer when they burn slowly. In other words, he was telling me that if I kept up my overzealous pace, I would get burned out and wouldn't be able to do any of it. He finally talked me into only taking one religion class, and I had a semester that was much less stressed out than it could have been.
Fast forward to this week, when, in my enthusiasm to unpack boxes and put together my house, I pushed through sickness, overdid it, and ended up burned out and sicker than I needed to be. I guess I have to learn this "slow-burning coals" lesson over and over.
Well, for all of that, we still got our house. We love it, and even though there is much work to do, we feel good about making this our own space and raising a family here.
So without further ado...
The exterior, freshly painted
Right after closing
The kitchen
The mango tree and backyard
The garage
Living room/kitchen view
Living room/dining room/stairs
Master bath shower - needs some work :)
